MISCHA DROVE SLOWLY along the A85, following the MapQuest directions, gradually calming as she gained an increasing distance from Limoges.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZoaUTE0g1
She was far from safe, though. She was driving a stolen car that wasn't registered to her. If she was pulled over by the French police, she was toast.
But she'd stopped worrying about roadblocks. She was too far away. They'd have no particular reason to know that she was heading north.
The truth was, she had no idea what they knew, or how long they'd known it. For all she knew, the guard who replaced Coralie at 2:00 a.m. was still sitting at her station, thinking everything was A-OK.
If they'd become aware, then presumably they would've looked at the train station and figured she took the overnight train to Toulouse. She'd left plenty of bread crumbs, all the way up to that porter, who sent her two cars down to the couchette. It allowed her to walk through the train cars and disembark from a different car---where the porter couldn't see her get off....and then head for the exit by the back staircase.
Did it work? Did they chase her south while she drove north? Well, she was still on the run. So, apparently, it did.
Mischa surely didn't condone the criminal pasts of her friend Felice and her fiancé Donatello. But if they were going to commit crimes, it sure was handy that they became carjackers.
The Audi sedan---the one parked by the train station, with the teddy bear in the back window---drove very nicely indeed. The stuffed animal for the signal had been Donatello's idea, a touching salute to Felice.
She stretched her arms, releasing nervous energy. She'd done a good job in thinking this through, but the truth was, she was In way over her head. She had no idea what kind of resources they could employ to find her.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkHdLF5XL4
Thanks to Donatello, Mischa had two hundred euros, two changes of clothes, a box of granola bars, two liters of Vittel water, MapQuest directions to where she was going, and a sleeping bag. The money was awfully generous of Donatello----more than she'd requested, and tough on him, she knew----but it really didn't amount to a whole lot. It would run out very soon.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZw5UqxbMW
All these worries aside, she would not be denied a modicum of euphoria, a buzz of electricity coursing through her. She had the window down and let the thick air lick her cheek and brush her hair. She was free. She didn't know for how long, but she was free!445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjfvlfakB1
She only knew one thing for sure: between the money running out and the relentless pursuit of her that was forthcoming, she only had a small window of time to figure out what she needed to figure out, and prove it.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7hcB5sRN7
Make that two things she knew. After two and a half hours outside the prison walls, she knew with absolute certainty that she couldn't go back. She couldn't live in that soul-killing hellhole for another minute.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMTxrOoEmT
She was either going to solve this mystery or she was going to die trying.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dtzl0cwI3
