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Lula shook her head vigorously. “I don't know nothing about kids. I don't want to know nothing about kids, either.”
“If I don't get this food to Evelyn she's going to go out and get it herself. If she's recognized, she'll have to move on.”
“Evelyn and Annie can't stay hidden forever,” I said.
“I know that. I'm trying to straighten things out.”
“By talking to Soder?”
The surprise was obvious on her face. “You were watching me, too.”
“Soder didn't look happy. What were you arguing about?”
“I can't tell you. And I need to go. Please let me go.”
“I want to talk to Evelyn on the phone. I need to know she's okay. If I can talk to her on the phone, I'll let you go. And Lula and I will baby-sit.”
“Hold on here,” Lula said. “That don't sound like a deal to me. Kids spook me out.”
“Okay,” Dottie said. “I don't see where it'll harm anything to let you talk to Evelyn.”
She went to the living room to dial. There was a brief conversation, Dotty returned, and passed the phone to me.
“Your grandmother is worried,” I told Evelyn. “She's worried about you and Annie.”
“Tell her we're alright. And please stop looking for us. You're just making things more complicated.”
“I'm not the person you have to worry about. Steven's hired a private investigator, and she's good at finding people.”
“Dotty told me.”
“I'd like to talk to you.”
“I can't talk now. I have to get things straightened out first.”
“What things?”
“I can't talk about it.” And she hung up.
I gave Dotty the keys to my car. “Keep your eyes open for Jeanne Ellen. Check your rearview mirror for a tail.”
Dotty grabbed the bag of groceries. “Don't let Scotty drink out of the toilet,” she said. And then she took off.
The two-year-old was standing in the middle of the kitchen floor, looking at Lula and me like he'd never seen humans before.
“You think that's Scotty?” Lula asked.
A little girl appeared in the doorway leading to the bedrooms. “Scotty is a dog,” she said. “My brother's name is Oliver. Who are you?”
“We're the baby-sitters,” Lula said.
Stephanie Plum 8 - Hard Eight
8
“WHERE'S BONNIE?” THE little girl asked. “Bonnie always baby-sits for Oliver and me.”
“Bonnie punked out,” Lula said. “So you get us.”
