Fortune Teller by Jana DeLeon

Author:Jana DeLeon [DeLeon, Jana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J&R Publishing

Chapter Eleven

We pulled up to the dock behind the General Store and everyone went inside, figuring we’d grab a drink and maybe a snack while we were there. Ida Belle knew the store owner—an older man who looked about the same age as Walter. He had kind eyes and a nice smile, and I briefly wondered if it was a requirement for the job.

Late seventies. Six foot one. Two hundred ten pounds. Sill in excellent shape and forearms told me he was still moving his own stock around. No threat, directly, but that sign above his head advertising fresh boudin for sale might be my downfall.

“Otto, this is my friend Fortune Redding. Fortune, this is Otto Kraus. His family moved to the swamps from Germany more years ago than either of us is counting.”

“But they don’t hold it against me,” Otto said, smiling as he extended his hand. “You’re the one who found the skeleton in Mary Joseph’s closet—or rose bed, as the case may be. The rest of my family headed for the city long ago, and they’re always asking why I want to stay in such a small place. ‘Sleepy little towns where nothing happens.’ Well, that was something, all right.”

“People can always surprise you,” I said. “Did you hear about that girl found in the swamp over in Sinful?”

“Oh yeah. Had a deputy come around asking questions, but I didn’t recognize the girl. Said he was going to check around town, but he took a phone call right after he spoke with me and drove off. I figured maybe they’d found her family.”

More like that idiot Hermes had called him off the job and asked him to do something really relevant, like sort the Post-its by color.

“No. Her identity is still up in the air,” I said. “I’m working on a theory—and it’s more than a long shot—but do you know anything about the Brethren?”

He frowned. “You think she might have been one of them? That girl in the picture couldn’t have been more than ten years old. Why would she be out in the swamp like that?”

“What if she was running away? Maybe with her mother? Her parents haven’t stepped forward and there’s no missing persons file on her.”

He shook his head, his expression grave. “I don’t like to hear that. A girl that young should be playing with stuffed animals and blowing bubbles like my grandkids.”

“I agree, but if we can’t come up with something soon, she’ll become a ward of the state. If the Brethren are looking to get her back, it won’t be hard to do once she’s in the system. There’s too many kids and not nearly enough oversight.”

“That’s a bad situation. I wish I could help but I haven’t seen the Brethren in a lot of years. Was trying to think…maybe five, no, more like eight or better.”

“They haven’t come for supplies?”

“No. At least, not the men I dealt with before. If they got new ones, then they’re not coming regular or buying big enough for me to guess who they are.

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