A Blind Fall

chapter thirty nine

Shooting weary glances across the road, she quickly alighted the taxicab and adjusted her animal print headscarf that she had draped around her face to resemble an Arabic woman in a hijab. Dark, huge glasses sat on her face, covering half of it so that she was beyond recognition. Besides the Louis Vuitton duffel bag slung over her shoulders, she had no other luggage as it would have done nothing than hold her back. Traveling light kept dubious eyes off and especially those of the authorities she gathered were trailing her.

The urge to hug the bag close to her chest was almost overbearing at the thought of the pile of clean notes of US dollars in it but she resisted it as it would only warrant unsolicited attention. She only had to be a little more patient, a while longer and soon enough she would be free to live lavish, the life of luxury she desired. Beneath her maxi dress, was a pair of tight jeans in which she'd tucked the plane tickets to Seychelles. It was a small country in Eastern Africa where she could stay buried a bit until everything cooled down and still have the luxury of the beach.

Making sure to stay as blended into the moving crowds at the airport as possible, she allowed herself be swallowed in the noise of travellers lest she missed something important anyone said. It wasn't that she was paranoid, no, her pills had taken care of that and panic attacks had stayed at bay as had the battered, bloody face of her lifeless husband. But rather she was cautious, she was aware and alert of the goings on around, from the people, to luggage on trolleys and even a few police men here and there but their uniform suggested they were just airport security.

The need to get out of France as soon as possible was because she knew one thing about that Leon Mayor; he wouldn't let her get away with abducting that little serpentine boy from Debra forgetting it was the only reason he ever set his eyes on them again. The ungrateful bastard! Even with his unhesitant willingness to hand over the large amount Maureen totally deserved, she hadn't missed the unmistakable appalment in those eyes, it was like her mere presence appalled him. At first she'd thought it was just about the boy but she'd thought long and hard like the astute woman she was and had derived to a perfect hypothesis.

The Mayor's were close and possibly Archibald had already discovered Daniel had died and in a rather peculiar way, Maureen shivered at the memory of his wide eyes and the emptiness she'd last observed there when she'd eventually saved him from his misery. Sure enough, Senior Mayor had already informed Leon and therefore when she'd shown up with Salvatore, the wisest thing to do was avoid altercation and he hadn't paid her off because he was thankful for delivering his estranged son but to rid himself off her. Then Maureen had drawn to a conclusion that had had her fast in a taxi and to the airport; that Leon knew, he knew about his mother as well and Maureen's hand in her early departure to the other side. Somehow, Archibald must have uncovered the truth.

And now standing in the waiting line, the taste of freedom delicious in her tongue and the warm snuggle of the plane tickets now in her hands as she'd retrieved them, she afforded herself a triumphant smile. There was no stopping her because all her life, anyone who'd dared to got what they deserved. From that holy as a saint, Ellen Mayor whose fault it was that Daniel really never loved her, to Daniel who she'd offered her entire life to but eventually he'd been unappreciative and a treacherous traitor. She'd come this close to uprooting Salvatore's presence from her daughter's life so she wasn't such an uncontrollable child anymore but Maureen had discovered a better way the boy was of use.

The person before her had their documents approved and Maureen stepped in his place, shred off her glasses and flashed a genuine enough smile to the agent. This was it, she'd gone through checking in and security and this last part here was setting her free.

It was while here that she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Please step out of the line, ma'am."

She turned to face a casually dressed man. "Excuse me?"