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Okay, step one—retrieve the drive—completed. Time to move on to step two, which involved re-hiding said thumb drive. Somewhere I couldn’t see it.
Woods surrounded Pelican Bay, giving me lots of available spots to stash the drive. I’d seen a few signs for trailheads on the north side of town. I’d go for a quick walk, bury it, and then on to step three. Finding a new hacker to break the encryption.
Everything became easier when broken into steps.
I left the bathroom with a smile on my face, doing my best to look absolutely innocent. Nothing weird about me at all. Totally not a woman on the run because her boss didn’t handle his problems. Really, if I thought about it hard enough, I’d been fixing his crap since day one. The man couldn’t even use the printer or discern old coffee.
So obviously he’d come to me with a dangerous and complex problem like breaking the encryption on a thumb drive. And just like the time he spilled coffee over his laptop and lied about it, he wouldn’t give me any useful information for fixing the problem. Something like, passwords or a hint of what files he’d saved to the drive.
A new woman stood right next to the bathroom door as I tried to walk out. Her proximity forced me to take a step back to give us distance.
Her blonde hair fell right at her shoulders, and she was taller than me by at least two inches and skinnier by two sizes. “You didn’t flush,” she said, crossing her hands over her chest, hiding half of her graphic T-shirt. Something about books being more interesting than people with a bunny.
“Excuse me?” I asked, grabbing my coffee from the counter and the little bag with the bakery’s logo on it. I shoved my banana in the bag and closed it back up.
She nodded like I’d answered her question but then repeated herself. “You didn’t flush.”
I looked in the bathroom for a few seconds, searching for a plausible excuse. “I only blew my nose.”
“No, I didn’t hear that either.”
I bristled. Why were people in this town giving everyone the third degree? Couldn’t a girl ask for a banana baggie and use the bathroom without everyone needing to know what she’s doing?
Pelican Bay was supposed to be my hideaway, not a police interrogation. I didn’t need to get anyone involved in the horrible situation. I’d never be like Sean and pass my problems on the next unsuspecting victim.
I wanted to leave the bakery and get away from the prying eyes and questions, but I hesitated because I didn’t want to appear rude if I left without answering her questions. That might create more warning bells if I had to lie on the fly. I’d never been a great liar and certainly not on short notice.
“What are you planning to do with the baggie?”
I jolted. Out of all the things I expected her to ask, that wasn’t on my list.
If I spent an entire day in the bakery making a list of questions, that one wouldn’t make the cut.
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “How did you know about the baggie?”
I took a step back, getting ready to turn and run. Did they send a woman assassin after me? Someone who wouldn’t seem as intimidating or scary? I didn’t even know who was after me, so I couldn’t guess their techniques. Sean also left out that information during his visit. Typical.
The blonde woman smiled. “Katy called me. I’m Vonnie, her apprentice.”
They had apprentices at the bed-and-breakfast? I needed to get the hell out of the bakery. “I want to keep my banana fresh,” I said, opening the bakery door and walking back out onto the street.
Vonnie followed me, her steps matching my own. “Don’t forget a shovel if you plan to go digging or tape if you go in another direction. I have a roll in my trunk if you want to use it.”
I looked back at her with my eyes wide. The entire town was full of freaking crazy people.
Had I fallen into a Stephen King novel?
Vonnie stopped following me at the corner right before the bed-and-breakfast and I waved goodbye to her as I got into my car and followed the signs to the trailhead. Ten minutes later, I buried the flash drive a few feet off the main trail.
Without proper tools, I only dug a shallow little hole for it. Something that ended up resembling a thumb drive grave and made me hope my body wouldn’t end up in the same predicament.
Easy peasy.
Steps one and two were complete. Now to find a new hacker. Totally easy.
No problems at all.
Right.
