He was now next in line. He’d chosen this line as the guy processing it looked particularly bored.
Arthur went to step forward but the man raised his hand to tell him to wait. It turned out the boredom was because he was right at the end of his shift. He stepped out of his booth and held the door open for the new agent to step in.
Damn it. Someone fresh. Someone alert. Someone keen to really check some passports.
This was not good.
A hand extended to wave him forward.
Arthur took a deep breath and walked the fateful few steps. All he had to do was hold it together, and freedom and a new life with June awaited him on the other side.
“Hi there.”
The woman smiled at him, and Arthur Faser forgot both his old and new names. It was the most incredible smile he had ever seen.
He looked at her blankly.
“So,” she said. “Can I see your passport, please, sir?”
He nodded.
She reached out and placed her fingers around the top of it. “OK, you’re going to have to let it go. The regulations say I’m not allowed to wrestle it off you.” She said it with a wink that made Arthur’s tummy go all funny.
Arthur released it.
“And you are Mr Martin Fitz?”
Arthur nodded. “And you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She blushed and cleared her throat. “Well, thank you, but I don’t think that is relevant.”
“I’m beginning to think it might be.”
She smiled at him again and Arthur smiled back.
The story of how they met went over great at the wedding.
Epilogue Three
Bunny cleared his throat. “I spy—”
“Don’t even think about it,” said Smithy.
“But—”
“But nothing. If you’re betting on the fact I won’t turn this vehicle off the interstate and plough us into something fatal, then you’ve misread the situation badly.”
Bunny turned to look out the window huffily. “I thought you weren’t supposed to bet on stuff any more.”
“It’s a figure of speech. If you like, I can pull the rig over and you can hop in the back with the other two?”
“Jesus. No, thanks. I had my fill of jigsaw puzzles back when we were in Wyoming. I’ll leave Diller and Carlos to it. Where are we now, by the way?”
“Ehm, I think we’re still in Wyoming.”
“Holy Mary, quite contrary. This country is too feckin’ big. Nobody needs this much of Wyoming. What’s it even good for?”
“Let me see,” said Smithy. “If my recollection is correct, Yellowstone National Park, and it was the first state to give all women the vote.”
Bunny nodded. “Fair play.”
“It was also the most recent state to raise the minimum drinking age to twenty-one.”
“Good God. They can shove their geysers where the sun don’t shine.”
Smithy pointed at a sign. “I take it back – we’re in Nebraska. I remember now – we passed over the border when you were asleep.”
“Is New York next?”
“Not even close.”
“Super.”
While it was a long journey, Smithy was enjoying it. He’d always wanted to drive an eighteen-wheeler. The Sisters had provided it. Their logic was that law enforcement would be less likely to expect two prison escapees to be fleeing the state in such a vehicle. Plus, being a vehicle belonging to the Sisters, it had other attributes. You could X-ray or use infra-red on the container in the back and it wouldn’t show you that it was occupied as long as the passengers got into the secret compartment under the floor. The Sisters, it seemed, were experts in making people disappear.
As it happened, none of it was required. They hadn’t been stopped at all. It seemed law enforcement were too distracted by other issues to be that bothered with a couple of escaped convicts, especially when it emerged that the real Anthony Rourke was dead. Which meant that all that was left was Carlos Breida, who had eighteen months left on his sentence and was classed as not being a threat to the public. While other people might be massively interested in him, Nevada law enforcement weren’t particularly high on that list.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Bunny. “How’s Cheryl getting on these days?”
“She’s good. We’re … OK.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Bunny.
“Well, we had a bit of a rough patch. I did something stupid.”
“If you cheated on her, I’ll kick your arse.”
Smithy looked across at him and raised an eyebrow. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I didn’t. If you must know, I tried to get my own back on somebody and, let’s just say things spiralled out of control.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” said Smithy. “She kicked me out.”
“Ouch. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We had a long talk. She pointed out that maybe my problem was that I need to admit to myself who I am.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Helping you out with the stuff we’ve done in the past. Getting myself in trouble trying to get revenge. Maybe, just maybe, I should admit that part of me craves action. I get bored. It isn’t like I’ve ever shown an aptitude for holding down a nine-to-five.”
“That’s true,” said Bunny. “I thought you liked driving the cab, though?”
“I do. But Cheryl said that seeing as Diller keeps suggesting we go into business together, she reckons I should do it.”
“Doing what?”
“Investigating.”
“Like gumshoes?”
Smithy gave Bunny a look.
“What? I’m not taking the piss. ’Tis a great idea.”
“Maybe. Still, I don’t want to give up on acting. And more importantly, I really don’t want Diller to.”
“He doesn’t have to. Neither of you do. You can still do auditions and all that.”
Smithy nodded. “Yeah, that’s what Cheryl said.”
“And she’s right, as always.”
Smithy nodded again. “Maybe.”
“By the
