Then the woman spoke.
Her voice carried through the quiet alley.
“She still doesn’t know?”
Robert shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“How much longer are you going to keep doing this?”
“Until Saturday.”
I stepped backward.
My heel landed on an empty plastic bottle.
The crack echoed through the alley.
Robert spun around.
The young woman stared at me.
For one awful second, none of us moved.
Then Robert whispered,
“Diane.”
I stepped into the light.
“What is going on?”
“Please,” Robert said. “Let me explain.”
“That’s usually what people say when they’ve been caught doing something they shouldn’t.”
He took a cautious step toward me.
“Can we go home and talk?”
“No.”
I looked at the woman.
“We can talk right here.”
“Diane—”
“I just watched you walk into a dark alley with a fake trash bag, pull out a hidden package, and give it to a woman I’ve never seen before.”
