away from the street lights.
At the intersection she had just started to make the turn when the light turned from yellow to red. She almost ran it, but then she caught sight of a police car in the lot of the Hardee’s across the street, and she slammed on the brakes. She heard the junk in the bed shift, and her eyes instantly went to the rear-view mirror. With sudden horror, she realized Abby’s hair was again visible under the edge of the sheet. She glanced back across the street. The cop car hadn’t moved. The driver of the white Grand Am beside her was keeping his eyes on the light. She took a deep breath and gripped the wheel tighter.
The light finally changed, and she made the turn onto the highway toward the darkness at the edge of the city. After a mile or so, the streetlights ended, and she relaxed a little. Ahead was a turnoff onto a dirt lane that wound back into the woods. The road was easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. She slowed and turned off the highway. The thick growth of trees crowded her from both sides and the ruts in the road jarred the truck like an earthquake. She hadn’t been back here in years, not since she and Wade came back here to mess around before they were married, but it hadn’t changed much.
When she had gone about half a mile, she stopped the truck and climbed out into the heavy night air. The drone of insects blocked all the noise from the highway, and somewhere an owl hooted. It was black as a cave back here, and she stumbled through the tall weeds and undergrowth toward the back of the truck. She opened the tailgate and grabbed the body under the arms. Pulling Abby out was a hell of a lot easier than putting her in, but it was still exhausting.
When the body was on the ground, she rolled it over toward the tree line. Close by were some dead limbs and brush. In the eerie red glow from the taillights, she gathered what loose branches she could and laid them over the crumpled form. When she was satisfied, she shut the tailgate and climbed back into the truck.
At the highway, she turned back toward town. God, she needed a drink, and she wasn’t ready to face whatever might be waiting for her at home. On an impulse she wheeled into the lot of O’Connell’s Tavern, turned off the engine, and watched the cars in the lot. It was still early, and the rough crowd was at least two hours from showing up.
She grabbed her purse, stepped out of the truck, and entered the bar. Some Trace Adkins song was blaring and everyone seemed preoccupied with conversation. No one looked at her. She headed down a narrow hall to the women’s restroom, stepped inside and locked the door.
A stranger stared back at her in the mirror. Her hair was sweaty and tangled and her face was smudged with dirt from the branches in the woods. She quickly washed her face in the sink and patted it dry with some paper towels, then brushed the loose dirt from her shirt; it was dark blue, so it didn’t appear too dirty. She ran a brush through her hair and took a deep breath. She at least looked presentable now.
Back at the bar, she ordered a rum and Coke and surveyed the crowd. Good old boys and rough women, all talking loud, laughing, having fun. She took a long sip of her drink and felt the coolness trickle down her throat.
“Don’t remember seeing you around here before,” a voice drawled next to her.
She turned and was staring into the intense blue eyes of a stubbled masculine face. Short brown hair peeked from beneath his ball cap, and his t-shirt clung so tightly to his frame she could see the outline of his chiseled chest. He was smiling at her. She smiled back. “I don’t come here much,” she said, and took another sip of her rum and Coke.
“Yeah, I think I’d remember you,” he said.
She realized he was flirting with her, and she felt a surge of adrenaline, like lightning through her body. She could have him, she thought. She could take him outside to the truck right now and climb on top of him in the seat and go at it. And maybe when she was done with him,