Page 23 of Home Changes
“Then how about Wednesday, about eleven?”
Seth glanced toward the window and nodded to his dad. “Would it be possible to make it closer to this time? I’m trying to keep him on a schedule. It seems to help.”
Sam nodded immediately. “Sure. One?”
“Perfect. Thank you for making time for us.” Seth smiled back at her. “And congratulations.”
“Thank you so much, we’re so excited, and it isn’t a problem at all.” Sam looked around him and smiled at her. “Allison, the pie you sent as congratulations was delicious. I don’t know how you make such flakey crust.”
Allison smiled. “Practice. Years and years of practice.”
“Well, it paid off,” Sam said and raised her coffee cup to Allison. “You’ve mastered the art.”
“Thank you, but we came over here to find some information. Since you’re here, I should probably tell you we may have an issue.” She stepped forward a bit and lowered her voice. “There was a girl, maybe a young woman, today who was digging in my trashcan. I think she’s been taking some of the expired products from the trash can to eat.”
Ken straightened and looked around. “Sit down for a moment, will you?” Seth slid into the seat across from Ken and Sam, placing the box alongside the window. He glanced over to check in on his dad as Allison sat down, too. Her leg touched his, and the feel of his hard muscles sent a little tingle of excitement through her, but Ken rerouted her thoughts with his question, “What are you talking about?”
Allison blinked and then leaned forward, lowering her voice, “For the last week, maybe a little longer, something has been getting into my garbage cans. The thing is, nothing is disturbed except the food I have to throw out because I can’t sell it or give it away. Today I saw a girl at the trash can. She was bruised and so damn thin. Seth saw her, too.”
Seth nodded and carried on in the same quiet tone, “Briefly. Brunette, five feet six or seven, bruises on her face, the side of her neck, and down one arm. They were about two weeks old, with a yellowing and fading appearance. She was wearing white tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a white or gray shirt.”
Allison blinked and turned to look at him. He glanced at her. “I saw her longer than you did,”Allison said. “And I couldn’t have told him half that information. How did you see all of that?”
“I was a cop for my entire career in the Air Force. MWD handlers are security personnel, and we primarily work on law enforcement issues unless we’re forward deployed for base security.”
Allison couldn’t help but notice the way his arm flexed. Her eyes dipped to his bicep and then back to his eyes. He winked at her. Mortified, she snapped her head in Ken’s direction and immediately changed the subject. “She looked way too skinny. Has there been any reports of a runaway or anything?”
Ken frowned and shook his head. “No, nothing. I can go back and look at other counties. Do you think she’s that young?”
“I don’t know.” She looked at Seth. “Maybe twenty at the oldest?”
“Honestly, I’m crap at ages. She could be anywhere from sixteen to twenty-five.” He shrugged. “Sorry about that.”
“No, what you’ve given me is enough. I’ll let the deputies know to be on the lookout for her. Strange she hasn’t asked for help or anything.” Ken looked out the window. “We’ve had a couple of strangers in town lately, but they’ve moved on.”
Seth leaned a bit closer. “You think she may have gotten free from an abusive situation?”
Sam nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“I’m going to leave her a decent meal tomorrow and a note letting her know she can trust me.”
“That could be a hard sell, but it couldn’t hurt,” Sam said. “Most people on the run from abusive situations fear everything and everyone. They have no reason to trust.”
Allison sighed; her gut dropped. “I have to try.”
“Please do,” Ken said before turning to Sam. “Babe, I’m going to head back to the office and start working on this. I’ll put the description out to see if anyone’s been reported missing locally. If we can’t find anything, I’ll push it out to the state and nationally. If we can get her to trust us and get her story, that would help.”
“I’m done, too,” Sam said. “I’ll leave with you. Seth, it was a pleasure meeting you, and I look forward to talking with you and your dad.” Ken stood up, helped Sam out of the booth, and dropped money for their lunch. “Tell Corrie the meal was great.”
“I heard you, and thank you,” Corrie said as she approached the table. “Sorry, I was prepping breakfastfor tomorrow and didn’t hear you come inside. What can I get you?”
“Nothing for me,” Allison said and glanced at the clock on the wall. “Kathy and I are running in twenty minutes. If I eat anything now, I’ll be in misery.”
“For you?” Corrie looked at Seth. “Sorry, do I know you?”
“I don’t think so, ma’am. I’m Seth Hansen. Chester is my father. I understand he’s been asked not to come here any longer.”
The woman’s face fell. “I hated doing that. Chester was just so out of control. We have our other customers to consider. If you’ve got his temper under control, he’s welcome back.”
