“Annie, I’m sorry—”
“Shut it,” Trixie said, “and sit.”
For a moment, Gwen was afraid to obey her—not because she feared what Trixie would do, but because of the damage she’d done. The whole exchange had taken less than a minute, and already Annie was watching her like a stranger, her expression sad and bleak. Feeling like the world’s biggest asshole, Gwen walked back across the room to the table and sat down again, unable to meet either woman’s eyes. All that work she’d done in her anger-management classes had gone out the window the second she’d been frightened, and now she’d ruined everything. Again.
Trixie sat down and folded her hands in front of her on the table. “There now. That’s better. I know you’re a hothead, Gwen, but that kind of shit is unacceptable.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You got a nice gal here, and you need to treat her better than that.”
Gwen managed to make herself glance at Annie. She had tears in her eyes, and Gwen’s guilt was like the stab of a knife.
“Annie, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it ain’t,” Trixie said, still glaring at Gwen. “You had no right to behave that way, missy, and Annie, you didn’t deserve it. I had a husband that was always yelling at me, and it took me a long time to show his ass the door. Best decision I ever made. You two have some making up to do, but we don’t have time for that right now.” She paused. “For one thing, Gwen, you should know that I would never have a phone that could be traced that easily.”
Gwen’s stomach dropped. She’d been stupid to even consider that possibility.
“Oh.”
“Oh is right, you idiot. And two, Annie, I was going to suggest that you call those people myself. I should have known you were smart enough to do it on your own.”
Annie gave her a weak smile. “Really?”
Trixie patted her hand. “Really. Now what did y’all talk about?”
Annie licked her lips, her gaze darting from Gwen and then back to Trixie, staying on her. She sat up a little straighter. “I had to lie a lot.”
“Where does she think you are?”
“I accidentally told her New Mexico, but not the town.”
“Good—that’s fine. What else?”
“She knew about Tom, about how he got us out of town. She called him, and I guess he told her everything he knew. He didn’t know not to.”
“Again, totally fine.”
“I pretended that I was still on her side. I told her I was going to follow the plan she had for me—hide out for a while and then contact her again in a few weeks, when things cooled down.”
“How did she respond?”
Annie lifted a shoulder. “Fine—almost normal. She seemed worried, upset, but for me. She kept saying she had been afraid I’d be caught, and she was so glad I made it out of Texas.”
“Did you ask about the money?”
“Yes. She said it would be mine as soon as I got settled somewhere.”
“Did she ask about Gwen?”
“Yes. I told her we went our separate ways once Tom dropped us off. I said I gave her half of the money from the envelope.”
“How did she respond?”
“She wasn’t happy about it, but she seemed to believe me, as far as I could tell. She told me to call if I needed some more ready cash.”
“Anything else? You didn’t have any sense that she was on to you?”
Annie shook her head. “None.”
“So she’s either the world’s best liar and is playing the long game, or she really wants to help you.”
Gwen had made herself stay quiet this entire conversation, but she finally started to object. Trixie held up a hand. “Sit there for a minute more, dumbass. I’m talking to Annie right now.” She turned back to Annie. “So what do you think? Is she lying to you?”
Annie finally met Gwen’s eyes, and once again, Gwen felt as if she were being knifed through the heart. Annie still seemed distrustful, wary, and she hated to see that reaction in her eyes. She’d put it there, with her stupid temper.
Annie frowned. “I guess a part of me still wants to believe her, but I can’t. It would be easier, simpler, if she was telling the truth, but I don’t buy it anymore.”
“Did you ask her about the police showing up?” Gwen asked, unable to stay quiet. “When we went to get the envelope?”
“No—and she didn’t bring it up, either. I think she avoided it on purpose, since the game would really be up then. I mean sure, she could have lied about it, but there wasn’t really any reason for them to show up like that unless one of them called us in. She knows that, but I think she’s hoping I don’t.” She paused. “And something else, too. It wasn’t the words she was saying. It was her tone. A little too upset, if you know what I mean.”
