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Lifting her hand, I kissed the back of it. “You don’t have to apologize for not being an expert in espionage.”
She smiled faintly, still watching our mark through the windshield. I was going to figure out all of this, if only so I could make my girl smile again. A real smile, and not only the ones that managed to break through everything going on in her head.
“Now we can go.” Allison had started her car and was pulling out. “But slowly.”
Lena obeyed, starting Bessie and following Allison at a good distance. We would have to be careful, but thankfully, most people weren’t as aware of their surroundings as they should be. It was unlikely our target would notice us following her unless we were right on her back bumper.
“This is probably stupid,” Lena said quietly. “What if she just goes home?”
“It’s not stupid if it makes you feel better.”
She didn’t say anything to that.
We followed Allison’s truck west out of town, keeping at least two blocks behind her while we were still within its limits. “She’s really dating Ben?” I asked. Because I was curious, but I also wanted to lighten the mood.
“Seems that way.” Lena shrugged. “When I went to check out the coffee shop, he was there, and when we were at the school, he was with her helping her set up all the hot chocolate. It seemed like he was going to stay with her the rest of the night too. I saw them kiss in the parking lot.”
“He was there when I stopped by the first time, too. Guess I know why now.” Allison turned left in front of us, heading south. “She’s not heading home.”
Lena looked at me. “How do you know?”
“When I looked into her, I found her address. To get there, she’d keep heading straight.”
“Still doesn’t mean she’s doing anything wrong.” Despite her denial, Lena’s voice had more energy in it now. I knew what it was like to hope for something you shouldn’t, and this was it. Neither of us should be hoping this woman poisoned a bunch of teenagers, but if she did, the relief would be huge.
Out here, it was mostly ranches and farms. Very few people, with huge swaths of land blocked off. If you were flying over it, the ground would look like a patchwork quilt. In winter, as we were now, it was even less populated, as any cattle spent most of their time indoors and the few trees were stripped bare.
“This is something,” I said.
Ahead of us, Allison had put on her brakes and was turning into a drive to a farm. Two barns and a small house were visible. We were still far enough back that we couldn’t see all the details, but I knew where we were, and this wasn’t anything I’d seen connected to the woman. Maybe we’d hit the jackpot after all.
“Pull over there.” I pointed to a spot near a fence that had some cover. We still might not see much, but it was better than nothing.
Through the sparse leaves and branches of some brush, we watched Allison get out of her car and wave to a man approaching her. It seemed clear both that he was expecting her and that they knew each other.
To people outside of Resting Warrior, having surveillance equipment in your truck might seem strange. But all of us kept some basic things in case of emergencies. Radios, flashlights, spare clothes, and binoculars. I’d grabbed those before we left the bakery, and I pulled out a pair of binoculars now.
“You brought those?”
I smiled as I focused them on Allison and the man. “Told you I brought some things to help.”
The man—who I presumed was the owner of the farm—was all smiles with Allison. Especially when she dug into her bag and pulled out a stack of money and handed it to him.
“What was that?” Lena placed a hand on my arm.
“Money,” I murmured.
“Okay, that’s weird, right?”
I nodded. “Very weird.”
The man headed back to the house, and Allison walked toward one of the barns. I followed her with the binoculars until she went inside. “Okay, let’s go past the farm and turn around. She’s gone into the barn. Once she leaves, we’ll see if we can find our way inside and figure out what the hell is going on in there.”
“Okay.”
Lena started the car, and just in time, too. Allison was already pushing out of the barn and heading back to her car. “Quickly,” I said. “Over this rise to turn around, and give it a couple minutes.”
She did as I instructed, and when we finally drove forward enough to see, Allison was pulling out and heading back in the direction we’d come from. Perfect.
