Page 21 of Yankee in the Wind

“No, you don’t. You look like a wallflower. Nobody is gonna give you a second look, which is the point.”

Jack had changed his clothing too, and now looked like an accountant. He sported a pair of glasses with metal frames and had donned a wig of thinning hair that showed an overly high widow’s peak and a bald spot on top.

“How do I look?” he suddenly asked with a Midwestern accent.

“As ridiculous as I feel.”

“Well, then, your chariot awaits.”

He winked at her, and they got in the van. This time, Lilly sat in the front cabin with him. While Lilly had gotten changed, Jack had found the address where Dr. Amy Price worked.

“It’s almost evening,” Lilly said as they drove through a busy neighborhood. “What if that doctor isn’t at the morgue anymore?”

“I also found her home address.” He gave her a reassuring look.

After fifteen minutes, Jack turned into a parking garage that looked familiar.

“Isn’t that where you changed cars earlier?” she asked.

“Yes. We’ll leave the van here and take a different car.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little paranoid?”

“Paranoid kept me alive for the last three years.”

When they exited the van, Jack ushered her down the stairs a level farther below. There, he walked along the parked cars, looking at each of them.

“You don’t remember where you parked your car?” she asked.

He gave her a sideways glance. “Oh, I don’t have a car here.” Then he pointed to a rather dusty looking silver Honda. “That one will do. It looks like it’s been here forever. Nobody’s gonna miss it.”

She stared at him, shocked. “You’re gonna steal that car?”

“Of course not.”

Before she could sigh with relief, he added, “I’m just gonna borrow it.”

She watched, in equal parts shocked and impressed, as he skillfully broke into the car and then hotwired the engine. Moments later, they were leaving the garage in the borrowed Honda and heading for the morgue.

They were hitting rush hour traffic as they got closer. There was nothing they could do to go any faster. Lilly looked at the clock on the dashboard.

“We’re almost there,” Jack said.

Suddenly police sirens blared, and the cars behind them were making space, driving as close to the sidewalks as possible, so the police car could pass. Lilly’s heart beat into her throat.

“They found us because you stole a car,” Lilly said, panicked.

“Stay calm,” Jack said and looked into the rear-view mirror. “They’re not after us. There’s an ambulance following the police car. There must have been an accident.”

When both the police car and the ambulance passed them without stopping, Lilly’s heartbeat returned to normal. Shit, she wasn’t made for a life of crime.

A block before the morgue, a police car was blocking the street. Jack saw it and turned into the closest side street.

“We’ll have to walk from here,” he said and parked in the nearest parking spot he could find.

“Are you not worried about having to walk past the police?” Lilly asked.

“The police are the least of my worry. Just act normal.”