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could hide under the afghan and if they were stopped, the
police would simply think she had old bundles of clothes. It
220 ALEX KAVA
was as though Miss Sadie eluded the police on a regular basis.
The whole time she was saying it her voice remained calm
and soothing. She made it seem as though they were packing
for a summer vacation instead of a last-minute escape.
Lizzie shared the front seat with Miss Sadie and the
cooler. The old woman could barely see over the steering
wheel though Sabrina had noticed pillows already in place,
one for Miss Sadie and one for the cat. From the way
Lizzie settled into her spot the huge white cat curled up
into the passenger seat Sabrina knew the two of them had
taken many trips together.
The air inside the car was suffocating even with the
windows rolled down. There was no air-conditioning, no
radio, but the pristine seats smelled like new and the engine
turned over immediately.
 Miss Emilie s husband bought her this car, brand new
in 1947 even though she didn t like to drive, Miss Sadie
told Sabrina, without looking back at her. Both hands were
on the wheel, and she raised her voice so she could be heard
over the engine s hum and the wind through the windows.
 I went to work for Miss Emilie when I was twenty-two
years old. Several years later her husband s fighter plane
went missing shortly after the beginning of the Korean
War. She didn t drive this car much after that but she d
never part with it. Made me promise I d never sell it, either.
Miss Sadie s eyes met Sabrina s in the rearview mirror.
 I took good care of Miss Emilie and her girls. Three beau-
tiful girls, all accomplished, successful women now. They
still visit with me from time to time, less and less now that
their momma s been gone. Yes, I took good care of Miss
Emilie for forty years and in turn, she made sure I was
taken care of.
WHITEWASH 221
Sabrina had never heard the old woman talk much about
her past. And Sabrina had never asked how she had been
able to provide so well for herself. She knew Miss Sadie
hadn t married and had no children. Now Sabrina realized
why. She had spent a lifetime taking care of another family
and in that brief explanation Sabrina thought she could see
absolutely no regret in Miss Sadie s eyes. It had been more
than a job. That was easy to see. Miss Emilie had not only
been Miss Sadie s employer, she had been her family.
Maybe that was what had brought them together. They
were two women looking to replace the families they
missed. It also helped explain why Miss Sadie was used to
taking charge and taking care.
Sabrina had seen signs for Pensacola on Interstate 10,
but Miss Sadie evidently wasn t planning on taking the
interstate. Sabrina didn t recognize any of the surround-
ings, not that she expected to, but as soon as they started
putting miles between themselves and the city, the darkness
of the countryside renewed her sense of panic. Panic and
also guilt for involving Miss Sadie. She still wasn t sure
what or who she was running from. Or whether running
was even the safest decision.
Suddenly, Sabrina felt the car slow down. She saw
flashing blue and red lights up ahead just as Miss Sadie
started rolling up her window. Even Lizzie left her perch
and jumped on top of the cooler that sat between her and
her owner, tail swishing from side to side.
 Is it a roadblock? Sabrina asked, already convinced
that the police were stopping traffic, searching for her.
 I don t believe so, Miss Sadie said in such a whisper
Sabrina thought she might simply be humoring her.
Even though they could see an officer in the road, there
222 ALEX KAVA
was a long enough line of cars that Sabrina found herself
wondering if they could just turn around and go back. How
serious were the police? Would they send a cruiser after
them? There was no way she could ask Miss Sadie to go
on a high-speed chase. Miss Sadie with her ten
o clock two o clock grip on the steering wheel was having
a hard enough time keeping to the speed limit.
As they crept closer and closer, Sabrina could see she
was wrong. One car had crashed into another and a third
lay on its side in the ditch. There was no search, no road-
block. But as they inched their way around, Miss Sadie fol-
lowing the gestures of the officer patrolling the road,
Sabrina felt no sense of relief. Instead, her panic washed
over her again. She thought about her car accident last
night. For the first time she realized it was no accident.
56
Leon figured it d be a waste of time, but he drove to the
Galloway woman s condo anyway. He had trolled the
airport, half expecting to see her there. As soon as the
cops started moving in, Leon moved out.
Now a couple of blocks away from her condo he got dis-
tracted by a  47 Studebaker rolling through the intersec-
tion. He thought about following it just to check it out. It
was a beaut.
Two State Patrol cars were parked in front of Galloway s
condo. Leon drove by and pulled in to the driveway of the
only house that wasn t lit up like some block party. Flash-
lights lit up Galloway s front yard. At least they wouldn t
be tripping over any fucking cats like he had the other
night. Looked to Leon like there were three of them, but [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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