Change the Locks
Chapter Ten
The hair on the back of Abby's neck prickled. She lifted her head, slowly rolling her eyes around their sockets in order to look around the darkened room. Nothing. As she rested her head back down onto the pillow, her vision flickered across the analogue clock on the bedside table.
7:47am.
"Holy crap." Abby simply stated, with almost no surprise in her voice despite the inconvenience of only having twenty-eight minutes to get to the bus station. She lightly slapped Owen's cheeks, bringing him round to consciousness before opening the curtains and letting streams of light flood into the room.
"Owen, wake up." Abby whispered, "I forgot to set the alarm clock; we have twenty-eight minutes. Make that twenty-seven." Owen groaned as she spoke, but sat up - wide awake - as soon as he realised that they had less than half an hour to get to the coach. He leapt out of bed, slipping some jeans over his boxers whilst hopping on one foot and rubbing his eyes with his shoulder. Predictably, he tumbled onto the bed – resulting in fits of laughter from both Abby and Owen.
"I'll put on some clothes. Some proper clothes." Abby said through suppressed laughter as she clutched a knitted jumper, underwear, a scarf and some denim blue drainpipe jeans before making her way to the bathroom to shower and change. Owen nodded, slipping on a simple t-shirt and a coat.
"I'll slip on my sneakers and make sure we've got everything in the case." He called after her.
Abby checked-out at the motel lobby, sliding the twenty-five dollars across the counter. The motel clerk (who was surprisingly sober) counted the money as he muttered a farewell under his breath.
7:56am.
"Could we walk?" Owen asked, munching on an apple.
"We could try." She smiled, grabbing Owen's hand and dragging him through the street in the direction they had come the night before. Reno looked a lot different in the sunlight.
They walked briskly through the streets, Owen holding the case and Abby concentrating on directions.
"Abby." Owen called.
"Not now, Owen, I'm trying to concentrate." She replied, massaging her temples.
"But Abby.." Owen muttered, "Abby. Abby. Abby? Abby! Abby, it's 8:11am, c'mon. Abby, listen. Abby! Abby!"
"What!?" She growled, silencing him. Owen pointed to a sign.
"The bus station is down there." He continued to point to the street which was marked on the sign.
"Oh." Abby frowned, her ego sinking. Owen grinned – he'd finally got one over on her. The sound of tyres rolling down the road broke the silence, and Abby turned to see their bus on its way to the station.
"Owen, run."
The couple sprinted down the road, Abby far ahead of Owen who was juggling the suitcase around his arms. She skidded to stop outside the bus station, causing Owen to crash into her – dropping the suitcase onto the steps. Abby pulled him up, and dragged him inside without letting him brush himself down. The bus pulled up just as Owen retrieved the pre-booked tickets from his coat pocket; Abby snatched a single ticket from his grasp and handed it to the ticket-puncher before piling onto the bus with the other passengers, closely followed by Owen.
He pushed the suitcase into the overhead locker before taking his seat next to Abby who was already scratching pencil marks, which resembled travel routes, into a makeshift map of Las Vegas.
"Why don't you do it later? You'll need some form of entertainment on this journey; it is a seven hour drive, after all." Owen suggested. Abby ignored him, continuing to scratch marks into the map. He simply sighed and leant back on his seat as the coach started up. Abby made one last mark and put the pencil down.
"But I have you." She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. So she hadn't ignored him.
"Have you ever been to see a movie?" Owen asked suddenly, awakening Abby from her light dose.
"No, why?" She replied, her head still rested on his shoulder but her eyes wide open.
"You've never seen a movie before?" He asked, shocked.
"I'd never seen a Rubik's cube before I met you, what do you expect?" She chuckled. Owen didn't respond.
"When we get a chance then I'll take you to one." He suggested after a few seconds of silence. Abby lifted her head from Owen's shoulder grinning in disbelief.
"Really?" She asked, genuinely. He nodded in response.
"I don't see why not. We can get popcorn and Slurpee's! Well, at least I can.." Owen's grin dropped. Abby giggled and kissed him on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder once more, beaming.
"I really don't mind. But, I'll admit, you still are so sweet." She whispered, causing Owen to chuckle quietly.
