Annie's Rainbow (2 page)

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Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Annie's Rainbow
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“Do you want to pack up the cars before we go for ice cream or after?”
“Let's do it first. We'll get it out of the way, and we can take a last walk around the campus. It's a beautiful spring night.”
“Then that's exactly what we'll do. What did we decide about the books?”
“I called the Book Exchange and someone is coming over to pick them up at nine-thirty. We'll get two hundred and ten dollars. We can stay in a cheap motel one night and not have to worry about making the trip all in one day. How does that sound?”
“Perfect.”
“Okay, while you're doing the dishes, I'll go get my car. I can drive yours over, too, if you want me to?”
“That's okay. There are only a few dishes. It's going to take you longer to load your car since you have all those paintings. We'll both finish up at the same time.”
 
 
An hour later, Annie carried her last suitcase down to the car. Her small carryall with her cosmetics, along with her laundry bag with the bed linens, would be the last thing to go in the car Sunday morning.
“I have some extra room in the backseat if you need it, Jane.”
“Do you think you can fit my small easel in there? If you can take it, I'll be able to see out of the rearview mirror.”
“Hand it over,” Annie said.
“Okay, I'll meet you in the parking lot.”
Annie opened the door to shove the easel between the front-passenger seat and the backseat. When the leg of the easel refused to budge, she shoved it with her shoulder. She looked down to see if her old running shoes were in the way. They were, but it was the canvas bag with the black lettering that made her light-headed. Boston National Bank. She swayed dizzily as she lifted the leg of the easel to move it behind the driver's seat. The moment her vision cleared, she rolled up the windows and slammed the car door shut. Another wave of dizziness overcame her as she held on to the door handle for support. When the second wave of dizziness passed, Annie raced into the apartment, where she ran for the bathroom and lost her dinner. She stayed there so long she knew Jane would come looking for her.
Five hundred thousand dollars, the news anchor had said. Two hundred thousand of the five in bearer bonds. Untraceable bearer bonds. In her car.
Call the police. Turn it in,
her brain shrieked over and over. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If she didn't turn it in she could move her mother to a nursing home with rolling green hills and flower beds. She could help her brother Tom. She could set Jane up in a little studio.
Call the police. Turn in the money.
Annie walked out of the apartment in slow motion, her brain whirling in circles as she contemplated the contents of her car. The bank robber must have thrown it through her open car window when he was running from the police. Surely they searched the area. Would they come back and do a more thorough search? Should she cover it up? Should she pretend she hadn't seen it? What should she do? The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Her pot of gold. The news anchor had said the money was in small bills. It wouldn't be traceable. Her battered gym bag found its way to her hands from the trunk of the car. She tossed it on top of the money bag.
No, no, that won't work. If the police do a second search, they might see it in my car and realize that I covered up the money bag. Better to move the gym bag and running shoes to the other side and just toss the easel on top of the money bag. It's dusk. I'll say I didn't look inside. I'll say I just put the easel in and didn't look. How many people look at the floor of the car? I never do. Most people don't. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. No one will ever know, not even Jane. I won't tell a soul. Call the police. Turn in the money. I can make Mom's days happier. Tom will be able to spend more time with his wife and kids. Jane needs a chance. Do it. Make a decision. Keep the money or give it back. Keep it or give it back. Yes. No. Call the police. Turn in the money. Decide now before it's too late. Decidedecidedecide. I'm keeping it. No, I'm not. I'm giving it back.
“Annie. What's wrong? I waited and waited. Then I got scared and decided to come back,” Jane said breathlessly. “You look funny. Is something wrong?”
“Kind of. I lost my dinner. I feel kind of wobbly.” It was the truth.
“It could be the excitement. I didn't get sick, so it wasn't the food. Stress will do it every time. Do you want to forgo the ice cream and the walk around the campus?”
“No, let's do it. Maybe the ice cream will help. You're probably right, it's stress. I thought it was going to be so easy to walk away from here. We will miss this place.” Good God, was this trembly voice hers?
“Any trouble with the easel?”
“No. Actually, there's room to spare. All I have left to put in the backseat is the bedding and my carryall. How about you?”
“I'm crammed to the ceiling but that's okay. Boy, the cops are everywhere. They're checking all the cars on campus. They even went through mine.”
“No kidding.” Annie thought her heart was going to leap right out of her chest.
“If you don't want them going through all your stuff, leave your car parked here on the street. Just lock it.”
“Okay, that sounds good. I probably wouldn't be able to wedge everything in again the way I did the first time.”
“Tell me about it. That's what took me so long getting back here. The cop was really nice, though. He said they think there was a third guy, and the one who got shot passed the money to him. Guess it makes sense.”
“They didn't say anything about a third man on television.”
“It's a theory. If the guy just tossed it, don't you think the cops would have found it by now?”
“Maybe someone found it and kept it,” Annie said.
“Are you kidding, Annie? That's a federal rap. No one in their right mind would do something like that. You always get caught in the end.”
“Not always. If there was a third person he could be out of the state by now. If he took a plane, he could be in California. All he has to do is walk across the border. Think about it, Jane.”
“Better him than me. I wouldn't want to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.”
“I agree with you. Are they going to search through the night?”
