Page 109 of The Girl in the River

“I’ll check there. Can I look in his room first?”

Lindsey nodded, then stood, carrying Maddie on her hip. The first thing Derrick noticed when he entered the room was that the bed was unmade and looked as if the covers had been ripped off in a fit of anger. Posters of the Atlanta Braves hung on one wall and two signed baseballs sat on a shelf along with a picture of Evan, Rick and Freddie Freeman between them.

Another wall held a photo of him and Rick at the train station in the small town, along with a map on the wall above it.

On the boy’s desk, he found a drawing of the constellations. One star was bright and hung low over a sketch of a house which resembled the one the family lived in.

He turned to Lindsey. “I’ll be back. Call me if he shows up.”

A little boy alone out there… Evan had to be all right. He just had to be.

ONE HUNDRED FORTY-SEVEN

SOMEWHERE ON THE RIVER

The constant buzzing sound was driving Mia up the wall. As she drifted off, she was there again, at the place where Mama worked.

She snuck into the big room where all the sewing machines were, where Mama said not to go. But she wanted to see what Mama did all day long. Why she was so tired and cranky and complained about her shoulder hurting.

She crept through the rows of bundles stacked above her head and saw her mother hunched over a machine, stitching seams on long wool pants.

Mia was only seven, but she was fascinated by the rows and rows of machines and women working. The place was sweltering hot, the ceiling fan barely stirring the air. The room smelled like machine oil and sweat. Her mother looked tired and… miserable.

The shrill sound of the whistle blowing for the thirty-minute lunch break cut through the noise of the machines. Her mother jumped up, grabbed her sack lunch and rushed to join the other women to eat her sandwich. They sat in the middle of a pile of bundles, more work to be done, but didn’t speak, simply ate in silence. She saw them looking around the room as if watching for someone else. Everyone looked nervous or scared.

One of the women whispered something then everyone went still, looking at the door and huddling closer together. Mia strained to see but she couldn’t see past the piles of material.

Suddenly a noise jerked her from sleep. She stilled, confused by the dream. But she wasn’t in the sewing room. She was still locked in this tiny cabin, boat bouncing back and forth.

The sound of Kevin’s voice outside the cabin door sent her to her feet. Then… the sound of crying… A child… Pixie.

Pure terror consumed her.

“Sit down and be quiet, Pixie,” Kevin ordered. “Your mommy is a liar. You’re my little girl and we’re going to be a family.”

Pixie’s wail echoed from the other side, shattering Mia’s heart. Her sweet daughter must be so scared. She just hoped Kevin hadn’t hurt her.

“Look, Daddy bought you a pretty necklace,” Kevin said. “It’s a gold moon-shaped pendant because your last name should be Moon. And it will be.”

“I don’t wanna be a Moon,” Pixie cried. “I want Mommy!”

“But you are a Moon,” Kevin hissed. “And you’re going to wear this as a reminder.”

Pixie started crying again and hate for Kevin mushroomed in Mia.

“Now this is your grandfather,” Kevin said. “Isn’t that right, Dad?”

Mia pressed her hand to her lips to keep from screaming. Dear God, she didn’t want that man anywhere near Pixie.

“You said you were taking me to Mommy,” Pixie said in a tiny voice. “You said that.”

“Just put her in there with her mother and then we’ll decide what to do,” Armond Moon’s voice boomed.

Mia pictured Pixie cowering in fear, then she heard footsteps and realized Kevin was going to open the door. Not wanting to scare Pixie with her frazzled appearance, she frantically brushed her hair down with her fingers and wiped at her eyes.

The door eased open, and Kevin stepped in, dragging Pixie by the arm as she whimpered. A gold moon-shaped pendant glittered on a gold chain around her small neck.

Damn Kevin.

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