by Elle Casey
“No. It’s just parked in the lot; but the cop that was dogging us is probably going to figure out it’s ours and stolen before we can get back to it. I’ll bet it’s the only one in the whole stupid lot with out-of-state plates on it.”
Jonathan didn’t know quite what to say, so he started unpacking the duffle bag. Sarah helped him in companionable silence. Jonathan examined each item as he put it down. He saw nothing wrong with anything there; Sarah had done a good job with the budget as far as he was concerned. “Lots of pasta and rice. Good idea.”
“Thanks,” said Sarah, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. “I did the list. Candi stuck to the budget perfectly.”
“And you found a motorcycle that seems to run fine, for a great price.” Jonathan nodded in respect. “I guess the mission was mostly a success.”
“Yep. We just kind of screwed up the car thing, but that’s better than not getting the motorcycle or getting arrested.”
“Sure. Maybe.”
Sarah smacked him on the arm. “Hey!”
Jonathan rubbed it to get the sting to go away. “Well, I am a little concerned … not only with Candi’s obvious issues, but also with that car being left there. I really think we need to go back and get it before the police officer figures out it’s stolen. If he connects that car to you two, I really doubt that we’ll be able to live here for very long without being caught.”
Sarah frowned. “He was overly persistent, actually. The guy was a total donkey butt, following us around and asking all kinds of questions about where we were from and what we were doing there.”
“I need to talk to Kevin. Will you put these things away for us?”
Sarah patted his cheek. “Sure, babe. No problem.” As he walked away, he heard her opening a box of crackers that he knew she used to calm her stomach. A glance back told him Xena was going to wait at her feet, hoping for some crumbs to drop.
Jonathan climbed the stairs to the loft bedroom, James at his heels. He knocked lightly, waiting until Kevin told him to come in before entering. He found Candi in bed with Kevin spooning her. She sniffed when Jonathan walked over, but at least she wasn’t crying or moaning anymore.
“Hi,” Jonathan said, sitting down on the edge of the bed nearest his sister. “How are you feeling?”
“Like crap, thank you very much.”
“Shhhh, you’re fine,” urged Kevin, “just a little freaked out, which is understandable.” He squeezed her three times fast. “Come on, babe, you’re fine. You made it back here, mission accomplished, and you did it without our help. You’re amazing.”
“No, we aren’t amazing. We left the stupid car there and had to outrun a police officer who was suspicious of us from the minute he saw us. He’s not going to give up until he finds us, and this town is too friggin small to hide in for longer than a couple days.”
Jonathan felt a small spark of fear over their situation. He had to do something to fix it so he could concentrate on other things. “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I’m thinking that Kevin and I need to go into town right now and see what we can do about getting the car back.”
“I agree,” said Kevin, sitting up.
Candi’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. “Don’t leave me.”
Kevin leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back soon. Just take a nap. I think you’re exhausted.”
“I’m too sick to take a nap. Sick to my stomach.”
“Jesus, I hope you’re not pregnant too,” said Kevin, stark fear flashing across his face.
Candi slapped him on the arm. “I’m not pregnant, idiot. I’m just freaked out, okay?”
Kevin put his hand on his chest. “Thank all the holy things in this world. One morning-sick chick is about all I can handle.” He patted her leg before getting out of the bed. “Rest until your stomach feels better, have some lunch, and by then we’ll be back.”
“Did you hide the hotwiring job we did when you parked the car?” asked Jonathan.
“Yes, of course I did.”
“Okay. Don’t get offended, I was just asking.”
Candi sat up, her funny hair sticking out in all directions. Jonathan schooled his features to look normal. He knew if she looked at her hair right now or knew that it looked like this, she’d probably go right over the edge.
“The car is parked just a few spaces from the front door of the market. I’m not sure if that cop will go back there or if he’s even still there. It’s not like he chased us out of the lot or anything. We left him standing on the sidewalk. And Sarah did the smart thing - she left going in the wrong direction to throw him off. She got back in the right direction by taking some side roads, so if he followed us at all, he’s probably going in the wrong direction.”
Jonathan nodded, proud of his girlfriend’s evasive maneuvers. She was really good at thinking on her feet. He hoped their child inherited whatever gene in her DNA sequence that was responsible for that type of brain development. “Ready?” he asked Kevin, patting his sister’s arm a couple times before walking to the door.
“Yep. I just gotta take a leak first. Meet you outside.”
Jonathan nodded, walking down to the kitchen where he found all the food still out on the counter and Sarah happily munching away on crackers. There were crumbs all over the counter. He cleared his throat, wondering how he could say what he needed to without getting her mad.
“Don’t even open that mouth of yours,” she said, spraying some crumbs out of her mouth onto the table. “I know exactly what you’re thinking. Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean up my mess before Sugar Lump gets out of bed.”
“Will you put away the groceries too?”
“Yes, yes, yes…” She waved him away. “Go save our butts. I’ll take care of the groceries and the shivering hunk of nerves in the other room.”
Jonathan walked over and kissed Sarah on the head. “Be gentle with her, okay? I think she’s really scared.”
