Chapter 17

But after he moved the stuff, Nate still did nothing but stare.

Unable to stop his mouth, Rusty said, “Maybe the cocaine’s in there with the jack?”

Nate got a look of sudden enlightenment on his face at that. He didn’t reply but did—finally—lift the carpet, and then the top to the Subie’s hidey-hole. He pulled out the jack and carried it to the side of the car by the flat—thank goodness on the left, the side away from the road.

Because New Zealand is one of those countries where people drive on the wrong side.

Rusty went to the front of the car and waited for Nate to pop the hood, but after Nate deposited the jack—accidentally showing off a bit of admirable working-man’s muscle as he maneuvered the heavy thing—he stood there examining the tire iron.

After waiting in silence for a time, Rusty thought he might have begun to understand. He doesn’t know what to do!“If you’ll pop the hood,” he said, “I’ll get the spare out from underneath it.”