“Really? Why’s that?”
“They needed wheels. Took a bike. One of the big Gold Wings.”
“Gold Wing?” Reynolds repeated.
“Yeah.” Rick rifled through a stack of color brochures on the counter
and flipped one around so Reynolds could see. “This one here. The
Honda Gold Wing SE. If you’re going long distance, nothing beats this
baby. Trust me.”
“And you say Adams took one. Got a color, license plate number?”
“I can look the plate up. The color’s the same as on the brochure.
That was a demo. Scotty let him take it.”
“You said you might have an idea where they went,” Reynolds prompted.
“What do you want with Lee?”
“We want to talk with him. And the lady he’s with,” she said
amiably.
“They do something wrong?”
“Won’t know until we talk to them,” Connie replied. He stepped forward
a little. “It’s an ongoing FBI investigation. You a friend of theirs
or something?”
Rick paled at the suggestion. “Hell, no, that chick is bad news. A
real attitude. While Lee was inside, I went out to the sales lot and
tried to help her. Real professional-like, and she jumped all over me.
And Lee’s no better. When he came out, he gave me some lip. I came
close to kicking his ass, in fact.”
As Connie looked at the beanpole Rick, he recalled the surveillance
tape of the physically imposing Lee Adams. “Kick his ass? Is that
right?”
Rick looked defensive. “He’s got some weight on me, but he’s an old
guy. And I’m into tae kwon do.”
Reynolds studied Rick closely. “So you’re saying that Lee Adams was
inside for a while, and the woman was out in the lot by herself?”
“That’s right.”
Reynolds and Connie traded a quick glance. “If you have information as
to where they went, the Bureau would greatly appreciate it,” Reynolds
said, growing impatient. “That and the plate number on the bike. Like
right now, if you don’t mind. We’re sort of in a hurry.”
“Sure. Lee also got a map for North Carolina. We sell ’em here, but
Scotty just gave it to him. That’s what Shirley, the girl who usually
works the desk, said.”
“Is she in today?”
“Nope. Sick. I’m it.”
“Can I get one of those Carolina maps?” Reynolds asked. Rick pulled
one out and handed it to her. “How much?”
He smiled. “Hey, it’s on the house. Just being a good citizen. You
know, I’m thinking about joining the FBI.”
“Well, we could always use a good man,” Connie said with a blank
expression, his gaze averted.
Rick looked up the plate number on the demo and gave it to Connie. “You
guys let me know what happens,” Rick said as they started to leave.
“You’ll be the first,” Connie called back over his shoulder.
The two agents settled back in the car.
Reynolds looked at her partner. “Well, Lockhart isn’t being held by
Adams against her will. He left her outside by herself. She could’ve
taken off.”
“They sure look to be a team of sorts. At least right now.”
“North Carolina,” Reynolds said almost to herself.
“Big state,” Connie said back.
Reynolds looked at him with a wry expression. “Well, let’s see if we
can cut it down some. At the airport, Lockhart bought two tickets for
a flight to Norfolk International.”
“So why the map for North Carolina?”
“They couldn’t take the plane. We’d have been waiting for them in
Norfolk. At least Adams seemed to know that. He was probably aware we
have an arrangement with the airlines, and that’s how we scored
Lockhart at the airport.”
“Lockhart screwed up by using her real name for the second ticket. But
that was probably all she could do, unless she had a third fake ID,”
Connie added.
“So no plane. Can’t use a credit card, so no rental car. Adams
figures we have the bus and railroad terminals covered. So they get
the Honda from his brother and a map for their true destination: North
Carolina.”
“Meaning that when they got to Norfolk by plane they were either going
to drive or hop another plane to someplace in Carolina.”
Reynolds shook her head. “But that doesn’t make sense. If they were