Saving Sarah

"Shit. They don't even know my name."

"But they have your prints. Even if you have any kind of a police record, your prints will be in their database, and if not, maybe someone will recognize you. Or if not, they might already know Trevor's identity and some of his friends might know about you. People love to exchange information for reduced sentences or favors when they do get caught."

"You want to just dump me now, is that it? You're getting afraid, is that it?"

"No. Listen to what I'm saying. Please! I don't want to just dump you now, and yes, I'm getting afraid. Damn! Aiding and abetting a fugitive on the run! I can do twenty years alone just for helping you out of that bank window a few hours ago! But I honestly want you to get away. What I want is for you to come back to my place until we figure out what to do. Okay? The police never asked me anything about Trevor. He's done bank jobs before, hasn't he?"

"I'm not sure. He didn't tell me everything about his life. He may have hidden stuff, I suppose."

"I knew it!"

"Knew what?"

"I'm guessing they already know who the shooter is. They already know who Trevor is. But they never had his correct address on file, so they don't know how to find him."

"You're grasping at straws."

"Am I Sarah? You know, now it all fits together like a puzzle. They had a really good description of him and were able to watch video footage immediately. They never asked me anything about him, absolutely nothing, but they had a thousand questions about you. Yet he wore gloves, so his prints were not all over that crime scene, like yours, even when he vaulted over that counter. He really tried to hide them. It tells me he was probably on the run from the cops long before he met you, only you didn't know it. This wasn't to be no one time job. You were gonna be robbing banks with him from state to state probably."

"No, he promised me it was only going be a stop gap measure, a one time thing."

"Yeah, well he lied. That's probably why he had you go to the teller. Maybe his description and face have already been circulated to banks to watch out for him. I know that's a long shot, but it makes sense."

"I suppose that could be true."

"Look, I know you love the guy still. But he put you in harm's way before, and lied to you before. I ain't even saying he doesn't love you. You're quite a woman, so yeah, he probably has fallen head over heels for you. But they are going to find him. He's desperate with no place to go. But if you go back to him, it's going to be like, 'Sarah, you go down to the store and buy some groceries,' or 'Sarah, you get out and put some gas in the car,' or 'Sarah, you go sign that hotel registry,' or 'Sarah, you go down to the liquor store and get some booze for us.' He's afraid of getting caught and so he would be using you to expose yourself so he could stay safe. Then, if they nab you, he can simply take off."

Sarah brushed away a tear from her cheek. "That's what he had been doing up till now," she confessed. "Sending me on errands all the time. He would never show himself. You know, it's funny I never thought of it before, but now that you mention it, that's exactly what he was doing, using me, lying to me, and loving me at the same time."

"Look, in some ways he probably was a real man, much more of a real man than the rest of us. And he made you feel special and loved, and had fed you all kinds of promises. But they were promises of a desperate man. Promises he may have wanted to keep, but knew in his heart of hearts he couldn't keep. But none of that matters now. A man is dead, and the cops gotta figure Trevor is already on the hook for a needle in the arm, so he won't hesitate to kill again. Why should he? He's got nothing to lose. And he made off with about thirty thousand. That ought to buy him a lot of time in a place like Mexico. But he'd have to get there first. And that's where you'd come in."

"You think he still loves me?"

Tony rolled his eyes at the car roof. Obviously she hadn't been listening to a word that he was saying. "Yeah, I think he still loves you. What man wouldn't? And you've been faithful and loyal."

"And I've also been very stupid." She took out her cell phone and stomped it under her shoes until it was in about ten pieces. Then she reached out the car window and scattered the pieces down a sewer drain grate.

She then turned to face Tony, and wiped away an army of tears as they streamed down her face. She had always wished for the simple things in life, like a loving husband, a promising career from maybe a stint at college, and then some children playing in a yard with a white picket fence. But she was never going to have those things with Trevor. What she was going to have with Tony, however, was a chance to get away. A chance to make good her escape. In time, perhaps she could change her identity, and then she could find a man that could give her the things she wanted. She continued to gaze into Tony's thoughtful, caring face. Perhaps he was that man, perhaps not, but at least with him, she had a chance to get away, a chance to start over. A chance to find someone knew.

She sighed then brushed away fresh tears a second time. "You said you wanted to take me to your place and hide me, so do it."