“You think she was faking it,” Trixie said.
“Exactly. If I could have seen her face, I probably would have known for sure, but something about the way she was talking—it didn’t seem real.”
Trixie was quiet for a long time, and she held up a hand to silence Gwen again when she shifted in her seat. A touch of annoyance flashed through her, but she held her tongue, waiting.
Finally, Trixie smiled. “Okay, Annie. You did well. I can’t think of any reason she’d know for certain one way or the other. It might have been better to tell her you were in another state, but that’s pretty minor. I’m sure she’s like you—she’s doesn’t know if you know, but she’s probably hedging her bets. Do you think she’ll start moving the money?”
“I have no idea, but it’s probably pretty likely.”
“So that means we need to get on it if we’re going to do something. It’s now or never, ladies, if we want to try to move it on our own.”
Annie looked at Gwen again, her eyes searching, unreadable. Gwen thought she might be debating whether to include her in any of this now.
“Okay,” Annie said. “I’m in. What do we need to do?”
Trixie stood up. “First, follow me to my secret lair.”
Gwen had been there before and automatically moved toward the back door. Trixie had a storm shelter in the backyard that she’d converted to a kind of bunker for her computers. Several locks secured the metal doors, which opened in the middle. After a steep flight of steps, the three of them were down inside the computer hub. Despite several computer towers and large monitors on a small desk, and shelves of electronics and wires, the room was almost cold from the cooling system. It was also eerily quiet in spite of all the machines.
“The police came over one time to see if I was growing weed,” Trixie said, laughing. “Apparently this little setup uses the same amount of energy as a grow lab. Luckily they didn’t know what they were looking at when I showed them all this equipment, or I really would have been in some deep shit.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Annie said.
“Gwen, grab that box there,” Trixie said, pointing.
It was small but heavy, and Gwen had to use most of her strength to pick it up and move it to a small table in the center of the room. Trixie fiddled with the lock on the box before opening it. The box was lined with black foam, and three smallish black, plastic electronic boxes nestled inside in preformed cutout molds. Trixie examined them before pulling out one of the electronics.
“Okay, girls, this is how it works. When you go back to their house, you get to their computer, and you take the phone line from the computer out of the wall and plug it into this end here. Then you take the phone line on this end of the connector and plug it back into the wall. Dial in to AOL, and then give me a call.”
“How can we call you if the computer’s using the phone line?” Gwen asked.
“Oh, right.” Trixie walked across the small room and picked up a cellular phone. It was smaller than the phones Gwen had seen before, almost pocket-sized. She took it from her and inspected it, making sure she understood how it worked.
“Neat, huh?
” Trixie asked. “But you got to make sure it stays charged. Eats up juice like nobody’s business. I’ll give you a thing to plug into the cigarette lighter in your car so you can keep it powered up.”
“Will it call from up in the mountains?” Annie asked. “I thought these things had terrible range, or whatever.”
Trixie laughed. “Doesn’t work like that, but you’re right. You might have bad reception up there. If you do, make sure you hook up this connector right, dial in, and then hide it behind the desk the best you can. Then drive somewhere where you can call me and let me know I can start looking. I shouldn’t need to have you guys there, but you can always go back if you have to.”
Annie and Gwen shared a glance. The idea of breaking in two more times was unappealing, to say the least, but they didn’t have any choice.
“What happens if there’s nothing more on that computer?” Annie asked.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we have to,” Trixie said. “I have some friends that could help with a different way to do things, but I don’t want to call them if we don’t have to—too many cooks and all that. And anyway, you could always move on to blackmail next, instead.”
