The other cop reached under his seat and pulled out a tire iron.
“Excuse me, officers,” the victim interrupted.
“Yeah, what is it?” Kent asked.
“Well … it’s just that I’m a locksmith and I could open that trunk for you in about thirty seconds if you like.”
Kent’s eyebrows raised. “Go for it,” he allowed.
The man went into his RV and came out with a pick set. True to his word, he had the trunk open in less than half a minute. Kent rummaged through the things in the trunk.
“Looks like they were camping out,” he said.
When he was about finished looking through the car, the tow truck showed up.
“I had a hell of a time finding you guys,” the driver said.
“Sorry,” Kent mumbled. He went over to the owners of the dune buggy and thanked them for their help. He promised to call them when they found the buggy and reminded them to check with him before they left for home, in case they found the vehicle soon. The tow truck driver took off with the car and Kent and the other officer drove the Jeep back to the police department.
Kent was sure that he would cross paths with Dom again in the near future. He knew that it was not over and Dom would not escape him. After all, Maxwell was getting careless. Any day now, he would have him again. Kent was an anxious man, but he was getting more pumped for it with each passing moment.
He was definitely pissed off that they had allowed Dom to escape in the first place, but he knew that maybe this time, he would get Jennifer Capstan also, and maybe get some more satisfying information. Kent Perry could not wait. He lit a cigarette and fantasized about busting Dominick Maxwell once again. Not as good as sex, he thought, but I sure will get more out of it. He savored the cigarette like he would after making love to a good woman. His expectations were high. It was time for a showdown.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Dom drove the buggy through the streets towards their first destination. He kept to the back streets to avoid being seen. It was still fairly early in the morning, so the traffic was fairly light.
Jenny and Dom discussed everything that had happened at the hospital and after. They had a lot of catching up to do.
“Where did you get all of the stuff that you used to break me out of jail?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I think I do.”
“No. I don’t think so,” she bantered.
“Tell me anyway,” he pleaded.
“You’re not going to like it.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Well okay,” Jenny said. “I broke into a store and stole it all.”
“Funny!” Dom said. “Seriously, where did you get it?”
“I’m serious as shit, Dom!”
“Is shit really that serious of a thing?”
“You know what I mean,” Jenny said. “I really did commit burglary to get it all.”
He looked somewhat shocked. “You committed a crime for me?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you just buy the stuff?”
“They were closed. Remember, it was pretty late last night when they busted your ass.”
“Oh yeah,” Dom said. “The last few days and nights have run into one another. Did you have any problems?”
“I almost got caught. Everything was going smooth until some shelving that I was climbing on gave way and the alarm went off. I ran like hell and barely made it out in time.”
“Well it’s a good thing that you didn’t get caught, because we would both be cooling our jets in jail if you would have.”
“Somehow, I think that if we were in jail, something bad would happen to us,” Jenny said. “You would be put in jail for this crime and the real killer would get away. We have to stay on the move until we, or the police, find out who did this.”
“I agree,” he said, “but the police, in their minds, have already solved who did it. That leaves us to figure it out.”
“It’s going to be tough,” Jenny said. “We should try to find someone who can change our identities. Until then, we can’t get a car and legally register it in our names. We can’t get jobs and we can’t pay taxes, rent a house, or anything, until we have new names.”
“You have a good point there, Jenny. It’s definitely going to be a problem. I guess we’ll just have to take one day at a time.”
“That’s all we can do,” Jenny replied.
Dom and Jenny rode in silence for the last part of the trip and when they got close, he pulled into an alley. As he shut off the dune buggy, he instructed Jenny what to do.
The wooden fences that surrounded all of the houses were six feet high. Every house had the same style of fence, so if you looked down the alley, all you could see was a tunnel of wood. The alley went between the back yards of two rows of houses, each row of houses facing a different street.
Dom got out of the buggy and went to a section of fence behind one of the houses. Jenny watched as he located a little wire sticking out of the wood. He pulled on the loop and a three-foot section of fence swung in. Jenny couldn’t even tell that there was a gate there. It was so well-built that it looked like part of the solid fence. Obviously, the loop of wire was attached to a latch on the inside of the fence.
Dom went through the gate and shut it. The gate disappeared to Jenny’s naked eye. She waited no more than a minute and the gate re-opened. Dom was back.
“Here you go, Jenny.” He handed her a screwdriver. “I’ll meet you in five minutes.”
He disappeared through the gate once more. Jenny went to the rear of the dune buggy and removed the license plate. When she was done, she climbed back into the vehicle and waited a couple more minutes. Finally, Jenny saw the gate open a couple of inches and she took the license plate to Dom.
“Wait one more minute and then pull around the front,” he said.
