A Bid for Love (17 page)

“Thanks,” Jared said as Cassi accepted the sack. “We’ll call you when we get to New York.”

“There’s a convenience store across from the school,” Trent said. “You could call a taxi from there.”

“I’ve got my cell,” Jared said.

“Can’t that be traced?” Trent asked.

“Oh, right,” Jared said, chagrined. “I guess we’ll call from the store.”

They said good-bye and watched Trent jog across the school yard. Cassi sighed wearily.

* * * * *

On the drive back to L.A. Cassi fell asleep in the taxi, her head resting on Jared’s shoulder. He removed his jacket from his bag and put it over her damp T-shirt. His fingers also touched the gun in the bag, bringing the reality of their situation back to him vividly.

He brought a hand up to Cassi’s hair. The ringlets of sweet-smelling hair twisted around his fingers, and he marveled at them. He had been so very wrong about her. She wasn’t the vain creature he first imagined, but only herself, unadorned and simply beautiful.

Jared sighed and let his hand drop. With a full stomach from Renae’s sandwiches and a comfortable position next to Cassi, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to slide into a contented sleep.

* * * * *

“Jared, wake up. We’re here.” Cassi’s voice brought Jared back to consciousness.

He shook his head to clear the fogginess and reached for his wallet to pay the driver with the cash Trent had given him. Then he hefted the Buddha and stepped out of the car, looking around. They had asked the driver to take them to any motel in downtown Los Angeles, and he had obliged by dropping them off at an intersection that held four of them. They walked purposefully to the nearest one.

“What about our disguises?” Cassi asked with a little smile, remembering their earlier plan. “I don’t think I can walk another step, unless I have to.”

Jared sighed. “Me either. Maybe we were exaggerating a little this afternoon. They didn’t know we were at Renae’s, and with all the motels in L.A., they certainly won’t know which one we’re at.”

“Good. Let’s leave it for tomorrow.”

Jared nodded and opened the motel door for her.

“We need two rooms,” he said to the night clerk at the desk, a short, frail man with hair that had gone completely white. “Adjoining, if possible.” He wanted some way to check on Cassi’s welfare.

“But we don’t have a credit card,” Cassi added. “Only cash, so if you can’t take us, we’ll check across the street.”

“You can stay,” the man said gruffly. “But you’ll have to leave a fifty dollar deposit for each room. You can pick it up when you leave.” He didn’t look twice at them as he accepted their money in exchange for the keys. Nor did he question the fake names Jared gave him.

Jared led Cassi into one of the rooms and opened the connecting door. “Well, pick which one you want,” he said.

“Any one that has a bathroom,” Cassi threw him a self-conscious look and darted through a door behind him.

Jared went through the connecting door and set the Buddha on the single queen bed. The room looked exactly like the first, with a small dresser and television set. When he heard Cassi moving around, he walked back to her room. “I guess we’d better turn in.”

She yawned. “Lots of work tomorrow. It’s the Buddha’s big day.”

He smiled and with a wave returned to his own room, shutting the connecting door behind him but not locking it. Before throwing himself on the bed, he kicked off his shoes, leaving his clothes on and his gun nearby, in case he had unwanted visitors in the night. For long moments he lay there, not moving or letting himself feel anything.

The door from Cassi’s room opened. In the moonlight coming from his half-shuttered window, he could see her face, framed by the curls he adored. She still wore the large white T-shirt, now dry, with the cuffs of her long shorts peeking out beneath.

“Jared?”

He sat up in the bed. “Yes?”

“Could I leave the door open?”

Jared couldn’t help grinning, and he was grateful the darkness masked his features. “Yes, Cassi.”

 “Thanks. And good night.” She got to her feet and padded into her own room, leaving Jared’s arms empty but not aching. Although he wasn’t sure how he would do it, he was determined to pursue their relationship to see where it might lead.

But first he had to get rid of the Buddha.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Light filled Cassi’s motel room, and she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed. The nightmares that had tortured her sleep were gone, but their effect remained. She felt as if she had been fleeing for weeks, when in reality this would only be the second day. Admittedly, this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her, and part of her was enjoying the adventure—especially being with Jared.

