CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

 

MEG

 

SHE WALKED TOWARD THE MAIN road but when she was far enough away from the house and felt no indication of him watching her, she darted back toward the rear of the property.

She wanted to have an idea in her head of what she was dealing with. To know where she was in relation to everything else should things heat up.

“Not should,” she muttered. “When. We both know that this is going to come down to some psychotic battle of the Titans.”

She couldn’t wait.

His property was big, sprawling, and cluttered, but not messy. The first thing she spotted was an ancient Winnebago. A good place to hide.

“Good.”

She opened the door as slowly as she could. Not pulling it fully open. Not wanting the movement to catch Jack’s eye should he be watching.

She climbed in. Nothing spectacular. Some spider webs. Some dirt. But it was sealed up well, no sign of critters. She opened a few cabinets. Nada. She lifted the dry-rotted cushions on a bench to find nothing but dust and a few pennies.

More searching. In the cabinet nearest the door, a big can of bear repellent, open and prepped. She shook it. Full.

She investigated further. Found a spool of clothesline. She moved a few things and exited the vehicle.

She kept behind the trees as much as possible and headed toward the big dilapidated barn. When she snuck in between a few missing boards, not having to touch the main door at all, she stopped, staring.

Cars. An automotive graveyard. Mostly old muscle cars. A few jalopies. A tan Ford truck that had seen better days about five decades back.

Everywhere were farming implements. A rake here, a hoe there, a long pole that might have been for fence posting. Small knives, rusted bits of metal, a big beam simply leaning against the wall. There were weapons as far as the eye could see if you knew what you were looking at and what you were doing.

She did her best to study and catalogue.

The loft was intact. The ladder looked sturdy enough. But that was a dead end and wouldn’t be smart. Best to know all options, though.

She moved along.

There was a nice barn a few hundred yards away from the car storage. Meg got the feeling it was mostly for show. A safe haven to beckon Jack’s guests to get the hunt underway. It held no interest for her.

 

She went home briefly, freshened up, then walked slowly up to Jack’s. Trying to decide, still at this late hour, what she was going to do.