CHAPTER 4
THE MARKET
“Hey, Mister Ellis! Only 17 years old, the checkout clerk was one of the owner’s kids, Luke knew. Her name was Annie. “How are you doing today?” she asked.
Annie was in her last week working at the market before her mom and dad drove her to Charlottesville to begin her freshman year at the University of Virginia. Ellis recalled her parents remarking to him about how proud they were of her earning an academic scholarship from the school, which made it vastly easier for them to send her to the prestigious, nationally renowned state university.
“Just fine, Annie. How are you? You all packed and ready for your first year of college?”
Luke wasn’t normally so talkative, but the girl had always been unfailingly polite and courteous to him and was obviously the product of
