Page 93 of Strangers in Time

Oliver had forgotten to lock the door, so Charlie held the bell still, slipped inside, placed the money and the things he’d found at Molly’s ruined house on the counter, and fled.

He looked back once at the little shop that held the only friends he had left in the world. This placed another prodigious lump in his throat, because Charlie realized he would never see them again. He was nothing but trouble, and friends did not bring trouble to their mates.

He picked up his pace and then broke into a sprint. Charlie had always been fast. Running from potential disaster all the time just did that to you.

A GLUMDISCOVERY

LATER, BOTHMOLLY ANDOliver stared in dismay at the money and other items salvaged from Molly’s home that were resting on the counter.

“Charlie was here,” she said pointedly. “These things are from my home.” She opened the tin box, revealing the money inside. “This was our household funds.” She lifted the photo of her and her parents from the pile and studied it, as Oliver rubbed his chin, evidently lost in thought. He glanced at the doorway.

“Do you… could he have seen us speaking with the inspector and perhaps deduced what that was about? Or possibly he overheard…?”

“And then he left this here and…?” said Molly, looking to be near tears.

“It would explain things, surely. And then he might have run off, not wishing to bring any trouble upon us.”

“Wehaveto find him, Mr. Oliver. We have to tell him that we know he had nothing to do with what happened to that boy and the constable.”

“But it seems as though hewashere that night, Molly.”

“You can’t believe he wanted that boy and the constable to die.”

“Absolutely not. Charlie is a good lad. But he… well, he…”

“What?” she said sharply.

“He actually did pinch some money from me one night.”

“What!”

“But he brought it all back the next day. I mean, he came all this way to bring the money back. Nowthatis a good person.”

“Yes, it is,” said a relieved Molly.

“But in the eyes of Inspector Willoughby, he was at the scene of the crime and then ran, which, in itself, makes him culpable.”

“Then what can we do?”

“We need to find Charlie and make sure he’s safe and that he knows we believe him to be innocent and that we will… shelter him.”

“But isn’t that a crime?”

Oliver looked deeply troubled. “It could be considered such, but I am the adult and will thus be held accountable. Because of your age you will not be.”

“Charlieis younger than I am, and yet he is being hunted by the police for a crime, so I’m not sure your position regarding me is accurate,” countered Molly.

“You are absolutely right about that,” conceded Oliver, sighing.

“But I don’t care about that. Charlie is my friend. In fact, you two are the only friends I have. So how do we go about finding him?”

“The first place to look is his old flat. He might have gone back there. However, it may already have another tenant living in it. With housing scarce, these things tend to happen fast. We’ll go there straightaway.”

Molly picked up the money Charlie had left behind and handed it to Oliver. “You should have this. It’s… partial payment for us, at least now for me, to be staying here. Until Charlie returns,” she added quickly.

They headed off. The sidewalks were fairly empty because a thick fog was filtering in; the air was bracingly chilly. They each had a gasmask with them, and they used the white paint on the curbs, trees, and lampposts to see their way.

“So an auxiliary… what was it again?” he said.

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