Page 14 of You Can Leave Your Hat On

“What?”

“Get out. Let’s see if we can figure this out.” He closed his car door, came around the back end of the cruiser, and opened her door. “Come on. I’ll help you.”

“Oh, god, Aaron, I’m gonna throw up! Oh, please,” Maisey whined with her hand over her mouth.

“Here. Stand right here and take a deep breath.” He spun her until she was standing with her back against the railings.

“Oh my god!” Maisey shrieked so loudly that she startled even herself.

Aaron jumped a little. “What?”

“This sensation!”

“Being sick?”

“No! The railings of the bridge! That’s what was up against the woman’s back! It was either this bridge or one similar to it.”

Aaron stood there for a minute. “I’ll look at some pictures of the other bridges in the area and we’ll see which ones have railings like this one. But I’m confused about something.”

“As though I’m not?”

The smile he flashed at her was gentle. “I get it. But look, the hat… You accidentally picked that up in Lexington. And here we are on this bridge. Do you think it’s possible that the woman was from here?”

Maisey thought for a second, and then a sense of peace fell over her. “I told you, I’m not looking for this. These things are seeking me out. So yes. I think it’s likely. Highly likely, matter of fact.”

“Good. So tonight you can put the hat on again and we’ll see what happens. And Maisey?”

A sadness fell over her as she looked up at him. “Yeah?”

Aaron took her hands, and her heart lightened. “I love you. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Hopefully, this will never happen again.”

“But if it does?”

“If it does, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be right here. I’m your partner in crime. Um, crime solving. I’m your partner in crimesolving. We can do this, Maise. I know we can.”

Maisey leaned in and pressed her forehead to his chest, their hands still clasped. “I can doanythingas long as I know you’re in my corner.”

“Then prepare for your world to be crowded, babe, because we’re in this corner together.”

That was all Maisey needed to know.

Murielle had fought tooth and nail to stay up. There was some show on that her friends watched, and she insisted she had to see it too so she’d know what was going on and could talk about it with them. But Aaron had looked at some of the episodes and decided it wasn’t a good idea. “I really don’t think I want a TV show teaching my daughter about birth control,” he said when he realized one of the episodes was about a small girl finding her sister’s pills.

“I don’t want a TV show teaching my second-grade daughter about birth control. If a TV show teaches mysixth-gradedaughter about birth control, I haven’t done my job well,” Maisey added.

“Agreed. No show for Murielle. If her friends don’t like her because of that, she needs new friends.” Maisey wanted to agree, but Aaron didn’t understand the world kids lived in. If push came to shove, she’d sit down with Murielle and watch it?with Aaron’s approval, of course. She wouldn’t let her child become a social pariah because of their bugaboos, but she still thought he was right.

They waited until Murielle had been down for at least two hours before Maisey picked up the hat and they headed outthe back door. Once they were on the deck, she sat down on the ottoman and looked at the hat. It was funny… The thing was very ordinary-looking. Just a big red felt hat with a super-wide brim and a ribbon for a band. Nothing elaborate. Nothing noteworthy. Sort of plain except for its color and size. “Okay, you ready?” Aaron asked when he’d taken a seat behind her.

“I think so.” Maisey took a deep breath, held out the hat, then lifted it, held it above her head, let it drop, and pressed down on the crown.

Instead of the total darkness she’d experienced before, it was still dark, but there was light here and there. There was still some kind of light source, and Maisey tried to take note of the surroundings, even though she was looking through the woman’s eyes. The hard and cold sensation against her back was still there, but she could smell something too?water. Maybe itwasa bridge. “Oh, god, please, no! I don’t know where he is! I swear, I don’t!”

“I think you need to tell me the truth. Where’s he holed up?”

“I swear, if I knew, I’d tell you!”

“Maybe knowing I have you will make him a little more amiable to showing his filthy face,” the male voice growled out.

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