Terry was standing there, hands in his jacket pockets, his breath pluming out faintly multicolored and amorphous in the lights, until Stu mentioned the part about the kid having a “long hike.” Snorting a couple of times, Terry interjected, “Didn’t know that any of the Parks clan knew what to do with their feet, aside from puttin’ them on a gas pedal.”
“Shaddup,” Stu barked, but in Anna’s mind his remark became Officer Obie’s terse reply to the handcuffed Arlo—“Shut up, kid.” This time, Anna giggled out loud. Stu cast a sour glance her way but kept on talking to the trooper.
“So it wasn’t until an hour and a half ago that he made it to a phone, and at first he wasn’t making much sense, so my man didn’t see the need to follow up on the call right off.”
“In other words, you delayed respond
