Pretty Sly (28 page)

“Do you really think that? It’s just a name. Willa, you are who you are. And I don’t think having your real name or even growing up with your real mother if you’d had the chance to would have changed any of that. At least, I hope it wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t want to see you be anyone else.”

His green eyes cut into me, so that they were all I could see clearly beyond the clouding of my tears. He traced a small circle on my cheek with his finger.

Then he smiled. “Besides, Willa Fox is way cooler than Maggie Siebert. Especially for a butt-kicking criminal like yourself. I mean, she pretty much nailed it with the name choice.”

I fixed my hair and wiped at my face, sniffing. “You think so?”

“Totally. Sly Siebert just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

I laughed, despite myself.

“Should we see her now?” He took a step away and cocked his head in the direction of the trailer. “She’s probably losing her mind in there, worrying.”

I wanted to be suspicious. I wanted to protect myself. And yet his smile was so sweet and so convincing that I couldn’t possibly turn away from it. I’d planned a lot of escapes by now, but this wasn’t one I was prepared to make.

“Okay,” I said. I took his hand and we walked back together.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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TWENTY-THREE

LESLIE WAS WAITING
for us in the doorway, arms crossed in front of her, gnawing on a knuckle. It reminded me of the first time I biked to school on my own, back when we lived in Washington State. I was twelve, the school was three miles away, and she had the same look on her face when I got home.

But if she or Aidan thought I was just going to forgive her and be all sweet and cuddly now, they were delusional.

“Thank goodness,” she said. Her face was still lined with worry, but it was softer than it had been before. “Did anyone see you out there?”

“You mean your buddy Chet?” I said cruelly. “I don’t think so.”

She grimaced. “How do you know his name?”

“We’ve met him,” I said. I wanted her to know that we’d done okay without her. And okay, maybe I wanted
to shock her now, too. “Twice, actually. You’re right, though. They’re in the area. He and his right-hand man.”

She reached over and took ahold of my shoulders. “Oh my God. Are you okay? Did he threaten you?”

I ducked away from her. “You left me. How could you leave me behind when that guy was after us, when he knew where we lived?”

“He was after me, though. Or so I thought.” She threw up her hands. “I didn’t know what to do, without turning myself in, and I had to think on my feet. I figured if I left, I’d draw all the trouble away from you, and let you have your new start without me, living with Cherise. I mean, it was all my fault I got us into this mess, so I thought with me gone—anyway, that was poor judgment. I realize it now. I was putting you at risk.”

“Better late than never, right?” My eyes flashed at her. “Anyway, we’re fine. We’re here, aren’t we?”

I knew I was being bitchy. Maybe Aidan was right. Maybe I needed to focus on what was real, not on what wasn’t. Still, I couldn’t help but feel distant from her, even as she acted momish. Or maybe because she was trying to. I couldn’t help feeling betrayed.

“You’re not fine. You’re bleeding,” she said, pointing to the leg of my jeans.

I shrugged. “It’s probably dry by now. But Aidan’s ankle is hurt.”

“Let’s fix you guys up.”

She stepped away and brought back a first-aid kit.
We sat back down at the table and I washed off my cuts with an alcohol swab. She handed Aidan an Ace bandage and some ice. Then she gave me some Band-Aids. In the old days, she would’ve unwrapped them and stuck them on for me. Now I wouldn’t let her get that close. I just took them out of her hand and put them on myself.

Things were going to be different for us from now on. She wasn’t my mother. She could no longer tell me what to do. But I also couldn’t take her for granted in quite the same way.

“How did you end up here, Leslie?” Aidan asked, breaking the silence. “You didn’t tell us that part of the story.”

“Back in Arizona, Agent Corbin started calling me— he was working on Mom’s case and he’d tracked me down after I started spending that damn money. I didn’t want to have anything to do with him—I was afraid. I thought he would take me in. But he wouldn’t leave me alone. He wanted me to cooperate.” She worriedly picked at her shirt. “I mean, I know he was trying to help. And then, with the whole Sly Fox thing, our house was on the news. I started getting calls from Chet, and I had to run.”

