She seemed distracted. “Creighton, the man sitting in the car two houses down—he’s watching us. I’m not sure why, but I have this strange feeling I’ve seen him before.”

“Where?”

“I’m…I’m not sure.”

I resisted the urge to look up the street. “All right. We’re bound to be a little paranoid with all that’s been going on. But just in case, don’t look back. Did he see you looking at him?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

I forced myself to stay calm. “The best thing for us to do, I think, is to get moving. We’ll see what he does.”

She nodded. I told the vehicle to start toward our destination. I glanced in the rearview mirror. The car remained parked. I breathed more easily. He wasn’t following us. We were headed out of town; we could get the police to deal with my place upon our return. I glanced at the mirror again. Two blocks back the vehicle had left curbside. It was following us.

Don’t panic, I told myself. You need to think clearly. Where can we go to escape this guy?

“New destination,” I instructed the car. “Fair Park. Main entrance.”

The car took a right at the next street and headed south.

“We’re going to a park?” Abby asked.

I glanced over my shoulder at the vehicle trailing us. It was still two blocks behind. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t gain any ground. Vehicles travel at set speeds on given roads. It’s impossible to make them go faster, and since the automated system doesn’t require stop signs or traffic lights, we wouldn’t stop moving unless traffic necessitated it.

“Fair Park is where the State Fair of Texas is every year. It’s close to here. Art deco buildings from the Great Depression.” I sounded like I was starting a history lecture. I cut it short. “There’s an art fair at the park today. Lots of people. Maybe we can lose him.”

“Can’t we just tap the police?”

“And say what? That a guy in a car is behind us? Maybe he’s just going to the art show, for all the police will know.”

Five minutes later we were within sight of the Fair Park entrance. Cars lined the street in front of a large open gate.

“All right.” I spoke quickly. “When the vehicle stops, jump out and run through the gate. Veer to the left, to the first big building. We’ll go through it and out the back. Hopefully we can double back around and get a car before he sees us.”

We were within a hundred feet of the entrance. The vehicle slowed. I braced myself for a fast exit and sprint.

“Creighton, no!”

I turned to Abby. “What?”

“You stay with the vehicle. I’ll get out. I’ll meet you at the airport.”