Page 210 of Love Bites

When it came to Addy’s sweet tooth, there was never much thought involved. November and October of last year joined the others on the cement. “I’ve banned her from selling any more stuff to your neighbors and ordered her to stay in the backyard or inside the house.”

“Good. I’ll try harder to keep an eye on her.”

I shot Aunt Zoe a frown. “I hate to bother you more than we already have.”

“Addy shares my blood, Violet. I don’t want anything to happen to her. Besides, I’m happy to have the company around here.”

“Thanks.” I flipped through September and slowed as I reached August’s issues, my fingers now smudged with black ink. “Aunt Zoe, do you remember the little girl who disappeared last summer?”

“Vaguely. Why?”

“Did she look like Addy?”

Six folded layers down, a headline read, ‘Another Girl Missing!’ in big, black letters on the front page.

“Let’s see, Emma had blonde …”

A rush of blood in my ears blocked out the rest of Aunt Zoe’s answer as I stared down at a black-and-white picture of Emma, Kelly’s friend. I gripped the lip of the oak barrel, fighting a wave of nausea.

Smiling up at me was a spitting image of Addy. While Emma’s eyes were a little more almond-shaped and her lips not as full as Addy’s, they could have been sisters with their similar hairstyles and oval faces. No wonder Addy reminded Doc of Emma.

Then I read the blurb under Emma’s photo.

Emma Cranson. Last seen in front of the Piggly Wiggly on Saturday morning.

Emma Cranson. E.C. The jacket! Those were the same initials that were written on the tag. My knees trembled.

Oh, my God!What did that mean? Was Jeff Wymonds the kidnapper? Why else would he be throwing clothes away in a Dumpster? I needed to call the police and give them that jacket.

However, what if I was wrong? Kelly and Emma had been best friends. Maybe Emma had forgotten her jacket at Kelly’s at some point, and Jeff was just getting rid of it. Surely the police had already looked into Jeff, since Emma had probably spent lots of time at the Wymonds’ house. Plus, the jacket had been clean—no blood, no rips, no stains whatsoever.

Not to mention that if I did go to the cops, and they pulled Jeff in for questioning, he would know I was the tattletale. Then what? Was a jacket enough evidence to put the guy away? Probably not. I didn’t need an angry, drunk, big-bear of a man as my number-one enemy, and I certainly didn’t need him focusing any extra attention on Addy.

“Violet,” Aunt Zoe’s hand on my shoulder jerked me out of my frozen-lung trance.

I gulped down a breath.

Aunt Zoe’s dark green eyes searched mine. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” That was the honest truth.

I focused back on the newspaper, scanning the meat of the article, snagging on the words:blonde, brown eyes, loves animals, avid swimmer, often find her at the Candy Corral, andlast seen riding her bike.

“Look at this.” I pointed at the picture. “It’s no wonder Kelly was drawn to Addy. Not only do Emma and Addy look alike, but their biographies read like they were freaking soulmates.”

The workshop door banged open, bouncing against the wall coat rack. Aunt Zoe and I whipped around.

A pair of crutches came through the doorway with Natalie at the helm. Her hair frazzled, her cheeks red, and her lower right leg encased in a cast, Natalie grimaced. “We have a problem.”

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