Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (138 page)

“Don’t
tell
her
until
we
find
Mrs.
Stuart.
I’m
sure
I
can
read
her
well
enough
to
give
encouragement
at
least.”

“So
what
are
you
doing
to
find
her?
I
mean,
it’s
almost
like
you’ve
got
two
missing
persons
now.”
Aggie
knew
she
sounded
accusatory,
but
she
didn’t
care.
She
wanted
Ellie
found
and
preferably
yesterday.

“I
have
a
fresh
stack
of
tips—”

The
phone
rang.
William
answered
it
,
frowned,
and
then
pumped
his
fist
in
the
air.
“Gimme
the
addr
ess
again?
Washington.
Willis
&
Foster—children’s
department.
I’m
on
my
way.”

William
grabbed
his
coat
and
hat.
“
Got
her.
You
can
call
your
mom.
She
was
seen
with
Ellie
at
that
department
store
downtown.
The
cl
erk
heard
the
little
girl
say,
‘
Aunt
Aggie
wouldn’t
approve,
Grandmother.
It’s
indecent.
Maybe
we
should
just
go
get
my
clothes
from
home.
’
”
He
opened
the
door
as
he
spoke,
gesturing
for
her
to
follow,
and
then
locked
it
behind
him.

Half in a daze, Aggie stared at him, bl
ocking his access to the steps.
“
Really?
Someone saw her with Geraldine
?
That’
s good, right?
What about the man?”

“They only mentioned a little girl calling someone grandmother and mentioning an Aunt Aggie. The clerk said she seemed a bit irritated about the clothing choice.”

“
Wait,
she’s
not
afraid.
That’s
good!
Right?
”

“It’s very good,” William agreed as
Aggie
whipped
open
her
cell
phone
and
called
Luke.

“Is
Mom
there?
Ok,
well
when
they
get
there,
tell
D
ad
that
Ellie
has
been
seen
with
Geraldine.
He
can
decide
what
to
tell
M
om.
Tell
the
kids
to
pray
for
G
randma.
I’m
going
to
drive
around
and
see
if
I
can
think
of
places
she’d
take
Ellie.”

“Aggie
no!”
Two
men’s
voices
echoed
in
stereo
in
each
of
her
ears,
but
she
bounced once more, effectively ignoring them.

“I’
m going to look!
Now it’
s not crazy.
Now we have a chance
.
I can’
t stand it!
I’ve got to
try
.” With a quick hug for William, she rushed to the car and climbed inside.

While
William
zoomed
toward
Rockland,
Aggie
wasn’t
far
behind.
Slowly,
his
cruiser
pulled
away
until
she
no
longer
saw
it.
The
police
would
be
combing
the
entire
downtown
area.
They’d
probably
check
the
Stuart
home
too.
Where
would
Geraldine
take
the
girl?

At
Willow’s
driveway,
Aggie
pulled
off
the
road
and
dialed
William.
“Where
is
Douglas
Stuart?
I
want
to
see
if
he’s
seen
Ellie
lately.”

“I’ve
already
been
there.
Even
if
she
has,
she
won’t
be
now.”

“I
need
to
do
something
,
William.
Where
is
it?”

Seconds
later,
with
the
address
programmed
into
Tina’s
GPS
unit,
Aggie
zipped
along
the
highway
toward
the
Loop.

~*~*~*~

Cheers
erupted
in
the
Milliken-Stuart-soon-to-include-Sullivan
home.
Tavish
hugged
everyone
within
reach
and
then
scurried
into
his
favorite
nook
to
wait
for
his
sister
to
arrive
home.
The
little
girls
raced
around
the
room
singing,
“Ellie’s
coming
hoo-oome,
Ellie’s
coming
hoo-oome”
and
Laird
made
high
fives
with
Luke.
Ian
took
advantage of their diverted attention
and dismantled
a
shelf
of
games
in
the
library,
creating
a
mess
that
everyone
would
rue
when
they
saw
it.
Only
Vannie
was
quiet—too
quiet.