Rachel Alexander 09 - Without a Word by Benjamin Carol Lea

Author:Benjamin, Carol Lea [Benjamin, Carol Lea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-10-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Madison, wearing Sally’s jean jacket, a backpack that looked bigger than she did hanging precariously down her back and the plastic purse with Emil/Emily in it swinging gently from her right hand, headed through the tunnel without seeming to notice me and without any gesture of good-bye to her father. Leon, bags under his eyes, his jacket buttoned a button off so that the ends didn’t match, stood outside the gate as if waiting for me to tell him what to do next. I reached out and touched his arm.

“We’ll be fine,” I said, wishing I could believe it myself. Leon nodded, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a mess of bills. “For whatever,” he said, holding the money toward me, “dinner, a movie.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what you plan to do with her.”

“Neither do I,” I told him, pushing away the hand with the money. “I’ll bill you,” I told him, smiling, hoping he would know I was kidding.

Leon was still standing there. I turned around to see where Madison had gone and saw the rear half of my dog, his tail beating from side to side. Was he checking out Emil/Emily? Or was it Madison he was interested in?

“I might take her shopping,” I said, facing her worried father again. “If that’s okay with you?”

“Shopping?”

“I think she might need a starter bra,” I said. “Maybe a haircut, if she’s willing.”

“Sally used to cut her hair,” he said. He reached for his head, forgetting he had a baseball cap on. “Mine, too.“

“That was a long time ago, Leon. She must have gotten her hair cut since then.”

He scratched behind one ear, looked uncomfortable. “I tried it once.”

“And?”

He shook his head. I figured it must have turned out like his jacket, one side shorter than the other.

“I think she cuts it herself.”

“You’re not sure?”

“I...” Leon lifted one hand, let it come to rest on top of his camera. “Sometimes there’s hair on the bathroom floor, in front of the sink.”

“It’s not a problem, Leon. We’ll figure something out. The girl stuff, I mean. If she’s willing.”

“You’ll play it by ear?”

“My specialty.”

He looked as if he wanted to go, but he didn’t.

“Leon? Is there something you wanted to say?” I asked him.

“About Sally?” he said, a minuscule amount of hope showing for a bare second. “Is there anything yet?”

“I found out that she could have gotten out of the city with no money and even with Roy, but,” I sighed, “that doesn’t mean that’s what she did. It only means it’s what she might have done. I told you this would be hard, next to impossible.”

“You did.”

“Do you want me to continue with it? I can stop if you want me to.”

He shook his head. “How?” he asked. “How could she have...?”

“Hitchhiking. Not a car. The truckers in the meat market. I tried it with Dashiell. They’re so lonely, most of the drivers, they even stopped for someone with a pit bull.”

“And then?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have a lot to go on, Leon.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.