Chapter 24

“So, you’re closing this account for good, Ms.Tempest?” the teller asked Jordan Tempest, the bank teller and last of the Howard tribe to close her bank account at the Pennington, New Jersey, branch.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. I am leaving this state,” Jordan explained.

“Best of luck. You’re gonna need it in Philly,” the teller sardonically remarked.

The group made a slight detour through Pennington, which now put them in yet a different jurisdiction, not that they were fully safe from the Mafia. Guido Lazio and Massimo Vitelli had a very long reach, to say the least. That wasn’t even counting Octavio Urbano, THE Boss of La Cosa Nostra in the Garden State. Yeah, if they got caught with Edda in their custody, that could prove very detrimental to their health and safety. The hijab and the fact of her hiding on the bus for now helped considerably with preventing such a discovery.

The best thing about spreading the account closures over a wider area was that it would confuse and divert the Mafia’s various associates and enforcers, as well as law enforcement authorities who might be on Edda’s trail. They were likely looking for Slim Calvin’s killer, too, but they’d have to find out who that was, and good luck catching Clement Howard. He had burned off his fingerprints years ago and he always wore leather gloves. DNA, gunshot residue, the forensics would be tough enough with higher technology, and the New Jersey State Police as well as Princeton Police Department were not that sophisticated these days. No, that homicide would likely stay a mystery, a cold case for their files, never to be solved.

“Alright, that’s that. All accounts are closed. We are now using only untraceable paper money, right? Good, old-fashioned cash. All transactions must be cash for all shopping from here on out, are we clear? We don’t want anyone monitoring credit card activity. In fact, let’s just cut up any cards that you might still have. It’s all brownbacks from here on out,” David alluded to the color of the Garden State’s legal currency.

“Brownbacks it is. The more we buy, the better. Both because we get useful supplies, but also because we unload all of this cash that’s useless outside of Jersey. In fact, if you can buy some gold or silver here or there, it’s worth considering. Those will always have value. Let’s cut all financial ties to New Jersey, no matter what they are. Let’s buy what we can, eat some takeout somewhere to unload the rest of the money, and cross that damn state line!” Clement proposed.

“No offense, but I’ll be glad to lose the hijab. It’s scratchy. How did you ever put up with it, Azita, honey?” Edda asked her Iranian sister-wife, who shrugged in response.

“It was basically all that I knew. Like a part of my body, but one that I don’t miss, I assure you of that. I completely understand, my dear Edda. Trust me on that,” Azita told Edda while hugging her tightly from behind.

“What stores to hit first? Sporting goods, pharmacies, I think. Yeah, will need plenty of feminine supplies, that much is sure. Pregnancy tests, too. I want to know when I’m knocked up. I don’t know about you gals, but that’s how I feel about that. I hope that it’s very soon,” Karen shared her thoughts, of course.

“Me, too!” the other ladies shouted almost in unison.

“I really hope that it’s David’s now. Gianni had some redeeming virtues, so twins would be nice, but David is far better. If I had to choose, I’d choose David easily. I’m his wife, after all. Well, one of them now. Tell me, do the rest of you ladies want to be his wives, too? Most of us are now in this group, but I didn’t want to force you. None of us would do that, I think,” Andrea asked the others as they stopped at the first shopping center they could locate.

“Oh, definitely in my case!” Edda smiled as she kissed David on the mouth, “him, Clement, and all of the guys, but especially David and Clement. I owe them so fucking much!”

“Damn!” David coughed, even as they climbed off the bus and spread out to hit various shops at once.

“How about we all try to meet up at the bus by seven, eight at the latest? Given the timeframe, that seems most realistic,” Allen suggested.

“Makes sense to me, friend. Pass it on. Eight at the latest, back at the tour bus. Let’s move!” David agreed while being propped up by his companions, Jenny and Denise.

David particularly focused on buying up gold and silver, since he had the most liquid cash available still of all that group. The look on the saleswoman’s face as she saw him burn through brownbacks and they all came up real was priceless. She became noticeably wet in her panties and slid them off in front of David to offer him a sniff, giving him an alluring aroma indeed. When she bent over in a corner of the store and hiked up her skirt, the game was up.

“You want me to fuck you ... because you think that I’m loaded, don’t you?” David confronted the lady, who showed no signs of worry about Denise or Jenny, either.

“That ... and there’s just ... something about you. Something eminently fuckable, that is. Your other girlfriends won’t mind, will they? They’re clearly sharing you already, after all. By the way, my name’s Marjorie Sharpe. My birth name is Šejla Zahirović. That’s Bosniak. Bosnian Muslim, in fact. I have to confess ... I moonlight as a call girl and stripper. That’s okay with you, right? So, how about it?” the saleswoman enticed her patron.