Page 18 of Girl, Remembered

‘There’s no alternative.’

‘Sure. What’s going on with surveillance? Please say Dever made some headway while I was at home.’

‘We’ve got eyes in the sky and officers on three exits out of D.C., but that’s all the cops could spare. We’ve got Maryland State working with us, as well as some guys from the MPD. Byford is amongst them, somewhere, but I couldn’t tell you where.’

‘So we’re at the limit when it comes to resources,’ Ripley said.

‘Yeah. Pretty much. The CCTV at the Greenbelt caught Doyle’s license plate, but the car isn’t registered anywhere. She could have stolen it or it could be a fake plate. Either way, the plate’s flagged. It’s loaded into the ALPR network now, so the second she rolls past a traffic camera, it pings. But you know the problem with that.’

‘If she takes the back roads, she’s invisible.’

‘Yeah.’ Ella riffle shuffled the playing cards and purposely slapped them hard onto the table as she did the move. The edges of the cards were beginning to go dry already. She was about to shuffle again when Ripley reached out and grabbed the deck.

‘Stop that.’

‘Stop what?’

‘That. With the cards. You’ve bent them to hell. How are we going to play Blackjack with a deck like that?’

‘How are we going to play Blackjack ever again? I’m frustrated, Mia. I’d have thought that was obvious.’

‘It’s more obvious when you’re doing that annoying shuffle. Do that magic thing you do. Where you read minds.’

Ella planted the deck on the table. ‘Magic? Now? Are you serious?’

‘Dead serious. Lighten the mood for a minute. It might help you think. I can lighten the mood some other ways, but it’s not as interesting as magic.’

‘Try me.’

‘Edis bought a bar.’

‘What? Edis? The Edis?’

‘Yeah. Retirement bored his ass off. I told him I knew the feeling. I guarantee you he’ll paint the place electric blue.’

‘He did love electric blue.’

‘Red, white and electric blue. Chicago colors.’

‘Which bar?’

‘I don’t know. He won’t tell me. It’s a surprise, apparently. Anyway, magic time.’

‘Fine,’ Ella sighed. She spread the deck on the table. ‘Five thousand years and the patter hasn’t changed. Pick a card.’

Ripley slipped her finger in and pulled a card toward her. She looked at it. ‘Got it.’

Ella scooped the deck up, fanned it out and took Ripley’s card back. She positioned it back in the deck but peeking slightly out. ‘Remember it. Or this whole thing’s pointless.’

‘Pointless. Got it.’

She pushed the card in, cut the deck and then began shuffling. She glanced up the ceiling, put the deck back on the table and squared it up. ‘Look at me.’

‘I’m looking,’ Ripley said.

‘Think of it. Say the card over and over again in your head.’

‘I’m thinking. I’m saying.’