Page 60 of Refuge for Flora

“Well, we got plenty. Got them sweet taters from Mr.Oliver down on BrineyRoad and they’s lookin’ pretty good too.”

“They do look good.” The sweet potatoes were robust, and Flora picked up two. Then she thought about it and picked up a third one, smiling to herself as she did. “Mind if I leave these by the scale?”

“No, honey, you go right ahead. Help yoreself and take yore time,” the woman answered. Flora picked through the bucket of tomatoes, pulling out this one and putting back that one. She thought she was about finished when she heard the old man say something that made her stomach flip-flop.

“Asked me did I want some baby gators to sell up here. I tole him, ‘Hell naw, son. Them’s illegal here.’ He just laughed.”

“Floyd, donotbring no gators up here to sell,” his wife hissed barely under her breath.

“I ain’t, Geraldine. I’m just sayin’, he asked me.”

Hands shaking, Flora put the tomatoes she’d picked out into a bag and stepped to the scale to set them down. She needed to ask them questions, but she didn’t want them to know too much. They kept talking in hushed tones but just loudly enough that she could hear them, so she decided she’d just go for it. “Excuse me.”

“Oh! You ready?” the man asked.

“Not yet. Gotta get some cucumbers. I was just wondering if you’ve seen this guy around. I owe him some money and I’m trying to find him to pay him.” She pulled the grainy picture of Darryl from her bag and held it out.

“Nope. Can’t say that I have.”

“Oh.”

The picture slid back into her bag just as the old man said, “Hey, ain’t I seen you ‘round here somewheres?”

Shit! Shit, shit, shit.“Uh, no. I don’t think so. I’m from…”Think, Flora! What’s the name of that place?“Um, Reidland.”

“Oh! Whatcha doin’ all the way out here?”

“Just going to Missouri.” Mrs.Murphy had told her she could get there that way, so it sounded good. How could she ask them more questions? “Uh, he’s got a brother who’s tall and skinny. Got a big jagged scar down his face and?”

“Oh! Yeah! That young man was here a couple days ago. Got some claw marks up his arms too.” The old man dropped his voice to a low murmur. “No doubt where them come from knowing what he’s up to.” But his voice was barely more than a buzz in Flora’s ear.

Bradley. He’d just described Darryl’s partner in crime perfectly. “I’ll probably run into them at some point and I’ll pay him. Did he say where he lives?”

The old man nodded. “Out in Barlow somewhere.”

I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to get home. What the hell am I going to do?“Well, uh, if you see ‘em, please don’t tell ‘em I was here. I want to surprise him. He’s my cousin and he thinks I’m never gonna pay that money back. He’ll be so surprised when he sees me.” She set a bag with five cucumbers in it next to the scale, and the woman picked it up to weigh it. “I think this’ll do it.”

“Be twelve dollars,” the man told her, so she pulled out a ten and two ones. “Hey, I know now. That feller, he showed me a picture of a woman. I think it was you! Said they were lookin’ for somebody who looks like that.”

“Couldn’t have been me. I don’t think he has a picture of me, but thanks for the veggies. I’ll be back when these are gone.” The car was too far away for her comfort, and she bolted toward it, tossed the bag in, and tore out of the gravel pull-off.

By the time she got back to the house, she was a wreck. They were looking for her. How the hell had they found her in the first place? Mrs.Murphy called out to her as she darted in the door. “You get ‘em?”

“Yes, ma’am. Got some sweet potatoes too.” The bag swished as she dropped it on the kitchen table on her way by, and she kept going until she got to her room and closed the door behind her. She punched the contact and waited.

“You’ve reached Conservation Officer BarrettQuarles. Please leave your name, number, and the nature of your call, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks and have a great day.”

“No, no, no. Barrett? It’s me. They’re here, Barrett. Please, please, call me back. Please? I’m so scared. Barrett, please? Answer the phone, please?” Hysteria was taking over and she didn’t know what to do, so she tried again and listened to his outgoing message before she left another one. “Barrett, please! I need to talk to younow! I don’t know where you are. They’re here. I know Bradley’s here, and if he’s here, Darryl is too. Please call me back? Please?” It was growing harder and harder to breathe, and her heart was racing in triple time. “Please? I’m so scared. Please call me back.”

Flora dropped the phone and lay back on the bed. Beads of sweat had broken out on her forehead, and her hands were shaking. Darryl was there somewhere. Worse yet, they were looking for her. They somehow knew she was there. How? She tried to still her mind, but it was useless. The horrors she’d lived through with him cycled through her brain endlessly, and her stomach pitched until she had to grab the trash can to throw up. Mrs.Murphy was yelling something, but she didn’t care. They were coming for her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

A squeak came from her throat as her phone rang, startling her and drawing her back. She grabbed it and hit ACCEPT. “Hello?”

“Babe? What’s wrong? They’re there? Where?”

“Oh my god, Barrett… They’re looking for me. They’re here.”

Chapter 8

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