Just Be True To Me

Chapter 8

Tamara looked through her binoculars. Parking behind the hedge ensured that she would be able to watch her target without being watched herself. She’d been tailing Clifford for the past three days, per Mia’s instructions.

She started her car after he started his, allowing two cars to pass before pulling out behind him. The ringing sounded throughout the cabin.

“Hey girl. What’s up?”

“Nothing exciting yet,” she said. “I can definitely tell why he was in a rush to get out of here. There’s nothing but water and trees. I swear I can count the number of people on two hands.”

“Tell me if he looks at his phone,” Mia said

She called him.

Looking through the binoculars distorted Tamara’s vision. The phone slipped out of the cup holder after she jerked the wheel. Reaching for it, she began to drift. She only became aware of the honks after her tire began to skirt along the curb. She stomped the brakes, the front bumper tapping the parking meter. She hurriedly snatched the phone from the floor and waved at the onlookers as a signal that she was okay.

“No, no. I’m fine. You don’t have to call the police.”

“Police,” Mia said. “What happened?”

“I swerved a bit.” She scanned the area. “Sh*t, I lost him.”

“You lost him?”

“Did you turn into a parrot? That’s what I just said.” Her head hit the roof after she drove off the curb, the engine’s rumbling flowing through the speaker. “If you didn’t distract me —”

“Don’t blame that on me,” Mia said with a laugh. “You were always a bad driver..”

Red and blue lights began flashing in the rearview. Wedging the phone between her legs, she held the steering wheel with both hands and slowed her speed. She held her breath as the car crept behind her. Her eyes switched back and forth between the mirror and the dashboard. Her car eased to a stop before the intersection. While waiting for the light, she noticed the cruiser begin to ease into the other lane. She began to exhale.

The police officer looked in her direction.

“I might need some bail money.”

“What happened?”

The cop knocked before she had a chance to answer. She followed in the direction he pointed. After turning the car off, she placed her hands flat on the dashboard. All the faces of the people that had become statistics, shot down by the police, flashed through her mind. She began to pray. Her eyes burst open at the knocking. Her hands shook as she handed over her license and registration.

“Have you been drinking ma’am?”

Mia’s voice filled the cabin. “What’s going on?”

The officer eased the snap from around his gun. “Why are you in the city?”

“I’m—”

“She’s my private investigator,” Mia said. “I’m a lawyer in New York. She’s getting information on a client on my behalf.”

“I need to see some ID.”

Tamara kept her eyes forward as she opened and felt around the glovebox. “I must have left it back home. I’m a PI, I swear.”

“Step out of the car.”

***

Sweat began to burn Mia’s eyes. She paced the length of the room several times. Each word was aimed at keeping both the officer and Tamara calm. Her phone began to beep in her ear. Clifford was calling. “Sh*t.” Hearing the car door slam made her curse again. “Hold on a sec.”

“You called,” Clifford said. .

“You want to tell me about the money you just transferred.”

“It’s nothing. I took some from one account and put it into another account. People do that every day.”

She said, “Don’t act like you’re a regular person. And don’t act like what you did was normal. You switched money from a domestic account to an international account. Why?”

Clifford didn’t try to hide his irritation, she heard a door slamming shut. “We’ll talk about it when I get back to town. I have something to do.”

Mia slammed her heel into the hardwood floor. A couple of breaths helped to calm her before she rejoined the other conversation. “You still there?”

“Can you send a picture of my ID. I left it in the kitchen.” There was silence for some time and then the officer’s voice could be heard. “Be more careful. Kids walk these streets. And make sure to keep your identification on you. Some of the other officers aren’t as nice as me.”

“I understand. Thank you,, sir.”

Mia’s heart broke as she listened to Tamara’s sobs. There was nothing she could say that would make her feel better. Tears began to fall as all she wanted to do was hug her. Once her composure had returned, she said, “Come back home. I’ll talk to Clifford when he gets back. I’m sorry. Come home T. Please.”

“No. I have a job to do.”

“Tamara please…”

“I’m good. I’ll let you know when I find him.”

It was the second time in less than five minutes that she had been hung up on. The house suddenly felt claustrophobic.

Pushing the scare into the back of her mind, she dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of running shorts.

***

A glance at her watch showed that she’d surpassed the 30 minutes mark. Mia slowed her speed to a slow jog before settling into a brisk walk. Using a bench to stretch her legs, she noticed a man wearing all black. He looked away when she looked in his direction. The fact that he copied each stretch that she performed was more than enough reason to start the path back home. After five minutes, she realized that he wasn’t following her and slowed her pace.

The man peeked from around the tree. His steps were light as he crept toward her.

Mia took off in a full sprint. “Call Clifford,” she used her phone’s assistant to dial. She begged from him to pick up. “Come on. Come on.”

You’ve reached Clifford Knight…

She dialed his number again, getting the same result. Her lungs burned as she picked up her speed, her heels flicking against her butt. Feeling the man’s heat, she willed her legs to go faster. Without warning, a sharp pain shot through the back of her leg. Something between a limp and a hobble got her to the nearby bench.