“The traffic was bumper-to-bumper almost all the way here,” David said. “It looked like the whole state was on the move.”
“They started driving through earlier tonight,” Omar said. “I don’t know why they’re heading this way.”
“I don’t think they know, either. They’re city people, you know? They’ll just keep driving till they see something familiar, like a Holiday Inn or a McDonald’s.”
“Can I get you something to eat?” Wilona asked.
David nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I haven’t had anything since lunch.”
“I’ve got some cold ham and potatoes. I could reheat it in the microwave.”
“Cold is fine, Mama.”
“Heating it’s no problem. You want some Co-Cola?” Retying her bathrobe, Wilona headed for the kitchen.
David and Omar looked at each other for a moment. Then David grinned. “I saw you on TV, Dad. You looked good.”
“Thanks.”
“There was a lot of talk on campus about you. You’d be surprised how many friends you have there.” Omar nodded. “I’m glad to hear it.” Campus. He had a son who was on campus. No Paxton had ever been to college before.
Father and son, they were on the move.
They walked back to the front room and sat down. David looked around. “The house seems to have come through okay,” he said.
“Your mama put a lot of work into making it look that way,” Omar said. “But you’ll be eating off a plastic plate tonight. All the china fell out of the cabinet and smashed.”
David made a face. “I hope the insurance covers it.”
“No. The policy has an exemption for earthquakes and floods.”
“Bastards,” David said. “Jew bastards.”
“Here’s your Co-Cola.” Wilona, returning with a plastic party cup in her hand.
“Thank you, Mama.” Smiling. David turned back to Omar. “Is there any more work I can do around the house? Or should I see if I can find a paying job somewheres else?”
Omar considered. “The National Guard shipped too many of my deputies up north. I’ve been swearing in special deputies. And with all these refugees coming through, we’ll need more just to handle the traffic.” David grinned. “Sounds great,” he said. “Kind of like working for the family firm.” It would be good to have somebody intelligent working for him, Omar thought.
Not like Leckie and Jedthus, who were probably up to their hips in the bayou right now, finding a place to hide a corpse.
The current was sluggish, and American Dream turned slow circles around Retired and Gone Fishin’ as it drifted. Nick let the boat do what it wanted, and only tried to keep it in the center of the channel, between the dimly sensed flood plain on either side. The night was dark, but the stars blazed overhead with an intensity Nick had never seen. He could see dozens of nebulae with the naked eye, little bright clouds between the stars, and he could never remember seeing so many before.
He wished he had Jason’s telescope aboard.
He felt a breath of wind on his skin, and then he heard a distant rushing sound ahead. He turned his head downstream, cupped hands to his ears. The sound might be wind through trees. It might be rapids.
It might be a waterfall.
The wind freshened, fell, freshened again from another direction. The rushing sound grew louder. Nick strained his eyes for sign of white water.
Captain Joe hadn’t received any reports of rapids on this stretch. Boats had been going up and down the river and hadn’t reported white water here. It didn’t make any sense.
Stay alive for Arlette, Nick thought. He dropped into the cockpit seat and started the engine. He turned the bow upstream and motored slowly for ten minutes. Then cut the motor and drifted again, till he felt the winds and heard the rushing. Then he did it again. And again.
Till dawn.
When the east turned pale he was surprised by the size and sluggishness of the river. The trees in what Captain Joe would call the batture sat deeper in the water than he’d seen them before. Debris floated aimlessly on the still water, turning small circles or pushed around by little predawn wind gusts. It was as if the river had almost ceased to flow, had become a lake three or four miles wide. Almost. The water was moving south very slowly, taking the boat with it. Nick folded back the boat’s canvas top, then stood to peer ahead, scratched his bristly chin in thought. Something, he thought, was causing the river to rise, had floated Beluthahatchie off its bar. What could cause the river to rise four inches in just a matter of hours? Four inches over this huge expanse was a lot of water. Nick wondered if the Arkansas had changed its course, struck the Mississippi just south of here and backed up the water. The sun blazed above the trees to the east, brightened the dark river with its touch. Nick could hear that roaring sound again. What was going on?
The southern horizon seemed indistinct, misty. Banks of fog?
Fear shivered up Nick’s spine. He wondered if the mist was rising off rapids.
“Hey, Nick. What’s happening?”
Nick turned and saw Jason sitting in the bass boat’s little cockpit. His hair was tousled, and there was a sleepy smile on the boy’s face.
Fury flashed like fire along Nick’s nerves. ” What are you doing here?” he roared. Jason’s eyes widened in surprise at the strength of Nick’s anger, but when he replied his tone was deliberately casual. “Didn’t want to spend the summer with my aunt. I thought I’d go with you.”
“God damn it!” Nick banged a fist on the gunwale. ” God damn it, you’re not my kid!”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jason said. He lifted his hands in appeal. “I won’t get in your way. I can be useful. You know that.”
Nick glared at him. “Now I’ve got to take you back to Captain Joe,” he said. He threw himself into the cockpit seat, pulled out the choke.
“Hey, wait! You’ll never catch the Beluthahatchie. You’ve been going down the river all night.” Nick didn’t even bother to look at Jason as he shouted his answer. “No, I haven’t! I’ve been staying in the same place all damn night long! And if you had any damn brains, you’d know that!”
“No! Wait!”
Nick punched the starter, felt the big Evinrude catch. He gunned the engine to drown out Jason’s protests, then put it in gear. He spun the wheel, turned the speedboat upstream, and pushed the throttle forward. He felt the little tug that meant the tow rope to the bass boat had gone taut, and imagined rather than saw Jason being flung back in his seat as the bass boat accelerated on the end of its line. The boat’s nose rose as it gained speed. Nick could still hear Jason’s shouts over the roar of the engine. He dodged debris as he roared upriver at top speed, smiling as he pictured the bass boat playing crack-the-whip on the end of its line. Run it into a few trees, he thought, serve Jason right. Then he sighed. Who, he wondered, was he trying to kid? There was no way he could catch the towboat with its head start.
He pulled back on the throttle, then switched off the ignition. There was a rush of water as the speedboat fell off its bow wave.
“I’m sorry!” Jason called in the sudden silence. “I didn’t think you’d be mad!”
“You didn’t think at all,” Nick said. Anger beat a slow throb in his temples. He stood, turned to face Jason as the boat lost momentum. “What am I going to do with you?” he said.
“Take me with you? Come on, Nick—I won’t be any trouble.”
That bright grin, Nick thought, must have got a lot of goodies out of Jason’s old man. Rage burst like a firework in Nick’s brain.