RULES FOR DISAPPEARING
BY WITNESS PROTECTION PRISONER #18A7R04M:
Know when to call in reinforcements.
WE pull up to Sola Coffee Bar in the middle of Old Town in Scottsdale. We’re a few minutes early, mainly so we can make sure Elle’s not being followed. We’re being overly paranoid at this point, but we haven’t been caught by the suits or Sanchez’s men yet, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Like clockwork, Elle and Laura pull into the lot. I’m a mixed bag of emotions when I see them—the humiliation and anger floods back, but I’m also a bit relieved to see that my spot in the backseat hasn’t been filled. I’m nervous now that they’re so close. They both get out of Elle’s car, and I watch them walk toward the coffee shop. They haven’t changed; both still have long blond hair and tanned skin. They look gorgeous. Laura looks a little too thin, though, and it’s the first time I think about how she might have felt about Brandon and what it was like for her once he died. Were they getting serious? Did she really like him? Or even love him?
“This was a ritual for us on Friday mornings. It’s out of the way from our houses to school, but this is the coolest coffee shop in town. So worth the effort.”
Ethan grabs my hand. “Are you ready for this?”
“I haven’t even told you thanks once. But thanks for everything.”
He pulls me back in and kisses me hard and quick, then we both get out of the car. I have the contacts back in, although I don’t think anyone is going to recognize me with the short, dark hair.
Hand in hand, we walk into the coffee shop. I spot Elle and Laura at our usual table in the back, but I quickly look away. This reveal is going to have to be done with the utmost care. We walk toward them, Ethan blocking most of me from their view.
They both glance at us and then again at Ethan with some interest, and I’m ridiculously pleased about this. He’s hot. And he’s mine. We take a table next to them, and I sit in the chair that puts my back to their table.
Ethan leans in close. “Okay, sit tight.”
Our plan is that he will sit down at their table and quietly tell them I’m right next to them. Hopefully they won’t make a huge scene. He’s not at their table thirty seconds before I hear them squeal and race to my table.
They do a double take, then throw their arms around me.
Ethan comes quickly back to our table, trying to quiet them down.
“Please, y’all, sit down. We don’t need all this attention.”
Laura and Elle sit on either side of me, taking my hands. Ethan takes the seat across the table. It’s weird that they’re this happy to see me, and all I want to do is scream, Why were you making fun of me?
“Oh my God, Anna. Where in the hell have you been? You just friggin’ disappeared one day,” Elle says as she squeezes all the blood out of my hand.
“And what did you do to your hair? It’s so short. And black.” Laura puts her free hand in my hair. “And your eyes! Are those colored contacts?”
Ethan shushes everyone. “Please, let’s whisper and calm down.”
Both Elle and Laura look at him.
“And who are you?” Elle can sound super bitchy when she wants to.
“This is Ethan and he’s my boyfriend.” I hate the blush that’s creeping up my neck when I say it. “If you’ll calm down, I’ll explain.”
They turn back to me.
“I need you both right now. I can’t get into details, but please trust me when I say you cannot tell a single person you saw me here. No one. Not your parents. Nobody.” There’s no way they won’t tell, but hopefully they’ll keep quiet long enough for us to stash copies of the ledgers first. Or get them on YouTube. Or whatever we decide.
“What’s going on, Anna?”
“The only thing I can tell you is my family is fine.” Little white lie. “We won’t be moving back to Scottsdale any time soon. I can’t be seen here, and you can’t tell anyone anything about me. I’m asking you both as my best friends in the whole wide world to please do this for me.” Let’s see how much this means to them.
They look back and forth between me and Ethan.
“Anna, what do you need?” Laura asks.
“Ethan and I need you to get us into The Reserve. I want you to drop us off in front of that small overgrown section, around the corner from the gatehouse.”
They wait for me to say something else. When I don’t, Laura says, “Then what?”
I paste a smile on my face. It feels fake and probably looks worse. “That’s it. We’ll take it from there.”
Elle shakes her head. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it. If you go in, you have to come out. Won’t you need help with that too?”
I’m not telling her the rest of the plan no matter how sweetly she acts. If the ledgers aren’t there, I want them to be able to say they dropped us off and never saw us again.
