Part 65 (2/2)
”Let me guess, was it Dave?”
Annja nodded. ”Yeah. Guy was a charmer. And he got his hooks in good with Jenny.”
”It was all an act,” Sheila said from the front seat. ”Dave was with me the entire time. Jenny was just a p.a.w.n in the plan.”
”Which one of you cooked that up, anyway?” Annja asked.
”Dave did,” Sheila said.
”I kind of thought he did,” Annja replied.
”What's that mean?” Sheila asked.
Annja shrugged. ”Just that for someone so devoted to you, it sure seems like he made a big effort to get any other women out here that he could. You should have seen the way he was talking to me last night at his place. You would have thought the guy had never been with a woman before he was so eager.”
”You're lying again,” Sheila said.
”Think that if you want, but the guy had a roving eye. It's probably better your brother shot him dead without consulting you first. Saved you both a whole lot of trouble.”
Sheila glared at Tom. ”You didn't have to kill him.”
”Yes, I did. He was becoming a problem. Besides, this drug thing was never meant to be a long-term partners.h.i.+p. Just enough to make us a few million so we could go south and disappear forever. We've got that.”
”But Dave was supposed to come with me,” Sheila said.
Tom sighed. ”Look, sis, you're going down to Latin America. You'll find another guy there.”
”But Dave was the first guy to love me for who I am, weight and all.”
”And those Latin dudes think chunky women are hot. Trust me, okay? By the time you get down there, you'll forget all about Dave and his broken wrist.”
”I'd better.” Sheila snapped her eyes to the front and stared hard out of the winds.h.i.+eld.
Tom kept his eyes focused on Annja. ”You're not going to turn her against me. Might as well stop trying.”
Annja ignored him. ”Where are we going, anyway?”
”Back to the site of your untimely escape earlier this morning.”
”The cavern? Why not shoot us someplace else? What's so special about that place?”
”It's not you guys,” Tom said. ”We've got another reason for needing to go back there. Our final s.h.i.+pment of drugs is waiting for us to pick up. Once we have it, we'll make the rendezvous and the exchange. In the morning, Sheila and me will drive down to the bank in Edison and make our final withdrawal.”
”Taking the money and running, huh?”
”You got it. We've got an appointment to pick up our new pa.s.sports tomorrow afternoon and then an evening flight down the coast to San Francisco. From there, we pick our choice of destinations, preferably someplace with no extradition treaty. Then we vanish into the pages of history.”
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