Lazy Lizzie

Twenty-Two

Entering the motel room, Lizzie saw Leo put his phone down, "Why aren't you answering?"

She looked at her phone. 126 missed calls. She'd eventually have to delete Dale's.

"It's on silent."

It was a fear she'd had before. The insistence that she'd answer his calls reminded her of Dale, making her want to avoid arguments at all costs. They never ended well.

"I went for a walk," she hoped that ended the conversation.

"Lizzie."

She should say more.

"I'm back now," she refused.

On his side of the bed, Leo hunched over his phone again, then looked up, "Don't leave like that, leave a message or something."

She didn't even have her husband's number.

"Listen," she had to be clear, "We're not exactly in this for the long haul. We're getting the best we can out of a bad situation. Let's not get carried away and invent ways to make our life difficult."

Seeing how his face went down with every word she added, she tried to sweeten the sting. "I mean, we obviously like each other and are good in bed together, but let's not complicate things. It's just not what I need, right now."

"Message received," his stare hardened on her. "We leave tomorrow at ten, be ready," he turned to lie down on his side, his back ending the conversation.

Left with half of a huge bed, no one left to inconvenience her, she took off her clothes and got into the bed.

She still didn't sleep, so when Leo's alarm sent him to the shower, she was also ready for a new day. The bes--better part of insomnia was how quickly her body and brain adjusted to it, feeling rested even after as little as three hours of sleep. Functioning under fifty percent capacity at all times made her lack of energy even less visible to the untrained eye.

He got out, "Ready to go in ten," as Lizzie got inside the small bathroom which he'd obviously used as a shower cabin: water pooled everywhere. She closed the door and was about to turn on the water when she heard him greet someone.

"Yea," his voice hit harsh, like when talking to Dale. He was on his phone, so she couldn't hear what the other was saying.

"You sent me to get Kazinsky and the money, and I did exactly--"

Clearly they disagreed on how much freedom Leo was allowed.

"I don't know where he is. Last time I saw him he was alive and well, in Warsa Park."

He paused to listen after every sentence he said.

"I'm not in California anymore, I'm heading for Detroit."

"He's not with his girl."

"One hundred percent. She's with me."

"She didn't see him, either! Look, he's not with us, okay? If we're lucky we never see him again."

"I'm not lying!"

"I'm not covering for him in exchange for his girlfriend!"

"Listen, you gave me your word that if I brought you Kazinsky and the money I was out. And I'm giving you my word he's not with me on my honeymoon."

Leo had lied to a dangerous man, and he didn't even know it, all because of her. She got into the shower.

She hadn't brought any clothes to change into with her, and she had to search in her only suitcase, dressed in one of her three towels, the pink one. No way she'd use one from the motel, although she had a suspicion they were actually cleaner than hers. Lizzie was immune to her own bacteria -- like all low-life organisms -- so she preferred it.

When she was ready, Leo got up from the bed, where he'd played on his phone.

"We need to make one more stop, before crossing the border," he told her, not angry, just cold. She didn't like it, but she'd live.

"Hazel Park," he said. "I got only one person I need to say goodbye to."