“It’s almost dark, Mr. Vetcher. Should we head out?” Anthony stared at the evening sky. A crescent moon and a few twinkling stars had taken over for the setting sun.
Carden opened the driver’s side door. “I have to make a phone call first. Be ready to leave in ten minutes no matter what. We’ll get to Milwaukee by nine o’clock, eat something, and firm up the plans. Tomorrow we have to be on top of our game.” He climbed out of the van and walked down the path. Carden scrolled through his contact list until he found the number he needed. He pressed the call button and waited while the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“It’s me, and we’re in a jam. We need a place to sleep tonight.”
“You can’t go to your apartment?”
“Not with two extra guests who are bound, blindfolded, and gagged. They would be hard to explain to the neighbors.” Noticing a camper and his dog heading their way, Carden turned down a different trail.
“Are they going to pose a problem for me?”
“I guarantee you they won’t. My go-to guys, Anthony and Antonio Pirelli, are with me. They’ll make sure the guests remain quiet.”
The man chuckled on the other end of the phone line. “How many vehicles do you have?”
“Two—a van and a small car.”
“Okay, I’ll move my cars out to the driveway. Both vehicles need to go in the garage. When should I expect you?”
“We’ll be there at nine o’clock. Oh, and can you order four large pepperoni pizzas and two loaves of garlic bread for delivery? I’ll pay you when we get there. Beer sounds good too.”
“Everything will be ready when you arrive.”
“Thanks, dude, and remember, tomorrow you’ll be a rich man.”
“Good, because I’m counting on it. I’ve put my freedom on the line for this payday.”
“Not a problem, and nobody can connect you to us, anyway. Your hands are clean. Hell, you can even keep that shitty job at Trident Armored Transport if you want. You’ll just be thirty thousand dollars richer, that’s all.” Carden ended the call and pocketed his phone. He took the path back to the van and climbed in behind the wheel. “Anthony, you can drive the car back to Milwaukee. Stay close behind me. We aren’t going to the apartment, we’re going to my old buddy Zack Kenny’s house instead.” Carden pulled out his phone again and clicked on Google Maps. He needed a good way to get there that didn’t involve interstates or well-traveled freeways. “Okay, it looks like we’re taking Highway 16 until it trails off, and then we’ll veer south. If I can find a less-used alternate route, I’ll take it. I don’t need you getting lost.”
Anthony opened the passenger door and got out. “I’ll be right behind you, boss.”
Carden watched over his shoulder as Anthony got into the driver’s seat of the Fiesta. He chuckled at the sight then turned to Antonio. “That can’t be comfortable. Weren’t your knees hitting the steering wheel?”
“Yeah, they were, and the seat was pushed back as far as it goes.”
Carden turned the key in the ignition and clicked on the fog lamps. He creeped along the gravel path and took his time as he made his way to the campground exit. He didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention to the vehicles. When he reached the blacktop, he turned southeast toward Milwaukee and clicked on the headlights. If everything went according to plan, they’d arrive at Zack’s house in ninety minutes.
“How much did you say the haul is worth, boss?” Antonio asked as he reclined the seat and got comfortable. He turned toward Carden with a wide smile then popped a handful of sunflower seeds in his mouth.
Carden did a double take. “Where’d you get those?”
“They’ve been in my pocket for a while.”
“Do you ever stop eating?”
“Not when you’re my size. I need a lot of food to look this good.”
Carden shrugged and continued talking. “I’m estimating there to be at least three million dollars’ worth of stones. When I browsed Rosemond’s store last month, they had quite the inventory building up. I imagine their intention was to fill every display case in their new digs. From the looks of it, that new building in Brookfield is twice the size of the downtown location.” Carden pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
Antonio looked back and shook his head. “She’s either sleeping or faking it, but no matter what, she can’t hear us with those earplugs jammed deep in her ears.”
Carden raised the volume on the radio and opened his window several inches. “Fencing the diamonds is going to reduce that number somewhat, but we’re going our separate ways after the hit. I’m getting rid of my take little by little so it doesn’t raise suspicion. Zack got his ten grand advance, and now we just owe him twenty more. After that, we’ll still net over half a million dollars each.”
Antonio jerked his head then opened the window and looked back. “What’s he doing?”
Carden peered out his side mirror and saw the headlights behind them flash on and off. “Son of a bitch, now what?” He clicked his blinker and turned down a secluded country road. He drove another mile before stopping.
Anthony pulled to the gravel shoulder ahead of him, backed up to the van’s front bumper, and killed the engine. He climbed out and walked back to the van.
Carden lowered the window even farther and stuck out his head. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m sick of this asshole kicking the hell out of the trunk, and I don’t fit in that vehicle. I feel like I’m driving a bumper car.”
Carden got out of the van and slammed the door so hard the window rattled. “Fine, I’ll take over, but first shut him up.”
“Gladly.” Anthony returned to the car, reached under the dash, and popped the trunk.
“Don’t overdo it, either. We need him tomorrow.” Carden climbed into the driver’s seat of the Fiesta and felt the car bounce several times. Muffled grunts and thuds sounded from the trunk area for a few seconds, then everything fell silent.
Anthony approached the driver’s side window. He rubbed his knuckles and grinned. “It’s all good, sir. I think he’ll be napping for a while.”
Carden jerked his head toward the van. “No more stops. Follow me and don’t lag behind. If you need to say something, use your phone, not your headlights.”
“Got it.”
Carden watched through the rearview mirror as Anthony walked to the van and climbed in behind the wheel. Satisfied for now, Carden started the car and checked the mirror one more time. The van’s headlights went on, and Anthony backed up. Gravel crunched under the Fiesta’s tires as Carden pulled out, turned around, and took to the road again. He adjusted the seat forward, tapped the radio buttons until he found a smooth jazz station, and continued the drive to Milwaukee for the next hour without interruption. He picked up his phone at 8:55 p.m. and thumbed the screen to his contact list. He tapped Zack’s name.
“We’ll be there in ten minutes. I had an unexpected disturbance to take care of earlier.”
“Not a problem. The garage door is open, so pull both vehicles inside. Close it behind you and come in through the mudroom. The pizzas are on the table.”