Page 27

Chapter Twenty-Six

–––

Hunt the Man Down

My parents stared at me. They were seated side by side on the bed in their Mayhem motel room—the room that technically they should have vacated already. But it had been such a relief to find them there, I’d opted not to point that out. I’d spent the past few minutes laying out my plan, which, when I said it out loud, did sound kind of insane. Still, I kept up the front I’d walked in with, that everything was under control. “Any questions?”

My mom actually raised her hand and said, “Emily, honey, what on earth have you been doing? You smell positively ghastly.”

“Like low tide,” my dad agreed.

“That’s a long story that’s frankly none of your damn business,” I said impatiently. “I meant, do you have any questions about the plan?”

“Will you be showering first? Because it sounds like we’ll be in close quarters for this, and you know how sensitive I am to odors—”

“Yes, Mom. I will shower and change before we go.” Exasperated, I threw up my hands. “You were listening to the rest of it, right?”

They exchanged a look, then shifted their attention back to me. “I’m sorry, Emily, I’m confused,” my dad said. “You want us to do what now?”

“It’s a con.” Despite what Dot had said, I’d decided against filling them in on all the details. Even if they were desperate enough to participate in a swoop and squat, that was still a far cry from messing with a serial killer. And also, fuck them for trying to con me. So I’d only provided the broad strokes of what they’d be responsible for. “Classic Joliet ragtime setup.”

“You said you weren’t on the grift anymore,” my mother said, eyeing me.

“Yeah, well, I lied.” I didn’t feel like going into the whole thing; better if they just bought that. It was what they were most likely to believe anyway.

“I must say, Emily—”

“Amber,” I said, fighting a wave of impatience as I glanced at my watch again; the minutes were flying by, and I could practically feel our window of opportunity slipping away. For all I knew, Grimes had Grace miles away by now. Or worse, she was stowed in a bathtub. I repressed a shudder and said, “I go by Amber now.”

“Well, Amber ,” my mother said, making it clear what she thought of my new name, “why would you come to us, after claiming to have washed your hands of your only family?”

“Nice,” I said. “Really love the tremor in your voice. That definitely helped sell it.”

“If you’re going to be like that—” my mother sniffed.

“Honey, don’t hurt your mother’s feelings,” my dad chided, wrapping an arm around her. I noted that he was no longer wearing a cast on his arm, so apparently that injury had been a lie, too.

“Look.” I gritted my teeth; this was harder than I’d imagined, and I’d pictured it being pretty awful. “I need some of your special skills to pull this off.” Which was true. I didn’t have time to enlist anyone else; right now, they were my best shot for the plan to work.

“I think we’ll pass, dear,” my mom said curtly.

My father appeared ready to argue, but she threw him a look and he clamped his mouth shut. My mom patted his knee and added, “After all, your father needs to rest. He’s still healing.”

“Is he?” I said, crossing my arms. “Then where’s the cast?”

“He took it off to shower,” my mother said smoothly. “He was just about to put it back on when you showed up. Isn’t that true, dear?”

My dad smiled weakly and got off the bed, grabbing the air cast from the bureau. He made a big show of wincing as he eased it back on, saying, “Yup. Had to get that hospital smell off me.”

“It wasn’t a hospital, it was an urgent care clinic,” I said. “You know, I’ve got a friend who can access hospital records. Should I have her check into yours?”

“Go ahead,” my mother said, also crossing her arms. “I swear, the utter lack of trust. And here you are, asking for a favor?”

“Not a favor,” I said, holding up a finger. “I’m paying you, remember? And you need the money, unless you were lying about that, too.”

“How much?” my mother said cagily.

“You mean, on top of what you’ve already managed to steal from me?” I said, cocking an eyebrow.

“What? Why, I never!” my mother gasped, clutching her literal pearls.

There was a knock at the door. “Oh, good,” I said. “I was beginning to worry.”

My parents exchanged a glance. “Who’s that?” my mother asked guardedly.

“I need another warm body for this to work,” I said, going to the door. “So I guess it’s lucky there are so many pros in town.” I threw it open to find Kat standing there, fist raised to knock again.

Seeing me, she broke into a wide grin. “Amber! I am so delighted—”

“Cut the shit, Kat,” I said. “Or whatever your name is. Come in, we don’t have much time.”

Kat froze, mouth open. Which I would’ve enjoyed if I hadn’t been seething inside. What I really wanted to do was scream at all of them. Maybe pummel them with my fists, give them a good jab with a cattle prod, or cover them with honey and stick them on an anthill.

