Chapter 2

“Whoever I send will find you and call you Harvard. That’s the key word.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll call you back.” The phone went dead.

Cam clicked her phone off.

Fuck! Now I just have to stay out of sight until everyone leaves. And I’ve got to explain why I’m still here. She looked at her watch. It was 4:45. She walked back around to the front entrance of the store. As she pulled the door open, she looked into the eyes of one of the policemen standing outside the main door. Just for that split second she thought he recognized her. She averted her eyes slowly, turned, and nonchalantly walked back into the store, her phone to her ear.

“Oh, all right. We can deal with it tomorrow…No, I’ll get something to eat here…I’ll be fine. See you later.” She clicked the phone off. She’d spoken just loud enough for the store clerk to hear. Of course, there was no one on the other end of the line.

Cam chuckled and mentally shook her head. Watch yourself, Andrews, one of these days you’ll be doing something like this and the phone will actually ring! Then everything will blow up right in your face.

Before she could do or say anything else, two State Troopers entered the store. She concentrated on the different bags of chips as if trying to decide which to buy.

“That was easier than I thought it would be,” one of the men was saying. “I thought there’d be more people running that route. The Captain expected at least two or three.”

“Especially with all the stuff he was carrying.”

“Probably thought one man driving alone wouldn’t be noticed.”

“Yeah, but I could have sworn there were two people in that car. They’re going to have to match up all the cars to the patrons. If someone doesn’t have a car, we’ve got the accomplice.”

“Yeah. You know, I hate it when the Feds run the bust. Everything has to be so precise. We could have been here fifteen or twenty minutes ago and be waiting when he drove in. But, no! Now we have to look for someone we’re not even sure exists.”

Cam took a bag of corn chips to the counter, paid for them, and walked out into the parking lot toward the cars furthest away from the front door.

Damn! I’m happy they weren’t early. I was driving. I would have been arrested along with Dave and I will notgo back to prison. If I get arrested again, this whole thing is down the tubes. Dickey can find someone else.

Turning to see if anyone was watching she slipped around the side of the building and then around back. There was a half dozen eighteen-wheelers parked back there with a handful of smaller trucks. Most of the cabs were empty with the truckers inside the restaurant getting a good meal so they could drive a few more hours.

Cam walked purposefully out toward the lot, flipping through her keys to make it look like she belonged there. She walked between two of the rigs that had empty cabs, then around the back of the farthest one. A patch of grass about four or five feet wide bordered the back lot, with bushes and trees beyond that. A small chain link fence also stretched across the back. There was one place where the fence was bent over. A truck must have backed up too far. She switched her phone from ring to vibrate, climbed over the broken fence, and slipped into the bushes. She worked her way farther into the overgrowth until she was in a place that was far enough away so she could slip down behind a tree if anyone came looking for her.

She looked down at her clothing. The light blue T-shirt had to go; it was too easily spotted through the foliage. The beige polo shirt that she’d stuffed into her shoulder bag would have to do. It was still a little damp from the sweat she had accumulated as she had worked to load the car. She had known that on such a hot summer day, it wouldn’t be pleasant for two sweaty people in a car. She pulled it over her head. If she kept low enough it wouldn’t be immediately seen.

She finally wove her way into a deeper part of the bushes. The leaves weren’t really wet, but they were damp. It had rained in the night. She flattened her shoulder bag and placed it on the ground to sit on. Best not to have a wet ass for the rest of the night. She sank down onto it beside a thick oak tree and watched the activity in the lot as the police inspected most of the vehicles. She was far enough behind the trees and bushes that if she didn’t move, she probably wouldn’t be seen…at least not right away.