Alez Kava - One False Move

11:52 a.m.

Andrew kept trying to catch the eye of the woman behind the store counter, not an easy task with sunglasses on but also because she didn't stay in one place for long. She hustled from one end of the long counter to the next, pausing just long enough to give them a nod when they entered.

Jared loaded up Andrew's free arm, handing him everything from Tylenol, toothpaste and razors to chips, candy bars and comic books. It looked as if they were stocking up for a monthlong road trip.

Andrew continued to watch the woman, hoping, wishing she'd glance their way. Was it too much to hope for her to ask a few questions: "Where you boys from?" "Where you headed?" Instead, she kept moving, her gray-haired head down, small body scurrying from the little oven where she replaced mini pizzas with freshly made ones, to the hot-dog roaster, to the counter space where she constructed submarine sandwiches. Andrew was amazed.

She worked here because she had to, Andrew decided. Maybe her social security benefits weren't quite paying the bills. He wondered if her kids or grandkids worried about her working at a convenience store. No, probably not. In Omaha, yes. But out here? It was just another job. Hopefully it would remain just another job. Maybe she'd never know she had waited on a murderer today.

There had been no customers enter the store since the woman with the toddler left. Andrew guessed they were hitting a lull before the anticipated masses for lunch. He checked his options, slowly trailing his eyes over the shelves, searching for a back door. There had to be one, maybe down the small hallway in the corner. But what if they kept it locked during the day? Running out the front posed the risk of running into another customer.

Then it hit Andrew. Jared wanted him to charge all this. He needed to sign the charge slip. If Tommy was on the case, would he think to go through the actual charge slips? He knew they'd be watching his accounts now that they knew he might be with them. Jared was even counting on it.

Could he get a message to Tommy via the charge slip?

Jared grabbed a six-pack of beer from the cooler just as Andrew noticed Melanie getting into the car, this time into the driver's seat. Jared noticed, too, and gave Andrew a shove toward the counter. They piled their bounty in front of the little woman who now was looking them over.

"That pizza smells good," Jared said. "You make them here?"

"Crust's frozen. We add the toppings." She began to ring up each item and place it into a bag before going on to the next.

"We'll take a couple of pizzas and a couple of sandwiches."

She scurried off to wrap them, the pizzas in square containers, the sandwiches in wax paper. She dug out two huge dill pickles from a jar and wrapped those individually to go with the sandwiches. In less than a minute she was back. Still no questions, no conversation. Other than the first once-over, she didn't really look at them.

"With the gas that comes to $43.67."

Andrew handed her his American Express card.

She swiped it through the machine and handed him the copy to sign. Just as she handed him a pen, he said, "Gum, I forgot gum."

Jared looked around, and when he turned to grab a pack off a rack behind him, Andrew flipped the charge slip over and scribbled "CO via 6." By the time Jared tossed the gum onto the counter, Andrew had his name signed and was handing the slip back to her.

She picked up the gum in one hand and charge slip in her other. "You paying for this separately?"

"Yes." Andrew dug the change out of his pockets, hoping his hieroglyphics wouldn't be noticed, at least for now.

Finally finished, Jared gave Andrew one of the two bags, then tucked the six-pack under Andrew's arm, as if purposely weighing him down. Melanie had brought the car right up to the front door. They headed outside, Jared holding the door to the convenience store open while Andrew handed Charlie the beer through the car window. He was getting in the front passenger seat when he noticed Jared hadn't left his post, hand still holding open the store's front door, as if he was waiting for someone else to go in. Andrew looked around the parking lot, only there was no one else there.

"I saw what you did, Andrew," Jared said, waiting for Andrew's eyes to meet his. As Andrew began to understand, Jared slipped back into the convenience store.

Andrew's stomach fell to his feet even before he heard the gunshot.

12:15 p.m.

What the hell did you do, Jared? " Melanie asked for the second time, trying to keep her voice controlled. She had driven with hands shaking, pretending that what she'd heard wasn't a gunshot. Now, as she waited at a stop sign, she glanced at Jared in the rearview mirror. He was stuffing his mouth with a slice of pizza and popping the cap off a beer. Another glance at Andrew made her insides churn. The writer had doubled over, his forehead pressed against his hands, almost as if he was expecting to be sick.

"What did you do, Jared?" she asked again.

"What did / do?" he asked through a mouthful of food. "You should ask your buddy what he did." This time he flung a piece of paper over the seat. "Take a right."

"We just came from that direction." But she didn't argue and pulled onto the highway. She grabbed the paper before it slipped off the seat to the floor. It looked like an ordinary credit card receipt with a signature.

"What? He signed the correct name."

"On the back, stupid."

"Don't call me stupid," she said before she could stop herself. Her hands were shaking so bad she couldn't read what was printed on the back. "What's coviale?" she asked, pronouncing it as best she could.

"No, no. It's CO via 6. Don't you get it? He was trying to tip them off. Tell them which way we were headed."

"Oh, I get it," Charlie piped up and Melanie could see him grinning in the rearview mirror like a schoolboy who'd answered a question correctly. " Colorado via Highway 6. That's what it is, right?" He looked to Jared for approval.

"You didn't need to kill her," Andrew said without lifting his head, his voice a quiet muffle.

"The way I see it, buddy, pal, Mr. Ordinary Citizen Kane, you killed her." Jared spat out the words with such exaggerated enunciation that Melanie could feel his angry spittle on her neck and could smell the pepperoni on his breath.

Silence. It was suddenly so quiet Melanie could hear Jared chewing and swallowing. There was some rustling of paper and she saw that Charlie had joined in, unwrapping a sandwich and ripping open a bag of chips. Nothing seemed to spoil either of their appetites.

She knew as far as Jared was concerned the subject was closed. This was crazy. Another person dead? When would it stop? Had Jared lost his mind? This was not the brother she knew. She tried to keep her mind on the road. Every intersection had her checking for police cars. What if someone heard the gunshot? What if someone saw them drive away?

As if he could read her mind, Jared said suddenly, "We need a new car."

"But I just filled this one up," Melanie said, recognizing immediately what a stupid thing it was to say. Stupid, yes. Maybe Jared was right. She was stupid. Stupid to ever trust him, now knowing full well why she wasn't in on "the plan" from the start. The guns, the getaway-she would never have agreed to any of this. Now Jared had them all in such a mess there was no turning back.

"Whadya think, Charlie?"

"I noticed some kind of manufacturing plant a few miles out. Parking lot with a bunch of cars. Should be up here." Charlie sat forward, surveying the area.

Melanie hadn't noticed it, but, of course, Charlie would have. Sure enough she could now see the building back off the highway, partially hidden by trees. Some farm-implement maker or so she guessed something called Val-Farm Manufacturing would be.