EPISODE FIVE
EPISODE FIVE
Smith Rutledge kept on looking at the stuffs. He rummagned through lotions and makeup and such, noting that most of hers was of the drugstore variety expect for some samples of what appeared to be more expensive lines,including several tiny vials of perfume-must have been twenty or thirty of them, all different.
Her towels were frayed, and her toothbrush was about worn out. An oversize T-shirt and a tattered bathrobe hung on a hook in the bathroom. The only jewerly he located were two pair of small hops, one gold, one sliver, and a sliver butterfly pin.
Her food stash consisted of cereal, peanut butter, bread, crackers and soup. Lots of soup. There were both cans and packets of the dired variety, mostly chicken noodle and vegetable. Hell, if this is what she ate , no wonder she was anemic.
Her bunk was neatly made with a quilt, and her pillow had a blue satin case. A big stuffed monkey lay beside her pillow. It was the ugliest damn monkey he'd ever seen in his life. Taped underneath an overhead cabinet so that they were visible from the bed were several index cards with motivational slogans and other gung-ho saying written on them. He smilled as he read. "A quitter never wins" and what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. "A Cherokee proverb, " have a vision not clouded by fear" was highlighted in yellow.
In a cabinet under the bunk, he found a stack of paperback books, a flashlight, a sewing machine in a latched case and another case full of all kinds of thread and needles and pins. When he opened the lid of a bench seat, he discovered a locked birfecase. Also inside were the blue smith laptop she'd mentioned and a small printer, both last year's model. He'd take the computer and the brifecase into the house and examine them later.
The rest of the area was crammed with boxes.
He went through every blasted one of them.
Most of them were full of purses. He'd never seen so many purses oustide a department store. The biggest part of them were like that muncher she carried, some denim, some black, some tan. They were all the same stlye, half backpack/half purse, with a wide adjustable shoulder strap and a bunch of zippered pockets on the outside. Other boxes were filled with danity litle purses, some beaded, some with flowers basic shapes, no two of them were alike. Other boxes contained what loked like the raw materials for the litle purses, al divided and labeled-things like: blue beaded tops, black silk braid, red poppies. There were dozeens of boxes of that kind of materialas wel as boxes filed with boxes.
Smith took out one of the small, custom-made boxes to examine it. Oval-shaped and cream-coloured, it had a gold rope handle and was just about the right sieze to hold one of those litle purses. Inside every box were two sheets of cream-coloured tisue paper flecked with gold. On the lid of each box, jessica miles was writen in fancy gold script.
Who the hell is jesica miles?
She'd either hesitated this stuf or she she was seling it.
Then he opened a last box. Office supplies.
Besides several teams of paper, he found brochures, order forms and business cards. Al with an oklahoma mailing address, an 800 number and a web site. He tok one of each, struck them in his pocket, then restacked and secured the boxes -expect for one that was almost empty. He dumped the purses from it on her bunk and packed some of her causual clothes and other belongings in it. The rest he would get later.
On his way out, he grabbed the laptop and the briefcase. By the time sleeping beauty woke up, he was going to know all about her.
Jessica's eyes popped open. Instantly, she was wide awake and alert. Troubule was, she didnt recongnize her surroundings. The room was dim and nothing seemed familar. The moment she threw back the covers and started out of the bed, her injured wirst reminded her. That and the hospital gown she still wore.
It all came back. Smith rutledge. The man loked so much like tom. And whose first name was smith instead of his last. Odd.
She switched on a lamp, glancing at the clock radio as she did. SSix-twelve, the red numbers said. Morning or evening? Rubing her face, she looked around, taking in the unique spanish-stlye furnishings of the room. The wals were pale cream and the flors were tera-cotta tile with a scattering of thick rugs. The soft yelow headboard and the chests were beautifully carved wod with a large calla lily design in bold relief and painted green and white. This was the work of an arisian, she thought as she ran her fingers over the spray of lilies on the besdside table. Magnificent.
A door opened, and the nurse appeard.
"Ah you're awake," she said. "I was about ttorouse you. Mr.Rutledge was concerned that you might mis another meal."
"Another meal?"
"You slept through lunch. It's dinnertime. Mr.rutledge thought you might like to eat on the patio just oustside." The nursr motioned toward draperies acros the room. "Feel like it?"
"I think so, Jessica said. " i must have finally slept of the effects of the medication. I never take anything stronger than an aspirin becausre it simply knocks me for a loop. I barely remember meeting you and going to bed here. And i'm sorry, but i dont remeber your name."
The nurse smiled. "You were pretty groggy. I'm kathy McCauley. Want to wash up a bit?"
"I'd love to, thanks." Her knees were wobby at first, but Kathy walked her to the bathroom and helped her bathe her face and brush her teeth with a new toothbrush that was laid out on the counter near a collection of pricey lotions and bath products. Jesaical noticed that her own makeup bag and hairbrush were as well.
"Rosa brought some of your things in from your RV," kathy said. "Rosa is the housekeeper and a real sweetheart. Want me to help you brush your hair and rebraid it?"
"Please. Looks like doing things with a cast will be tricky until i get the hang of it." She sat down on a padded vanity chair while kathy carefully brushed the tangles from her hair.
.
.
.
.
Ohh the novel is really intresting ,lets find out what smith rutledge have in my mind, or is this really a fantasy or what😕😊
Drop your comments