“I don’t have any.”
“Just a driver’s license or passport. That’s all they need.”
LuAnn almost laughed. “Passport? You don’t need a passport to go from the Piggly-Wiggly to the Wal-Mart, do you? And I don’t have a driver’s license either.”
“But you’re planning to drive a car to Atlanta.” Jackson’s astonished tone was even more amusing to her. Here the man was, orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scam, and he could not comprehend that LuAnn would operate an automobile without a license.
“You’d be surprised how many people ain’t got a license for anything and they still do it.”
“Well, you can’t get the money without proper identification.”
“Are you anywhere nearby?”
“LuAnn, I only came to glorious Rikersville to conduct my meeting with you. Once it was done, I didn’t hang around.” He paused again and LuAnn could hear the displeasure in his voice when he spoke next. “Well, we have a problem then.”
“Well, how much would the train ticket be?”
“About fifteen hundred.”
Remembering Duane’s money hoard, a sudden thought struck LuAnn. She again pulled off the road, put down the phone, and quickly searched the car’s interior. The brown leather bag she pulled from underneath the front seat didn’t disappoint her. There was enough cash in there probably to buy the train.
“A woman I work with, her husband left her some money when he passed on. I can ask her for the money. A loan. I know she’ll give it to me,” she told Jackson. “I won’t need no ID for cash, will I?” she added.
“Money is king, LuAnn. I’m sure Amtrak will accommodate you. Just don’t use your real name, of course. Use something simple, but not too phony sounding. Now go buy the lottery ticket and then call me back immediately. Do you know how to get to Atlanta?”
“It’s a big place, or so I’ve heard. I’ll find it.”
“Wear something to hide your face. The last thing we need is for you to be recognized.”
“I understand, Mr. Jackson.”
“You’re almost there, LuAnn. Congratulations.”
“I don’t feel much like celebrating.”
“Not to worry, you have the rest of your life to do that.”
LuAnn put down the phone and looked around. The car windows were tinted so she didn’t think anyone had actually seen her, but that could change. She had to ditch the car as fast as possible. The only question was where. She didn’t want to be seen getting out of the car. It would be pretty hard to miss a tall, blood-caked woman hauling a baby out of a car with tinted windows and a chrome figure doing nasty things on the vehicle’s hood. An idea finally hit her. A little dangerous perhaps, but right now she didn’t have much alternative. She did a U-turn and headed in the opposite direction. Within twenty minutes she was pulling slowly down the dirt road, and straining to see ahead as she drew nearer to her destination. The trailer finally came into view. She saw no other vehicles, no movement. As she pulled in front of the trailer cold dread poured over her as she once again felt the man’s hands around her throat, as she watched the blade swooping toward her. “You see that man coming out that house,” LuAnn said out loud to herself, “you’re gonna run right over his butt, let his lips kiss the oil pan on this thing.”
She rolled down the passenger window so she could check for sounds coming from within but heard nothing. She pulled a diaper wipe out of Lisa’s bag and methodically rubbed down all of the car’s surfaces that she had touched. She had watched a few episodes of America’s Most Wanted. If it hadn’t been too dangerous she would have gone back inside the trailer and wiped down the telephone. But she had lived there for almost two years. Her fingerprints would be all over the place, anyway. She climbed out of the car, stuffing as much cash from the bag as she could under the liner of Lisa’s baby seat. She pulled her torn shirt together as best she could. She noiselessly closed the car door and, holding Lisa with her good arm, she quickly made her way back down the dirt road.