cried. “It was my mother who called. I’m coming right with you.” I held the man’s hand. Saved by the bell. Literally. All I could do was think about getting the hell away from Cliffside, away from this nest of vipers.
And now I’d revealed the whereabouts of the money I had a very strong feeling that some serious shit was about to hit the fan. And I sure didn’t want to be around when it happened.
Fifty-Three
I gripped the officer by the elbow and slammed the door behind me. He tried to convince me to stay home with my “friend,” that it was too dangerous on the highway, but I dashed past him and made a beeline for Pippa’s Toyota. As I ran, his patrol vehicle crawled up alongside me, his window open as he tried to persuade me to stay here.
“Ma’am, what are you doing? The highway ain’t safe. It’s best to stay home right now. Who was that lady with you? She looks familiar. Hey, wait a minute, didn’t she used to live here once? I remember now, she’s the old owner of this house, she’s real friendly, she’s—”
“Dangerous,” I cut in. “Believe me.”
He laughed. “Not as dangerous as out here right now. You know how many accidents there’ve been, and trees down?”
Just as I was about to explain everything a call crackled in on his radio, and he picked up, distracted by something far more important than my sob story. I imagined he thought Lee and I were two bitchy ex-wives squabbling over the house or something. Great, that was all I needed.
Despite having cracked the windows, the Toyota was all steamed up by Beanie’s breath, frantic and furious he was for being left behind, from entering his own house. He was leaping up and down, barking manically when he spotted me out of breath running towards the car. Adrenaline had given me extra strength, my heart beating with both terror and gratitude at my close shave with Lee. The gun lay hidden in my raincoat pocket. I knew it was illegal to carry a concealed weapon without a license. If the officer saw me with it, he could arrest me.
“I can’t allow you to drive, ma’am,” the officer shouted through his open window. “It’s just too dangerous right now.”
I turned to him and yelled back through the rain, “I’m not staying here! If you can take me to the sheriff’s office or the police station, that would be great. I need your help! Isn’t that why you’re here? To help people?” I unlocked the car.
He hollered through the howling, slapping wind, “A call’s just come in. A woman up ahead has a flat tire. The AAA are outta their minds right now. Can’t deal with all the demand.”
“Can I come with you?” I asked. “I just need to get my dog from my car, but can we come with you? I’ll leave my car here.”
He grimaced. “I don’t know, ma’am. I’m still on duty. Got stuff to do. My day’s not over yet. I can’t put your life in danger by bringing you along with me. Rules are rules. Best you go back to the house. Stay warm and dry till this storm lets up.”
Tears pooled in my eyes. “Please, it’s more dangerous if I stay.”
His half-arched eyebrow and flicker of a smile said, You’re wasting my time, ma’am. Did he think I was making this up? He shook his head. “Much as I’d like to, it’s against the rules. I could take you to a specific destination, a courtesy ride, after I deal with this flat tire, sure, but just having you ride around with me? Ma’am, we don’t normally do that.”
“You see this weather? You think anything about today’s normal? Please,” I begged. “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll drive myself.”
He regarded me thoughtfully, weighing up his options. “Okay, but I’m going to have to pat you down first. You must keep in mind that being right-handed, my gun’s in a holster on my right side and is in easy reach of anyone in the passenger seat. Just procedure, nothin’ personal.”
Blood rushed to my face, my scalp tingling with caught-in-the-cookie-jar-fear, as if he knew that the bulk in my pocket was a pistol. “No problem,” I said. “Let me just quickly get my dog.”
I got inside Pippa’s Toyota, closing the door behind me. Beanie was jumping all over the place. The officer had his eyes peeled on me through his window. I couldn’t