To Jubilee Crystal Simpson
Somewhere on earth
Dear Jubilee, Olive and I used to hide in the toolshed when we were little.
We used to squeeze through a gap in the back wall, under the workbench.
The gap was still there, but I’m a lot bigger than I was back then. So I set to work making the gap bigger too.
I wrenched at the wood. I found Constable Hennessey’s hammer and bashed at the old, rusty nails. I accidentally hammered my thumb, and it hurt like crazy. But I didn’t stop.
Because Delphine hadn’t looked like someone who was about to give up and go away.
She’d looked angry. And desperate.
And I was the only one who knew what she was trying to do.
As soon as the hole was big enough, I crawled through it. I ripped the sleeve of my school shirt on one of the nails, and there were scratches all over my legs. But none of that mattered.
My bike was still in the boot of Delphine’s car.
So I started running.
From Tracy