Mark smiled to himself. He’d been here before. He watched the chaos through the window and picked the spot where he and Hardy had stood after Greenway and Dianne disappeared with Ricky. He eased through the door, and casually made his way through the snarled throng of sick and wounded trying anxiously to get admitted. Running and darting might attract attention, so he played it cool. He rode his favorite escalator to the basement, and found an empty wheelchair by the stairs. It was adult-size, but he worked the wheels and rolled himself past the cafeteria to the morgue.
Clint had fallen asleep on the sofa. Letterman was almost over when the phone rang. Reggie grabbed it. “Hello.”
“Hi, Reggie. It’s me, Mark.”
“Mark! How are you, dear?”
“Doing great, Reggie. Just wonderful.”
“How’d you find me?” she asked, turning off the TV.
“I called Momma Love and woke her. She gave me this number. It’s Clint’s place, right?”
“Right. How’d you get to a phone? It’s awful late.”
“Well, I’m not in jail anymore.”
She stood and walked to the snack bar. “Where are you, dear?”
“At the hospital. St. Peter’s.”
“I see. And how’d you get there?”
“They brought me in an ambulance.”
“Are you okay?”
“Great.”
“Why’d they take you in an ambulance?”
“I had an attack of post-traumatic stress syndrome, and they rushed me over.”
“Should I come see you?”
“Maybe. What’s this grand jury stuff?”
“Nothing but an attempt to scare you into talking.”
“Well, it worked. I’m more scared than ever.”
“You sound fine.”
“Nervous energy, Reggie. I’m scared to death.”
“I mean, you don’t sound like you’re in shock or anything.”
“I recovered real quick. I faked them out, Reggie, okay? I jogged in my little cell for half an hour, and when they found me I was soaking wet and in bad shape, as they say.”
Clint sat up on the sofa and listened intently.
“Have you seen a doctor?” she asked, frowning at Clint.
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I walked out of the emergency room. It means I’ve escaped, Reggie. It was so easy.”
“Oh my God!”
“Relax. I’m fine. I’m not going back to jail, Reggie. And I’m not going to see the grand jury in New Orleans. They’ll just lock me up down there, won’t they?”
“Listen, Mark, you can’t do this. You can’t escape. You must—”
“I’ve already escaped, Reggie. And you know something?”
“What?”
“I doubt if anyone knows it yet. This place is so crazy, I doubt if they’ve missed me yet.”
“What about the cops?”
“What cops?”
“Didn’t a cop go with you to the hospital?”
“No. I’m just a kid, Reggie. I had two huge paramedics, but I’m just a little kid and at the time I was in a coma, sucking my thumb, moaning and groaning, just like Ricky. You’d have been proud. It was like something out of a movie. Once I got here, they turned their backs, and just like that, I walked away.”
“You can’t do this, Mark.”
“It’s done, okay? And I’m not going back.”
“What about your mother?”
“Oh, I talked to her about an hour ago, by phone of course. She freaked out, but I convinced her I was fine. She didn’t like it, told me to come to Ricky’s room. We had a big fight over the phone, but she settled down. I think she’s on pills again.”
“But you’re at the hospital?”
“That’s right.”
“Where? In which room?”
“Are you still my lawyer?”
“Of course I’m your lawyer.”
“Good. So if I tell you something, you can’t repeat it, right?”
“Right.”
“Are you my friend, Reggie?”
“Of course I’m your friend.”
“That’s good, because right now you’re the only friend I have. Will you help me, Reggie? I’m really scared.”
“I’ll do anything, Mark. Where are you?”
“In the morgue. There’s a little office in the corner, and I’m hiding under the desk. The lights are off. If I hang up real quick, you’ll know somebody walked in. They’ve brought in two bodies while I’ve been here, but so far no one’s come to the office.”
“The morgue?”
Clint bolted to his feet and stood beside her.
“Yeah. I’ve been here before. I know this place pretty well, remember.”
“Sure.”
“Who’s in the morgue?” Clint whispered. She frowned at him and shook her head.
“Mom said they have a subpoena for you too, Reggie. Is this true?”
“Yes, but they haven’t served me. That’s why I’m here at Clint’s. If they don’t hand me the subpoena, then I don’t have to go.”
“So you’re hiding too?”
“I guess.”
Suddenly his end clicked and the dial tone followed. She stared at the receiver, then quickly placed it on the phone. “He hung up,” she said.
“What the hell’s going on!” Clint asked.
“It’s Mark. He’s escaped from jail.”
“He what!”
“He’s hiding in the morgue at St. Peter’s.” She said this as if she didn’t believe it. The phone rang, and she snatched it. “Hello.”
“Sorry about that. The door to the morgue opened, then closed. I thought they were bringing in another body.”
“Are you safe, Mark?”
“Hell no, I’m not safe. But I’m a kid, okay. And now I’m a psychiatric case. So if they catch me, I’ll just go into shock again and they’ll put me in a room. Then I’ll figure out another way to escape, maybe.”
“You can’t hide forever.”
“Neither can you.”
She marveled once again at his quick tongue. “You’re right, Mark. So what do we do?”
“I don’t know. I really would like to leave Memphis. I’m sick of cops and jails.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Well, let me ask you something. If you come and get me, and we leave town together, then you could get in trouble for helping me escape. Right?”
“Yes. I’d be an accomplice.”
“What would they do to you?”
“We’ll worry about that later. I’ve done worse things.”
“So you’ll help me?”
“Yes, Mark. I’ll help you.”
“And you won’t tell anybody?”
“We may need Clint.”
“Okay, you can tell Clint. But nobody else, okay?”
“You have my word.”
“And you won’t try to talk me into going back to jail?”
“I promise.”
There was a long pause. Clint was near panic.
“Okay, Reggie. You know the main parking lot, the one next to that big green building?”
“Yes.”
“Drive into it, just like you’re looking for a place to park. Go real slow. I’ll be hiding between some cars.”
“That place is dark and dangerous, Mark.”
“It’s Friday night, Reggie. Everything around here is dark and dangerous.”
“But there’s a guard in the exit booth.”
“That guard sleeps half the time. It’s a guard, not a cop. I know what I’m doing, okay?”
“Are you sure?”
“No. But you said you’d help me.”
“I will. When should I be there?”
“As fast as you can.”
“I’ll be in Clint’s car. It’s a black Honda Accord.”
“Good. Hurry.”
“I’m on my way. Be careful, Mark.”
“Relax, Reggie. This is just like the movies.”
She hung up, and took a deep breath.