chapter 88
WHEN BAILEY GLANCED out the window and saw Woody aggressively walking toward the old hotel, she knew it meant trouble. He had been to her grandmother’s apartment, and locked doors had never slowed him down. He would pick the lock, or more times than not, he would just kick the door in.
The old men and her grandmother were not around. As she looked for something to use to defend herself, she saw the cash-filled luggage and knew Woody would assume the bags were hers and that she was leaving. He wouldn’t hesitate to dump out the contents to make a point that she wasn’t going anywhere.
In that moment, Bailey devised a plan. She grabbed her purse and the luggage and took off for the stairwell next to the elevator. She dashed down the stairs one floor and waited on the landing until she heard the elevator pass. She opened the stairwell door and quickly punched the down button. Then she retrieved the suitcases as she nervously waited on the elevator. She held her breath when the door slowly opened. It was empty. She quickly pulled the bags inside and punched the button for the lobby.
Bailey hurried to her car, loaded it, and pulled away from the hotel and Woody as fast as she dared. She knew that he was inside her grandmother’s apartment at that moment, searching for her or any sign of where she was. If she hadn’t fled with the money, neither she nor it would have survived.
She said a quick prayer of thanksgiving as she tried to think of a place to hide—someplace where no one would think to look. Places like the Best Western in Columbus or the Holiday Inn Express in Starkville would not work; they were too obvious and too close to home. She needed privacy, a quiet place to sort out what she had done and what she would do. The first place that popped into her mind was the Golden Moon hotel at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi. It was only about an hour’s drive. With its luxury rooms, great restaurants, and a spa, she could be pampered while making plans.
Not fully thinking through the ramifications, she decided not to tell the others for a day or so to protect them, and the money, from Woody. She feared that if he threatened or hurt one of them, they might reveal her location.
She concocted her cover story on the way. She transformed herself into a country-music songwriter who needed extreme privacy to finish several songs…and she said that she might have a guest joining her later. The Golden Moon’s front desk understood Bailey’s need for discretion and allowed her to pay cash without asking for identification.
Bailey lay on the king-size bed in one of the hotel’s VIP suites. Her luggage was stacked neatly in the far corner. She sat up to take a drink of bottled water. She rationalized what she had done; she knew that the group would be proud of her for protecting their money. She had identified a threat and reacted.
Her whole life, she hadn’t had many material things or even time to herself. She had placed all of her dreams on hold while she worked to take care of her mother and pay all of her medical and then funeral bills. Bailey was beginning to see the money as a chance to escape her past and start fresh. But she also was beginning to hear disapproving voices, clear as day, of all those people who had been instrumental in raising her. She heard her mother, her grandmother, and one of her Sunday-school teachers she had long ago forgotten.
She lay back on the bed and wrestled with right and wrong, marveling at the amount of money in the room with her. She desperately wanted to recapture some of the time she had missed while taking care of others.
Out of the blue, she began thinking of Levi. There was something attractive about him—the person. It was something you wouldn’t notice necessarily if you only briefly talked to him. You gotta get to really know him before it’s noticeable. I guess it’s not so much noticed really as it is revealed, she thought.
Levi made her smile, and he made her belly-laugh—something she hadn’t done in the last five years. She looked at her phone, wishing he would call or text. She wanted to talk to him. Thanksgiving was in a few days. She had never been with a boyfriend for whom she was thankful. As Bailey grappled with new emotions and old thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.