The Adamas Blueprint

CHAPTER 14

After they finished their business with Daryl, Kevin and Erica needed to get supplies so they could hole up for the night. Kevin would have to treat his contacts, but his lens storage case and cleansers were at the apartment. They found a Wal-Mart and bought his supplies as well as a change of clothes for the two of them.

They’d decided not to call their friends, not only because they didn’t want to endanger them, but also because they didn’t want to go anywhere they might logically be found. That meant they had to lie low for the next day and a half. They would retrieve whatever was in the safe deposit box when the bank opened on Monday morning.

Erica wheeled the Honda into the back parking lot of the seedy-looking Tidal Moon motel. They would have stayed at a nicer place, but this was the first one they’d found that didn’t require identification. The grimy man at the registration desk made them pay cash up front.

While Erica dumped their meager belongings on the bed, Kevin locked the door behind them, then peeked through the torn and spotted drapes. From their first floor viewpoint, he could see that it would be difficult to spot the car from the road. Satisfied, he pulled the drapes so they were completely closed. Although it was safe for now, he didn’t want to get complacent.

Erica announced that she wanted to take a shower before she ate and began running water in the bathroom. Ravenous, Kevin opened the bag from Antone’s and began munching on a shrimp po-boy.

As he ate and sipped his drink, he watched TV to see if he could find any more news on Dr. Ward or Herbert Stein. He saw stories about each of them, but nothing more than they had learned earlier. Apparently the police were still treating the fire as an accident without ruling out the possibility of arson.

Kevin sat dejected, listening to the water run in the bathroom. He tried to understand the reason for what was going on, but the more he thought about it, the more confused he got. He could now reasonably assume that Dr. Ward and his wife were murdered. But why? What was in the safe deposit box that somebody would kill for? How did Dr. Ward get the money to buy that house and car? And why did he write that email to Kevin? They wouldn’t find out the answers to any of the questions until Monday morning.

The worst part was that he had dragged Erica into this with him. He thought about leaving, doing the rest of it himself, but how would that help? Erica was already involved up to the hilt. She wouldn’t be any safer without him than she would be by staying with him. Besides, once they had more proof — whatever that was — together their story would be much more convincing than from either of them alone.

The water shut off, and Kevin heard Erica take the towel and begin to dry herself.

“Any news?” she said from the bathroom.

“No, nothing new.”

She came out with a towel wrapped tightly around her, accentuating her figure. It barely reached her legs. Despite being exhausted, both mentally and physically, by the day’s events, Kevin couldn’t help feeling both turned-on and embarrassed at the same time. She grabbed the extra-long T-shirt she had bought and retreated to the bathroom.

“I’m starving,” she said. “I hope the sandwiches are good.”

“Of course they are. Haven’t you ever had a po-boy?”

Erica came out of the bathroom, her hair still wet. The T-shirt was almost as revealing as the towel. “You forget. I didn’t grow up in Texas.” Using the wrapper as a place mat on the stained table, she sat and began to eat one of the sandwiches. “Hey, these are good.”

“See. You should trust me.”

“I’ll take that under advisement.”

“Good. Now it’s my turn.” Kevin took his shower while Erica finished her po-boy. After he was done, he put on a T-shirt and boxers from their stop at the store.

When he came out of the bathroom, Erica was lying in bed holding the remote.

“Now I remember why I stopped watching TV,” she said, turning it off and putting the remote on the nightstand.

“I thought it was because of med school.” Kevin pulled a pillow off the bed and walked over to the chair.

“That too. What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to go to sleep.”

“Over there?”

“Yeah. Well, you know, one bed…” He shrugged. “I thought…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to make you sleep in that chair.”

“You sure?”

“I just took a shower, so I can’t smell too bad. Are you afraid I’m going to bite you?”

“No, just trying to be chivalrous.”

“Well, stop it. We’re both adults. Now come on.”

Kevin climbed into bed as Erica switched off the lamp. The bed seemed even smaller now that he was in it. Erica was only a foot away.

“Isn’t that more comfortable?” she said.

“Mm-hm,” Kevin responded, although he felt extremely uncomfortable. She was turned towards him, her light breathing raising the hairs on his neck, the warmth of her body flowing to his.

“Do you think we’ll get out of this?” she said, her voice groggy with fatigue.

Kevin wanted to lie and say that everything would be all right, but he didn’t think she was asking to be reassured. She wanted the truth. “I don’t know. If we can get into the safe deposit box, I think we have a shot at it.”

“Ha ha.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’m too tired to think about it any more anyway.” Within a minute she was asleep. She had the med student gift for being able to sleep anywhere at any time.

Kevin gazed at her profile outlined by the weak light coming through a crack in the curtain and envied her. He stayed awake a long time.

“This is it,” Lobec said, pointing at the Best Western. The last of the twilight was dwindling. The clock on the bank across the street flashed 9:03.

“You sure?” Bern replied, turning the rental car into the motel’s parking lot. “Mitch said there were two along this strip.”

“He also said it was the one closest to the interstate. The next one is almost in downtown New Orleans. Furthermore, it matches the directions from the airport. Go in and see if they are here.”

Bern climbed out and lumbered into the lobby. Lobec saw him flash his police ID. That seemed to get the clerk’s attention, and he began tapping at the computer’s keyboard. After a few minutes, Bern trotted back out to the car.

“This is it, all right. But they haven’t checked in yet. Probably just getting some dinner first. I’ll bet we have them in less than two hours. What do you think?”

“I will be surprised if it’s this easy.”

“Man, you’re hard to please. Mitch said they made the reservation at this motel six hours ago, guaranteed it with the girl’s credit card. Then they stopped in Baton Rouge for gas two hours ago, also paid with the girl’s credit card. What more do you want?”

“I want them in this car with us. When that happens, I will be satisfied. Not a moment earlier.”

Lobec was right to be cautious. An hour and half passed with no sign of the couple. He was thinking that he’d wait another half hour and no more when his cellular phone beeped.

“Yes.”

“It’s Mitch. Thought you might like to know. Erica Jensen just canceled the reservation at the Best Western. She also just charged $11.58 for gas in Biloxi, Mississippi five minutes ago.”

“Has she made any other reservations?”

“No. But if they stay at another motel without making a guaranteed reservation, all they’ll do is make an imprint tonight. It won’t be run through the machine until tomorrow morning.”

“That’s no good. They’ll be gone before we can get to it. They must be going this way for a reason. Check to see if they have any family or friends in the area.”

“I’m already searching the Biloxi area for matches.”

“No. Search Mississippi, then Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.” Lobec heard muffled curses at the end of the line. “Anything else?

“Yeah. Jensen called the hospital to tell them she wouldn’t be in today or tomorrow. At their apartments, one call was made to each answering machine. The one to Hamilton’s was a guy named Nigel asking if he wanted to grab some dinner. The one to Jensen’s was a telemarketer. Neither machine was checked for messages.”

“Do we have the trace set up?”

“All ready. The machine doesn’t even have to answer. I love Caller ID.”

“Fine. Advise me when you have something.”

Lobec terminated the signal and began to dial another number.

“Who’re you calling?” Bern asked.

“The Gulfstream.”

“We going back to Houston?”

“No. Biloxi.”