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kneading and working it until it was round. Until she looked
pregnant. She put on her long coat, one that was roomy enough to
cover the bump.
She stared at herself in the mirror. Short, dark hair. Skin the color
of copper. Pregnant. She put on a pair of sunglasses, and on her
way out the door, she turned on her cell phone and set the
landline on call forwarding. She left the house through the gate at
the side. She walked between her house and the neighbors’,
following the fence line, and deposited the garbage bag in their
garbage can. She knew that both of them worked, that neither was
at home. Same thing for the house behind hers. She walked
through their yard and past the side of the house, finally emerging
onto the icy sidewalk.
Snow had begun to fall again. By tomorrow, she knew, her
footprints would be gone.
She had six blocks to go but she was going to make it. She kept her
head down and walked, trying to ignore the biting wind, feeling
dazed and free and terrified, all at the same time. Tomorrow
night, she knew, Kevin would walk through the house, calling for
her, and he wouldn’t find her because she wasn’t there. And
tomorrow night, he would begin his hunt.
Snow flurries swirled as Katie stood at the intersection, just
outside a diner. In the distance, she saw Super Shuttle’s blue van
round the corner and her heart pounded in her chest. Just then,
she heard the cell phone ring.
She paled. Cars roared past her, their tires loud as they rolled
through the slush. In the distance, the van changed lanes, angling
toward her side of the road. She had to answer; there was no
choice but to answer. But the van was coming and it was noisy on
the street. If she answered now, he would know she was outside.
He would know she’d left him.