“Anna could get hurt if you don’t do things the way she wants.” We all look at Ethan. “She’ll get there whether you help or not. Trust me. If you do what she’s asking, we’ve got the best chance of making all this work.”
Silence around the table. No one speaks for a few minutes. Finally Elle grabs her purse.
“Okay, Anna. But promise me you’ll tell me what this is all about soon.”
“Of course.”
We head outside. Elle and Laura walk on each side of me, and Ethan trails behind. I look so out of place with them now. My poor body has gotten pale living in areas that are too cold to sunbathe in during winter months.
They’re both talking fast, catching me up on everything I’ve missed since I’ve been gone. I glance back at Ethan and give him a wink. He makes the “talking too much” gesture with his hand and smiles.
I listen with half an ear, not really interested in what they’re saying but extremely happy to be moving in the right direction.
But there is one part of this that hurts. The carefree, normal part. The part of me that was lost when we first moved and that I’ll never get back.
We get to Elle’s car, and Ethan catches up. “Anna, ride with them and I’ll follow behind y’all,” he says, and jogs to the Mustang. We’d already decided to get our car closer to The Canyons for our getaway, and I don’t trust Elle and Laura to ride without me. No telling who they’ll call.
I jump into Elle’s backseat and the memories overtake me. This could have been any Friday morning from my life here in Scottsdale.
Once we’re in the car, Elle says, “Anna, you may already know this, but Brandon died.” Laura turns her head to the side, brushing her hand across her cheek. Is she crying? I might not be able to handle that.
“Um, yeah, I heard,” I say. I should have been prepared to have this conversation with them, but I’m not.
“It was that same night you disappeared,” Laura says, then turns in the front seat to face me. Her eyes look glossy, like the tears are just waiting to fall. “We’ve been worried about you. What happened to you that night? You never showed at Elle’s, and we spent hours trying to find you. Even went to some sophomore’s lame party after we saw a picture on Instagram of you making out with some guy. Does your disappearing have anything to do with what happened to Brandon?”
Oh, God. I don’t know what to say. “It’s complicated. Sorry I’ve made you worry. And I’m sorry I can’t tell you where I’ve been.” This was a bad idea. We shouldn’t have contacted them.
Elle looks at Laura and says, “Some things happen for a reason even if we don’t get it.” She peeks at me in the mirror. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”
Judging from the looks between them, I know I was right. Searching for me that night was probably the only thing that kept Laura from being with Brandon. But then again, if she had hooked up with him—maybe he wouldn’t have walked into that room. I lean back in my seat and try not to think about the what-ifs. That will make me crazy.
“What was that crazy post on Facebook about?” Laura asks. “Really, Anna, you can tell us anything. You know that.”
“I know. I really wish I could, but please don’t ask me.”
We ride a couple of blocks in silence until Elle changes the subject. “Okay, that guy you’re with seems crazy overprotective and all, but damn that accent is cute. I could just sit and listen to him talk all slow and smooth. He’s from the South, right?”
Elle is being sneaky, trying to get me to give something away. “I love his accent too, but that’s all you’ll get out of me,” I say.
The conversation moves to school, our friends, and Elle’s many boyfriends this year.
She shrugs. “I’m not getting serious with anybody when I’m leaving for college soon. What’s the point?”
Laura shakes her head. “That doesn’t mean you have to hook up with everybody.”
Elle laughs. “No, that’s your job, right?”
They laugh and I let out a weak chuckle, reminding myself they don’t know I heard them that night.
“Have you decided where you’re going to college?” I ask them both.
Elle nods her head toward Laura. “Miss Smarty Pants over there is going to Brown. Can you believe it?” She looks to Laura. “You know it snows there. A lot.”
Laura just laughs. “I know, you tell me every chance you get.”
“What about you? Where are you going?” I ask Elle.
“L.A., baby. UCLA, to be exact.”
That will put her close to her dad, which is probably the real reason she’s headed that direction. She didn’t handle her parents’ divorce well.
“What about you, Anna? Where are you going?” Laura asks.
Can’t tell them I’ll be lucky to finish high school at this point. “Undecided.”
