“Oh, my God, that looks great, doesn’t it?” Doreen boasted to her husband.

“Very authentic,” he had to admit, although secretly he was a bit nervous that his wife was so successful at forging state documents.

“It’s not perfect, of course,” Doreen sniffed, “but it’ll do the trick. I know it will.”

“And I know you’re right,” Phillip answered, handing back the forgery. “You know, I never thought I’d be holding my own daughter’s death certificate, even if it is a fake.”

“I know what you mean,” Doreen sighed, tucking the page away for safekeeping. “This whole thing has been one long, crazy nightmare. But don’t worry, Phillip. Everything’s going to work out for the best. Just the way it’s supposed to. Tomorrow we’re having Desiree transferred. God willing, everything will go off without a hitch.”

“What are you planning to do about the driver?”

“We’re going to drug him,” Doreen said. She didn’t flinch, and that made Phillip slightly nervous.

“Drug him? With what?” he demanded.

“I don’t know. Burke’s got it,” Doreen said, pouting out her lower lip thoughtfully. “Something Desiree told him to get. Sleeping pills probably. How should I know?”

“Well, just so long as you don’t kill him,” Phillip grunted.

“Oh, honestly, Phillip!” Doreen chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. “We’ll be careful. And the driver will be fine. We have everything under control. You’ll see. It’s all going to be just fine.”

“Who are you trying to convince with that?” he asked. “Me or you?”

“Oh, come on. Let’s just go have lunch.” Doreen said, leading her husband out of the room. She took him into the kitchen where they both got a wild surprise.

“Reese!” Doreen shrieked. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Mom,” her son said, leaning down to hug each of his parents in turn. “I just thought I’d come help out for a few days. Make sure everything goes off without a hitch.”

“Oh, Reese,” Doreen said. “Your sister will be so glad to see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I figured it would be too risky to fly so... I drove.”

“You drove all the way here?” Phillip asked. “In what?”

“In my jeep, Dad,” Reese said.

“You’re going to drive all the way back to Colorado in your jeep?” Doreen said, exchanging worried glances with her husband. “Is that safe?”

Reese chuckled and rolled his eyes. “You guys never change. Trust me, we’ll be fine. This will be the best way. I can meet you, and Diz can just jump into my car and we can take off. Think about it. It will give us the best opportunity of nobody seeing her. Then you can publish the death announcement, and she can start her life over as someone else. You have that arranged, right? With the feds? Her new papers and ID and stuff?”

“Uh...yes,” Doreen fibbed, forcing a smile to her face. “Yes, it’s all worked out.”

“Okay, then,” Reese said, clapping his hands together. “In that case, I’m starved. What’s for lunch?”

This time Doreen’s smile was genuine. “Have a seat at the table with your father. I’ll whip up some turkey sandwiches, all right?”

“Extra pickles,” Reese intoned.

“Sure thing, honey,” Doreen said. The two men moved to the kitchen table as Doreen went to the refrigerator and took out the necessary items. She assembled the sandwiches slowly, listening with half an ear to her husband and son chatter on about local and national sports. ID, a new birth certificate with a fake name... Doreen hadn’t thought of that. Thank God Reese had mentioned something. She would need to do something about that. But if she could make a death certificate, she reckoned it wouldn’t be too difficult to make a birth certificate either. A driver’s license on the other hand, would be a lot trickier. Doreen chewed her lip as she spread mayonnaise across a slice of bread. She needed to get her hands on a laminating machine. Now, where could she get one and how quickly could she learn to use it?

She brought the sandwiches to the table and sat down with her family. She wasn’t used to thinking so deceptively, but if that was what she had to do to protect her daughter, then she was going to do it.