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“Aye. What fer?” he asked. “’Twas a personal gift to the wee lassie.”
“There might be something important inside of it. Something that me, Birdie, and Lucas have been searching for.”
“The heart ’twas gifted to sweet Mia by Marshall. Custom made it was. Wanted her to ’ave something’ to remember him by.”
“Do you remember Mia opening the locket. To see what was inside?”
“Locket? ’Twas a heart pendant, if I remember right.”
“No, it was actually a locket with a custom engraving on the back.”
“Aye. Marshall went on and on about it. Especially afore he died. Kept sayin’ everythin’ she needed was in ’is heart.”
“Right,” Grant said. “And that something was inside the heart locket.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Angus, are you there?”
“I…I thought he was speakin’ in faibles. No in truth. Right afore he died, he kept grabbin’ me shirt sayin’ what Birdie and Mia needed was in ’is heart.”
Grant looked at Tati with a knowing nod. “Thanks, Angus, I’ll give Chief Walker a call. See if I can speak with Mia. If you see her, let her know that she needs to take the necklace off and hide it in a safe place. Tell her she’s not to mention the necklace to anyone. Then call me and we’ll make arrangements to ship it North.”
“Aye. Ow’s me Birdie? I be full o’ feart for the lass.”
“From what I’ve heard from Lucas, she’s doing fine. Eager to come home. We’re all working toward that goal.”
“Aye, right. It’s what ye doanae say that’s got me runnin afeart.”
“Hopefully, getting our hands on that necklace will be the key to coming home sooner. All of us.”
Grant pressedEndon his phone. Then dialed the Chief. A minute later, the burly firefighter assured him Mia wasn’t spending the night and he had no idea where she was if not with Bernadette.
It wasn’t until past two in the morning when Grant called Sarah-Lynn, asking to speak with Oliver and that it was an emergency.
Thankfully, Oliver sang like a bird, revealing Mia had asked him to drive her to Boston but he had refused. He also mentioned Mia set out to try to talk Mary-Lou Jeffries into giving her a ride, but Mia never confirmed whether she was successful or not. Nor was she returning his calls.
After a couple more minutes assuring the boy’s mother that he wasn’t in any kind of trouble, despite getting a call from the chief of police in the early hours of the morning and that she had raised a good, law-abiding son, he pressedEndand turned to Tati.
“Mia’s got the necklace and likely the thumb drive but, unfortunately, she’s M.I.A. According to the information I’ve been able to gather, she’s on her way to Boston by way of a local friend, a Mary-Lou Jeffries. I spoke with Erma, Mary-Lou’s mother and member of the Pinkie Posse, who also tried calling her daughter. No answer. We’ve got to get to Mia and that necklace before someone else does.”
That’s when they both noticed that Judith and Morales had long gone.
Grant didn’t even want to contemplate why.
* * *
“I really wishI had been able to chat with Angus and Bernadette before leaving Wayward.” Mary-Lou yawned as she drove.
It was late, and Mia was tired, despite being eager to get to her house in Boston and see her mom and dad. Before leaving, she’d received several texts from Oliver and chose to give him as little information as possible. The fewer people who knew where she was, the better.
While standing in front of the diner with her overnight bag, waiting for Mary-Lou to pick her up, she spotted a parked car with the window down. The driver having run inside to pick up a quick order. After a couple hours of driving, Mia asked her ride if they could stop for a restroom break and travel snacks. While Mary-Lou was in the ladies’ room, Mia bought a burner phone.
“I know,” Mia said, attempting to sound as commiserating as possible. “But they are both really sick and asked not to be disturbed. You know, so they could sleep. Must’ve had caught something at church on Sunday. I heard the flu was going around. They told me to thank you for driving me to Boston for my birthday party, though.”
“Well, first thing in the morning, we’re calling them to give them an update as to where we are and when I’ll be dropping you off at your mom’s house.”
“Sure thing. Thank you for getting the hotel room for tonight. They said they’d pay you back.”
