Chapter 192

She was standing in the sprawling parking lot of a large suburban mall. She didn’t recognize the place, but it was not unlike other malls she had visited. The sun hung high in a cloudless blue sky and the breeze blowing against her cheeks was cool, but not really cold. From the leafless trees in the distance, she knew it was winter. Glancing down at her arms, she saw she was wearing a dark red sweatshirt.

The parking area was jammed with cars. A steady stream of shoppers snaked toward the mall’s entrance. Most wore winter coats—maybe it was colder out than she realized. Some of the men sported heavy, bright red Ohio State sweatshirts. She didn’t know why, but the sight of the sweatshirts gave her a feeling of satisfaction. She was unsure what day of the week it was, but from the number of cars and people, it had to be either a weekend or a holiday. For some reason she did