9:15 Saturday morning, April 23
“Hello, J. J., I’m afraid Mark left the house some time ago, said he had some things to do around the office…”
Donna sat at the dining room table, surrounded by magazines and house plan books. She had been studying the newest volume of her house plans, postponing house work for a while. This latest version was certainly promising, she thought. She dreamed about libraries, music rooms and English gardens. The phone was a jarring interruption. She could hear the twins upstairs; they planned an excursion to the Mall with friends and were arguing over the right ensembles to impress everyone.
“Well, Miss Donna, it’s not Mark I need to talk to this morning, it’s you.”
“Me? Whatever for?” Donna flipped the page to another set of bigger, better plans, admiring the formal porches in front and New Orleans patio in back.
“I’d rather discuss this particular — situation — in private, not on the phone, Miss Donna. Is there a time today that would be convenient for us to have a little private discussion?”
“What on earth would we have to discuss, J.J.? You sound awfully serious. I can’t imagine what could be so important.” Donna’s annoyance showed in her voice.
“Well, you could say it’s about a mutual friend of ours, and a mutually enjoyable road house out towards Allenham, I believe they call it Greene Street Grill these days. Would 10:30 suit you for a little conversation?”
Donna held the receiver away from her face and looked at it as though it were a snake in her hand. “What are you talking about, J.J.? What did you call it — Greene Street something or other?”
“I was thinking about the most convenient, and private, spot for our little talk, Miss Donna. You know the Elliott Pointe property pretty well, don’t you? There’s a quiet little area at the back of the section by the creek, not hard to find at all, and if I’m not mistaken, that’s where you had planned to put your new house, isn’t that right?”
Donna’s mind was racing as he spoke. She informed him that she was very busy and besides, it wouldn’t be proper for them to meet out there in those woods, even if they did have anything to talk about, which she was sure they didn’t.
“Oh, well, then I guess it’s Mark you want me to have this little talk with. I’m sure sorry you feel that way, but if you’re certain we can’t have a discussion — he’s down at the office, did you say?”
House plans suddenly took on a new light. With a nervous laugh, Donna supposed it would be a good morning to ‘drive out and walk over my new home lot,’ and if he happened to be out there, well, then it would only be polite to speak to one another. And, 10:30, yes, she guessed that would be convenient.
J. J. hung up the kitchen phone with a satisfied smile on his lips. When he heard that nervous laugh, he knew she’d be coming. And he knew just how to approach the subject of money. Not too much right at first, maybe she’d have trouble raising cash without Mark’s knowledge, but she’d go along. She was dead set on that new house of hers, and probably dead set on taking Mark for a lot of alimony, child support, whatever. Yes indeed, she’d go along.
And that boyfriend of hers has plenty of money. Things are definitely looking more prosperous, he thought to himself. He just needed to play his hand right, not get too greedy, and things would work out fine.
J. J. squinted at the clock and calculated how long it would take to get to the property the back way, on the old hunting trail. Wouldn’t do to attract attention, Donna might have a more or less legitimate reason to be out there today, but he didn’t. He’d have to be careful.
He rummaged up an old sweatshirt and pair of work boots from the back of the closet. He needed his clothes to blend in to the background in the woods. With a brown feed store baseball cap pulled low over his hair and forehead, he checked his appearance in the bathroom mirror. Anyone seeing him from a distance wouldn’t be able to tell him from any of the other locals in the county.
An old Hank Williams song came to mind as he closed the back porch door and headed for his pickup truck. “I saw the light, I saw the light…..”
