smiled. "You
caught me there. See what I told you about how you're smarter and
braver than you think?"
He consented to let
her help him but only when they got to the tougher spots, tripping
over graves, live oak roots, bushes and things like that.
"Look!" he
admitted after a while. "I'm holding you back. Why don't you go
on ahead of me? Your home's just over that fence up ahead."
"Harry!"
"I'll never be
able to climb it in this condition. I'll either have to find a
break in the fence or wait until you get home and send help. If
nothing else, the graveyard attendant who comes on duty at dawn will
call my mom for me."
Just the thought of
leaving him alone in this place in the dark was enough to send chills
through her body.
"We've got to
stay together, no matter what!"
Harry bit his lip. "I
didn't want to have to tell you this. Maybe I have to. You've got
to hurry, and faster than I can go."
"But Mike's
gone!"
"Yeah, Mike may be
gone for now. The others aren't."
"The others?"
"Yeah, the ones who
have been following us all night — ever since we left the theater.
Remember the black car?"
Chapter 9
"Rick Roscoe and
Marianna are here. They followed us. I practically ran right into
them when I was trying to find you. I don't think they saw me in
all the thick fog. I ducked behind a gravestone."
She remembered Mike
saying something about his "contacts at the theater". Marianna
and Rick seemed slimy enough. Had they tipped Mike off about what
store to knock over once he escaped from jail? They would be mean
enough to follow Bianca and Harry here and call Mike to let him know
where they were.
"We've got to
hurry," Harry urged.
Bianca slipped her
arm around Harry and tried to pull him along while she carried Katie
in the other arm. She supported the child on her hip. She had no
choice except to push forward. Two people were now depending upon
her. She couldn't let either one down.
Someone landed on top
of Bianca and knocked her to the ground. Whoever it was must have
leaped down from a live oak tree. She screamed. Katie started
bawling.
Harry cursed as Rick
and two slimy-looking guys he'd brought along landed on top of him.
Bianca struggled but
couldn't get to her feet. Marianna was holding her fast. It was all
that Bianca could do to hold on to Katie with both arms.
"We're going to
have a chicken roast." Rick glared at Harry. "Maybe it took us
awhile to find you in all this damn fog. But better late than never."
"Let Bianca and
Katie go!" Harry demanded.
"No girl messes
around with other guys when she's dating Rick. Isn't that right,
Ricky?" Marianna purred.
Bianca got up her
courage. "We've only been out once, Rick. We hardly know each
other. What do you care what I do?"
Marianna hissed.
"Ricky needs money real bad. He doesn't earn much more money at
his job than I do. You're his meal ticket. You're not good for
much else, you know. You're too scared of your own shadow."
Bianca wished that
the Shipleys had never given her the trust fund. It caused more
trouble than it was worth.
"I deserve a rich
girlfriend," Rick crowed. "I'm not going to have that squirt
over there interfering!" Rick strutted up to Harry, and punched him
in the nose while the two toughs held him fast.
"You'd do
anything for cold cash, Roscoe, wouldn't you?" Harry spat. "Even
murder!"
"Look who's
talking!" Rick tweaked Harry's nose as Harry tried to break loose
from Rick's friends. "You and Mike must be in cahoots. You
murdered the maid and let Bianca and the baby go. You figured the
Shipleys would give her money. Your brother went for the kid when he
broke out of jail."
"Sounds like a
confession to me, Roscoe," Harry snapped. "You and your friends
were over at the Shipleys two years ago looking for something to
steal. Bianca and Mrs. Ingersoll got in the way. Now you're leaning
on Bianca 'cause she's almost eighteen and ready to come into all
that cold cash."
The guys held him
while Rick socked Harry again.
"No!" Bianca
shrieked. She
caught me there. See what I told you about how you're smarter and
braver than you think?"
He consented to let
her help him but only when they got to the tougher spots, tripping
over graves, live oak roots, bushes and things like that.
"Look!" he
admitted after a while. "I'm holding you back. Why don't you go
on ahead of me? Your home's just over that fence up ahead."
"Harry!"
"I'll never be
able to climb it in this condition. I'll either have to find a
break in the fence or wait until you get home and send help. If
nothing else, the graveyard attendant who comes on duty at dawn will
call my mom for me."
Just the thought of
leaving him alone in this place in the dark was enough to send chills
through her body.
"We've got to
stay together, no matter what!"
Harry bit his lip. "I
didn't want to have to tell you this. Maybe I have to. You've got
to hurry, and faster than I can go."
"But Mike's
gone!"
"Yeah, Mike may be
gone for now. The others aren't."
"The others?"
"Yeah, the ones who
have been following us all night — ever since we left the theater.
Remember the black car?"
Chapter 9
"Rick Roscoe and
Marianna are here. They followed us. I practically ran right into
them when I was trying to find you. I don't think they saw me in
all the thick fog. I ducked behind a gravestone."
She remembered Mike
saying something about his "contacts at the theater". Marianna
and Rick seemed slimy enough. Had they tipped Mike off about what
store to knock over once he escaped from jail? They would be mean
enough to follow Bianca and Harry here and call Mike to let him know
where they were.
"We've got to
hurry," Harry urged.
Bianca slipped her
arm around Harry and tried to pull him along while she carried Katie
in the other arm. She supported the child on her hip. She had no
choice except to push forward. Two people were now depending upon
her. She couldn't let either one down.
Someone landed on top
of Bianca and knocked her to the ground. Whoever it was must have
leaped down from a live oak tree. She screamed. Katie started
bawling.
Harry cursed as Rick
and two slimy-looking guys he'd brought along landed on top of him.
Bianca struggled but
couldn't get to her feet. Marianna was holding her fast. It was all
that Bianca could do to hold on to Katie with both arms.
"We're going to
have a chicken roast." Rick glared at Harry. "Maybe it took us
awhile to find you in all this damn fog. But better late than never."
"Let Bianca and
Katie go!" Harry demanded.
"No girl messes
around with other guys when she's dating Rick. Isn't that right,
Ricky?" Marianna purred.
Bianca got up her
courage. "We've only been out once, Rick. We hardly know each
other. What do you care what I do?"
Marianna hissed.
"Ricky needs money real bad. He doesn't earn much more money at
his job than I do. You're his meal ticket. You're not good for
much else, you know. You're too scared of your own shadow."
Bianca wished that
the Shipleys had never given her the trust fund. It caused more
trouble than it was worth.
"I deserve a rich
girlfriend," Rick crowed. "I'm not going to have that squirt
over there interfering!" Rick strutted up to Harry, and punched him
in the nose while the two toughs held him fast.
"You'd do
anything for cold cash, Roscoe, wouldn't you?" Harry spat. "Even
murder!"
"Look who's
talking!" Rick tweaked Harry's nose as Harry tried to break loose
from Rick's friends. "You and Mike must be in cahoots. You
murdered the maid and let Bianca and the baby go. You figured the
Shipleys would give her money. Your brother went for the kid when he
broke out of jail."
"Sounds like a
confession to me, Roscoe," Harry snapped. "You and your friends
were over at the Shipleys two years ago looking for something to
steal. Bianca and Mrs. Ingersoll got in the way. Now you're leaning
on Bianca 'cause she's almost eighteen and ready to come into all
that cold cash."
The guys held him
while Rick socked Harry again.
"No!" Bianca
shrieked. She
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