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“All right, kids! Let’s go see if the truck’ll start up!” Dianne walked around the side of the house and shouted at her children on the back porch They ran after her as she headed doard the lake, near where one of their barns was located The tractor was kept in the barn closest to the house while their old truck was kept in the far barn, along with various tools, old clothes, toys and other odds and ends that had been sitting around in the house

Dianne glanced at the ani that Mark had taken care of them just as requested Their pair of horses had been fed and their trough that they shared with the goats had been filled The chickens, contained in their fenced-in area, were busy pecking at corn that he had thrown out on the ground for them while the trio of cows munched steadily on a freshly tossed bale of hay

“Nice work, kiddo” Dianne wrapped her arave him a smile “Now let’s see if this old truck still works”

Dianne had the children stand back from the barn entrance just in case what had happened to their newer car had also affected the truck Fortunately, though, that was not the case The bright blue 1972 Ford was a thing of beauty With ample rooh rooift froot reat deal of use and abuse on the far mostly retired a year back Rick had the truck detailed and repainted before putting it up in the barn and driving it once a week into work to keep everything running smoothly

Relieved beyond belief to see the truck in working condition, she grabbed the keys hanging on the wall just inside the barn and threw theun; Jacob and Josie, I want you two in the back, please There aren’t booster seats so we’re going to , okay?”

There was a chorus of grureements as the three children piled into the truck Dianne finished sliding open the barn door before walking around the truck, visually inspecting the tires and ht, you old thing” Dianne whispered to herself as she cli”

The truck roared to life at the turn of the key and Dianne shed with relief “Everybody ready?”

Without waiting for an answer, Dianne glanced at the rearview mirror to make sure Jacob and Josie had their seatbelts on, then threw the truck into gear She was used to driving an automatic transmission, but had learned how to drive stick years prior, just in case she was ever in a situation where she needed to kno

The drive up the slope toward the house was bu in protest After she drove around the house and gave the burned-out hulk in the driveway a wide berth, the ride settled down as she got onto the dirt driveway

The drive wound through the woods until coate that was erected a hundred feet froe of the property Dianne rolled down theas she pulled up to the gate, then glanced over at Mark “Grab the gate, would you?”

Mark hopped out and swung open the gate, pushing it out away froh slowly and parked on the other side As he closed the gate, Dianne leaned out theand called out to hi we’ll be gone”

“Sure thing, ate and a fencepost before securing it with a large padlock hanging froate since they were at hoht co by while they were out

After Mark was back in the truck, Dianne pulled forward again until she reached the end of their driveway The gravel road beyond was a winding one, with the direction to the right leading into tohile the otherat a state park Dianne turned right, heading for Ellisville and—hopefully—so on with the car and the phones

Chapter 4

US Government Facility