You okay? Stella asked David.
He nodded his head. She ushered David away from the old man.
The old man walked back towards the glass doors of the store.
The cashier watched him. You dont need anything, Jed? she asked.
No, he said, his voice croaking a bit. I need to get over to the bank.
Stella grabbed her bag of groceries and she and David left the store. They walked towards her Suburban, but she kept an eye on the old man as he got in his pickup truck and started it. He drove across the snow-covered streets to a bank nestled among a few other buildings along the main street. Beyond the buildings Stella could see a field of snow that stretched out for miles, there was a line of dark trees beyond the fields of snow.
She put the fifty dollars worth of gas into her Suburban, and then got inside the truck.
Stella drove out of the gas station and parked in front of a store that looked closed. She left the engine running, left the heat blasting, and left the radio on. The radio DJ warned about the impending snowstorm.
Yeah, we heard, Stella said to the radio.
Stella devoured her breakfast sandwich. She gave one of them to David, but he only picked at it. He ate two donuts and drank a pint of milk instead. Stella finished his sandwich for him and drank down the rest of her coffee. She bagged up the trash and threw it away in a nearby dumpster. She got back in her truck and left the door open as she brushed her teeth with some of the bottled water. She made David brush his teeth.
She felt a little better. She was full, cleaner, and calmer.
She backed out onto the snowy road as more snow began to fall from the sky. She put the truck in drive and plowed forward down the road. The town looked kind of busy for this early in the morning, like the townspeople were doing last-minute things before the snowstorm hit: gassing up vehicles, picking up food and supplies, getting money from the bank.
Stella drove towards the edge of town, but there was one more stop she needed to make first. She needed to find a payphone and make an anonymous call to the police and tell them what happened at the dig site, as much as she could tell them, as much as they would believe. Maybe a few of them at the dig site would still be alive, but she doubted that. Now that David was gone, there wouldnt be any reason for them to be kept alive. But she had to at least make the call.
When she got to her aunts house, she would turn herself over to the police. But she wasnt going to worry about that right now. For now she needed to worry about getting David to a safe place.
She looked at David and smiled at him. You okay? she asked.
David stared at her and there was just the trace of a smile on his face. Yes, he whispered to her.
CHAPTER THREE
Codys Pass, Colorado
Not even ten minutes after Stella left the gas station, three snowmobiles raced across the field of snow towards the main street of Codys Pass. The snowmobiles held two men each on two of them and one man on the other one with two large metal cases strapped to the back.
Inside Codys Pass Farmers Trust Bank, two tellers waited on customers. Four other people waited patiently in line, snow dripping from their boots and pants. One of the customers was Jed, the old man from the gas station store.
The bank
manager sat at his desk in the office right off the lobby. He shuffled through some paperwork, but there wasnt much to do hed already announced that they were going to be closing early due to the snowstorm, and he couldnt wait to get out of here, get home, and start his three-day weekend.
Moments later the quiet morning was shattered as the five men from the snowmobiles exploded through the front doors. They were dressed in dark coats, gloves, and ski masks; two of the men carried large metal briefcases and all of them carried guns. They moved like a military unit, fanning out in different directions. One of the masked men stayed back by the lobby doors, he locked the doors and stood guard in front of them.
Another masked man, the leader of the men, aimed his gun at the tellers as he approached them. Nobody move!
The tellers and customers let out short screams of shock, but they froze and watched the robbers with wide eyes.
Open the money drawers and back away! the leader barked at the tellers. Dont touch anything else!
The tellers did as they were instructed. Both of the cash drawers popped open and the tellers raised their hands as they backed away from the counter.
Another masked man, a tall and lanky man, rushed over to the customers still in line, his semi-automatic pistol aimed at them. He herded the customers to the wall. All of you down on the floor now!
The Leader nodded at the two men with the metal briefcases.
One of the men hopped the teller counter with ease and began emptying the money from the teller drawers into his metal briefcase.
The other man with the case rushed to the bank managers desk, his gun trained on the man who already had his hands up, already surrendering.