Double Doublecross (17 page)

“Why ask me? You're the boss—or at least half the boss. Sure, leave Friday night. I'll hold the fort,” he said with a grin.

“Great, I'll call Sara and tell her to get packing. Thanks a million, Stan. You're a great buddy.”

Sara felt flushed with excitement when she received the news from Rick. Immediately she started to lay her things out on the bed, deciding on warm and casual clothing. ‘This is super!' she thought, ‘I like this way of life.'

That evening, travel arrangements were as before, with Sara driving to Auburn and Rick taking over from there.

“I've booked two rooms at the same place,” said Rick. “You seemed to like it there.”

“Thanks,” she said dolefully. “I hope you don't mind having separate rooms. I know it's a bit expensive, but I'm not ready for a relationship at this time.”

“No sweat. Let's just have a good time with no strings attached.”

“At least not at the moment,” she said with a smile.

Rick felt surprised at that last remark. ‘Perhaps there's a chance after all,' he thought. Feeling full of enthusiasm, he started to hum to a Doors song playing faintly on the radio.

“Do you like the Doors?” Sara asked.

“It's one of my favorites. Them and AC/DC,” he remarked.

“Do you like the classics or is it all rock and roll for you?”

“Oh, I like Chopin and Mozart from time to time.”

Sara was now looking at the map of California.

“Is there another way to get there?” she said scanning the map.

“In the summer I take the lower route on Highway 50. This time of year with the chance of a snowstorm, it's safer to take the I-80.”

They peeled off the I-80, then through Truckee and made their way to Squaw Valley.

As they approached the hotel, Sara stared up at the glistening snow-covered peaks outlined against the moonlit sky.

“This is really beautiful, Rick. I guess you like the cold climate up here.”

“Not really. It's great for skiing and fun in the summer, but I really enjoy the winter and spring in Sarasota, Florida. The weather's warm and so is the water. As I told you before, I have vacations there and stay at the Sunset View Motel. I'll
be going in a few weeks. You can tag along if you like,” he said.

“Maybe I will,” she said quietly.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, they set off for the slopes and spent the day skiing. The rest of the weekend they continued skiing, with an occasional visit to the casinos across the state line in Nevada. Sara mastered the intermediate slopes and said she couldn't get enough.

Sitting on her bed that evening, she knew that her biggest problem was how to get the bag of money out of her hands. She was sure there was a way to move it. It seemed a pity that Carl could not have picked it up while they were away for the weekend.

‘It must be possible to do that,' she thought. The seed had been sewn and a germ of a plan formed in her mind.

That's it! She would get Rick to take her skiing and gambling again. Somehow, she'd get Carl access to the house and leave the bag on her bed, so all he had to do was get in, grab the bag and get out. The idea developed in her mind until she reached a point where she would have to discuss the idea with Carl.

The plan seemed workable but Carl would have to ditch his tail long enough to pick up the money and then make his getaway before the cartel got onto him. Sara wasn't sure Carl could do that.

On the drive home Rick noticed that Sara was very quiet.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“You're being very quiet.”

“I've had a great time, Rick, but I'm just about worn out and tired from the excitement and exercise.”

“Take a nap. I'll give you a nudge when we get near home,” he said.

Sara leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes but she didn't go to sleep. It gave her an opportunity to think over her plan and pass it by Carl. Of course Carl would have to make preparations to plan his route of escape, but the thought of unloading the money back into Carl's hands made her feel more content inside. While
she
had the money, it was
her
that the cartel would be after, not Carl. Getting rid of it would be lifting a burden from her shoulders.

She decided to give Carl a call as soon as she could the next day.

The following day Sara showered and dressed the same time as Rick.

“What's got into you? Usually you're still in bed when I'm about to leave for the office,” Rick said.

“I woke up feeling great. I think it must have been all the fresh air I had over the weekend.”

“In that case we should go skiing more often.”

“I'd like that. I think I've got the ski bug. It's so exhilarating.”

“I know. I've been skiing for years. I usually go there with Alec and his wife for a whole weekend or even longer. He likes to gamble in the casinos, so we make an evening of it with drinks, dinner and a shot at roulette. We leave Rita to do battle with the one arm bandits. It's cheap and it keeps her occupied.”

“I'd like to do that, Rick,” she said. “Can we go again?”

“Name the day and we'll do it.”

“Let me recover from this weekend first,” she laughed, “I feel so much better getting up early. I think I'll make a habit
of it,” she said with a smile.

Sara moved with Rick to the door that adjoined the garage.

“Thanks for the lovely time, Rick. You don't know how much I enjoyed it,” she said giving him a light kiss on the lips before he opened the door.

“Think nothing of it. It was fun,” said Rick.

Carl showered and dressed, then made his way to the elevator in the passageway and rode down to the apartment foyer. He located the community restroom, and went through the door just as Sara dialed his number.

“Carl here. What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Do you know what time it is?”

“I know it's early, but I've got an idea.”

“Don't strain yourself. It's a bit early for ideas. Shoot,” he said in a sarcastic tone.

“I have an idea how you can get the money from me—then you can make your getaway and send for me later. It's best that you travel alone at first,” she said. She knew she wanted no part of Carl. She had no intention of going away with him.

“Okay, let's have it.”

“First, you have to think of a way to lose your follower. When you're ready, I'll arrange to go off for the weekend with Rick Jacobs—nothing serious of course. I'll leave a key outside the front door somewhere. Then I'll leave the case on my bed. You enter the house when we've gone, give us two or three hours start, just to be on the safe side. Enter the house, pick up the money, replace the key and make your getaway. What do you think of that?” she said, grinning to herself.

“Not bad, not bad. Not bad at all. Let me think it over and I'll give you a buzz. Talk to you later,” he said curtly and rang off.

