Page 64 of Refuge for Flora

Flora wrapped her arms around his ribcage, pressed a cheek to his chest, and wailed. All the while, he stroked her hair and held her to him. Those strong arms were her safe harbor, and Barrett was her lifeboat. She’d heard people say they wanted a partner to help them weather the storms of life, and she understood what they’d meant. Inside her, lightning crashed, thunder roared, and the wind howled, but there, in his arms, there was peace. Her sobs slowed and she sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, babe. Here. Sit down and let me get you something, okay?” Her butt dropped onto the lumpy sofa and Barrett disappeared into the kitchen. When he came back, he had a small glass with brown liquid in it. “I want you to drink this.”

“What is it?”

“Just drink it.”

“But what is it?”

Mrs.Murphy harrumphed. “It’s whiskey, girl. Just drink it like the man says.”

Flora took the little glass and threw the liquid into her mouth. Almost instantly, her eyes started to water, her throat burned, and her tongue felt like it was on fire. “Whoa,” she breathed out as her shoulders shivered involuntarily.

“That’ll help you calm down a bit. Now, I need you to tell me what set you off. What happened that makes you think they’re here?”

Flora started slowly, explaining what the farmer and his wife had said, the way the man had looked at her and thought he recognized her, and the picture she’d shown them of Darryl. “They didn’t recognize him, but when I asked about a man with a scar, they knew exactly who I was talking about. It’s Bradley, and if Bradley’s here, so is Darryl.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know you’re here.”

She huffed out a loud sigh. “Barrett, I didn’t know where I was going when I left. I bought one bus ticket after another until I ran out of money and landed here. Hehasto know I’m here somehow. How else would he have landed here? It doesn’t make sense, and I don’t believe in a coincidence that big.”

Unlike her sigh, his was tired. “Yeah. It does seem like a really huge coincidence. You haven’t talked to anybody but Rissa, and that was through email, right?”

“Not a soul.”

He sat there, staring at his hands, and Flora wondered what he’d say next. Suddenly, he sat straight up. “What did you bring with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, with you. When you came. What did you bring with you?”

She shrugged. What was he getting at? “I mean, clothes and stuff like that.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Um, a locket my mom gave me years ago. A tiny little stuffed toy I got at a thrift store.” She blushed. “I used to cuddle it when Darryl had been beating on me or cussing at me. It made me feel better.”

“Shoes?”

She pointed. “The tennis shoes and the ankle boots. I figured I’d get more when I got to wherever I was going.”

“No other jewelry?” She shook her head. “No books?” Another head shake. She could tell he was scraping around in his brain for something when he asked, “And what did you carry all of that in?”

“A little wheeled bag. Not very big. I didn’t have much.”

“Where is it?”

“I emptied it when I got here and I donated it to the Salvation Army so I wouldn’t be tempted to take off again. I needed a place to be and?”

“The bag. That’s it. It’s the bag. He put something in it, some kind of tracking device. I bet he put it in there the night he killed Velma. He was afraid you’d run, and he wanted to be able to find you, but he never dreamed you’d run this far. I’m guessing when he finally got here, he went straight to where the bag was, but you didn’t have it. He’s here, but right now, he doesn’t know where you are, just that you’re in this area, because if you were still moving, the bag would be too.”

“Oh, shit. He thought he’d walk right up to me and kill me, but all he found was a thrift store. I’m glad I got rid of that bag.”

“Me too, or he would’ve already found you.” Barrett took her hand and squeezed it. “As of right now, he’s here, but he doesn’t know where you are, and we’ve got to keep it that way. No going anywhere unless you’re with me, and we’re not going much of anywhere either.”

Flora snorted. “As long as we don’t go to dives and burger joints, he’ll never see me. He’ll be shopping at convenience stores and dollar-type places. As long as I stay away from those, it’ll be fine.”

Barrett hopped up. “Come on. We’ve got an errand to run. Mrs.Murphy, I need to borrow your girl here for a little while.”

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