If I got back.
“Shouldn’t we ditch such a monstrosity?” I eyed the huge console in front of me. I felt like I was flying in the Millennium Falcon, the Hummer was so large and high off the ground. “We’re kind of conspicuous.”
“Don’t worry. There are DKs in every sector of life. This car’s untraceable.”
“Too bad it isn’t unseeable,” I muttered.
Jimmy’s hand covered my knee, and I jumped. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I definitely won’t let the cops drag us back to Milwaukee.”
“You won’t have much to say about it.”
He sighed and withdrew. “Soon they’ll be busy dealing with Springboard.”
“How soon? Who’s going to know he’s there?”
“I had another DK call in an anonymous tip. The cops should be at the farm by now. The uproar that’s going to cause will keep them occupied for a few days. By then we’ll be at—” He broke off.
I knew where we’d be, and he was right. No one would find us there.
“You’re going to be a suspect again,” I said. “You were supposed to photograph Springboard, then he turns up dead.”
“Except he’ll be dead by natural causes.”
I cast him a quick glance. “Really?”
“He most likely died of a stroke or a heart attack when the chindi left his body. They’ll find the cougar and believe that caused his death. There isn’t a mark on him, Lizzy.”
“Discovering Springboard at your farm isn’t going to help your cause.”
“It should take them a few days to figure out who owns that place. Longer if we’re lucky.” He shrugged. “Maybe Springboard came looking for me when I didn’t show up for the shoot. Got to the farm and ran into the cougar. I didn’t touch him, and no one can prove that I did. Besides, it won’t take long before they decide that Springboard’s their man for the Kane murder and stop searching for anyone else.”
Silence fell between us. My eyes were heavy. It had been a long day.
“Are we there yet?” I murmured.
Jimmy gave me a small smile. “Twenty hours to go. You might as well sleep. Everything will be all right.”
It wouldn’t be, not everything; we both knew that. But I went to sleep anyway. Sooner or later I’d have to drive. I preferred that to stopping so Jimmy could sleep.
Him. Me. A hotel room. Nothing good could come of that.
Besides, in dreams, I saw Ruthie.
I had barely closed my eyes when I heard her voice. “You hate me now?”
I stood next to the picket fence; Ruthie waited in the doorway. “I could never hate you.”
She shook her head, turned and went inside. I had no choice but to follow.
I found Ruthie in the backyard this time, staring at the empty swing set. The place was quiet. Too quiet.
“Where are the children?” I asked.
“Gone on.” Her sigh was the wind in my hair. “But there’ll be more.”
Since the children who came to Ruthie’s version of heaven had experienced hell on earth, her sadness was understandable. It bothered me that she would still be bearing such a burden when she should be enjoying paradise.
“I’m helping Jimmy like you asked,” I said, hoping to lift her spirits. So to speak.
She didn’t answer, instead watching the brilliant blue horizon as if waiting for someone. Was it always daytime here? Why shouldn’t it be?
“Could you give me a crash course on managing your gift so I don’t have to—”
Her gaze shot to mine. “You have to.”
Damn.
“He’s the only one who can help you,” Ruthie said. “Even if I weren’t… here, I wouldn’t be able to teach you what you need to know. You’re so much more powerful than I ever was, Lizbeth. You were destined to lead this army, not me.”
“Lead?” I suddenly had a hard time breathing. “An army?”
“What did you think you were going to do, child?”
“Your job.”
“My job was to keep the world from self-destructing until you were ready to take over.”
“I’m not ready.”
“So get your behind to Sawyer and get ready.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere near Sawyer.”
The feelings I had for him were complicated. He both attracted and repelled. He’d made things clearer, and he’d muddied them up. When I’d left him after a summer of training, I’d been stronger, but I’d never been able to learn everything he wanted to teach me. I suspected that some of the lessons were about things I really shouldn’t know. Sawyer walked a fine line between good and evil, and there were times he wallowed in the darkness, times I felt he wanted to drag me there with him.
“I don’t recall askin’ what you wanted.” Ruthie tilted her head as if someone were calling her. “Springboard’s here.” Her gaze met mine, and her eyes were moist. “There are more arriving every day. Make sure you’re not one of them.”
“I’ll do my best.”