The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [98]
She lay on Sophie’s bed in the fading daylight, holding the teddy bear to her chest, as she had a few nights earlier. Through the window, she could see fireflies blinking in the half light, moving slowly, as if they were flying through honey.
Lucas has a good reason, she told herself, or else he’d be here with her. But she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d misread their relationship. Had she made more of it than actually existed? Right now, she felt as though she didn’t truly know him. How close could she be to Lucas if he wouldn’t tell her why, on this night of all nights, he couldn’t be with her? She’d thought of calling him with the hopeful news that Sophie’s scent had been detected by one of the dogs, but suddenly worried that her call would not be welcome. He had important work to do tonight, he’d told her. She didn’t dare call.
Just as she began to think of him as dishonest, as someone who had used her, she remembered what he’d been like in Schaefer’s office earlier that day. He’d talked to a few of the kids with genuine interest and concern; he’d questioned the parents—and Schaefer himself—about various aspects of the treatment Sophie and the other children were receiving. He’d been nothing if not sincere. He was a rare man, and she forgave him for deserting her tonight. Whatever his reasons, she knew they were important.
Her mind returned to Sophie. They’d found her scent near a creek, a half mile from the road. That had to mean that her injuries were not all that severe. Otherwise, how could she have walked that far? She must have been afraid, though. She was a stranger to the woods, and by now, she’d endured four nights alone, with the alien noises and unrelenting darkness of the forest.
Baby, hold on. Did Sophie feel deserted? Did she wonder why no one had found her yet? Did she think she’d been forgotten?
Janine rolled onto her side and felt her tears run over her temple onto Sophie’s bedspread. And that’s when she heard the sound. Lifting her head from the pillow, she listened. The keening was low-pitched and anguished. Orla was out there, walking through the woods surrounding Ayr Creek, searching for the daughter who’d been ripped from her heart in the middle of the night.
And for the first time, Janine knew exactly how she felt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The three of them sat on the flat rocks in the clearing, eating cold baked beans and franks straight from the cans. Marti would not allow a fire in case searchers might be able to see the smoke.
Sophie did not have much of an appetite, and Zoe couldn’t blame her. The little girl was in pain from the wounds on her foot, and she was also very, very frightened. It was probably beginning to dawn on her that she was not getting out of here any time soon.
Zoe had finally decided against walking Sophie to the road. Her reasons for changing her mind were many. First, Sophie had not awakened from her nap until nearly two o’clock, and there was no way Zoe could get all the way to the road and back again before dark. Second, when Sophie did finally wake up, her foot was so inflamed, so obviously infected, that there was no way she could possibly walk on it. Zoe gave her some antibiotics from the stash she’d brought with her, hoping not only that they would help, but that they would have no unforeseen negative effect on Sophie’s kidney problems. Who knew what was going on inside the little girl’s body?
But the third reason for not taking Sophie to the road was the most compelling: she simply could not put Marti’s safety at risk. Yes, Sophie had promised not to give away the identity of the person who’d found her in the woods, and Zoe knew the child was sincere about that. But Marti was right. They would question Sophie until she gave in. She was smart and strong, but she was also sick and scared. No, Zoe could not put Marti in that sort of jeopardy.
When Marti had returned from her angry escape into the forest, Zoe had sat with her on the sofa in the living room, talking quietly, trying to figure out what to do. Both of them had been calmer,