Avedissian was caught in two minds. His hand closed over the butt of the pistol in his pocket. Should he kill Innes in cold blood when he re-emerged or should he return to Kathleen and the boy? He heard the sound of raised voices coming from inside Reception and moved to a position where he could see through the glass. Innes and the slob were arguing heatedly about something. The slob's wife joined him and Avedissian heard the word 'police' mentioned as the slob picked up the phone. He could see that Innes was still trying to reason with the man but with little success. There had been too many strange enquiries from people with foreign accents in the middle of the night and a bomb had gone off earlier at the Plaza Hotel.
Avedissian decided that he was not going to be given the chance to get Innes on his own and the thought of the police being called to the motel sent him scurrying back along the row. He paused outside each chalet to look through the windows of the car parked there. Then he saw what he wanted to see. One had been left with the keys in the ignition!
Avedissian climbed into the driving seat and turned the key. The engine turned noisily on the starter but did not fire. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he tried again, his foot stabbing at the accelerator, but still nothing. A face appeared at the chalet window but Avedissian was committed. He held his foot hard down on the pedal and tried again. The engine turned over with declining enthusiasm then fired with a roar of noise. At the same moment he saw Kathleen and the boy running towards him.
The car lurched forward and Avedissian leaned over to open the passenger door. Kathleen flung herself inside clutching the child to her. As Avedissian turned the car in a noisy and clumsy three-point turn he caught a glimpse of a man appearing at the chalet door; he was pulling on his trousers and yelling something after them. They screeched out of the gate and Kathleen looked back to see Innes emerge from Reception. For a moment he was framed in the light from inside, then she saw him run to his car.
TEN
Avedissian had no idea at all where they were going, only that they were going there fast. He checked the dials on the facia and found the fuel gauge; it registered half full. That was the only one that mattered right now. His foot went down hard on the brake as they came to a large, green signboard and Kathleen had to slam her free hand against the dashboard to stop herself being flung forward. Her other hand held the boy.
'Fasten your belt,’ said Avedissian.
'When I get a chance.'
Avedissian read the sign then wrenched the wheel over to the left and screeched off again down the slip road and out on to the inter-state highway.
'The speed limit is fifty-five,’ said Kathleen as she saw the needle climb to eighty.
Avedissian, whose nerves were at fever pitch, wanted to snap angrily at Kathleen but saw that she was right. There was no point in attracting the attention of the Highway Patrol. He eased back on the pedal until their speed dropped to sixty and the tightness in his throat wore off. 'Can you see anyone behind us?' he asked.
Kathleen turned and looked. 'No, no one,’ she replied.
They came to an interchange and slowed. 'If you were Innes what way would you guess at?' demanded Avedissian.
'East,’ said Kathleen.
'I'd say west… so we'll choose neither.' Avedissian circled through the interchange and nosed the car out on to the north-bound carriageway.
'What's to the north?' asked Kathleen.
'Very little. We need breathing space.'
An hour had passed when Avedissian turned on the radio to break a silence that he was beginning to find oppressive. 'How is the boy?' he asked.
'Sleeping,’ replied Kathleen.
The simple exchange of words served to lessen the tension in the car. Avedissian moved in his seat and altered the position that he had maintained rigidly for the past hour without realising it. Kathleen kneaded her fingers into the back of his neck and whispered, 'Is that better?'
'Much.'
'What do you think?' asked Kathleen, glancing behind.
Avedissian was reluctant to tempt fate but he replied, 'I think we're safe for the time being. I reckon we gave Innes the slip.'
Kathleen leaned forward and changed the radio station to something more soothing than the avant-garde jazz that was grating on her nerves.
'I've been thinking,' said Avedissian. 'If we can still get the money transferred, we can deal with Kell for your brother.'
'Do you mean it?' asked Kathleen.
'Assuming we get out of this alive, I don't see why not. But he's not getting it all. Some of it is for the boy.'
'Did I tell you that I love you?' said Kathleen.
'No,’ replied Avedissian with a smile. 'You never did.'
'Well I do.'
'That could be a very mutual arrangement,’ said Avedissian.
Another hour on the highway and Avedissian said, 'We need petrol.' He pulled off the freeway at the next service area and filled the tank. He was paying the cashier when he saw the reflection of a police car in the glass screen in front of him. He watched it crawl into the station like a cat stalking birds.
‘There you go,’ said the cashier handing him his change, unable to figure out what Avedissian was so intent on.
Avedissian took the money without diverting his eyes. He saw the patrol car creep past and park on the other side of the station outside a building marked 'Hank's Diner' in red neon. He pretended to count his change, but watched the two officers out of the corner of his eye as they got out of the car and stretched their limbs. They adjusted their caps and gun belts before walking towards the diner and opening the door. A blast of juke box sound escaped into the night before the door closed again behind them.
'Good-night,’ said Avedissian to the cashier.
'Safe journey,’ said the man with a puzzled look.
'I thought we were done for,’ said Kathleen as Avedissian got back into the car.
‘They couldn't have looked at the licence plate,’ said Avedissian. 'I suppose cars get stolen all the time in Kansas City.'
‘Thank God,’ said Kathleen. They drove on.
Despite the sentiment Avedissian could not help but feel that they were pushing their luck to unreasonable limits. On impulse he decided to leave the freeway where they would be less likely to meet highway patrol cars. What they needed, he decided, was a place to lie low for a couple of days. Time enough for Innes and NORAID to lose the scent. Time enough for him to try for the transfer of the money.
'Do you know where we are?' asked Kathleen.
'Somewhere in Iowa.'
The night was ending. The comforting glow from the instrument panel, which had made it the centre of their world for the past few hours, was getting unfair competition from a huge sky.
'I've never seen anywhere so flat,’ said Kathleen as she looked out at cornfields stretching to the horizon in all directions. Half an hour later the sun was up, bleaching the world yellow under a perfect hemisphere of blue.
Avedissian parked the car discreetly round the side of a diner near the outskirts of the city of Des Moines and Kathleen woke up the boy. 'Breakfast time, my prince,' she whispered in his ear. The boy awoke with a look of alarm on his face but it quickly disappeared at the sight of Kathleen although he reserved a more baleful look for Avedissian.
Kathleen took the boy to the toilet while Avedissian ordered food for them from a waitress who sucked the tip of her pencil before writing each item down on her pad. She read back the order and Avedissian nodded.
'We have washed our face and are feeling a lot better this morning,' said Kathleen, returning with the boy, who now seemed wide-awake and hungry. Avedissian smiled at both of them. 'Eat up,' he said. 'We'll all feel better.' He was right, they all did feel a great deal better with a large breakfast inside them.