Page 11 of Four Cards Exposed

Susan absorbed this information.

“Listen,” Lorraine continued. “When you see him, don’t react. He’ll probably look very different from the last time you saw him.”

“I understand. I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to endanger his life. What happens now?”

“Guerrero will get out of prison at ten a.m., the day after tomorrow. For this to work, you need to be there with Milena’s car to meet him.”

“Okay. But I’m not wearing a dead woman’s clothes.”

Lorraine sized her up critically. “No. They probably also wouldn’t fit. She’d been living off drugs rather than food for a long time,” she clarified carefully, though Susan wasn’t offended. She had a mirror at home, and though she’d never be skinny, she knew she wasn’t fat.

“We’ll have to go shopping,” Lorraine decided. “Ever watched Pretty Woman?”

Susan rolled her eyes.

“I’ve got pictures of the clothes Milena had in the trunk of her car. We have a day to find you similar ones.”

4

* * *

Susan

You’re ready.

Or as ready as you’re ever going to be.

Susan had read the letters again to make sure she remembered everything Guerrero and Milena had written to each other. It was lucky that they’d never spoken over the phone.

Less chance for me to mess this up.

From the letters, she’d gathered Milena and her much-older brother hadn’t been very close. But Susan would have to be careful—she knew little of that relationship.

Lorraine had been with her every step of the way. First, they’d gone to the station together to tell Natalie and Rob, who’d been concerned but supportive. Natalie, particularly, seemed to sense why Susan needed to do this.

Next, Lorraine had driven Susan to a safe house halfway between Sharp’s Cove and the city. A smallish, white house, stuck in the back of a cul-de-sac of a residential area, it looked nothing like Susan’s idea of what a safe house would look like.

Which is probably the point.

A hair and makeup expert had arrived and showed Susan how to do her hair to resemble Milena’s hair in the picture Guerrero had seen. Thankfully, their hair was similar enough in color and texture that it required little work. She would have to remember to keep it down, however, rather than do it up in a ponytail or braid the way she normally wore hers.

Next, they’d worked on the clothes. The “shopping” hadn’t actually involved any shopping, as the clothes, inspired by those they’d found in Milena’s car and hotel room, had simply appeared as if by magic. Susan, who hated trying on clothes on the best of days, had attempted a brave face, but each outfit she tried on only served to highlight her inadequacy for the role she was signing up for.

What if I can’t fool anyone?

What will they do if they find out who I really am?

She pushed back those thoughts.

Over the course of the afternoon, she discovered Milena’s taste differed greatly from her own. Where Susan favored jeans and loose shirts, Milena’s bag had been full of skin-tight pants and tube tops.

“Surely she would have been cold wearing this outside?” Susan had complained, worried she was going to burst out of her top.

“Remember, you just drove up from Dallas,” Lorraine said. Her careful use of pronouns didn’t escape Susan’s attention. “It wasn’t as cold over there.”

“Fair enough. But does everything need to be this tight? I’m not sure I can breathe.”

Lorraine didn’t even bother replying to that.