"What? Oh. Didn't anyone tell you, Tracy? We're having a delegation of VIP visitors today. They'll be having lunch here at the house, so Amy won't be having her nap. You may take her with you."
Tracy stood there, willing herself not to scream. "I - I can't do that, Mrs. Brannigan."
Sue Ellen Brannigan stiffened. "What do you mean you can't do that?"
Tracy saw the anger in her face and she thought, l mustn't upset her. She'll call the warden, and I'll be sent back to my cell.
Tracy forced a smile. "I mean... Amy hasn't had her lunch. She'll be hungry."
"I've had the cook prepare a picnic lunch for both of you. You can go for a nice walk in the meadow and have it there. Amy enjoys picnics, don't you, darling?"
"I love picnics." She looked at Tracy pleadingly. "Can we, Tracy? Can we?"
No! Yes. Careful. It could still work.
Be in the utility room by one-thirty. Don't be late.
Tracy looked at Mrs. Brannigan. "What - what time do you want me to bring Amy back?"
"Oh, about three o'clock. They should be gone by then."
So would the truck. The world was tumbling in on her. "I - "
"Are you all right? You look pale."
That was it. She would say she was ill. Go to the hospital.
But then they would want to check her over and keep her there. She would never be able to get out in time. There had to be some other way.
Mrs. Brannigan was staring at her.
"I'm fine."
There's something wrong with her, Sue Ellen Brannigan decided. I'm definitely going to have George get someone else.
Amy's eyes were alight with joy. "I'll give you the biggest sandwiches, Tracy. We'll have a good time, won't we?"
Tracy had no answer.
The VIP tour was a surprise visit. Governor William Haber himself was escorting the prison reform committee through the penitentiary. It was something that Warden Brannigan had to live with once a year.
"It goes with the territory, George," the governor had explained. "Just clean up the place, tell your ladies to smile pretty, and we'll get our budget increased again."
The word had gone out from the chief guard that morning: "Get rid of all the drugs, knives, and dildos."
Governor Haber and his party were due to arrive at 10:00 A.M. They would inspect the interior of the penitentiary first, visit the farm, and then have lunch with the warden at his cottage.
Big Bertha was impatient. When she had put in a request to see the warden, she had been told, "The warden is very pressed for time this morning. Tomorrow would be easier. He - "
"Fuck tomorrow!" Big Bertha had exploded. "I want to see him now. It's important."
There were few inmates in the prison who could have gotten away with it, but Big Bertha was one of them. The prison authorities were well aware of her power. They had seen her start riots, and they had seen her stop them. No prison in the world could be run without the cooperation of the inmate leaders, and Big Bertha was a leader.
She had been seated in the warden's outer office for almost an hour, her huge body overflowing the chair she sat in. She's a disgusting-looking creature, the warden's secretary thought. She gives me the creeps.
"How much longer?" Big Bertha demanded.
"It shouldn't be too much longer. He has a group of people in with him. The warden's very busy this morning."
Big Bertha said, "He's gonna be busier." She looked at her watch. Twelve-forty-five. Plenty of time.
It was a perfect day, cloudless and warm, and the singing breeze carried a tantalizing mixture of scents across the green farmland. Tracy had spread out a tablecloth on a grassy area near the lake, and Amy was happily munching on an egg salad sandwich. Tracy glanced at her watch. It was already 1:00. She could not believe it. The morning had dragged and the afternoon was winging by. She had to think of something quickly, or time was going to steal away her last chance at freedom.
One-ten. In the warden's reception office Warden Brannigan's secretary put down the telephone and said to Big Bertha, "I'm sorry. The warden says it's impossible for him to see you today. We'll make another appointment for - "
Big Bertha pushed herself to her feet. "He's got to see me! It's - "
"We'll fit you in tomorrow."
Big Bertha started to say, "Tomorrow will be too late," but she stopped herself in time. No one but the warden himself must know what she was doing. Snitches suffered fatal accidents. But she had no intention of giving up. There was no way she was going to let Tracy Whitney get away from her. She walked into the prison library and sat down at one of the long tables at the far end of the room. She scribbled a note, and when the matron walked over to an aisle to help an inmate, Big Bertha dropped the note on her desk and left.
When the matron returned, she found the note and opened it. She read it twice:
YOU BETTER CHEK THE LAUNDREY TRUCK TO DAY.
There was no signature. A hoax? The matron had no way of knowing. She picked up the telephone. "Get me the superintendent of guards..."
One-fifteen. "You're not eating," Amy said. "You want some of my sandwich?"
"No! Leave me alone." She had not meant to speak so harshly.
Amy stopped eating. "Are you mad at me, Tracy? Please don't be mad at me. I love you so much. I never get mad at you." Her soft eyes were filled with hurt.
"I'm not angry." She was in hell.
"I'm not hungry if you're not. Let's play ball, Tracy." And Amy pulled her rubber ball out of her pocket.
One-sixteen. She should have been on her way. It would take her at least fifteen minutes to get to the utility room. She could just make it if she hurried. But she could not leave Amy alone. Tracy looked around, and in the far distance she saw a group of trusties picking crops. Instantly, Tracy knew what she was going to do.