Zack had no choice; he left with them via the rear doors and began walking toward the intersection a mile ahead where he knew the interstate on ramp and the access road all joined with the highway. Hitchhiking was his only option, and that option would only be good for a maximum of thirty minutes. Once Hadley realized he was gone, every cop in a fifty-mile radius would be looking for him and focusing their attention on any hitchhiker on the road.
Snow clung to his hair and swirled around his feet as he bent his head into the wind. Several trucks roared past him, the drivers ignoring his upraised thumb, and he fought down a panicky premonition of impending doom. Traffic was heavy on the highway, but everybody was evidently in a hurry to reach their destination before the storm struck, and they weren't stopping for anything. Up ahead at the intersection was an old-fashioned gas station/café with two cars in the large parking lot—a blue Blazer and a brown station wagon. Carrying his duffel bags, he walked up the driveway and when he passed the café, he glanced carefully through the large front window at the occupants. There was a lone woman in one booth and a mother with two young children in the other. He swore under his breath because both cars belonged to women, and they weren't likely to pick up hitchhikers. Without slowing his pace, Zack continued toward the end of the building, where their two cars were parked, wondering if the keys were in the ignitions. Even if they were, he knew it was insanity to steal one of those cars because he'd have to drive it right past the front window of the café in order to get out of the parking lot. If he did that, whoever owned the car would have the cops on the phone, describing him and his vehicle, before he got out of the damned parking lot. What's more, from up here, they could see which way he went on the interstate. Maybe he could try to bribe one of the women in the café to give him a ride when she came out.
If money didn't persuade her to agree, he had a gun that could convince her. Christ! There had to be a better way to get out of here than that.
In front of him and below, trucks roared down the interstate making miniblizzards with their wheels. He glanced at his watch. Nearly an hour had passed since Hadley had gone into his meeting. He didn't dare try hitchhiking on that interstate any more. He'd be visible down there from the overpass for a mile. If Sandini had followed instructions, Hadley would be sounding an alert to the local cops in about five minutes. As if his thought had caused it to happen, a local sheriff's car suddenly appeared on the overpass, slowed down, then turned into the café's parking lot fifty yards away from Zack's hiding spot, coming toward him.
Instinctively, Zack crouched down, pretending that he was inspecting the tire on the Blazer, and then inspiration struck—too late perhaps, but maybe not. Yanking the switchblade out of the duffel bag, he rammed it into the side of the Blazer's tire, ducking to one side to avoid the explosion of air. From the corner of his eye, he watched the patrol car glide to a stop behind him. Instead of demanding to know what Zack was doing loitering around the café with duffel bags, the local sheriff rolled down his car window and drew the obvious conclusion. "Looks like you got a flat there—"
"Sure as hell," Zack agreed, slapping the side of the tire, careful not to look over his shoulder. "My wife tried to warn me this tire had a leak—" The rest of his words were drowned out by the sudden frantic squawking of the police radio, and without another word, the cop wheeled the patrol car into a screeching turn, accelerated sharply, and roared out of the parking lot with its siren wailing. A moment later, Zack heard more sirens coming from every direction, and then he saw the patrol cars racing across the overpass, their warning lights revolving.
The authorities, Zack knew, were now aware that an escaped convict was on the loose. The hunt had begun.
* * *
Inside the café, Julie finished her coffee and groped in her purse for money to pay the check. Her visit with Mr. Vernon had gotten her more than she'd expected, including an invitation to spend more time with his wife and him that she hadn't been able to refuse. She had a five-hour drive in front of her, longer with all this snow, but she had a fat check in her purse and enough excitement about that to make the miles fly past. She glanced at her watch, picked up the thermos she'd brought in from the car to be filled with coffee, smiled at the children eating with their mother in the adjoining booth, and walked up to the cash register to pay her bill.
As she emerged from the building, she stopped in surprise as a squad car suddenly made a frantic U-turn in front of her, turned on its siren, then shot out of the parking lot onto the highway, its rear end fishtailing in the thin blanket of snow. Distracted by that, she didn't notice the dark-haired man squatting beside the rear wheel of her car on the driver's side until she almost stumbled over him. He stood up abruptly, towering over her from a height of about 6'2", and she took a startled, cautious step backward, her voice shaky with alarm and suspicion. "What are you doing there?" she demanded, frowning at her own image as it was reflected back at her from the silvery lenses of his aviator sunglasses.
Zack actually managed a semblance of a smile because his mind had finally started working, and he now knew exactly how he was going to get her to offer him a ride. Imagination and the ability to improvise had been two of his biggest assets as a director. Nodding toward her rear tire, which was very obviously flat, he said, "I'm planning to change your tire for you if you have a jack."
Julie's breath came out in a rush of chagrin. "I'm sorry for being so rude, but you startled me. I was watching that squad car tearing out of here."
"That was Joe Loomis, a local constable," Zack improvised smoothly, deliberately making it sound as if the cop was a friend of his. "Joe got another call and had to leave, or he'd have given me a hand with your tire."
Julie's fears were completely allayed, and she smiled at him. "This is very kind of you," she said, opening the tailgate of the Blazer and looking for a jack. "This is my brother's car. The jack is somewhere in here, but I'm not sure where."
"There," Zack said, quickly locating the jack and taking it out. "This will only take a few minutes," he added. He was in a hurry, but no longer fighting down panic. The woman already thought he was friendly with the local sheriff, so she'd naturally think he was trustworthy, and after he changed her tire, she'd owe him a ride. Once they were on the road, the police wouldn't give them a second glance because they'd be looking for a man who was traveling alone. For now, if anyone noticed him, he would appear to be an ordinary husband changing a tire while his wife looked on. "Where are you headed?" he asked her, using the jack.