came back to the School. They never saw or heard from
her again. Max was sure she had been put to sleep.
Max suddenly realized that she was flying too fast and without looking where she was going. The memory of the School had upset
her.
She changed direction and went into a steep climb toward the sun. Its brilliance shattered her vision, a blizzard of multicolored
shades. Blinded, Max kept climbing, drawing in air that grew cooler and thinner in her lungs.
Finally, when she couldn’t stand it for a second more, she looped the loop. Then she went into a nosedive.
She fell straight toward the shimmering blue water of the lake.
Her wings felt glued to her sides. The air roared in her ears. Her lungs burned. She hit the water at a perfect angle.
Splashdown!
Unbelievable!
God, how she loved to fly.
Chapter 34
H ARDING THOMAS stopped for coffee and a sugar hit at the Quik Stop in Bear Bluff. “Coffee, black as my heart,” he said to the
counter clerk.
That was when he overheard the big-eyed, red-headed kids babbling to their mother near the freezer full of Ben & Jerry’s ice
cream.
Thomas wasn’t really listening to the kids as he was handed his coffee, not until he heard, “She was like a big, beautiful
bird, Mommy. Like a Power Ranger, ’cept she was a real girl.”
Harding Thomas jerked to full attention when he heard that little mouthful of news. He almost dropped his coffee. Spilled
some steaming java on his hiking boots.
The kids’ mother was wandering toward the checkout counter, mesmerized by the latest issue of
People
magazine. Her floppy thongs slapped the worn-out tan-and-brown linoleum floor. She was about thirty-five, fat folds rolling
over the top of baggy Champion shorts. The kids were cute, though, and they sure were animated.
Thomas snatched a Snickers off a snack rack on the counter. He walked toward the checkout line, too. He stood behind the mother
and her kids.
Mama had apparently communicated to the kids to shut up in the public place. Good advice, but a little too late.
“I overheard your kids. A flying girl from outer space,” he said with a pleasant chuckle and smile. “Just like you read about
in that crazy rag, the
Star.
” He hooked his thumb toward one of the tabloid newspapers displayed near the counter.
“We
did
see a flying girl,” the boy insisted, blew his promise immediately. “Didn’t we, Elizabeth?”
His sister shot him a warning look, but the boy didn’t care. Thomas looked skeptical, which was no problem. He was hoping
to draw them out some more, and he was unusually good with kids.
Two mountain bikers entered the minimart just then. They were plastered in mud, carrying helmets, wearing bike shoes. Thomas
hoped they wouldn’t hear anything. Fortunately, they continued to the rear of the store.
“Bailey, Bailey,” the mother said. “What am I going to do with you?”
She turned to Thomas, smoothing her henna-colored hair with her hand, self-conscious under his gaze. “They watched
Hook
on video the other night? Now what does he see? Tinkerbell flying about in the woods, right. So he says. I suppose it’s a
good thing.” She smiled. “He has a truckload of imagination, and they say it leads to creativity later on.”
The boy’s voice cracked with hurt and indignation. “I’m not making this up! We saw the girl in the woods near the blueberry
bog. She
said
her name was Tinkerbell and she flew real high over the trees. Cross my heart.”
Harding Thomas thought he knew the place they were talking about. He’d been through the bog a couple of times with his search
team, but they hadn’t seen any trace of Max. He tossed two singles onto the counter, then said “So long,” in the general direction
of the woman and her children.
Chapter 35
T HOMAS FOLLOWED the woman and her kids in his off-white Range Rover. The family had an old, dented, and weather-beaten Isuzu
pickup. The mother wasn’t in any big hurry to
her again. Max was sure she had been put to sleep.
Max suddenly realized that she was flying too fast and without looking where she was going. The memory of the School had upset
her.
She changed direction and went into a steep climb toward the sun. Its brilliance shattered her vision, a blizzard of multicolored
shades. Blinded, Max kept climbing, drawing in air that grew cooler and thinner in her lungs.
Finally, when she couldn’t stand it for a second more, she looped the loop. Then she went into a nosedive.
She fell straight toward the shimmering blue water of the lake.
Her wings felt glued to her sides. The air roared in her ears. Her lungs burned. She hit the water at a perfect angle.
Splashdown!
Unbelievable!
God, how she loved to fly.
Chapter 34
H ARDING THOMAS stopped for coffee and a sugar hit at the Quik Stop in Bear Bluff. “Coffee, black as my heart,” he said to the
counter clerk.
That was when he overheard the big-eyed, red-headed kids babbling to their mother near the freezer full of Ben & Jerry’s ice
cream.
Thomas wasn’t really listening to the kids as he was handed his coffee, not until he heard, “She was like a big, beautiful
bird, Mommy. Like a Power Ranger, ’cept she was a real girl.”
Harding Thomas jerked to full attention when he heard that little mouthful of news. He almost dropped his coffee. Spilled
some steaming java on his hiking boots.
The kids’ mother was wandering toward the checkout counter, mesmerized by the latest issue of
People
magazine. Her floppy thongs slapped the worn-out tan-and-brown linoleum floor. She was about thirty-five, fat folds rolling
over the top of baggy Champion shorts. The kids were cute, though, and they sure were animated.
Thomas snatched a Snickers off a snack rack on the counter. He walked toward the checkout line, too. He stood behind the mother
and her kids.
Mama had apparently communicated to the kids to shut up in the public place. Good advice, but a little too late.
“I overheard your kids. A flying girl from outer space,” he said with a pleasant chuckle and smile. “Just like you read about
in that crazy rag, the
Star.
” He hooked his thumb toward one of the tabloid newspapers displayed near the counter.
“We
did
see a flying girl,” the boy insisted, blew his promise immediately. “Didn’t we, Elizabeth?”
His sister shot him a warning look, but the boy didn’t care. Thomas looked skeptical, which was no problem. He was hoping
to draw them out some more, and he was unusually good with kids.
Two mountain bikers entered the minimart just then. They were plastered in mud, carrying helmets, wearing bike shoes. Thomas
hoped they wouldn’t hear anything. Fortunately, they continued to the rear of the store.
“Bailey, Bailey,” the mother said. “What am I going to do with you?”
She turned to Thomas, smoothing her henna-colored hair with her hand, self-conscious under his gaze. “They watched
Hook
on video the other night? Now what does he see? Tinkerbell flying about in the woods, right. So he says. I suppose it’s a
good thing.” She smiled. “He has a truckload of imagination, and they say it leads to creativity later on.”
The boy’s voice cracked with hurt and indignation. “I’m not making this up! We saw the girl in the woods near the blueberry
bog. She
said
her name was Tinkerbell and she flew real high over the trees. Cross my heart.”
Harding Thomas thought he knew the place they were talking about. He’d been through the bog a couple of times with his search
team, but they hadn’t seen any trace of Max. He tossed two singles onto the counter, then said “So long,” in the general direction
of the woman and her children.
Chapter 35
T HOMAS FOLLOWED the woman and her kids in his off-white Range Rover. The family had an old, dented, and weather-beaten Isuzu
pickup. The mother wasn’t in any big hurry to
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