Chrystal jumped back when John Paul walked past. She knocked the phone off the counter and quickly picked it up. Instinctively putting the receiver to her ear to make sure no one else was on the line, she hung up and said to Kenny, 'The phone isn't workin'.'
'Are you sayin' the line's dead?' Kenny gasped the question, still trying to recover his breath.
'Didn't I just say it was broke?'
'She did it,' Kenny decided, glaring at Avery. 'She must have broke it after she finished talkin' to that woman and hung up. You saw her slam it down, didn't you, Chrystal? You're gonna have to pay for repairs,' he told Avery.
Avery picked up the phone to see if Chrystal was telling the truth. The line was dead. That was quick, she thought. They must have been ready.
John Paul stood by the door waiting to get Avery's attention. 'Avery…'
'Just a minute.' She walked over to the teenagers sprawled out on the floor. Two of them were curled up like cats, sound
asleep, but the droopy-eyed boy named Mark was still sitting upright and watching her every move with the stupid grin still plastered on his freckled face.
'Who's the driver?'
'Huh?'
She nudged his foot. 'Who's driving the car?'
'Me.'
'Give me the car keys.'
The grin didn't falter. 'I don't have to,' he slurred even as he dug into his pocket and pulled out his key ring. He dangled the
keys in front of his face. Then he giggled.
She snatched the keys out of his hand and tossed them on the counter. 'Chrystal, you make sure those boys don't get into that
car. You understand?'
'I'm not gonna be a baby-sitter. You expect me to stand here and watch them?'
'Make them sleep outside, but don't give them the keys.' She turned to leave, but John Paul raised his hand for her to stop.
'More customers,' he said. He glanced out the window and watched two older women, dressed in hiking clothes, get out of a Ford. He pushed Avery's hand away from the doorknob. 'You're not going with me.'
'Oh, yes, I am,' she insisted.
'Listen to me,' he ordered. 'You go back to town with those women and get to a police station. Keep the gun just in case.'
'While you go ahead to Coward's Crossing?'
'Yes. If I can get there quick, I might be able to find a good spot to ambush him.'
She shook her head. 'If you kill him, we won't be able to find Carrie and the others.'
'The woman knows where they are.'
'She'll disappear, and you know it. It's too risky. Besides, if Monk or the woman finds out I'm not with you-'
'They won't know.'
'You have to take me with you.'
'No. It's too dangerous for you, and you'll slow me down.'
'Then I'm going to follow you. Kenny gave both of us the directions. I can find Coward's Crossing. I'll take the teenagers' car. Simple as that, John Paul.' She poked him in his chest. 'You need me to get him. Now get out of my way.'
He didn't want to waste any more time arguing. He decided he'd have to find a place to dump her on the way. Someplace safe. Yeah, that's what he would do.
He opened the door. 'You stay close,' he whispered as he stepped back so the gray-haired women could come inside.
The ladies walked right past the teenagers and didn't seem to notice them when they headed for the facilities, as Kenny so
quaintly called the bathroom.
Avery turned back to Chrystal, who, at this point, was the more agreeable of the two. 'How long do you think it will take to
get to Coward's Crossing?'
'You aren't gonna make it before nightfall,' Chrystal answered. 'What with all the rain, those little roads got all washed out.'
John Paul was opening the door but paused when Kenny shouted, 'Hey, wait a minute. You ain't gonna take my gun, are you?
I've got to have something for protection, being out here with just the missus.'
'Let it go, Kenny,' Chrystal said. 'George never got a permit for that thing.'
Kenny's face turned red. 'Why'd you have to open your big mouth and bring that up?'
'She would have wanted to see it,' Chrystal argued. 'They always do.'
'Who's 'they'?'
'FBI.' She pronounced each letter as though it were a profanity.
'What?' Kenny screeched. 'You're saying that gal's FBI?' His eyes bulged at the news.
Mark groaned. 'Ah, man, we're gonna get busted.'
Ignoring the drunk, John Paul closed the door in Avery's face and asked softly, 'You're an FBI agent?'
Uh-oh. One quick glance at his expression, and she inwardly cringed. He looked so offended that she didn't think it would be a good idea to explain it all to him now. Maybe later, she thought, when he was asleep.
'Answer me,' he demanded. 'Are you an FBI agent?'
He wasn't going to budge until she responded. She swallowed, then whispered, 'Sort of.'
Then Chrystal, who, Avery decided, really did have a big mouth, said, 'She told me she left her ID in the car, but she'd go get it
if I wanted to see it.'
'I'm leaving,' Avery announced. She used every ounce of strength she possessed to push John Paul out of her way so she could get out the door.
He didn't move an inch. 'We'll be talking about this later.'
She waited until he stepped back, then brushed past him. Childishly wanting to have the last word, she muttered, 'No, we won't.'
The SUV fantailed out of the lot onto the dirt road when John Paul floored it, the tires spitting up pebbles and dirt clumps. He headed toward the river and was driving like a lunatic.
'Slow down,' she ordered.
He eased up on the pedal while Avery went over the directions. 'I should have asked Chrystal to give me a guess as to how
many miles Coward's Crossing was from the store.'
'We're going to be hiking,' he said.
'I'll keep up with whatever pace you set.'
'We'll see. Tell me, what did the woman on the phone say?'
She repeated the conversation and added, 'I demanded to talk to Carrie, but she said that wasn't possible.'
He shook his head. 'And yet you
'Yes, I do. I think the woman wants to keep Carrie around… for a little longer anyway.' She didn't have a valid reason for
why she felt that way. Maybe it was just desperate hope on her part. 'You know what I don't understand?'
'What?'
'Why are they going to so much trouble if they want to kill me? Why make it complicated? There was ample
