Exit Strategy (22 page)

It took Evelyn twenty minutes to arrive.

“Still there?” she whispered as she crept up the alley toward me.

“I think so. I’ve done three walk-bys, but I’m afraid of being too obvious.”

“I’ll take a turn, then. What am I looking for?”

I described him. She nodded and headed for the street.

Two minutes later, as she headed back toward me, the coffee shop door opened and the man walked out. I slipped back into the shadows. As soon as Evelyn appeared at the corner, I waved her over.

“He’s—” I whispered.

“Yes, I know. Stay—”

I swung past her, slid to the end of the alley and pulled the compact from my pocket. Through it, I watched the man stride into a phone booth. He dropped his briefcase, picked up the receiver and dialed.

Evelyn appeared at my side.

“Making a phone call?” she said, without even glancing in the compact mirror.

I nodded.

“Does star-69 work at pay phones?” she whispered.

“No idea.”

“Damn. Probably no time anyway. Where’s he parked?”

I hitched a thumb in the direction. “Half a block down, on this side. The main exit is off this road.”

“Here’s the plan, then. We’re ending this here. I’m going straight down this road, and you’re going to circle around the back way—over the curb, through an alley, whatever will get you out on the other side. Then you’ll wait for my signal. If you don’t see me, let him go. That means it isn’t safe. There’s only one way out of town, so if he leaves, we can catch up with him. Now where’s my car?”

I paused. Considered her “plan”…and how much sense it made.

“One lot to the west,” I lied.

“Keys?”

I made a show of searching for them, knowing she’d given me the backup set and still had hers.

“I have mine,” she said after a moment. “Just go.”

I drove to the lot where Evelyn was hurrying along the rows, her keys in hand, her lips moving in silent curses as she searched for her car.

I didn’t have time for this. Every moment I delayed was another moment for my target to escape. I should have left her here. I’d wanted to. The moment she’d given me the instructions, I knew she was planning to give me the slip and go after my pursuer herself, and I’d wanted so badly to say, “Fine, then,” take her car and peel out after him myself, leaving her where she’d planned to leave me—stranded in some no-name town.

I’d have been justified in doing so. Jack would have agreed. But letting Evelyn out of my sight wouldn’t be the smart move. After this, I trusted her less than ever. All the more reason to keep her at my side, where I could watch her.

So, I forced myself to turn into that lot, unclenched my hands from the wheel, forced my frustation—my rage—down, pulled up alongside her and put down the passenger window. She shook her head and reached for the door handle. I hit the lock button.

“Lean in first and toss your gun on the floor.”

She glared over at me. “We don’t have time—”

“I’m not the one playing games. Now get your gun out and on the floor or I go after him by myself.”

She looked around, then dropped it onto the seat. I leaned over and laid it on the floor.

“Backup weapon, too,” I said.

A colorful oath, but she took out the second gun and put it into the car. I unlocked the doors, and was moving again before she had hers closed.

“Leave your guns on the floor,” I said. “You can reach them if you need to, but not without me seeing you.”

She fastened her seat belt. “Nicely played. I’m impressed.”

“Well, I’m not. I don’t like games, Evelyn. Maybe you were testing me. Maybe you didn’t think I was competent enough to come after this guy with you. Maybe you wanted to make sure I
didn’t
go after him. If that’s it, and you’re protecting him or you’re in on this—”

“Then I would have killed you in that alley.”

“Maybe. All I’m saying is that just because I picked you up doesn’t mean I trust you.”

She smiled. “Good girl.”

His car turned off at an exit ramp. I noted which way he turned at the top, then put on my signal.

“So who do you think this is?” she asked.

I told her. She pursed her lips, saying nothing.

“Doesn’t that make sense?”

“It would certainly make our lives easier, wouldn’t it?” Before I could reply, she pointed at the signs atop the exit ramp. “Well, either he’s hungry or he’s holing up for a while. There’s nothing else up here.”

We found his car in an Econo Lodge parking lot.

“Pull over behind that transport.”

“Shouldn’t I park in another lot?”

Evelyn shook her head. “You’re not parking, just stopping and getting out. I saw a mall at the last exit. I’m going back for supplies while you watch which room he takes and keep an eye on it. I doubt he’ll go any farther than one of these restaurants before I get back.”

“So we’re going to interrogate him, I assume.”

“I prefer ‘talk,’ but yes, that’s the general plan.”

“What are you picking up?”

“Basic supplies,” she said. “Gloves, duct tape, rope…” She met my gaze. “Is that a problem?”

“Better grab garbage bags, too.”

Evelyn knocked on the motel room door. She hadn’t altered her disguise from earlier—blue-rinse hair, pince-nez, polyester slacks, a flower-dotted cardigan and a purse big enough to defy airplane carry-on regulations.

When no one answered, she rapped again and called out in a querulous voice.

“Harold? Harold? I can’t find my key.”

The door cracked open, the chain jangling, then snapping taut with a click. Standing by the hinges, I could see nothing of the person inside, meaning he couldn’t see me, either.

“No Harold here, lady.”

“What?” Evelyn leaned forward, blinking nearsightedly. “Who are you? Where’s my Harold?”

“You’ve got the wrong room.”

The man started to close the door, but Evelyn’s foot darted into the gap, leaving him no choice but to keep it open or crush her. Even cold-blooded killers have their limits.

“Look, lady—”

“Stop whispering, young man. I can’t hear you. Where’s my Harold? Open this door right now.”