Carl Regis picked up the phone and dialed Phil Speed's number. After a couple of rings, Phil answered.

“Speed here,” he said gruffly.

“It's me. Carl. How 'bout a burger and coffee for lunch?”

“I'll do anything to get out of this place. I'm bored stiff. Need some work if you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Do you think the gods still trust us?” he said for the benefit of those who had bugged his place.

“God knows. I'm pissed off with the situation. I've done nothing wrong, and I'm being punished for some asshole's dirty work.”

Carl felt a stab of guilt rumble through his body. He knew how ruthless Phil Speed could be. If he knew Carl was responsible for his position, he'd either maim him or kill him without a second thought.

“Yeah, pretty grim. I'll see you at the burger place at eleven thirty if that's okay with you.”

“Okay. I could do with some company. See you then.”

Carl wanted to get some ideas from Phil on how to lose his tail. He didn't know exactly how he was going to approach the subject but it had to be done. Sara's idea sounded okay but he did not like to admit it. His ego would not let him. No woman was going to tell him what to do, but he had to admit to himself that it sounded like a solid scheme.

Later he pulled up at the burger place, looked behind him and saw a red car moving into a space twenty yards away. It was probably his tail.

Carl got out of the car and entered the restaurant, went straight to the rest room, washed his hands and waited to be seated. The follower waited outside until he was shown to a table and then he entered and asked for a seat near the doorway. It was his tail—no doubt about it.

A waitress brought him a menu and he glanced at it casually, but kept an eye open for Phil Speed at the same time. A few minutes later, Phil came in and Carl beckoned him over to the table.

“Hi, Phil. Nice to see you,” Carl said.

“Likewise,” Phil said, being a man of few words.

“Where's your tail?”

“Outside probably, waiting in the car. Seems to be a woman—the bitch!”

Carl called the waitress over and ordered.

“I got a question,” Carl said.

“Fire away. I'm all ears.”

“I'm sick of being followed around. How could I get rid of the tail?”

“Who cares about a tail if you haven't done anything wrong? They don't bother me.”

“I know that, Phil, but say I wanted to visit someone I know—like a girl friend for instance.”

“Now I'm interested. Can you get one for me?”

“No, Phil. You've got me all wrong. I mean hypothetically speaking.”

“Kill the bastard!” Speed said without a smile.

“That's a bit drastic, Phil.”

“Only way,” he said with a sadistic sneer.

“Say you just wanted to dodge them for an hour or two. How would you do that?”

“It wouldn't bother me for an hour or two. Let ‘em follow
me—I don't care. But if I wanted to dodge them permanently, kill ‘em. No other way. Problem is, they'd soon find you and kill you too.”

Carl was silent for a moment and then decided to change the subject.

“What about the stolen money? Have they caught the little shit that did it?”

“Don't know and I don't care. I know it wasn't me. I'd be long gone by now if it was me. I'd go as far away as possible, but I'd always be looking over my shoulder for the speeding bullet!”

Phil Speed was not giving Carl any help. In fact he was making him nervous with his idea of killing someone. Carl was not a totally ruthless person like Phil, so he was no help at all.

Finishing their lunch and paying the check, they stood up, shook hands and said they would keep in touch, keeping in mind that if calls were made from their apartments, every word was being monitored.

Carl got into his car and pulled out of the parking lot, closely followed by his tail. Reaching his apartment, he sat in his recliner, made some coffee, and started to think of a way to give his follower the slip without any violence, then make a clean getaway. ‘Quite a formidable task,' he thought.

T
he more Sara thought through her plan, the more she liked it. She would suggest to Rick another weekend in Lake Tahoe and was sure he would agree with the idea.

The timing of the rest of her plan would have to be faultless. The biggest problem was Carl. He would have to come up with a concrete plan at his end before she made any suggestion to Rick.

First, she would plant the seed of another trip in Rick's mind when he reached home that evening, but without any defined timeframe. Carl would need some time to plan his getaway—and, hopefully, be out of her hair forever.

She had
no
intention of leaving with him, even if he did have a fortune in stolen money. There was always the possibility he would be hunted down and murdered because his running away would certainly point to the fact that it was him who had taken the money.

As for Phil, she still had a yearning for him, but she hadn't spoken to him for some time and she was afraid that he too was being bugged and followed. If she had to choose
between Phil Speed and Rick, it would be a close race. They both promised a better life than taking a chance with Carl—who she was sure would come to a catastrophic end sooner or later.

Sara decided to start the ball rolling as soon as Rick came home in an hour or two.

Carl was giving Sara's idea some considerable thought. There seemed to be some merit to the scheme. Her part would be easier than his appeared to be. How could he get rid of his tail without arousing suspicion?

Phil Speed's idea was too violent; he would have to be more subtle. Maybe he should run a few shrewd tests to find the weakness in his adversaries' armor. Perhaps they were not on their guard in the early morning hours. He decided to test their astuteness later that evening without arousing too much suspicion.

About eleven o'clock that evening Carl turned up his television, opened the door and crept down to his car. Opening the door quietly, he slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. He let it idle for a few minutes and then drove slowly towards the security gate, keeping an eye on his rearview mirror.

At first he saw nothing for a few yards, then he noticed a brown car move out of the shadows of a side street. It kept pace with him at a short distance as he drove towards the small group of shops just to his left.

He turned into the strip mall looking for an excuse to stop. He eventually stopped at a video store. Getting out of the car, he entered the store, keeping an eye open for the occupant of the brown car. It pulled into the parking lot just a few spaces
from where Carl had parked.

After selecting a movie, he moved toward his car, started the engine and purposefully drove slowly past the parked brown car. As he approached the driver's side, the male occupant looked at him and gave a sneering smirk as he passed. Carl's heart pounded.