My Wife Is Missing(98)

Kate described a car that sounded just like the one coming up on her tail.

“Give me something, anything,” Natalie pleaded as she turned onto North Fifth, headed south. She didn’t know the area, didn’t know where to go.

“Where are you now?” asked Kate.

Natalie gave her position as she watched the gray sedan accelerate.

“Okay, you should be coming up to a Baptist church on the right any second,” Kate announced. “It’s just before Commerce Street. Turn in to the parking lot when you see it.”

Natalie saw a large building up ahead, no steeple, but the sign out front confirmed it was the right place. She didn’t use her blinker, waiting until the last possible moment before making the turn.

“Drive straight through the parking lot,” Kate instructed. “There’s no barriers, just drive right onto the grass, and take a right onto North Sixth Street. They may follow you, but they’ll be confused for a moment. It’ll buy you some time. I think I know what to do from here.”

Kate issued her directives while Natalie was already bounding over a grassy patch at the back end of the parking lot.

“Mom! You’re off the road,” Bryce shouted.

“Right, honey,” said Natalie nonchalantly as she drove onto the street behind the church. “Wrong turn. Here’s the real road, all better now.” She paused to catch her breath. Into the phone she said, “Okay, I’m on North Sixth, what now?”

“Follow that road back and take a left back onto North Fifth. Then take your first right onto Powell,” Kate instructed.

Natalie checked her rearview. There was no sedan in sight, but that might not mean anything. She assumed they’d see the tire tracks in the grass and would follow.

“I’m on Powell,” Natalie said.

“Okay, that’s good. I’m texting a friend who works nearby.”

The gray sedan appeared again in Natalie’s rearview. Any doubt that it might not be Michael in that car was gone. She felt her heart swim up her throat. Sweat gathered on her brow, her neck throbbing from the awkward angle used to hold the phone in place.

“He’s still following,” Natalie said in a whispered voice.

“Listen to me carefully,” Kate said, speaking more forcefully this time. “Soon as you cross over North Second Street, you’re going to take your first right onto a dirt road.”

Natalie forced herself to slow down so she wouldn’t miss the turn as she passed Dubois. She spotted what appeared to be some kind of cut-through for large trucks, judging by the size of the tire tracks left in the dirt. Kate was right to say it was a tricky turn to spot, but the driver of the sedan had seen where she’d gone and could follow her easily.

How was this going to help? Natalie wondered.

“Now, when you reach the end of the dirt road you’re going to take a sharp right onto a paved portion that runs parallel to the dirt road. You’re essentially going to backtrack the way you came until you reach the IGA parking lot. You’ll be entering at the rear of the building. I know the manager and he’s expecting you. I’ve been texting him while we talk. Drive my truck straight into the first open bay, the first one you come to. Don’t hesitate. Just drive.”

“We’re off the road again,” Addie cried out after Kate’s truck slammed hard into a deep pothole that sent everyone bouncing.

“Sorry, I missed our street,” said Natalie, with forced cheer in her voice. At the end of the dirt lane, she made the U-turn onto the paved road. The jouncing stopped thanks to the asphalt beneath her wheels. Up ahead the expansive brick fa?ade of the IGA came into full view. Out of her passenger window, Natalie observed the sedan coming toward her now. Were it not for a steady line of shrubs and small trees separating the dirt road from the paved one, the sedan could have easily swerved to intercept her. Instead, they’d have to backtrack as Natalie had done.

The vehicles passed each other while driving on opposite sides of the shrubbery. Sunlight and the cloudless day made it possible to see inside the vehicle. Natalie confirmed her worst fear—it was Michael in the passenger’s seat, traveling with a man she did not know.

Her truck bounded over a speed bump placed at the entrance to the rear lot of the IGA, which sent everyone up and down like they were in a traveling bouncy house. She was going too fast to safely steer the truck toward the loading bays. Instead she watched as the only open bay door fell away in her rearview mirror.

Natalie hit the brakes hard, seat belts locking, tires squealing beneath her. She jammed the truck into reverse, not wanting to waste precious seconds turning the vehicle around. Glancing over her left shoulder as she drove backward, Natalie let the phone and her lifeline to Kate fall to the truck floor.

She navigated toward the open door, sacrificing speed for precision. Off in the distance she could hear the revving engine of Michael’s sedan headed her way. In seconds, it would come over that speed bump. He’d see her. Then it would all be over.

Natalie jammed her foot down on the gas.

“Mommy, what are you doing?” cried Addie in distress.

Natalie was too focused to answer. The truck picked up speed, still going in reverse. A man dressed in beige coveralls emerged from the darkness of the warehouse space. He was big and burly like Chuck, waving his arms frantically in an effort to guide her.