“How do you think they figured out where we were, boss?” Anthony stared out the windshield at Julie’s car in front of them.
“I wasn’t sure at first, but when we found out that guy was the sheriff, there was no other explanation.”
“Yeah?” Anthony raised two thick, questioning brows. “What’s the explanation?”
Carden couldn’t hold back the insult. “Didn’t you mention something earlier about having brains? The phones were tapped, idiot. It’s the only thing that makes sense. When you called your uncle, the Feds were listening in. I guess we’re on our own and we need to find a secluded place to hunker down, at least until dark. We can’t be out in broad daylight with these vehicles. Tomorrow is going forward like we’ve planned. We just have to get our wits about us, swap out these cars with something else, and get back to Milwaukee. Everything will be fine as soon as we have different vehicles.” Carden went silent for a minute as he thought. “We can’t hijack someone’s car unless we kill them. They would report it, plus they’d see our faces. We have to stay off the interstates and state highways. Plate readers are everywhere these days.”
“We’re close to the Dells, Mr. Vetcher, and people from all over the country vacation there. We can cherry-pick license plates from different states.”
“Hmm, not a bad idea. Look on your phone for campgrounds or state parks nearby. We need to stay out of sight until dark. After that, we’ll help ourselves to a few out-of-state license plates and make our way back to Milwaukee. Staying at my apartment would make the most sense, but getting two gagged, blindfolded, and cuffed people inside without being noticed is an entirely different thing.”
Anthony browsed campground locations on his phone. “I found a campground with openings about five miles east of the Dells. Apparently nobody actually works there. It’s all done over their website, which is good for us. We pay online, and right at the gate we can scan the barcode they send to my phone. The payment confirmation tells us which campsites are ours.”
“Can you see the available sites?”
“One second. I think there’s a map. Okay, yeah, we can pick our choices and then see if they confirm the ones we want.”
Carden clicked the blinker and moved to the far-right lane. He laid on the horn, and finally Antonio moved over too.
“I swear that brother of yours is in his own world. Okay, book two spots and choose the ones farthest away from anybody else. We don’t need that pissed-off agent kicking the inside of the trunk and attracting attention.”
“According to the map, you continue north on this road, and then a mile south of the Dells, you’ll turn right on Bonners Road. It looks pretty secluded according to the satellite image. It’s a two-lane road and pretty shaded. That will take us to the campground.”
“What’s it called?”
“Stone River Campground. Should I call Antonio and tell him to get behind us?”
“Yeah, but first reserve the spaces.” Carden looked in the rearview mirror at the blindfolded Julie in the far back of the van. “You did jam the plugs in her ears, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, boss, it’s all good.”