They’d reached his car when she gasped. “His car seat,” she whispered.
“I got it.” He eased open the back door and gently placed Jacob in the seat, buckling him in with a deftness that told her he’d done this before. “Slipped out earlier,” he murmured. “Brought the potty seat, too. Lucky he didn’t need it.”
Her lips formed a “thank you.” She didn’t know if he heard it. The bags all went on the seat and floor by Jacob. Seth urged her into the front passenger seat. “Lock. I’ll get the rest.”
She did as he asked, watching the side mirror as he melted back into the darkness. With her awareness that they were alone, prickles of apprehension crawled up her spine. What if somebody lunged out of the darkness right now? That man in the mask could break the car window with one smash of a hammer, unlock the back door and have Jacob out before she could do much. A bullet could come out of nowhere and she’d be dead. Richard had sworn more than once that he would kill her if she fled. After she’d rejected the “deal” he proffered today, what was to stop him? For all his liberal stances, he owned a sizable collection of guns, from 9 mm handguns to rifles and worse.
She should have told Seth about Richard’s guns, and that he was an expert marksman. Was Seth armed tonight?
Nothing moved in the darkness. She swiveled to see that Jacob had sagged sideways in deep sleep again. He’d be up bright and early, but she could probably vacuum around his bed in the middle of the night without waking him.
Where was Seth? Please hurry.
As if she’d conjured him, a dark shape materialized behind the car. The trunk lid rose without a sound. Seth set his current load inside and eased the lid back down with barely a click that she felt more than heard. She unlocked the doors to let him in.
The minute he was behind the wheel, he locked them in again and started the engine.
“I’ll bet he’s watching,” she said.
Driving slowly down the alley, Seth glanced at her. “Round the clock surveillance is expensive.”
“He’s rich.”
“And conspicuous in a small town like this. You don’t think any of your neighbors wouldn’t call the police if they saw a guy sitting for hours on end in a car? Or lurking in the alley? Crossing backyards?”
“Yes, but...”
A warm hand covered hers where she clutched the seat belt. “Quit worrying.”
“I forgot to tell you that Richard owns guns. He target shoots a couple of times a week.”
In a different tone, Seth said, “Does he, now? Did he teach you to shoot?”
“He tried. It didn’t go well.”
“Why not?” He sounded genuinely interested. They’d exited the alley and were driving down a deserted street.
“It freaked me out. The way the gun leaped in my hand.”
“What kind of gun?”
“It was a Beretta M9, he said. Kind of tan colored.”
Seth grunted. “Pricey, which figures. Too big for you. If he’d really wanted to teach you, he’d have started with something with less punch and sized for smaller hands.”
Had Richard really wanted her to share his hobby? Funny, Robin thought, that she’d never asked herself that question, but in retrospect she thought his goal had been for her to see how deadly he was with a weapon in his hands. Precautionary intimidation. If only she’d guessed as much. She’d have become a crack shot if it killed her, scared him a little.
Seth drove several blocks before he added, “If somebody were to take a shot at you right about now, he’d be my number one suspect.”
“He may not know I’ve told you about him. He might think I’m hanging on to my Helen Boyd identity.”
“If this works, he won’t be able to find you either way. Seems likely he’ll assume you’ve taken off again.”
“I have.”
He chuckled quietly. “Less than a mile between Dad’s house and yours.”
They did some zigzagging along the way, Seth keeping an eye on the rearview mirror. Robin compulsively did the same using the passenger-side mirror. They had left town before the car slowed and he turned into a long dirt driveway. There seemed to be an orchard to one side and a pasture to the other.