AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You think everyone’s hungry,” Cal said.
“I do not.”
“Do, too. How ’bout if I try talking to her, El?” Cal said. “My Sarah is about her age.”
“No. Let me talk to her,” Peanut said. “I’m a mom, after all.”
“I’m a dad.”
“Shut up, you two,” Ellie snapped. “Earl, go to the diner and order me a nice hot meal. Some milk, too. Maybe a slice of Barbara’s apple pie.”
“You’re a genius, Ellie. Mrs. Grimm thought the girl was tryin’ to steal food,” Earl said, grinning broadly. “I seen something like this on one of them cop shows. I think it was—”
“I was the one who mentioned it,” Peanut said, puffing up.
“You always mention food,” Cal said. “It’s hardly noteworthy.”
“And clear the streets,” Ellie cut in before they started up again. “I want everyone gone for a two-block radius.”
Earl’s smile faded. “They won’t wanna go.”
“We’re the law, Earl. Make them go home.”
He looked at her sideways. They both knew he didn’t have much experience with being the law. Although he’d patrolled these streets for decades, he’d spent most of that time going for coffee and handing out parking tickets. “Maybe I should call Myra. Everyone listens to her.”
“You don’t need your wife to clear the streets, Earl. If you have to, start writing tickets. You know how to do that.”
Earl slumped in a hangdog way and headed for the hair salon. When he reached the drugstore, a crowd immediately formed around him. After a moment they groaned loudly.
Peanut crossed her arms and made a clucking sound. “This is the biggest thing to hit town since Raymond Weller drove his car into Thelma’s R.V. You aren’t going to be Miss Popular for making them miss it.”
Ellie looked at her best friend. “Them?”
Peanut’s eyes rounded in disbelief. “Surely you don’t mean me, too?”
“We’ve got a terrified girl up there, Pea, and by the looks of it, something isn’t right with her. Entertaining the folks of Rain Valley—you included—is hardly my first priority. Now you and Cal go back to the station and get me some kind of net. I don’t imagine its going to be easy to catch that poor thing. Call Nick in Mystic. And Ted over on the res. See if a kid got lost in the park today. Cal, you call Mel. He’s probably out by the park
entrance, trying to ticket tourists. Tell him to start canvassing the town. She’s not a local kid, but maybe she’s staying with someone.”
“I, for one, can follow orders,” Cal said, heading for the cruiser.
Peanut didn’t move.
“Go,” Ellie said again.
Peanut sighed dramatically. “I’m going.”
AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN RAIN VALLEY were quiet. The shops had all been locked up, and the parking slots were empty. Just out of sight there were two police barricades set up. No doubt Peanut and Cal were having the time of their lives as the official voices of Police Chief Ellen Barton.
“I guess you’re thinking it’s sorta weird that a woman is the chief of police,” Ellie said, sitting as still as she could on the uncomfortable iron and wooden bench beneath the maple tree. She’d been here for almost an hour and it was becoming obvious that she wouldn’t be able to talk the kid down. It wasn’t entirely surprising. Ellie could drive safely at one hundred miles per hour, shoot a bird from five hundred feet away, and make a grown man confess to burglary, but what she knew about children wouldn’t fill a thimble.
But Peanut and Cal—who did know kids—both thought talking was the ticket. It was the “A” plan. They all agreed it would be best if the girl came down on her own. So Ellie talked.
She glanced down at the platter at the base of the tree. Two perfectly roasted chickens were surrounded by apple and orange slices. A freshly baked apple pie rested on a separate plate. There were several paper plates and forks set in a neat stack. The glass of milk had long since warmed.
It should have been kid food—cheeseburgers and fries and pizza. Why hadn’t she thought of that before?
Still, it smelled heavenly. Ellie’s stomach grumbled, reminding her that it was past dinnertime, and she wasn’t accustomed to missing meals. If it weren’t for daily aerobics classes at the local dance studio, she would certainly have packed on the pounds since high school. And Lord knew a woman of her petite stature couldn’t afford to gain weight. Not when she was unmarried and looking for love.
