by Katie Bradford
For over a year Lacey Hunter and Jimmy Stalks had been searching for the girls, with precious few leads. Oh, they'd had a call now and then from someone who'd said they'd seen them in a local mall, or sitting in a restaurant somewhere eating a burger, but when the detectives went to check it out, it was always a wild goose chase. Those girls were two tricky chicks!
Ruby Cochineal and Jade Greenly - or simply Ruby and Jade as they were better known by the media - had been on the lam since last May when they helped their boyfriends, Alex McNabb and Max Ripley, knock over a few local convenient stores. Since then, the robbing just seemed to get bigger and worse. Now the girls' parents were concerned about the safety of their daughters and desperately wanted them brought home.
Someone had apprised Mr. Cochineal that Hunter and Stalks would go to the ends of the earth to find who they were sent to locate. That's when the two sets of parents had called the duo to take the case. Hunter and Stalks had their own detective agency that kept them extremely busy. Unfortunately, this case was keeping them extra busy. It had been over a year now and they were still searching. They were determined to find the girls... dead or alive. Hopefully, alive!
Finally they had a break: a tip from a reliable source had told them that the girls might be in Rayville, Texas. Stalks and Hunter were on their way back to the office to meet with the parents at that very moment, to decide their next step.
Carmine and Scarlet Cochineal were already sitting in the outer office waiting when the two detectives walked in.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cochineal," Stalks acknowledged extending his hand in greeting.
"Stalks," Mr. Cochineal nodded, taking his hand.
"Are the Greenly's comin'?" Stalks asked as he opened the door leading into the office. "We may have some news for ya."
"We're here Stalks," Mr. Greenly called excitedly walking in behind his wife. "You said you've found them?"
Hunter rolled her eyes as she made sure there were places for everyone to sit. The office was small. The rent for one these spaces was horrendous. She and Stalks had opted for one of the smaller units seeing that they were hardly ever there in the first place, usually just for meetings such as the one they were having now.
"Nah," Stalks replied but didn't let the question dampen his spirits. They had worked too hard and long for that. "But we've got a very reliable source that says the girls might be in Reyville."
The two couples greeted each other and sat down. They were all eager to hear what Stalks had to say.
Stalks leaned on the side of his desk and crossed his arms as he looked from one hopeful face to the next. "Hunter and I are on our way to Reyville when we're done here."
"Supposedly the girls have been spotted in that area," Hunter piped in. "We're going down to check out the lead."
"Whose lead are you going on?" Mr. Cochineal asked.
"Aw now I can't be tellin' ya that, Mr. Cochineal. Just know that they are reliable," Stalks shook his head.
"Fair enough." Mr. Greenly nodded. "I don't care how you found out as long as you get the girls back safe and sound."
Both the mothers of the girls sat wringing their hands which didn't escape the notice of either of the two detectives, but Hunter, being the softer of the two said, "Don't worry Mrs. Cochineal, Mrs. Greenly ... we'll find the girls. And we'll find them before the law does."
"Of all the stupid, idiotic, dumb things for you to do!" Max yelled in Jade Greenly's face.
She was very near tears and it wasn't helping that Max was screaming in her face. "I'm sorry Maxie I said I am, really!" Jade pouted.
"Leave her alone you big bully," Ruby spat. "She said she was sorry."
"You keep your mouth shut you little hussy," Alex shot heatedly back at Ruby. "What were you trying to do to that cop? Get in his pants or something?"
"I was just doing what you told me to Alex," Ruby snapped back. No guy was going to yell at her, not even Alex, supposedly the love of her life. "I can't help if he thought I was alluring."
"A slut more like it!" Alex groused.
"Hey watch it!" Jade defended her best friend. "Ruby's no slut. She's got class, Alex."
Max shook his head in disgust. "You know what, the two of you just need to go watch TV or somethin'. Alex and me got things we gotta figure out."
"We ain't through talkin' about your little performance, Ruby Jean," Alex warned pointing a finger in her face. "You'll be damn lucky if I don't upend your sweet little ass and give you a good walloping!"
Ruby rolled her eyes. Alex was always talking about spanking her bottom. It was almost like he had a fetish or something! Ha! Just let him try to upend her, she'd show him a thing or two.
"Come on Jade! We ain't stayin' where we're not wanted," Ruby said haughtily as she grabbed Jade's arm and started walking towards the door.
"Keep her out of trouble," Max warned Ruby.
Looking back over her shoulder, Jade said, "I'm sorry Max. I know I almost got us caught. I promise to do better next time."
"Don't apologize to him Jade." Ruby shook her arm lightly. "He's just being a grump!" she added loudly making sure Max heard the last part before turning to Alex and saying sassily, "Me and Jade's going down the street to Dairy Queen, if that's okay."
