Dead Breath
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For several hours, Mireya wandered along the city and at last she found herself on that lonely road that led to the suburbs. There it was always safe – a lot of people, a lot of newbies, and no one would pay attention to her. But something made her nervous… like someone was watching her.
Another phone call… “Well, no.” Mireya thought. No one could know this number, except for Dennis. She looked at the display. It was not Dennis’s number… It was Leandra’s one. She answered.
“… Come on, Mireya. He’s so… carefree. I would not trust him. Never!” Leandra spoke. “Stay away from him!”
Mireya remembered that day.
She and Leandra were in the dorm room, when they were still in the same college. They discussed a guy (whose name Mireya had already forgotten), and Leandra immediately said – stay away from him.
“You know, sometimes people hide their hidden essence. No one ever knows if there is a mask from a person who is so close to you.” She continued to speak from the tube. “And your new so-called potential boyfriend has a lie in every sentence that he says. Beware of such people, Mireya. Stay away.”
The call was interrupted.
Mireya stopped. Leandra was right again – that guy was already married and has wife was pregnant… the second time. Leandra probably somehow found out about it, but didn’t want to upset her friend, infinitely hinting. Mireya listened to her and didn’t regret it. And someone else knew about this all…
Mireya shuddered when she heard the signal from the car behind. She turned around – the dark sedan was approaching her. The headlights hid the driver’s face; the car stopped. The driver got out… it was Tom.
“No…” Mireya tiredly said and stepped back.
“Calm down!” Tom rubbed his hands. “I don’t bite. Don’t be afraid of me.”
“You know, now the only thing that scares me is the police.”
Tom raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
Mireya told him, forgetting the call from Leandra.
“Oh, now we are almost in the same team, my friend.” Tom laughed. “Only I was illegal, but Dennis had already told you that.”
“How did it happen?”
“Well…” Tom ran a hand through his thick hair, exhaling. “I came to the States from England to experience fate. But nothing that I planned worked, then the money ran out and here’s the result.” He smiled. “But I like this feeling of freedom!”
“Are they looking for you?”
Tom shook his head. “No, they are not anymore. A few months ago I hacked the FBI system. I was wanted. But time is up. They stopped hunted after me, knowing that I was illegal and that my activity in their system was not copied and distributed. They are not interested in me.”
“Really?”
Tom smiled maliciously. “If I was on the run, where would I be hiding and what would I say?”
“You would lie and hide in a city, where you can merge with the crowd.” Mireya spread her hands. “Like I do.”
“And what are you…?” Tom looked around, making sure that no one hears them. “Don’t want to escape? Do you want to fight?”
“Of course I will not give up without a fight, Tom. No one should retreat without having to struggle with the last forces.”
“But you can’t do it alone, Lady.”
Mireya smiled condescendingly. “You underestimate me.”
“Maybe.” Tom stepped toward her. “How well can you evaluate your possibilities?”
***
“Adrianna, what the hell?” Los Angeles Police Captain Warner Locke was standing in his spacious office, looking at Adrianna who was standing in front of him, closing her hands.
“Sir…” She said, not looking into his eyes. “I could not even imagine that she could escape. We all discussed it before someone like…”
The Captain interrupted her. “Before giving her the opportunity to be alone? God, Hale, you are a police officer and there can be no reason for you to let the criminal out of your sight! You are acting like a beginner!”
“Yes, Sir.” Adrianna agreed. “Sorry. She must have already left Las Vegas and…”
The Captain interrupted her again. “This is not your concern anymore. I’ll make the call, the police in Las Vegas and the whole of Nevada will be looking for her.”
“I am suspended?”
“No, you’re not for now. But you will work only inside the police department, is that clear?”
Adrianna lowered her eyes.
“Look, if you want to help your friend, don’t stop us from dealing with this case.” The Captain picked up the telephone.
“But Sir… She is not a killer.” Adrianna said, still looking at the floor.
“If she is not, we are the one who killed that girl. But if it’s her doing, Adrianna… Mireya Rothe will go to jail.”
“But is there anything that might detract her from it?”
“Yes.” The Captain put down the receiver and took a piece of paper, he handed it to Adrianna. “The experts were able to establish only the approximate time of Leandra Ray’s death, and here you see Rothe buying coffee in a coffee shop a few blocks away. Hypothetically, if we assume that Ray was killed an hour or even half an hour later – Mireya is innocent. But she was the last person out of her room, Adrianna. No one else came in and did not go out before the hotel staff arrived, who found Leandra’s body. You know, she’s more close to prison a week away from it.”
Adrianna nodded. “I see. But I must prove her innocence. I must.”
“Then act, according to the rules. There is no need to cross the boundaries to achieve the desired goal – sometimes monotony is the most correct decision.”
***
Motel “The heart of Las Vegas” was a two-story building away from the city. In this place, no one asked for names and, especially, documents, it was an ideal place for runaway criminals.
Tom stopped his car on this almost empty parking lot; Mireya got out and looked around – only two other cars, only in three windows there was a light, a street rat ran somewhere. She grinned. “The heart of Las Vegas?”