Love and Money by Maggie McIntyre

Author:Maggie McIntyre [McIntyre, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ryeland Press
Published: 2021-06-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Jail breaking for beginners.

There was a fresh hint of coolness in the air the following morning, as Cat waited outside Kat’s gates for Simone to arrive. She had a small amount of filming equipment with her, a hand-held video camera, with a built-in sound recorder, which fit neatly into her shoulder bag, and she was dressed for a day at the office, this time in a linen-mix suit and low heels. She didn’t want to look quite so wayward and memorable as she had on her previous two visits.

Fall was now clearly on its way, and even in balmy Southern California, she could feel the seasons begin to change. Cat missed the deep green forests of her home in northern Oregon, and wondered how her folks were coping in Crompton Falls, still miserably surrounded by blackened and broken stumps of once glorious trees.

She was about to act on her feelings and pulled out her phone to call her grandparents, when she heard the purr of a car engine , and saw Simone’s large SUV come around the bend, exactly on time. Cat slipped her phone back in her bag, and as the car slid to a halt, jumped up into the passenger seat and pulled the door close.

She fastened her seatbelt before it started to beep its constant annoying warning, and greeted Simone.

“Hi, everything OK?”

“Yes,” grunted Simone. She barely glanced at her but kept her eyes focused forward as they swept through the secluded back lanes of Kat’s exclusively quiet neighborhood. Then she spoke again, less gruffly.

“I made it home in one piece last night if that’s what you mean. However, I admit seven am is rather early for me. I normally sleep from two till nine on transmission nights. So I can get into the office again before mid-day.”

Cat knew twelve-hour workdays were the norm for Simone, who labored equally as hard as Kat did. No wonder she had trouble making time to visit her mother.

She looked at her now, and noted some subtle changes in the woman’s appearance. Her iconic shaved head, with its slight fuzz of silver, was tucked under a slouch hat, and she wore impenetrable dark glasses and a loose jacket over much less fashionable clothes than she was normally known for. Obviously, if she could avoid it, Simone would prefer to remain incognito for this expedition. And as far as a modest disguise went, it might work.

On the forty-five-mile journey, Cat filled Simone in with her whole experiences so far of visiting Crystal Springs and all about the other interviewees.

“I would have never met your Mom if I hadn’t told the development officer that I wanted to interview someone from a non-white background. She was the only resident I spoke to who shared my misgivings about the place. I think we are both puzzled, frankly. It’s like an enchanted place, almost under a spell of contentment. But it just doesn’t seem real.”

“You mean, like Calypso’s island?”

Cat was relieved she could pick up Simone’s

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