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“I’ll pull in front to slow her down,” he said. “Just relax, Mrs. Case. Everything’s going to be fine.”
She wanted to scream that he had no way of knowing that.
He slipped in front of the Winnebago and slowed. Nealy twisted around to look out the rear window, but Lucy’s eyes were fixed straight ahead, and she didn’t see her.
Mabel drew closer, then closer still. Brake! Put on the brakes!
She gasped as Lucy swerved toward the shoulder. She seemed to be fighting the wheel, but she got Mabel back in the lane. She looked terrified.
Jason tapped the horn, and Lucy finally saw Nealy gesturing through the back window.
She hit the brakes hard.
Nealy gasped as the motor home fishtailed. Lucy jerked the wheel, and it fishtailed again. The tires hit the shoulder and gravel sprayed. Finally, the vehicle shuddered and jerked to a stop.
Nealy remembered how to breathe.
Within seconds, she was out of the car and racing toward the motor home with Toni and Jason following. She lunged for the door handle, but it was locked.
Nealy pounded with her fist. “Open the door right now!”
“Go away!”
“Do what I say. Open up!”
Through the window she could see that Lucy looked furious and determined, even as tears ran down her cheeks.
“Lucy, I mean it! If you don’t do what I say, you’re going to be in so much trouble.”
“I’m already in trouble.”
She strained to see if Button was all right. “You could have been killed! Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m getting a job! And we’re going to live in Mabel! And you can’t stop me!”
Button began to cry.
Toni pushed past Nealy and gave the door a hard rap. “Open up, Lucy. FBI.”
Lucy bit her fingernails and looked straight ahead.
Toni raised her voice. “If you don’t open the door, I’m going to instruct Agent Williams to shoot out all the tires, and then shoot you.”
Jason stared at her. She lowered her voice to Nealy. “Teenagers see so many government conspiracy movies, they always believe the worst.”
But not this teenager. “What kind of moron do you think I am?”
Nealy’d had enough. “Open up, Luce, or I’ll shoot you myself! I mean it!”
There was a long silence. Finally Lucy seemed to realize she wasn’t going anywhere. She bit her fingernails, looked at Nealy through the window. “Promise you won’t tell Mat.”
“I’m not promising a thing.”
Button’s screams grew louder.
Slowly . . . very slowly . . . Lucy dragged herself from behind the wheel and released the door latch.
Nealy rus
