Burton Anderson Jamie, It's Our Dance

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Oh, God, what if they're following me? He turned his head slowly toward the right and moved his eyes to look at the driver of the car on his right. It was a black woman. She did not look his way and looked innocent enough. He breathed slightly and looked to his left. The driver of the car was a white-haired, elderly man. I think it's okay, he thought. A tractor-trailer suddenly appeared in his rearview mirror. What the hell's he doing, he asked himself. Are they allowed on the Beltway or not? He was confused and couldn't think. Just keep driving. Change lanes to see if he's following, he decided. But seeing the exit to Interstate 66 going toward Manassas, he took the exit. The tractor-trailer stayed on the Beltway headed for Maryland. Just keep driving, Jamie thought. Maybe just lay low for a couple of days He drove for an hour, then crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and started down into the valley toward Interstate 81, which ran all the way through Virginia and into Tennessee. He noticed a black car in his rear-view mirror. It was the kind of car a gangster would use.