The gate shut once more, and after a minute, Jenny started the dune buggy and pulled out of the alley. She drove around the block until she pulled up to the address that Dom had told her to look for. The garage door opened and a Toyota Tacoma truck pulled out of the garage. The garage door shut and the truck pulled into the street. Dom was driving it and Jenny pulled out after him. Pretty smart idea, coming to get his own truck, Jenny thought. She knew it wasn’t totally safe, but it was a much better deal than driving around in a hot green dune buggy. Besides, there were plenty of Toyota trucks around and, with different plates, they probably would not get looked at twice.
Jenny was slightly nervous that the cops would be watching the house after the jailbreak, but it was still pretty early and she was sure that the owners of the buggy hadn’t discovered it missing yet. Luckily, they didn’t run into any police.
As Jenny followed him, they drove to Desert Sky Mall and Jenny found a place to park the buggy, just as they had the Jeep. It could not be viewed from the street, so Jenny was pretty sure that it wouldn’t be found for a while.
Dom and Jenny had discussed parking the buggy in Dom’s garage to make it easier, but they didn’t for two reasons. First, they wanted to make it hard for anyone to prove they stole it. Secondly, if they found the buggy in his garage, they would automatically know to look for the truck. Depending on who was sent to the house to check and see if he was there, they may not know that the truck was supposed to be there.
After Jenny got out of the buggy, she used a shirt to wipe down any prints from the steering wheel and the front and back of the car where they had pushed it. Every other car that they had used had been paid for. They didn’t want to be held accountable for stealing this car.
Dom came over to the buggy and removed any personal items they had in it. They had left most of the camping stuff in the back of the Cadillac. There was just too much stuff for them to lug around.
When the buggy was empty and free of prints, Dom and Jenny got in Dom’s truck. Jenny noticed that he had already put the buggy’s plate on the truck. That could be a good or a bad thing, depending.
They did not want to drive around in a truck that had Dom’s plates on it in case someone started watching for it, but they also did not want someone to run the plate they had on there and have it come back as a stolen dune buggy.
Dom drove out of the mall parking lot and drove through Phoenix’s streets for about five miles until they came to another shopping center. This time, they drove through the parking lot until they found what they were looking for. Another Toyota Tacoma that was similar to Dom’s, only white. He parked next to it. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, Dom slipped behind the vehicle and removed its license plate.
Jenny tried the passenger door and was rewarded when it opened. Opening the glove box, she looked through the papers to find the registration. She found what she was looking for. Putting everything back the way she’d found it, Jenny shut the truck door and they both got back into their truck at the same time.
They drove out of the parking lot and up the road a couple more miles. Parking behind a small strip mall this time, Dom switched the license plates one last time. He threw the dune buggy plate into a dumpster.
Now they had an advantage. If they were looking for Dom’s truck, they would not know it was his, because the plates were different. If he was pulled over for any offense, he could show the other truck’s registration and it would match the make and model of the truck. The plate number would also match. Hopefully, they would not get pulled over.
Dom figured if they were lucky, the other guy would not notice his plates missing for days, but even then, he might not report it. They could only hope. There wasn’t time to try and buy another car and they couldn’t take the risk. The truck would have to do. Not to mention, it was paid for.
When they were all done with the plate switching, Dom turned on his throwaway cell phone and Jenny made a phone call. He was hoping that this would work and wouldn’t backfire on them. A few minutes later, she hung up the phone, smiling. They were on their way.
As they got ready to leave town again, both of them were feeling better, although they were still tired.
“I’m hungry,” Jenny said.
Dom pulled into a gas station and got gas. Next door was a Taco Bell.
“Taco Hell okay?” Dom asked.
“Better than the hell we’ve been through lately,” Jenny said, smiling.
Dom and Jenny ordered enough food for five people and munched on it as they drove. They were still eating when they hit the outskirts of town.
“We made it!” he said.
“I think you’re right!” Jenny replied.
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and returned to her burrito.
It wasn’t over, but for now they were free. They were on their way to their next destination and whatever lay in wait for them.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Once again, Dom and Jenny were heading north on I-17. They were in higher spirits and they felt above the law. They had somehow managed to overcome all obstacles so far and they weren’t about to let anything stop them now.
Jenny had called her aunt and uncle earlier. She was hoping that her parents hadn’t talked to them yet about her being missing. They lived in California, but they had a summer cabin in Strawberry, Arizona. It was a modest one-bedroom cabin nestled among many acres of forest. There were no neighbors within miles. Dom was especially happy about that.
Jenny’s uncle told her that she could use the cabin. He didn’t seem to be suspicious or anything, so Jenny assumed that he hadn’t heard anything. She told him that she and a girlfriend wanted to get away for a few days. They both felt pretty sure that the police would never find them there.
As they were driving, Jenny thought about her parents. She knew she had to contact them soon. They were probably worried sick and who knew what lies the police had told them. She decided that in a couple more days, after they rested up, she would call them. She also wanted to know what the police were doing. Maybe her parents could give them some information.
Jenny looked over at Dom. He had a spacey look on his face.
“What are you thinking about, Baby?”
