Page 54 of Home Changes
“What’s your aunt’s name? We can make sure she’s okay.”
“You’d do that?” Lottie’s eyes held a glimmer of hope.
“Yes,” Seth said. Even if he had to drive to North Dakota to make sure it happened. She gave him the information. Seth vowed he’d do everything in his power to make sure her past never touched her future again. He stood up and noticed how Lottie involuntarily flinched as he did. He put his hand on Allison’s shoulder and said, “I’m going to step out and call Ken.”
Allison smiled and covered his hand with hers for a moment. That connection was just what he needed. She was his grounding point, and that was a revelation.
Seth stepped out onto the back stairs of the building, letting the screen door thud shut behind him. The cold crept under his collar, but he welcomed it. Needed it. The air was sharp with dust and pine, the faint scent of cows drifting from the stockyard just out of town.
He hit Ken’s number, which was now on speeddial, and pressed the phone to his ear. The sheriff answered on the third ring.
“Zorn.”
“It’s Seth.”
“What’s up?”
“I’ve got a situation.”
A pause. “Chester?”
“No. Remember that girl Allison called you about?”
“Yeah. No one ever saw her, though.”
Seth glanced back through the glass. He could just see Loretta through the kitchen window, hunched on a stool, holding a mug between both hands like it was the only warm thing in the world.
“She’s sitting in Allison’s kitchen. Early twenties. Showed up dirty, scared, and half-starved. Allison called the doctor to check her out yesterday. The girl was terrified and refused to talk and demanded no police. I talked to her today and got some answers.”
“Name?”
“Loretta. Goes by Lottie. Says she’s from Spearfish. She’s running from someone who beat her so bad she should’ve been in a hospital. Didn’t file a report, didn’t go to the ER. Just waited until he went to work, grabbed what she could, and left.”
Ken blew out a breath. “Goddamn.”
“She’s scared he’ll go after her aunt in North Dakota. She doesn’t want to contact anyone in case he’s tracking her.”
“Is he?”
Seth rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, he is. Question is how. She said she thought he was following her and the couple that had picked her up hitchhiking, but the truck passed Hollister. He came back soon after. She dove under the boardwalk and watched him. She said he went to the diner, the gas station, and then tried to get into the bakery and the clothes shop next door. Both were closed then, so it had to be after two.”
Another long pause. “Yeah, Kayla was gone for a couple of weeks. That makes sense. She tell you his name?” Ken asked.
“No,” Seth said. “Not yet. I’m not pushing her right now. She’s on the edge. Thought she was going to bolt when I asked her where she’s from.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Ken was quiet again. When he spoke, his voice had settled into that low, steady tone Seth recognized.
“You trust her?”
“I trust the bruises under her sleeves and how shewatches every door. I trust that she’s got more fear than guile.”
“All right. I’ll run what I can from this end quietly. I’ll cross-reference missing persons and domestic disturbances in the area. If he’s got a history, I’ll find it.”
“Appreciate it.”
