AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dell stared at Arnie and me, white-faced. “I need to pick up something. Can you drive my wife home? I’ll be along later.”
A wave of thirst washed through the room as Dell wiped his mouth with his hands. A thirst so deep that it was practically screaming.
Casey stared at him for a moment, then—saying nothing—picked up her purse and followed Arnie and me to the door, leaving Dell to sit there in silence.
“You can ride with me, or with Arnie,” I said, once we cleared the door.
“You, please. Dell is going to buy booze. I know it.” She followed me to my car and, once she fastened her seatbelt and I started the car, she broke down, tears running down her face. “Thank you…thank you for telling me my little girl will be all right.”
“Of course,” I said. “What’s your address?”
“231-A Dabob Lane.”
After plugging in the directions to the GPS, I pulled out of the parking lot and, followed by Arnie, headed toward her house. It wasn’t that far away. They lived in the seedier side of town, where the houses were weathered, where rents and mortgages were cheap, and where some of the more questionable townsfolk lived.
“I’m glad I could help. Sarah will be okay. And she loves you both,” I said, wanting to rest her mind.
“I believe you. Sometimes Dell doesn’t process emotion well. And I know him—he’ll take Sarah’s loss out on the kitten.” She hesitated. “Do you mind if I come visit Sirius now and then?”
I wanted to say yes, but I knew better than get involved with someone who wasn’t ready to leave their abusive partner. Getting dragged into the middle of their drama, and itwouldhappen if I let myself become friends with Casey, wasn’t best for my own mental health. Also, it was obvious that Casey wanted contact withme—not the cat—because I was the last link she had to her daughter. She’d constantly try to get me to contact Sarah for her, and that wasn’t good for the dead. I scrambled for the best answer I could think of.
“You know, it’s probably best that you don’t, at least not for now. You don’t want to make Dell angrier than he already is.”
She hung her head. “You’re probably right. There,” she pointed out the window at a tiny, shabby house. “That’s our house.”
Arnie accompanied us inside, where Casey found the cat carrier and I tucked Sirius—a scrawny long haired silver tabby—into the carrier. Casey started to empty his litter box but I told her no, I’d grab a new one on the way home, as well as kitten food. Carrier in hand, I followed her to the door.
“Listen,” I said. “I’m probably overstepping my boundaries, especially with the situation now, but if you need to get away, call the sheriff. Daisy’s a good cop, and she’ll help you find a shelter. If Dell hurts you, leave. Don’t stay, thinking it’s going to get better.” I glanced around. “Do you have any other children?”
Casey shook her head. “No, we lost Lila early and then…after Sarah was born, I had my tubes tied. I could protect her from him, but I didn’t want to push my luck. Dell’s always had a bad temper, but…I love him.”
I love him. Those three little words damned so many women.
As I followed Arnie out into the day, I felt like the morning had dragged on a thousand years. We were nearing the parking lot when his phone rang. He listened for a moment, then turned to me after making sure Casey wasn’t within earshot.
“We have him. One of the men called in that he spotted a van matching the description Sarah gave you parked in a rest stop. The license plate matched what she said it was. I’m heading over there. We must work carefully—we don’t have a legal right to search him, so we’re going to have to find another way to get him out of the van. Wish us luck, Elphyra.”
“All the luck in the world,” I said. After sliding the kitten into the back seat and fastening the seat belt through the carrier’s handle, I drove to the Wisteria Shopping Center, a mini-mall on the outside of town. “Here goes nothing,” I said to Sirius as I pulled into the parking lot to call Grams.
CHAPTERTWELVE
After tellingGrams about my morning, I promised to be home after I found a vet. Before she could say a word, I ended the call and then searched online for a good vet’s office. There was one in the Wisteria mini-mall, next to a pet store. I called them and asked if they had any appointments open, and to my relief, they did.
I parked in front of the clinic and, Sirius’s carrier in tow, headed inside. I introduced myself and started for the waiting area, but the receptionist stopped me.
“We can take you right in. We had a cancellation this morning.”
One of the vet techs led me into an exam room that had another door on the opposite side, an exam table, and a built-in wooden seat. There was also a counter with a sink and cupboards above it. She sat down at a computer terminal.
“Hi, I’m Tara. Let me open a file for you. I need your name, address, and phone number.”
“Elphyra MacPherson. That’s E-l-p-h-y-r-a, and my last name’s spelled M-a-c-P-h-e-r-s-o-n. I live at 7863 Oak Leaf Road, Starlight Hollow WA.” From his carrier, Sirius gave a loud mew.
“And your pet’s name?”
I hesitated. The name Sirius didn’t jump out at me, so I said, “Silver, though his collar tag will say Sirius, I think. I don’t know if he’s microchipped, though I doubt it. I adopted him today. A woman was giving him away.”
“Silver. All right. Do you know how old he is?”