XXX

The morning light trickled through a crack where the drawn half curtains met. The light accosted his eyelids, causing him to turn as the alarm blared first music, and then the sound of a radio host's voice.

Tony pursed his lips and then became deep in thought. It was Friday. Monday was a holiday, so if he went in today, it would give him three days off with which to look after Sarah and make careful, elaborate plans as to how to help her escape the mess unscathed.

He got up, yawned some more, then sauntered down the hall to the second bedroom. He knocked gently. "Sarah, you up?"

There was no answer, and the horrifying thought suddenly slammed into his brain that she had been tempted by an old boyfriend's bulging biceps, sinewy chest and rippling abs into leaving his home to find Trevor. Tony had lots of muscles of his own, and so hoped he was wrong and knocked again. Still no answer.

He tried to open the door and found it unlocked. He peeped inside. The bed had been slept in but made. Sarah was gone.

He raced downstairs and as he reached the bottom, the smell of bacon wafted past his nostrils, and the sound of sizzling in a frying pan echoed past his relieved ears.

He stepped tentatively into the kitchen and saw Sarah over the stove. She turned to greet him. "Just thought I would make breakfast. How do you like your eggs?"

"Anyway is fine," he whispered.

"You like your bacon crispy?"

"However you're making it is good thanks. Is there water on? I could really use a coffee right about now."

"Water's boiled already," she said triumphantly.

He approached her. And stood toe to toe and nose to nose. "You didn't have to make breakfast," he said. With your shoulder and all, I could have done it."

"If I'm going to be staying here a while," she said, then I want to pitch in.

"Fine, good morning by the way," he offered, then mindlessly set about to give her a little peck on the cheek with anxious lips.

She pulled away, and pointed the spatula she'd been flipping eggs with, into his handsome face. "Listen, let's get one thing clear. I really appreciate how you're sticking your neck out for me and all. But I've made up my mind. No kissing, touching, roaming hands around my waist or brushes of your white, hair stubbled face off my pretty black cheeks. This is strictly a plutonic relationship for now. I ain't saying something sexual won't develop between us later on. I'm only saying, that if it does, it's got to come naturally, not forced. That way if we do just happen to fall for each other, then we'll know it's real."

"So that's what you meant when you said you're a slow mover?"

"You got it."

"Yeah, I got it."

"Mind you, as I said, it ain't like I'm not thankful for you getting me out of the bank like that. There would have been a needle in my arm for sure. So I really thank you for saving my black ass."

Tony shrugged and added a wry smile. "It was a black ass worth saving. Now what about that coffee?"

XXX

"I'm not sure you understand the seriousness of the situation."

The bank manager's words fell on Tony's shoulder with a weight that was both calculated and ominous.

"What I understand, sir, is that you're asking me to pretend as though it was my fault that the security guard never got hired."

"I wouldn't ask you to do this if my job wasn't on the line," Hughes argued. "The family of the slain man picked up on the fact that there should have been a security guard. They got that information from an overzealous reporter. The dead hero never had life insurance, so naturally, with a funeral, and lifetime earning potential hanging in the balance, as well a pain and suffering for his wife and children, you're looking at a fifty million dollar lawsuit. Will they win all that? Probably not, but the bank will have to settle with them quickly for something to avoid all the bad publicity, which means somebody's gonna have to take the fall."

"And you think that someone should be me?"

"I think that if I go down, so help me, I'm taking you with me, Tony. Jobs are hard to come by, especially high paying ones. I'm set to retire in five years, and so if they sack me over this, they'll take away my pension as well."

"And that's my fault?"

"It could be. Just say I told you to hire that guard but that you went against my wishes and put it off for a while. I spend most of my time in my office filling out reports. I could argue that I never noticed the missing guard."

"Why should I lie for you?"

"You're young, only twenty-five. You can start over. I can't. Besides, you gotta know, that if you don't do me this favor, then as I said, I'll find a way to have you axed right along with me."

"You're not being fair."

"That may be, but I am being practical. And let's not forget, that if you should decide to help me, you could take it one step further and write a letter of resignation, admitting that the bank followed through on its obligations, but that you personally fucked up. The family wouldn't be able to sue you, but they would be forced to accept a much lesser amount, so small in fact, that the insurance might decide to absorb the loss after all."

