“They’re guarding against someone coming in, not going out.” While talking, he’d been tapping in Gif’s cell number.
He answered immediately. “Well, well. We’d about given up on you.”
“I need you to come pick us up.”
“Us? So she’s still with you?”
“Yes. Remember how to get to the mini-mart?”
“Sure.”
“How long will it take you to get there?”
“About forty-five seconds.”
Drex thought about it, then chuckled. “Who figured it out?”
“Mike. Said you had to be inside the house because a woman couldn’t possibly have dressed that fast.”
Talia had changed into jeans, a black t-shirt, and a rain jacket with a hood. A small bag hung from her shoulder. “You’d be surprised,” Drex said and winked at her. “We’ll meet you at the mini-mart.”
“You don’t have to go there. We’re on the next street. Where you and Talia had a four-minute chat that morning after I let you out at the mini-mart.”
“You sly dog.”
“Don’t get caught.”
They clicked off. Drex motioned to Talia’s bag. “I hope you chose well. I don’t know when you’ll be able to come back.”
She walked over to the nightstand and worked her wedding ring off her finger. With a plink, it landed on the crystal tray. “I’ll never come back.”
As they exited through the kitchen door onto the screened porch, Drex paused to set the alarm.
“Why are you doing that?”
“To piss off Rudkowski when he comes back.”
“He’ll know you’ve been in here.”
“That’s the beauty of it.”
“What’s with the two of you?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you sometime.”
He wasn’t as confident of making an escape unseen as he’d made out to be to Talia, but it had begun to rain harder. That helped. Plus he had cut through the lawn and the green belt enough times to know what areas of the back of the property were visible from the street in front.
Gif’s sedan was parked where he’d said it would be. He and Talia scrambled into the back seat, shaking off rainwater. “In the nick of time,” Gif said. “A convoy of squad cars just went through that intersection behind us.” He headed in the opposite direction. “Where to?”
“Just away,” Drex said. “Let me think.”
“We got a room at a suite hotel,” Mike said. “Within minutes of checking in, I figured out you’d never left the house. Where did you hide?”
Drex told them.
Mike grumbled, “Should’ve remembered that space from the floor plan.”
As though sparked by that comment, Talia spoke for the first time. “I’ve remembered something.” She turned on the seat toward Drex. “Were you watching us that day before we went to the airport?”