Their bankroll—Reed’s tip money, along with what they stole from Sandy—had dwindled to a mere twenty-eight grand, hardly enough to start a new life. Five hundred thousand dollars might just buy Reed’s forgiveness.

“I know you’re mad,” Spud said. “I don’t blame you. I don’t know how they got that phone into my stuff.”

Reed didn’t answer.

“But you should know that I can make it right.”

“Make it right? We’re running for our lives. The whole plan is fucked beyond recognition. How are you gonna make it right?”

“Remember me saying that my mom never spent any of her money?”

Reed gave him a look but said nothing.

“It was more than I’d imagined—a lot more.”

“Great,” Reed said. “Bully for you. What good’s it gonna do you sitting in a bank in St. Paul? Don’t you think they’re already watching your account? You try and transfer money out and they’ll be on you in a heartbeat. Hell, they probably froze the account already.”

“The money’s not in the bank.”

Reed gave Spud a look of curiosity. “You have it with you?”

“In a manner of speaking—yes. I turned it into cryptocurrency. It’s in the ether, but I can get to it whenever I want. All I need is internet access.”

“How much are we talking?”

Spud almost blurted out the actual number, but stopped himself. If he was buying his life with this money, Reed would want a big chunk, maybe half. Spud trimmed half off the top and said, “Two hundred and fifty thousand bucks.”

Reed grinned from ear to ear. “Are you shittin’ me?”

“Two hundred and fifty grand,” Spud said. “I shit you not.”

“And you can get at that from Canada?”

“I can get at that from almost anywhere in the world.”

Reed whistled. “That’s gonna come in real handy.”

“The way I see it, after we get to Canada and get some new IDs, that money can take us anywhere we want to go.”

“It’s not that easy, but… yeah, I can make it work.”

“And you can have half—you and Pip. You get me a new ID and I’ll set up an account for you and transfer half.”

Reed’s smile fell away and his face grew tight. Spud recognized that look. It was the face Reed wore when he worked through details. It was the face of a man scheming, and Spud was pretty sure he knew the calculation twisting in Reed’s head: Kill Spud now or wait to take his money first?

CHAPTER 49

Max figured that Reed had at least a thirty-minute head start by the time he and Lyle left the hideout. They could chase him and hope to catch up to him before he entered the Boundary Waters, but if Reed was driving as fast as Max, there was no chance of that. Going to Ely made sense.

The road twisted like a carnival ride and Max ignored speed limits as he cut and swerved his way toward Ely. Stopping to get gear would put them another half hour back, but Max and Lyle didn’t have to hunt for Reed alone anymore. They had the proof they needed. Pip’s pillow and Peter’s car were at the cabin, and Max had no doubt that the place would be full of Reed’s DNA and fingerprints. As much as he distrusted Tate Bolger, the time had come.