"My condo."
"I told the manager you were going out of town. He's going to keep an eye on everything."
"I don't have any clothes."
"All in the trunk."
She was done, for the moment. We were out of Salem now, heading toward 101.
"It's okay, Laura," I said, giving her a quick smile. "Really, it's better this way. Except it's interesting about Alyssum Tarcher being our landlord. Hey, if he had anything to do with this, he would have found out that you'd flown the coop. Now everyone knows you're not alone, that you've got protection, namely yours truly."
"You don't know anything, Mac."
"I will, soon enough. I don't want you thinking that you're walking right into the bear cave, what with us going to Edgerton. I'll be in that cave with you and I'm mean. Besides, I've got a big spear. Running away is not the way to find out what's going on in Edgerton, or to find my sister." I waited, but she didn't say anything, just nodded after a bit.
It had started raining, just a drizzle at first, but now it was really coming down. "I didn't bring you a raincoat, sorry."
She didn't say a word for at least seven miles. Finally, I said, "Laura? Is this okay with you?"
"Are you really going to let people know-the whole town-that someone tried to kill me? Or are you going to leave it as both of us?"
"I already told Alyssum Tarcher that it was just you. When we get to Edgerton, I need to stop off at Paul's house to pick up my clothes. Then I need to see Maggie, find out if she's heard anything about Jilly. Also, Charlie Duck's autopsy report should be coming in soon."
"You think the old man's death is somehow connected, don't you?"
"My boss, Big Carl Bardolino, at the FBI, likes to say there's no such thing as coincidence, at least in our line of work."
"Squawk."
"Nolan's got some more sunflower seeds in that lunch bag on the backseat if you think he's still hungry."
A car came around to pass us, not too wise since we were on a curve. I slowed down just a bit and gave it plenty of room to go around.
Laura started to say something as she turned around to reach for the bag of sunflower seeds. In the next instant, there was a popping sound, then another. I jerked back. I realized that a bullet had gone through her passenger-side window. It had crashed through my window and missed my neck by a couple of inches, leaving a spiderweb of cracked glass in its wake.
I pulled the steering wheel hard right, then corrected to the left, just missing an oncoming car. I saw a man in my mind's eye, on the passenger side, raising what had to have been a gun. I saw the car just ahead of us, a dark red Honda. I gunned the Taurus and winced. In this rain, if I wasn't careful, we'd go skidding right off the road. The Honda roared ahead, cutting hard and fast around a sharp turn. I knew the Taurus wouldn't make it. I had to slow a bit. When I got around the curve, the Honda had widened the distance.
"My God, Mac, are you all right?"
"Yep. You?"
"I think so. If I hadn't turned in just that moment to get Nolan some sunflower seeds-"
"I know. Laura, sit back down and fasten your seat belt."
"Squawk."
"It's all right, Nolan. Think of this as an adventure."
Laura was strapped in and I passed two cars, nearly skimming off the paint on the second one. Horns blared loudly in our ears.
We were getting closer. "Laura, I don't think we can catch them, but we can get the license plate."
"I can try," she said, and buzzed down what was left of her electric window to lean out. Rain flew in the open window, hard and heavy.
I tried to keep my hands loose and relaxed on the steering wheel even though my heart pounded faster in anger each time I saw that webbed bullet hole out of the corner of my eye. I passed another car, a Land Rover.
The driver gave me the finger and shouted a curse. I didn't blame him.
There were just about forty yards of highway between us and the Honda. I saw a man leaning out the passenger window, looking back. He had a gun. "Laura, down!"
She jerked back in and flattened herself against the seat as the man fired five or six rounds.
"Mac," she said, "you've got a gun, don't you?"
"Yes, but I've got to concentrate."
"Give it to me. I know how to shoot."
I didn't want to. It was the last thing I wanted to do, actually. I felt her hand pulling it out of my shoulder holster.
"Laura," I said, "I'd rather you didn't. Please, be careful."
"Just get us closer to that damned Honda."
We closed to within fifteen yards of the Honda. This stretch of 101 was all curves and inclines and twisting hills. The rain had lightened up a bit, thank God. I'd be just on the verge of seeing the license plate when the Honda would disappear again around another curve.
Laura hugged the passenger door, waiting. She seemed very calm, perhaps too calm. Something was strange here. "Laura, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Mac. Just keep up with them. Yeah, just a little bit closer." Suddenly, she reared up and halfway out the open window, rain curtaining her face. She shot off half the clip, fast.
The Honda's back window exploded. A man came out of the passenger-side window, a gun trained on us. Before he could fire, Laura shot off another three rounds. I saw his gun fly out of his hand and skitter across the highway. She'd got him. Then the Honda disappeared around another turn.
I gunned the Taurus. We came around the bend and skidded out to see the Honda disappear on the short straight stretch in front of us.
"Damn, I wanted to get a back tire."
When we last saw the Honda, it was weaving back and forth, the driver sawing the steering wheel to get it out of a skid. He straightened over a crest and the car shot forward. I gunned the Taurus. Just one more try. But the rain did us in. We hit a slick patch. The car spun in a full three-sixty. We ended up on the side of the road, about six feet from a ditch.
"We didn't get the license plate," Laura said. "Well, damn."
"After this I'm going to rent a Porsche. Bastards got away."
And Laura laughed.
We were still pumped with adrenaline. I started laughing too. It felt good. We were alive.
It took petting Grubster and calming Nolan to get ourselves back down.
"You okay?"
She nodded as she continued scratching behind Grubster's ears. "That was a close one, Mac. My heart's pounding louder than a runaway train. My adrenaline level was so high there for a while, I bet I could have flown right out of this busted window. Oh, Jesus, Mac."
She leaned over to me to put her arms around my back, her elbow hitting the steering wheel. Grubster was between us, purring loudly. I held her tightly, feeling her heartbeat against my chest, her warm breath against my neck, grateful that we'd survived this. It had been close. I took a quick survey of the Taurus.
One busted window and a driver's-side window that was spider-webbed, with one small hole right in the middle. Too bad it hadn't stopped the bullet. Some sort of tangible evidence would have been nice.
"What are we going to do?" She didn't move while she spoke, and I liked that.
"I guess if I had my cell phone with me, I'd call Castanga, the President, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
"I don't have mine either," she said against my neck. "It's on the dining room table at my condo."
"Squawk!"
"Oh dear, I forgot about Nolan and Grubster."
She lifted Grubster off her lap and hefted him onto the backseat. She gave Nolan more sunflower seeds.
I turned to see Grubster stretch his front legs against the front seat. I'd swear that cat was as tall as I was.
Then he lightly jumped up front again and curled in Laura's lap.
I raised my hand and picked up a strand of hair that had come free of the clip at the back of her neck. I rubbed the hair between my fingers.