I did my best trying not to think about the complication the nosy paperboy had introduced into the equation during the eight or ten-minute drive through the southern portion of the valley back to the Hollywood Freeway. Whether a change in calculation was now in order, I could not definitively say at that point, but I recognized that there was very little, and probably nothing, that could be done about it. I resolved to carry out the plan I was still hatching with as much efficiency and dispatch as possible. Dispatch would be of particular moment, I recognized, as even the slightest delay could undo and unmask us. Not only would I need to make it seem that Williams had traveled that very day to a distant destination, but I would need to myself pull off a series of neat tricks, such as convincingly masquerading as Williams while making no noticeable deviation in my own schedule. In short, I would need to be in two places at once – in Los Angeles as myself and in the distant locale as Williams. It promised to be a long and intense day, and through it all I would need to function on the less than three hours of sleep I had gotten before Emli had awakened me.

The traffic on the freeway was still light but beginning to pick up at that hour and the sun was about to but had not yet begun its ascent above the horizon. Just as I exited the freeway to get onto Sunset and head east, though, the topmost rays were splaying over the tops of the buildings in the panorama before me, constricting my pupils and making it just that much harder to maintain my depth of field. I needed to go only about another mile east on Sunset before I turned north up Vermont Avenue and then not even a mile up I turned east down the street to Emli’s apartment building. I continued past it toward the small retail center a block-and-a-half or so further down. As I came up on it, I saw Williams’ Oldsmobile parked just where I had instructed Emli to park. She was sitting behind the wheel. I pulled up behind her and parked. I got out and walked over to the passenger side of the Cutlass. Emli saw me and undid the electronic door lock. I was pleased to see she was still wearing the gardening gloves. I opened the passenger’s side door with my still-gloved hand and got in.

“So far we’re doing alright,” I said. “But we’re not out of the woods yet. How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright,” she said.

“Tired?”

“Not too,” she said.

“You’ll be able to make it through work okay?”

“Yeah.”

“How ‘bout more than that?”

“Such as?”

“How long could you go after work? I mean without absolutely having to sleep?”

“Til’ midnight if need be,” she said.

“You’re sure? What if you had to do a lot of driving? More than 300 miles worth, alone? Would you fall asleep at the wheel?”

“I’d just drink a lot of coffee.”

“What’s the earliest you could get off work today?”

She thought for a moment. “Probably a little after two.”

“Would they make note of that?”

“No. I’d just say I have a dental appointment.”

I thought hard. “Okay,” I said. “Make those arrangements. How’s your car running?”

“Fine,” she said. “I just had the 10,000 mile warranty service.”

“Oil change and tune-up?”

“Yeah, they did that.”

“On your way to work, use one of your credit cards to get gas if your tank isn’t near full already,” I said. I arched my posterior off the seat and reached with my left hand to my hip pocket and pulled out Williams’ wallet. I took out a twenty dollar bill and reached it over to her. I put the wallet back into my pocket.

“I’m going to call you later at work and tell you where I want you to drive to. Once you’re on the road, don’t use any of your credit cards. If you need money get it before you leave town or use that to buy gasoline when you have to,” I said, indicating the twenty dollar bill. “I’m going to rendezvous with you wherever it is we’re going – I haven’t decided yet but I think Las Vegas – and we’ll drive back together late tonight. Maybe you should put a change of clothes in your car just in case. It’s necessary that we do this and keep it together and not get in an accident and get back to work just like usual again tomorrow morning. You understand me?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

I opened the door. “Give me the keys,” I said.

She pulled them from the ignition and handed them to me. I took them and continued my way up out of the car, stepping up onto the curb and then the parkway. I locked the door and shut it. Emli got out, too, retrieving the shopping bags from behind the seat. She locked and shut the door. I found the deadbolt key in my change pocket and slipped it onto the key ring and put the key ring into my pocket. I looked up and down the street to make sure the Olds was not in a no parking or tow-away zone. There were no signs to that effect. Emli had come around the car with the bags. I reached into the one and retrieved the brazier, which I compacted into a tight ball. I took that bag from her grasp and at the same time handed her the bra. “Anything else in these yours?” I asked.

She blushed but did not answer.

“Anything you want to keep for sentimental reasons? Otherwise I’ll take this and dispose of it. It might not be the best thing for you to have the pictures or whatever else lying around your place.”

“Whatever you think best,” she said.

I took the other bag from her and put both into my car.

“I have a court appearance this morning,” I said. “I’ll call you as soon as I can after getting out of court. You’re sure you can get off this afternoon?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Carry on just like it’s a normal day,” I said, “and I’ll talk to you later.”

I went around my car and climbed back in. I fired it up and, checking over my shoulder, pulled out into the street and continued down to turn into the retail center parking lot. I drove in far enough to pass the few cars parked in it and then drove across the bank of empty parking stalls to turn around and then waited at the second curb cut for a couple of cars to pass before turning back out onto the street to leave. I passed beyond Emli just as she was turning to walk up the walkway to the entrance gate to the apartment complex.