Paul was beside himself. The one minute stretched to two, then three, then five. Paul was perspiring heavily. He turned on the engine to get the air conditioner going. He thought he could hear the car down the street follow suit. Paul was fixated on watching the other car in his rearview mirror. Then, in the distance, he could see another vehicle approaching. Paul had a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He knew it—it was a police car. He quickly speed dialed George again.

George was stretched out on the floor, his arm extended way out, reaching under the couch. His phone rang again and he was exasperated—Paul was being a real pain. He stood up and glanced out of the window and saw movement. As he walked toward the front of the room, he saw the police cruiser pull up right in front of Mariel’s walkway out to the street.

“Oh, shit,” he said, and raced back toward the kitchen door, moving as if his life depended on it, running down the yard and out into the wooded area behind Spallek’s house. Despite the undergrowth and young trees, he tore along, making good progress. After a couple of minutes, he stopped and looked back the way he had come. He called Paul.

•   •   •

WHEN GEORGE DIDN’T ANSWER his last call and two uniformed police officers got out of the car and walked up toward Mariel’s front door, Paul pulled away from the curb very slowly. He looked back, and the Malibu that had been parked behind him followed at a distance. Paul expected sirens to blare and to be pulled over, but it didn’t happen. He now thought the Malibu was an unmarked police car. He was holding the phone in his hand when it went off.

“George!”

“I’m out back in the woods. What’s going on?” George was out of breath.

“The cops went in the house and I’m being followed by that car that showed up. But they can’t be cops, because they’d have stopped me.”

“Just drive toward home. They must be Nano security.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Who else could it be? Look, I need to keep walking.” George terminated the call. He pushed through the undergrowth for another ten minutes before reaching a minor road. He followed the sun and after twenty minutes of walking in the shadows came to a junction. He called Paul again, who answered, using his hands-free device.

“I’m at a road,” said George. “No one’s coming for me, it doesn’t look like.”

“Thank God!”

“Are you still being followed?”

“I don’t know, George. I don’t see that car. This is making me feel totally sick. And I’m supposed to be at work in an hour.”

“You go,” said George. “I can get my coordinates from the phone. I’ll call a cab and see you later.”