As we walked away, I could see she was hurting, and from more than just the hangover. Suddenly I felt a cold shiver. I hardly knew this girl. How long had it been? Twenty-four hours? I was beginning to enjoy her company. She was fun and interesting and I knew if I had given her half an opening the night before she would have been a lot more. A huge rush of guilt washed over me like an ice cold shower and I knew my problem wasn't her. It was me — too much baggage, too much pain. And if I wasn't careful, I could get her killed.
I looked up at the sky. I saw some soft, lazy clouds drifting by, but I couldn't find Terri's face up there anywhere. I got panicky. Where was she? She was always up there scolding and disapproving when I was doing something wrong, so where was she when I needed her help? The buildings were tall and blocking out about half of the sky, so I stepped over to the curb where I could see the sky better. Still, nothing, I couldn't find her.
“Talbott, you okay?” Sandy frowned, sounding concerned.
“I'm fine,” I forced a reply and a smile. “It's nothing.”
“No, well, you look like you saw a ghost.”
“No, the problem is, I didn't… Oh, never mind, it's just a joke,” I quickly recovered and tried to smile.
“Where are we going now? Back to my aunt's? Because if you still want that stuff on Eddie that's in my closet over on Clark, I have another idea.”
“Another one?” I asked, still searching the clouds.
“Come with Mama,” she laughed as she hooked her arm in mine and led me away. We went back west and north on the side streets until we found that walkway between the buildings that got us to the alley behind her apartment building. The gray government car was still parked there with a blue-suited goon sitting inside. She pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. “Relax, watch the pro work.” She pulled out an official-looking business card and dialed the number. “I need to talk to Agent Dulaney,” she whispered, as if she was in a panic. “He isn't? Hey, this is Sandy Kasmarek. I'm in a little Greek restaurant at Lincoln and Belmont, and that guy Agent Dulaney is looking for? Talbott? Well, he's standing outside watching me, so you gotta help me… No, I can't wait. Oh, God, he's coming in. I'm so scared.” Then she snapped the phone's cover closed and grinned.
It took less than a minute for the car to start and tear off down the alley.
“Can I hear a big Amen,” she grinned. At the corner, the gray car put a flashing red light on the dash and took a sharp turn west, tires squealing.
“That should hold them for a while, let's go.”
“You're pretty good at this, aren't you?”
“I'm pretty good at a lot of things.”