Paolo explained the rules to the pale, trembling woman behind the wheel. He’d removed and pocketed all the cash, credit cards, and the three driver’s licenses from the women’s wallets, the rest of the contents spilled out onto the floor mat at his feet. She’d gotten the message, loud and clear.
She slowed the car suddenly. “This is where I dropped her off.”
“Pull over.”
The woman’s glassy eyes and twitching fingers did nothing to convince him she’d heard him. Nonetheless, the car pulled to the curb and stopped.
He said, “The easy out is to kill you and put you in the trunk and steal your car.” She tensed, and went yet another degree of pale. “But you’re a teacher, and I like kids. I’m ready to let you go if this is the right place. Is it?”
She nodded.
“Okay, then drive home and lock your door and turn off your phone and don’t talk to anyone. You wake up tomorrow morning and you go to work, and you deal with this shit then. You think you can hide from me?” She shook her head vigorously. “Your Alice Stevenson’s been hiding for six years, and look where she’s at. Keep that in mind.”
She nodded, her fists tight on the wheel.
At first Paolo thought he’d done a convincing job with her, but then he took the cue and followed her line of sight to the sidewalk in the middle of the next block.
He glanced once more at the driver, then again at a pretty little blond girl facing a doorway but staring straight up at the building.
Looking lost.
The first smile in a long time curled across his lips as he thought: God helps those who help themselves.