“Now where are those two headed?” The driver of the black mustang growled his displeasure.
His passenger blinked sleep deprived eyes. “Can’t someone else do this today? We haven’t slept in hours.”
“Quit your whining.” His grip on the steering wheel tightened. “There is no one else. You’d better not nod off. The boss’ll have your head. Now keep your eyes on that gadget.” The location detector they’d placed on Brian’s car, while he and Andrea were in the bank, beeped steadily.
“These two are trouble. I just know it.” A large man, he slumped deeper into the front seat. The blip from the device was making his tired eyes water.
“Yes well…we have ta make sure they don’t cause any.”
•
Andrea eyes popped open and she began talking as if she’d never fallen asleep. “Do you think we’ll need Haitian money?”
“Good morning to you too. Feel refreshed? I don’t know about the money but I’m sure they’ll be able to tell you at the bank.” Brian rubbed the back of his neck. It felt as if they’d been up for hours.
“Do you have what you need for a trip to a tropical country?”
Brian frowned in her direction. “I can’t help thinking we’re in over our heads here. What if…”
“Brian, if the police are involved, like Max said, they aren’t going to spend a lot of time looking for Diane and Trent, now are they? Are they even coordinating their efforts, what with Max’s death and all?”
“I guess that’s something we need to find out. Do you have any idea when you want to leave? I need to get a leave of absence from work. You probably will too.”
“They probably won’t give me any leave. I’ll…just have to quit.” Andrea’s inhaled as the words sank in. “I love that job but…Diane means more to me than a paycheck. I can always get another job but I can’t replace her. I want to leave as soon as we can work it out.”
Brian scowled toward the windshield and then glanced at Andrea. “I hadn’t thought of you as tenacious before. You’re like a dog delighting in a ham bone. This won’t be a pleasure trip you know.”
Andrea’s voice squeaked. “You think I’m enjoying this?” She sputtered her indignation. “Why I’ll…”
“No, I don’t think you’re enjoying this. Calm down. I just want you to be clear. Is this the direction you want to go? I agree. We shouldn’t involve the police any more than they are already. Besides, they may consider it strange that you withheld evidence anyway.”
“I did not withhold evidence. I forgot about it.”
“Well anyway, do you really think you can trust Max and what he says?” Brian maneuvered his car into a parking spot across the street from the police station. He glanced over at Andrea, a look of concern creasing his forehead. “Do you even know him well enough to judge?”
“I have no reason to doubt him, but … well… I just don’t know!” Andrea opened the door on her side of the car. Brian turned off the motor and the two walked into the familiar building. Conflicting thoughts skittered across her brain as she watched the officers in the room. Because of Max’s doubts, I’m not sure we can trust the very people I’ve spent my life believing are here to help us.
A few minutes later they were seated in chairs across the desk from Lieutenant Smithen. “No new developments. We found out that Hartford Industries is a government facility, one classified as top secret. We’ll need special permission to get inside the lab to find out what Trent worked on.” He settled back into his own chair and scratched the side of his head. “And then we still won’t know if something terrible happened to them or if they simply went on a last minute vacation.”
Andrea opened her mouths to protest but then clamped it shut. Max’s note.
“As for Diane Michners’ work, she’s researched an investigative piece. The newspaper editor doesn’t know what it’s about, though.”
Brian sat forward in his chair. “What about Max Schuster’s death? Anything?”
“Do you think there’s a connection?” Andrea sat forward in her chair.
“No…well, I’m not sure.” The lieutenant rose from his chair. “We’ll get in touch with you if we hear anything and we’d like you to tell us if the Michners contact you.”
The duo walked slowly out to the car. “Does it sound to you as if they know what they’re doing?” Andrea sat in the front seat. She watched Brian walk around to his side of the car and open his door. “Brian, did you believe the lieutenant?”
“I don’t know. The lieutenant didn’t make me feel too confident, that’s for sure. After all, both cases do involve you. I wonder if they’re taking Trent and Diane’s disappearance seriously enough.”
“I know.” Andrea watched the houses they passed and the kids playing in the yards, not a care in the world. Trent and Diane didn’t think their life was in danger either.
“It’s frustrating. We’re no closer to the truth than when we first asked the police for help. I guess the only way to find out the truth is…to do things Max’s way. That is, if we can believe all that Max said.”
Brian turned down the street where the motel was located. “It’s been almost two days since…”
“…since Trent and Diane were kidnapped.” Brian looked at her with a frown. “Well we might as well use that term. Max said so.”
“I just hate to think…”
“Well Max’s truth is a place to start anyway. I find it hard to believe that someone wants to harm the Michners, too, but… Do those people think that no one’ll notice the disappearance of a young family? And then there’s Max. I guess we’ll find out something soon enough. “Tears of frustration and lack of sleep started to run down Andrea’s cheeks. She swiped at them with the back of her hand. She sniffed and then looked out the window on her side of the car.
•
Brian reached a reassuring hand toward Andrea, but pulled back. “You’re not the only one perturbed by this thing.” He looked out his rearview mirror. Then looked again.
There… two cars lengths back. He saw the fender of a black mustang as it peeked around the car in front of it. Is it the same car? The one that almost hit me? Nah, there’s lots of cars like that one. He glanced at the street in front of him and then back toward his rear view mirror. 2004, all black…just like that car two days ago. It’s got to be the same one.
Without a word to Andrea, Brian pulled into the motel’s parking lot. The black mustang parked down the street. It was almost as if they didn’t care that Andrea and he might see them. Andrea seemed not to as she exited his car and slid into the driver’s seat of her car. She lowered the window. “Good-bye, Brian. Thanks for coming to get me this morning. Those guys had me spooked.”
“I’m just glad you felt comfortable enough to call me. Will I see you tomorrow?” Brian leaned his arm over the open window of his car.
“Church, right? It’ll be good to do something normal.”
“Great. See ya there?” Brian shifted the car into drive.
Brian dropped his head, pretending to look at something in his lap. He glanced up in time to see the black car speed past. Two men were inside and they watched Andrea’s car intently. He pulled onto the street. Now we’ll see who’s following whom. A short distance later Andrea pulled into her driveway and the Mustang continued on as if it never followed her in the first place. Two can play this game. Brian pursued at a safe distance into dense traffic. It’s gone. He drove up and down a couple of nearby streets but no luck. He decided to head home. He’d bet his life those guys were tied to Max’s murder. It may be my life. He settled into his seat for the short trip home, uneasiness seeping from every pore.
•
Andrea shuddered as she tiptoed around the dark stain where Max’s body had fallen yesterday. The dogs stood in the living room, the smell of blood keeping them at a distance. She patted their heads and looked around her hallway. Boy, what a mess! Andrea picked up the phone book
to look for the number of a professional cleaning service. Not open until Monday morning. Her to-do list for Monday was getting longer.
•
Jason Dwyer pulled his cell phone out of the pouch attached to his belt. “Lo, what da ya want? Er…Demos?” He stood, straightening his body almost at attention. He held the phone a few inches from his face. Anger, thick enough to melt the phone lines, poured over him. He hiccupped. “Yah, yah. I know. Now we got the chemist, we don’t need her anyway.” He shook his head in agreement. “I’ll take care of it.” He shifted his weight from one leg to another. “Tomorrow. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.” The line went dead. The bimbo is gonna get hers… tomorrow.