[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
didn t have enough for an arrest warrant.
So where the hell was Sabrina Galloway? And what
the hell went wrong? Why wasn t she there on the
fucking catwalk?
224 ALEX KAVA
The State Patrol hadn t paid any attention to him, so he
backed out of the neighbor s driveway and headed back
toward Tallahassee. A few blocks away he pulled in to a con-
venience-store parking lot. He d been so pissed off at the
airport that he wound up stealing a cheap-ass Taurus left in
long-term parking with less than a quarter of a tank of gas.
Leon filled up and paid with a credit card the asshole
owner left in the glove compartment. That s when it
occurred to him that he knew something the State Patrol
probably didn t& yet. If anyone had an idea where the hell
Galloway had taken off to, it d be her father. Sane or loony,
Leon figured he knew a thing or two about getting someone
to tell him what he wanted to know.
He d make the trip first thing in the morning. For now
he d find an expensive hotel and order some room service,
maybe a Pay-Per-View movie, too. No sense wasting a
perfectly good credit card.
57
Exhaustion and the steady rumble of the Studebaker s
engine made it difficult for Sabrina to keep her eyes open.
Miss Sadie insisted she lie back and get some sleep, that
she was wide awake and perfectly fine driving at night, so
Sabrina tried to doze while her subconscious skittered over
the events of the past few days. It was like miniature film
clips, from memory to reality to imagination. Soon all
three would be indistinguishable from one another.
She heard music and for a moment thought she had
been mistaken about the car not having a radio until she
realized it was Miss Sadie humming. The melody was
familiar and soothing, as comforting as a mother s fingers
caressing her forehead, petting her hair. She gave in and
lay down across the backseat. The afghan smelled good,
clothesline fresh, reminding Sabrina of her mother s
attempt to dry clothes on their balcony, ten stories above
Chicago traffic, waving against the skyline. At thirteen,
Sabrina was horrified to come home from school and find
that her mother had hung out their underwear for the world
226 ALEX KAVA
to see. But they ll smell so good, she told Sabrina. The
next month her father had found them a cute little house
in the suburbs with a backyard big enough for a garden and
a clothesline hidden from view. Sabrina wondered if her
father had been equally embarrassed about his Jockeys
flapping over the city streets.
She startled at the reminder of her father and fought her
way back to consciousness. She sat up so suddenly she
even startled Miss Sadie.
Are you okay, dear?
I was just thinking about my dad, she said and Miss
Sadie nodded.
Sabrina wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Her hair stuck
to her forehead and the back of her neck. She rolled down
the back window and she could smell the saltwater. Some-
where beyond the black night was the Gulf Coast.
We ll need to stop for gasoline, Miss Sadie said softly.
It ll be all right. No one s followed us.
Sabrina spun to look behind them. Most of the cars had
passed them since Miss Sadie seemed determined not to
exceed the speed limit. Sabrina saw only small beads of
headlights in the distance. She hadn t even thought of being
followed. But if her car accident had not been an accident,
then she had certainly been followed from Chattahoochee.
Which made her think of her father again. If they were
capable of driving her off the road and shoving her into a
water tank, were they capable of hurting her father?
You haven t eaten, dear. Would you like a sandwich?
No, thank you. Sabrina scooted up so she could put
her arms on the seat back, behind Miss Sadie, close
enough to smell the lemon rinse she knew the old woman
used on her hair.
WHITEWASH 227
I should call my dad& or the hospital.
Miss Sadie looked up at her in the rearview mirror, eyes
meeting eyes. You re worried they might hurt him?
In order to find me, yes. Sabrina hesitated, not
wanting to say it out loud, like somehow that would make
it real. My car accident yesterday&
Wasn t an accident, Miss Sadie finished for her.
They rode in silence, staring out the windshield. With
her arms leaning on the front seat, Sabrina rested her chin
there, too. With every oncoming flash of headlights she
tried to catch a glimpse of Miss Sadie s face, hoping to read
her thoughts. The old woman s face remained expression-
less, eyes straight ahead, focused only on the road. Sabrina
knew the shock and emotion had exhausted her ability to
rationalize. But maybe she was depending too much on the
solid and wise counsel of her friend. She was, after all, an
eighty-one-year-old woman.
What seemed like minutes later, Miss Sadie finally said,
Your daddy would want you to be safe. You re no good to
him walking into a trap. And going to him or contacting him
right now might be just that.
58
Tuesday, June 13
Pensacola Beach, Florida
The sun was just coming up when Eric Galloway made his
way back to his apartment. He took the long way around
the marina though he was tired. Most everyone was still in
bed, which made it one of his favorite times of the day. No
traffic. No car horns. No giggling teenage girls or their [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
didn t have enough for an arrest warrant.
