Shadow in Serenity by Terri Blackstock

Author:Terri Blackstock
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780310332312
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2011-12-20T10:00:00+00:00

twenty-three

The evidence was indisputable. Carny gaped at the broken piggy bank on Jason’s desk, its pieces left scattered over the wooden top as if he’d been distracted by something else. The bank had been almost full after she’d made him return the money to it, yet there was no sign of the money now.

She told herself to stay calm, that there was probably an innocent explanation. He’d probably forsaken the four-wheeler he’d been saving for and decided to buy a pair of skates or a new fishing pole instead. The fact that he’d done it without consulting her, thus breaking a major rule in their household, disturbed her even more.

As the sun was beginning to go down, she went looking for him and found him in the woods on his way back from the lake, carrying the string of fish he’d caught and talking to himself. He was alone, a fact that relieved her somewhat, though she was sure she’d seen Logan’s car parked nearby earlier.

“Jason!” she called.

He spotted her and, smiling, picked up his step until he was running toward her. “Mom, we caught six. Logan let me keep all of them.”

“I need to talk to you,” she said. “In the house.”

He looked up at her with saucer-shaped eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Come on, Jason. In the house.”

“Is it about Logan?” he asked, walking as fast as he could to keep up with her. “You said we could fish together. Don’t you remember?”

“I remember,” she said, almost feeling sorry for him. She opened the screen door and held it for him as he went in. “Put the fish in the sink. You can help me clean them later.”

He did as she said, then washed his hands and turned back to her. “What is it, Mom?”

“Jason,” she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down so she could face him eye to eye. “I want to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth. Where’s the money that was in your piggy bank?”

He immediately glanced away. “I’m sorry I broke it, Mom, but it was taking so long to shake it out, that I finally just whacked it. I know I was supposed to ask you.”

“Jason, where is it?”

“Well, I decided I didn’t need a four-wheeler. There are more important things.”

An overwhelming feeling of injustice washed over her, and she felt her heart tightening. “What things?”

“Well, you know how you’re always teaching me to save. Some things are just like saving … only they make you more money later.”

She knew then where the money was, and why he was trying so hard to avoid answering her. Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Jason, did you give that money to Logan?”

He was silent for too long, and when she finally opened her eyes, she saw him staring stubbornly at her.

“Jason, I asked you a question. Did you give that money to Logan?”

“Yes,” he said through tight lips. “And the money I had under my mattress too. Last year’s birthday money and my Christmas money.

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