Page 31 of You Can Leave Your Hat On

“Spaghetti doesn’t taste anything like that,” Maisey corrected.

“That’s what I said. Don’t taste nothin’ like that,” Murielle repeated.

Maisey let out a sigh. “Just eat and don’t worry about what it tastes like. Looks great to me. Its only purpose is to find a way to get the sauce into your mouth.” She twirled her fork in the pasta and stuffed a mouthful in. “See? No glue.”

Murielle giggled and ate a big bite herself. “You’re right, Mommy. All I taste is the sauce anyway and it’s yummy.”

Maisey smiled. “Thank you.” Hearing Murielle call her Mommy always made her smile. For Maisey, it was the biggest compliment the child could give her.

When dinner was finished, cleaned up, and Murielle was snug in bed, Maisey retrieved the hat from the closet shelf and stepped back into the living room. “Am I doing this?”

Aaron sighed. “I think you should.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.” With Aaron trailing behind her, Maisey led the way out onto the deck. As soon as they were both sitting, she took a deep breath, let it out, and whispered, “Here goes nothing.”

The void was a deep blackness that she hated. Within it was something new, a man’s voice. “I’m the laughingstock of the entire place! Did I deserve that? No, I did not!”

The voice Maisey recognized as Hazel’s chimed in. “I had nothing to do with that!”

“Yeah, but you knew about it!”

“Not really. He did all of that himself. I didn’t help him at all.”

“You helped him spend it,” the man’s voice growled. “My wife’s bugging the hell out of me for a new car and he took all my money and left me withnothing!” the man screamed.

“I’d give it back to you if I had it, but I don’t! And I don’t have access to his accounts!”

As menacing as anything she’d ever heard, the man’s voice snarled, “Yeah, well, I think it’s time you tell me where he is!”

The sensation of metal bars crossing her back hit her senses. “Oh! Oh, no! Please! What do you want from me?”

“I want to know where he is!” the man bellowed. “Tell me now or I swear I’ll?”

“Oh, god, please, no! I don’t know where he is! I swear, I don’t!”

“You have to know where he is! You can’t make me believe that you haven’t talked to him!”

“I swear, if I knew, I’d tell you!”

“Maybe he’ll care if he finds out you’re missing.”

Hazel was crying. “It won’t make a difference. He doesn’t love me anymore, so if you think this will get him here, you’re wrong! Please! Please don’t! I…”

Maisey could feel herself falling just as before, but it stopped abruptly, and she knew that meant the hat had flown off. A voice seeped into her consciousness. “Babe? Maisey?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay. I’m fine.” As her eyes opened, she was thankful to see Aaron in her line of vision. “I’m okay.”

“Anything new?”

“Yeah. I could see the top half of his face, his eyes, but that’s all. And he was definitely looking for Alan. That’s why he killed her, because she wouldn’t tell him where Alan was. And she claimed Alan didn’t love her anymore and wouldn’t come back even if he knew she was in trouble.”

“So we’re no closer than before.” Aaron’s voice carried a measure of defeat.

Maisey gave him a tiny smile. “Maybe not.”

That made Aaron perk up. “How so?”

“I may not know who it was, but I can tell you this?I recognized his voice. I don’t know who he is, but it’s someone I’ve heard talk before. I just don’t know who.”

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