Because the more I thought about it, the more betrayed and violated I felt.

“What are you talking about?” Kat finally managed.

I waved her inside. “Get on the bed, next to your idiot partners. I’ve got a new gig for you.”

“A gig? What is—”

“Seriously, stop playing. I know you’ve all been working together for months.” I drew a deep breath and said the most difficult words that have ever come out of my mouth: “And I’m the mark.”

My dad, at least, had the good grace to look discomfited. Kat was aghast. “But—”

“Sit.” I pointed at the bed. Mutely, Kat went over and plonked down beside my parents. I planted myself in front of them, hands on my hips. “You’ve been siphoning money out of my bank account for months—small amounts so I wouldn’t notice. I’m guessing all the crap you’ve pulled here was to try to get the rest in one fell swoop. And believe me, I have more than enough evidence to prove it.” That last bit was a lie, but what the hell; as long as it convinced them.

A moment of silence as they all stared at me. Then Kat sighed and said without a trace of an accent, “Well, shit. Who told you?”

“Does it matter?” I glared at her. Finding out my parents had tried to con me was bad enough. That’s who they were; they couldn’t help themselves.

But I’d really thought that Kat loved me. I felt a tremor in my heart and locked it down, hard. I couldn’t let those feelings come, not now. I’d deal with them later. For Grace’s sake, I had to focus.

Sniffing, my mother said, “What an absurd accusation, Emily. Honestly, I don’t know what’s gotten into you.”

“Like I said, enough.” I gritted my teeth, determined not to rise to the bait. “I’ll give you another fifty grand if you help with this.”

“A hundred,” my mother said without missing a beat.

“Really?” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I just hand those files over to the cops. Out of curiosity, how many outstanding warrants do the three of you have?”

“You’d send your own parents to jail?” my mother asked.

“In a fucking heartbeat,” I snarled. “But I’d rather have you help voluntarily. So I’m willing to pay.”

“Honey,” my dad said, looking aggrieved. “I’m so sorry, but we were in quite a pinch.”

“I don’t care,” I said. “Fifty. Take it or leave it.”

“Seventy-five,” my mother said.

I hesitated, which was largely a feint. A significant chunk of my childhood was spent watching my mother haggle for everything; she’d regularly gotten restaurant tabs discounted or completely covered by claiming there was a hair (plucked from her own head) in the food. But I couldn’t afford to waste time. “Sixty,” I said. “Best offer.”

I watched as they all held a silent conversation. One thing about my parents, they were quite a team. Decades of pulling cons together meant they could basically read each other’s minds.

But then, I’d spent plenty of time doing the same. And I already knew their answer was a foregone conclusion. After all, my innate greed and proclivity for unnecessary risks hadn’t come out of nowhere. Seeing Kat engaged in that silent chat with them sparked another feeling, though: jealousy. It was like she was their kid and I was an outsider.

I was definitely going to need a ton of therapy if I survived this. I sighed heavily and got to my feet. Palms up, I said, “Oh well, your loss. I’ll find someone else.”

“Fine,” my mother said, in the same moment my father said, “Of course we’ll help you, dear.”

“Money up front,” my mother added quickly.

“Yeah, right!” I laughed. “Who do you think raised me? I pay when the gig is over.”

“How do we know you’ll pay?”

“You don’t,” I said curtly. “Take it or leave it. Worst-case scenario, you’ll have what you already got off me.”

“And the files?”

“And the files.” I avoided Kat’s eyes as they held another silent conversation.

“Fine,” my mother said wearily, as if this was all a huge imposition. “I suppose you leave us no choice.”

“Looks like the band is getting back together!” my dad exclaimed, jovially clapping his hands.

Kat didn’t say anything. She still hadn’t met my eyes, which kind of pissed me off. But then again, there really wasn’t anything she could say. Except sorry. And no amount of sorry would ever make up for what she’d done to me.

I glanced at my Rolex, which I fully intended to throw into a volcano when all this was over. Grimes had grabbed Grace a couple hours ago, and I could practically hear a clock ticking in my mind. “I’ll text a list of what to bring. If you don’t have something, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Or hell, just steal it, the way you usually do.”

“Really, Amber,” my mother sniffed. “And might I ask when this is happening?”

“Meet me in the parking lot tomorrow morning at six a.m.”

