Page 5 of Back To Our Beginning

I snorted.

Yeah sure.

At least I hadn’t gone overboard on my clothes. It was just leggings and a pretty, off-the-shoulder sweater. Normal.

Kind of.

Anyway, he probably wasn’t even going to show up. I marched back into the living room. My stomach was roiling with nerves. I grabbed the remote and started scrolling through possible options of things to watch. Maybe there would be some people searching for bigfoot. That would work.

My phone rang.

I rolled to my side and grabbed it out of my purse sitting on the coffee table. I saw it was Polly Owens.

It took me a couple of seconds to remember who that was. When I did, I got scared.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Avery? It’s Polly. The Jacksons’ neighbor.”

My stomach clenched again. I knew exactly who she was. She and I had talked a couple of times since Eli Jackson had become one of my at-risk foster kids.

“What happened? Was it bad? Did you have to call the cops?”

“You got it in one.”

I winced. Eli was six years old and his home was a nightmare. His mother, Colleen, had been in and out of rehab so often, she was due a free sandwich. For the last three months, she’d been living with some lowlife who had a history of domestic abuse.

“Are they still there?”

“No, they left. That’s why I’m calling you. There was yelling and screaming. It was Colleen and Bruce. I even heard breaking glass. I waited for the cops in my front yard. I’m not afraid of Bruce. I have a gun. The police asked me questions, then they went and knocked on their door. Colleen talked to them. She must have said something good, because they said that they didn’t have probable cause to search the place, and they were going to leave.”

“What about Eli?” I asked Polly.

“That’s the same question I had for the cops. They said that Colleen had told them he was with his grandmother for the night. I’ve lived here next to Colleen for two years. I ain’t never heard tell of any grandmother. I told the cops that, but they said that wasn’t enough reason to search the place.”

“So, they’re gone?” I asked.

“Yep. But I’ve got a bad feeling. You left your card with me after that time Eli was left at home by hisself for three days. I figured you might could do something about this.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Owens. I’ll be right there.”

I shot to my feet and ran to my bedroom to get my socks and boots and put them on. I snatched my leather jacket and raced to the kitchen table where my files were. Eli’s was on top. I grabbed it and threw it into my work satchel. I hefted that onto my shoulder along with my purse.

My heart pounded as I thought about the small boy in that house. It just wasn’t fair.

Yeah, when was life ever fair?

I reached the door when a knock sounded. It was a sharp, firm rap against the wood.

Ahh shit. It’s Beau.

I yanked the door open. “I’ve gotta go. We’re going to have to do this dance some other night.”

His brow furrowed as he looked down at me. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t have time.” I turned and locked my door. “There’s a kid in trouble who needs me.” I jogged down my porch steps and headed to my carport.

“Hold up. What do you mean there’s a kid in trouble?”