The Assignment

Chapter 21

The inside of the home was just as cozy-looking as the outside. There was more square footage than I expected, having assumed it would just be the typical tiny beach house. The interior walls were a stunning span of polished wood, and in the center of the home stood a floor-to-ceiling tree trunk that braced the entire structure. There weren't very many windows, but a lot of natural light still managed to find its way in.

The house was set up similar in design to my apartment. A small, yet very nice kitchen was the main focal point, with a tiny dining table that looked better fit for playing cards off to the right. On one side of the kitchen was the living room, complete with a cappuccino sectional that I was dying to lounge on. The opposite side of the cabin housed the only bedroom and bathroom. There was also a beautiful porch that wrapped all the way around the beach house. It was the ideal vacation spot. I loved it already.

"This is so comfy," I smiled, looking around the house. "I can definitely see why your grandpa likes it here."

Joey didn't say anything. He made his rounds, checking that all the windows were locked and everything was secure. The frown hadn't left his face since he'd stepped out of the car and I knew he was thinking about the incident at the police station. I was itching to quiz him about what had happened on his end at the courthouse, but I knew he was liable to snap if I didn't give him a little more time to cool off. I could see his pulse ticking wildly in his veins. He was so high strung and sleep deprived, he looked like he might explode at any given minute.

"I've got to ditch that car," Joey sighed, running his fingers through his messy hair. "Somebody will track it down soon enough. I want to maximize our time here. The faster I get rid of it, the better."

"Is that Brad's car?" I remembered him mentioning that Brad always had a knife somewhere in the car.

He nodded and rolled up his sleeves. "It's been a few weeks since I've been here, but there's shit in the freezer if you get hungry. I'll try to be back soon."

Joey headed toward the door without so much as a glance in my direction. I'd made myself at home on the couch, thrilled to finally get a chance to relax on furniture that was actually clean and not owned by a motel. That last place we'd stayed at looked like it needed a flamethrower taken to it to rid the room of cooties.

"Joey?" I called after him, but he was already out the door, jogging back to the squad car.

I stood in the doorway, watching him back up and turn around to leave. Our eyes locked for a moment and he gestured for me to get back inside and lock the door. I waited until his taillights disappeared into the trees to go back in.

Without Joey there, the beach house felt so empty, despite a liberal amount of furniture. I wandered around aimlessly, trying to come up with a way to entertain myself until he returned. I ended up exploring the freezer's contents. Perhaps I could make dinner for us and have it ready by the time he got back. How long did it take to ditch a car?

There was a staggeringly large number of frozen items in the freezer, though almost nothing in the refrigerator. I went fishing through the tiny pantry to see what turned up there. The pantry was also overloaded, like the freezer.

I explored the kitchen, gathering all the utensils and cookware I would need, and set aside some frozen chicken breast to thaw. In the pantry, I found a bottle of baby mushrooms and a can of cream of mushroom. Typically, I would use fresh portabellas and sauté them in wine, but I would have to make do with what little I had. I continued my quest, collecting canned spinach and black olives, and a bottle of Worcestershire from the pantry. This was an improvised version of a dish I made regularly for my grandmother. It's always been her favorite of mine. I hoped Joey would like it, too.