BooksBarbecue
Back The Runaway
Chapters (80)
  1. Cover
  2. TITLES BY NICK PETRIE
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. 59
  64. 60
  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. 64
  69. 65
  70. 66
  71. 67
  72. 68
  73. 69
  74. 70
  75. 71
  76. 72
  77. 73
  78. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  79. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  80. What’s next on your reading list?

“I knew the Chevy was growing on you.”

“Jarhead, it don’t even have a radio,” Lewis said. “Or cruise control. It’s like you’re some kinda monk.”

Still typing, June said, “I need to stay with Helene. Can you get him to Rochester, Lewis? It’s the only way I know he’ll keep the appointment.”

“Sure,” Lewis said. “I’ll try to keep him from jumping outta the car along the way.”

June snorted. Peter looked at his knee, which had swollen up like a softball. “I’m pretty sure I learned my lesson.”

Lewis twitched his lips in a tilted smile. “No, you didn’t.”

Peter sighed and swirled the dregs of his coffee. “After all that, did we actually make anything better? Couldn’t I have found a way to get Helene free without getting all these other people killed?”

“Jarhead, you didn’t get nobody killed. Roy pulled the trigger. That’s on him, not you. Now the dude’s dead and Helene got to be the one to turn out his lights. How is that a bad outcome?”

Peter shook his head. “I’m just worried about her. How much damage did he do to her?”

Lewis put a big hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Brother, you and I both know the damage don’t matter. We all got damage. What matters is what you do with it. Helene’s a strong person, right? Got to be, to get free of Roy. He tried to break her, but she wouldn’t be broken.”

“You didn’t see her, at the end,” Peter said. “Right before she shot him, she smiled like she was having the time of her life.” He looked into his cup as if trying to read something in the grounds. “What if Roy was right? What if Helene is just like him? And now she knows it?”

June stopped typing and looked up. “Peter, there’s a world of difference between Roy and Helene. He killed cops and innocents. She killed a murderer. Trust me, that woman’s a survivor.”

73

HELENE

I’m worried about you,” Bobbie said. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to live here.”

They stood in the kitchen of the home place, cleaning up after the potluck supper. The last of the church’s weekend volunteers had left, and the house smelled of the fresh paint they had rolled over the cracked plaster walls. They’d also brought secondhand furniture to replace Roy’s things, which they set alight in a pyre in the yard, adding the planks removed from the windows and downed deadfall from the woods until the fire blazed hot enough to burn even the stained old mattress down to a fine gray ash.

Like an exorcism, Bobbie had said. To get rid of the memories.

After staying in Bobbie’s guest room for six months, Helene knew those memories would be with her until the day she died, if not beyond. No matter where she lived.

“I’m fine,” she told Bobbie now, as the smoke swirled outside. “Really.”