“But I don’t have any account. I’ve never had enough money to open a damn account.”
“Calm down, LuAnn, I’ll take care of all of that. You don’t have to worry about it. The only thing you have to do is win.” Jackson’s voice tried to sound upbeat. “Go to New York with Lisa, hold that big check, smile, wave, say nice, humble things, and then spend the rest of your life on the beach.”
“How do I get to New York?”
“Good question; however, one for which I have already prepared. There’s no airport near where you live, but there is a bus station. You’ll take a bus to the train station in Atlanta. That’s on Amtrak’s Crescent line. The Gainesville station is closer to you, but they don’t sell tickets there. It’s a long ride, about eighteen hours or so with numerous stops; however, a good part of it will be while you’re sleeping. It will take you to New York and you won’t have to change trains. I’d put you on a plane to New York, but that’s a little more complicated. You have to show identification, and, frankly, I don’t want you in New York that quickly. I’ll make all the arrangements. A reserved ticket will be waiting for you at each station. You can leave for New York right after the lottery drawing takes place.”
The prone figures of Duane and the man who had tried his best to kill her flashed across LuAnn’s mind. “I’m not sure I want to hang around here that long.”
Jackson was startled. “Why not?”
“That’s my business,” she said sharply, then her tone softened. “It’s just that if I’m gonna win this thing, I don’t want to be around here when people find out, is all. It’ll be like a pack of wolves on a calf, if you know what I mean.”
“That won’t happen. You won’t be publicly identified as the winner until the press conference occurs in New York. When you arrive in the city, someone will be waiting for you and will take you to the lottery headquarters. Your winning ticket will be confirmed and then the press conference will occur the next day. It used to take weeks to verify the winning ticket. With the technology they have today, it takes hours.”
“How about if I drive to Atlanta and take the train up today?”
“You have a car? My goodness, what will Duane say?” There was considerable mirth in Jackson’s tone.
“Let me worry about that,” LuAnn snapped.
“You know, LuAnn, you might want to act a little more grateful, unless, of course, someone makes you rich beyond your wildest dreams on a routine basis.”
LuAnn swallowed hard. She was going to be rich all right. By cheating. “I am,” she said slowly. “It’s just now that I made up my mind, everything’s going to change. My whole life. And Lisa’s, too. It’s a little mind-boggling.”
“Well, I understand that. But keep in mind that this particular change is definitely of the positive variety. It’s not like you’re going to prison or anything.”
LuAnn fought back the catch in her throat and clenched her bottom lip between her teeth. “Can’t I please take the train up today? Please?”
“Hold on for one minute.” He clicked off. LuAnn looked up ahead. A police cruiser sat on the side of the road, a radar gun perched on the door. LuAnn automatically checked her speedometer and, although she was under the speed limit, slowed down slightly. She didn’t breathe again until she was several hundred yards down the road. Jackson clicked back on, his abrupt tones startling her.
“The Crescent pulls into Atlanta at seven-fifteen this evening and arrives in New York at one-thirty tomorrow afternoon. Atlanta is only a couple hours’ drive from where you are.” He paused for an instant. “You’re going to need money for the ticket, though, and I’m assuming you’ll need additional funds, perhaps for some travel-related incidentals.”
LuAnn unconsciously nodded at the phone. “Yes.” She suddenly felt very dirty, like a whore pleading for some extra cash after an hour’s work.
“There’s a Western Union office near the train station. I’ll wire you five thousand dollars there.” LuAnn gulped at the amount. “Remember my initial job offer? We’ll just call it your salary for a job well done. You just have to show proper identification—”