They both plead their cases for me to join them in their little corners of the country. I tell them I’ll think about it. If our plan tanks, I may be enrolled in the Universidad de Mexico, for all I know.
I check behind us several times, just to make sure Ethan is back there. We get close to The Canyons, and Elle pulls into the parking lot of a gas station. She drives to the back and Ethan pulls in next to her.
Elle drives an SUV, so no trunk. We all get out and stare at her car, thinking about the best way to handle this.
Ethan runs his hands through his hair and talks about our options. “We don’t know if they’re looking for us. If they are, your name”—he points to Elle—“will definitely trigger a closer look.”
Elle crosses her arms over her chest. “And who are ‘they,’ exactly?”
Ethan shakes his head and ignores her question. He walks to the back of her car and looks in the cargo area, then turns to me. “Anna, we can lie down back here, and they can cover us up with these bags and jackets.”
Laura looks concerned. “Is this really necessary? This seems so…bad.” She turns to me. “Are things really this serious?”
I step closer to her. “He’s being overly cautious. We’re really not sure of anything. We just don’t want to take any chances.”
“Are ‘they’ good guys or bad guys?” Elle doesn’t want to let it go.
Ethan turns and stares at her. “Both.” They’re having some sort of pissing contest.
Elle raises the back door and picks up everything inside. I crawl in and lie down on my side, scooting as far back as I can. Ethan crawls in and faces me. Elle and Laura cover us with the bags and jackets. Ethan’s face is a few inches from mine.
“You okay riding like this?”
“Yeah. It’s not far from here.”
He leans forward and kisses me softly. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” And I am.
“Good. I guess this will all be over soon, one way or another.”
“Are you sorry you came with me?” I ask.
“No. Not yet, anyway.”
I laugh quietly. It’s the exact same question he asked me while we were hog hunting, and he returned my same answer.
Elle and Laura get in the car, and we’re on our way. It’s quiet. We drive a mile or so before Elle says, “We’re coming close to the first guard’s station. Seems like there’s an extra guy out here today. Usually it’s just Miguel.”
“How’s he dressed?” I call out.
“He’s in a Scottsdale PD uniform,” she answers.
So maybe the suits are using local guys out here.
Silence for a moment.
“They’re making me stop.”
Not good. The sticker on Elle’s front windshield should allow us to drive past the guard without stopping.
When the car stops, I hear the mechanical rumblings of the window being lowered.
“Sorry to stop you, Miss Perkins, but boss said to stop everyone today.” I recognize Miguel’s voice.
Elle, speaking louder than normal, says, “That’s fine. Why’s he looking in my windows?”
Ethan and I freeze.
“Sorry, miss. Don’t know why.”
We seem to pass the inspection, because the car starts moving again.
“Oh my God, I almost peed on myself. Who is looking for you two?” Elle’s voice is about two octaves higher than normal.
Ethan and I don’t answer. He finds my hands underneath all the stuff and holds them tight. I’m scared. Really scared this is not going to work.
Elle slows down, and I guess we’re at the next guard station. She shouldn’t have to stop here either, but she does. She says quietly, “Two more here. Regular guard and another police officer.”
I take a deep breath and try to be as still as possible.
The window rolls down again.
This time Elle speaks first. “Frank. What’s up?”
“Miss Perkins, sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re being a little more thorough this morning. Head office said they’ve had some reports of suspicious activity.”
So that’s how the suits are playing it.
“No problem.” Elle tries to sound bored, but I can hear the worry in her voice.
“I thought you’d be at school this morning,” Frank says.
Uh-oh. No way would the security guard that works in her neighborhood normally ask her this question.
“Well, Frank, I thought since I live here that I could drive straight to my house without being stopped, so I guess we’re both confused this morning.”
And that’s what happens when you question Elle. She doesn’t take shit from anybody. I hope this doesn’t blow up in our faces.
Frank stutters out an apology, but it’s cut off when Elle rolls the window up.
“That son of a bitch is gonna ask me where I’m going? I don’t think so.” Elle pulls away. “I’m not stopping at the overgrown section. The police officer stepped out in the street and is watching the car. I’m going to my house and pulling into the garage.”
Ethan makes a foul expression, and I hear him curse under his breath. This plan is tanking fast.