“So Chet killed our mother,” I said finally. “Is this whole thing all about the money?”

She nodded, pursing her lips together. “Yes, but it’s personal, too. I think Mom and Chet had a thing, back in the day.”

I shuddered. “That guy? He’s so gross.”

“I remember seeing him around the house sometimes, before we moved. There was another guy, too. I really don’t know a lot of the details, but I do know that the money is probably his.”

Suddenly I had a million questions. “But how did you end up here?” I asked. “What was your plan?”

“I keep these lists of places, all the time. It’s a habit, I guess, from all the years of moving. When I knew I had to leave Paradise Valley I tried to get you settled and then I took the money and hit the road. My strategy was to jump around. If you look on a map, it’s not a straight line between stops—it’s more like a knot.”

Aidan and I knew this, of course, because we’d traced her route at least part of the way.

“So I started in California, but I always knew I was going to make my way up here. We visited the Painted Hills when you were really little, Willa. Do you remember?” She looked at me expectantly.

“I didn’t,” I said. “At least not until we went there yesterday. We saw your campsite.”

“I figured I could camp there for a couple of nights and no one would bother me. No one’s around much this time of year. Something spooked me, though—the other night I woke up in a sweat, sure that Chet was lurking around somewhere. I can’t explain it. It was like an extrasensory thing. But I was freaked out.”

I thought of my own nightmare, the millions of ways
we were still connected. “They were there. You were right. And this place was on the list, too, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “I always try to have a backup plan. So I just abandoned my tent and hiked back up to the road and caught a ride here. I’d seen a trailer for rent online. The woman is letting me pay cash on a day-to-day basis. It’s been a good setup. But I obviously can’t stay here—not after they’ve seen you.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Look, we don’t have much time. Those bastards won’t give up until they get what they want. You guys need to turn yourselves in, and I need to get on the road again.”

I crumpled up my bandage wrappers. “You can’t keep running and hiding like this.”

“Neither can you,” she said, looking me in the eye.

“It’s different,” I said. “Our situation is different.”

“How so? You’re all over the news. Do you mean to tell me there
aren’t
cops in four states looking for you right now? Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I’ve been in hiding but I can’t escape seeing your face on every newspaper. I mean, leaving notes, Willa? That was insanely risky.” Her voice had gone scolding again.

“We’ve got it under control,” I muttered.

“Do you, though?”

We paused and stared at each other for a moment. Did I? I honestly had no idea.

Aidan broke the silence. “Leslie, you should know that we’ve talked to Agent Corbin. And he’s looking for you, too.”

“That guy. He just can’t mind his own business, can he?” she said, allowing herself a little smile. Did she
like
him? “But it’s not really him I’m worried about. It’s Chet and that other guy.”

“So
you
should turn yourself in,” I said. “Then at least you’d be hidden away.”

She waved away that suggestion. “It’s not so easy. I committed a federal crime, impersonating a dead girl. There are major penalties for ghosting, not to mention the fact that I’ve been carrying around stolen money for all these years. Millions of dollars. Technically, that makes me a thief.”

“But if a jury heard your story, they might sympathize with your situation. You weren’t stealing; you were just trying to survive,” Aidan reasoned. “And you were trying to protect your sister. That makes you likable.”

Leslie clasped her hands in front of her as if in prayer. “Remember that we don’t even really know where the money came from in the first place—it could be laundered. Mob money. Drug money. Whatever. It’s definitely shady.”

“But you didn’t know that at the time,” I insisted.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think a jury is going to understand why I held on to it. I’d be sent to prison for a decade at least. And those guys would wait for me. I mean, they’ve waited for me for fifteen years. No, it’s run or nothing. It’s run or die.”

I had no doubt that the danger was as bad as she
imagined. I’d seen those guys up close, after all.

But a life of perpetual hiding sounded awful and lonely, not to mention difficult. I tried one last time. “I really think we should call the police—if we explain the situation . . .”