"Now you want me to plead incompetence and kick myself out of a job. Like I'll ever agree to that! You are being so unfair."

"Maybe. I can be unfair at times, it's true. But there can be benefits for you if you lie on my behalf. You haven't heard all of my proposition."

"Fine, I'll bite. What is your proposition?"

"The auditors are due to come here in an hour, when the bank usually opens at ten," Hughes continued. "Only the bank today is scheduled to open a little later, at noon, because of the audit."

"Okay, I know that. The audit will determine exactly how much money was taken yesterday."

"Precisely. You and I both know that the take was around thirty-five thousand. But since you were the one to bring the bills out to the robbers, you could argue that not all of those bundles held either twenty or fifty dollar bills. You could argue that many of them underneath held hundred dollar bills. You could argue that the take was eighty-five thousand. You could walk away with a cash severance of fifty thousand. Who would be the wiser?"

Tony slumped back into his chair and let a burst of incredulity splash across his stunned face. "So now you want me to steal, is that it?"

"No, I want you to have a severance for when you write me your resignation. Fifty thousand tax free dollars. Look, I won't lie to you. If they nail me for the security guard fiasco then I'm totally fucked. In the twenty years this branch has been open, it's never been robbed before. I honestly never expected that there would be a first time, much less a first time with a death. Help me out here. I can shut off the cameras for a few minutes and you can take fifty grand out of vault. The time lock is set to disengage in just six, no, make that four minutes. I'm supposed to shut off the cameras anyways so that I can retrieve all the footage from all cameras that might have possibly filmed any part of the robbery. So, there won't be any red flags waved."

"You're putting pressure on me, and I don't like it. Besides, if they do catch this robber, he'll claim there was only thirty-five, not eighty-five."

"As if anyone's gonna believe him. Besides, the cops will think he may have had outside accomplices or people he owed money to that wanted a cut. Of course he would want to lie and claim he took a lessor amount!"

"Hmmmm. I see. You're really backing me into a corner on this one. Although, fifty grand would go a long way into giving me a long holiday off work. I could do some travelling, and...and..."

The thought of the oversexed, voluptuous, astonishingly pretty Goddess Sarah suddenly flashed through his mind. He could secretly put some money down on a property out of town somewhere. He could hide her away and perhaps...perhaps...he knew in his heart of hearts that he was starting to fall for her, and he had only known her for one day. How would he feel after a whole week, or whole month, or whole year, for that matter? Being with her did make him feel so damn special! She was an amazing woman, easily the most beautiful and sexiest he had ever laid eyes on. And she had taken a bullet meant for him. She had a good heart and a sparkling personality. And, she was really getting to know him as well, especially his good side. The longer he spent with her was the longer she might start to fall for him as well. Having an extra fifty grand laying around would mean he could spend more time with her.

"Tony? Tony? Damn it Tony, answer me, you seem so deep in thought."

"I'll do it," Tony blurted out.

Hughes looked surprised and taken aback. He had assumed that a lot more grovelling, begging, and arm twisting would have been involved. "You will?"

"I will. You'll have my letter of resignation by noon. In it I'll state you had ordered me to hire the guard but that I totally fucked up! I'll then say that you followed up and asked if I had hired someone, but that I lied once more, afraid to say no, and told you that I had."

"Spendid. I'll go turn off the cameras. The time lock is...is...is disengaging right now! Give me exactly sixty seconds, then grab your money."

XXX

"You're home for a noon lunch? You told me not to expect you till after six?"

Tony eyed her carefully. She had not expected him and was wearing some lingerie that was making him pant.

"It's a little warm in here, and so I helped myself to a few more items in that closet. Were you married before? Whoever that woman was, she had good taste."

"The room you're staying in belonged to my mother."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't apologize. She died in a car crash some three years ago, killed by a drunk driver. I inherited her home. My dad, however, has been dead for a lot longer. He had lung cancer and has been gone almost eight years now."

"Sorry to hear that. I feel as though I'm breaching something sacred by wearing those clothes, but they are very nice. Your mother obviously loved pretty things."

"My mother, like you, was a very beautiful woman."

"Thank you."

"And my mother, like you just guessed, liked to wear nice, quality things. Sexy things. She did have a particular man friend she was extremely fond of, and kept him on a tight leash, because she was due to wear his ring, but then, as I said, along came this drunk driver and, well, shit happens, I suppose."

