Pennsylvania, but why? She could be going beyond, further north. New York? But she hated New York, said it was too crazy. New Jersey? But she hated the beach, said it was too sandy. Further north?
Larry hurried to get dressed. He wanted to see what his wife was up to, once and for all.
CHAPTER 72
Julian Browne
Julian sped along the turnpike in the fast lane. The needle climbed from seventy to eighty, and the car wasn’t even breaking a sweat. It was simply the most stable vehicle he had ever owned, at any speed. He reflected that he himself was the same way. No matter how high the stakes, Julian kept his cool. As he’d told Allie, it was why he made the big bucks.
Everything was falling into place. He’d go down to the police station whenever and reiterate his statement. When the toxicology screens came in, they would confirm his story. The case would be closed in days. That left only Allie, who was driving into a trap, naïve enough to trust him.
Julian loosened his tie. So she’d consulted a lawyer, but at least she hadn’t used his name. When she ended up dead, there would be no connection to him whatsoever. They hadn’t even attended the funeral together. They barely knew each other, way back when.
Julian zoomed along, switching lanes to maintain his speed. Two cars up was a yellow Lambo, and he could take it but it wasn’t the time to risk getting pulled over. There were cameras everywhere on the highway, and he didn’t want to give the police any reason to track him or his travels. He wanted to preserve the randomness of it all—after all, it had begun randomly.
Julian thought back to the day they had buried the gun. It was random that Sasha and Allie had stumbled upon him and David in the woods, which had set in motion this chain of events. As soon as he got rid of Allie, he wouldn’t worry anymore. He’d managed to forget about Kyle for twenty years, but it had all come back when David died and Allie resurfaced. He’d expected she might come back for the funeral, but he hadn’t been certain, that had been random, too. Now the loose ends were about to be tied up.
Julian checked the clock on the dashboard, making good time. He remembered the way there, having gone with his father so many times when he was younger. He’d never realized that Mac was one of his father’s guys, even when Julian sneaked the bullets from the job trailer. Mac had told him that he had the gun there to prevent theft, but Julian wondered now if that was a lie, or the truth, or if it was random. Not that it mattered.
Julian accelerated. He thought of Sasha, slipping away on his bed. He wished he could have filmed it, then he could’ve watched it over and over. But that would’ve been far too risky. He wasn’t crazy.
He inhaled deeply, enjoying the cool and the stillness of the Mercedes sedan, motionless even at speed.
CHAPTER 73
Larry Rucci
Larry propped his phone up on the dashboard, keeping an eye on the dot that was his wife’s car. She was about half an hour ahead of him, and he couldn’t imagine where she was going.
He hit the gas, changing lanes, not wanting to lose ground. He couldn’t help feeling like an idiot all over again, like he was in denial about Allie, always chasing her around. Now, literally. Was there any better example of everything wrong with their marriage? What the hell was he doing? What the hell was he thinking? Why couldn’t she talk to him before?
Larry felt his teeth grinding. He was so tired of being put off by her. It was even ridiculous that he had to have a stupid app to know where his wife was. He picked up his phone, scrolled to the phone function, and pressed in Allie’s number. It rang and rang, then she picked up.
“Hello, Larry?”
“Allie, where are you?” Larry asked, wondering if she would tell him the truth.
“I’m driving. I can’t tell you anything more than that, I don’t want to tell you now. I told you—”
“But you didn’t tell me anything. Where, exactly, are you?”
“Please, Larry,” Allie said, her tone turning firm. “I don’t want to explain on the phone, and I can’t tell you a little without telling you the whole thing. I want to tell you everything, but I want to do it