Free Suspicious (On the Run) by Sara Rosett

felt blanket to fill up the space. She put the lotion bottle inside the roll of the blanket and zipped the suitcase up. “Okay, what’s this other option?”
    “This way.” Jack turned north. After several blocks, he nodded to a self-serve laundry tucked between a bakery and a pizzeria. Under the larger sign for the laundry, a smaller one stated, “Deposito Bagagli.”
    Inside, they passed by two student-types loading clothes from enormous backpacks into the machines. At the back counter, a young Indian man greeted them and explained in a mix of Italian peppered with English that he could take their bag and store it for seven days. He had Zoe sign the portion of the numbered tag, which he attached to the suitcase handle then he tore off the stub, pointing to a blank line at the bottom of the stub, then to the signed tag. “Sign when you return. Must match.”
    Zoe nodded that she understood, and Jack paid the man in advance for seven days. “I hope we don’t need to leave it that long.”
    “But better safe than sorry,” Zoe agreed.
    The man smiled and dipped his head in a slight bow as they completed the transaction, then wheeled the suitcase to a door behind the counter, which he unlocked. As they moved away, Zoe caught a glimpse of a narrow room lined with shelves with numbers thumbtacked to the edges. The man lifted their suitcase into an open slot on the top shelf.
    “Let’s hope sixty-four is our lucky number.” Zoe put the ticket stub in the folder that held her passport. The creamy leather folder had been a bon voyage gift from Helen. It had a section sized for her passport on one side; slots for credit cards were on the other side. Zoe inserted the stub deep into one of the credit card slots where it couldn’t be seen at first glance.
    Jack checked the street through the large plate glass window before holding the door open for her. Zoe looked pointedly at the simple lock on the front door. “You’re sure this place is secure enough?”
    “Yes. This is our best bet.” Jack raised his eyes to the awning covering the storefront where a steel grate hung in a neatly retracted roll. “They lower that at night and there’s no back entrance. I heard about this place back when I worked in Naples. A few people at the Consulate used it for storage if they had a few extra hours in Rome. Shorter lines than at Left Luggage at the Termini, and it’s secure. I’m just glad it’s still open.”
    “Well, at least I’m not carrying it on me.” Zoe felt like the messenger bag was ten pounds lighter.
    “Next up, finding Harrington.” Jack dialed his number then shook his head. “Still not answering.”
    “So unlike him. But how do we even go about finding him? Alessi said Harrington wasn’t in his hotel room. I wonder if Alessi checked the hospitals?”
    “I’m sure it’s on his list. I hope he’s running down the whereabouts of everyone who was at the exhibit last night.”
    “Too bad we’re at the top of that list. I get the feeling he’s more focused on us than anyone else.”
    “Yes. He thinks we did it, but he can’t afford not to investigate everyone, which may give us some breathing room, at least for a while. I’d like to see Harrington’s hotel room.”
    “Isn’t that risky?”
    “What’s this? You , worried about risk? You like risks and a bit of danger.”
    “Only when it involves rollercoasters and rock climbing, not breaking and entering. That’s just crazy.”
    “Who said anything about breaking and entering? Remember, I’m stodgy and cautious,” he said with a grin.
    “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Before she’d sussed out Jack’s secrets, she’d thought he was a dull, average sort of guy, which, after her crazy, unsecure upbringing, had actually appealed to her. Initially, she’d liked the safety and security she felt with Jack, the plodding, ordinariness of his life. But then one day the ordinary became irritating. What first appealed to