Chapter 5. “grab her before she Wakes up”

“GRAB HER BEFORE
SHE WAKES UP”

“I followed her,” Pres said. “I followed her all the way home. Just to see which way she went. Then I took off.”

He held the ketchup bottle over the hamburger and shook it hard. Then he held the bottle still, staring down at the plate as the ketchup puddled onto the meat.

“Like a little hamburger with your ketchup?” Diane asked, shaking her head disapprovingly. She had her white-blond hair tied under a blue and white bandanna, but several strands had frizzed out and fallen over her pale forehead.

“I like a lot of ketchup,” Pres muttered, watching the thick red sauce spread over the bun and onto the plate.

“Should I ask for another bottle?” Diane asked sarcastically. “Or maybe a glass? You could just drink your ketchup.”

He didn’t reply. Instead, he gestured to the plate of french fries in front of her. “Is that all you’re going to eat?”

“Yeah. I’m on a diet.” She reached across the Formica table and dipped a fry into the puddle of ketchup on his plate.

“Get your own!” he snapped.

They were sitting across from each other in a dark booth in the back of Freddy’s, a small coffee shop in the Old Village of Shadyside. The narrow restaurant smelled of strong coffee and fried onions. Pres and Diane were the only customers.

Pres lifted the hamburger with both hands and took a big bite. Ketchup ran down his chin. He glared across the table at Diane. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I’m waiting to hear the rest of your story,” she replied, waving a french fry between two fingers but not eating it. “You said you followed her?”

“Yeah. I followed her,” he replied, chewing as he talked. “I’m pretty sure she didn’t notice me.”

“You were careful?”

He nodded, wiping his chin with a paper napkin. “I stayed pretty far back. She didn’t see me. I’ve been following her all week. You know, getting her routine down.”

“And?” Diane asked impatiently, dropping the french fry, her gray-blue eyes trained on him.

He swallowed a mouthful of hamburger. “Here’s the scoop,” he replied, lowering his voice and leaning across the table even though there was no one near. “Dalby leaves the house for work every morning promptly at seven. You can set your watch by him.”

“Does Reva go with him?” Diane asked, whispering too.

Pres shook his head, his black hair falling over one eye. He pushed it back off his forehead. “No way. The princess leaves around nine, sometimes a little later. She drives a new car. A little red Miata.”

Diane gazed at him thoughtfully. She grabbed a french fry and shoved it into her mouth, chewing rapidly, like a rabbit, not taking her eyes off Pres. “What about servants? Is there a maid? A housekeeper?”

He took a long sip of Coke. “I crept up to the house yesterday morning after Reva left and checked it out. There’s no live-in help. A maid arrived about ten minutes after Reva headed off to work. That’s all. No one else.”

“It can’t be that easy,” Diane said, trying to tuck her hair under the kerchief.

“Can I have some of your fries?” Pres asked. He grabbed a handful before Diane could reply. “I’m starving tonight.”

“Do we have any money to pay for this?” Diane asked, glancing toward the waiter, who was at the front near the door, leaning against the wall, reading a newspaper.

“I’ve got a few bucks left,” Pres told her, patting his back jeans pocket. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “In a few days we won’t have to worry anymore.”

He grinned at her with his Elvis grin. Diane could never resist that sexy grin. She smiled back at him. “As soon as we’re rich, I want to go to every movie in town. Ten movies a day! I want to see everything five times!”

He raised a finger to his lips, motioning for her to lower her voice. “There was just one minor problem at Dalby’s house,” he told her, his grin fading.

“What minor problem?”

“The guard dog,” he replied. “A big, ugly monster.”

“Huh? Did he go after you when you went up to the house?”

Pres shook his head. “He was on a chain. I think they only unleash him at night.”

“Then he’s no problem?” Diane asked anxiously.

“Probably no problem,” Pres replied.

Diane narrowed her eyes, thinking hard. “Let’s go over this carefully,” she said, resting her chin in one hand. “After her father leaves at seven, Princess Reva is all alone in the house for two hours.”

“Yeah. That’s right,” Pres said, greedily finishing off her french fries. “She must be asleep until at least eight-thirty. She doesn’t open her bedroom blinds until then. And there’s no one else there.”

“So the best time to grab her is at her house before she wakes up,” Diane said, thinking out loud.

“Yeah,” Pres quickly agreed. “Piece of cake.”

“Then let’s kidnap her tomorrow morning,” Diane said, an eager smile spreading across her face.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20