“I’m more the tough love type,” said Sarah, sounding grouchy now.
“I know. And usually that works. But this time, I’m not sure it’s the best course of action.”
“Just go get the car. Everything’s going to be fine as long as you get back without being caught.” She stood, brushing crumbs off her lips and puckering them up for a kiss.
Jonathan complied, resisting the urge to pull her close for a more thorough coupling. She always knew how to get his engine revving.
The sound of a real engine growling caught his attention. “I think we have to go now.”
“Be safe,” she said, smacking him on the butt before letting him go.
“I will. You too. Maybe keep the dogs inside while we’re gone.”
Sarah nodded, whistling so James would come in from the porch. Xena was still standing at her feet. Jonathan turned on his way down the stairs, happy to see both dogs on either side of Sarah, inside the screen door. If nothing else, he knew James would bark like a mad dog if anyone came anywhere near the cabin.
***
Kevin had only ridden a motorcycle once before, so he was no expert on the machines or anything. But he didn’t need to be, to know he was taking one sweet ride on this bike that the girls had bought. It purred like a big cat and had incredible power. He’d goofed around a couple times on Jonathan’s girly scooter for fun, but it had nothing on this beast. He smiled at the scenery going by in a blur. Jonathan was yelling at the side of his head, and he had to strain to hear him through the thick helmet.
“I think you should stop down the road from the plaza! I’ll walk to the car. I’m going to leave in the wrong direction like Sarah did. You follow on the bike and make sure no one is following the car, okay?”
Kevin nodded. “Yeah! Good plan! Take some neighborhood streets! It’ll be harder for someone to follow you and not be noticed in there!”
“Okay! Better pull over soon!”
They had reached the main part of town and Kevin could see the sign announcing the entrance
to the plaza not far ahead. He pulled into a gas station and looked down at the gas gauge. He stopped at the pumps, shutting down the engine.
Jonathan got off the bike and took the helmet from his head. He studied the back of the bike for a minute before messing with some elastic straps back there that would secure his safety gear. “Are you going to get some gas?” he asked when he was done.
“Yeah. Might as well. It’s pretty low.”
“You have money?”
“Yep. I got it covered. So you’re going to go down there and get the car and take off that direction, right?” Kevin nodded towards the opposite side of the plaza.
“Yes. I’ll go in a store of the plaza first and watch the car for a few minutes to be sure it’s safe to go up to it. If it looks like it’s all clear, I’ll get in and start it up and drive out.”
“I’ll follow you like two blocks back. If I see anyone following you, I’ll try and do something to get them off you and onto me; then I’ll lose ‘em.”
Jonathan frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“You have a better one?”
“Well, if someone’s following me - which I’ll assume that would be a police officer because I don’t know who else would follow me - perhaps I’m better off just getting out of the car and running.”
“Nah, man. If you do that, they’ll have the car and probably figure out we’re here. We’ve blown too much of our wad on the rental of that cabin. We can’t afford to leave it and find another place. We’d have to stay in a friggin abandoned building or something, and Sarah won’t be good there.”
“No,” agreed Jonathan. “I wouldn’t want her in a place like that. Candi either. There could be asbestos dust and rats carrying bacteria and who knows what else.”
“Exactly. So if you’re followed, I’m gonna come by and do what I can to get in between you and the cop and give you a chance to get away.”
“Okay. And if that fails, I’m going to jump out of the car and hope you can swing by in time to pick me up. If not, I’ll walk back to the cabin.”
“That’s a long walk, man.”
“Yes, but it’s manageable. I have my Wal-Mart running shoes on. I can jog most of the way.”
“Good. We have a plan. And if nothing else works, if everything just goes in the crapper, say what the fuck and just go for it.”
Jonathan nodded absently and started jogging away. Kevin walked towards the store so he could pre-pay for his gas. Before he got to the door, Jonathan turned and yelled, “What exactly does that mean?!”
Kevin laughed. “Whatever you want it to mean!” He shook his head at Jonathan’s expression. The dude was going to try and figure that out the entire way back to the car - maybe even all the way back to the cabin. He hoped it wasn’t going to distract him from what they needed to get done.
***
Jonathan stood in the thrift shop near the window, keeping an eye on the car. He was holding a small elephant, turning it over and over in his hand, when a lady came up to him.
“Are you interested in purchasing that? It’s only a dollar. All of our profits go to charity.”
Jonathan looked away from the car. “Uhhh … yeah.” He pulled a dollar out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“Stay right there, and I’ll get you a receipt.”
“Oh, I don’t need one. That’s okay.” He shoved the little porcelain figurine into his pocket, turning back to the parking lot. So far there’d been no activity out there, other than shoppers coming and going. Might as well get this over with. He looked back at the lady who was standing behind the cash register, ringing up his purchase. He waved goodbye when she looked over, and she smiled in return. Nice people in this town. I hope she doesn’t think I was going to rob the store. His behavior was pretty suspicious. He was glad to be leaving and doing something to fix their situation.