“You’ve got the wrong—”

Her voice rose to a screech. “Open this door!”

I tensed, listening for a certain sound…

“Lady—”

“If you don’t open—”

Click. He’d disengaged the chain. I kicked the door open.

TWENTY-THREE

As the door crashed open, the man flew back. I swung in, gun raised, Evelyn covering me.

“On your knees,” I said.

The man froze, but didn’t drop. His gaze flicked down, presumably to the gun holstered under his jacket.

“Hands up and get on your knees,” I said as Evelyn closed the door behind us.

Still he hesitated, and I knew what he was thinking. He wasn’t about to drop for a couple of women—and one a senior citizen. Better to take the risk, pull the gun and trust that he could get the drop on us.

I pretended to glance toward Evelyn, as if getting her opinion. The moment I moved, he went for his gun. I kicked his kneecap and he dropped down with a grunt. When he looked up and saw my gun pointed in his face—and Evelyn’s at the side of his head—he decided to raise his hands.

I ordered him onto his stomach, hands to his sides, palms up. Evelyn motioned that she’d stand cover while I bound him, but I shook my head. I wasn’t lowering my gun and my guard while she had a gun. Not after that stunt in the parking lot.

As she bound him with the duct tape, I took a closer look at the man. Did he bear any resemblance to Manson? It was hard to tell, since I presumed he was wearing makeup. He was certainly bigger than Manson, but that could come from his mother. The age seemed reasonable.

Evelyn patted him down, removing a 9mm, a hidden switchblade and a wallet. When she finished, I repeated the pat down. If she was offended at my double-checking her search—and her binding job—she gave no sign of it.

I took the wallet. Inside were a half-dozen twenties, some smaller bills and a Virginia driver’s license. The name and the license were fakes, but I had no idea how good a forgery it was. That’s the beauty of using out-of-state licenses. If you get pulled over, chances are the officer who writes up your ticket wouldn’t know a real license from a fake.

“Robert,” I said. “Would you prefer Rob or Bob?”

The man only glared up at me.

“Bert, then,” I continued. “You look like a Bert to me. So, Bert, not exactly a story you can barter for beer at the legion hall, is it?”

“You made me, didn’t you?” he said, eyes on mine, voice as calm as if we were indeed discussing this at the legion.

“A takedown in a prison parking lot? In front of witnesses?” Evelyn shook her head. “Amateur hour.”

“I could have done it,” he said.

“But you didn’t. You fucked up. Having a mark make you before you even get within firing distance? Unbelievable.” Evelyn stepped forward, eyes trained on his. “But you didn’t have all the facts, did you? You didn’t know she was a pro.”

“Pro?” Bert squinted at me. “She’s a hitwoman?”

“No,” Evelyn said. “You just got your ass kicked by the Avon lady.”

His squint narrowed to a slit. “He told me she was a con artist.” A sharp twist of the lips. “Paying me five grand to off a pro? Fuck, I deserve twenty for this.”

“For what?” Evelyn said. “You didn’t kill her.”

Bert shrugged his brows as if he hadn’t abandoned the hope of collecting.

“And for me?” Evelyn said.

“Two.”

“Two grand?
Two
—”

I stepped forward, cutting her off. “Who hired you?”

Evelyn waved me back. We stared each other down for a few seconds, then I rolled my shoulders and moved beside Bert, gun at the ready. I’d already taken the muscle role. Too late to change my mind now.

“Who hired you?” she asked.

“I want to make a deal,” he said.

“Do I look like Monty Hall? Here’s your deal: either you tell me or you never leave this motel room.”

His gaze shifted from Evelyn to me. “Look, if you’re a pro, you know the score. If I go blabbing on my employer, my life ain’t worth shit.”

“And if you don’t, it ain’t worth shit, either,” I said.

He turned his attention to Evelyn.

“You’ve got to understand,” he said. “This isn’t some nobody I’m dealing with—”

“Isn’t it?” she said, taking a seat on the bed. “Perhaps he was a somebody once, but now he’s a toothless old lion desperate not to cut his last years short. That’s why he called you, isn’t it?”

I glanced sharply at Evelyn, but her gaze was riveted on the hitman.

“You know then,” he said. “So why are you asking me?”

“For confirmation.”

“Yeah, it was Little Joe Nikolaev. He said you two went to see him yesterday and he let something slip. Something big. I don’t know what it was, but he said if Boris heard, that was it. He’d shut him up for good.”

So
that
was what this was about? That old hit Little Joe had let slip, the details of which I’d already forgotten?

For twenty minutes Evelyn prodded and probed, trying to find out whether there could be a Helter Skelter connection. She even asked point-blank if he knew anything about the killer, but it was obvious he didn’t.

“All right then,” she said. “You can’t tell us what you don’t know.”

“I held up my end,” he said, gaze lifting to hers. “Now it’s your turn.”

She nodded. “Fair is fair. Dee?”

I walked behind him, aimed the gun at the base of his skull and pulled the trigger.

TWENTY-FOUR

Thirty minutes of driving and Evelyn had yet to say a word. Finally, I glanced her way. “You think I made the wrong decision. Killing him.”

“If you didn’t, I would have. Let him live, and he’d only keep trying to finish the job. We humiliated him. In such a situation, there’s no room for mercy.”

“So the problem is…?”

After a moment, she murmured, “No problem. Just…interesting.”

As soon as I got back, I took a shower. While I was dressing afterward, the hall floor creaked. One creak could be blamed on the older house, but a second told me someone was out there. I tensed.