Their collective sorrow and regret for the time apart and their joy at being back together fueled them. They spent the rest of the night trying to show the other how much they loved each other.
Chapter 9
The next morning Taylor and Whitaker both seemed to subconsciously need to constantly touch each other. Passing each other in the small motel room, they repeatedly reached to make physical contact. A slight caress of the back or brief hand hold seemed to reinforce they were really together again, even if their underlying problems hadn’t been solved.
Since both of them only had the things they’d been carrying when they went on the run, it didn’t actually take all that much time to get ready. Neither had a lot of cash on them and they couldn’t use credit cards since Graf would almost certainly have flagged those by now. Taylor had already pulled the battery out of his cell phone, but thankfully Whitaker had a burner she’d picked up. Overall, their supply situation was severely lacking.
“Where’d the bike come from?” Taylor said as he worked through the things that, if used, could come back and haunt them.
“It was Grace’s. Actually, it was an old boyfriend of hers who left it behind when they broke up. She’d just kept it in case he ever came back for it.”
“So, it’s in his name?”
“Yea. Unless Graf is really thorough, I don’t think he’ll be able to trace it.”
“Graf seems pretty thorough. He might figure it out and put a BOLO out for it.”
“So, we need to dump it?”
“Maybe not. Let's go see my friend, he might be able to help us out.”
She gave Taylor a peck on the cheek before sliding on the bike helmet. Taylor thought briefly that he needed to get one too. Not just to make sure his brain stayed in his skull if they wrecked, but also because it was an excellent way to keep himself anonymous as they drove around town.
Any APB on them would include their descriptions and the fact that it was a man and a woman last seen on a motorcycle. The last part wouldn’t mean much if he was wearing a helmet, since there were a fair number of motorcycles in the city, and many of them had a male and female rider.
Although the trip to Bryant’s shop didn’t take long it was nerve-wracking as they looked for any sign of police. Whitaker let Taylor drive since he had more experience on a motorcycle, but she was still the one wearing a helmet since it didn’t fit Taylor.
It was still early when they arrived at the shop, just a few minutes till it was supposed to open. Thankfully, Bryant was there and the only one inside when Taylor and Whitaker walked in.
“You really turned everything to shit, didn’t you?” Bryant said as soon as he saw Taylor.
“Things went sideways, yeah.”
“What happened?”
“The cop I was working with turned out to be dirty. He told me those guys you checked on were just basic street thugs, and they were just looking to rob us. He got the drop on me as soon as I got off the phone with you. Thankfully, that was the moment Whitaker decided to show up.”
Taylor tilted his head in Whitaker’s direction to indicate her.
“So, you’re the lady behind all the trouble?”
“Something like that,” she said as she looked around the repair shop.
“We could use some help,” Taylor said.
“No, kidding. What, you need to get out of town?”
“No, we’re going to find out who killed her aunt and get the evidence to prove we’re innocent.”
“You realize there are warrants for the attempted murder of a police officer out for the both of you, right? Any cop that finds you isn’t going to be gentle and will probably err on the side of lethal force if you give them the chance.”
“We realize that, but we can’t just run. Even if we convince the US authorities that we’re innocent and not to extradite us, Whitaker’s career would be finished.”
“Let’s not forget the minor detail of making sure the person who actually killed Frieda gets brought to Justice,” Whitaker said, picking up a broken radio and looking it over.
“That too, I guess,” Taylor said.
“Okay. Well, you’re here. What do you need from me?”
“Partially, we’ve already gotten it. I assumed Graf would do something like this, but I wanted to make sure.”
“I can do some more checking if you give me a few minutes.”
They waited, poking around the shop as Bryant did his digging, logging into different databases he apparently had access to. Most were in German, which made sense, so Taylor didn’t know what he was actually doing.
Eventually, Bryant pushed away from his computer and said, “Aside from the warrant, they’ve put out notices to the airports, ports, bus and train stations. You’ve both been called ‘armed and dangerous.’ I give it until tonight till your faces start popping up on news broadcasts.”
“Shit, that’ll make everything harder.”
“I imagine. She’s got the right idea,” Bryant said, pointing at the helmet in Whitaker’s hand.
“Yeah, but we only have the one.”
“I have one that should fit you, plus a riding jacket. Keep it on as much as you can, and you should be okay. It’s not that uncommon to see people walking around with their helmets on if they’re not too far from their bike.”
“Thanks, I owe you.”
“You sure as hell do,” Bryant said as he headed to retrieve the helmet and jacket.
Taylor and Whitaker didn’t stick around long. They both wanted to be in a