Cassi tried not to think about the man in the room next door. She stifled her thoughts and went into the bathroom to shower. He had not so much as tried to kiss her since the beach. At the school, she had thought perhaps he had been about to, but he’d pulled away at the last moment. Perhaps like her high school prom date, he had been put off by her rashness.

She sighed. “Well, I am who I am.” Even so, she wished she hadn’t made him play in the rain. Perhaps he saw her now more as a child than a woman.

She pulled on the light green dress of the day before, the one she had worn to Carl’s house. The top part of the dress was wrinkled, but the crinkled broomstick skirt seemed no worse for traveling scrunched in the cooler and the duffel bag.

The visit to Carl’s already seemed like a lifetime ago. “I hope you’re with the woman who loves you,” she said aloud to Carl. “Wherever you are.”

Her thoughts filtered relentlessly back to Jared. He would go to the funeral today, leaving her behind. She was frightened at being alone with the Buddha, yet she wasn’t going to let him know. She had already admitted enough of her fear by asking him to keep the door between their rooms open last night. She had finally closed it this morning before going to shower.

As Cassi left the bathroom, a quick rap on a door startled her until she realized it was coming from the adjoining door to Jared’s room. Uselessly, she tried to run her fingers through her wet hair, but the shampoo and conditioner supplied by the motel left much to be desired. She knew that it would be frizzy when it dried. Sighing, she went to the door and threw it open.

“Breakfast,” Jared said with a big smile. “Sleep well?”

Cassi grimaced. “In between the bad guys chasing us, I guess.”

“You too, huh?” He looked at her sympathetically. His face looked much better today. His black eye was fading into a dark greenish-yellow, and he had removed some of the bandages. He wore the same semi-dress clothes of the day before, complete with his tie that they had somehow managed not to lose in the confusion of the day.

Cassi took the carton of food he handed her, recognizing it as an egg sandwich from a fast-food restaurant. On top of the cartoon were several large bills. “You never know if we might get separated,” he explained.

“Thanks.” She paused. “Uh, did you see the underclothes Renae put in for you?”

“Yes. Remind me to write and thank that woman. She’s one in a million.” He looked at Cassi. “Are you going to be okay? I need to leave for the funeral now. I’ve already called a taxi.”

“What if those men are there? I mean, if they found Renae, it’s a sure thing they’ll know about your friend’s funeral.”

Jared frowned. “I’ll call my friend Larry on the way to see if he notices anything unusual. At any rate, I made flight reservations for us at one, so I’ll be back before then. Since I won’t be staying for the graveside part of the service or the luncheon like I’d planned, we can take that earlier flight. It’s not a direct flight, but we should be in New York around nine or ten tonight, L.A. time. It’ll be three hours later there. I had to give my real name for the reservation, but hopefully whoever’s looking for us won’t be notified if we pay cash.”

“So once in New York we’ll take the Buddha to your boss, right?”

He nodded. “I’ll call once we land and see if she’s home. But first I have something at my apartment I want to show you. It’s on the way, and it’ll only take a minute.”

“What is it?”

He smiled enigmatically. “You’ll see.”

Cassi tried to stifle her curiosity. What could be so important that he would want to go home before getting rid of the Buddha? “They’re probably watching your apartment,” she said. “Your gallery and your boss’s place, too.”

“Maybe. We’ll figure out something.” He looked at the time on his phone. “I’d better go. I should be back in less than two hours.”

“And if you’re not?” Cassi hated the words but couldn’t help saying them. One look at Jared’s bruised face showed only too clearly that the people searching for the Buddha meant business.

His hand reached out and stroked her cheek. A strange expression passed over his face, one that Cassi had seen before at the school yard when she had expected him to kiss her. Since that was obviously not what it meant, she looked away.

“I’ll be back,” he said, his voice rough with . . . emotion? Cassi was unsure. “One way or another, I’ll be back.”

His words were more bravado than anything else, and she had to hide a smile. Sometimes men weren’t very rational.

With a little wave, Jared left, leaving Cassi to wonder at how much the separation pained her and how much she wished he had kissed her good-bye. She sighed again loudly. She couldn’t throw herself at the man, could she?

