Nelson DeMille - Spencerville

"I noticed all your letters were postmarked outside of Spencerville." He smiled. "It sounds like you two enjoyed yourselves."

"We were like schoolgirls. Anyway, there's not much excitement out in Chatham County, and this was almost as good as the soaps."

"Yes, but... letters are one thing — helping you run off with a man is another."

"She'll wish us well."

"Will she be safe from Chief Baxter?"

"Her husband, Larry, is pretty tough. Nice guy, but he hates Cliff, and Cliff is afraid of him. Larry is also an honorary deputy sheriff in Chatham, and he'd like nothing better than to tangle with Cliff Baxter."

"Okay, just so they both understand."

"I'll talk to them and tell them we'll be there Saturday at... what time?"

"There's a two-fifteen direct flight to Washington. If we leave your sister's at ten, we'll make the flight."

She nodded. "All right. Cliff will leave early with his friends. I'll pack and drive out to Terry's house — I'll put my things in shopping bags and cardboard boxes, so if my keeper sees me packing the car, he won't get suspicious."

"Do you watch spy movies?"

"I was Phi Beta Kappa. My brain still works."

"I see that. You know, I've been in police states where the cops weren't as much trouble as here."

"They're stupid. Anyway, I should get to Terry's about nine. You can get there earlier if you want. They'll be expecting you. We'll have a cup of coffee, I'll give them letters to mail to Tom and Wendy, we'll say goodbye, and Terry will go speak to Mom and Dad."

"Have you eloped before?"

"Keith, I've run away a thousand times in my mind. I wish I'd had the nerve to do it for real, but I'm glad I waited." She looked at him and said, "I never thought I'd run off with you, but I always fantasized that I was going to join you somewhere."

"I'm sort of overwhelmed."

"You're overwhelmed? I can't believe this is happening. My head is spinning, my heart is fluttering, and I'm so in love I can't see straight. I feel happier now than I've felt since the day before you got your draft notice. I knew nothing would be the same for me after that."

"I thought it would. You understood it better."

"Darling, we both understood, but we hoped for the best." She thought a moment, then said, "People make stupid mistakes in their twenties, but we can't judge ourselves two decades later. We had a great six years, Keith, and I thank God I had that time with you. God willing, we'll have the rest of our lives together."

Keith couldn't say anything, but he took her hand and kissed it.

She took a deep breath. "I should go. Do we meet again before next Saturday?"

"No, it's not safe, and don't call. I'm concerned about a phone tap."

She nodded. "I can almost guarantee my phone calls are recorded at police headquarters. That's why I called you from a pay phone. Do you think your phone?.."

"Maybe. And possibly the Porters'. Will you be all right at home?"

"I'll try. Yes, I will. I won't give him any cause for suspicion." She looked at him. "You understand?"

He nodded.

"Do you still have Terry's address?"

"I think, after twenty years of addressing envelopes, I might remember it."

"You still have a sarcastic streak in you. I'll work on that."

"No, darling, you'll learn to live with it."

"Okay, I get real bitchy that time of the month, and the rest of the month, I have a smart mouth."

"Looking forward to it."

They stood a moment, then she said, "I don't want to walk away."

"Then stay."

"I can't... I have errands that should be done before he gets home, or he'll wonder where I've been all day."

"He sure keeps a tight leash."

"He sure does. You never did."

"And I never will."

"You don't have to." She put out her hand, and he took it. She said, "You have a good day now, Mr. Landry. I'll see you next Saturday, and we'll run off together."

He smiled, then made eye contact with her and said, "Annie... if you change your mind..."

"No, and neither will you. Be there, Keith. Red brick Victorian. Off County Road 6." She kissed him, turned, and hurried away.

He watched her walk along the shore. She spoke to a few people as she passed by, then stopped and chatted with the two older men who were fishing. They laughed at something she said, and watched her as she walked away.

Annie got to her car, opened the door, and looked back at the trees. Although she couldn't see him in the shadows from that distance, she waved, and he waved back. She got into the car, backed up over the rise, and disappeared.

Keith stood awhile, then walked back upstream.

Keith Landry went to St. James for Sunday services, mostly because he'd been specifically invited by Pastor Wilkes, but partly out of curiosity and nostalgia.

The small church was almost full, and in the tradition of rural people, everyone was dressed in their Sunday best. Pastor Wilkes delivered a nicely pointed sermon on morality in government, specifically mentioning that public officials who break the Ten Commandments and ignore the laws of God are not fit to hold positions of trust in the nation or the community. Keith figured that Wilkes had read a transcript of Thursday's meeting and got right to work on the sermon. Pastor Wilkes didn't mention names, of course, but Keith was pretty sure everyone around him got it. He was also happy that Wilkes hadn't taken the opportunity to give a sermon on the coveting and adultery thing.

There was only one service at this small rural church, which put some peer pressure on the congregation, who couldn't play hooky and leave it to their neighbors to assume they'd gone to the other service. Keith had found this a problem when he was a teenager, but by his junior year of high school, he'd started going to St. John's in Spencerville and somehow always wound up near the Prentis family. His church attendance improved dramatically, and Mr. and Mrs. Prentis liked to see him there, but he felt guilty about his motives, not to mention the thoughts that ran through his mind during the service.

Keith looked around St. James and saw a number of people he knew, including his Aunt Betty, the Muller and Jenkins families, Jenny, without her friend of Thursday evening, but with two young children, and, interestingly, Police Officer Schenley from the high school and church parking lot incidents, with his family. Also there was Sherry Kolarik, of all people, who Keith imagined had returned to the scene of her public confession as a first step toward spiritual health. Like himself, Ms. Kolarik was undoubtedly relieved that Pastor Wilkes wasn't looking at her. However, the pastor did make an oblique reference to her predicament by reminding everyone that women were the weaker vessel, more sinned against than sinners themselves. Keith wondered how that would play in Washington, D.C.

Keith did not see the Porters and hadn't really expected to, but he had thought, or hoped, that Annie would surprise him by being there. But he guessed that this wasn't possible, that she'd be at St. John's with her sinning husband, and Keith wondered if he should drive into town for the eleven A.M. service there. He mulled this over, but decided it was not a very smart move at this juncture of events.

The service ended, and Keith walked down the church steps, where Pastor Wilkes shook the hands of everyone there and called them by name. Keith usually managed to avoid this familiarity after church, but this time he stood in line. When he got to Pastor Wilkes, they shook hands, and the old man seemed genuinely happy to see him, saying, "Welcome home, Mr. Landry. I'm delighted you could come."

"Thank you for inviting me, sir. I enjoyed your sermon."

"I hope you're able to come next week. Our discussion gave me an idea for a sermon."