“What was that about?” Tam gave Kip an amused glance.
174
“Seems Buck’s sister is a dyke and the only reason she’s willing to do this is because her brother vouched for me as a Sapphic Sister. Like he has any way of knowing. We have to go tonight.
Right away sort of tonight.”
“Why tonight?”
Kip said, with exaggerated patience, “Because it’s crush and she can’t take any time for it tomorrow.”
“Crush?”
“Grapes, wine, barefoot women stomping around in vats.”
“I see.”
Around a mouthful of burger, Kip said, “Soon as I’m finished I have to make another call.”
“I’m impressed with the way you’ve handled our illegal transit.”
Kip let out a choking laugh. “I’m shocked at myself. My hands aren’t even shaking. Maybe breaking the rules is like smoking.
You stop hacking up a lung after the first couple of tries.”
Tam smiled. “I think you won’t get addicted to it.”
“Dunno.” She chewed thoughtfully. “It’s kind of fun.”
“Really?”
Her expression was a funny mixture of uncertainty and chagrin. “Don’t get me wrong. I do like my job. I like solving riddles and puzzles—and catching bad guys. But that’s five percent of the job. The rest is slogging work. It’s papers and numbers and sorting things out. It takes skill and fortitude and attention. Not everyone can do it. But sometimes it’s dead boring.”
“I agree with you—this at least isn’t boring. It beats reading reports.” Sitting in a car with greasy burgers next to Kip was easily the most enjoyable experience she’d had in a long time, and the feeling had nothing to do with work.
Her stomach appeased, Kip went back to the pay phone, digging for more quarters. She was glad when Jen didn’t answer and for the first time was happy to hear instead Luke’s voice.
175
“Jen’s not here,” he said promptly. “She said she was sort of worried about you.”
And you’re not, Kip commented to herself, but that was hardly new. “Actually, it’s you I wanted to talk to. I was wondering if you could give me the name of the pilot you know. The one in Portland.”
“Dave Coopersmith? You looking for a bunch of fish?”
“No, a flight. Quickly.”
“Is this going to come back on me? Like—I don’t know what’s up, but Jen’s worried and you’re not answering your cell phone. I saw that woman you work for on the news.”
Kip was willing to bet that by news, Luke meant the gossip show. She’d seen nothing on the serious newsfeeds, though every day it seemed like the dividing line between news and gossip got thinner and thinner. “I’m okay—just having to do some unusual things for a case.”
His voice was gruff with emotion. “I hope so, because, like, Jen and I want kids and I can’t get pulled into anything. I got friends I can’t see because it’s not good for Jen or me anymore, and I like the job I finally found at this recording studio. If you’re not gonna be good for her then—”
“I just need the name and a number. You don’t know why.
You’re only speculating.”
“Guys like me, that’s all it takes with the cops. But you’re not the type to drag us down, okay, I get that. And, like, I don’t help you Jen skins me alive.”
Oddly touched, Kip repeated, “I just need a flight, quick.”
“Here’s Dave’s number—and it’s okay to tell him I gave it to you. He’s usually happy to see cash, like, who isn’t?”
She fished out more quarters and introduced herself to the sleepy sounding male voice who answered the phone at the number Luke had rattled off.
“Luke sent you? You just need a hopper? I’m going to Boise and Helena tomorrow morning. Leaving at about seven a.m.
after the catch is in.”
Grateful he’d given her his plans before she admitted she 176
had none, she said, “We were hoping Boise was on your itinerary.
That’ll be great. Just two people, couple of suitcases.”
“Okay. Hey, I don’t take credit cards.”
“Cash is fine.” They agreed on four hundred for the two of them and she went back to the car, very pleased.
Tam seemed impressed again. “You are the Jason Bourne of this vehicle. I bow to your connections.”
“I wish I deserved credit. It’s not one I ever thought of as useful. My best friend’s boyfriend is someone I pretty much wrote off as a loser. Nice enough, but not going anywhere and her paycheck is the only steady one. He wants to be the next Kurt Cobain or something but I think he’s getting past that.” Kip was impressed by the way he’d tried to protect Jen and their future from anything untoward. Jen with kids—made total sense and a kid could have a far worse father than a laid-back musician. “I’ll have to be nicer to him in the future.”
Tam started the car, even though Kip wasn’t finished with her food. “We have to hustle, don’t we?”
“If we don’t waste any time, we could be at the nearest store that carries suitcases and the like before they close. Our flight is at seven a.m.”
“Ouch.”
Kip licked her fingertip free of salt from the french fries.
Greasy goodness. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
Tam sounded a little tense. “Not very active at that hour.”
Back at the cabin they quickly tossed what they needed back into shopping bags and packed up their computers and paperwork. Thinking ahead, Kip knew they both needed a little bit of tropical weather clothing, but that was a detail that could be solved along the way.
“What I’m most worried about,” she told Tam as they put the last of their things into the Cherokee, “is getting from Miami to Nassau. Customs isn’t going to be easy to fool, not these days.”
“I have an idea there,” Tam said, following her back into the cabin. “I don’t want to do customs at the airport. We can get from Boise to Miami if the IDs are good enough. Cash for our tickets 177
isn’t going to get noticed the way it will in Miami, either. But counter agents and screeners in Miami—and Fort Lauderdale—
are looking for cash users, drugs and illegal entry out of and into the country. I think we’d get caught.”
Kip made sure the stove was tightly shut, forcing the last of the embers to safely die, then checked the back door to be sure it was locked. The perishable food they wouldn’t be able to eat she put in the freezer, knowing she’d have to deal with throwing it out when they came back.
Like that’s going to happen, she scolded herself. Why would Tam come back here? Tam had a life to go return to, and so did she. Well, what passed for a life, she thought. There was nothing in it like walking in the snow with Tam. She loved her job but the past week had reminded her she loved other things too.
“So what is it you’re thinking we can do?” She buckled up after making herself comfortable in the seat for the long drive.
Even without stops, it was nearly four hours to Lake Oswego.
“Not so mysterious. Even if we get to Boise by mid-morning, it’ll take the rest of the day to get to Miami. On Monday morning we can book a short cruise at the last-minute excursion agent at the port. They will be screening for known no-fly names and persons of interest, and that’s not us. The paperwork doesn’t get processed for another day or two and customs at the port is not exactly rigorous. Honest, they’re focused on people carrying out cash and bringing back too much duty-free cigarettes and rum.
Given the new big casino in Nassau, they’re actually not all that concerned with aliases as long as cash isn’t being moved. It brings in huge taxes and lots of tourism through the port.”