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Chapter 8
Lainey stepped away from Brody, her gaze fixed on the girl in the tree. A stand-off wouldn’t help either of them. And she desperately wanted to help this defensive, frightened child.
Reaching for Brody’s hand, she tugged him toward the trunk of the apple tree. The girl skittered higher in the branches, as if afraid Lainey would reach into the tree and yank her down.
“Please come down,” Lainey said after a moment. “I’m getting a crick in my neck from looking up at you.”
“Then stop looking at me and go away,” the girl said immediately.
Lainey sighed. Stubborn girl. Which was probably why she’d survived in this abandoned compound. “We’re not going away,” she said, standing on tiptoe to get a better look at the girl. “We’ll stay here as long as we need to. And I’m betting we can last longer, sitting on the grass, than you can in that tree.”
“Why won’t you just go away and leave me alone?” the girl cried, tears close to the edge of her voice. “Please.”
“We’re not going anywhere, sweetheart,” Lainey murmured. “We’ll out-stubborn you any day of the week.”
The girl scrambled higher into the tree, until a loud crack echoed from the leafy branches. Moments later, the girl came tumbling down. Brody leaped forward and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. She’d dropped the sheathed knife, and he slid it into his pocket. The sheriff needed to check if this was the knife used to kill Lainey’s husband.
He set her on her feet and retreated, but he’d positioned himself so the girl couldn’t run away. Tangled and matted strawberry blond hair hung around her cheeks. Her thin, pale face featured a pointed chin and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Her drawn, pale face suggested she hadn’t been sleeping well. She was painfully thin.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Lainey said softly. “We’ll sit down, too. I know you’re scared of us.”
The girl lifted her chin. “I’m not scared of anyone.”
“Good for you,” Brody said. “You’re really brave. Most people, if they were hiding out in this deserted compound, would be scared out of their minds.”
The girl studied him for a long moment, as if deciding whether or not he was mocking her. She must have decided he wasn’t, because she suddenly flopped to the ground, as if the effort of holding herself up had become too great.
Lainey reached for Brody’s hand and drew him down onto the ground with her. The girl stared at both of them, her eyes flicking from Lainey to Brody and back to Lainey.
After a long moment, she slumped against the trunk of the apple tree, as if her last ounce of energy had vanished. Lainey clasped her arms around her knees and leaned toward her. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” she asked gently.
The girl’s eyes watered, and she turned her head and dragged her forearm over her face. No one spoke for a long moment, then she muttered, “Phoebe.”
“Thank you, Phoebe.” She squeezed Brody’s hand, trying to tell him to let her talk to Phoebe. He squeezed back, and she held on more tightly.
“Brody and I would like to help you,” she said. “Can you tell us why you’re here?”
“I haven’t taken anything,” Phoebe said, scowling. “I’m just… exploring. The place is abandoned. Who cares if I’m out here?”
“Someone owns this property. They might care,” Brody said, his tone casual. As if they were having a conversation with a friend.
“Maybe,” Phoebe shot back. “But I don’t see anyone out here caring. If they didn’t want people here, they shouldn’t have abandoned it.”
Lainey nodded. “Finders keepers?”
Phoebe stuck her chin out at them. “Exactly.”
Drawing a deep breath, unsure what to say to this defensive, scared child, Lainey asked softly, “How did you get out here?”
The girl shrugged one shoulder. “I walked.”
“From Helena?” Lainey asked, horrified.
Phoebe nodded.
“That’s eight miles.” Lainey didn’t want to think about all the things that could have happened to this child as she walked along the road from Helena.
Phoebe must have seen the fear on her face, because she rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid. I hid when I heard a car coming.”
