by Geof Johnson
“I told her once, but she didn’t believe me. She always believes what Mr. Gundy says. He whipped me later, and said he’d really hurt me if I ever told anybody again.”
Carl grunted and narrowed his eyes. “How often did he come into your room?”
“Every night. He did it when Mrs. Gundy took her shower, but they were short, so he couldn’t stay long. He told me he was going to stay all night tonight, because Mrs. Gundy was going on a trip to visit her sister.”
“That’s so awful!” Rachel said. Lisa, her eyes wide and her face white, just stared at Sammi. Adele looked shocked, too.
Oh my God! Rachel felt a sickening feeling in her stomach. He’s a pedophile. Sounds like she ran away just in time.
“How could he be a foster parent?” Carl said. “Wouldn’t Social Services know?”
Sammi shook her head. “I couldn’t tell them ’cause Mr. Gundy would beat me.”
“Couldn’t you get into another foster home?”
She shook her head again and spoke so quietly that Rachel could barely hear her answer. “Nobody else wants me. They think I’m crazy ’cause I hear voices.”
“Oh.” Carl sucked in his breath and glanced up at Rachel. “How did you get here?”
“The bus,” Sammi said. “I walked from the bus station.”
“That’s almost five miles.”
“It took all day ’cause I had to hide a lot. I tried to look inconspic...inconspicu....”
“Inconspicuous. Because you’re scared?”
“I don’t want Mr. Gundy to find me.”
“I don’t think he’ll find you this far from Bicksby. That’s pretty far away, I think.”
“He used to be a bounty hunter.” Her face became agitated. “He’s good at finding people, and he’ll hurt me real bad if he does, I know!”
“It’s okay.” Lisa patted Sammi’s arm with her free hand. “But I want to know why you came here, of all places.”
Sammi glanced at Rachel and then looked directly at Lisa. “Because you called me. You said, ‘Come here, little dark-haired girl. We’re calling you.’ That’s what you said.” She nodded emphatically.
“What?”
“Don’t you remember? Back in February? You and Mrs. Sikes were sitting in the gazebo and you were talking about adopting a little girl, and you said she should be about seven years old, and I’m almost seven, and she needed to have dark hair and dark eyes and have some magic in her.” She nodded again. “And that’s me. You called me and I came.”
Lisa gaped at Sammi for a moment and turned to Rachel, who realized her mouth was open, too. Rachel said, “We did say that, Lisa. I remember. Sammi, how did you know that?”
“I heard you.”
“How?”
“It’s part of her power,” Fred said. “She’s a Shadow Witch, I believe. They’re really rare, according to Momma Sue. Sammi can hear people talking if they are in a shadow.”
“Anybody?” Adele said. “Anywhere?”
“Only if they’re saying something that matters to me, I think,” Sammi said. “And only if they’re in a good, strong shadow. You were talking about me in the gazebo, and that’s how I heard, ’cause it probably makes a good shadow.”
“That’s true,” Rachel said. “It was a bright sunny day, as I recall.”
Lisa’ eyebrows drew down. “How did you know we were talking about you, though? I thought we were just kinda joking around. We didn’t really mean it.” Lisa stopped when she saw the hurt look on Sammi’s face. “Oh, Sammi, I mean...it could have been you...I...we...Mrs. Sikes and I....”
“We’re going to help you,” Rachel said. “That’s what she means. We don’t know exactly how just yet, but don’t you worry, okay?”
Sammi nodded again, and she seemed relieved. Lisa looked at Rachel and locked eyes with her, a silent plea for more help, but Rachel didn’t know what else to say at the moment.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Adele said, “The hot dogs are probably ready, Sammi. Are you still hungry?”
“Yes ma’am,” Sammie said.
“Have you had anything to eat today?” Evelyn asked.
Sammi shook her head. “I used all my money on the bus ticket.”
“Oh gosh, you must be starving. Let’s go get you some food, then we can talk later.”
Jamie was eating at the big table with his friends when he heard the footsteps on the stairs. All heads turned and watched as Fred came into the room with the little girl in tow, followed by the adults.
“This should be interesting,” Rollie said quietly.
Adele and Evelyn led Sammi into the kitchen to get some food, and Lisa and Rachel quickly filled Jamie and the others in on the situation.
“Oh, wow,” Bryce said. “Another crisis, huh?”
“Seems like we attract those,” Rollie said.
“We need to be really nice to Sammi,” Fred said. “She’s scared out of her mind right now.”
“I would be, too,” Melanie said.
