“No idea. I saw the truck when we pulled out of the bank and the drive-through but figured one-road-town, you see the same vehicles everywhere.” She checked highway signs and her rearview mirror. “I thought we’d lost him at the casino.”
Jax realized she hadn’t been lying when she said she had eyes in the back of her head. Evie’s ADHD had benefits. Once focused, she managed to look everywhere at once and process what she saw in instants. He would never have noticed the cars around them. “When did you spot him again?”
“They must have been waiting for us to leave the casino. They’ve been about three cars back ever since. I tried speeding up, but they’ve stayed right there for miles now. Or I’m being paranoid and playing games. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.”
“Ramp ahead in two miles. We can pull off, cross the bridge, head the other way, see if they do the same.”
“Two miles, cool, got it. I’ve always wanted to play cops and robbers.” She pulled from between the semis, hit the gas, passed the line of trucks, and almost missed the ramp on the far side, correcting to hit the pavement, and speeding up to the narrow two-lane.
“Damn, you drive just like you grew up in California.”
“My mother taught me defensive driving. You really don’t want to know.” She pumped the gas pedal over the bridge.
Jax watched the highway below. “They’re stuck with the semis. You have two minutes on them.”
“Flat land sucks.” She took the ramp back to the interstate going west.
Jax couldn’t argue with that. He watched but the pick-up didn’t follow. “They missed the turn or we’re cracking up. They have another opportunity to turn around in a few miles, and then it’s just desert. Watch for a gas station. This car gets good mileage but their tank is bigger.”
“So is their engine. But it will give us a chance to see if they turn around.”
The desert didn’t harbor much in the way of gas stations. They were practically back in the town where they’d started before they found one. Jax filled the tank while Evie hunted for directions to a UPS or similar store. He kept an eye on trucks passing on the interstate, but the angle wasn’t good. The Subaru was pretty well hidden behind a building, so maybe they’d lost them. Or Evie had been imagining things.
“Let me drive again. You find the copy store and keep an eye out.” Jax knew he was capable of vehicular homicide if threatened. Evie wouldn’t be. The whole scenario had his nerves hopping. “I think I’ve sent photos of the most vital information. I still want to scan and mail the whole package so R&R can be working on it.”
“You don’t think someone has been waiting around for thirty years to see what’s in that box, do you? That’s kind of crazy.” She slid into the passenger seat. “Mr. Pendleton and the bank manager seemed to be perfectly harmless. I can’t imagine they set thieves on us over a bunch of old papers.”
“We don’t know we were being followed, but if we were—the receptionist recognized my name. Mr. Pendleton had his secretaries looking for my father’s old files. We talked to four people at the bank who know what we were after. For all that matters, Marge lives just on the boundary of my father’s old ranch and might have gossiped about how much I looked like him. It’s a small town. Gossip spreads. The question would bewhy.” Jax followed the phone’s directions to a small mail service office Evie had located.
“Did that old contract contain anything interesting besides the law firm connection?” Evie peered around as he parked. “No silver F100, but people could be watching for this car. Give me the keys. While you’re scanning, I’ll divert them.”
“You’re having a little too much fun with this.” Jax tucked the document file under his blazer and studied her. Short, with huge crystal-blue eyes, tousled orange curls, and wearing a bright red T-shirt that saidI should come with a warning label,Evie needed a warning label, for certain. Bad guys wouldn’t even look twice, and she’d have them wrapped in knots before they knew it. Or he was insane. Probably the latter. But she was right. Diversion couldn’t hurt.
“More than one contract, mostly for what appears to be motherboards. I’m no engineer, but apparently my father was. It appears he was doing more than mining silicon. I can only assume the contracts are evidence of some sort, or he was as paranoid as we are. Take your pick.”
“Then the circuit board we found might be evidence too. Use mail and not UPS. You can send the box to the post office in Afterthought and not use my address.” She popped out of her seat, took his keys, and slid beneath the wheel after he exited. “If you’re not here when I get back, I expect you to be in fast-food city across the street. I’ll hit the horn, hard, so you know I’m there.”
“You watch too many TV shows.” Except she didn’t own a TV. Jax slammed the door and watched Evie peel out of the parking lot. He checked to be certain no one followed her. She immediately turned down the side street and into a trailer park. Huh.
It took half-past forever to scan all the material and upload to his cloud account. Then he had the clerk package up the original documents and send them express to himself via Evie’s post office. No point involving any other names, in case the clerks talked too. He could hope Afterthought’s post office was as safe as a bank until R&R could pick them up.
While he texted his team the info, he watched out the window for battered silver trucks. A filthy white Subaru bearing a magnetic placard advertising a construction company pulled into the parking lot instead. A 4x4 stuck out the rear seat window, with a red flag tied to it. It took half a minute before he recognized his own car.
Going outside, he glared at the imp leaping from the front seat, dangling his keys. “It’s a damned good thing that isn’t my Jag.” He snatched the keys away.
“I think we need to head for LA. It’s easier to get lost there. And then you need to sell this baby so we can take a plane home. I’m nervous about leaving Loretta and my family alone.” She fled to the passenger side and climbed in without further explanation.
That sounded unpromising. “I have a trunk full of gear,” he protested, backing out of the lot. “Last-minute plane fare is expensive.” And his savings were dwindling rapidly.
“My ticket is paid. Checking your bags is less expensive than buying gas across the country. Plane ticket might be a little more than hotels and food, but we need to go home. I hope you’re not seriously attached to this car.” She crossed her arms and glared out the windshield, occasionally checking the side door mirror.
She’d already programmed her phone for directions. Jax followed the instructions back to the highway debating how attached one could become to a used Subaru.
“What happened?” Lacking her ability to look every which way at once, he scowled and relied on her instincts while he navigated traffic and the route.
“There are cop cars at Pendleton’s office. And a battered F100 on a side street, where a driver could watch. I took a photo of his license plate.”
* * *