So where the hell was Sabrina Galloway? And what
the hell went wrong? Why wasn t she there on the
fucking catwalk?
224 ALEX KAVA
The State Patrol hadn t paid any attention to him, so he
backed out of the neighbor s driveway and headed back
toward Tallahassee. A few blocks away he pulled in to a con-
venience-store parking lot. He d been so pissed off at the
airport that he wound up stealing a cheap-ass Taurus left in
long-term parking with less than a quarter of a tank of gas.
Leon filled up and paid with a credit card the asshole
owner left in the glove compartment. That s when it
occurred to him that he knew something the State Patrol
probably didn t& yet. If anyone had an idea where the hell
Galloway had taken off to, it d be her father. Sane or loony,
Leon figured he knew a thing or two about getting someone
to tell him what he wanted to know.
He d make the trip first thing in the morning. For now
he d find an expensive hotel and order some room service,
maybe a Pay-Per-View movie, too. No sense wasting a
perfectly good credit card.
57
Exhaustion and the steady rumble of the Studebaker s
engine made it difficult for Sabrina to keep her eyes open.
Miss Sadie insisted she lie back and get some sleep, that
she was wide awake and perfectly fine driving at night, so
Sabrina tried to doze while her subconscious skittered over
the events of the past few days. It was like miniature film
clips, from memory to reality to imagination. Soon all
three would be indistinguishable from one another.
She heard music and for a moment thought she had
been mistaken about the car not having a radio until she
realized it was Miss Sadie humming. The melody was
familiar and soothing, as comforting as a mother s fingers
caressing her forehead, petting her hair. She gave in and
lay down across the backseat. The afghan smelled good,
clothesline fresh, reminding Sabrina of her mother s
attempt to dry clothes on their balcony, ten stories above
Chicago traffic, waving against the skyline. At thirteen,
Sabrina was horrified to come home from school and find
that her mother had hung out their underwear for the world
226 ALEX KAVA
to see. But they ll smell so good, she told Sabrina. The
next month her father had found them a cute little house
in the suburbs with a backyard big enough for a garden and
a clothesline hidden from view. Sabrina wondered if her
father had been equally embarrassed about his Jockeys
flapping over the city streets.
She startled at the reminder of her father and fought her
way back to consciousness. She sat up so suddenly she
even startled Miss Sadie.
Are you okay, dear?
I was just thinking about my dad, she said and Miss
Sadie nodded.
Sabrina wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Her hair stuck
to her forehead and the back of her neck. She rolled down
the back window and she could smell the saltwater. Some-
where beyond the black night was the Gulf Coast.
We ll need to stop for gasoline, Miss Sadie said softly.
It ll be all right. No one s followed us.
Sabrina spun to look behind them. Most of the cars had
passed them since Miss Sadie seemed determined not to
exceed the speed limit. Sabrina saw only small beads of
headlights in the distance. She hadn t even thought of being
followed. But if her car accident had not been an accident,
then she had certainly been followed from Chattahoochee.
Which made her think of her father again. If they were
capable of driving her off the road and shoving her into a
water tank, were they capable of hurting her father?
You haven t eaten, dear. Would you like a sandwich?
No, thank you. Sabrina scooted up so she could put
her arms on the seat back, behind Miss Sadie, close
enough to smell the lemon rinse she knew the old woman
used on her hair.
WHITEWASH 227
I should call my dad& or the hospital.
Miss Sadie looked up at her in the rearview mirror, eyes
meeting eyes. You re worried they might hurt him?
In order to find me, yes. Sabrina hesitated, not
wanting to say it out loud, like somehow that would make
it real. My car accident yesterday&
Wasn t an accident, Miss Sadie finished for her.
They rode in silence, staring out the windshield. With
her arms leaning on the front seat, Sabrina rested her chin
there, too. With every oncoming flash of headlights she
tried to catch a glimpse of Miss Sadie s face, hoping to read
her thoughts. The old woman s face remained expression-
less, eyes straight ahead, focused only on the road. Sabrina
knew the shock and emotion had exhausted her ability to
rationalize. But maybe she was depending too much on the
solid and wise counsel of her friend. She was, after all, an
eighty-one-year-old woman.
What seemed like minutes later, Miss Sadie finally said,
Your daddy would want you to be safe. You re no good to
him walking into a trap. And going to him or contacting him
right now might be just that.
58
Tuesday, June 13
Pensacola Beach, Florida
The sun was just coming up when Eric Galloway made his
way back to his apartment. He took the long way around
the marina though he was tired. Most everyone was still in
bed, which made it one of his favorite times of the day. No
traffic. No car horns. No giggling teenage girls or their [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]