“I got the impression they're just searching the routes the two guys took. They're probably done by now. I saw a bunch of cop cars leaving as I was coming back to get you. Are you feeling any better?”
“A little. I hope I'm not coming down with something.”
“If you are, Elmo can give you something. We could stop by after we do our walk.”
“I'll be fine. Tomorrow is our big day. I guess I just never thought it would get here,” Annie said, her voice cracking with the strain.
“Okay, what flavor do you want?”
“Rocky Road. I'm going to sit out here on the bench, okay?”
“Sure. Listen, we can sit here and eat the cones. We don't have to do the walk if you aren't up to it.”
“I feel better. It's okay, Jane. Stop fussing.”
“If you say so.”
Annie almost jumped out of her skin when one of the campus police force sat down next to her. “Evening, Annie.”
“How are you, Kevin?” Annie asked quietly.
“Tired and hungry. I have to pull a second shift. You want my opinion, that money is long gone. The only thing that makes sense is the guy passed it to a third party. When you don't catch the perp in three hours, it's a lost cause. That's just my opinion, mind you. What do you think?”
“I think I agree with you. Don't they have
any
clues?”
“I shouldn't be telling you this but no, not a one. They got the one guy in jail and he says he was just an innocent bystander that got sucked into this, and he doesn't know anything about the first guy or the third guy. He's sticking to his story, too. They don't share much with us lowly campus police. There's going to be hell to pay because the kid that was shot didn't have any kind of weapon. His father is some Wall Street broker in New York. The other one's father is old money in Boston. Money or not, they'll make an example of the kid. Mark my word. They were best buddies from what I hear, so how could he not know what was going down? Why do rich kids rob banks? Guess I won't be seeing you or Jane after tomorrow, eh?”
“That's right. Sunday morning we're leaving bright and early. It was nice knowing you, Kevin. You take care now. Wait, here comes Jane. I'm sure she'll want to say good-bye.”
Annie listened as Jane made small talk with the campus officer. She licked at the dripping ice-cream cone, Kevin's words ringing in her ears.
“Jane, what do you think about leaving right after graduation tomorrow instead of waiting until Sunday morning?” Annie asked.
“What about Elmo?”
“Elmo will understand. We could leave around one and drive for six or seven hours and stop somewhere for the night. We'll treat ourselves to a nice steak house and finish up the trip Sunday. Monday morning we'll start fresh on our new lives.”
“That's fine with me. Are you sure you're up to it?”
“I'm sure. Graduation will be over by twelve-thirty. Maybe we could do lunch with Elmo and still be on the road by two o'clock.”
“Whatever you want to do, Annie, is fine with me. We need to get back. The guy from the bookstore is supposed to come by at nine-thirty. We can walk some more after he leaves if you want.”
“Let's see how we feel,” Annie said.
It was close to midnight when Annie closed her bedroom door. She thought about locking it, then wondered where that thought had come from. The word
witness
ricocheted around inside her head. There was always, somewhere, somehow, a witness to everything in life. How could this time be any different? Didn't the police take photographs of the crime scenes? Of course they did. But, was the campus parking lot part of a crime scene? Would her car show up in some photograph with the license plate showing clear as day? Of course it would. Sooner or later they would track down her car through DMV. It wouldn't matter what state she was in. If she could make it to South Carolina, as planned, trade in the car or junk it, hide the money, she would be okay. She was in the drugstore with Elmo when the robbery occurred. She was safe in that regard. She'd walked home. Kevin or one of his colleagues would be able to testify that her car was in the lot. Kevin checked the lot hourly to be sure every car parked had a university sticker on it. He constantly teased her about her bucket of bolts and all the rust on the chrome. Kevin would remember. Kevin knew she and Jane were leaving right after graduation. They'd even talked about it earlier in the week. Yes, lunch with Elmo was necessary. A quick lunch. She really wasn't deviating from her plan.
I guess that means you're planning on keeping the money,
her conscience needled.
“I haven't decided,” Annie muttered.
Sure you have. You already have it planned out. You need to think about what you'll do if you get caught. Jail time isn't pretty. You'd hate it. You can still call the police. You can turn the money in. Or, you could package it up and send it to them tomorrow morning. The post office is open half a day on Saturdays.
It's my answer to a long list of prayers. Do you have any idea how much easier my life will be? I can pay it back at some point in time. It's for now. Just temporary to get me over this awful hurdle in my life. I swear to God I'll pay it back. With interest. I'm a business major. I know how that works. I can compute interest right down to the last penny. I've never lied, cheated, or stolen a thing in my life. I've worked harder than some men. I've always done what's right. I never begrudged Tom his free education while I had to work for mine. I pray every night that Mom will get better. She won't, but I pray anyway. I can make her life more bright, more cheerful. I can do so much with the money. I'm keeping it!
Someday you're going to regret it.
Someday isn't here. This is today and today I won't regret it. I won't regret it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so be quiet and leave me alone. I need to think.
What's Jane going to say when she finds out?
Jane isn't going to find out. Tom isn't going to find out and neither is my mother. Elmo will never know. Those four people are the only people in this whole world that are important to me. The only way they could ever find out is if I tell them. I didn't even. open the damn bag. For all I know it could be stuffed with paper. The police and the media could be mistaken about the amount of money.
What about the boy's parents? They have money. They'll hire detectives and detectives sniff around and detectives are like dogs with bones. Their bonuses depend on results. They'll love someone like you. Give it back!

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