Chapter 17
I made it thirty yards before stopping.
Mr. Dombrowski.
He stood near the corner of the building.
The woman from the parking lot was closer now.
Ten feet, maybe less.
He was trying to unlock the side entrance.
Going back inside.
For his pills.
"For God's sake."
I hit the horn.
He turned.
The woman did too.
I lowered the passenger window two inches.
"Dombrowski!"
He saw me.
"Get in!"
The woman reached him.
He shoved her.
She came back immediately.
He struck her with something in his hand.
Keys, maybe.
She grabbed his arm.
I threw the Civic into drive and accelerated across the lot.
For half a second I thought about braking.
Then didn't.
The front bumper struck her at maybe fifteen miles per hour.
The impact wasn't dramatic.
She folded onto the hood, rolled off the side, and hit the pavement.
Dombrowski stumbled backward.
I braked.
"Get in!"
He opened the passenger door.
The woman began pushing herself up.
Dombrowski stared at her.
"Get in the fucking car!"
He did.
The door slammed.
I accelerated.
Behind us, Marcy's Mazda pulled away.
Mrs. Patel's SUV did not.
I couldn't see why.
I didn't stop.
Dombrowski coughed beside me.
"Seatbelt."
He looked at me.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
He put it on.
We reached the parking-lot exit.
A police cruiser raced past without lights.
Behind it came a pickup truck going far too fast.
Then another vehicle traveling the wrong way.
I waited four seconds.
Dombrowski looked at me.
"You hit her."
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
"Don't make me do it again."
He laughed once.
Then coughed.
I pulled onto the street.
For the first hundred yards, everything looked manageable.
Then we reached the main intersection.
And I finally saw the city.