“I’m glad we got out of that city,” Johnny said on Monday morning as the captain announced that the plane was passing over Iowa.
“Hey, I used to live down there,” Mollie said.
“Yeah, I think I can see your old house.” Johnny leaned across Mollie’s lap to look out the window. “Why do they bother pointing out the states when we’re thirty thousand feet up and can’t see anything except clouds?”
“So we don’t get worried, I guess. It’ll be good to get back home, although there are a lot of things we’re still pretty clueless about,” Mollie said. “For starters, how’d the cocaine get in Meredith’s bag?”
“Don’t know. But I’m pretty sure Moeller supplied it,” Johnny said.
“What a dork that guy is. Threatening me with a clothes steamer,” Mollie said.
“You didn’t think it was very funny then,” Johnny reminded her. “I didn’t know you were such a speedster.”
“Well, you just don’t know me very well. See, when I run away, it’s because I think something is hilarious.”
Johnny patted her on the leg. “Right. Whatever you say. If you want to have your Ms. Tough Girl fantasy—”
“I am tough.” Mollie wrapped her fingers around Johnny’s wrist and squeezed as hard as she could.
“I’ll have to remember that,” Johnny said. “What I don’t get is why anyone would do that to Meredith. Did she make Moeller mad without knowing it?”
“Maybe whoever did it meant to put the coke in someone else’s bag and got hers by mistake,” Mollie guessed.
“Yeah, but think about what happened on the other end, with Benjamin there waiting for her,” Johnny said. “If they gave it to some girl going off to Wichita, would police have been waiting for her?”
“Good point. Okay, if Meredith didn’t snub anyone, and we don’t think she did, what about Hilary?” Mollie asked.
“You think she planted it?”
“No, what I’m saying is, maybe someone had a gripe against Hilary and decided to settle it by framing her little sister. She and Rahel don’t get along, I know that.”
“Yeah, but Rahel wouldn’t do anything to get Hughes in trouble. He’s her sugar daddy, or should I say nosesugar daddy.”
“True. Scratch that idea.” Mollie sighed and stared out the window.
“You’re sure the lady at the tea store didn’t look suspicious?”
Mollie laughed. “She looked like a first-grade teacher from the nineteen-forties. She was horrified when I told her about the coke. There’s no way she was involved.”
“What if someone else in her store did it?”
“I told you, the police never even checked out the shop. They’re completely ignoring it as a possible source for the drugs.”
“That means they probably know where the drugs came from, or they don’t care,” Johnny said. “Which is pretty strange, because busting a small-time user like Meredith is nothing compared to nabbing someone like Moeller. Not that Meredith’s a user—I didn’t mean that.”
“I know,” Mollie said. “You’re right—they are ignoring the big picture. Which means … they were only after Meredith in the first place.”
“And whoever set her up was in collusion with the police,” Johnny said.
“Collusion. Big word,” Mollie teased. “Here, let me take a picture of you being so smart.” She reached into her handbag and took out the disposable camera.
“Where’d you get that?” Johnny asked.
“From some woman at the party.” Mollie snapped a shot of Johnny’s profile.
“You know, I have a funny feeling about something,” Johnny said. “I think you better go to the john and open up that camera.”
“Huh?” Mollie asked.
Johnny got up to let her out of her seat. “Just do it.”
Mollie walked to the back of the plane. The camera was one of the few things she still had from the party—she’d returned the dress and shoes that morning on her way out of town—and she thought it made a nice souvenir. Letting herself into an empty bathroom, she took a quarter out of her pocket and pried the camera open. She didn’t see anything except black plastic and the film cartridge. Then she lifted the film out of the camera, holding it straight out in front of her. White powder spilled onto the floor.
Mollie had never seen cocaine before. Some had spilled onto her finger, and she had the sudden urge to lick it off. What were the chances she’d ever have free cocaine again? It might be fun to try it.
But it wouldn’t be fun to get caught. More important, she’d never felt the need to do any drugs before, and there was no way she was going to start now. Mollie preferred to go through life making her own decisions, instead of having a drug run her life—and ruin it, the way it had Rahel’s.
She dumped the powder into the toilet and flushed it twice. Then she held the camera under running water for a minute, washing off all traces of the drug. She wiped it with a paper towel several times to remove any fingerprints, then tossed it into the trash. She washed her hands three times afterward, then left the bathroom and returned to her seat.
Johnny stood up to let her back into her seat. “Well?”
“You were right,” Mollie said. She waited until he sat back down. “I found a bunch of coke inside that camera,” she whispered. “Did you get one, too?”
Johnny nodded. “I’ll go get rid of it.”
“And anything else you didn’t come with.”
“Yes, ma’am. I mean, Ms. Tough Girl.”
“Call me Bitsy. Everybody else does.”
An hour later Mollie and Johnny were walking through the tunnel from the airplane to the terminal when Johnny suddenly stopped and put down his bag. “Before we go back to our regular lives, I want to say something.”
Mollie put her suitcase on the floor. Other passengers pushed by them, frowning because they were in the way. “What is it?”
“I had a great time,” Johnny said, leaning forward and kissing Mollie gently. “Moeller and all.”
“So did I.”
“And we’re not going to act weird when we get back and see everybody. Right?”
“Right.” Mollie picked up her bag and started walking. “At least, not any weirder than usual.”
They walked out of the tunnel and made a right, to head for the exit. Suddenly a tall man walked out in front of them.
“Excuse me,” Mollie said.
Two men in police uniforms came up and stood behind him. The man flipped open a small billfold, revealing a badge. “Detective Benjamin, San Francisco Police Department. We have reason to believe that you’re carrying illegal substances.”
“Do you have a search warrant?” Mollie asked.
Benjamin pulled an official-looking document out of his inside jacket pocket. Mollie read it carefully. It looked legal; a judge had signed it.
“Let’s see those bags,” Benjamin said.
Mollie turned to Johnny and shrugged. “Go ahead, but mine’s full of dirty laundry,” she said.
The two uniformed officers each took a bag and carried it over to one of the empty gates. They set them on chairs, opened them, and took nearly everything out.
“Nice underwear,” Johnny said.
Mollie blushed. She’d brought her Flintstones panties with her; she’d also brought her black lace teddy. It was humiliating—all her things were laid out right in the middle of the San Francisco airport.
“I don’t see anything,” one officer said.
“Me neither,” said the other.
Benjamin wasn’t satisfied with their answers. He went over to the bags and searched through them himself before admitting they weren’t carrying any drugs. “You got away with it this time,” he said. “But I know you’re working with Meredith Hughes. Don’t bother to protest. We’ve seen you all hanging out together.”
“We’re friends,” Mollie said. “Ever heard of the word? F-R-I-E-”
“Watch it, young lady. Just because your father’s on the force doesn’t mean you’ll get away with anything,” Benjamin warned.
“I have a question,” Johnny said. “Who told you we were carrying drugs?”
“I have my sources.” Benjamin turned to the uniformed officers. “Let’s go.”
“Who’s your source?” Johnny called after him. “Elvis?”
Mollie bent down and started stuffing her clothes back into her suitcase. “I’m surprised he didn’t confiscate my mousse as an illegal substance.”
“It probably is, in some states,” Johnny said. “Man, that was like a bad episode of The Twilight Zone. What is going on around here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m glad we ditched that stuff on the plane,” Mollie said, “or we’d be going downtown for fingerprints.”
“And I’d be going straight to jail,” Johnny added. “Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”