She took a deep breath and swiped the wires together. Orange sparks flashed, and the engine grumbled beneath and behind her. It only took two tries before the motor caught and smoothed out to a nice, even moan.
There was no need to put the ignition panel back as Allyson only intended to be onboard for a few seconds.
She flitted across the living space to the door and pried it open cautiously. A quick peek around the doorsill told her the coast was clear,and she stepped onto the patio, hurrying to the mooring in the front first. She freed that rope and then the one in back and then returned to the boat’s control console. She didn’t like the idea of using another thief’s idea, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If the other woman’s gag was good enough to work once, it would probably work again. Perhaps even better the second time. And the only way she was going to get to the other side of the canal without getting soaked again was with this boat.
Allyson shoved the lever forward, and the transmission clunked a few times until the gears caught. The boat lurched forward at a snail’s pace, which was perfect. Too fast wouldn’t buy her enough time. She spun the wheel just enough to guide the boat over to the far side of the waterway while keeping an eye out the front windshield.
It only took fifteen seconds for the boat to reach the other side. Carefully, Allyson maneuvered the craft into a parallel position with the wall and made sure it stayed on course as it lumbered forward. She eyed the gap to her target. It was sixty yards away and closing. She eased the wheel back into a position that would keep the vessel going straight, as much as possible anyway, and ran around to the back deck. The starboard side of the boat bumped into the canal’s edge but didn’t make much noise other than a slight grinding of the protective rubber on the craft’s sides as it rubbed the wall.
She took a step back and jumped hard, pushing off with her left leg, up the six inches and across the narrow span between the boat and land. She landed amid several bushes and stayed on her feet. A quick look back revealed the boat was staying true to course, meandering along down the canal. It was only seventy yards from the confiscated craft now. She waited patiently and watched. The boat stayed to the right for a moment and then started drifting left, taking a course that would send it right into the back of the other boat.
That should get the cops’ attention.
Trying to look as normal as possible, Allyson used both hands to flatten out her dress and strolled casually out from behind the bushes. She put her arms behind her back and put on her best girl-out-for-a-walk face, smiling and looking around at the scenery. Suddenly, voices started yelling from down the canal. The commotion was followed by a deep thud. Some of the police milling around the park noticed the trouble and took off at a sprint toward the runaway boat. Allyson risked a glance back and saw her diversion had worked perfectly. Her vessel had rammed the rear of the other boat and was now wedged between the canal wall and the other boat’s hull. Police scrambled to curtail the chaos and bring the second boat under control. One uniformed officer lost his hat as he jumped from one craft to the other.
Allyson turned her head back around and picked up the pace, stalking steadily away from the park and back into the thick of the city. She needed to get to Mexico. How she would get into Espinoza’s place was a whole other matter, but perhaps her counterpart would provide exactly what she needed. Her mind started forming a sinister plan as she disappeared down a city street.
14
Frank’s phone rang in his suit jacket’s inner pocket. He’d been sitting in a board of directors meeting for the last hour, listening to accountants drone on about profits, losses, and taxes. One of the things he loved about his underworld ventures was that all he had to do was worry about making money; the rest was just details. For the authorities, however, he had to keep up certain appearances.
He glanced at the screen on his device and excused himself from the stereotypical and overly expensive conference room. People who ran big businesses loved to surround themselves with the fanciest things no matter what the purpose. In the case of conference rooms, Frank had been in dozens that looked the exact same way: long mahogany tables, red-stained oak paneling on the walls, ornate light fixtures hanging overhead, and plush high leather back seats. He figured they were decorated in such a fashion because it made the people in the meetings feel powerful. Truthfully, only one thing brought power, and it wasn’t a room full of expensive objects.
Frank opened the door and stepped out, hitting the green button on the phone as he did so. He was in a corporate building in the north end of London,and it looked like so many he’d seen before. Wall sconces cast unnecessary light into an already well-lit corridor. The ceiling lights provided more than enough illumination. A few lower-level employees walked his way, a man and a woman. The man held a few papers that the woman eyed carefully.
Putting the phone to his ear, Frank smiled as if he were talking to a business partner. “Hello,” he said in a pleasant tone. “How are you?”
The two employees walked by without paying much attention to him.
“I slowed down the competition, but she was able to get away.” Evan’s steady voice reported the news Frank didn’t want to hear.
He remained calm. “Well, I didn’t expect the competition to be eliminated. If they were slowed down, then that’s good enough for now.”
“She’s quicker than I anticipated. She must have seen me at the last second and jumped clear. If I had to guess, I’d say she has to be hurting right now. Took a pretty bad blow from the windshield and road.”
“That’s great,” Frank said, pretending to be happy as an overweight blonde woman in a white blouse and black skirt walked by carrying a cup of coffee and a tart. “What’s her status now?”
“I’m waiting outside her hotel. When she comes back, I’ll know it.”
Frank wasn’t sure he liked that plan. “What if she doesn’t come back?”
“She’ll have to. Her stuff is in the hotel room.” Evan paused for two seconds. “By the way, there was an incident.”
The older man didn’t like the sound of that.
Evan went on before his boss could ask. “There was some sort of scuffle not far from here. I saw a bunch of police heading in the direction your girl went. At first I thought someone saw me hit the other woman. But it wasn’t that. I asked someone what was going on, and they said a woman had shot a cop. Not sure if it was your girl or not, but I thought you might be interested. If I had to guess, I’d say she was involved.”
Frank ground his teeth. His jaw clenched,and if he had been near a mirror, he would have seen a little vein popping out on his forehead. He’d taken a chance using Allyson for this particular mission. He knew that she could be a bit of a wild card at times,but she was also one of his best and most trusted thieves. She was very good at her job, though occasionally sloppy with other aspects of it. Of course, she’d shot the cop. Who else would it be? He quickly calculated the odds of someone else committing the crime while she was in the vicinity, in a town that rarely had shootings of that nature. To say the odds were long would be an understatement.
“What would you like me to do?” Evan asked.