Page 22 of Mountain Grump
She rolls her eyes. “Wow.”
“What?”
“Don’twhatme. I’mwhat-ingyou.”
I lift a brow.
She wags a finger at me. “Nope, don’t give me that look. You’re the one asking about ribbon.”
“And that means death?”
“Not inherently. But…” She picks her sandwich back up and gestures at me with it. “Explain yourself.”
“I just need ribbon.” I regret ever bringing this up. But I’m in it now.
“Like to wrap a present with?” Sandra asks with her mouth full.
I shove my empty plate a few inches forward and cross my arms. “Yeah, I guess. But not that papery shit. Cotton stuff.”
“Cotton. Stuff.”
Gritting my teeth, I uncross my arms and shove my hand into my pocket. Then I withdraw a six-inch piece of ribbon.
I threw the rest of it away at the Visitor Center, but this bit fell on the ground, rather than into the trash can. And when I picked it up… I put it back in my pocket.
Sandra shoves the last chunk of sandwich into her mouth, then reaches for the ribbon.
I pull my arm back. “Your hands are dirty.”
She widens her eyes while making a show of cleaning her fingers with a napkin.
When she holds her clean hand out, I reluctantly drop the length of fabric into her palm.
“This from a case or something?”
I furrow my brows. “A case?”
Sandra nods, holding the ribbon by one end, examining the color.The color that matches my little Mountain Fairy’s hair.“Yeah, a case. Like, what’s the mystery? Is this about a missing hiker? An empty campsite? Did you find it near a puddle of blood?”
I stare at the psychopath across from me. “No.” Images of blood trickling down Tilda’s knee flash into my mind.
And then more…
Finding the house empty.
Finding blood on the floor.
Finding a scrap of ribbon stuck to a branch.
Tilda disappearing…
“No.” I say it louder.
Sandra just shrugs and holds the ribbon back out for me. “Okay. So, what then?”
“I just need to get more. Just like this.” There’s no way I’m telling her about Tilda. No way I’m admitting that I’m buying ribbon for a girl. She’ll never let it go.
“A craft store would have it. There’s a place not far from my work that should have something. I can send you the name.”
