The nest he was referring to was actually just a pile of dinosaur limbs that had broken off over the years, but the actor made himself comfortable in it anyway.
“We should have gone to Santa Fe instead,” Mo said. “How far away are we from Albuquerque?”
“About a half an hour,” Joey said. “And our dinner reservation at the Aztec BBQ isn’t until seven o’clock. So we’ve got some time to kill.”
“Do you guys want to go watch those people at the Winnebago?” Sam suggested. “It looked like they were building a rocket.”
Everyone shrugged and headed in that direction.
“While you guys are people watching, I’ll go put gas in the station wagon,” Topher said. “It’ll be one less thing we have to do tomorrow morning.”
Topher returned to the station wagon and drove a little ways down the road to a gas station that also had a dinosaur theme, called BrontosaurGas. He swiped his credit card at the pump and played a game on his phone while he waited for his tank to fill up.
A black Toyota Prius with tinted windows pulled in to the pump next to Topher. He glanced at it for a second and saw the vehicle had California license plates. It was identical to the one Sam had been paranoid about two days ago on their way out of Oklahoma City. Topher knew the odds it was the same vehicle were highly unlikely, but it didn’t stop a suspicious feeling from forming in the pit of his stomach.
The driver got out and filled his Prius with gas. He was in his forties, wore a Hawaiian shirt and fedora, hadn’t shaved in a week, and chewed on the end of a toothpick. As he waited for his gas tank to fill he kept glancing over at Topher and the station wagon. Topher got the feeling he wanted to start a conversation but he didn’t look up from his phone.
“Is this your mom’s car?” the man asked.
“Excuse me?” Topher replied, not sure who the man was talking to.
“I asked if this was your mom’s car,” he said. “I noticed the MY CHILD’S AN HONOR STUDENT sticker on the bumper. You seem a little young to be a father.”
“I’m the honor student,” Topher said. “Well, I was. I just graduated from high school.”
“So I was right,” the man said. “Are you going to college?”
The strange man was a little too interested in Topher for Topher’s comfort.
“Um… yeah,” he said awkwardly. “I start in the fall.”
“And what about your friends? Are all of them going to school, too?” he asked.
Topher suddenly felt like the lead character in a stranger danger PSA. Was he referring to the friends he was traveling with? If so, how did he even know he was traveling with friends? He glanced at the man’s pump and saw the numbers weren’t even moving—he wasn’t there to get gas, he was there for him.
“Dude, you’re creeping me out,” he said. “Why don’t you leave me alone before I call the cops?”
“Forgive me—where are my manners?” the man said, and stepped forward to shake Topher’s hand. “The name is Barry, Barry Reid.”
Topher didn’t shake his hand. “You were following us in Oklahoma, weren’t you?”
“Ah… yes, as a matter of fact I was,” he said. “I gotta tell you, you guys have covered some serious ground in the last couple days. I thought Jennifer Lawrence was hard to follow, but that tomboy in your crew put her driver to shame.”
“I’m calling the cops,” Topher said, and started dialing 911.
“Actually, there’s nothing they can do,” Barry said. “You see, you’re traveling with a person of special interest. And when you’re with a person of special interest, legally, guys like me are allowed to follow you.”
“You’re paparazzi,” Topher said.
“I prefer the term freelance photographer, but yes,” he said. “Look, I didn’t just appear like the grim reaper. Someone made the mistake of using Cash Carter’s real name at the Vacation Suites in Oklahoma City and the concierge tipped me off. The dude is causing quite the scandal—the first picture of him after he fainted would sell for a lot of money. I’ve got to eat, so here I am with my camera.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but Cash left yesterday,” Topher said, thinking on his feet.
“That’s funny,” Barry said. “My contact at LAX didn’t mention he was traveling.”
“I didn’t say he went home or caught a flight, I just said he left.”
Barry smiled at Topher like he could read his mind.
“Honor student indeed,” the paparazzo said. “I get it, you’re a struggling college student and see an opportunity to make some dough. I respect that. I’ll give you five grand if you tell me where Cash went.”
“What? I’m not trying to get money from you.”
“All right, hotshot, seven grand,” Barry negotiated. “But that’s my final offer.”