Asking For Trouble by Simon Wood Read Free Book Online

come through, or, more precisely, her brother had. When it came to shady dealings, it always came down to friends of friends of friends. Laura rarely had more than a joint or two in her possession. It was her brother who fulfilled her needs, and he’d supplied a dime bag, gratis. Even he had been touched by Janet’s friend’s plight.
    “It took some doing,” Gill said.
    “I bet it did. Oh, you don’t know what this means. I’m going to Phoenix this weekend; I’ll take it with me,” Janet said.
    “Are you driving?”
    “No. Flying.”
    “Flying? That seems risky.”
    “Not really. It’s not like it’s a flight from Bogotá. And when was the last time you saw a drug dog wandering around a domestic terminal?”
    Janet made good points, but they failed to quell Gill’s fears.
    “Besides, if I’m stopped then I’ll explain why I have it. I doubt they’ll do anything to a nice law-abiding woman taking pot on a mission of mercy.”
    “You’re crossing state lines. They’d get you for possession at the very least.”
    Janet shooed the argument away with her hands.
    “Well, if you use that story, they’ll lock you up.”
    “Then what do you suggest?”
    “Just tell them it’s for personal use. You won’t get away with it entirely, but at least they won’t think you’re some sort of mule.”
    Over dinner at Janet’s that night, Gill talked Janet through how she thought she should handle the airports. Gill wasn’t an expert, but Janet was so clueless when it came to this that any street smarts Gill possessed would go a long way. The plan, like all good plans, fell to pieces the following day. Janet cornered Gill in the lunchroom as she was feeding a quarter into the Coke machine.
    “Bad news,” Janet said, her face masked with disappointment.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Arizona’s off. I’ve got to fly to corporate headquarters this weekend for a presentation on Monday.”
    “It can’t be helped, I suppose. Just go next weekend.”
    “I don’t want to wait. Melinda’s got all her hopes up for this weekend. I can’t bear to smash them.”
    “Can’t you put this meeting off?”
    Janet shook her head and took a deep breath before saying, “I have a really big favor to ask this time.”
    ***
    Gill entered Oakland International’s Terminal 2 with marijuana taped between her breasts. With the recent changes in airport security searches, this was the best hiding place for the drugs. Security could only search a woman’s breast area if something metallic set off the wand or something obvious distorted the lines of the clothes. Gill had played it safe by wearing a bra without an underwire. Luckily, her sizeable cleavage swallowed the Ziploc bag with ease. After using the automated check-in service, she checked out her appearance in the ladies’ room mirror. Nothing poked out in the wrong places, and she looked fine, if a shade paler than normal. Nerves. Stupid nerves. She splashed her face with hot water to bring the color back to her cheeks. It worked, somewhat. She gave herself one last appraising glance before venturing through the security check.
Game time
, she thought.
    She joined the long line of travelers waiting to pass through the checkpoint. She removed her driver’s license and boarding pass and crept toward the two security women in blue blazers. The elder of the two checked Gill’s documents with polite disaffection and instructed her to join a line for the metal detector. That was the first hurdle cleared.
    Janet had been right about one thing—sniffer dogs. There weren’t any wandering around. Everything looked to be plain sailing. So why did she feel so nervous? Fate. It could turn against her and hang her out to dry. She hoped Saturdays were fate’s day off.
    Todd hadn’t helped her mood. When she’d broken their weekend plans, naturally he’d been curious as to why. She hated deceiving him, but couldn’t tell him the truth. Clearly her deceptionhad failed to sound