CHAPTER SEVEN
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Approximately thirty minutes after tornado strike
“It took us over an hour to get to Joplin after we left I-44. The entire way was two-lane country roads. We were listening to the radio and there were storms all around us: a tornado in McDonald County, a tornado spotted in Newton County—right where we were. Right where we were going.” —Tommie K. Ava
The Divine Household
Piper crossed back into Missouri around six p.m. Traffic worsened the closer they got to Joplin. An Oklahoma state trooper stayed in front of them, occasionally signaling all the cars behind him to pull over to the shoulder. He never got out of the car, and eventually he'd turn his lights off and Piper and the other cars would get back into the flow of traffic.
"What does he want?" P
