Page 19 of Shielding Maya

Marni's cheeks turned a bright pink. She nodded her little head.

"It's okay. I'm trying to find the man who hurt him. If you know anything that can help me with that, I'd be so grateful."

"Would you get me more bottles?"

Maya chuckled. "Sure. I can get you bottles. All different kinds of them."

"Really? Even green ones. I saw green bottles once." Her smile was infectious.

"Sure. Green ones, and I saw some orange ones in a craft store once."

"Orange?" She giggled and clapped her hands together.

Maya looked into Marni's eyes. "Will you please tell me where you met the senator?"

Marni took a deep breath. "He was cold and hungry. I found him sleeping just over there."

Her little hand pointed to the brush, but toward the west of where they sat.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I can take you there."

Maya grinned at this adorable little girl. "I'd love that."

Marni stood and pushed at the brush, then stepped through it. Maya stayed close behind her. They left the tallest brush and now navigated the woods as they'd done before. Some brush, downed leaves, trees, and large branches were lying about. It was evident Marni knew these woods like no other, the way she moved without needing directions, and stepped over debris like it'd always been right there.

Finally Marni stopped near a large rock jutting out of the mountain. It was three shallow walls of rock that created a small space for hiding.

"He was sleeping here." Marni looked up at her. "I saw him shiver. It was cold at night."

"You're very sweet. Did he wake up?"

Marni looked at the ground for a moment, then up at her. "I think I scared him."

Maya nodded her head. That made sense, he was on the run.

"Okay. Did you say anything to him?"

"I asked him if he was cold. He said yes, and hungry. He asked if I knew where he could find food."

Maya nodded but waited for Marni to tell her more.

"I told him about the garden. He thanked me. He asked if I had a cell phone."

Marni stopped and swallowed. She took a deep breath, her fingers began squeezing the woolen shirt she carried, but she said nothing else.

Maya squatted down so she was face to face with Marni. She smiled at the little girl, hoping to encourage her to keep talking. "I'm not going to be mad at you, Marni. You're helping me."

"My dad will be mad. My mom too."

"How about if I don't tell them? Your mom didn't seem to like me much anyway."

Marni squeezed her jacket again and nodded. "I brought him my dad's phone. Dad always forgets it because he's not used to using it and it's always laying in the kitchen. I brought it here for Senator Jackson. He was nice and he seemed sad and scared."

Maya reached forward and touched Marni's arm. She gave it a slight squeeze. "You're a very nice young lady."

Marni's eyes welled with tears and she nodded. "Now, I have a couple more questions."

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