There was, however, something she could do. Cassi hurried to the phone book to look up an address. Jared wouldn’t approve of her leaving the motel with the Buddha by herself, but she had her own agenda. Minutes later, she was out the door, lugging both statues in one duffel bag and clutching Jared’s money in her hand.

Luckily, her destination was nearby. Even so, Cassi was out of breath when she arrived. While the overall height of the Buddha and his base was only four inches taller than her Mother and Baby, the statue was much wider and heavier, and Cassi was not used to carrying so much weight.

She looked up at the store name to be sure she had the right place, and then plunged inside a completely different world. Wigs, costumes, and various makeup supplies filled artistic displays. This wasn’t just a Halloween store, but one that specialized in disguises all year round.

“May I help you?”

Cassi turned to see a hovering clerk. The woman was about Cassi’s age, though the amount of makeup she wore made it difficult to tell for sure. “Uh, yeah. A friend and I want to dress up. Like old people, maybe.”

“Man or woman?”

“What?”

“Is your friend a man or a woman?”

“A man.”

The clerk nodded and took Cassi around the store, showing her the different products. Cassi settled on a subtle paint for their hair, glasses, and skin makeup that made realistic wrinkles without actually affecting the real skin underneath.

“It’s more expensive than the other,” the woman said about the wrinkle makeup. “But at least you won’t be damaging your own skin.” Cassi nodded and paid for her items. It cost half of the money Jared had given her, so she wouldn’t have to dip into Renae’s stash.

Next, she went to a second-hand store and bought old clothing and a bit of stuffing to pad their waists. She smiled in satisfaction as she spied an old cane to use with Jared’s costume.

Back at the motel, Cassi wet her hair and pulled it into a knot in the back, securing it with pins she had bought at the store. With a bemused smile on her face she changed quickly into the old lady dress, padding her waist and chest to make her figure seem more realistic. Underneath, she wore the thick hose she had found at the second-hand shop, the odd pattern making her legs appear aged. Last of all, she sprayed her hair with the gray tint and applied the wrinkle makeup to her face and hands.

“Why, I look just like my grandmother.” Cassi said, blinking at the mirror. She could hardly believe the transformation. At least the steel-colored hairdo was an improvement over her own frizzy curls.

She left the bathroom and set about packing her few belongings into her duffel bag with her statue. Then she went into Jared’s room and did the same with his belongings. She hesitated when she saw the T-shirt they had bought for him at the beach. She held it near her face, careful not to let it touch the drying makeup, and breathed in Jared’s smell. She walked back to her room, still cradling the shirt to her now matronly bosom.

A banging at her outer door startled her. She shoved Jared’s T-shirt into her bag and went to the door. “Who is it?” she asked in a craggy voice.

“It’s Jared.”

Cassi opened the door. Before she could say anything, Jared pushed his way in and walked around the room. “Where’s Cassi?” he said, turning on her.

“Right here. It’s me,” Cassi said in her normal voice. Jared peered at her in disbelief.

“Cassi? What happened?” He started laughing.

“I fooled you! It really works.” Then she sobered. “Why are you back so early?”

Jared grimaced. “I called Larry from a pay phone, and he said some men
claiming
to work for the FBI had come by. They’re going to have men all over the funeral watching for me. Larry also said he noticed a lot of people sitting around in cars outside the church and in front of his house. The men Larry talked to told him the men weren’t theirs. I didn’t get any more information because I was afraid of a wiretap or something.” Jared crossed to Cassi’s bed and sat down. “I won’t be able to get close enough to my friend’s funeral to even say good-bye.”

Jared’s voice was expressionless, but Cassi could feel the sadness behind his words. She sat next to him on the bed. “I’m sorry. She must have meant a lot to you.”

“She was like a second mother.” He stared down at his hands. “All these years since I moved, we kept in touch. She was always interested in what I was doing.”

“Had she been sick for very long?”

“For the last year or so.” Jared looked up at Cassi. “Logically, I know she’ll understand, but I feel I’m betraying her by not being there.”