Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [5]
“Maybe someone found it and kept it,” Annie said.
“Are you kidding, Annie? That’s a federal rap. No one in their right mind would do something like that. You always get caught in the end.”
“Not always. If there was a third person he could be out of the state by now. If he took a plane, he could be in California. All he has to do is walk across the border. Think about it, Jane.”
“Better him than me. I wouldn’t want to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.”
“I agree with you. Are they going to search through the night?”
“I got the impression they’re just searching the routes the two guys took. They’re probably done by now. I saw a bunch of cop cars leaving as I was coming back to get you. Are you feeling any better?”
“A little. I hope I’m not coming down with something.”
“If you are, Elmo can give you something. We could stop by after we do our walk.”
“I’ll be fine. Tomorrow is our big day. I guess I just never thought it would get here,” Annie said, her voice cracking with the strain.
“Okay, what flavor do you want?”
“Rocky Road. I’m going to sit out here on the bench, okay?”
“Sure. Listen, we can sit here and eat the cones. We don’t have to do the walk if you aren’t up to it.”
“I feel better. It’s okay, Jane. Stop fussing.”
“If you say so.”
Annie almost jumped out of her skin when one of the campus police force sat down next to her. “Evening, Annie.”
“How are you, Kevin?” Annie asked quietly.
“Tired and hungry. I have to pull a second shift. You want my opinion, that money is long gone. The only thing that makes sense is the guy passed it to a third party. When you don’t catch the perp in three hours, it’s a lost cause. That’s just my opinion, mind you. What do you think?”
“I think I agree with you. Don’t they have any clues?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this but no, not a one. They got the one guy in jail and he says he was just an innocent bystander that got sucked into this, and he doesn’t know anything about the first guy or the third guy. He’s sticking to his story, too. They don’t share much with us lowly campus police. There’s going to be hell to pay because the kid that was shot didn’t have any kind of weapon. His father is some Wall Street broker in New York. The other one’s father is old money in Boston. Money or not, they’ll make an example of the kid. Mark my word. They were best buddies from what I hear, so how could he not know what was going down? Why do rich kids rob banks? Guess I won’t be seeing you or Jane after tomorrow, eh?”
“That’s right. Sunday morning we’re leaving bright and early. It was nice knowing you, Kevin. You take care now. Wait, here comes Jane. I’m sure she’ll want to say good-bye.”
Annie listened as Jane made small talk with the campus officer. She licked at the dripping ice-cream cone, Kevin’s words ringing in her ears.
“Jane, what do you think about leaving right after graduation tomorrow instead of waiting until Sunday morning?” Annie asked.
“What about Elmo?”
“Elmo will understand. We could leave around one and drive for six or seven hours and stop somewhere for the night. We’ll treat ourselves to a nice steak house and finish up the trip Sunday. Monday morning we’ll start fresh on our new lives.”
“That’s fine with me. Are you sure you’re up to it?”
“I’m sure. Graduation will be over by twelve-thirty. Maybe we could do lunch with Elmo and still be on the road by two o’clock.”
“Whatever you want to do, Annie, is fine with me. We need to get back. The guy from the bookstore is supposed to come by at nine-thirty. We can walk some more after he leaves if you want.”
“Let’s see how we feel,” Annie said.
It was close to midnight when Annie closed her bedroom door. She thought about locking it, then wondered where that thought had come from. The word witness ricocheted around inside her head. There was always, somewhere, somehow, a witness to everything in life. How could this time be any different? Didn’t the police take photographs of the crime scenes? Of course they did. But, was the campus parking