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“Oh, hell,” Guy said softly. He swung around to see out the back. Against the comparative brightness of the theater door, it wasn’t hard to see the black figure. Guy eased on the gas, and we started to edge out of the parking space. Nerves tingling, the lazy pace was maddening.

                Lila squinted outside. “He just pulled something out of his pocket.”

                “What?”

                “He took something out. It’s a phone – wait, a radio. He’s talking into a radio.” Bad sign. Somebody else was involved.

                “Shit, drive,” I said.

                Guy shook his head. “I can’t go any faster. He can’t think we’re getting out in a hurry.”

                “Guy, he already knows – he’s talking into a radio! Come on, let’s lose him before company shows up,” I insisted.

                “It could mean anything. You don’t know for sure.” I groaned loudly. The Taurus crawled to the edge of the street like a bug missing two legs. A bug that was liable to get smashed. The avenue was basically deserted – we cruised up to the red light unimpeded. The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach wouldn’t go away.

                Lila pressed her face to the back window. “Wait – wait. There’s a cop car pulling up next to him.” The police? That was good, right? Surely they would arrest –

                “He’s getting in the passenger side door. He’s getting in the car.” Lila turned around, her eyes panicked. My jaw visibly dropped. This guy was working with the police? There was a long pause.

                “So, hold on,” Guy said incredulously, “You’re being stalked by the cops?”

                Now I was gaping out the back. “Apparently. But that doesn’t make any sense-”

                “Green light,” Lila said quickly. Guy leaned softly on the pedal. My heart sped up – the Rupert Police Department car was moving.

                “Why the hell would the cops be following me?” I shook my head hard, trying to clear it.

                Guy said, “A crime investigation? I don’t know.”

                “Wait. We don’t know that they’re really cops,” Lila pointed out. “They could have stolen the car.” There was an awkward pause while everyone absorbed this.

                I nodded slowly. “You’re right.” She turned back around and watched the cruiser turn out of the parking lot. Guy gradually accelerated.

                “Are they still following us?” I asked Lila.

                She frowned. “Quiet. I can’t hear them.” I understood. She could hear all the way through one side of a building to the other – we had experimented on a Saturday at Fredrick High. Listening to what the two in the cop car were saying was going to be simple. Except for the drizzle on the roof of the car, there wasn’t any other noise anywhere in the vicinity.

                We sat in utter silence – me trying to breathe more quietly, Guy easing down the street (it must have been torture to drive so slowly,) and Lila with her eyes closed, just listening. The freezing cold that was crawling up and down my spine was starting to recede, even though I was as unnerved as ever.

                “They’re