Dolores appeared beside her husband. "And we'll stay here until we know they arrived," she added. "If anybody calls about the car, Millie can explain where it is. Better they have a vehicle nobody associates with that trailer or this club." Grim looked from one to the other and found himself unable to answer as quickly as he was accustomed to. He finally said, "Thank you," with none of the irony people usually heard in his voice.
There were practical obstacles. Sarah had no identification with her, Rosie's shoes were soaked through, and Ethan refused to let anyone take the backpack that contained the few things their mother had been able to pack. Danielle found clean socks in a box of things the diner kept for stranded travelers. Dolores contributed a sweater and a small wool blanket. Millie put sandwiches, crackers, and bottles of water into a paper grocery bag, and Walter added apples and a thermos of soup without being asked.
Marco agreed to drive the sedan to Laughlin. Danny would follow for part of the way and then return, while Grim remained near the diner to keep Jesse available for a meeting with the federal contact. Sarah looked frightened when she understood that Grim was not accompanying them. "How will we know if we're safe?" she asked.
He crouched slightly so he could speak without looming over her. "You won't know everything tonight. Neither will I. But we're arranging people who can act when Clay tries something, and I'm not asking you to trust only my word."
He gave Millie Linda's telephone number and made her write down the number of his contact in Phoenix, though he warned her that the contact might be difficult to reach through ordinary channels until morning. He told Sarah that the choice of where to stay remained hers. "If you don't want Linda's house, say so now and we find another place. You're not being traded from one man's decision to another."
Sarah watched him for a moment and nodded. "Linda's sounds good," she said. "I want my children somewhere with a door that stays locked from our side."
Ethan stood near the back door with Rosie holding his hand. He had not asked why the plan kept changing, though Grim could see he was listening to every instruction. Finally he said, "He found us the last three times. What's different this time?"
Grim considered him. "Before, your mother was trying to leave while Clay controlled every person she had to call for help," he answered. "Tonight there are witnesses, people who know, and evidence Clay doesn't control. That doesn't erase danger, but it changes what can happen next."
"What evidence?" Ethan asked. Grim glanced at Jesse, who stood quietly by the kitchen wall.
"The kind that belongs with investigators rather than somebody's boot heel," he said. Ethan seemed to appreciate the answer more than a promise of revenge would have satisfied him. "Okay," he said. "Then let's go."