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“Bye,” said Tara, waving.
“Wait,” Pen called out to her as she was walking out the front door. “How about a hug? And what about Aine?”
Tara walked back over as though what Pen had asked her to do was the worst thing she could imagine. She gave them both perfunctory hugs and walked back toward the door where Quinn waited.
“What about Ava?” asked Aine.
“Tell her I said thank you.”
Without another word, Tara walked out; Quinn shrugged her shoulders and followed.
Aine closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer, like she did at least once every half hour, that God would keep Griffin and the rest of the K19 team safe, but this time, she included Tara.
“Where is she?” shouted Ava.
“Who?” Aine asked, sitting up. She must’ve drifted to sleep. “Where’s Pen?”
“I don’t care where Pen is. Where’s Tara?”
“She left with Quinn to go to the airport. What’s wrong?”
“When did they leave?”
“Ava! Sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”
When she came closer, Aine could see that Ava had both her wallet and a small wooden box in her hand.
“She cleaned me out,” said Ava, pointing to the things she set on the table in front of them.
“What are you talking about?”
“I had three hundred dollars in cash in my wallet. She took that along with my jewelry. What about you? Did she take anything of yours?”
“I don’t even know where my bag is. Griffin carried it in for me.”
“I’ll look,” said Ava, standing back up. “Where’s Penelope?”
“I don’t know that either. I must’ve fallen asleep.”
Aine watched as Ava looked around the room, then went into the kitchen. She came back out and opened the front hall closet.
“Here it is,” she said, bringing it over to her.
Aine opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. Like Ava’s, it was empty.
“How much cash did you have?” her sister asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe eighty or a hundred dollars.”
Aine slowly opened the change compartment. She had a habit when she was traveling; she’d put whatever small jewelry she was wearing in that part of her wallet so she wouldn’t accidentally leave it behind after she went to sleep or took a shower. When she saw it was empty, her eyes filled with tears.
“What else is missing?” asked Ava, sitting down and putting a hand on Aine’s arm.
“The bracelet Griffin gave me for Christmas. The one that belonged to his aunt.”
The front door opened, and Pen walked in. “What’s wrong?” she asked, looking into Aine’s tear-filled eyes.
“We’re missing some things,” Ava said. “How long ago did Tara leave?”
