Paula had found it on the iPhone. The place had separate bungalows, which would enable one of them to check in and the other to slip inside unnoticed afterward. Probably this far from San Jose it didn’t matter, but Ben didn’t want the staff to see a white man and a black woman checking into a hotel together. Just in case anyone had reported their general description after the shootings in Los Yoses. And besides that, though they’d done what they could to clean the gore off Paula’s face and hair, she still looked like hell. Ben checked in while Paula waited in the car. He explained to the nice woman at the counter that his bags were in the trunk, that he’d get them later because of the rain. Yes, it was a late reservation—turned out the place where he’d been planning to stay was sold out. So glad they had a room at this hour. And did they take cash? Wonderful. He paid in advance for three nights. It wasn’t the kind of place anyone stayed at just overnight, and he didn’t want to do anything more unusual than he already had.
