Lullabies and Lies - By Mallory Kane Page 0,43
be sure neither Sunny nor the FBI agent left.
They had to have gotten a call. Probably from Bess Raymond.
Ed had told him that Janie had taken the Loveless baby to Bess. That was a mistake, in his opinion. He’d never met the woman who kept Janie’s babies. But he figured she’d been as relieved as he had when Ed and Janie had gotten out of the baby-selling business.
Then, like him, Bess had been jerked back into it. He wouldn’t be surprised if her conscience was eating at her. He could understand how she felt.
But he needed the money. Conscience didn’t pay the bills.
The motel room door opened. It was the agent, bringing out two bags. He turned around and said something to Sunny, then headed for the metal stairs leading down to the parking lot.
Good. They were on the road again. As soon as he could verify where they were headed, he’d call Janie. He wanted to be sure. He didn’t want to give Janie the wrong information. That could be bad for his health.
The rain got heavier as Sunny came out.
Hiram turned the wipers to high and listened to them stumbling over the glass as he cranked his car.
“Come on, old girl,” he muttered to his ancient Plymouth. “We’re back on the scent.”
“HOW CAN THE COFFEE be burned at nine o’clock in the morning?” Griff asked as he poured a cup.
“Probably because that machine hasn’t been cleaned since it was installed.”
He chuckled at the faint lift in Sunny’s voice. He hadn’t seen her smile yet, but she sounded more upbeat than she had in the four days he’d known her. “I notice it’s not stopping you from having a cup.”
She made a face at him. “Only because there’s no other choice.”
“We could have had breakfast at that restaurant—”
“No.” She pressed her lips together. “We’ve wasted enough time.”
Griff nodded. He agreed. He’d hoped to be well on their way before now. He expected a phone call from Lieutenant Carver any second, berating him for not notifying the police of the phone call.
He laid the packaged sweet roll and bag of chips next to the yogurt smoothie Sunny had picked up on the convenience store’s counter. “That all you’re having?”
She looked down at his items then up at him, her brows arched.
“Point taken,” he acknowledged, and laid his left hand over her proffered bill as he handed the clerk a twenty. “I’ve got it.”
She slipped her hand from under his and took a small step away. “Thanks,” she said.
He glanced over at her but she dropped her gaze, busy returning the bill to a pocket of her purse.
He grabbed the bag and the coffees, handing one cup to her as they exited the store.
Even though it was raining, he slid on his sunglasses and glanced around as Sunny climbed into the passenger side of the rental car. His gaze lit on an old, dark green Plymouth parked on the far side of the convenience store parking lot.
It was the same car that had been parked at the motel. Griff was certain of it. He recognized the dent in the left front fender. He squinted. There was a front tag, which told him the car was from Tennessee. He was too far away to make out the numbers through the misty rain.
There was someone in the driver’s seat but he couldn’t see anything but a dark, shapeless form.
He debated whether to just walk over and confront the driver. But he didn’t want to endanger Sunny, nor did he want any further delay.
He’d just give them a run for their money and see if they could keep up. If they did, he’d snag their license plate and call it in.
After handing the sack of food to Sunny, Griff climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled away. He turned back toward the motel.
“The interstate is north of here,” Sunny said, peeling the perforated tab off the lid of his coffee.
“Yep. I want to check something.”
“What?”
Griff didn’t answer. As he pulled into the right-hand lane, he glanced in the rearview and side mirrors. The green Plymouth followed suit, two cars back.
They were being followed.
“Hold on.” He took a quick right onto a side street, then an immediate left.
“We’re being followed?” She tried to look behind her.
“Hang on. Watch the coffee.”
At the next street, he whipped the wheel to the right at the last second and then turned right again. He watched the rearview mirror but couldn’t see the green car. He headed back toward the