“You were drifting out of your lane,” he said almost sadly. “Maybe drifting off a l’il bit? White line fever?”
My heart sank.That?!All my tension and care and it came down tothat? I’d been worrying so hard about the cartel, I’d lost concentration for a few vital seconds. At the same time, I felt a tiny spark of hope. If that was all it was, maybe there was a slim possibility we could get out of this. The wind was blowing steadily through the truck, carrying the scent of weed away from the cop.Please keep blowing. Please keep blowing.“Um. Iamkind of tired. Early start this morning. Forgot to have my coffee.” I smiled my most ingratiating smile. “I’m really sorry. I’ll pull over and take a rest at the next gas station.”
The cop tilted his head to one side. “Where are you folks from?”
I could still feel the wind against my cheek. I tried to do the same puppy-dog eyes that Kayley did to me when she was in trouble. “LA, sir,”
“Well, now don’t they have coffee in LA?” the cop shook his head. “You get yourself off the road at the next gas station and don’t get back on it until you’ve had a bellyful of joe—you hear me?”
The wind died a little, then came back stronger, tickling my hair against my neck. I willed it to keep going, thinking of hurricanes and tornadoes, gusts strong enough to lift you off your feet. “Yessir. I will. I promise.”
The cop sighed, straightened up and turned to walk away. “You drive careful, y’hear?”
The wind died. And then gave one solitary gust—just a tiny little breath—in the wrong direction.
The cop took a single step away. And sniffed.
He could have a cold. He could be wearing so much cheap cologne it drowns out the smell. He could have been doing lines of coke for years and lost his sense of smell.
Just a little bit of luck. Please!
The cop put his hands on the roof and leaned right in through the window. He took a big lungful of air, his chest swelling.
“That there is weed,” he said, his voice hardening. “Ma’am, step out of the vehicle.”
65
LOUISE
I hadto put one hand on the top of the door and the other on my seatback in order to climb down. My legs were shaking so hard I couldn’t stand up on my own. I automatically faced the truck and put my palms on the window sill where someone had once served ice cream.I drifted out of my lane.It kept going through my head.I drifted out of my lane one lousy time and now I’m going to jail and Kayley’s going to die.And Sean: his life was over, too. He might not have been happy before, smashing stuff and playing guitar on the rooftop, but at least he’d been free.
A single tear fell from my eyes and landed in the dust beneath me. I didn’t want to cry and tried to take a slow, calming breath. But...we were in Texas. Did that mean we’d be put in jail in Texas? There was no one who could post bail for us.
I wasn’t going to see Kayley again, before she died.
My shoulders shook and then I was off: choking sobs that burned and ached in my chest. With my head down, the tears couldn’t run down my cheeks properly: they hung from my eyelashes and then dropped to the dust, making dark little splodges.
“Aw, for cryin’ out loud…” said the cop behind me. “There ain’t no need to cry about it.” There was a rasping sound, like sandpaper. When I looked at his shadow on the ground, I saw that he’d taken off his hat and was scratching at the stubble on the back of his neck. “What the hell did you think was gonna happen, driving through my state like this?”
I nodded, gulping. It had been a stupid plan.
He sighed. “Well...it should be a DUI. But...level with me: how stoned are you?”
I blinked through my tears.Stoned?He thought I wasstoned?I swallowed, still sniffing and blinking back tears, and thought fast. “N—Not at all, sir,” I croaked. “It was last night, before we set out. We smoked a joint in the back of the truck: that’s why it smells in there. I swear, I’m fine. I really was just tired.”
“Turn around.”
I turned to face him.
He studied my face. “Really?”
“Yessir.”
He stared at my tear-red eyes for another few seconds and then said, “Walk that white line for me. One foot in front of the other.”
I looked down and put my sneakers on the line. Then I walked along it, willing my legs not to shake. When I dared to look round, he was staring at me. “Just tired, huh?” he said thoughtfully.
“Yes sir! I was stupid. And smoking the joint was stupid. I swear I’ll never do it again.”