As the two of them went over the details again, Gwen realized she wasn’t satisfied with any of this. Annie might have moved on from her earlier anger at Susan, but Gwen hadn’t. She also knew that even if they managed to get the money, that woman was still out there somewhere. Susan wasn’t the kind to let things lie—even Gwen knew that, and she’d never met the bitch. Even if Annie managed to find some place that Susan could never trace, that was no way to live—looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. No, Gwen thought. Susan had to be out of the picture forever, rotting in jail, or, if necessary, dead and buried.
“I’ll start packing,” Gwen said, moving toward the stairs.
“Wait, what?” Annie asked.
“We should go now. If we get back there tonight, we’re less likely to run into anyone again.”
“I guess so.”
She sounded uncertain, but Gwen didn’t try to explain further. She left the two of them down there together, almost running up the stairs. She went back to their bedroom and grabbed a couple of clean outfits, stuffing them into her old leather bag on top of her tools. Her gun was still inside the little hidden compartment on the bottom, and she checked it quickly for obstructions or dirt. Annie appeared as she was putting it away.
She frowned. “You didn’t pack for me?”
Gwen hesitated, realizing that she had to come up with some kind of explanation. “You’re not coming.”
“Wait. What do you mean? Of course I’m coming!”
“It’s too dangerous,” Gwen said, pushing past her. Annie trailed her down the hallway back into the main room. The phone and the connecting box lay on the dining-room table, and Gwen picked them up and put them in her bag on top of the clothes.
Trixie, perhaps seeing something in their expressions, asked, “What’s happening?”
“Gwen thinks she’s going without me,” Annie said.
“What?”
Gwen sighed, setting her bag down on the table. She needed to lie, and she needed to lie well, or her whole plan would be blown. “It’s like this—two people cause twice the danger. If I go alone, I can slip inside and out again that much faster.”
“You think I’d slow you down?” Annie asked. She sounded hurt, indignant.
“Not exactly. It’s not just that. If I’m caught, I get a simple B and E charge, and I’m out on bail in a week. If you’re caught, you go back to prison. The stakes are too high.”
She started moving toward the front door, and Annie and Trixie ran to intercept her. They stopped in front of her, blocking the door.
“Stop being like this,” Annie said. “I’m coming with you.”
“You’re being stupid,” Trixie added. “You need her help, and you know it.”
“And you’re crazy if you think I’d let you go on your own,” Annie said.
Gwen felt a flash of impatient anger. While her excuse was almost entirely a lie, it was also a little bit true, and she needed them to buy it. It was too dangerous for the two of them to go. If she went on her own, Annie would be safe here with Trixie. Also, she needed to have a means to ensure that Susan would never have power over Annie again, and she needed time on her own to think of a way to do that. Having Annie along would make her secondary plan impossible unless she let Annie in on it, and she absolutely didn’t want to do that. Keeping her here would keep her safe from both the break-in and her other plan.
“Trixie,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”
Trixie looked as if she wanted to object, but she finally agreed, walking away. Gwen and Annie stared at each other in silence.
“Why are you doing this?” Annie said, her voice breaking with a sob. “Do you want to leave me?”
“That’s the last thing I want.” She didn’t say that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Annie—that she was terrified, in fact, that she wouldn’t get to do that. She also didn’t want to give away her plan. Instead, she pulled Annie into a long embrace, hoping she could show her this, if not tell her.
Eventually, Annie drew back, her eyes red and teary. “I wish you wouldn’t leave. If one of us should go, it ought to be me.”
Gwen shook her head. “I swear to God, I’m only trying to help you, Annie. If you knew how much you mean to me…”
“I’d what?”
Gwen was surprised to feel herself choke up, and she shook her head, unable to speak. Even getting that close to saying what she meant made her want to pull her into her arms and never let go. Annie watched her for a while, her expression softening.
“Okay, Gwen. If this is how you think it has to be, I won’t try to stop you. I wish you’d stay and explain this to me better, but I can see that I’m not going to change your mind.”
“I just want to keep you safe. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“Don’t you think I want the same thing? I don’t want you risking your life for me.”
