House of the Rising Nun by Dakota Cassidy

Author:Dakota Cassidy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book Boutiques
Published: 2018-10-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I looked at Higgs over Solomon’s shoulder as I squeezed him a little tighter, a question in my eyes.

“Where did this happen, Solomon? Do you remember?” Higgs asked, his eyes wide and filled with concern.

But Solomon shook his head frantically, his Viking hat falling to the ground. “I can’t remember, Trixie! I can’t. I tried, but I can’t. I think he’s dead, Trixie. I think he’s dead!”

Solomon was winding up for another tangent, so I began to sway, keeping him close. “It’s okay, Solomon. It’ll come to you. Just eat the Gobstopper and think about other things.”

“Like turtles?” he squeaked.

Solomon had an affinity for turtles. He’d spent an entire afternoon explaining them to me when we shared some ice cream last summer. In fact, I’d taken him to the library so we could take out a book about them and read about the different species of turtles.

“Yes,” I soothed. “Like turtles. Remember you told me how you used to love to read about the sea turtles hatching in Mexico? Remember the really cool book we got at the library about it? Let’s think about that. A nice warm breeze and sand under our feet as we watch the turtles hatch and swim off to their new lives.”

His shoulders went soft when he said, “But some of them die. Just like Griffin.”

“But we’re not thinking about that right now, Solomon,” I soothed, keeping my tone even and soft. “We’re only thinking about the beauty of life and how wonderful it is on the beach in warm, sandy Mexico. Hear the waves? They’re preparing to take the turtles out to sea.”

As he nodded, and his entire body relaxed, he eased away from me, finally looking me in the eyes. “Will Griffin die? I like Griffin most times. He’s always nice to me. Sometimes he helps me get fresh bread for breakfast, and he always saves me a place in line at the shelter. I don’t want him to die, Trixie.”

I didn’t want him to die, either. But I fought the impulse to scream my fears and tried to remain calm.

I took a step back and searched his lined face, a deep worry rooting itself in my chest. “How about you tell me about the gorilla, Solomon? Are you sure you saw a gorilla? I know your eyes are sharp, but sometimes, when you’re tired or you’ve been using them too much, they play tricks on you.”

He nodded his head with a fury again, crunching on his Gobstopper. “It was a gorilla, Trixie. He came up behind Griffin and stuck something in his butt and then Griffin fell backward. The gorilla caught him and carried him into the alley.”

“Stuck something in his butt?” I repeated. “What, Solomon?”

He shrugged his shoulders, his loose coat hanging from his arms. “I think it was a needle. I don’t know. I don’t know,” he insisted. “It was hard to tell.”

“Okay, Solomon. You’re doing great. What happened next?”

“The gorilla took him to the alley.”

Now we were getting somewhere.

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