The Missing Dough(68)

“There was a change of plans,” I said as I fought my car’s desire to become airborne. “Bernie got suspicious and shot down a side road.”

“And you had to turn around and follow him. Is that it?”

“What choice did we have? We couldn’t just let him get away,” I protested.

“Listen to me. You are to stop your car immediately, pull over, and wait for me. Do you both understand?”

“You . . . break . . . can’t . . . ,” Maddy said in a stuttering voice before she hung up. “What do you think, Eleanor? Was that convincing?” she asked.

“I bought it, and I was sitting right here beside you.” When I looked ahead again, I lost sight of Maine’s car in some tortuous twist. The road was now more of a path than a legitimate country lane, and I had to wonder if Maine was going to run out of room soon. The real question then would be, what would we do with him if we caught him? I tried not to think about that and focused on the road ahead instead.

It was a good thing that I did, too.

We hit a patch of gravel I spotted barely just in time, and as the front tires hit it, I felt us start to spin. Fighting down my sense of panic, I remembered from a driver’s ed class a long time ago to turn into the skid. It didn’t save us completely, as we slid off the shoulder and nearly hit a tree, but it kept us both from being injured, and that was a win in my book any day.

“Are you okay?” I asked Maddy as I tried to start the car back up.

“I’m just peachy. Now I know what an ice cube feels like in a blender.”

I wanted to continue the chase, but my vehicle had other ideas about that.

The car wouldn’t start. Maybe it was flooded. I gave it two minutes and then tried again.

Nothing.

I got out, and Maddy joined me. After I popped the hood open and looked inside the engine compartment, Maddy asked, “Sis, do you have any idea what you’re looking at?”

“No. I took home ec, not shop,” I said.

“My, how our public educations have let us down,” she answered.

A minute later the chief of police drove up and parked with his front bumper nearly touching mine.

“Forget about us. Go after him!” I said a little louder than I should have.

“He’s long gone,” the chief said. “He must have cut back onto the highway, because if he’d stayed on this dirt path, he would have had to run me off the road to get past me.” He glanced at my car and asked nonchalantly, “Having car troubles?”

“It won’t start,” I admitted.

He reached under the hood, fiddled with something, and then said, “Try it now.”

Still nothing, not even a whir, a grind, or a grunt.

“Sorry,” the police chief said. “That’s the sum total of my car knowledge. Should I call Bob Pickering and have him come out and tow this to his shop?”

I put the hood down on the Subaru, patted it affectionately, and then said, “You might as well. We’re not going to be moving otherwise.”

“Let me see if I can get him,” he said and then looked at Maddy for a second. “Besides, your phones don’t get reception out here, do they?”

Maddy pulled out her phone and acted surprised. “Hey, I’ve got bars now. Imagine that. We must have been in a dead spot.”

“If you’d caught up with Bernie Maine, that’s exactly what might have happened. I distinctly remember telling the two of you to stay away from him,” he said.

“Do you see him anywhere around here?” Maddy asked.

“Maddy, you’re not nearly as funny as you think you are.”

After the chief talked to Bob and gave him directions to where we were, I said, “I’ll stay here with the car. Maddy, maybe the chief here will give you a ride back into town.”

“You don’t have to,” the police chief said. “Bob said that he had his own key to your car. Is your Subaru in the shop that much?”

“Not often, but it runs in spells,” I admitted. I glanced at my watch and saw that if we didn’t hurry, we were going to be late getting the Slice ready to open for the day. “Is there any chance you could give us a ride to the pizzeria?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Can I ride in back?” Maddy asked. “I’ve always wanted to be a perp. Isn’t that what you call them?”

“Maybe they do on television,” he said. “I don’t care where you sit, if you don’t. Eleanor, do you want to ride back there with her?”

“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll sit up front with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Then let’s go.”