Jace paid the gal at the carwash stand, and soon they were steering toward the tunnel and onto the automatic track. Jace shifted gears into neutral. A gawky kid wearing a JP’s Car Wash shirt scrubbed the front bumper with a soapy brush, then stepped aside as the automatic gears guided them in. Water shot at them from every angle, drenching the vehicle from front to back. It was then Amy realized they hadn’t said a word in miles.
“Willis and Henry love going through this carwash,” she said, working to sound natural.
Jace turned to her, jaw and brow tight in concentration. She watched understanding flash over him a moment before his face softened. “I bet they do,” he said. “Cute little guys. My brothers and I used to love it too.”
“Yeah,” Amy agreed with a sigh. “Us too.”
They were approaching the foam now, a dozen tiny nozzles in a rainbow arch, each color of the rainbow. Jace unlatched his buckle and gave her another look. “Oh, man, I didn’t notice that flyer. Let me see if I can grab it off the windshield.”
The front of the car was past the foam now, cruising slowly toward the next station. The big, whipping rags that swayed and beat at the car from every angle. Jace rolled down his window, but rather than reach an arm out for the windshield, he climbed right out and onto the roof of the car.
Amy tried to catch a glimpse of him through the side-view mirror, but the thing was still dripping in colored foam. The same pastel suds dripped in from the open window, one slow, sloppy drop, and then another.
As the SUV inched toward the next station, the thick, blue rags broke into their hula dance, swaying from one side to the next. Amy’s heart picked up as she imagined someone hiding inside the carwash and strangling Jace on the hood of the car. The idea made her feel desperate suddenly.
What if something happened to him?Hurry Jace, come back in.
She stared at the open window as the mop-like rags beat against the front hood. One collective sudsy drop gathered until it was heavy enough to plop onto the inside of the car door near the lock.
She heard movement overhead a second before he appeared once more. He climbed back in, his shirt wet with rainbow suds, and rolled the window up.
“Got it,” he said with a curse. “Stupid flyer. What does it say, anyway?”
He looked at her expectantly before observing a small object in his hands. Perhaps that was the bug.
“Um…” her mind went blank. “Fifteen percent off… a facial at some salon. The ink is smudged.” Her heart thumped harder.
Jace tilted to one side, further inspecting the small, black device. Then, in one quick move, he flattened his hand against the dashboard and crushed the intruding object with acrack.He gathered the scattered bits of plastic and tiny wires into his palm and stared ahead.
Once they made it past the mops, Jace rolled down the window and tossed the bits out. He pressed a few keys on his phone, scrutinized the screen that came up and nodded wordlessly.
Amy stayed quiet throughout the rest of the carwash, not daring to speak until Jace gave her the okay.
“We’re bug-free,” he finally said as he pulled onto the main road. He checked his rearview. “We’ve got to make a call.”
Jace pulled his phone from his pocket. “Will you dial up a contact by the name of Sutton? Put it on speaker, if you don’t mind and connect it to the dashboard.”
“Sure.”
“We don’t have a lot of time, so you’ll have to kind of catch up as I talk to him, okay?”
Amy nodded, navigated through his call list, and dialed Sutton. She propped it in place and reached for the water bottle she’d left in the car.
“Mr. Burns,” came Sutton when he picked up.
“Think we’re all clear for now, sir,” Jace said.
“That we are,” Sutton confirmed. She hadn’t expected the distinguished sounding English accent.
“You’re on speaker,” Jace said. “I’ve got Amy in the SUV with me.”
“Hello, Ms. Nelson. Sutton Smith here. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you as well.”
“They bugged Amy’s house,” Jace continued. “Outdoor devices on the windows and the back, patio door. From what I can tell no one’s been inside. Not sure if they have a visual on us, but they’re definitely listening.”
“Hmm,” Sutton mused. “Something’s got them spooked. We’ll address that during the conference call in the morning.”
