Page 28 of No Safe Place

“Good. Here’s the play. Have your locals detain the both of them. The investigator and Jodi. Discreetly put them somewhere quiet until my people get there. This has gone far enough. We need to clip this clean before things get even worse.”

Cushing swallowed as he thought about what clip this clean meant.

“I can talk to Jodi, Frank,” Cushing said quickly. “I’ll get her back in line, I promise.”

There was a pause on the line.

Cushing eyed the stars again. He made a wish, pictured a satellite slamming into another cutting him off from this.

It didn’t happen.

“We’ll see what rolls out, Marty,” Frank finally said. “First things first. Get them contained.”

25

Coming out through the side exit of the hotel, Colleen noticed the vehicle right away.

At the far end of the outdoor lot, there was some kind of light blue car, a Nissan sedan, off by itself pointing right at them.

“There it is,” Jodi said panicking. “That’s Travers. I told you they were following me. That’s my husband’s campus police squad.”

“I’m the black SUV on the right here. C’mon,” Colleen said.

As Colleen turned the RAV4 rental over, she saw the Nissan already start to move.

When she pulled out and looked in the rearview, she immediately felt her heart start beating faster.

Because the Nissan was right behind them and it really was Travers behind the wheel wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat.

“He’s following us,” Jodi said.

“I know. Don’t worry about it. It’s going to be okay,” Colleen said with a calm she was not feeling.

Coming down the lot apron for Route 4, Colleen scanned up ahead. On the left across the road, there was a Subway just before a traffic light.

As she pulled out, she immediately hit her left clicker, hanging back, pretending she was going to turn into its parking lot.

“What are you doing?” Jodi said.

“Seeing what he’s going to do.”

Colleen let out a tense breath as the campus security car stopped right behind them.

Looking at Travers in the rearview, she remembered her entire purpose of coming up here. Use the element of surprise to confront them and see if they reacted.

They were reacting all right, she thought swallowing.

What the hell will he do? Just keep following us all the way to New York?

A car slowing behind the Nissan came around in the shoulder. Colleen kept waiting, watching. The green light turned yellow. She suddenly gunned it and just made the light.

“Did he come through after us?” Colleen said, still speeding.

“Yes!” Jodi said.

“Shit,” Colleen said.

Sixty seconds later the road began to curve up a rise toward the intersecting overpass of the interstate. As they came closer, Colleen realized the road was about to fork into the northbound and southbound entrances of the interstate itself.

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