“It’ll look like you disabled it on purpose.” We could argue that falling in the pool had been an accident, but intentionally destroying it would come with added jail time. “Water,” I panted, fighting a stitch in my side. “Water worked the last time. We’ll just douse it again. Look for a garden hose.”
There were chain-link fences around every backyard but one. The lights were off inside. Maybe they had a hose bib. I started toward it. A dog in the neighbor’s yard gave a warning bark. It charged toward the fence and lunged at us, starting a chorus of other dogs barking and howling all around us. A few interior lights came on. A door opened. If those dogs didn’t shut up, someone was going to call the cops.
Vero and I tore through a side yard back toward the main road. Small run-down houses gave way to small run-down shops. Traffic lights flickered in the distance. The sirens started wailing again. I scanned the closed storefronts around us, searching for a hose bibor a public restroom or a pothole with a deep enough puddle inside it.
A sign for an all-night, self-service car wash came in sight, and I made a run for it, dragging Vero behind me. We ducked into one of the empty wash bays. It was brightly lit, and I felt like I was under a spotlight as I hurried to the coin slot, digging in my purse for small bills. They were all sticky and covered in Cheerio crumbs.
“Hurry up,” Vero said, bouncing on her heels as I blew them off. “Those sirens are close!”
“I’m going as fast as I can!” My hands shook as I fed a wrinkled twenty into the machine. It spit the bill back out at me, and I frantically smoothed down the edges and jammed it back in. The menu of wash options lit up on the display. I selected the highest-pressure option I could find and set it for the maximum amount of time. Vero hiked up her pant leg and I picked up the hand wand.
She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, wincing in anticipation, like she was standing in front of a firing squad. I pulled the trigger. She yelped as water blasted from the wand, cutting across her body in a wide, flat stream.
“My foot, Finlay!” Vero said between gasps as the cold water soaked through her jeans. “The monitor is on myfoot!”
“I know!” I shouted over the hum of the pump. “This isn’t like shooting a Glock, you know!” I lowered the wand, focusing the bulk of the blast toward her ankles. I held it there, pounding the monitor in water and suds until the timer beeped and the pumps cut off.
My ears rang in the sudden silence. Vero’s clothes and hair dripped on the pavement. Soapy water ran in rivulets down her face and cascaded off the tip of her nose.
“Did it work?” I asked.
“You’d better hope it worked.” She looked like she wanted tomurder me. I couldn’t see a light blinking on her ankle monitor, but I was afraid to get close enough to be sure.
My phone buzzed. I hung up the wand and connected the call. “Cam? Can you see her?” I ushered Vero around to the back of the building, out of sight from the road.
“Her signal’s gone completely dark. Where are you?”
“A car wash off Route One.”
Cam guffawed. “No shit, Mrs. D! I would have paid good money to see that.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Vero said through chattering teeth.
“Vero’s freezing, Cam. Her clothes are soaking wet. I need to get her someplace where she can warm up and dry off.”
“You can’t take her home, that’s for sure,” Cam said. “Now that the cops lost her signal, they’ll probably look for her there. Come to Zoey’s,” he suggested. “Vero can borrow some clothes and you can hide out here while we figure something out.”
Nothing about this night was going like we’d planned. We were supposed to have identified the thief and found the money. We were supposed to have proved Vero’s innocence. Instead, we were both on the run. But if we could at least make it back to the sorority house, we might have one last shot at getting the truth out of Ava before the police managed to find us.
“How are we supposed to get there?” I peered around the side of the building, yanking my head back at the first sign of headlights as a car passed. “For all we know, the police could be monitoring our rideshare accounts. Can you and Zoey come get us?”
“I’ll send an Uber to pick you up,” he offered. “If anyone at the party managed to get a look at me, the cops might have a BOLO out for someone matching my description.”
“An asshole in an eggplant?”
I slapped a hand over Vero’s mouth. “Where should we go tomeet the car?” I asked him. We couldn’t stay where we were. Not if it was the last place Vero’s GPS had broadcasted a clear signal.
“Walk to the intersection two blocks east of you. There’s a bus stop on the corner and a McDonald’s and a gas station across the street. Go to the gas station first and get me an extra-large Slushy. Because if you get the Quarter Pounders first, they’ll get too cold, and then the cheese gets all—”
“Cameron!” I snapped.
“Okay, fine! Jeez! I scheduled your Uber, and I texted you his name and his plates. He’ll pick you up in twelve minutes from the bus stop. Don’t be late.”
CHAPTER 31
Vero and I crept around the back of the sorority house thirty minutes later. It was well after midnight, and most of the house was dark. A light was on in Zoey’s room, and I could just make out the murmur of voices through the glass.
I rapped softly on the window. Arnold started barking, and Cam shushed him as the shade pulled back. Zoey unlocked the window and slid it open.
