"He could if he wanted to," muttered Joe to himself. He eased off on the gas again, and the needle dropped to 65 once more.
Pearl was pale. "He's following us, isn't he?" she said more than asked.
"I don't know yet," said Joe. "We'll find out in the town just ahead. I'm going to take a few turns ..." his voice trailed off.
As they passed the city limits, Joe dropped his speed to well below the posted limit and watched for a stop light ahead. Finally, he saw one, and he timed his arrival. Abruptly, as he reached it, he shot the car through the amber light just as the red flashed on. The Mercury stopped for the red light, and as the image receded in the rear-vision mirror, Joe breathed easier. "He didn't go through the red light," he said.
Pearl was watching. "The light's changing again," she said. "He's coming up pretty fast."
Joe put on his right-turn light and made a normal turn at the next corner. The Mercury made the turn too. Joe made another right turn two blocks down. The Mercury made one too.
"That settles it," said Joe. "He's following us all right."
Once again he maneuvered the car back onto the main highway and then continued through the heart of town. The Mercury was right behind, but now there was a car which had slipped in between. Joe timed his speed again, and once more barely made it through an amber light before the red. The car behind him halted, and so did the Mercury, by necessity. Joe poured on the gas and at the next corner turned right. He sped to the next block, turned right again, then left at an alley. He roared through it, turned right once more, and raced three blocks along the way they had come, and finally made another right turn back to the main street. He was lucky, and made it through a green light. Several more turns, and he headed straight out of town at right angles to his original route. Moments later they found themselves on a gravel road marked County Trunk M.
"Is there anything behind us?" asked Joe.