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.Without turning on a light, she had packed, written John an email in the dark, sent another one to Celia, and before daybreak been in her car on the way to the Jackson airport.She'd lived in mortal fear that John would be waiting at every bus stop and had spent most of the next day and a half looking over her shoulder.She'd be twenty-five in six weeks and the company held in trust until that time would be hers on her birthday.At that point, Paul would be at her mercy—if she could survive.She had no innocent illusions that John would stop looking for her or that Paul would call off the contract on her life.She was worth far more dead than alive and until midnight of the eve of her birthday, they'd turn over every single rock searching.A hand touched her arm.In that moment, she expected to look up and see either Ramona—or whatever the hell her name really was—or John, but instead found herself gazing into the eyes of Lizzy again."Are you really my friend?""Yes, I am," Jane said."Well then, would you play with me?""I sure will.Shall we take a walk and find a pot of gold?"Lizzy's chin quivered."They said I wasn't magic because I didn't find it fast enough.They said I was a skunk after all and they held their noses and ran away from me."Jane came up out of the chair in an angry flash and took her hand."I think they are wrong.Let's me and you go hunt for it and when we find it, we won't even tell them."They played a game of hiding from everyone as Jane suggested next moves until they reached the barn.Behind this tree.Over to that rose bush.Under the fence so fast no one could see them.Now behind the barn doors.Once inside she listened carefully and put a finger over her lips to keep Lizzy quiet."The rainbow comes first.We have to see the rainbow because it leads to the pot of gold that only you can find because you are special and have a lucky streak in your hair.Now be very quiet and shut your eyes tightly and imagine a rainbow of purple and blue and yellow and pink.Can you see it?"Lizzy's nose as well as her eyes puckered up."I can see it in my head," she whispered."Okay, now what do you hear?"She grinned."Baby kittens?""Where is Lizzy?" Griffin Luckadeau asked Tim and Richie."She ran away because…""Where did she go?"Griffin was beginning to get that prickly feeling on the back of his neck.Something was very, very wrong."I asked you boys to tell me where she went.""She and the maid went sneaking off.We went to find her in the house because that's where she went the first time she ran off and then we saw her and the maid running away.The maid was playing a game with her and they were hiding," Richie said."Yeah, and the maid told us a lie.She said that Lizzy's hair was a lucky streak and she could find a pot of gold with it but she can't.She's just a…" Keely stopped in the middle of a breath."A what?" Griffin asked."They said she was a skunk, but we didn't say it," Tim said.Keely pointed a finger at them."Yes, you did.You said it first.""Where did the maid take her?" Griffin asked."To find the gold but she's just a crazy old maid 'cause there ain't no gold," Keely said.Griffin hopped up on a picnic table and yelled."Everyone, Lizzy has gone missing.The kids say she was with the maid.Anyone seen her?""I think they went to the barn," Slade said."Come on, I'll go with you.""But Slade, darlin'," Kristy said."I'll be right back," he said."I hope she doesn't hurt the child.Who knows what she was before she came here? She was probably a child molester or a kidnapper.Maybe that's why she wanted a job here, so she could kidnap one of our kids for the ransom," Kristy said loudly enough for everyone to hear."And you are full of shit," Ellen said."That girl wouldn't hurt a fire ant."Kristy glared at her.The two men started off in a trot toward the barn."Lizzy!" Griffin called out from the door."Shhhh," he heard her over behind a stack of square hay bales [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]