Mackenzie tried to smile, but her face was still too stiff. “That would be wonderful.”
Kevin ducked his head. “Ah. Like I said, it’s that kind of town.”
Supplied with an armful of clothes a few minutes later, she let herself into the tiny bathroom, peeled off the jumpsuit, and stuffed it into the bag. Her reflection in the mirror made her do a double take. The face didn’t look like her own. Her hair was plastered down, cheeks scraped, and lip bleeding at the corner. A cut sliced across her mud-spattered forehead. All of it she’d earned with her choices.
As she looked at the eyes staring back at her, she considered how close she’d come to dying. The tears camethen, and she turned on the shower to cover the sound before she allowed herself to remember.
She felt again the sensation of being chained in the van, the water creeping up to fill her lungs and take her life. Her plan to get arrested now seemed like madness. What was she doing? Her mission had been so concrete and thought-out. Hours later, she’d been forced off the road and nearly drowned. How had it all gone so colossally wrong?
She’d been sure, utterly convinced her mission was God-approved, that she was destined to make Bullseye pay for Aaron’s death and prevent so many others from suffering. The confidence she’d had was shaken. Without her wallet, supplies, even a purse, how could she embark on the next steps?
Panic was getting her nowhere, so she gave herself up to the comfort of the shower. At first, her skin ached as the warmth began to penetrate. Teeth gritted under the stinging stream, she let the water wash away the mud and suffuse her body with glorious comfort.
She helped herself to the shampoo and conditioner, hoping Lynn wouldn’t mind. The twin comforts of heat and cleanliness almost made her swoon. Never again would she take for granted those blessings.
As she dried herself, she became aware of each scrape and bruise. She wondered how badly Gideon had been battered in their escape. Never mind that line of thinking.
Lynn was a bit shorter than Mackenzie, but the sheer joy of pulling on the dry undergarments, sweatpants, T-shirt, and long-sleeved nylon jacket made it feel like the best outfit she’d ever worn. Even the sneakers fit wellenough with the thick socks. Her jail shoes had washed away at some point in the river.
Trash bag secured under her arm, she rejoined Kevin while Gideon took his turn in the shower. As they chatted, he boiled water for the noodles on the small stove.
“I’ll just put this on the porch.” She wiggled the bag before she opened the front door and tucked it under a patio chair, her arms and legs aching. Again she scanned the pasture and the main road. No sign of anyone approaching. The rain still came down in torrents. “You don’t have any close neighbors?” she asked when she went back inside.
“Couple miles away. That’s close enough for me. Lynn would like more socializing with the church people, but that’s what Sundays are for, right?”
She nodded as though she understood, but she’d never had the desire to live where there was nary another person to be seen. The busier and more bustling the area, the more she could be a part of the energy or disappear into the crowd, depending on her mood. Being this far away from witnesses at the moment, however, felt creepy, as if she could vanish and no one would be the wiser.
And as for church, well ... Her parents had kept their attendance and received countless casseroles and comfort calls, but Mackenzie knew what the congregants were really thinking.So sad Aaron got into drugs. Glad our children aren’t living that lifestyle.
It made her want to scream at them, at God, but mostly at Bullseye.
She tried to keep her thoughts to next moves. If Lorraine was right and Bullseye owned plenty of people inthe town, she might just be safest here in the middle of a horse pasture. But not for long. Lorraine’s terrified expression would not leave her mind. She silently prayed that Lorraine and the other woman were in the hospital and recovering from what happened on the bridge.
The earlier uncertainty she’d felt about her plan evaporated when she remembered the promise she’d made to make sure Lorraine’s mom made it to Jamaica. She would succeed and make sure the woman would be safely delivered there or anywhere else she chose to live. Her mind spun forward into other actions. She could make use of her social media influence to bring attention to Lorraine’s unjust arrest. When she brought Bullseye down, she’d enlist the help of her followers. Surely there was a lawyer in the batch, hungry for justice and attention. Lorraine’s arrest might just be overturned altogether. The new rush of determination was comforting, bolstering, like a fire on a frigid night.
She itched for her phone to make notes of everything she’d experienced since rolling into Oakleaf. Gideon had taken his pack into the bathroom with him, unfortunately—likely still unaware that she’d hidden her phone inside before she’d gotten herself arrested.
Kevin cut into her thoughts, looking up from his steaming pot.
“No phone?”
She jerked. “Um, no.”
“Do you want to use mine to call someone to see about your car?”
Her car? It took her a moment to realize he thought her vehicle had plunged over the side of the bridge. Shehesitated, deciding on a stall rather than lie. “Gideon’s a dedicated camper, so he probably packed his phone in a waterproof case. If it doesn’t work I’ll let you know.”
“Is that what brought you to the area? Camping? In this weather?”
“Uh, no, not camping, exactly. Gideon was teaching a wilderness class. He had this nutty idea that people should be prepared for all types of horrible weather, so rain doesn’t put him off, but his only client was turning tail when I showed up.” She hurried on. “Do you really think the dam’s going to fail?”
He shook his head. “We’ve lived here for a decade and that topic comes up every year without fail. It’s stayed standing, just to spite the engineers.” He fetched a green container of grated Parmesan. “But I’ll admit this year’s storms have been over the top, and the warnings are more doom and gloom than usual. Glad Lynn and the kids are away, just in case.”
She inhaled the aroma of tangy spaghetti sauce, and her mouth watered. “It smells so good I can hardly think of anything else.”
He rapped the spoon on the side of the pot. “Yeah, it’s the family favorite. Lynn left me enough to tide me over and then some.”
“Until tomorrow when you return the trailer? Why not take it back today?”
