not really their condo?”
“They rent it?”
“Yep, from a guy working a two-year consulting project in Saudi
Arabia.”
“He’ll be pleased to hear they took
off,” Jesse
said.
“Unless they paid up front.”
“Would you?” Jesse said.
“When I knew I was going to disappear? No, I don’t think I
would.”
When he was off the phone Jesse swiveled his chair, put his feet
back on the windowsill, and looked at the fire trucks again.
They had a false identity. They must have had it in place,
standing by. That’s why they had been so easy and open about their
history in Cleveland. Maybe the Cleveland identity was assumed too.
If you had time and some smarts you could prepare a full new one, driver’s license, credit cards. Or five full new ones.
Standing on the running board of one of the fire trucks, a news
photographer was taking pictures through the window. Jesse could imagine the caption. Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone ponders
his next move. Jesse kept sitting.
If they had a long-established alternate identification,
then they must have had a long-established plan to kill people.
Maybe Paradise wasn’t the first. People like that didn’t stop very
often. If Paradise wasn’t the first place they‘ d pursued their
passion, it probably wouldn’t be the last. They were unconnected.
They didn’t need to work.
Suitcase Simpson came into the office.
“There were eleven cab fares in the last week,” Suit said, “out
of Paradise. Seven of them went to the airport. Two went to the Northeast Mall. One went to New England Baptist Hospital. One went to Wonderland Dog Track.”
“In the winter?” Jesse said.
“They run all year,” Suit said.
“In this weather it would be easier just to mail them a check,”
Jesse said.
“You California guys are wimps,” Suit said. “Hardy New
Englanders like to be there when they lose it.”
Jesse nodded.
“So they could have cabbed to the airport, picked up the rental,
drove it to the mall.”
“Or one of them could have, and the other one could have picked
him up and driven him home in the Saab.”
“They like to do things together,” Jesse said.
“So you figure they both went for the rental car, and drove it
to the mall in time for the shootout?”
“Yes.”
“What if they rented it the day before,”
Suit said, “and parked
it at the mall?”
“The car would have been parked there overnight. It might have
attracted attention. And they’d have had to take a cab to the mall