"Does it run in the family, I wonder?"

"What? Shit happening?"

Sarah laughed. "No, silly. I meant about keeping potential spouses on tight leashes so they can have rings slipped on their fingers."

Now it was Tony's turn to laugh. "You're teasing me, is that it? How very cruel. Here you are with this strict 'you can look but don't touch' policy, when all the while you're prancing around in revealing lingerie that is making me too hot for words."

"Hmmm, like I said, I wasn't expecting you till after six. I would have changed by then."

"And if it had of been someone else knocking?"

Sarah frowned. "Then I never would have opened up the damn door, that's for sure. I used the peephole like you asked. I certainly don't want anyone knowing I'm here."

There was sudden knock at the door.

Sarah trembled. "Are you expecting someone?"

Tony pursed his lips and squinted his eyes into two purposeful slats as he pondered over who it might be. "No one. And at this time of day, we normally never get salesmen slithering by. They usually come very rarely, and even then usually only at night, when they know people are off work."

The knock was persistent.

Tony glance through the peephole. It was Detective Sergeant Browning.

"Damn, it's that fucking nosey cop."

He scanned the room and saw her red leather jacket strewn out over a chair. He picked it up and tossed it to her, then scanned the floor by the door and noticed her heels. He picked them up and tossed them at her as well. "Run up to your room and lock your door. Don't answer it for anybody, got it?"

"Got it." She scampered up the stairs and he waited until he heard her door close before undoing the latch and turning the door knob.

"Sergeant, what brings you here?"

"May I come in?"

"Okay, but I was just getting ready to go out. Can you tell me what this is all about? I've told you everything I know."

Browning walked in and cast a curious glance in all directions, even at the ceiling. "Nice place."

"Yeah, well it belonged to my parents. I inherited it."

"So, does that mean the mortgage is paid off?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"Not my business at all, really. Only it would explain why you quit your job, you know, not needing a lot of money and all. I'm assuming a cash inheritance came with the house, then?"

"Boy, nothing gets by you for long, does it? I only quit an hour ago. But about my inheritance. It's still none of your business. Now are you gonna tell me what exactly it is you want or am I going to ask you to leave?"

"It's about you, Tony, and that office of yours. So many unanswered questions."

"I've answered all your questions, dammit. And I'm getting a little tired of all your damn accusations and insinuations and bullshit. You should be out trying to find those robbers."

Browning watched Tony's eyes carefully, then dropped the bombshell. "Perhaps I have found the robbers, well, one of them anyways. The female kind. The very pretty and sexy female kind if I recall your descriptions of her."

"I'm sure I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Did you know that there's a large blood stain under your desk?"

"It's not my desk anymore, remember? I quit, remember? So it's not my damn office anymore and I don't give a shit about anything that went on there, anymore. Got it? Now either tell me what you want or get the fuck off my property."

"I could take you in for questioning."

"And I could have my lawyer bring you up on charges. I've done nothing wrong. And if we do go down to the police station, the only thing I'll be asking for is my lawyer, and you'll never hear another word out of my mouth ever again, I guarantee it, so don't threaten me."

"Funny thing is," Browning continued. "We were all so damn sure that she went out the window, that I never thought to look more closely around. But when the forensic team went back in at noon today, to do a follow up, they faxed in a report that hit my captain's desk. Well, you can imagine my surprise when he asked me about some massive stain under your desk. Cause a stain that size would mean that the female robber would have to of been sitting in there, hiding under that desk. Only, yesterday, I asked forensics to focus on the opened window and the blood trail leading to it, and the smudged finger and foot prints showing someone had jumped out. I wanted the forensics team out of your office quickly so I could focus on interviewing you, and so I sent them away before they'd had a chance to do a more thorough investigation. Only now, only now well, I'm feeling a little stupid. And then it dawned on me. It seemed so damn impossible she could have gotten away if she had jumped out the window, that now, well now, I'm wondering if she wasn't actually sitting quietly under your desk the whole time, just hiding and pressing that sweater of yours against her shoulder to minimize the bleeding. I mean, she would have had to of been extremely quiet so we didn't hear her, but she could of managed it. And then, after everybody left the bank and you were there alone to lock up, well, you might have found her there?"