Page 16 of Kristoff

Sydney shoves a forkful of curry into his mouth.

“What do you mean?” I stop, the sack on my shoulder, giving him time to continue.

“Seems like the people up at Germantown,” he says while chewing, “lost one of them teachers.” He piles rice and curry onto the fork, preparing to shovel in more food.

“Nah.” I head to the storage room. A teacher, huh. Hell, if teachers came in Brianna’s kind of package when I was a kid, I would have shown up to class more often. Or, with my brand of planning, I may have played dumb just to be sent to tutoring.

Instead, I was stuck with Sister Mary Magdalen, who was seventy if she was a day, and wore orthopedic shoes. Her goal in life seemed to be to pull me from the temptation of life on the street, the easy marks, and the money we could make with Pop’s connections. I’ll give it to the old lady. She was right when she said education is where it’s at. Moving on to the legal field brought bigger marks and more money. I grin to myself, picturing the old lady’s thick eyebrows scrunched up in righteous disapproval.

“Man or woman?” I ask, giving myself a few seconds to figure out what information I need. The trick about setting up a lie is knowing what you can say, as well as having a reason to say it. If I deny having seen her, without knowing the teacher is a female, I’m busted. It’s the same reason I’ve chosen not to ask her questions. In this case, the less any of us know, the better.

“Wor-mn.” He mangles the word through a mouthful of hot food.

I laugh loud enough for him, and hopefully Brianna, to hear me. “No new women coming through.” I drop the sack on top of the one I brought earlier then head back.

“Would you like some lemonade to take with you?” Celia offers, presenting a perfect way to reinforce what I’ve said.

“Celia, have you seen any unfamiliar women in the village?” With the way her emotions show up on her face, I have to be careful to ask the right questions and steer her in the direction I want. While I don’t emphasize “seen,” she knows what I need her to confirm.

“No.” She shakes her head, giving an honest answer. “Only woman to come through is from the fishing camp upriver. Early last week, I think.”

That’s my girl. I turn back to Sydney. “When did she go missing?”

“I think it happened yesterday or a day before. They had a group out looking for her, so I had to wait to drop off my order.”

Hmmm.What other information could I need? “Is this a younger woman who may have run away with a lover? Or an older woman who may have wandered too far and got taken by a cat?”

Sydney slows his chewing. “I’m not exactly sure, myself.” He takes a drink, belching afterward. “Not that she would have gotten this far on her own.” He shrugs, grinning as he turns to Celia. “But I figured if I asked, I’d get to talk to your beautiful cook.”

Harlan comes in through the back door.

Of course he’d show up now. “Give me a hand, will you?” I nod toward the stack of merchandise, hoping to keep him from acting the fool.

“The Faust people,” Sydney continues, “will be very grateful to have her back.”

Harlan pauses.

Don’t say anything. I wish I could put the thought straight in his head, but it’s not going to happen. I need to figure out how to do damage control, in case things go wrong.

“Harlan,” Celia calls his attention in a surprisingly sweet tone. “Can you bring this in the kitchen while I check on the stove?”

Nice save. I’m glad she pulled it off.There is a God!

“What all am I taking?” he asks, sorting through the delivery.

“I’ll need the spices and onions,” she replies, as she walks away. “Everything else can go into the storage room.”

Hmm, did Harlan comment to cover up his reaction? Or is he finally making a few strides in this game of chess?

While I’m not a fan of Sydney, dealing with him is necessary. Harlan’s reason for not liking Sydney is five foot five with long, black hair. Maybe he’ll realize it’s easier to reposition her and keep her from being around Sydney than to drag her into another room.

The corners of Sydney’s mouth take a downward turn. He may not be thrilled about having Celia walk away, but he won’t make a scene. We’d have an issue without the foodstuff he manages to bring us. But if he cuts us off, the men up the road will hassle him for losing their supply of non-fish-based meals. In the long run, he’d be the one to lose.

Besides, he can always console himself at Erica’s place. He might pay more to spend the night, but he isn’t going to risk his life driving through at this hour.

Now I just have to wait for him to finish and be on his way to his next stop so I can head upstairs and convince Brianna she won’t be able to leave in the morning.

CHAPTER NINE

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