Read Online Dead Wrong by Patricia Stoltey - Free Book Online Page B

that she would be a lot better off if the first person on her email list, Carl, died. Then she thought of the people she loved who wouldn’t see this guy coming and would never understand what they had done to deserve a horrible death. And it would be her fault.
    “Look, buddy, just listen a minute. I want to return your case and everything in it. I’m sorry about the phone. I panicked and turned it off. I won’t touch anything. But I don’t want to meet you. You scare me. I’m in downtown Denver at the bus station. I’m going to turn your case over to a security guard and explain the mix-up. You need to come here and find the guard. You show your I.D. and make the exchange. I’ll come back later to pick up mine.”
    The creep’s next words were drowned out by an announcement for the northbound bus to Fort Collins.
    Lynnette asked the man on the phone to repeat what he’d just told her, listened to the guy’s response, and ended the call. She left the phone on, thinking she might call the police, thinking this guy would kill her if he found her, thinking Grace would be safer with the cops in Denver than she might be with Blue.
    “Look at this,” said Grace.
    Lynnette set the phone on the table before turning to see what Grace wanted. “What are you doing?”
    Grace had the guy’s case on her lap and was thumbing through the stack of hundred-dollar bills.
    “Put that back inside,” Lynnette said. She glanced around the waiting room to see who might have noticed. “You want me to get mugged or something? Hurry up. Your bus is going to board in a minute. You have to get in line.”
    “Wait.” Blue reached for the money.
    Lynnette grabbed the cash out of Grace’s hand and stuffed the wad inside the case. She started to close the zipper, but then peered at the brown envelope. She pulled it out, opened the clasp, and looked inside. Checks. Maybe a half-dozen large checks drawn on different companies and different banks. Two of the checks totaled more than a million dollars.
    “What is it?” Grace asked.
    “Just papers. It’s nothing.” Lynnette refastened the clasp and slid the envelope back into place. With one swift zip, she closed the case, set it on the floor, and placed it between her feet.
    “Papers?” Blue said. “If it’s only papers, why are your hands trembling?” She shoved her chair back and looked under the table, eyeing the case with renewed interest.
    “Is it something bad?” Grace asked. “Maybe you should call the Feds.”
    Blue and Lynnette looked at Grace and then at each other. Grace had proposed something far more profound than what her childish experience would normally suggest.
    Lynnette placed her hand on Grace’s shoulder. “What do you know about the Feds?”
    “Lots. My dad—”
    “Damn it all to hell, Grace. What does your dad do with the government?”
    “FBI.”
    Lynnette’s first emotion was joy. Grace’s dad could help. Her second was despair. It would be four days before he returned from Afghanistan. Her third was fear. What would happen to her if she didn’t return this case to the fat man and get her own case? If she went straight to the police, what would happen to Grace?
    “You guys have got to get out of here.” Lynnette read the address, phone numbers, and email address written on Blue’s napkin, then stuffed it in her purse. “Go on, take your packs and get in line.” She sat at the table, watching, until they boarded the bus and the bus pulled away. As she gathered up her things, she discovered Blue’s wig lying on the floor next to her carry-on. She stuffed it into the outside compartment of her bag. She turned off the fat man’s phone and put it in her purse.
    The plan, as she had outlined it to the girls and to the fat man, was to leave his case with a security guard, let the guard make the trade, and then she would board a bus to Fort Collins to meet up with Grace and Blue.
    Now she wasn’t so sure. One glimpse at the checks had set her