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One reason the laundry operation of the Good Shepherd was so successful was the unwavering schedule followed by the strict

nuns. The laundry’s private clients—hospitals, hotels, and uniform companies—valued the reliability of their services. This

was a source of great pride for the nuns. Mairin had heard Sister Gerard boast about it more than once. But soon, routine

and righteousness would be their blind spot.

Mairin was counting on this as she and her friends prepared to make their escape. She was filled with gratitude that, finally,

her group of friends had come to believe that there really was a way to leave this prison of captivity and torment.

Night after night, the girls stayed up, co-conspirators whispering fervently, feeling the boldness of their shared purpose.

They vacillated between excitement and fear, an unlikely sisterhood forged in suffering and silence, about to risk everything

on a desperate bid for liberty. Mairin, lit by the fire of determination, sometimes felt like a battle commander, plotting

each step of the way to freedom.

Everyone had a role to play. They had to sneak street clothes from the incoming laundry, collecting things piece by piece

and hiding them on top of the cupboards in the shower room. They noted the precise time of Father O’Flaherty’s weekly confessional

rounds. They had to sign up for the monthly bookmobile visit.

“I have a question,” Janice whispered one night. “What will we actually do when we get clear of this place? I mean, freedom’s a good thing and all, but how do we go on from there?”

“When a girl is released,” said Denise, “she gets her street clothes back, and that’s about all. I seen it.”

“We could take a Greyhound bus,” Mairin said, picturing the busy, crowded station where she had said goodbye to Liam when

he was going into the army.

“Or a city bus to my friend Tanya’s,” Angela said.

“We’ll catch holy hell if we get caught,” Janice said.

Mairin studied Janice’s face in the pale light slanting through a dormer window. She seemed sincere, most of the time. But

she could also be a snitch; they all knew that. It was important to make sure she was all in with the plan.

“Well,” Mairin said, “how about we all say what we want to do. And then we’ll figure out how to go after it. What do you want, Janice? Would your family let you come back?”

Janice traced her finger along a crack in the floor and shrugged. “Don’t have nothing in the way of family,” she said. “I

was in foster care before they sent me here. And no way would I go back to the foster home.” She shuddered. “It’s actually

worse than this place.”

Mairin couldn’t imagine anything worse than this place. “We’ll get jobs.”

“Doing what?” Helen asked. “Thanks to the Good Shepherd, we’re not even getting a high school education.”

“You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” Mairin said. “You can do anything. We can all do anything. I worked at

Eisman’s orchard in the Fruit Belt the last two summers. Look, anywhere’s better than the Good Shepherd, right?” She reached

under her thin mattress and took out the flyer she’d swiped during the outing to Niagara Falls. She smoothed it out on the

floor so they could all see. “You could come with me to Heyday Farm,” she said. “See, they’re looking for workers. Says shelter

provided.”

“I don’t know nothing about farms,” Janice said.

“I seen you climb a ladder and pick an apple,” Denise said, poking her with an elbow. “Jeez, even Kay could do that.”

Kay perked up when she heard her name. “I like apples,” she said.

“You like everything,” Denise said.

“Suppose we get there and it’s just as bad as this place? Then what?” Janice bit her lip and looked around the circle. “Seriously,

then what?”

“It won’t be worse,” Angela said. “Nothing’s worse.”

“I’m gonna take the train to New York City, baby,” Denise said. “That’s where you can really make it.”

“Make what?” asked Kay.

“ It , doofus. Like, make some kind of life for yourself. Something better than this.” Denise encompassed the room with a sweep

of her arm, then turned to Angela. “What’s the first thing you’re gonna do when we get away from this place?”

Angela’s eyes went soft and dreamy. “Go to the library and take out any book I want.”

“That’s the first thing?” Denise scoffed.

“Well, maybe not the first. But I miss reading so much. Miss Adler at the Jefferson Branch is one of the best people I ever

met. I’ve always thought I’d like to be a librarian myself.”

“Would she let you stay with her, no questions asked?” Mairin whispered.

“I think I can stay with my friend Tanya. Her folks are cool. Maybe they’ll let me stay with them until I can get a job and

finish school.”

Helen drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. “I never thought I’d actually miss school, but I do for

sure. Even gym class. So I guess I’ll go see my dad’s secretary at the U and see if there’s been any word.” Her shoulders

tensed, and Mairin saw the flash of worry in her eyes. “She kept pink peppermint candies in a jar on her desk and she always

let me help myself.”

