his head. Even so, Anna didn't quite believe him. " Is that why you hired this man? To have someone else around just in case—"
"One has nothing to do with the other. This Sawyer showed up, needing work. I had been giving thought to taking a man on. That's it." Agitated, he took a few bites of food. She continued to watch him. Finally he laid down his fork and addressed her without shifting his eyes. "He won't come here, Anna. It would be too risky for him. Besides, they'll catch him before he gets too far."
"Catch who, Grandpa?" David asked.
"Nobody. And don't talk with your mouth full." Returning to Anna, he said, "The state police called today. They asked if I wanted somebody out here to watch the house. Just as a precaution. I told them no."
She lowered her eyes to her plate. Delray tapped the table. Sensing the vibration, she looked up at him again. "I honestly don't think there's any danger. But if you want me to, I'll call them back and accept their offer."
To have someone guarding his family would be to acknowledge his own apprehension over Carl Herbold's escape. Delray would consider it a weakness to take such drastic precautions. He would make the concession if she asked him to, but he wouldn't like it. She shook her head no; Delray looked relieved.
His decision was made, and the subject was now closed. But whether he admitted it or not, Anna doubted Delray would have hired Jack Sawyer if there had been no prison escape the day before.
"I wonder what Jack's having for supper." David leaned forward so he could see the trailer through the window.
Their days were so predictable that any variation in routine was remarkable, especially to a fiveyear-old with boundless curiosity. Her son had learned sign language along with English, so from the time he could use his stubby fingers to communicate, he had asked countless questions like any other child. At the end of each day Anna's hands would be cramping from answering them.
"Maybe Jack doesn't have any supper. What's he gonna eat? Does he know how to cook, Grandpa?"
"It's none of our business what he eats," Delray told him. "He just works here, is all."
"Maybe sometimes he can play with me."
"You stay away from him, David, and I mean it."
Crestfallen, David said, "But he's nice. He likes dinosaurs, too."
"He's here to work, not entertain you."
Anna signed, " Did he say where he is from? "
"He's sort of a drifter."
She gave her father-in-law an inquisitive look, indicating that she didn't quite understand. " Like ahobo? A tramp? "
"No, he works. He just moves around a lot. Never stays too long in one place. He could be gone tomorrow."
Stricken by that possibility, David asked, "Do you think he'll leave tomorrow, Grandpa? Mom, will he?"
She signed that she didn't think he would be leaving that soon. Delray told David to finish his supper, which he did without further conversation. Secretly she wished that David would ask a few more questions of Delray. She wanted to know more about Jack Sawyer herself, but for the time being she kept her curiosity to herself.
Following the evening meal their routine was for David to clear the dishes from the table and carry them to the sink while she and Delray relaxed over a last cup of coffee and discussed the day's events.
Delray wasn't a talkative man, and for that reason he didn't mind her silence. But tonight he seemed especially quiet. After a time, she asked, " Did you read in the newspaper about EzzyHardge's retirement dinner? "
"Long overdue if you ask me," he said. "He's got to be near eighty." Anna smiled into her coffee cup. The retired sheriff wasn't that much older than Delray. " Youshould have gone to the dinner. There was a large crowd. You would have known a lot of peoplethere. "
"I wouldn't have been caught dead there. The tickets were twenty bucks apiece." It wasn't the cost of the ticket that had kept him from going. He wouldn't have attended the community function if the tickets had been free.
"One has nothing to do with the other. This Sawyer showed up, needing work. I had been giving thought to taking a man on. That's it." Agitated, he took a few bites of food. She continued to watch him. Finally he laid down his fork and addressed her without shifting his eyes. "He won't come here, Anna. It would be too risky for him. Besides, they'll catch him before he gets too far."
"Catch who, Grandpa?" David asked.
"Nobody. And don't talk with your mouth full." Returning to Anna, he said, "The state police called today. They asked if I wanted somebody out here to watch the house. Just as a precaution. I told them no."
She lowered her eyes to her plate. Delray tapped the table. Sensing the vibration, she looked up at him again. "I honestly don't think there's any danger. But if you want me to, I'll call them back and accept their offer."
To have someone guarding his family would be to acknowledge his own apprehension over Carl Herbold's escape. Delray would consider it a weakness to take such drastic precautions. He would make the concession if she asked him to, but he wouldn't like it. She shook her head no; Delray looked relieved.
His decision was made, and the subject was now closed. But whether he admitted it or not, Anna doubted Delray would have hired Jack Sawyer if there had been no prison escape the day before.
"I wonder what Jack's having for supper." David leaned forward so he could see the trailer through the window.
Their days were so predictable that any variation in routine was remarkable, especially to a fiveyear-old with boundless curiosity. Her son had learned sign language along with English, so from the time he could use his stubby fingers to communicate, he had asked countless questions like any other child. At the end of each day Anna's hands would be cramping from answering them.
"Maybe Jack doesn't have any supper. What's he gonna eat? Does he know how to cook, Grandpa?"
"It's none of our business what he eats," Delray told him. "He just works here, is all."
"Maybe sometimes he can play with me."
"You stay away from him, David, and I mean it."
Crestfallen, David said, "But he's nice. He likes dinosaurs, too."
"He's here to work, not entertain you."
Anna signed, " Did he say where he is from? "
"He's sort of a drifter."
She gave her father-in-law an inquisitive look, indicating that she didn't quite understand. " Like ahobo? A tramp? "
"No, he works. He just moves around a lot. Never stays too long in one place. He could be gone tomorrow."
Stricken by that possibility, David asked, "Do you think he'll leave tomorrow, Grandpa? Mom, will he?"
She signed that she didn't think he would be leaving that soon. Delray told David to finish his supper, which he did without further conversation. Secretly she wished that David would ask a few more questions of Delray. She wanted to know more about Jack Sawyer herself, but for the time being she kept her curiosity to herself.
Following the evening meal their routine was for David to clear the dishes from the table and carry them to the sink while she and Delray relaxed over a last cup of coffee and discussed the day's events.
Delray wasn't a talkative man, and for that reason he didn't mind her silence. But tonight he seemed especially quiet. After a time, she asked, " Did you read in the newspaper about EzzyHardge's retirement dinner? "
"Long overdue if you ask me," he said. "He's got to be near eighty." Anna smiled into her coffee cup. The retired sheriff wasn't that much older than Delray. " Youshould have gone to the dinner. There was a large crowd. You would have known a lot of peoplethere. "
"I wouldn't have been caught dead there. The tickets were twenty bucks apiece." It wasn't the cost of the ticket that had kept him from going. He wouldn't have attended the community function if the tickets had been free.
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