Chapter Thirty-Eight
Every minute countedand Linx needed to find Jessie. There was nothing in the shed, but a bunch of dried bones and twisted metal, and waiting around for Grady and Todd would cost precioustime.
Nope, she’d investigate all of the other hiding places she used to visit while running away as a kid. Meanwhile, she’d call her mother and keep her on the line. Posing as a fairy was exactly the type of crazy thing Mean Minx would do—but it was still hard to believe she would hurt a littlegirl.
Then again, she’d hurt her own daughter that Christmas day when she flew into a rage over the reddress.
Linx swallowed the unwelcome memories and concentrated on navigating her SUV through the dark and ruttedfield.
Even though the going was rough, she put her phone on speaker and calledMinx.
“It’s you again,” her mother said withoutpreamble.
“Yes, it is,” Linxsaid.
“What do youwant?”
“Where are you?” Linx forced out the next word. “Mom?”
The rough voice cackled on the other end. “Too late to be calling me Mom, isn’tit?”
“Stop playing games,” Linx said. “I want to see you. It’simportant.”
“Why would you want to see me? You never wanted to speak to mebefore.”
“I miss you and want to know all about you.” Linx strained to hear if there was any background noise—anything that would give her an idea of whether Jessie and Ginger were withher.
“You finally decided to miss me. What happened, you out of money?” Minxmocked.
“Tell me about your travels. Where do you hang out when you’re not inCalifornia?”
“You’re awfully nosy.” Minx coughed. “Don’t you have a fire to fight? Oh, I forgot, you quit. Always were aquitter.”
“I had a good reason to quit,” Linx said. She jerked the wheel as a tree branch swatted herwindshield.
“Ah yes, you couldn’t even get a man to marry you while pregnant. But then, you didn’t try hardenough.”
Typical. All Minx ever did was hurl insults and bile. But it had toughened her, and Linx didn’t mind hitting herback.
“At least I didn’t walk out on my kid,” she spat. “I gave her to responsiblepeople.”
“They’re so responsible they let her wander around unsupervised.” The dry voice cackled. “While they’re busy saving souls. Honestly, you had a good thing going, but you blew it, asusual.”
“What good thing? I was young, pregnant, with no role model on how to be a mother, thanks toyou.”
“You were stupid. You could have held onto your baby and used her for leverage.” The rough, smoker’s voice huffed while coughing. “But I’ve fixed things foryou.”
“Fixed things?How?”
“Meet me at Grady’s trailer, and I’ll showyou.”
Linx’s heart pounded full of rocks. Grady’s trailer? Why would she lurk overthere?
Was she a distraction from the search for Jessie or did she know something? What to do, what todo?
Keep her on the line, but what if this were a wild goose chase? Why would her mother have anything to do withJessie?
“Sure, what are you doing there?” she challenged Minx. “I don’t think Grady’s there. What do you mean fixed things forme?”
