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Stickman set a course of blue highways taking him to the south of Pittsburgh, then northwest into Ohio. A slow, two-lane route, but hopefully one avoiding checkpoints. Anyway, his confederates had to drive three times as far.
The past three days had been busy and filled with unease. Every time he or Maple snapped on the TV, it seemed, they saw their old selves. Worse, Maple had several tasks that exposed him to public view. There was Stickman’s short list of hardware items to buy, another of groceries and three shades of red hair dye. Stickman tried the most subtle of the three and it was red enough. He saw with relief that it looked more natural than he had dared hope. Most important was buying a car. Maple settled on a three-year old gray Toyota, dull but with a V-6 engine, being sold privately. Its owner stared hard at the cash being counted out, barely glancing at the driver’s license Maple had expertly altered to look like the new Stickman. Picking a busy time at the DMV, it was easy to get the Toyota registered.
Maple then set about creating a hidden compartment beneath the back seat, smaller than in the car they drove from Point of Rocks but big enough to give Stickman an arsenal that could prove lifesaving. As he wedged the seat back into place, he was startled by a cheery “Hi there.”
He turned to find his new neighbor standing at the front of the car. Good. Even if she had been there a minute, she was at the wrong angle to see into the back seat. “April, remember?” she said. “Alex.” “Nice to meet you again, Alex.” She offered a large hand. “April Spring.”
She looked directly into his face with dark brown eyes, a well-proportioned woman about his height. Her dark hair fell on square shoulders at the top button of her denim shirt. Her jeans fit loosely. “Thanks again for the cream and sugar.” He nodded.
“Did you catch any fish?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“New car?”
“New to Demetri,” said Maple, wondering what question was next.
“Mrs. Banks told me you and Demetri are here fishing and hiking. Did your other car break down?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just that ...Well, Demetri has a family emergency and I wasn’t ready to go back to work yet so ...”
“I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
“I hope not, too. All things being equal I think he’ll be back in a few days. How’s your artwork going?” he asked, wanting another subject.
“I’m just about settled in. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get started. I looked around some today and from the top of that hill,” she said, pointing, “there’s a scenic view where red-tailed hawks like to hunt. I haven’t tried to capture that much space in a miniature before. It would be a challenge.”
“How big would that painting be?”
“I have a nice, flat oval stone that’s maybe two inches on the long side. Or if I can’t make that work I have a couple of sardine tins. I think if I went any bigger, I couldn’t call it a miniature ...What kind of work do you guys do?”
“It’s more what don’t we do. Demetri is an all-round computer guy. I can do a lot of the trades.”
“I’ll remember that, Alex, whenever something breaks. You must have pretty nice employers to take off like Mrs. Banks said.”
“I suppose. Well, I need to excuse myself, April. Good luck with your art.”
“’Til next time, Alex. And if I can repay your kindness just let me know.”
Hearing about April’s visit, Stickman had asked if there was any way she could have seen into the back seat. Not satisfied, he asked for a word-by-word recounting of the full conversation. Maple was mildly irritated but went through it in detail. In the end, Stickman grudgingly accepted that April posed no threat.