“And she won’t turn you in?” asked Denise.

“Not when I explain what this place really is.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Mairin was nervous, knowing there were a hundred ways the plan could fail. “What about

you?” She nudged Odessa, who was sitting next to her. “You’ll head straight to California, right?”

Odessa drew in a long breath that seemed to end with a shudder. “I can’t go,” she said, her words little more than a gust

of air.

“What the hell?” Denise demanded. “We’re supposed to stick together.”

Mairin’s stomach clenched. “Odessa?”

Odessa leaned forward, her expression fierce. “Listen, I’ve helped you with this plan in every way I could think of. And I’ll

help you get out of here. But I’m not coming. My sentence is up in six weeks. I’ll be free without having to escape, and I

won’t have to worry about the cops coming after me. I’m sorry, but I can’t risk getting caught. ’Cause if I do, they’ll make

me stay longer.”

“So you think we’re not gonna make it,” Denise spat.

“I think you are, but there’s no guarantee,” Odessa shot back. “My release next month is a sure thing if I stay out of trouble.

I’ve already helped you guys with the clothes and nearly got caught by Sister Theresa yesterday. Made me realize I better

be super careful. Because I sure as hell can’t stay here a single minute longer than I have to. I can’t do it,” she finally

whispered, her voice barely audible as she faced each girl in turn.

Mairin placed a hand on Odessa’s shoulder, even though her stomach sank with disappointment. “I get it, Odessa. I really do.

You’ve got to look out for yourself. We don’t blame you for betting on a sure thing.”

“I feel bad,” Odessa said, “but I just can’t risk it.”

“Way to be a team player,” Denise grumbled.

Mairin glared at Denise. “Odessa managed to sneak more street clothes than any of us, and that’s a big deal.”

Odessa nodded, her lip trembling slightly. “You know I wish I could go right this very minute. I’ll still help where I can.

Like I can make sure they’re keeping to the usual schedule with the bookmobile, and I could even set up some kind of distraction

to give you more time.”

“I still say we’re not going to get far without a few bucks in our pockets,” Denise reminded everyone. “Mairin, you sure as

hell better be right about finding some cash in the office. Without funds, we’ll probably end up in family court, and that

would land us right back here.” She grimaced, as if sensing a bad smell.

“I hear you,” Mairin agreed. “Guess we’ll find out soon.” She hoped Angela was right about the reliquary. She had to be right.

The whole operation hinged on them having enough money to get them to freedom.

Odessa picked at the blanket on her cot. “After you’re gone, it’s gonna be the longest six weeks of my life while I wait for my freedom.”

“Don’t forget. Fourth of July at the Tesla monument,” Angela said.

“I hope I’ll be long gone to California.”

Mairin glanced toward the hallway, where a bulb in a wire cage lit the gate at the top of the stairs. “So. Are you ready?”

There were nods all around. “It’s a full moon tonight,” Helen said. “That’s auspicious.”

“You’re probably the only one who knows what auspicious means, but it sounds good to me,” said Mairin. “Think they’re dead asleep now?”

Angela nodded. “Be careful, Mairin.”

The girls crept back to their beds. Their wakefulness and impatience were palpable; Mairin could feel it like a wave of energy.

Only Kay drifted off to sleep, blissfully unconcerned about what tomorrow would bring. Mairin waited until she couldn’t stand

it any longer. Hurrying soundlessly on bare feet, she sneaked out of the dormitory and hurried down the stairs.

The place was never truly quiet. She could hear the wind whistling through the complex, the thump and rattle of the distant

coal furnace that never yielded adequate heat, except in the wing where the nuns stayed. She crept through the chilly, dimly

lit hallways, her heart thundering against her rib cage as though it was trying to outrun the sin she was about to commit.

She had never stolen a thing in her life, not even Liam’s Halloween candy when he left his bag unattended.

But this was her chance. The walls of the Good Shepherd, this grim edifice of brick and iron and stone, had stifled her for

nearly a year. She knew that if she could just find the cash, she and the others could escape the life that had been forced

upon them.

As she passed the door to the dreaded closet, she shuddered. Never again, she thought. Ever. Yet her confinement in the closet

had served a purpose. Thanks to its proximity to the office, she’d gleaned useful information by listening through the vent.