He counted his steps as he walked around the plaza sidewalk. At first he was just going to make a bee-line to the car, knowing the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. But on a whim he decided to go a more circuitous route. It was less obvious that way. As he reached the door of the grocery store, he was preparing to leave the sidewalk when he glanced at the glass entrance and noticed a police officer standing inside. Jonathan might have just ignored him and continued on his mission, except for one thing: he was just standing there, staring out into the parking lot. Jonathan’s blood ran cold. It has to be the guy that Sarah was talking about. He wasn’t looking at the Camry right now, but he was definitely looking for something.
Jonathan didn’t know what to do. He could try and wait him out, but he didn’t look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. And Kevin wasn’t there to help him put together a plan. He needed more time to analyze the situation and come up with a solution. And the first step was to stop standing there in one spot staring at the guy. He forced his feet to move in the one direction they didn’t want to go - towards the police officer.
He entered the store, barely sparing the man a glance. He took a hand basket from a stack, not five feet from the guy’s back. The officer glanced at him and nodded briefly in greeting before returning to staring out the window.
Jonathan walked away, headed for the aisle farthest on the left, his mind churning out idea after idea. Hostage situation? No, absolutely not. Do not involve innocent strangers. Leave the car? No. He’s definitely looking out into that lot for a reason. I don’t know for sure if he knows the Camry belongs to the girls. Maybe he’s not even looking for them or anything else. Maybe he’s just bored. Maybe he’s doing security for the store. But no matter what, I have to get the car out of there. If there’s a chance he hasn’t run the plates and hasn’t figured out it’s stolen, I can’t give him time to do that. What I need is a distraction.
Jonathan put together a plan based on his last coherent thought, racing through the aisles as fast as he could without calling too much attention to himself. Paper towels and diapers … check! He held the two packages together as closely as possible, hoping if there were any cameras that they would only see one item in his hands.
He entered the hardware aisle, relieved to see he was alone - at least for now. Scanning the ceiling above him, he didn’t see any cameras that could identify him in this aisle. He figured the store probably had them somewhere; it seemed like everyone did these days. But at least none of them would catch him doing this deed.
He put the paper towels down on the ground, tucking the diapers under his arm. He reached over and took a bottle of lighter fluid off the shelf, opening it quickly and spraying several ounces of its contents all over the paper towel package. A group of lighters was hanging from a hook display on the aisle, so he quickly pulled one down, tore the packaging open, and flicked the lighter on. He leaned down and touched the flame to a splattering of the fluid on the ground, and it immediately caught fire.
He didn’t stick around to see what was going to happen. He raced to the end of the aisle and then casually turned the corner, going down three aisles before turning back the other direction, headed towards the cash registers. He pulled a random can of something off the shelf and proceeded to the nearest line. Luckily it was empty. He tried not to scream with the pent-up anxiety that was making his heart race and his sweat glands go into overdrive, but it was nearly impossible. He tapped his foot on the floor over and over to try and give himself some sort of pressure relief. The lady who was scanning his two items looked at him funny.
Jonathan smiled. “I have a baby.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“At home. It’s not just mine. It’s my girlfriend’s too.”
She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s nice. That’ll be fourteen dollars and eighty-two cents.”
Jonathan’s eyes widened. “Wow. Those are expensive.”
She said nothing, just waited for him to pay.
He handed her a twenty-dollar bill, wondering when someone was going to discover the burning mass
of plastic and paper towels he’d left behind.
Just as she was counting out his change, someone screamed. “Fire!”
He’d been expecting something like that, but it still made him jump in fright.
“What?” said the lady, frowning, looking out into the store, her hand frozen over her open register drawer.
“There’s a fire over here in the hardware aisle!” yelled a lady. “Fire! Fire!”
A couple of men who’d been standing at the customer service desk left their posts and ran in the direction of the yelling.
Jonathan grabbed his bag and headed towards the exit.
“Wait! You forgot your change!”
“There’s a fire! I need to evacuate!” he yelled back, wanting to run, but making himself walk fast instead. The police officer who’d been standing at the door ran past him as he approached. As soon as he was gone, Jonathan ran for the parking lot.
He didn’t bother to look if anyone was watching or coming for him. He opened the door, and threw the diapers into the front passenger seat. After getting in, he pulled out the ignition assembly that Candi had placed back in its spot to make it more difficult to see that it had been taken apart. He reached inside the small hole on the steering column and pulled out the two wires that had been secured together with the black electrical tape. Taking out the third wire, he touched the tip of it to the others that had just a very small metal end exposed.
The engine tried to turn over once, twice, and then finally on the third attempt roared to life. Jonathan quickly attached his seatbelt, put the car into reverse, and started to back out. He yelped when a car came zooming past him, slamming on the brakes. It seemed like everyone who’d been in the store was deciding to leave at the exact same time. It was a mass exodus from the plaza. He had to wait for two more cars to go past before he could back out. He looked in his rearview mirror as he pulled out, noticing the police officer running out and over to his car that was parked at the curb about twenty yards away from the entrance.
***