when a plan fails,’ ’’ said Diane.
‘‘Well, getting out on the highway in a car she
knows you will have seen is not a plan. That’s
running.’’
Izzy laughed out loud.
Chapter 43
Diane, Frank, and Izzy were in Frank’s car trailing the museum security SUV. Frank and Diane were in the front seat, Izzy in the back. Frank followed at a dis tance. They didn’t want to capture Rikki themselves, but they did want to be extra eyes looking for her.
‘‘I think she’ll use that old roadway down by the river,’’ said Frank.
He was speaking of the Dekanogee River—which was the river referred to in the RiverTrail Museum. He turned off onto the old dirt road, leaving the security vehicle to cover the more heavily used access roads.
‘‘Why do you think she would come this way?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘She wants to dispose of the hard disk so no one else can get the numbers,’’ said Frank. ‘‘And she needs to get rid of it as soon as possible. I suspect she intends to throw the disk into the river. This is a good place to do that and a secluded place to change vehicles.’’
The woods were dense in this section of the prop erty, and the roadbed was old and rough. The bottom of Frank’s Camaro scraped the ground in the deep ruts, and the car bounced around badly enough that Diane tightened her seat belt and pressed the flat of her hand on the roof above her to hold herself in place.
‘‘I have to tell you guys, my first day on the job has been a real kicker,’’ said Izzy.
‘‘It’s not over yet,’’ said Diane. ‘‘What’s that?’’ she said, pointing toward some bushes just ahead.
Through the tangle of undergrowth Diane thought she saw a glint from a mirror and a flash of orange. Frank slowed the car as they approached. Diane rolled down her window so she could see better and listen for sounds.
Frank drove slowly past the place where Diane thought she saw the car. It was there in the bushes, only half concealed. He stopped the Camaro and called in their location. Izzy jumped out, pulled his gun, and ran in a crouch to the rear of the Geo. Cau tiously, gun at the ready, he took a quick look through the windows of the vehicle and scanned the area. He turned toward them and shook his head.
‘‘Up ahead,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I hear a car.’’
Izzy heard it too. He ran back and jumped in the backseat.
‘‘I think she’s abandoned it all right,’’ he said. He reached out his window and patted the roof of Frank’s car. ‘‘Let’s go,’’ he said.
Frank looked over at Diane and smiled. He drove the narrow road at a speed greater than Diane felt comfortable with, but she said nothing and held on. Ahead of them they saw the rear of a dark blue Saturn just going out of sight around a curve in the road. Frank drove faster and the ride got bumpier.
As they rounded the curve, the Saturn was just ahead. The road was smoother here, mainly dirt, and the blue sedan was accelerating and kicking up dust. The Saturn drove out of sight again.
Frank sped up.
They popped over a low rise and suddenly they saw it again. It was backing fast toward them, running from police and museum security cars coming fast, head-on. Frank slid to a stop. Diane braced for impact. The Saturn’s brake lights were glaring red; the car skidded to a stop just inches before it hit the front end of Frank’s Camaro.
Izzy jumped out of the car, leaving the door open, and drew his gun—as did Frank. Diane opened her door and stayed behind it. She had no gun.
She heard Janice’s voice calling for the occupant of the car to come out, hands on head.
Diane watched the person sitting behind the steer ing wheel in the car. She saw black hair, she thought, but it was hard to see much with the glare of the sun on the window.
Janice repeated the command.
The door opened and Rikki stepped out, hands in the air. She was wearing a black wig. That was a relief. The thought had crossed Diane’s mind that perhaps they had disturbed some innocent nature lovers who thought they were being chased by maniacs in a white Camaro. Janice spread Rikki against the car, patted her down, and put handcuffs on her. Only then did Diane stand up and Frank and Izzy let their guards down.
Rikki cast a wicked glance back at Diane.
Diane, Frank, and Izzy went to the interrogation room at the police station where Rikki was taken. They stood and looked through the two-way mirror at her sitting with her hands on top of the desk, beating out a tune with her palms.
‘‘She doesn’t look too worried,’’ said Izzy. ‘‘Why is that, I wonder?’’
‘‘She has a Plan B,’’ said Diane. ‘‘What I wonder is, did she have time to shift the money in the offshore accounts to some other bank account? How hard is that to do? Can you do it with a cell? A BlackBerry? An iPod?’’ she asked, smiling.
Frank laughed. ‘‘You can do it with a cell or a BlackBerry. It would be hard with an iPod.’’
‘‘Is it difficult to track?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘Depends,’’ said Frank. ‘‘Could be very difficult. Even if you find it, you have to prove the money doesn’t belong to the person who opened the account. Not easy with some of the offshore banking laws.’’
‘‘What’s her Plan B?’’ asked Izzy.
Janice Warrick entered the interview room and sat down opposite Rikki.
