spotted the blue SUV a few cars behind her, so she got onto the freeway and moved over into the left lane. The SUV followed.
Tessa rode on the tail of a gold Mercedes until the owner, a woman with gold earrings and gold bracelets visible where her hands rested on the steering wheel, moved over to the right lane.
Tessa then downshifted and forced Grandpa, growling and spitting, to speed up toward the next car in front of her in the lane.
“Tessaaaaa …” Karissa said as they bore down on the white pickup truck.
She pulled right at the last minute, cutting off a green minivan. Had she seen that minivan pass the gas station too? And actually, the van didn’t lay on the horn when she pulled in front of it. Hmm, tricky … She cut back in front of the pickup truck and zipped along in the fast lane.
Did the minivan speed up a little too? The blue SUV was by now several cars behind.
Tessa continued to push Grandpa to new feats of daring driving as she wove in and out of traffic for a mile or two. The green minivan fell further behind.
Then she cut across two lanes of traffic and exited the freeway amidst honking horns and a few squealing brakes. There was some squealing inside the car too, as Karissa covered her eyes with her hands.
Daniel giggled.
Tessa turned left at the light and slowed down as she passed under the freeway, wondering if the green minivan or blue SUV were passing above, watching to see where she turned.
She might be becoming a bit obsessively neurotic.
She quickly found the BART station she’d been targeting and screeched into a parking spot. “Everybody out of the car! Hurry!”
“Here!” Karissa thrust a clipper card into Tessa’s hand. “Take them and go. I’ll drive your car out of here.”
“No, it’s too dangerous.”
“It won’t be once you guys are gone.”
“Watch for a dark blue SUV, a maroon Hyundai, and a green minivan.”
Karissa rolled her eyes. “Like there aren’t a thousand of those in San Francisco.”
“Don’t get back on the freeway — if you do, they’ll know you’re a decoy. Drive around and then head back to Wings — don’t go home.”
Karissa’s eyes sparkled. “This is so Jason Bourne! See ya.”
Tessa hustled Elizabeth and Daniel toward the rapid transit station and used hers and Karissa’s clipper cards to get them past the fare gates. They nipped into a train just before the doors closed.
Seven trains later — including transfers from BART to Caltrain to light-rail — they arrived in San Jose Japantown. Tessa checked her watch — maybe Mom would be gone to her job by now. She was a hostess at Oyasumi, one of Uncle Teruo’s restaurants in Palo Alto, and Sundays were busy days for them for both lunch and dinner.
Just her luck, Mom was about to head out the door when Tessa walked in with Elizabeth and Daniel.
“Mom! Hi!” Tessa pasted on an exuberant smile and hoped Mom’s sense of Japanese politeness would prevent her from complaining and arguing until later when they were alone. “This is Elizabeth and her son, Daniel. They need a place to stay so I said they could take the sunroom for a few days.”
Chapter 9
M om, it’s only temporary.”
“When have I heard that before?” Mom groused over the mobile connection.
Tessa got off the bus near the San Carlos Motel off of Union Street and in the noise of the bus chugging away from the curb, she had to shout into her cell phone, “It’s only until I can find another place to hide them. I want to keep Heath off balance.”
“So keeping your family off balance is fine? What if Heath manages to follow you to our house?”
“He’d have to find me first. He doesn’t even know my name. Wings isn’t going to give him any information about me or Elizabeth — they’re very careful about stuff like that.” Added to that was the fact she was the best out of all her yakuza cousins at spotting and getting rid of a tail. But Mom didn’t have to know about that fascinating
Tessa rode on the tail of a gold Mercedes until the owner, a woman with gold earrings and gold bracelets visible where her hands rested on the steering wheel, moved over to the right lane.
Tessa then downshifted and forced Grandpa, growling and spitting, to speed up toward the next car in front of her in the lane.
“Tessaaaaa …” Karissa said as they bore down on the white pickup truck.
She pulled right at the last minute, cutting off a green minivan. Had she seen that minivan pass the gas station too? And actually, the van didn’t lay on the horn when she pulled in front of it. Hmm, tricky … She cut back in front of the pickup truck and zipped along in the fast lane.
Did the minivan speed up a little too? The blue SUV was by now several cars behind.
Tessa continued to push Grandpa to new feats of daring driving as she wove in and out of traffic for a mile or two. The green minivan fell further behind.
Then she cut across two lanes of traffic and exited the freeway amidst honking horns and a few squealing brakes. There was some squealing inside the car too, as Karissa covered her eyes with her hands.
Daniel giggled.
Tessa turned left at the light and slowed down as she passed under the freeway, wondering if the green minivan or blue SUV were passing above, watching to see where she turned.
She might be becoming a bit obsessively neurotic.
She quickly found the BART station she’d been targeting and screeched into a parking spot. “Everybody out of the car! Hurry!”
“Here!” Karissa thrust a clipper card into Tessa’s hand. “Take them and go. I’ll drive your car out of here.”
“No, it’s too dangerous.”
“It won’t be once you guys are gone.”
“Watch for a dark blue SUV, a maroon Hyundai, and a green minivan.”
Karissa rolled her eyes. “Like there aren’t a thousand of those in San Francisco.”
“Don’t get back on the freeway — if you do, they’ll know you’re a decoy. Drive around and then head back to Wings — don’t go home.”
Karissa’s eyes sparkled. “This is so Jason Bourne! See ya.”
Tessa hustled Elizabeth and Daniel toward the rapid transit station and used hers and Karissa’s clipper cards to get them past the fare gates. They nipped into a train just before the doors closed.
Seven trains later — including transfers from BART to Caltrain to light-rail — they arrived in San Jose Japantown. Tessa checked her watch — maybe Mom would be gone to her job by now. She was a hostess at Oyasumi, one of Uncle Teruo’s restaurants in Palo Alto, and Sundays were busy days for them for both lunch and dinner.
Just her luck, Mom was about to head out the door when Tessa walked in with Elizabeth and Daniel.
“Mom! Hi!” Tessa pasted on an exuberant smile and hoped Mom’s sense of Japanese politeness would prevent her from complaining and arguing until later when they were alone. “This is Elizabeth and her son, Daniel. They need a place to stay so I said they could take the sunroom for a few days.”
Chapter 9
M om, it’s only temporary.”
“When have I heard that before?” Mom groused over the mobile connection.
Tessa got off the bus near the San Carlos Motel off of Union Street and in the noise of the bus chugging away from the curb, she had to shout into her cell phone, “It’s only until I can find another place to hide them. I want to keep Heath off balance.”
“So keeping your family off balance is fine? What if Heath manages to follow you to our house?”
“He’d have to find me first. He doesn’t even know my name. Wings isn’t going to give him any information about me or Elizabeth — they’re very careful about stuff like that.” Added to that was the fact she was the best out of all her yakuza cousins at spotting and getting rid of a tail. But Mom didn’t have to know about that fascinating
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