"That reminds me – popcorn. I'm thinking salty?" Owen laughed, changing the subject deliberately. Abby giggled, snuggling up into his neck even further.
"I think you should get sweet popcorn – after all, you are what you eat."
The coach pulled up at a service station at around noon.
"You getting off?" Owen asked, slipping out of his seat himself. Abby nodded – she hadn't eaten in a several days and this was the perfect opportunity to cover her tracks. She slid across the seats and hopped off the coach, just behind Owen. As the flock of bus passengers began walking into the station, Abby peeled off from the crowd, making her way to a simple block of restrooms which was isolated from the main service station. Abby silently removed the scarf from her neck, twisting it into a loop. She could smell nicotine and smoke; someone was smoking nearby. Abby focused her mind, searching for the smoker inside her head. He was behind the toilet block, peering out at the countryside fields, over the wire fence. Suddenly the fabric of the scarf chaffed his neck and his air supply was immediately cut off, leaving him unconscious. Abby's canines tingled as they began glistening with serration. She sank the pearly white blades into the smoker's neck, and drank the blood like air – the crimson liquid trickling down her throat like lava and the metallic tang electrifying her taste buds. After draining the body, Abby wrapped the scarf around her mouth and scurried into the toilet block to cleanse her face of the scarlet treacle layering her face. Using the scarf, she mopped the blood from her mouth and watched it swirl down the plug of the sink. She had only five minutes to return to the bus after moving the body. The body of the smoker was surprisingly light, making the job of dragging it to the toilets without smearing the floor with blood relatively easy. Abby swung the scarf around the metal bar supporting the doors of the toilet cubicles and knotted it tightly, strong enough to suspend the body from. Abby left the toilets, leaving behind the body of middle-aged man swinging a couple of centimetres above the tiled floor.
"Where were you?" Owen asked after both him and Abby had returned to their seats.
"Eating." She whispered quietly. Owen's face spoke for him. It simply said: "Ah."
By 4:00pm, the coach was rolling along the outskirts of Las Vegas, a sliver of neon orange setting on the horizon as the lights of Las Vegas twinkled in the distance. Owen tapped Abby vigorously on the shoulder, grabbing her attention before gesturing to the sunset.
"It's beautiful.." He whispered under his breath.
"Yep. I've seen it many-a times." Abby smiled weakly, "see, I thought that when I left Vegas about a year ago, it'd be the last time I'd ever see it and I wished.. God, I wished that I'd be able to see it again. Always knew I wouldn't. Guess I was wrong. It sure is nice to be able to watch the sun set. Without you, it wouldn't have been possible." Owen smiled, content that he'd fulfilled a wish of Abby's.
Las Vegas Strip was blinding in the dark. At 5:00pm, Abby and Owen were but a couple of miles away from the Strip and it's collection of casinos and monuments.
"Vegas lights.." Abby whispered through a delighted smile.
"You used to live here?!" Owen asked, as if jealous.
"You could say that, yes." She smirked, turning away from the window to look at Owen.
The coach pulled up to the bus station, the lights blurring both Abby and Owen's vision. They hailed a cab which, ten minutes later, dropped them on the sidewalk outside of Caesars Palace.
"Thanks for the ride." Owen smiled at the taxi driver, "how much will it be?"
"That's just ten dollars, kid. See you around!" The taxi driver accepted Owen's money, grinned and saluted before driving off along the Strip.
"Where to?" He asked, turning to Abby. The noise of traffic masked his voice.
"I'm sorry, what?" Abby shouted over the noise of the various vehicles on the road.
"Where to?" Owen repeated himself, shouting this time. Abby smiled, gesturing for him to follow her.
"Come, come." She said – or at least he thought that's what she said. You could barely hear her whispers over the racket of the road.
Abby lead Owen along the sidewalk in the Vegas lights and through a plaza of palm trees to the entrance of Caesars Palace, canopied with a marble roof. It truly was beautiful. Owen and Abby slowed as they reached the entrance, strolling smartly through the brass lined doors which were held open by classy doormen.
