She found a job as a cocktail waitress on her third day in town. She made up a name and social security number. Eventually, it would be checked, but she’d be long gone by then. She found another room to rent on the far side of Chinatown. She worked for two weeks, accumulated some tip money while searching for and finding another job, and quit without bothering to pick up her paycheck. There was no point; without identification, she wouldn’t be able to cash it. She worked another three weeks at a small diner and eventually moved out of Chinatown to a run-down motel that rented by the week. Although it was in a seedier section of town, the room was more expensive, but she had her own shower and bathroom and it was worth it, if only to have some privacy and a place to leave her things. She’d saved a few hundred dollars, more than she had when she’d left Dorchester, but not enough to start over. Again, she left before picking up her paycheck, without even going back to quit. She found yet another job at yet another diner a few days later. In the new job, she told the manager her name was Erica.
The constant job changing and moves had kept her vigilant, and it was there, only four days after she started, that she’d rounded the corner on her way to work and saw a car that seemed somehow out of place. She stopped.
Even now, she wasn’t sure how she’d realized it, other than the fact that it was shiny enough to reflect the early morning light. As she stared at the car, she noticed movement in the driver’s seat. The engine wasn’t running and it struck her as odd that someone would be sitting in an unheated car on a cold morning. The only people, she knew, who did that were those who were waiting for someone.
Or watching for someone.
Kevin.
She knew it was him, knew it with a certainty that surprised her, and she backed around the corner, the way she’d come, praying that he hadn’t glanced in the rearview mirror. Praying he hadn’t seen her. As soon as the car was out of sight, she began to run back toward the motel, her heart hammering. She hadn’t run so fast in years, but all the walking she’d been doing had strengthened her legs and she moved quickly. One block. Two. Three. She looked constantly over her shoulder but Kevin didn’t follow.
No matter. He knew she was here. He knew where she worked. He would know if she didn’t show up. Within hours, he would find out where she was staying.
In her room, she threw her things into the duffel bag and was out the door within minutes. She started toward the bus station. It would take forever, though. An hour, maybe more, to walk there, and she didn’t have the time. That would be the first place he went when he realized she wasn’t there. Turning around, she went back into the motel and had the clerk call her a cab. It arrived ten minutes later. The longest ten minutes of her life.
At the bus station, she frantically searched the schedule and selected a bus to New York. It was scheduled to leave in half an hour. She hid in the women’s restroom until it was time to board. When she got on the bus she lowered herself into a seat. It didn’t take long to get to New York. Again, she scanned the schedules and bought a ticket that would take her as far as Omaha.
In the evening, she got off the bus somewhere in Ohio. She slept in the station, and the next morning she found her way to a truck stop. There she met a man who was delivering materials to Wilmington, North Carolina.
A few days later, after selling her jewelry, she wandered into Southport and found the cottage. After she paid the first month’s rent, there was no money left to buy food.
23
It was mid-June and Katie was leaving Ivan’s after finishing up a busy dinner shift when she spotted a familiar figure standing near the exit.
“Hey there.” Jo waved from beneath the lamppost where Katie had locked up her bike.
“What are you doing here?” Katie asked, leaning in to give her friend a hug. She’d never run into Jo in town before, and seeing her out of context felt strange for some reason.
“I came to see you. Where’ve you been, stranger?”
“I could ask you the same question.”
“I’ve been around enough to know you’ve been seeing Alex for a few weeks.” Jo winked. “But as a friend, I’ve never been one to impose. I figured you two needed some time alone.”
Katie blushed despite herself. “How did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t. But your lights weren’t on at the house and I took a chance.” Jo shrugged. She motioned over her shoulder. “Are you doing anything? Do you want to grab a drink before you head home?” When she saw Katie’s hesitation, she went on. “I know it’s late. One drink, I promise. Then I’ll let you go to bed.”