THE JANITOR'S CLOSET wasn't all that spacious and it wasn't remotely comfortable, but it was someplace to hide for the time being. She couldn't be sure when, or if, someone would open this closet. So she parked herself behind the garbage can and lay totally flat. She threw some large, thick drop cloths over her and tried to calculate what someone opening the door would see.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrYhevsqk0
Presumably, no one would be expecting a person lying on the floor camouflaged by drop cloths and obscured by a garbage can. But she didn't know what to think. She didn't have a better idea. That janitor sure looked like he was done for the night, so she had to play the odds as best she could.
She'd slept on worse floors, of course. She'd slept in cell 524, after all, where rats regularly roamed and where the odor of fungus and decay was overwhelming. She'd take the intense smell of cleaning chemicals any day over that prison.
Her mind started playing tricks on her as she drifted in and out of sleep. She lost track of time and didn't even hear the movie end. Sleep deprivation was a powerful thing.
Her watch said it was almost 3:30 in the morning. Surely the last movie had ended and the Lamarcke was in hibernation for the night.
She tentatively pushed open the door into darkness and listened. She could not hear the faintest sound. The Lamarcke was definitely closed.
She walked over to the movie theater that had been showing the 10:45 movie, the smaller one next to the Lamar. The door opened. Had it been locked, she didn't know what she would've done.
She walked in and took the steps to the balcony. She found a cozy space in the back and nestled in. No jammies for her. She still had her cocktail dress and heels. She would use her purse for a pillow.
LaForge would be searching every hotel in Paris tonight for Audrey Becker, or anyone who fit her description and who managed to get around the passport requirement. He would probably be searching parking garages, expecting her to be sleeping in her car. He would probably have officers out on the streets and in the nightclubs and the train stations.
But she was pretty sure he wouldn't be looking for her in the Cinema Lamarcke.
Still, LaForge was close now. He knew Mischa was in Paris and he knew he had missed her by no more than one hour or more at the hotel. She had rushed through a shower, changed, and run out of there down the back staircase. If she'd so much as caught a catnap---which she had seriously contemplated doing----she'd be in French custody right now!
She shuddered at the thought. No way, she told herself again. No way she was going back to prison.
She stretched her back. Her shoulders ached from tension. The truth was, she didn't know what LaForge knew, or how close he was.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPw7s0CV2ne
She ran her hand over her purse for comfort. Inside it was a wad of her remaining cash and a bit of makeup.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwz2UxnP9c
And, of course, the Glock she took off Josette at the prison. She had no intention of shooting another human being. No matter what happened, she wasn't a murderer and she wasn't going to let them turn her into one.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslxlxSCc5m
But she did keep a single bullet in the chamber. It was reserved for one possible outcome, if she were honest with herself, that was the most likely end to all this. And it was the worst outcome of all.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ePH5dAJav
The bullet was reserved for the possibility that LaForge would catch her before she could prove her innocence.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kxNcEgamF
And in that event, the bullet would be for her.329Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkucCSr1iW
