Pushing Perfect(59)

“Give him a minute,” Raj said. “Clearly he wasn’t expecting this.”

With everything that had been happening, I had trouble believing Justin was somehow surprised, but whatever. We watched as Justin caught up to Mark and grabbed his arm. We weren’t close enough to see the expression on his face when Mark realized who’d found him, but we saw him put his finger to his lips. Did that mean he was worried that whoever was in the house would hear them? They whispered together for a while, Justin’s arms flailing; Mark eventually reached out to hold them down, trying to calm him. I supposed Justin was starting to understand how the rest of us felt; it almost made me feel bad for him. But not quite.

Finally, Justin headed back for the car. Mark turned around and walked in the opposite direction, back to where I assumed he’d parked. Justin slammed the door behind him as he returned to the backseat. “Don’t even say it, Alex,” he hissed. “I get it now, okay?”

None of us asked him what he got. We knew.

“Did you learn anything?” Raj asked. “What does he know?”

“More than we do,” Justin said. “He wouldn’t tell me anything other than that his life would be over if he gave up who was behind this, but he did say we could follow him. He’s doing the drop-off now. He said he can’t have anything to do with what we decide, but if we follow him, we’ll get all the information we need. He says he didn’t know what was happening to me, to all of us, but I’m not sure I believe him.”

I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a tear run down his cheek. I hoped Alex would stay quiet; now wasn’t the time for her to say what I knew she was thinking. I started the car.

“He’s around the corner, in a blue Civic,” Justin said. He’d wiped his face and was trying to sound like his usual snarky self. “He said we can just follow him. Get your camera phones ready, people. He told me he’d make sure we have a good shot.”

This was it. This was really it. My head felt like it was full of buzzing mosquitos. I could barely focus on the road as I drove down the street and turned the corner. Mark had waited for us, his car idling by the sidewalk. When he pulled out, I followed, trying to stay close but not too close.

“I don’t think you need to worry about distance,” Justin said. “It’s not like whoever it is will be expecting us.”

“Did Mark tell you anything at all? Even a hint about who we’re going to see?” Raj asked.

“Nothing. Just that he was sorry. Apparently he thinks this is all his fault.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Alex said. I knew she wouldn’t be able to stay silent forever. “He’s the reason you’re being blackmailed, and you’re the reason the rest of us are. Maybe he’s behind this, or in league with whoever is.”

“No way,” Justin said. “He wouldn’t have told us to follow him, and I know he wasn’t lying. Not about that.”

“We were going to follow him anyway,” Alex pointed out.

“Enough! I know you’re mad at me, but you have to trust me on this one. It’s not him. He’s just as stuck as the rest of us. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re still defending him?”

“Guys. Let Kara drive,” Raj said.

They actually listened to him. I wondered whether he’d taken the middle role on their seesaw. He was good at it, that was for sure.

Mark had gotten on the freeway. I’d have to follow more closely to make sure we didn’t lose him, though he seemed to be keeping track of us as well. We left Marbella and headed north, getting off the freeway in Redwood City, a route that was all too familiar to me.

And to Justin. “We’re not seriously going to Walmart, are we?” he groaned. “Bad enough I’ve been forced into that stupid job, but being here late at night when I’m not working is just too, too sordid.”

It was actually smart, though. I pulled into the parking lot and realized Walmart was open later than I’d thought it would be. There were a fair number of cars in the lot, but it wasn’t crowded at night, so there was an empty back corner that was perfect. Mark parked in one of the spaces; we parked a couple of rows behind him, not sure what the best angle was for taking pictures.

Justin’s phone beeped. “Mark just texted,” he said. “Someone’s meeting him here but they’re not here yet. We should wait.” Another beep. “Person usually parks to his right.”

“That means you and Alex will have the best shots,” I said. “You guys ready?”

“Got the zoom all set up,” Alex said. “Do we know how long we’re going to be waiting, though?”

Justin started typing, then we waited for his phone to beep. “Could be a while,” he said. “Mark says there’s a window.”

“How much of a window?” I asked. “It’s already almost ten.” I hadn’t left my parents a note that I’d be out; I’d thought I’d be back before they got in from work. But they were always home by midnight. I got out my phone and shut off the ringer so I’d have an excuse for why I didn’t answer if they called.

“He didn’t say.”

“Well, we might have some time then,” Raj said. “Anyone have any predictions about who we’re about to see?”