Sarah

*

"This is her place. You keep away from it. I don't want her cover blown. You don't know each other alright? You pass on the street, you keep walking, got it?" Chet murmured, turning to glance at Sarah in the back seat.

"Why did you take us here then," she replied, looking away, gazing at the rows of neat suburban houses in their neat suburban yards with a pang of acrid envy.

"Keep an eye on you. Besides, in case of emergency, it's good to have a back up."

They sat waiting in the blistering heat inside the car, and finally saw the girl, honey blonde hair wild with ocean swimming, shorts showing off her tanned legs.

"I told them I was going for a walk," she whispered, slipping into the car, her eyes downcast, tense. Chet grabbed her hand and squeezed it, but she didn't move. Finally she glanced at him and he indicated the two in the back, letting her get at good look. She nodded.

"Tomorrow, 10 o'clock, in the park, bench by the bushes," Chet grunted, "Ok?"

She nodded, and Sarah saw her looking at Chet, the fear obvious but something else there too. She was leaning towards him ever so slightly. Like she was pulled.

"Ok."

***

"Do you think she'll turn up?" Munro shifted uncomfortably as they waited in the bushes.

"Oh yeah," Chet replied, "She's a very good girl." His voice hummed with satisfaction. And he was right, as always, the girl turning up right on cue, sitting on the bench with her back to them as if she had no idea they were there.

"In three days, a parcel will be put in your car," Chet said quietly, his gaze lingering on the back of her bare neck, "You are to deliver it to the address on the bag."

She nodded without turning.

"What is it?" she said, a hint of dread dragging at her voice. Chet frowned.

"You know better than that, sweetheart," he said, and the displeasure in his voice had made her freeze as though the summer day had evaporated into a endless nuclear winter.

***

The summer evenings were long, so Sarah and Munro had to wait til late for the twilight they need to watch the house unnoticed. But the house was still alive with activity, warm lights shining past the people silhouetted in the windows. The murmur of the ocean's endless wash at their back, they watched these snapshots of family life, and Sarah again felt that envy of this life that she could only look at. Comfort like that was not part of her life any more. Then she recognized the people inside.

"Flame!" Sarah whispered, and Munro nodded. Flame, her husband, her daughter, another woman, and another younger man that looked at Chet's girl like she was his life.

"Damn, she was telling the truth," Munro muttered. Sarah ignored him, focusing on the girl. She seemed happy. She relaxed into the younger man, laughing quietly, and Munro scowled. She guessed he was thinking about Lily, about Alasdair. She could see a little Chet of him in that scowl. But it was plain the girl was happy here. Maybe as happy as Lily was with Alasdair.

"If she doesn't deliver it, he'll have to use us," Sarah whispered, "We have to convince her not to pick it up."

"To disobey Chet? You've got to be kidding. She's under his spell."

"Look at the life she has. What hold could Chet possibly have on her? She just needs a push. She'll listen to you." She grinned at him. They were so close to freedom.