He snapped back to reality. “I was just thinking about how this kind of seems like it is over; like we are free. I feel kind of peaceful. But then on the other hand, I know the police are after us, there is a killer out there waiting to kill again, and we can’t hide out forever.”
“We might have to, Dom.”
“But what about all of the money? We would never be able to touch it if we were wanted criminals. I’m sure they have a freeze on it.”
“But who needs money when we have each other? Besides, we still have a decent amount of money.”
“You have a good point there, Jen. I don’t have much else going on in my life. I could walk away from everything, if I had to, as long as I’m with you. But what about you? You have a family.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jenny answered. “I love them very much, but if I don’t have you, I don’t have anything.”
“There’s one other thing,” Dom said. “I don’t know if I can just walk away with everybody thinking I killed my sister. I don’t know if I can forever be the bad guy. I want to clear my name.”
“Why don’t we go and get some rest, relax and figure out what we’re going to do,” Jenny said. “We can make our decision later.”
Dom nodded and continued to drive. Jenny could tell that he was confused over what to do. Obviously, if he turned himself in, he would be in jail for most of his life, if he didn’t get sentenced to death. Hiding out would definitely be better, but Jenny knew that Dom would need some closure.
Maybe together they could figure out a way to find out who did this. A way to clear his name. A way to give them a normal life together. Her life was connected with Dom’s now and his pain was her pain. How Jenny wished that they could have the storybook life that they both craved. It wasn’t going to happen though. At least not for a while.
The trip to Strawberry was uneventful. The entire time, they only passed two police officers and they had paid no attention to them. Dom and Jenny were both surprised that no one seemed hot on their trail. They had halfway expected to be surrounded the moment they went to Dom’s house to get the truck. They were not. Again, they expected to see police cars all over the place searching for them. They did not. Jenny felt relieved that everything had gone so well. There were so many things that could go wrong and she honestly didn’t expect that everything would go as smooth as it did. She was obviously wrong.
Jenny could tell that Dom felt the same way. However, he had a lot of other things he had to concentrate on and he wasn’t talking a whole lot during the trip. Jenny respected this and was quiet for most of the trip as well. Dom had to figure out what he could or could not live with. This was one decision that he would have to make himself.
Jenny directed him to the cabin after they got into town. The cabin was located about five miles outside of the town limits. The only access to it was a narrow, winding dirt road that led up to the mountains. The plush, thick forest gave them very little view of what was ahead. It had been so long since Jenny had been up there that she wasn’t sure exactly how much farther ahead it was. Just when she thought that they had gone too far, she saw what she was looking for.
“There,” she pointed. “There’s a dirt driveway past that tree there. Turn on it.” Dom turned where she was pointing.
“How far is the house from here?” he asked.
“The house is about a mile down this driveway. It’s pretty secluded.”
“You aren’t kidding!” he said.
A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the cabin. Dom was shocked.
“I was expecting a rustic, run-down, little old shack. This place is nice!”
In front of them sat a nine-hundred-square-foot cabin. It was made of rough hardwood with a lacquered shine to it. Wrapping around the entire front of the cabin was a deck. It looked well-built.
“My uncle is very proud of this p
lace,” Jenny said. “Not only does it have the front deck, it has a back deck that extends the entire length. There are stairs that lead down into a little ravine behind the cabin. There is usually water running in it most of the time. It has a septic tank and a well, with full plumbing and electricity. The only thing it doesn’t have is a phone, which is the way my uncle likes it.”
“I’m sure we’ll be very comfortable here,” he said. “I’m glad he doesn’t mind us using it.”
“Well, of course he thinks I’m here with another girl. If he knew the situation, I don’t think he would approve very much.”
Dom smiled slightly. “I hope that he doesn’t tell your parents anything, or we might have unexpected company.”
“I was thinking of that earlier,” Jenny said. “I think that I should call my parents pretty soon and tell them that I am okay. At least then, I could set the record straight and let them know that there is nothing to worry about.”
“That would probably be a good idea,” Dom said, “but we need to make sure that they won’t say anything.”
“Don’t worry,” Jenny said. “Mom and Dad wouldn’t do anything to take away my happiness. As long as they know what’s going on, they’ll support me in my decision.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Positive,” Jenny said.
“That’s good to hear,” he said. “Maybe we should get into the cabin.”
Jenny agreed and she went to find the key that was hidden in the yard. When she returned, they opened the door and Jenny gave Dom the grand tour.
“I like it,” he said. “Even the bed looks comfy,” and with that, he pulled her down on the bed and started tickling her. They played and tickled each other for a few minutes, laughing and having fun the entire time. Exhausted, they stopped and tried to catch their breath. Dom started stroking Jenny’s hair and she snuggled up against his chest. He was thinking about how much he loved her and how precious she was to him as he drifted off to sleep. Jenny had already fallen asleep before him. It would be dark before they awakened.
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