"Eat all the ice cream you want," Alex replied waving his arm impatiently. "Just stay out of the guy's pants that's servin' it!"
Ruby and Jade sat in a corner booth sipping a coke, bashing the men they had just left back at the motel.
"And that stupid Alex, I'm so tired of his jealous rages. I can't help it if other guys think I'm cute," sighed Jade.
"I know, right?" Jade nodded quickly in agreement. "And I don't like Max talking down to me all the time. The car was there, I just stepped out for a minute to go look at that cute little dress in the shop window next door. I was right there! The second you three came running out I hopped right back behind the wheel. And Max gets all upset at me!"
Ruby had been a little nervous herself when she and the guys had come running out of the bank and didn't see Jade behind the wheel of the car. After all, they had just robbed a bank and were making their getaway, which couldn't very well happen without a driver! But not wanting to upset her friend any worse then she already was, Ruby just nodded her head and took another sip of her drink.
After a few moments of silence between the girls, Ruby asked, "Jade? Are you really happy?"
"Happy?"
"Yeah," Ruby replied thoughtfully, "I mean, here we are, fugitives on the run, two lousy boyfriends who'd sell us down the river for a buck ... there's gotta be something better then this don't you think?"
Jade seemed to be processing what Ruby had just said. "Yeah I suppose so but what can we do? Seems like we're kinda trapped."
"Well, I've been thinking..."
"Yeah?" Jade asked seeing the sparkle in Ruby's eyes. That always meant she had a good idea - maybe one that was probably about to change their lives and possibly get them in trouble. Ruby always had good ideas. She wished she was as smart as her friend.
"I'm ready to leave those two losers we've been with for the last year, aren't you?" Ruby asked.
Jade didn't seem so sure. She kinda liked Max, even though he was mean to her sometimes. She knew he couldn't help acting the way he did, that was just who he was.
Ruby could see Jade wasn't as eager as she was at leaving the guys behind. "Oh come on Jade Greenly, you can do better than that jerk. Just look at the way he treats you, yellin' at ya because of a little mistake today."
"One that could've gotten us caught." Jade defended Max.
Sighing heavily, Ruby continued, "He yells at you and belittles you all the time! How can you stand that?"
Wrinkling her nose, Jade told herself Ruby was right. "What's your plan?" she asked, leaning in closer.
As soon as the girls walked out of the door, Max and Alex sat huddled at the small table and began talking in low voices as if they were afraid of being overheard.
"How do we know that money ain't marked?" Max looked over at Alex. They'd been friends for a long time. They had been bad news back in high school together and were still causing trouble wherever they went today.
"We don't man," Alex replied, "That's why we need to take it down to Mexico before we start unloading it. The police are probably all over this. We gotta lay low."
"What about the girls?" Max hesitated.
"Too risky to take 'em," Alex shook his head. "We'll be spotted easier if there's four of us rather then just two."
"We just leave 'em here? The cops'll find 'em and haul 'em in, man. And when they have them it won't be long before they find us! We gotta find a place no one will find Jade and Ruby."
"Yeah, yeah," Alex snapped irritably. "I didn't say we was gonna leave 'em here. I got friends down close to the border that'll let 'em stay there until things cool down. And then we can send for 'em."
Max nodded, "Okay. Are we headin' out tomorrow?"
"Guess we'd better. They may be movin' in on us - better to get a little more distance between us and them."
"Well the girls ain't gonna like us dumpin' 'em down there," Max voiced.
"Do you see me worried about that?" Alex asked cockily. "Ruby ain't gonna give me any lip about it because I'll bust her ass if she does. She's already in for a blistering when she gets back tonight for practically getting inside that guard's pants at the bank."
"Man, she was just preoccupying the dude while we were..."
"I know exactly what she was doing!" Alex interrupted. "She was slutting around. She knows that drives me crazy when I see her with another guy! And you need to whack that ditz of a girl you got, my friend. Why you haven't dumped that broad yet I'll never know. Has she got any brains in that head of hers?"
Taking offense at his friend's words, Max stiffened. "Yeah, she's got plenty of brains. And I ain't dumpin' her. She may have a few screws loose here and there but I like her and she's stayin'."
Alex shook his head. "Whatever, man. You're the one that's gotta sleep with that ditzy dame."
"I ain't dumpin' her," Alex repeated, "But you're right about the whackin'. She may have trouble sleepin' tonight with a sore bum."
Ruby and Jade walked back to the motel with their plan ready to execute once the guys were asleep. It was simple enough: they were taking the money and Alex's car and getting the heck out of Dodge!
If they had expected any kind of greeting upon entering the motel room, they were sadly mistaken. Neither Alex nor Max acknowledged that they had come in, except possibly the fact that they began talking even more quietly.
Ignoring the fact that they were being ignored, both girls walked over to the guys and wrapped their arms lovingly around their necks.
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