“She and Mike Gabaldon have always been on the top of my list of people I need to talk to. Can you find a location for her?”
Angela nodded. “She lives in Carmichael.” She tapped her finger on the table next to the computer. “Was her desk close to Dirk’s office?”
“No. Different floors. The receptionist was the first person you saw when you walked into the building. Dirk’s office was on the second floor.”
“How would she know that you were in his office unless she walked in on you two?”
“At the trial she said she had a letter for Dirk and when she brought it upstairs, she saw the two of us arguing, so she left. She also said she saw me jump up out of my chair and pull something, possibly a weapon, from my pocket.”
“Did she say it was a knife?”
He shook his head. “Said she couldn’t see what I had in my hand. She said she was nervous and walked off before either of us spotted her.”
“If she was worried about a man’s life, she would have called the police.”
“That same point was made in court,” Jason said. “In the end, it didn’t matter.”
“Don’t look now,” Angela said, “but two policemen are making their way in here.”
The second he heard the door open, he stiffened, couldn’t help it.
Angela forced a smile, then touched his arm as if he’d just given her some good news. Before he knew what she was up to, she moved closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder. It took him a minute to catch on, but he did, and casually slipped his arm around her.
For the next few minutes, he forgot about the cops standing in line behind them and instead got a wonderful glimpse of what it might be like to live an ordinary life…just hanging out with his girl in a coffee shop.
Chapter Nine
That night, still wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, Angela kept her gaze straight ahead as she walked past the pool to the motel room. They had made it as far as Provo, Utah, where they had found a Motel 6 right off Interstate 15 for thirty-two dollars a night. Free WiFi and a mall two miles away.
She knocked on the door, and said, “It’s me.”
Once the door opened, she slipped inside. It wasn’t until she put the pizza box on the table by the window and dropped a plastic shopping bag on the bed that she noticed Jason seemed upset. “What happened?”
He plowed his hands through his hair as he paced the room. “I was hoping I had another day before they figured out which body bag I ended up in, but the feds are in Vermont.”
“How do you know?”
He gestured across the room.
She moved closer to the television for a better look. “Oh, my God! That’s the Montpelier morgue! And Rob! What’s he doing on the news?” She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
“The last time I saw Angela,” Rob told the reporter, “she was upset with me for breaking up with her.”
“Why don’t you tell the world where I found you!” she shouted at the T.V.
“I’ve been worried sick,” Rob continued. “I called her several times in hopes of talking things through. It never crossed my mind that she’d been abducted by an escaped convict.”
Christine stood in the background, sobbing.
“Give me a break,” Angela said. “I had no idea she was such a good actress.”
After the clip ended, Jason walked over and shut off the television. “Do you think anyone recognized you at the pizza place?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
She looked at the bed. His belongings were neatly packed. He was ready to shove off. “We need to stick with the plan,” she told him. “You need to get some sleep.”
He rubbed his chin. “Maybe so, but we need to set off early. I want to confront Mike before the police get to him.”
“Maybe they won’t think to talk to your lawyer since they have no reason to believe you have a beef with him, right?”
“No telling. Either way, I want to talk to him within the next twenty-four hours.”
Jason continued to pace the room, back and forth, like a caged animal. His eyes possessed a wild look, his shoulder muscles tensed as he took long strides across the carpeted floor.
She planted herself in front of him, stopping him from taking another step. Then she reached upward and rested her hands on his shoulders. “You need to stay calm. It won’t do you any good to get worked up.”
He took in a deep breath. After a moment his eyes finally began to lose that haunted look. “You shouldn’t be here with me.”
“But I am. I’m going to help you find the truth, Jason. And this time the truth shall set you free.”
He took her hands in his. “If we get caught, Angela, you need to tell the authorities that I kidnapped you and you never helped me in any way.”
“We need to stay positive. You can’t think that way.”
“Just promise me you’ll tell them you had nothing to do with any of this. I forced you every step of the way.”
“I promise. Now sit down while I get the shaver ready.” She grabbed the bag of items she’d bought when she went out for pizza. Hair dye for her and a shaver for him.