"We're headed to the casino." Abby informed Owen, who agreed. He understood they wouldn't be staying in a place like this for too long – much too exclusive. Abby continued to lead Owen through the marbled building, in all its beauty. Suited men and their glamorous partners walked arm-in-arm across the polished floor to their limousines which awaited them outside, only inches from the crimson carpet – blatantly on their way to feast one's eyes on various Vegas showgirls in uptown casinos along the Strip, followed by an extortionately priced meal at a swanky restaurant – undoubtedly.
"Woah, woah, woah. Little lady, where you headed?" A doorman asked, blocking Abby's path to the casino.
"There." She pointed to the casino, "my daddy's waiting for me, I promised him I'd meet him at 6:00pm and it's 5:57pm now. Please, mister." Abby begged, warping her voice into one with a thick Southern accent. The doorman smiled.
"Well, little lady, I'm afraid I can't do that.." As he spoke, a handsome young man (presumably in his mid-twenties) in a black tuxedo with white spats and glossy black hair – which was perfectly oiled down – approached the doorman.
"Excuse me, sir." The man in the spats spoke with the same Southern accent, "the little lady's with me." The doorman stared at him, speechless.
"That's my daddy." Abby pointed, still warping her Southern accent to match that of her father's. The doorman stood aside to let Abby pass, but gripped Owen's shoulder.
"Hey. What about this one?" He called to Abby and the man in the spats. There was an awkward silence as the man in the spats and an anxious Abby turned to stare.
"I'm just screwing with you, little bro!" The man in the spats suddenly burst out through laughter before walking back up to Owen and giving him a hug, "he's with me too!" The man in the spats encouraged Owen to smile convincingly. The doorman nodded nervously, letting his grip on Owen's shoulder go as Abby and the man in spats dragged him into the riddles of fruit machines and poker tables.
Abby hugged the man in the spats as they stood in the emptier side of the casino.
"How are you, Abby?" He asked, his Southern accent still prominent.
"I'm fine. Told you I'd be back, didn't I?" She asked rhetorically, "this is Owen." Abby pulled Owen by the arm so he stood by her side.
"Well, it's a real pleasure to meet you Owen – I've heard so much about you." He shook Owen's hand with a beaming grin on his face, "well, about five minutes-worth about you. Abby called me, said she needed my help. I'm here to clear your name, buddy. And my name? Jasper Henri-Clement, but I go by Jasper if it's a little hard to get your tongue around that; it sure is a mouthful, after all." Jasper introduced himself, a lock of hair coming loose from its flawless set of hair oil. Abby cleared her throat.
"Jasper is the grandson of an extremely kind man that helped me escape detection a few years back – his family have always been there for me when I've needed them to be." Abby explained, smiling to Jasper who politely returned the smile.
"It's the least we could do to help – without you, I wouldn't be here! So, Abby. Owen. What will it be? How may I be of service?" Jasper asked.
"New passports for us both, bank accounts – complete with money. And, if it's not too much trouble, fake ID. We can't use them now, of course, but in a few years they'll be of considerable use." As Abby spoke, Jasper noted down details on a small notepad.
"Consider it done, just give me a couple of days." He grinned, clapping the notebook closed.
"Thank you so much, Jas." Abby beamed, wrapping his arms around his neck in a hug which Jasper happily embraced.
"I'll be in touch." Jasper said after whispering something inaudible into Abby's ear, "and Owen – and friend of Abby's is a friend of mine. You're welcome to ask for help if you're ever in a tight spot. And, between you and me, congratulations. It's great to see that someone finally managed to pull Abby, and what a guy you are!" Jasper winked, giving Owen a quick hug.
"Thanks, mister." Owen smiled in admiration. Abby and Owen turned to leave the Jasper to his fruit machines, and began walking through the blackjack sets to the exit.
After leaving the casino, Owen made his way to the main entrance of Caesars Palace – expecting Abby to be closely behind.
"Owen?" She called to him from the elevator, "where are you going?"
"We're leaving…right?" He asked, confused. Abby shook her head and held up a key, smirking.
"What is life without a little indulgence one in a while?" Abby asked, rhetorically.
"The keys to the Emperor's Suite, little lady." The man in the spats had whispered into Abby's ear.