The Watchman Read Free

ran through her body, her eyes wide. “We have to leave. Right away. Harry will never see the inside of a cell. My husband is a powerful man, Mr. Adams. A charter member of the good-old-boys network downtown. He’ll be home within the hour, and he’ll be raving mad. I don’t even want to think what might happen.” She shivered again. “We’ve left before. Wherever we go, he always finds us.” Angry tears pooled in her eyes. “Harry said he would take Cody away from me if I tried to leave again. I’d go mad knowing Cody had to face his father alone.” Her jaw clenched. “Harry London will be a dead man before I let him take Cody away from me.” Desperation resonated in her stiff posture and jerky motions.
    “Murder isn’t the answer. Cody needs you with him, not in prison. There’s a place I can take you, a place where your husband can’t find you. You’ll need to pack extra-warm clothing for the trip. It’s colder in the valley.”
    Her eyes brightened. “Where?”
    “A friend’s ranch near Green River. I’ll call and make sure it’s all right.” I reached for my cell-phone. “I won’t let him hurt either of you again. I promise.”
    She stood motionless, not making eye contact.
    The toll of clock chimes from the entryway spurred her into action. “Cody, we’re leaving. Gather up any toys you want to bring. Hurry. Your father will be home soon.”
    He appeared at her side. “Where are we going?”
    She gave him a gentle nudge toward the open doorway. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we must hurry.” Her gaze tracked him down the hallway, and then she followed him inside.
    While they packed, I called my friend Emma Hand.
    Rachel returned with two suitcases. She blinked rapidly, trying to convey her sense of despair. “I appreciate what you’re doing. I...I have to trust someone. There’s no place else for us to go. But if you let me down and Harry finds us―” She dropped her gaze and drew a long, shuddering breath. After a pause, she raised her head, and looked into my eyes. “It could cost us our lives.”
     
     
     
     

2
     
    Somewhere on Highway 80
    City lights disappeared in the rearview mirror as we trekked west toward Green River. An exhausted Cody fell asleep in the backseat soon after we left Hebron. The glow of the dash lights reflected Rachel huddled close to the door, eyes glued to the blackness, white-knuckled hands clasped in her lap.
    My mind focused on the small family. They had lived with pain for a long time. Thank God, Emma agreed to take them in.
    Emma Hand’s place sat two hundred miles from Hebron, off Highway 80, the interstate that ran across the lower half of Wyoming. A desolate, sometimes dangerous, drive this time of year. Relentless winds sheered across the highway, and violent snow gusts often shut down the road for hours.
    God’s hand guided us through the storm. Red taillights from the tanker in front of us cut a path through the darkness, a shield from the heavy storm.
    The long day wore on me, and I began to depressurize from the adrenaline rush of the past hours. I glanced at my silent companion. “If you’re in pain, there’s aspirin in the glove box.”
    She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her left ear. “I’m fine.”
    Wind danced flakes on the pavement before us like confetti at a Christmas parade. Through the flurries, I spotted a fast food restaurant sign at the next exit. “I need a caffeine fix. How about you?”
    “I’ll take a soda. I’m not much on coffee.”
    The drive-thru lane stood empty. I placed the order at the intercom, moved forward, and paid the pimple-faced kid at the first window. He handed me my change, and I inched to the second opening.
    Rachel’s troubled gaze searched my face. When she spoke, the timbre of her voice hardened. “The first time I left Harry, we went to the shelter. I thought we’d be safe there. Of course, as a judge, he knew where to find me. Harry produced a letter from my doctor