A funny little hitch
socked me in the chest, when I looked at Doni and realized something. Aunt
Lenore was dead, but in all the fuss of Doni showing up and getting her
settled and being so furious on her behalf, that little fact had slipped right
past us. Who was going to tell my mother that her sister was dead? Had anybody
thought of that yet?
I felt about twenty
years older all of a sudden, and tired. Tragedy sure created a lot of work and
a lot of things to think about. Even if--maybe especially if?--that tragedy was
four months old.
What was wrong with
those Hallidays, that they couldn't be bothered to call and say, "Oh, by
the way, your daughter is dead. We don't want her daughter. She's on her
way"?
Doni turned and
looked at me with those big, sad eyes, and I shuddered at a new thought: Maybe
it wasn't that they didn't care about her. Maybe they hoped
something nasty would happen to her. Then there would no one to claim whatever
inheritance she had coming to her, so they could take it over.
Of course, that
begged the question of just what these people had done to Doni in the four
months since her parents died. Why had they held onto her all that time, and
only now cut her loose?
"Hey, Doni, how
long after Aunt Lenore and Uncle Thad...well, after they had their
accident--"
"There were a
lot of government people and protective services people and lawyers." Her
eyes got bigger and full of shadows, but there was no feeling in her voice.
That was kind of scary.
Mr. Zephyr gave her
that look I had seen him and Police Chief Tanner use when someone tried to
snatch a little girl from the playground at the middle school back in March. The
middle school was next to the high school, and I was trying out for the track
team with Miss Lanie when it happened. Someone screamed. Miss Lanie vanished, like
she flew from the running track to the playground. Then she was back, holding
that little girl, who was so scared she didn't start crying until Miss Lanie
told us what happened and sent someone to call school security. The kidnapper
got away, though.
Suddenly there were people
coming from every side of town. Police and teachers and Mr. Zephyr and Pastor
Rocky. They got those sad, determined looks on their faces, just like he had
now. Nobody ever said what happened, but there was a big time gap between when they
caught up with the kidnapper on the edge of the Metroparks, and when he showed
up at the police station.
That kind of look can
be scary, but make you feel really safe, all at the same time.
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