Backup complete.
I went to the bedroom and changed. Moved the needle cap from my robe pocket to the inside pocket of my coat. When I got back to the kitchen, Daniel had a clean shirt on and a fresh bandage on his hand. He checked the clock on the wall.
“1:30. Urgent care.”
“Nora said she’d follow us.”
“Let her.”
At 1:30 I got into his black Audi. Nora’s gray SUV sat across the street. Phone on silent. The needle cap pressed against my inside pocket like a small stone.
Daniel started the car. The locks clicked.
“Seatbelt.”
He drove steady. Passed CVS, didn’t turn. At the urgent care exit, no signal either. The car went straight, then took the old county road. Cornfields on both sides. A body shop with the bay doors shut. Mailboxes half-sunk in the grass.
My fingers went cold.
“You passed it,” I said.
Daniel looked straight ahead, bandaged hand loose on the wheel.
