Cooper Maul

One call, one letter, one drop-in could put them all in jeopardy.

Margo left home after she and her mother fought about her pregnancy, but she hadn't imagined she'd never go back.

Becoming a fugitive meant just that, at just 22.

To stay hidden, she had to vanish completely, leave every face, every name, and every piece of her old life behind.

From Sony Music Entertainment and Glass Podcasts, this is The Crimes of Margot Freshwater.

I'm Cooper Maul.

Episode 2, Bad Lead.

As soon as Margo scaled the fence, leaving Tennessee prison for women in the dust, she and her accomplice, Faye Copeland, didn't slow down.

It was just minute by minute.

The first trucker got them as far as a busy truck stop, then moved on.

They waited only long enough to find another ride.

The second driver agreed to take them to Baltimore, where Faye had extended family.

They had no clear final destination, no money, just the belief that anywhere was better than a prison cell on the outskirts of Nashville.

And the farther the highway stretched, the more unreal it felt.

The two women rode with strangers in trucks until exhaustion set in.

At some point, even fugitives need a place to catch their breath, to regroup before the next stretch of road.

The driver bought them a room.

Inside, running water drowned out the fear of being hunted.

I just took a shower and I was exhausted.

That night, Faye and Margo slept side by side in double beds.