people in the hotel.'
'I want to go with you.'
'All right. Just do as I say for now.' Jane practically pushed her out the door.
Jane thought for a few seconds. There was no way out by using the elevator or going down the stairs to the lobby. It would have to be up. She went out to the hallway into the stairwell, then climbed painfully up one level to the fourth floor. She knew that there was a pool on the fourth level, and she could see the door at the end of the hall. She went out through the door, and saw the lighted water moving gently, throwing a reflection on the white stucco wall. There was a sign that said, Lifeguard on Duty 8:00 a.m. Until 5:00 p.m. Beyond the sign she saw what she had hoped for. On a rack next to the lifeguard's elevated chair there was a circular life preserver with a long nylon rope attached to it.
Jane stepped to the side of the pool and looked over the low wall at the parking lot below. On this side were the four police cars parked in front of the entrance. She walked to the opposite side of the roof and looked down. There were two more cars, to watch the rear entrance. There was only one more side, and she went there, looked below, and found herself looking down at a flat roof. It was a one-story wing of the hotel that jutted out a bit from the main building. On it were various vents and ducts, and what looked like a big central air-conditioning unit. Beside it was a large enclosure with a high fence, and inside were two large Dumpsters.
She took the life ring and lifted its rope from the hook on the wall. She walked to the side of the pool above the lower wing, tied the rope securely to the iron railing, and slipped the life preserver over her head and shoulders so her arms were free. She took a last look down, then gripped the rope, wound it around her right forearm, and lowered herself over the railing. She rappelled down the wall of the hotel, pushing off and landing with her left foot only, taking it deliberately to keep from making noise or swinging too far out from the wall. She managed to lower herself about forty feet, but then there was no more rope. She looked down. She judged that the remaining distance was only about six or seven feet, so she carefully slipped her body out of the life ring, held on to it with both hands, then touched the roof with her toes. She let go, and her right leg gave a painful twinge.
She took a few seconds to verify that she had not injured herself, then walked to the edge of the roof and looked over. There was a set of steel ladder steps attached to the brick wall, so she sat down, lowered her feet to the first step, and descended cautiously. The steps stopped at the top of one of the Dumpsters. She stood on the closed steel lid and looked out over the fence at the lot beyond. She could see Jim Shelby's car out on the street, and she could see Iris in the black car in the parking lot. Iris was closer. Jane went around the fence and moved along the side of the building until she was far enough, then limped to the row of cars where Iris was parked, and continued up the row until she reached Iris.
She opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. 'Drive,' she said. 'Go out to the street at the exit over there. Go no more than ten miles an hour.'
Iris drove slowly and cautiously. Jane watched the hotel entrance, the police cars, and the cars in the street, but she saw no reaction, except one. As Iris pulled out into the street, Jim Shelby's car started.
'Good,' said Jane. 'He sees me.' After they had moved off a hundred yards, Jane watched through the rear window while Shelby pulled out and followed.
Jane said, 'Okay, my runner is following us. We'll keep going for a few minutes to be sure we haven't been spotted. Then you're going to have a choice.'
'A choice What is it'
'The man behind us was convicted of murdering his wife a few years ago in California. I know he didn't do it, so about a week ago I broke him out of a Los Angeles courthouse where he was supposed to testify about another crime. He and I were the ones the police were looking for tonight.'
'Oh, my God.'
'There are also some other men paid to kill him, because it will close the case and nothing will ever happen to threaten the real murderer. They're the ones who shot me and then tortured me.'
'Oh, my God, Melanie.'
'Jane. Call me Jane.'
'But what am I choosing'
'You can take this car and drive someplace where you will start a new, quiet life and try not to get found by your ex-husband. That would be the most sensible thing you can do.'
'What's the other choice'
'You could go with us. Park the car in a lot somewhere, and then send the keys to Sarah at the Lifeboat, so she can send someone to pick it up. Then get in the other car with us. I'll try to get him settled somewhere, and then do the same for you. That's what I do professionally. So I might be able to make you better at disappearing. But it's a very harsh trade-off, because being with us is very dangerous. You would also have to protect my secrets and my runner's secrets, even if it kills you.' She added, 'And it might.'
'I'll go with you.'
'You're not giving yourself time to think.'
'I know what I'm doing. There's no question in my mind that Steve will find me again. He's very good at these things. He used to work as a private detective-got a license and everything-but he got fired. If he finds me, he will give me all the pain and suffering he can while he's killing me. You got away from the police, and from the people who want to kill your friend. But I know I can't get away from Steve. I need your help.'
'All right,' Jane said. 'Get onto the interstate and follow the signs to the airport.'
Iris drove the black car to the long-term parking lot, and Shelby waited outside in his car. Jane and Iris walked out to the street and got into Shelby's car. Shelby drove off toward the interstate.
Shelby glided onto the entrance ramp and accelerated. He merged onto the right lane of the highway, then moved another lane to the left. Jane turned and stared out the rear window for a full minute before she faced the front again and settled comfortably in her seat.
'Jim, this is Iris. Iris, Jim.'
'Pleased to meet you,' Iris said. 'Thank you for letting me come along.'
'Nice to meet you. But don't thank me. Jane made the decision and took all the risk.'
'I'm sorry,' Iris said. 'I'll do my best not to contribute to the risks. I just have to get away from my troubles and start over.'
'Me too,' he said.
'Jim,' Jane said. 'When you checked in at the hotel, did you have to write down your license number'
'No,' he said.
'Have you driven this car since you arrived'
'No. I made one quick stop to buy some food and supplies at a supermarket on the way, in Provo. I didn't want to have to go out and show my face here, so I figured I'd take one chance and then stay in until you caught up.'
'Good. This car is probably still safe for the moment. If people recognized us, they didn't connect us with this car.'
'What do we do to be sure'
'We can't be sure,' she said. 'What we can do is keep moving. We'll take turns driving and sleeping. Every day or so we'll steal new license plates and change them. We'll pay in cash for the few things we need, and use the restrooms at gas stations. We'll get to your sister as quickly as possible.'
'Agreed. I don't mind driving the rest of this shift,' said Shelby. 'You can go to sleep.'
'Are you sure'
'I've been restless, waiting to get on the road. It feels as though we're making progress, not just waiting for them to catch up with us.'
'As long as we're moving, we're okay. Wake me up if you get sleepy. We've got nothing to do but drive.' In a minute, Jane was sound asleep. A short time later, so was Iris.
8.
It was late night in Chicago. Wylie lay on one of the two big beds in the hotel room, watching a rebroadcast of a baseball game. He didn't care at all about the fate of the Chicago Cubs, but he was too tired to keep pressing the remote control to search for something better. He supposed watching the Cubs lose was the price for watching them play.
