Highway scandal(book 1)

Chapter 5

Once they arrived in Iowa town things would get interesting, and less peaceful. The arrival in this town was hush hush but somehow things wouldn't go un-noticed. Marissa had a change of clothes in the trunk, or rather a week's worth of clothes because she was always gone to work or running errands. So she looked in the back once she was out of the car. And there was a suitcase with some of her things. Including a pair of nice sneakers. She had forgotten about them.

"Do you live in your car," he asked. She gave him a death glare. She technically did most days. Because she worked late a lot. But she grabs her suitcase and follows him into an inn.

The woman at the front desk was nice and reminded Marissa of her mom. She smiled at them and greeted them. Iowa was cool in October. And with Halloween a couple of days away, the inn was decorated with pumpkins and scarecrows. And even some ghosts and skeletons hung above the desk.

"We would like a room please," Drake said. She looked at her computer. Scrolling through all vacancies.

"How long are you staying," she asked. He looked at Marissa.

"Just tonight, we will check out tomorrow around noon, name is Brandon Parker," he said. She looked at him like he was insane. And maybe in a way, he was. He handed her a $100 bill and told her to keep the change.

"Alright, you will be in room 210A," she said handing him a key, old fashioned. He nodded to her and made Marissa go ahead of him. To watch her. He still didn't trust her.

They looked for the room until they finally found it at the end of the hall. And he made her open it. She unlocked it and pushed the door open. It was a quaint little room. But for a small town inn, it screamed old-fashioned. There was an iron bed. It was full size in the middle more to the left. With a bedside table. One Lounge chair. And a TV on a tall dresser. The quilt was blue and red.

"This is better than I expected," Marissa says. Drake raises an eyebrow.

"Better than sleeping in the basement of an abandoned house," he said. She snaps her attention to him.

He waves it off. She sat her suitcase on the bed and started rummaging through it. To the right was a door to the small bathroom. And a walk-in shower. She goes through her clothes noticing clean panties and bras. And she got excited. And then she found some shorts and a white T-shirt.

"Do you mind if I shower," she asked. He looks in the shower and there is a very tiny window but not enough to escape.

"Go ahead, I'll go after you," he said. She nodded. And she headed towards the bathroom.

While the water was running he kept wondering why she hadn't run before. She got out of the handcuffs and she didn't bolt. She could've at least gone twenty miles on her gas. But she didn't. And he looked out the window, thinking about that. But he couldn't figure it out. Maybe she couldn't get out in time. Or maybe she was wearing a wire, no that wouldn't make sense. He didn't understand it.

The shower felt nice to Marissa. Warm water. And soap. And she was thinking, he wasn't going to kill Frank, so was he innocent? And what did Frank have to do with it? Would Drake tell her? She finished her shower and noticed her towels on the rack. She dried herself and dressed herself for bed. And she was ready for it.

She steps out and he looks at her. He watches her carefully. She watches him. And for a moment there's a twinkle in their eye. And they can see it. The adventure and the mystery. It makes everything ten times better.

"Why didn't you run, at the gas station," he asked her. She sat on the bed. Sighing and shrugging.

"I guess I know you won't hurt me, I mean I assume you won't, and I read your files, you were a good guy, I think you were framed and I want to know what Frank has to do with it," she said. He studies her for a moment. He inches closer.

"You are saying you think I'm innocent?" He asks. She shrugs.

"I mean, I guess, it doesn't make sense for you to kill your brother, you were both graduates in really great fields, both with bachelor's, and I don't know much after that but I know if you go to college with those scores, you don't turn into a brother killing monster," she said. He shook his head and smiled. She was confused.

"It's been a long time since I've talked to another person, I've been hiding out in an old basement. I wear disguises to get food and water, and clothes, and I have to be careful at the atm because they can be traced, and Frank won't stop," he said. She cringes at his words because Frank has something to do with it. But she wasn't going to say anything.

"I'm sorry for all of this, I wish we could get answers, I do, but, do you think Frank will give you answers, I mean what does he have to do with it anyway?" She was so confused and concerned. She truly wanted to know what was going on. And why Drake was being framed. And what Frank's involvement was.

"Frank is a money-making lawyer who hides his true intentions behind his facade of being a lawyer, my brother was a scientist and it was a blind deal gone wrong, Frank knows everything but he won't talk," Drake said. He walked over to the bathroom door. But he stopped.

"I'm glad to know someone thinks I'm innocent, so while I'm in the shower can you go to the washroom and wash my clothes, and bring me a robe," he asked. She nods to him.