No one came into view. Reva saw the hulks of parked cars and the deep shadows between the streetlights.
She turned back, searching the snow-covered grass, hoping to spot the keys and get out of here.
Where were the stupid things? They had to be here somewhere!
More footsteps.
Reva spun around. “Who’s there?” she called. The wind whipped the words from her mouth.
Still no answer.
Still no sign of anyone.
Reva shivered again, but not from the cold.
“Who’s there? Is someone there?”
Chapter 18
BAD NEWS FROM DAD
More footsteps, closer this time.
Forget about the keys! Reva told herself. You’re close to the police station. Run back inside and get help!
Her heart pounding, Reva began to run.
A shadow rose up from between two parked cars.
Reva screamed and spun back in the opposite direction.
“Reva!” a voice cried. “Stop! It’s me!”
Reva tried to stop and slid on the ice. She caught herself and whirled around.
A figure came running toward her, into the glow of a streetlight.
Grace Morton.
Reva’s fear turned to fury. “Grace!” she shouted. “What are you doing here?”
“Sssh!” Gasping for breath, Grace scurried along the icy sidewalk. The wind had whipped her wispy brown hair into a tangled mess. Her nose was bright red and her teeth chattered. “Don’t shout, you might—”
“Why did you sneak up on me like that?” Reva cried. “You scared me to death!”
“Not so loud!” Grace urged, grabbing hold of Reva’s arm. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you.”
“You could have fooled me!” Reva snapped.
“It wasn’t me!” Grace glanced around in a panic. “It must have been Rory!”
“What? Rory is out here?”
“Yes. He’s after me. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Grace cried. “He’s out of control! He says he’s going to kill me—and you, too! He’s going to kill you for hiding me!”
Reva felt a flash of terror. Her heart thundering, she hurried back to the spot where she’d dropped her keys.
“What are you doing?” Grace demanded. “Your car is over there!”
“I dropped the keys!” Reva cried. “Don’t just stand there, Grace. Help me find them!”
Grace hurried over and began scuffing at the snow along with Reva. “Hurry!” she urged, practically whimpering with fear. “He’s crazy! Crazy! We have to hurry!”
Gasping in panic, Reva scraped in the snow with the side of her shoe. Something jingled. “I found them!” she cried.
She bent over to pick them up.
“He’s coming! Hurry, Reva!” Grace exclaimed.
Reva snatched up the keys and dashed toward her car, afraid to look back. Afraid to see Rory bearing down on them.
At the car, Reva fumbled with the keys, trying to find the right one.
Grace whimpered again.
Should we run into the station? Reva wondered. No. Let’s just get away from here!
She finally found the key and jammed it into the lock. She yanked open the door and threw herself inside, scrabbling frantically to get the key into the ignition.
Grace pounded on the passenger window.
Reva turned the key and hit the power-lock button.
Grace tumbled into the seat. “I saw him!” she cried, her teeth chattering. “Get us out of here! Hurry!”
Reva gunned the engine, put the car in gear, and stomped on the accelerator.
The car shot forward, then stopped as the tires whined and spun on the ice.
Grace cowered in her seat.
Reva gritted her teeth and put the car in reverse. She rocked it back, then forward again.
Finally, the tires caught.
Reva floored the gas pedal and the car leaped forward with a roar. The speedometer shot up to sixty as the car hurtled down the street. Reva let up on the gas.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” Grace kept urging.
“I have to slow down or we’ll spin out of control!” Reva glanced in the rearview mirror. The street was empty. No cars. No one running after them on foot. “Besides, there’s nobody behind us. We made it, Grace!”
Grace hunched down in the seat, shivering. “We’ll never make it,” she muttered. “Not for good, anyway. Rory will always be after me.”
Reva turned off of Division Street. “This is crazy,” she declared. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I panicked. We should have run into the police station. I should turn around. Go back. So you can get them to arrest Rory.”
“No!” Grace bolted up in the seat. “Don’t do that! Please, Reva! Rory will kill me if he finds out I went to the police! He’ll kill us both!”