arm and turned to Norman. “Do you have a clean handkerchief?”
“Sure.” Norman reached into his pocket, pulled out a white handkerchief, and handed it to Mike. “Here you go.”
“I need to open them, Hannah,” he told her. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“Go ahead,” Hannah said immediately. She assumed that Mike was attempting to preserve any fingerprints that might be on the suitcases, just in case there was something illegal inside.
“Stand back,” Mike said, waving them away from the pile of suitcases. “Better yet, stand right outside the door.”
Hannah and Norman exchanged glances as they moved toward the storage locker door. Hannah knew Norman had come to the same conclusion that she had. Mike was moving them away from the suitcases, just in case they contained any explosive devices.
“Okay. I’m going to open the first one,” Mike said, using the handkerchief to push back the fasteners.
Hannah couldn’t help it. She held her breath as Mike prepared to lift the lid. It was eerily quiet in the corridor, almost as if the walls themselves were anticipating some kind of drastic result. She moved a bit closer to Norman, and he slipped his arm around her shoulders. Despite the comforting embrace, she could feel her legs begin to tremble.
“Oh, great! Not again!” Mike exclaimed, standing back so that they could see the contents of the first suitcase.
“Money,” Hannah breathed the word. “More money!”
“Yes, but this is different,” Mike said, motioning them back inside. “Nothing larger than twenties this time and they’re mixed in with tens and fives.”
“What do you think that means?” Norman asked him.
“Escape money. It’s packed and ready to go. And no one will question the denominations. Hundreds would have been too risky to take with him. Someone might have questioned large bills and remembered more about him.”
“I get it,” Norman said quickly. “You can walk into a motel and pay with twenties. They’re a common denomination. Paying for a room with hundreds might raise some eyebrows, especially if you get change back. Not that many people walk into a cheap hotel or motel and pay with hundreds.”
“Exactly right,” Mike said. He closed the first suitcase and set it aside on the floor. “Go back outside. It’s time to check the next suitcase.”
“But the first suitcase was okay when you opened it,” Hannah pointed out.
“True, but that doesn’t mean the second one will be. Go out to the hallway, guys. I’m not going to open that suitcase with you two standing this close to me.”
“Okay, if you insist,” Norman agreed.
“I do. Now get out there and let me do it.”
Mike sounded very definite and Hannah realized that it was pointless to argue with him. She gave a little nod and followed Norman out the door and into the hallway.
“He’s just being really careful,” Norman whispered.
“I know,” Hannah responded in kind. “I guess we should probably be grateful he didn’t call in the bomb squad.”
“We don’t have a bomb squad,” Mike told them, startling them both. “And I wouldn’t do this if I had any reason to suspect that there was anything explosive inside.”
Hannah and Norman exchanged startled glances and Mike laughed. “I can hear you when you whisper. It’s pretty empty in here and it’s like a giant echo chamber.”
“What would you do if you thought there were explosives?” Hannah asked him.
“I’d put in a call to the Minneapolis Police Department. They’re big enough to have a bomb squad.”
Norman and Hannah waited until Mike opened the second suitcase and beckoned them back inside.
Hannah stared down at the contents of the second suitcase. “Clothes?” she asked, looking up at Mike.
“Yes, all packed and ready to take with him. Do you recognize these things?”
Hannah shook her head. “I’ve never seen Ross wear shirts like this before,” she said, pointing to several polo shirts in a variety of colors.
“But they don’t look new,” Norman noted. “And neither do those red and blue tennis shoes.”
“He probably bought them and took them to the cleaners to wash,” Mike speculated.
“But . . .” Hannah began to frown. “Ross never wore polo shirts. And he told me once that he didn’t like colored shoes. He said they were for kids. I never saw him wear anything but white tennis shoes.”
“Ross packed these things to change his image,” Mike explained. “That’s clever. Most guys who are going on the run buy new clothes, but they don’t generally think to change their style.”
“Is that a Chicago Bears football jersey?” Hannah asked, moving closer to stare at the shirt.
“Looks