I didn't know if I was right or not, but she seemed to perk up a bit, so it did the job.

Once we shook loose of the city and suburbia, we entered flat farmland.

"There's something nice about this," said Sabrina, about two hours into the drive. "I don't think I could live here, but it's very peaceful to drive through."

I was getting a different feeling. It had just dawned on me that the same car had been about a half mile in back of us for the longest time. It was gray or silver, but it was too distant to see a make. We were on a major highway, Interstate 88, so it's not like it was just them and us on the road, but something was odd about it. Other cars either passed us or dropped further behind. Not this one. It always seemed to be right in that same spot. I broke the news to Sabrina.

"I think we're being followed."

I'll give her credit. She was cool about it. "Should I not look?" she asked.

"No, it's okay. They are quite a ways back there." I explained what I was feeling.

She watched for a few minutes, then said, "You might be right. What do you want to do?"

"Did you get the same feeling that I did from Izzy's research that she hadn't told Mario about Fairfield?"

"Pretty much."

"Then I suggest we get off somewhere, try to switch cars, then find another way to Fairfield."

"Sounds like a plan."

It turned out to be one of those easier-said-than-done plans. We were passing Sterling, Illinois, a small town that actually had a Hertz office. However, the road was so flat, they would see us pull off. So we made the decision to keep going to Davenport and try to lose them there.

"What if Izzy did let it slip about Fairfield?" asked Sabrina. "What if these people are just keeping tabs on us but there is someone already in Fairfield?"

"Then they will be looking for a red Camry. The car switch might buy us some time."

By the time we reached Davenport, we were prepared to lose them. Sabrina had pinpointed the Hertz office on her phone's GPS app and had called ahead to have a car waiting for us. As for an excuse as to why we were exchanging cars, she explained that the Camry was too small and that we now wanted an SUV. They accepted that without question and said they would have a Toyota Rav-4 all set to go.

Meanwhile, the silver car was still the same distance behind us. By this time, there was no doubt in our minds that it was tailing us. We also knew that switching cars would work for a while, but eventually they would pick up the trail again. If Sabrina's fear that Izzy let more slip than she indicated was true, they'd be waiting for us in Fairfield anyway.

Traffic had become heavy the closer to Davenport we got, so by the time we were ready to make our exit off the highway, there were quite a few cars between us and our silver pursuer. When I could see them I noticed that they had closed the gap—probably in an effort not to lose us—but there was still a chance they wouldn't see us take the exit.