“They pretty much keep to themselves,” he told her when she asked about the couple. “Their acreage backs up to the national forest, so it’s kinda remote. I’m not sure what they do for a living. They don’t bother anybody. No complaints, anyway. Bagley inherited the property from his daddy. Somebody mentioned that he might have done a tour in Afghanistan. Said they remembered him in a uniform at the funeral.”
O’Dell kept to herself the fact that Bagley had been discharged from military duty. Perhaps she was wrong about it being dishonorable if he was still wearing his uniform.
For the first time, she wondered if his military service had anything to do with his death.
27
Hannah would be glad to get out of the house. Didn’t matter that the girl had been sleeping most of the time, especially after Hannah had given her a homemade pain remedy. Her throat and stomach would take some time to heal. Sleep would do her good.
Hannah had insisted they set her up in a guest bedroom on the main level, clear on the opposite end of the house, as far away as possible from Hannah and her two boys. Her boys were still with her grandparents, but if Amanda was still here when they returned, both of them already knew not to come over to this part of the house.
There were only two doors down this hallway. One was the guest bedroom and the other door led to the basement. Actually, not a basement as much as a deep, windowless, cinder-block room that had been used as a storm cellar years ago.
Rye had taken out the steps in hopes of replacing them when he had time, but Hannah couldn’t risk her boys snooping. They’d fall and break their necks. It had to be a fifteen-foot drop. She made Rye put on a heavy metal door with an electronic keypad lock that her boys would never be able to access. And then she still told the boys never to come down this hallway. It seemed the perfect place to send this girl. Not down to the storm cellar, but rather to the guest bedroom at the end of the hallway. Hannah wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t trust the girl. Rye obviously thought she was overreacting, but her instincts had never been wrong before.
Still, she brought the girl a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, fresh strawberries, and a grilled cheese sandwich. Amanda had stared at the tray with eyes wide and jaw dropped open. She looked like an eight-year-old being presented with an extravagant Christmas gift.
“Your momma never bring you a tray in bed before?”
“No one’s ever brought me a tray of food.”
Just before Hannah could feel a bit sorry for her, the girl’s eyes narrowed, as if she just remembered something, and then the snarky teenager showed up again in time to add, “You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”
“Good heavens! What kind of a world did you grow up in, child?”
“I’m not a child.”
It came out automatically, defensively, but without much conviction. Hannah noticed her sink into the bed pillows, adjusting herself with the tray on her lap, clamping onto it as if she were worried that Hannah would take it back if she fussed too much.
“You need anything, Mr. Creed is out at the dog kennels.”
“You’re leaving?”
Suddenly there was panic in her eyes. No, not just panic. Hannah could see the fear make the girl’s whole body go rigid. And it reminded Hannah of the danger Rye had brought onto their property and into her home.
She gave a quick explanation of the house’s security system, including a one-time guest code if Amanda decided to leave. God forgive her, but Hannah almost hoped the girl would decide to up and leave by the time she got back. No good could come from helping this drug mule.
Ryder didn’t understand. Had said as much last night.
“How can you have more compassion for drug abusers at Segway House than you do for this girl?”
“They come because they want to stop abusing drugs.”
“She came to me, Hannah, asking for help. Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Did she come to you or was she running away from them?”
“What difference does that make?”
At that point she had to admit she wasn’t sure. There was something that nagged at her about this girl. She didn’t seem quite as young and innocent as she pretended to be. Bottom line, Hannah didn’t trust her. And she couldn’t explain that, either.
“We don’t know a thing about her, and she’s sleeping in the same house my boys call home.”
“You brought Jason here, and how much do you really know about him?”
“I know he was wounded fighting for our country.”
“And that’s enough for you?”
She didn’t have an answer. Her boys’ daddy came back from Iraq in a flag-draped coffin before their littlest boy could celebrate his first birthday. She knew her judgment might be clouded when it came to helping the young soldiers who found their way to Segway House. But she had also learned long ago to listen to her instincts, to trust her first impressions. She crossed her arms and watched Ryder do the same, as if they were standing off against each other. It wouldn’t be the first time. But he surprised her with what he said next.
“The whole time I was driving back from Atlanta with her, I kept thinking, Is this something that could have happened to Brodie?” He wasn’t expecting an answer. He avoided her eyes, stared at the wall across the room as if he could see something there that he hadn’t noticed before. “Those kids on that fishing boat… Kids disappear every day and they want us to think they’re dead. That it’s just a matter of time before we find their bodies.”
Then he looked at her, met her eyes. “But what if they’re not… What if Brodie’s not… She could have been Amanda. She could still be Amanda. Waiting for the chance to run away. Or maybe she’s given up on the chance of ever getting away.”
He didn’t talk much about his sister, even though Hannah knew he thought about her with every search. She told him it wasn’t healthy to consume his own life with one that might already be gone. But she knew from her own personal experience that losing someone before you’re ready to say goodbye can leave you with little reason and a whole lot of empty.
Last night she had told him they needed a plan. The girl could stay for now, while her boys were gone. Anything longer was asking for trouble. But even as she watched him gather up the balloons of cocaine, she didn’t ask what he intended to do with them. If it had been up to her, she would have flushed them down the toilet.
She told herself they’d both be thinking clearer in the morning. But morning hadn’t even broken the horizon and Creed had brought her a whole other pack of trouble — puppies!
Neither of them had raised puppies in a long time. Most of their dogs came to them a bit older. When Creed explained the black garbage bag, she just shook her head. Then she insisted on keeping them in the house until he could make a separate place for them in the kennels.
Lady had helped the scrawny momma round up the puppies again and again. By the time they finally settled into the temporary pen Hannah had created for them, all were exhausted. Still, the half-starved mother dog had devoured the bowlful of warm chicken and rice that Hannah had prepared for her.
Now she stole a peek at them as she tiptoed toward the back door. Lady was the only one who looked up at her. The border collie was still standing guard outside the pen, watching over them.