The Deceived by Brett Battles Read Free Book Online Page B

behind her, he could see the mother watching him leave. He waved at the girl, then turned away.
    Once he reached his car, he got in, started the engine, and shifted into drive. He had only gone half a block when he noticed a sedan pull away from the curb in his rearview mirror. A newer model Volvo. Silver. Two men in front. One in back.
    It hadn’t been there when Quinn had arrived. He was sure of it. He had also not seen anyone walking up to it while he was getting back into his rental. The men had already been inside the car, like they were waiting.
    Quinn kept an eye on his rearview mirror as he made his way back to the main road. The Volvo continued to follow. That in itself wasn’t unusual. Quinn was taking the main route out of the neighborhood. But he wasn’t buying the coincidence.
    He turned east onto Woodway Drive, heading toward downtown. Behind him the Volvo turned in the same direction, then slowed a bit, putting a few cars between them.
    Three men in a car going a couple miles an hour under the speed limit?
    No coincidence at all.
    For fifteen minutes, Quinn kept an even pace, turning every once in a while in what seemed like unhurried, planned moves. Each time, the Volvo followed. Whatever minute percentage of doubt Quinn might have had disappeared. They were trailing him.
    Ahead, the light was turning yellow. Instead of stopping, Quinn went through. Not rushing, but just fast enough to make the light. The Volvo was stuck a couple cars back and had no chance. Even with the advantage, Quinn didn’t speed away. He drove on like he had no idea they were there.
    Two streets down, he took a right. As soon as the Volvo was out of sight, he jammed down on the accelerator. At the next big street, he took a left, then another right, then left, stair-stepping his way away from the Volvo.
    Five minutes later, he saw a Mobile gas station and pulled in, stopping at the pumps. Though the rental’s tank was still almost full, he removed his gas cap and slipped the gas nozzle into the opening. What he didn’t do was start the pump. Instead, he moved around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He unzipped the side compartment on his travel bag and pulled out a small plastic device that to anyone else would look like a battery charger. But it wasn’t a charger at all. It was a less powerful version of the detector he’d used on the truck the day before.
    Only this time when he circled his vehicle, the detector emitted a soft beep. It was on the passenger side, near the back fender. He knelt down, pretending to check his tire, then reached up under the fender. When he removed his hand, he was holding a small metal disk.
    “Smooth,” he said under his breath, admiring the stealth that had been employed to plant the device. He’d only been out of sight of his car for the minute or two he’d talked to the woman up at the house.
    Quinn set the transponder on top of the gas pump, then did a second pass. No more beeps.
    He returned to the pump and leaned back against the Lexus, pretending to wait for his tank to fill. A minute and a half later, the Volvo drove by.
    Quinn paid it no attention, watching it only in his peripheral vision. The car turned right at the corner, then continued down the block until it was out of sight.
    The moment it disappeared, Quinn removed the nozzle and recapped the gas tank. He grabbed the transponder off the top of the pump and attached it next to the nozzle mount where it would be hard to find.
    Not wasting any time, he climbed back into his car and started the engine. Instead of pulling forward, he backed out so that there was no chance the Volvo would see him. When he exited the gas station, he raced across the oncoming lanes and turned left.
    But he didn’t go far.
    A block away, he found a busy strip mall and pulled into the lot, parking in front of a nail salon away from the street. It was starting to get dark as Quinn got out of the rental and stepped onto the sidewalk in front