“Six a.m.!” my mom exclaimed. “Does it have to be so early?”

“Yeah, it does. And if you’re not there?” I leveled a stern gaze at each of them in turn. “I set the cops on you. Got it?”

“We won’t let you down, honey,” my dad said, offering a salute.

“Well, that would be a first,” I scoffed.

“Will you be coming back to the room?” Kat asked.

“Stay here for fifteen minutes while I shower and get my stuff,” I said coldly. “Then it’s all yours. I probably won’t sleep tonight anyway.”

“Amber—”

“I’m having the locks changed in San Francisco, too,” I said, cutting her off. “Hopefully there’s nothing there you give a shit about because as soon as I get back, it all goes out on the street.”

I turned on my heel and left the room before she could answer.

———

I would’ve loved a long, luxurious shower, but there wasn’t time for that. So instead, I soaped up and rinsed off as quickly as possible, hopefully enough to eliminate the dumpster stink. The entire time, I carried on a conversation with an imaginary Grace in my head. True to form, she shot down every aspect of my plan.

It was weirdly comforting and kept me from ruminating obsessively about Kat and my parents.

Despite how little she’d shared, I’d gleaned that Grace’s dad was her own personal bogeyman: the scary, authoritarian monster who had dominated her childhood. Of course she couldn’t see him clearly. To her, he probably seemed preternaturally powerful.

And yeah, he was scary, but also old and out of touch. And I could use that. To pull a successful con, you had to know your mark, and I had a pretty good sense of who this murderous sociopath was. So in my head, I explained to Grace, Listen. Your dad came to Vegas so he could find out what happened to Gunnar, right? And to try to track down you and your mom.

Imaginary Grace inclined her head in acknowledgment.

So there’s no way he could’ve had a plan yet.

He’s had a couple days to come up with one, she pointed out.

Sure, but when you were growing up, was everything planned out in detail? Based on what I knew about his kids—and about serial killers in general—they tended to be hard-core control freaks. So Gregory Grimes had to be feeling seriously off kilter and out of his element.

Father was definitely a planner, she conceded.

Exactly. And right now he’s in a world filled with tech he doesn’t understand, and he’s older, and weaker, and doesn’t have anyone or anything.

He has me.

Not really, because I’m guessing you’ve probably already tried to kill him , I scoffed.

If you’re right, that doesn’t bode well for me, imaginary Grace said.

I know, which is why we have to give him the illusion of control to keep him calm. Out loud, I added, “This plan will work. I know it will.”

I turned off the shower and toweled dry, trying not to look at Kat’s stuff spread across the counter. Catching my reflection in the mirror, I almost startled. I looked worn and far older than my twenty- four years. Which wasn’t really surprising, considering the fact that I hadn’t had an easy life, was sleep-deprived, and was still coming off a pretty hefty dose of sedatives.

I was tired of getting pushed around, tired of living in fear, tired of people thinking they could shave me, drug me, con me, and hold a knife to my back. I was officially pissed off and ready to make someone pay.

And worst-case scenario, if we failed and Grimes killed me, at least I’d never have to face Kat or my parents again. Which was a special kind of silver lining.

A knock on the door and then Dot called out, “You ready, kiddo? We got everything set up in my office.”

“Coming!” I called back. Giving myself one final look, I leaned in and said, “Let’s get this motherfucker.”

———

Too nervous to sit, I stood behind the desk chair in Dot’s office, my hair still wet from the shower. For this part of the plan, I needed help. After all, I was supposed to be dead. And if Grimes believed otherwise, it would only make things worse for Grace.

Dot sat on the edge of her chair, looking pale and nervous. Marcella was perched on the desk, glowering down at the phone set between us. “You sure you’re up for this?” I asked again.

Dot smiled weakly at me. “You questioning my acting ability, toots?”

“No, it’s just…I don’t know. He’s pretty scary.”

“He’s just a man, like any other.” Dot waved her hand dismissively. “Thinks far too highly of himself and believes whatever he wants is his to take. Don’t you worry. I got this.”

“Okay. Here we go.” I drew a deep breath and dialed Grace on the speakerphone.

It rang three times and then went to voicemail. True to form, Grace used the default robot that told you to leave a message. I gritted my teeth and dialed again.

It was answered almost immediately, but there was nothing but silence on the other end of the line. Dot cleared her throat and said, “Hello?”

“Who is this?”

