Shadow Woman: A Novel Read online

  There were still plans to make, decisions that had to be made, but for the first time on this long day Lizzy could truly imagine herself making it down the road.

  One step at a time.

  While his guy grumbled about being called out in the middle of the night for transport and repair, Xavier leaned against the wall of the windowless garage and once again studied the map on his cell. The mechanic—Rick—was one of his people, a whiz with engines of all kinds as well as a more-than-decent sniper.

  Changing spark plug wires wasn’t a difficult or time-consuming job. He could have done it himself if he’d had the parts, but it was a plus to have someone on his payroll who had a quiet place to do the work as well as the spare parts and the expertise.

  Xavier had checked Lizzy’s progress often since calling Rick. He’d followed her progress away from the hotel, then west on I-66. Two blinking dots, representing her cell phone and her wallet, had stayed together—until now.

  For the first time since he’d planted them, the two dots separated. Xavier pushed away from the wall, frowning as he watched and considered the possibilities. He ran his thumb over the screen and zoomed in for detail. Walmart. The cell was still in the store, but the wallet was walking out.

  Quickly he ran through the options. Had she planted the wallet on someone leaving the store while she stayed to shop, or had she planted the cell on someone still in the store and then made her escape? His money was on the wallet being with her. That tracker would be more difficult to locate, and a cell phone, small as it was, would be easier to drop in a pocket or purse while passing by.

  Though all she’d have to do was set the wallet on a shelf and walk away, and someone would pick it up.

  Worst case, she’d found both trackers, or else was simply getting rid of everything she’d had on her when she’d run and was starting fresh. If she did that, then he’d lost her. Violently he rejected that thought. No matter what, he’d find her. He had a starting point, that Walmart in Leesburg. She’d be picked up on the parking lot cameras, and he’d find a way to get access to the recording. He’d at least have an idea of what she was driving.

  All he could do was watch the trackers. If one—or both—moved to a site nearby and stayed there, it was most likely not in Lizzy’s possession. If one object stopped at a house or apartment nearby while the other kept going, he’d have her.

  “How long?” he asked sharply.

  “Almost there,” Rick growled. He was still grumpy about his interrupted sleep.

  Xavier dialed, put the phone to his ear. “Anything?” he said when Maggie answered.

  “They’re watching her house,” Maggie said. Despite the hour, she sounded as alert as if it were high noon. “Slow drive-bys, the occasional car parked on the street for an hour or so before moving on. This afternoon a package was delivered. Well, almost. The so-called deliveryman rang the bell, looked in the window, then started nosing around. I went outside and offered to sign for the package for Lizette, but that spooked him and he left—with the package, which judging by the way he held it was nothing more than an empty box, just an excuse to get close, in case anyone was watching. No one has gone inside yet, but that’ll happen soon.”

  “She’s not going back there,” Xavier said.

  “Of course not. She isn’t a fool.” Maggie sounded insulted on Lizzy’s behalf. “Further instructions?” she asked.

  “If they make a move on the house, call the police. As a concerned neighbor,” he added.

  “I can handle them myself, if you’d just let me …”

  “No.” He didn’t need dead bodies piling up on Lizzy’s doorstep. “I’m just trying to keep them busy.” And annoyed. They had to be wondering how an office worker could so efficiently elude them and have them running around like monkeys.

  Maggie sighed, obviously disappointed. “My next assignment had better be a little more exciting than this one. The excitement factor has gone up the past few days, but watching an empty house is pretty damn boring.”

  Xavier watched Rick finish up the repair job. “But you like the dog,” he said.

  “Yeah, Roosevelt is a plus.” Then she went back to all-business. “I’ll let you know if matters escalate here, but my guess is when they see no results from their stakeout they’ll move on.” She paused. “Is she all right?”

  “As far as I can tell.” Xavier ended the call and leaned against the garage wall again, watching the blinking dots that grew farther and farther apart. If he was lucky, in no more than an hour or two he’d be able to identify which tracker had stayed with Lizzy. If she’d gotten rid of them both … he was royally screwed.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  The morning sun was streaking the sky with pink when Lizzy reached Front Royal. She found a McDonald’s and parked Sean’s sister’s car in the rear, where several employees had parked, backing the compact car into a small space so the tag wasn’t visible from the parking lot. Someone would be looking for it, sooner or later. She took a moment to wipe down everything she’d touched, then got out and locked the car. She even wiped down the keys with her shirt, then, still using her shirttail to hold them, laid the keys across the back of her hand and tossed them into the Dumpster, hitched her bag over her shoulder, and started walking.

  She was tired. The five hours of sleep she’d managed at the beginning of the long night had helped, of course, but stress and adrenaline had sapped almost all of her energy. She couldn’t keep up this pace for much longer. She needed to eat, and somehow she needed to grab a nap, even if only a short one. Fatigue would make her clumsy, both physically and mentally.

  She thought about going into McDonald’s—good coffee—but she was leaving the car there, so it seemed a good idea to find somewhere else to eat. Where she ate might not matter, but at this point no one knew who’d stolen the car and she didn’t want to definitely connect herself to it. Would McDonald’s have a security cam? She knew for certain some of them did. She didn’t want to take the chance.

  She started walking, and once again cursed the cheap shoes she was wearing. On the other hand, at least she had shoes.

  She didn’t have any idea where she was going, but she headed toward what seemed like a busy section of town. Her choice worked out. A few blocks down the road she saw a plain, boxy building with a neon “Open” sign, and when she got closer she could read the lettering on the window: “Sam’s Cafe.” Below that was the welcome information that the cafe served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Good for Sam, she thought as she went inside.

  She stood for a few seconds, getting her bearings. No hostess, so it was seat-yourself. Bathrooms straight ahead as she’d come in the door. She made a beeline for the ladies’ room. She was starving for real food, but some needs were more urgent than others.

  While in the bathroom she washed her face and hands, finger-combed her hair, then washed her hands again. She made a face at herself in the mirror. Thank goodness she’d been able to shower at the motel, but she was beginning to feel icky again, even though she hadn’t done anything more strenuous than drag Sean out of the backseat. She needed to buy some new underwear, too. She didn’t have any spare clothes with her, so she couldn’t even stop and do laundry unless she wanted to stand around buck naked while her clothes washed and dried. Having even one complete change of clothes would make a world of difference.

  First things first, though. Next up: food.

  The restaurant was evidently popular with the locals, because it was busy, with most of the booths and tables filled. Unease prickled along the back of her neck as she studied the scant selection of empty tables. She wanted something closer to the kitchen and the rear exit. As she hovered there looking for a place, a man slid out of a booth toward the back, and she hurried forward to take his place while the waitress was still busing the table.

  She was not only starving now, she was going to need a lot of energy in the coming hours, so she ordered a huge breakfast: ham and eggs, biscuits, coffee. Grits were offere