“Please don’t, Willa,” Leslie pleaded. “I beg you. I have this under control. I know how to stay underground. Look, it’s not easy, but I’ve long ago given up on the idea that I will ever have a normal life or get married or settle down or anything like that. Don’t feel sorry for me. I’ve come to terms with it. It was a sacrifice I made willingly.”

I sank back into my seat, feeling truly exhausted by the situation. This was not how it was all supposed to go. We were supposed to find her and bring her back home with us. Go back to life the way it was before. And now it had gotten so much bigger, so much more complicated than I’d ever imagined.

“What are
we
supposed to do, then?” I asked. “Just let you disappear into the wilderness? We can’t do that, Leslie.” Saying her name still felt weird, too conspicuous to be normal.

“I have no choice. But just because I’m caught up in all of this doesn’t mean you have to be.” She turned to me and her eyes were glittering.

I felt my throat tighten. “We’ve skipped out on probation, stolen multiple vehicles, broken into places, trespassed. We both have records. They’re going to lock us up.”

“But you’re young,” she said. “Your sentence would be light—maybe a few months for each of you.”

“And then what?” I couldn’t imagine there being much of a life for me after that. “I couldn’t go back to Prep. I’d have nowhere to live.”

“You could go live with Cherise’s family for a while, maybe start at the public school there. This is your chance, Willa. Don’t you see? If you go back to Paradise Valley now, you could still have the life I dreamed for you. You could still go to college. Forget about me now.” Her voice broke again.

She cared about me. I had to admit it. And she probably did just want the best for me, as I did for her.

I looked into her face. So familiar, and yet, different now. Or maybe it was just me that had changed. Maybe it had happened before today and I’d just never noticed.

No, I couldn’t keep acting like I was her child. It was time for me to take control of the situation.

“Aidan,” I asked. “Where’s our phone?”

We were expecting the knock on the trailer door—just not so soon. Somehow, Corbin made it to us from his L.A. office in two hours. I guess FBI folks have their own special ways of avoiding traffic.

There he stood on the doorstep, in a black jacket over jeans. Plainclothes style. The last time I’d seen him was back in Tahoe, and that was when I nicked his files.

I’d never seen him this close up before. His face was
scruffy, like he hadn’t shaven in days. He was definitely nice-looking, for a bothersome authority-figure type of person.

“Willa,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Long time no see.”

I shook his hand. “Hello, Agent Corbin.”

“Can I come in? You’re not going to break into my car, are you?” He gave me a wry sort of smile.

“Be my guest,” I said, a little freaked out that I was inviting the FBI in past the threshold. It was like asking a vampire inside—anything could happen and once it did, it could not be undone. “And no. You’re safe.”

“Leslie,” he said, making a beeline for her. “You’re okay?”

And then he
hugged
her.

Aidan and I exchanged looks. My suspicions had proven correct. Corbin had more than a passing professional interest in my sister. And that could only be useful for all of us.

“The last time I saw you . . .”

“. . . was in that restaurant in Phoenix. I know. I blew you off. I’m sorry. I knew they were closing in. I was afraid, Jeremy.” She looked up at him in a way I never saw her look at anybody. “I’m glad you’re here. But we don’t have much time.”

“Right,” he said. And to me, “You said something on the phone about an arrangement?”

“We need your help,” I said. “We need to kill her off.”

“I can assist you with that,” he said, interlacing his
fingers and then pointing the steeple at me and Aidan. “As long as you promise that you two will come back to L.A. with me and turn yourselves in. Like we discussed a few days ago, yeah?”

I looked at Aidan and he heaved his shoulders, signaling that he understood. That we were out of options. That we would rather do anything but that, but he had us cornered. That this was our best hope of helping Leslie and getting home in one piece.

“Deal,” I said, shaking his hand.

And so we set about killing Joanne Fox. For the second time.

Late at night, when the work was almost done, Leslie and Aidan went to lie down for a couple of hours—Leslie on the bed, and Aidan on the floor. Corbin and I were standing guard, sitting at the trailer’s little table, drinking coffee.

We sat in silence mostly, which was interrupted every so often by the sound of sipping.