Dot threw me a glance; I shook my head. I’d rather not give him any more information than necessary. “A friend of Grace’s,” she said. “May I please speak with her?”

“My, don’t you have lovely manners,” he said approvingly. “Am I to assume this is Dot, renowned owner of the Mayhem and Getaway motels?”

Dot sucked in her breath sharply, and the remaining color drained from her face. I mouthed, “Are you okay?”

She closed her eyes, nodded once, and then said in a level voice, “Speaking. Would it be possible for me to talk to Grace, please?”

A low chuckle emanated from the receiver; it made all the hairs on my arms stand up. “I’m afraid Grace can’t come to the phone right now.”

Marcella swore under her breath. I felt a chill; had he killed her? Were we already too late?

“May I ask when she’ll be available?” Dot said smoothly.

A long pause. I clenched my hands together in front of my chin. If he’d killed her, I would hunt him down.

“I really couldn’t say. She’s indisposed at the moment.”

I scribbled something on the desk pad and spun it around. Dot read it and then nodded. “Oh, that’s a shame. I was really hoping to give her the good news about her mother.”

“Mother?” he said suspiciously. “It was my understanding that Mother had passed.”

“Oh, no, of course not!” Dot’s laugh sounded forced, but the fact that she’d managed one at all was impressive. “The nursing home called, and a room opened up for her after all. I wanted to make sure Grace was aware.”

“I see. And why would this facility have contacted you, in lieu of my daughter?”

“When they couldn’t get ahold of her, they rang me.” I gave her a thumbs-up. She nodded and continued. “She travels quite a bit, and since we’re neighbors, I’m kind of her doorman. Sign for packages, take messages, that sort of thing.”

“A care facility, you say?”

“Yessir. But they said it’s very important that Grace call back as soon as possible. These rooms don’t come available very often, and they go quickly.”

“Hm. And where would Mother be moving from?”

“Well, now, I’m not sure I feel right providing that information to a total stranger. Would you please pass along the message for me?”

“Certainly.”

The line disconnected.

We stared at each other. “Goddamn, Dottie,” Marcella finally said. “You deserve an Oscar.”

“Yes, I might’ve missed my calling,” she said, blushing slightly. “Do you think it worked?”

“I hope so.” I checked my watch and then went to the door to peer out the plate-glass window that overlooked the parking lot. My parents and Kat stood beside my car; based on their body language, they were having some sort of argument. Hopefully not about leaving, because if they called my bluff, there was nothing I could do about it. Worst-case scenario, I could make the plan work without them, but it would be much riskier for everyone involved.

I was debating going outside to put the fear of God in them when the phone on the desk rang. I looked at Dot. “Ready?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, hitting the button to pick up. “Hello?”

“What are you doing?” Grace snapped. She sounded angry—and very much alive, which was a relief.

“A space has opened up in the facility you were hoping to get your mother into. However, she would need to be checked in tomorrow morning, and you would have to be there personally to fill out the paperwork. What would you like me to tell them?”

A long silence, until I wondered if the connection had been broken. Finally, Grace said, “I would not want to put Mother at risk.”

“Oh, no, dear, she would be just fine,” Dot said. “You know they wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her there.”

Hopefully, that was clear enough for Grace to grasp, but oblique enough to slide past Grimes.

“And I have to be the one to sign the paperwork?”

“Oh, yes. You have power of attorney, so it absolutely has to be you. They were very clear on that.”

Hushed voices on the other end. I crossed my fingers and prayed that he took the bait. Finally, Grace came back on and said, “What time?”

“Well, they’re hoping to get her in as soon as possible. Ideally tomorrow morning around eight?”

Another pause. We waited, straining to hear what was being said in the background. Finally, Grace came back on and said, “We can meet you there.”

“We?” Dot said innocently.

“Yes. Father will be coming as well.” A beat, then she added, “I wish you wouldn’t involve yourself with this, Dot. I know you must be busy.”

“No trouble at all, dear. I have plenty of help,” Dot said. “I will collect your mother, and we will see you at eight a.m. I’ll text you the address.”

“All right. And Dot?”

“Yes, dear?”

“I’m sorry about Amber.” A click as the line disconnected.

“Well, now. That went much better than expected,” Dot said.

“You’re a champ,” I said, feeling genuinely awed. “That was amazing.”

“That was the easy part,” Marcella said. “Now comes the hard shit.”

She wasn’t wrong. “You both know what you need to do?” They nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s go set it up.”