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Future planted her hands against his body and shoved him toward the cop, who got a grip of his cuffs and pointed inside.
Danny, defeated, followed.
“I’ll be right back,” Future said.
I went back to the van, standing against it, afraid to get in and see or smell something I didn’t want to.
“Yeah,” Marc said drily in my ear. “You should get a job as a bounty hunter.”
“Shut up,” I said. I reached into my bra, pulling out the cell phone and holding it to my ear so I wouldn’t look like a psycho talking to myself.
“Are you done playing, now?” he asked.
“I have to take her back to get her car,” I said. “Then I think I quit the bounty hunting business.”
“If you get a chance,” Marc said, “see if you can’t find out who her boss is sleeping with. Seems like he went home and there was a girl there. Axel can’t seem to get a good look at her. There’s other people there, too. They’ve got a party going on tonight.”
“Shouldn’t we be looking for Fred?”
“We still can’t find Fred. Axel’s been listening to the office while he was still there. This Henry guy hasn’t mentioned Fred once.”
“Because he can’t find him?”
“I don’t know.”
I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing no one had seen Fred. If these bounty hunters couldn’t find him, did it mean he could have skipped town?
Future walked out the door again, waving a paper in her hand like a flag.
“Got to go. Future’s waiting.”
“I’m your future, Bambi,” he said.
I wasn’t sure if he meant it or if he was trying to be that corny.
Future smiled showing me the paper. “See this?” she asked. “This is like gold.”
“So we turn that in for money?” I asked.
“Give it to the boss and he writes out a check.” She tucked the paper into her purse. “I’ll give you a hundred to start.”
“What? I don’t get half?”
“Honey, you’re in training.” She reached out, tugging a lock of my hair. “Besides, I’ve got to get your wardrobe up to date. Those shorts were ugly. And I still hate that top.”
I groaned and climbed into the van. Despite what I’d said to Marc, I wish I’d known about this bounty business before. This was pretty easy. And I’d earned a hundred dollars in a couple of hours’ worth of work. If I had a license, I could have earned five hundred easy. And she said this was a small case. I wondered if I could be a runner in Charleston. I wondered if Raven would help me.
I had the thought, and then my heart sunk. No, I couldn’t. I had to pretend I wanted in the Academy. Finding out those secrets was more important.
I started the van and Future smiled lazily as she sat back in the passenger seat. “This is a good day,” she said. “The office is closed now. But I can get your money if you need it tonight.”
“Whenever,” I said. “Not in a hurry.”
She looked over at me. “You hungry?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Let me show you this little place I know,” she said. She snapped her fingers and pointed down the road. “Turn here.”
The thought of food put me in a happy mood. Maybe now I could talk to her about Fred. I followed her directions. Some of the downtown St. Augustine streets were one-way and narrow. There wasn’t a chance for Marc to follow us down some of them without being completely obvious. I kept my eyes on the side mirrors to look out for him as Future directed me deeper into the city.
“So,” I said, trying to make conversation. “Henry is the boss? What is he like, really?”
“I’m telling you, girl, don’t trust him.”
“He said something about a party tonight,” I said, going on what Marc said.
Future shrugged. “Haven’t heard of one. He might have meant a party with just him. Go if you want, but I’m telling you, the devil makes a better dance partner.”
“You don’t like him?”
“Not my type,” she said. “And I’m a lovable person. I love everyone.” She motioned to the sidewalks. “We’ve got to walk to get to this place.”
“In these clothes?”
“These are damn fine clothes,” she said. She pointed to a tiny parking lot. “Park here.”
I did, wedging the van into a space I was scared I probably wouldn’t ever get out of.
Future hopped out, taking her purse. “It’s this way.”
Since it wasn’t the height of tourist season, the downtown area was practically a ghost town. A few of the gift shops were closed early. There were spaces in the street for outdoor vendors, but those were gone.
I followed Future onto a narrow street, and then she made a turn into an alleyway. “There’s a short cut.”
“What’s this place?” I asked.
“A nice tourist spot,” she said. “Steak and lobster and fancy little folded napkins. She stopped, looking back behind me. Her eyes widened. “Did you hear that?”
I turned, looking at the entrance we’d come from, wondering if Marc had made an appearance. Future shuffled behind me. I thought maybe she was trying to look around me.
I didn’t see anything. The alley was empty. I stayed still, trying to listen. If Marc tried to follow us down here, he’d be really obvious. I hoped he wasn’t that stupid. I was so close! I could ask Future where Fred was, we’d go get him and we could go back to Charleston. One less thing to worry about.
“Okay, honey,” Future said behind me. “Time to play with the big girls, now.”
I thought maybe she did spot Marc and was calling him out. Or maybe was calling out some invisible people because I didn’t see anyone.
I turned to look at her, and ask her what she’d spotted, when I caught the barrel of her .38.
Pointing right at my nose.
I stared beyond it, toward Future. I held up my hands slowly. “What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” she snapped at me, her voice taking on a more masculine tone now. “Who are you? Really?”
“I’m Rachael…”
“Bullshit,” she said. She waved the gun at my nose. “Start talking, missy. That SUV’s been following us since we started. You’ve got a bug in your ear. Who the hell is offered money up front and then doesn’t take it? I know a stakeout when I see one. I’m not stupid.”
My heart jumped from dead stop to full on thunder. Given she was a bounty hunter, she probably knew a thousand policemen to call at any second and where to dump the body if needed. Lying wasn’t going to be an option now. “It’s not what you think.”
“Why are you following me?” she asked, gun steady.
“We’re not after you,” I said. I wondered if Marc could hear what was going on. He wasn’t saying anything, which was making me nervous. Did she really have me lose him well enough that he couldn’t even hear me now? I wasn’t sur
e how much distance this ear piece could cover. Or maybe it broke. It happened before. Does the battery die after a short time?
“Then who the hell are you after?” she said. “’Fess up. I don’t want to stain that skirt, but I will if I have to.”
I shifted in the kitten heels. I’d have to kick them off to run. It was tempting, but this was a narrow alleyway. She picked a good spot to kill me without a chance for me to escape. The only thing I could do was try to convince her.
She did hate her boss. Maybe I could get her on my side.
Had to take a chance. “We’re looking for Fred Gunther.”
“Who the hell is that?”
“Henry put up the money for a custody bond for him.”
“So?”
“Fred’s on the run. His grandmother paid off the agency, but they’re still chasing after him.”
Future squinted at me. “So why are you hanging out with me?”
“I was hoping to get information. I was hoping I could learn about Fred if I could convince Henry to let me find him.”
“So you can get the jump on him? Offer him up and hope to get the reward?” She flicked the gun closer to my nose. “You’ve got to come up with a better story than the money one.”
“We want…” I paused, wondering how much I needed to say to get her to trust me. I went for sympathy. “There’s a little girl involved. Sara. He’s got her.”
She started to lower the gun, just barely. “You’re looking for her?”
“We’re looking for both of them. It’s a long story, but I don’t think he meant to run on purpose. He didn’t need to. The girl seemed to be living with him. She seemed happy there. Then suddenly he up and leaves?”
“Where’s the mom?”
“Haven’t been able to find her,” I said. “We’re looking for her, too. She hasn’t been home.”
Future grunted and then shook her head. “This is so unbelievable.”
“It’s the truth,” I said.
“Oh I do believe it,” she said. “The fact that it’s completely fucked up is what makes me think you’re being honest.” She lifted her hand again, pointing the gun toward my eyes. “You could be feeding me shit just to get out of this. Why do you give a damn about it?”