Gwen grabbed her hands, squeezing them. “I’m not, and I won’t. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Annie frowned but didn’t object any further, and Gwen left her there to tell Trixie she was going. Trixie was clearly disgusted with her, but Gwen didn’t have time to smooth things over. If she let this go on too long, she’d cave. She had to get out of here before she had second thoughts. She gave Annie a quick kiss good-bye and rushed out of the house, getting back into the sweltering car and driving away with only a quick wave to the two of them on the front stoop.
Three blocks away, she had to pull over to cry, shaking with nerves and sorrow. If she screwed this up, she might never see Annie again. Cursing her own weakness, she wiped her eyes and face hard and painfully. Annie was what mattered, and that’s why she had to do this. She pulled back into the street and drove away.
Chapter Sixteen
The mountain road was even creepier at night. She’d driven hard and fast from Roswell, pushing the speed limit more than she should, given that she was still driving a stolen car. It had been long enough that the plates were very likely in the system, so if someone pulled her over, she’d be caught. Still, she’d needed to make it to Santa Fe sooner than the others expected to give herself some time to snoop, and she’d gotten here almost an hour early.
The mobile phone beeped about a mile from the interstate, and when she slowed for a movement to examine it, she could see that she was now out of service range. She would have to drive all the way back here to call Trixie. She could picture the two of them in Trixie’s house, Annie pacing the floor, Trixie sitting by the phone. She might have a little extra time before they really began to worry, but either way, she needed to move quickly. She parked the car behind the same group of bushes as last time and got out, surprised by the cold, almost bitter mountain air. Her denim jacket was entirely inadequate, and she
suppressed deep shivers.
Her tool bag had a little flashlight inside, but she kept it off as she walked up the long, steep driveway. This too was more nerve-wracking than it had been last time, as she didn’t know what to expect when she reached the top. Last time, she and Annie had been able to see that the house was empty, but she didn’t have any way to tell now. It was too late at night for Susan or Bill to be up, if they were here, and in the nearly total darkness, she wouldn’t be able to see any cars until it was too late.
She paused at the top of the driveway, ducking behind a large prickly pear. They were almost sure to have motion-sensor lights on every side of the house, so she would only have a minute or two to check the garage before needing to hide again if they were here. Her bag was hindering her movement a little, so she slung it off and set it down by the cactus. She dug around inside and found the connector box and her lock picks, sliding one into each of her jacket pockets before standing up. She rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen up a little, and then ran, as fast as she could, toward the garage. The lights turned on at once, startling in their brilliance, almost blinding her.
The windows into the garage were too high off the ground, and Gwen was forced to jump, foolishly, trying to look inside. She realized at once that it would be impossible. It was too dark to see anything. She made herself stop and take stock, listening. She could hear nothing, and no lights had turned on inside the house. She’d have to risk it.
She walked directly toward the front door, pausing to peer inside the large, front windows. It was too dark to see much beyond the first few feet of the entryway, but as far as she could tell, no one was here. She took out her lock picks and went to the door. She’d watched the little girl, Jen, when she entered the alarm code, so she saw no reason to try to sneak in any other way. She crouched in front of the lock, chose the right picks for this model, and started to work on it. Several long minutes later, she finally felt it start to give and stood up as the tumblers turned with the tools in her hands, the lock audibly clicking.
She put her hand on the knob, waiting again, ear pressed to the door. She was almost certain the house was empty. All of these outdoor lights had been on for at least five minutes now, and she wasn’t trying to hide what she was doing. More than likely, monitors somewhere inside the house were hooked up to all these cameras, which meant anyone looking would have spotted her immediately. Actually, someone could be staring out one of these windows at her, and she wouldn’t know. They could be standing on the other side of the door waiting for her. The police could be on their way, or the owners might decide to take matters into their own hands. This house was isolated enough to do whatever they wanted, and from what Annie had told her, she was sure Susan was capable of anything.
On the Run Page 16