“I apologize.” It galled Bishop that he had to mollify such a lazy idiot, someone with an IQ that was probably half of his. But he’d been doing stuff like that his whole life. No wonder he’d done what he’d done! He’d never been liked, never been accepted. The people around him treated him so poorly he had no choice.

Finally, Terry seemed to calm down. He leaned on the mop handle as he said, “I’ll have to find other work right away. We’re already behind on our bills. If I can’t make rent, Bridget will leave me”

“Oh. I’m sorry. That’s not good.”

“No, it isn’t. Now the money you’ve promised me is more important than ever. I need that, man.”

Lyman gripped the remote that raised and lowered his bed a little tighter. “You’ll get it soon.”

“Why not today?” he said, and Lyman saw the hope of immediate relief from his worries dawn in his eyes as he hurried over.

Lyman tried to wave him off. “I don’t have access to any of my accounts, not while I’m in here. You know that.”

Terry glared at him. “But we need to speed things up, make this happen before something goes wrong that I had nothing to do with. I’ve done my part.”

“Not all of it. Besides, we had a deal, remember? I’ll pay you when I’m free.”

“Why don’t you go tonight? You can head to Alaska, relieve Emmett, and we’ll all be happy.”

“I can’t go tonight.” Lyman had to modulate his voice so that his own irritation didn’t leak through. “It has to be when you’re not working, remember? We don’t want anyone to think you had anything to do with my ‘escape.’ Otherwise, as soon as they realize I’m gone, they could come straight to you.”

“So? I’ll play dumb.”

“It won’t be that easy. Let’s do things right to begin with. That will save us from having any problems later.”

“But Emmett is freaking out, threatening to leave. He’s giving us through Friday night. That’s it. Even if you take off tonight, you’ll have travel time and … and you should be prepared in case there are any delays. Let’s do it while we can!”

Lyman stared at the television without really seeing the program that was playing.

Terry lowered his voice. “Don’t you hear me? If we wait, Emmett might set Evelyn Talbot free. This could be your only chance.”

Lyman had spent the majority of his time since the hemorrhage trying to rebuild his mind and strengthen his body. At first he could barely open and close the hand on his weak side and wiggle his toes, but he’d come a long way since then. The past year or so he’d been limping into the bathroom, where he wouldn’t be observed, using the grab bars to steady himself while he did basic exercises, building enough muscle to do calisthenics and other, more intense therapy. He never missed a day. Sometimes he added a night workout, too. Now he was stronger than anyone would imagine. He hadn’t regained all of his fine motor skills or all of his mental acuity, but it didn’t matter. Evelyn would be there to give him the love and comfort he’d need to continue to improve.