| |
"You're never going to find them with your face in that screen."
Matty slid his phone in his pocket. "I can hear when a car is coming. It just takes a second to look up."
"You need to keep your eyes on the road, kid. The phone is a distraction." Frank sipped his coffee and stared out the window.
Frank, Matty thought. At one time, Matty had wanted this man to be a dad to him, a real dad like Mr. Kopp was to Aiden. What a joke. After spending the last few hours with him, after seeing his father's shortcomings and selfishness, Matty no longer believed this man could ever be a dad.
From now on, he'd just be Frank.
The realization was a few days too late.
A car passed. A red pickup truck.
"Was that them?"
"Like I said, he drives a black—"
"I know what you told me," Frank said. "But what if they're not in the Camry, huh?"
Matty didn't see the point in arguing. He and Frank had done enough of that in the previous nine hours. "Looked like a black woman, so no, it wasn't them."
"Could be a friend."
"It wasn't them."
Matty took a long sip of his Dr. Pepper to cool his frustration. He grabbed a snack from the bag on the floor, a little package of powdered donuts. They'd bought a good selection of food at a truck stop in Connecticut, but there were just a few items left. Matty longed for a real meal, a burger and fries, a pizza. But Frank didn't want to be seen in town, wanted to stay off the radar.
Matty didn't know why and didn't want to think about it. Surely they weren't going to be committing a crime. No matter what Dad—Frank—planned, Matty wouldn't be doing anything illegal. He just wanted to get the package, call Robert, and deliver it. And whatever happened to Frank after that wouldn't be Matty's problem.
Still, the thought had him swallowing hard. He couldn't think about betraying his father. Couldn't think about his mother and brother being in danger. He focused on the dry donut and decided not to think at all.
Another car passed, an SUV. The driver was a woman. No passenger. "Obviously not them."
"We'll give it another hour. If we don't see them, you can call."
"I'd really rather—"
"I don't care what you'd rather. I gotta get those diamonds. If Kopp doesn't like you because of this, that's the price you gotta pay for shoving the package in his car."
"I told you a thousand times—"
"I know the story. You should have gone back for it sooner."
Matty wasn't about to have this argument again.
Another car approached, this one a silver sedan. Not the black Camry, but Matty looked closely. The driver was a dude, curly hair. The passenger...
His heart rate kicked up a notch. "That's him."
"Kopp? You sure? He looked—"
"No. Aiden was in the passenger seat. I don't know who the driver was."
Frank swung the car around and followed. He closed the distance too fast and followed too closely, but Matty didn't say anything. He had no influence on his father's actions.
Less than a mile later, the car turned left, and Frank followed. He kept his distance this time, going slowly along the rough road. The sedan turned down a driveway, and Frank passed the house, went past another driveway and turned around in the third one. He crept back toward where Aiden had gone, and Matty peered through the woods.
"I see the house," Matty said.
Frank stopped. "Did they go inside?" He looked, too. "I don't see a Camry."
"Me, either. Looks like just Aiden went in."
They waited in the silent car, watched the front of the rundown cabin.
"Why don't I just run up there and ask him?" Matty said. "Mr. K's not here, but Aiden can tell me where the car is without getting his dad involved."
Frank seemed to consider that possibility, then shook his head. "The other guy's a wildcard, though. Now that we know where they are, we should wait until Kopp comes back. I can break in the trunk, get the package, and get out of here without anyone knowing we were in town. I'd rather not get the fed involved if we can help it."
"Former fed."
"Once a cop, always a cop."
Again, Matty had the impression his father had more planned than he was letting on. Or maybe he was just planning for every contingency. Considering he'd been a criminal all his life and had never been charged with a crime, Matty figured he should trust his father's instincts. Unfortunately, trusting his father felt as natural as the powdered donuts that were sitting in his stomach like concrete.
After about five minutes, Aiden came outside carrying a couple of towels and wearing swim shorts and flip-flops. He slammed the door behind him.
"Hmm," Frank said. "Looks like they'll be gone a while. We'll follow, see if they meet up with the Camry, go from there."
Matty couldn't come up with any reason why that wasn't a good idea. None of this felt right, spying on his best friend and his dad, but he was out of options.