Chapter 19

And what if they found his attitude suspicious, or the fact that he was out there alone?

I gritted my teeth and moved between the cars, slowly rocking Sasha. My ears were on the other convoy, alert for any sign that the train was leaving, and around me, in case anyone was approaching. When the guard finally finished his rounds of the formation, I slowly climbed back into our open car and looked out the door, searching for Mirko. The minutes passed too quickly for my liking.

From my position I could see the drivers working alongside the wheels of the locomotive, the employees of the Canadian National Railway and other workers finishing exchanging packages of cargo in the first car. I estimated it had been almost half an hour based on the length of the songs playing on the station’s radio.

Mirko was taking so long. What was taking him so long?

Then the hoarse horn of the locomotive sounded. Everything was ready to go.

As if that were not enough, Sasha was