Chapter Fifty-Five

After recalculating for the fourth time in as many minutes, the female, robotic voice of Lil’s ancient GPS commanded her to “Bear left at the next curve. Your destination will be on the right.”

“Finally,” Lil said to the one-time expensive piece of electronic junk sitting in its cradle on her dashboard. “Tell me again why I need you when a paper map works just as well, is cheaper, and allows me to opt out of taking the longest, most circuitous route possible?”

With a blossoming suspicion that her desired destination and the place to which she’d been directed might not be one and the same, she pulled up the driveway and parked behind a shiny white, late-model Ford 350 pickup.

A quick scan of the house and grounds reinforced her fears. The yard was carefully groomed. Artistically arranged plantings, trimmed bushes and professionally pruned trees dotted the area. No holes pockmarked the yard, and no weeds were in evidence.

“You lying bimbo,” she mouthed toward the now-silent device.

An elderly woman wearing a heavy plaid jacket, blue jeans, and boots stepped out onto the porch. Unsmiling, she stood and stared at Lil.

Lil powered down her window. “I’m pretty sure I’m lost.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re right,” the old woman said. “Where do you want to be?”

“I’m trying to get to the Ross farm.”

The old woman pursed her lips and squinted. “You and just about everyone else in Belen. Who might you be?” She stepped off the porch and walked slowly toward Lil. “And what business do you have at the Ross farm?”

Her hackles rising at the woman’s tone of voice, Lil commanded herself to be civil. “I’m looking for my sister. She looks like me, maybe with a kid in tow?”

“How old?”

“Same age as me.”

“Not your sister, the kid.”

“Eleven or twelve. You know her?”

The woman nodded. “And I’m guessing you’re the twin to the woman who’s spent the night searching for this kid.” The woman bent at the waist and peered through Lil’s open window.

“Maybe,” Lil said.

“Nice young man came ‘round looking for Jillie and your sister. You just missed him.” She stuck out her hand. “Beverly Potter.”

Lil ignored the hand. “Reverend who?”

At first, the old woman looked taken aback. Then her face broke out into a wry smile and she chuckled. “No, certainly not Reverend, just Beverly Potter.”

“Just a sec.” Lil reached into the pocket of her shirt and extracted a small square black box, from which she pulled two tiny, flesh-colored bulbs. After inserting one in each ear, she scowled at the Potter woman. “Am I anywhere near the Ross place?”

Mrs. Potter motioned toward the road. “Yep.”

“So, have you, or have you not seen a little old lady and kid.” Lil pursed her lips. The other old lady’s attitude was not only beginning to irritate her, but it was wasting her time.

“Like I said before you put in your plugs, I didn’t see them, but your police-kin came ‘round asking questions.”

“I see.” If Davie had talked to Mrs. Potter earlier, he could already be at the Ross place. Although Lil had utmost respect for Davie’s detective-instincts, he could find himself in a whole mess of trouble if the contents of that toolbox was any indication of the kind of people the Elliotts were. “Would you be kind enough to point me in the right direction?”

A speculative look on her face, Mrs. Potter remained silent.

“Okay, fine, thanks.” Lil nodded toward the woman and started to power up her window.

But Mrs. Potter put her hands on top of the rising glass and narrowed her eyes. “I think we should talk.”

“I don’t have time to chat, or did you not understand what I said about their being in danger? You can either take your hands off my window before I close it or learn if you can run fast enough to keep from losing your fingers.”

“And what if you find Jillie at the same time you find your sister; what’ll you do, call that young cop?”

“What’s that to you?” Lil squinted her eyes.

“Maybe you’d leave Jillie for someone else to take care of, someone like her godmother?”

Lil studied the woman’s face. “Seems to me a godmother would be a good person for that kid to stay with, at least until her sister Beth could claim her.”

Mrs. Potter nodded. “Good answer. What’s your plan?”

“My sister’s car is at the Elliott place, but no one’s there. The kid had been there, I’m pretty sure, locked in an outbuilding. The only thing I can figure is, based on what the girl told us, the Elliott clan is going to try to make her take them to some kind of treasure.”

Mrs. Potter’s face assumed an expression that didn’t bode well for those responsible for hurting the kid. “The Elliotts,” she said through clenched teeth. “I never met any of the others, other than Digger, that is. Digger, now, he was a real piece of work. The most foul-mouthed, meanest, laziest snake I’ve ever known. He cut Beth and Jillie completely off from the rest of the world.” She shook her head. “True to his name, that waste-of-space was. He dug up nearly every inch of that yard. There never was any treasure; that was just a rumor.”

Lil nodded her head. The fact that this crusty old woman cared so much about Jillie said something about her and about the kid.

Mrs. Potter frowned. “I drove to the hospital several times to see Beth. Tell the truth, I was surprised that I never saw Jillie there. Those two are more than just sisters; they have a special bond. I called the Elliott house several times to talk to Jillie, but there was always some reason she couldn’t come to the phone. Beth, now she’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known. That whole Ross family was. You know their dad used to help build barns and out buildings for local folks? The economy out here’s pretty stagnant, but Mister Ross never charged a penny for his services. He brought his own tools, too.”

Lil held her hand up to stop the flow of words. “Much as I’m enjoying this, I need to get going.”

“Well, then, we’d best get a move on. Come in, I was just about to get my gear when you pulled up.”

“I don’t have time—”

Mrs. Potter moved her hand in a shushing motion. “Now don’t go off half-cocked. Your nephew might or might not be at the farm yet, but if that’s where those folks have taken Jillie, I guarantee you, she’s in trouble. I’m going to get my nun chucks.”

“My sis got into that martial arts stuff some years back. Are you any good?”

Mrs. Potter smiled. “Oh, I have my moments. Come in, I have all kinds of stuff you can choose from, if you want.” Muttering under her breath something that sounded like I should have known something was up…all that traffic, Mrs. Potter hurried toward her house.

Lil shut off her engine, exited the car, and followed. “You have two minutes, then I’m leaving, with or without you.”