A Stranger Lies There Read Free Page B

hell happened?” I yelled, seized with panic.
    â€œNot right now,” Turret barked, looking behind us. “And slow down for Chrissake. We’re in the clear.”
    I eased up on the gas and glanced at Turret, feeling sick. He was still breathing hard, flush with excitement, and didn’t seem too broken up that my friends weren’t with us.
    â€œWhat the fuck happened back there, goddamnit!” I persisted.
    He wouldn’t meet my eyes, evading the question. “It doesn’t matter now. Just drive.”
    I did as I was told. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking garage, a five-story structure that Turret had picked out carefully. The entrances were served by automatic ticket machines with an all-day flat rate, and the exits were unmanned, perfect for our purposes. It never filled up, according to Turret, and the top two floors were invariably empty. As a precaution, my car was on the fifth floor, away from the elevator to avoid company when we returned.
    â€œFuck!” Turret said under his breath when we reached level five, and I wouldn’t know how lucky I’d gotten until later.
    There was one other car in addition to mine up here, a VW bug parked a few spaces down with a man and woman inside. They were making out. They’d obviously wanted some privacy and watched with annoyance as we approached.
    â€œWhat should I do?” I asked.
    â€œAct normal. Gimme your keys and drop me off at your car. I’ll meet you right below.”
    I looked at him dumbly, scared out of my mind, and he explained impatiently, “It’ll look weird if we both get out and switch cars. Just do it!”
    I stopped behind my car and handed him the keys. I could feel the two lovers watching us, waiting for us to leave. Turret got out nonchalantly, duffel bag in hand, and leaned back in after closing the door. “Better make it the third floor. I don’t want these idiots noticing this one parked all by itself on their way down. Got it?”
    â€œYeah.” I crept away unhurriedly, drove down two floors, and parked in a crowd of other vehicles. Turret pulled up behind me moments later. I got out and dashed to my car, making the mistake then that saved my life.
    â€œCome on, come on!” Turret urged impatiently, as I climbed in beside him and slammed the door. It echoed loudly in the enclosed garage, along with the screech of rubber on concrete as we sped off.
    When we reached the street, Turret shook his head and muttered, “That stupid ass Rory, man.”
    â€œWhat? What the hell happened? Are my friends dead?”
    â€œMaybe. They both went down. That’s all I know.”
    â€œShit! How? What went wrong?”
    â€œFucking Rory. He lost it, man!”
    â€œWhat the hell does that mean?”
    â€œIt was going beautifully. We had everybody on the floor except the vault manager, and she was handing over the cash like her life depended on it. I mean, it was perfect! No one got hysterical, none of those guards tried to be a hero, and I’m watching all that bread going into the bag with one eye and my watch with the other. Next thing I know, Rory’s lettin’ loose with the bullets, man! All hell broke loose after that. I don’t know how I made it out of there alive. But thanks to Rory, that bag is only halfway full.”
    Two of my friends were probably dead and he was worried about the money. I looked at him with new fear, suddenly wanting to get far away from him.
    â€œWhen he started shooting, the guards pulled their own weapons. Ellen was, like, frozen. The rent-a-cops might’ve gotten her, I’m not sure. Rory was already on the floor.”
    â€œAnd you just left them there?” I asked hysterically. “How could you?”
    â€œYou weren’t there, man. It was like a war zone,” he said, getting on the highway toward Santa Cruz. “If I’d stopped to help them none of us would have made it.