Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
I can do this.
I have to.
Lifting my chin, I march my way to the front door. Before I came over, I drank a ton of coffee. My nerves are jittery, but I’ll be damned if I fall asleep again in the monster’s lair. It takes everything in me to knock. Heavy footsteps thud closer. I almost turn on my heel and take off running.
Don’t.
You have to stay for her.
Jack answers the door dressed in a crisp dress shirt. He seems annoyed at my tardiness yet doesn’t breathe a word. “Dinner is in the oven. Comes out in a few. I have a date and I’m late.”
Who would ever willingly date this pot-bellied pervert is beyond me.
“When will you be home? I’ll need to tell my dad. He almost made me quit because of the other night,” I say, pinning him with my fiercest glare.
That didn’t happen, but I need him to think my dad knows where I come to babysit. I dread what Jack would do if he knew I was sneaking over here and no one knew my whereabouts.
“Around midnight,” he says coolly, ignoring my insinuation about what happened last time.
He grabs his keys and leaves without another word. Relief floods through me. The buzzer goes off in the kitchen. I pull out another frozen lasagna that looks disgusting.
“Hi, Penny,” Zella says, appearing in the kitchen.
“Hey, Princess Z.”
We both crinkle our noses to the food.
“Can we go on an adventure?” she asks.
“What sort of adventure?”
“To the park,” she suggests, her brown eyes wide with hope.
I toy with her curls. “How about we get food and find a place to play? Sound fun?”
“Yes!”
“Hurry. Go grab your shoes and coat.”
She scurries off. I go to dump the food in the trash but notice some mail in the bin. I snag the mail out before dropping the lasagna inside. Quickly, I leaf through the stack until I notice something addressed to Lacey that’s been forwarded. The address it was originally sent to matches where she sent Terrence letters from. Terrence told me the PI said new people have been renting the house since May, which was about the time Jack left, but he hasn’t been able to find out where Lacey and Vicki went. There’s still so much to discover.
I shove the envelope to Lacey in my pocket. Zella and I leave. I’m glad I keep a booster seat in my Jeep for when I babysit Sebban. Once I have her buckled in, I drive her through town to a chicken restaurant that has an indoor playground. She’s well-behaved and acts like this is the most exciting thing she’s ever done. I wish I could call Terrence to have him join us, but that would ruin everything.
Terrence would freak out.
Forbid me to come back.
As much as it pains me, I refrain from calling him. Instead, I grab us food and then we sit inside the play area. She eats quickly so she can go play. There are a few kids near her age and she happily joins them. I pull the envelope out and open it. It’s a personal check written from a Mary Stevens for a couple of hundred dollars. In the memo line, she says it’s for the mural painting in April. A letter is attached.
Lacey,
Hey, hon. You must have lost the last three checks I’ve sent for your work last spring. Larry thinks you’ve moved or something and to put a stop payment on this check too. I owe you for the work, though, and I know you’ve got a little girl to take care of. If you happen to get this, please cash this check or at least call me. If you’d rather have cash, we can work that out too. I’m worried about you. My friend Leah is also wanting some custom work done. I could refer you to her. Please come by the house or call. My number is at the bottom.
Mary
I take a picture of the check and letter before shoving them both inside the envelope and putting it inside my hoodie pocket. While Zella plays, I research on my phone. I don’t find any ads or anything regarding Lacey and her custom work. Everything is such a mystery and I hate it.
Zella comes back to drink her orange soda, her eyes filled with childish delight that looks good on her.
“Hey,” I say, patting the bench beside me. “Can I ask you a question?”
She plops down next to me and nods while sipping her drink.
“Where do you think your mommy went?”
Her smile fades and she breaks my stare, dropping her chin to her chest. She shrugs. “She’s lost.”
“Where could she have gone?” I probe. “Did she have any friends?”
“She said Grandma and I were her only friends.” She peers up at me, a troubled expression in her eyes.