I kick myself for going up there and creating this hostile situation. Maybe if I hadn’t then he would be more likely to speak to me. On the other hand, he wasn’t particularly willing to before, so perhaps that didn’t make things any worse.

When I get back in the car, I start the engine and put the car in reverse. But I can’t make myself go.

I can’t make myself do it.

I look back to make sure that there’s no one coming behind and check the mirror as well but I can’t force myself to step on the accelerator.

Something is keeping me here.

Did I try hard enough?

Did I give up too easily?

11

Olive

When we talk…

This time hours fly by.

I find a few granola bars in the bottom of my purse and quench some of my hunger. Luckily, I always carry water with me and there are two bottles in the back.

The first hour, I spend perusing through Facebook and Instagram, looking at beautiful pictures of sunsets and tan lines and white beaches. It wasn’t that long ago that this life was a very real possibility to me. But what now?

I recline the seat and turn up one of Charlotte Byrd’s audiobooks. The book is anything but boring, but the narrator’s smooth voice puts me at ease and I can’t help but let myself drift away.

A loud thump on my window shakes me out of a deep sleep and it takes me a few moments to remember where the hell I am.

He knocks again.

When my vision comes into focus a little more, I see his mustache and the beginnings of a beard and realize that it is Ricky.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he says when I roll down the window just a little bit. “This isn’t a good neighborhood.”

He walks around the car and I unlock the passenger door. A burst of cold air rushes into the car until he closes it.

“Thank you for coming to see me,” I say, turning my body toward his.

“You’re quite persistent.”

It’s less of an observation and more of an accusation.

“I’m sorry about how I went about all of this, but I really needed to speak to you. Mrs. Crawford told me that you were very close friends with Nicholas and you might know something.”

He bites on the inside of his cheek and looks out of the window. At least, he’s listening, I say to myself and take a deep breath.

“Nicholas has been arrested for the death of his partner, David Kendrick. The FBI thinks they have a case against him, but it’s all based on the words of a crooked agent who probably committed much worse crimes.”

Ricky shakes his head as he taps his hand on his knee.

“What? Is it not true?” I ask.