Adele brought Sammi from the kitchen to the table, holding a Sprite and the little girl’s paper plate for her. On it was a hot dog and some potato chips.
“Move over, Rollie,” Fred said, “so she can be next to me.” Rollie changed seats, and Fred helped Sammi get situated before sitting beside her. “You guys try not to bombard her with questions.”
Everyone watched Sammi take a wolfish bite from her hot dog, staring at the little girl as if she were an exotic animal at the zoo. Fred glared back at them. “Do you mind?”
“Sorry,” Melanie said and stood up. “Fred, you want me to fix you some food?”
“Would you? A hamburger, please.”
Melanie went to the kitchen and Larry and Garrett came in from the patio. They stood with the mothers around the table and watched while the little stranger finished her meal.
Melanie returned with Fred’s food, and Jamie felt like he’d waited long enough. “So, Sammi, you’re an orphan, huh? We have a little experience with orphans.”
Sammi swallowed a gulp of Sprite and set her can down. “I know. Aiven’s an orphan, too.”
“Did Fred tell you that, or did you learn that with your power?”
“I heard you talking on Eddan’s world.”
“Cool,” Jamie said. “Way cool. Do you know who we are?”
“Unh hunh.” She pointed her finger at each of them as she identified them. “You’re Jamie, Rollie, Bryce, and Melanie.”
“Do know the grownups names?”
She nodded, and Evelyn said, “But how? You’ve never seen us before, have you?”
“I recognize your voices.”
“So you really are a witch,” Garrett said.
“But I’m a good one!” She looked directly at Garrett. “Honest, Mr. Wilkins. I’m not friends with the Devil or anything.”
Garrett coughed, and Larry patted him on the back and said, “Wow, she really does know us, doesn’t she?”
“Unh hunh,” Sammie said again. “You like to tell jokes, Mr. Callahan, and only Mrs. Callahan laughs at them, pretty much, ’cause she laughs a lot.”
Everybody chuckled except Larry. “Well, I think my jokes are funny.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Sammi. “So, what else does our little eavesdropper know about us? Go on. Tell us.”
The frightened look returned to Sammi’s eyes. “No, Mr. Callahan. I didn’t mean it that way...I meant....”
Fred patted Sammi’s arm. “Relax, Sammi. He’s sensitive about the fact that he’s a dork.”
That didn’t seem to make Sammi feel better. She looked back at Larry, and her eyes began to fill with tears and her lip quivered.
“Now look what you did,” Lisa said to Larry. “You scared her again.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Larry said defensively. “I’m sorry Sammi.” He turned to Garrett and shrugged. “How was I to know she’s so sensitive?”
Lisa walked around the table, knelt beside Sammi, and put her hand on Sam
mi’s shoulder. “It’s okay, honey. He didn’t mean anything by that. Would you like some brownies?”
She nodded again and wiped her eyes with her hand while Rollie passed the Tupperware box to her.
Jamie leaned his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. “Sammi, do you have a place to stay?”
She shook her head, glanced at Lisa, and dropped her gaze back to her lap. “Can I stay here?”
“Of course you can,” Lisa said.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Larry said, but Lisa quickly grabbed him by the arm and whispered fiercely in his ear. Then he cleared his throat and glanced at Sammi. “I guess I don’t. Uh...we’ll have to clean off the junk from the spare bed, though.”
Lisa turned her attention back to Sammi. “Do you have any clothes?”
“I brought some shorts and a shirt, and some clean underwear.”
“That’s all? No nightgown or pajamas?” Sammi shook her head again and Lisa said, “Fred can loan you a T-shirt to sleep in. Maybe we can scrounge up some more things for you somehow.” Lisa rubbed her forehead with one hand. “But gosh, I don’t think we have any. I’m pretty sure I gave all of Fred’s old clothes to charity.”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it,” Evelyn said. “Right now, let’s finish eating.”
Later, after Bryce and Melanie left, Fred took Sammi upstairs and got her in the bathtub. When Fred returned to the living room, she found the others talking about the little runaway.
“What took you so long, Fred?” Lisa asked.
“We talked for a while. She seems like a sharp kid, and she’s really happy to be here, no thanks to you, Dad.”
“Sorry, but I still think we’d better take her someplace official, or we could get in big trouble,” Larry said, sitting on a wooden chair near the couch. “There’s bound to be a county services home for runaways or something.” He looked at Carl. “Isn’t there?”
“I would imagine, but I don’t think we should take her tonight. She seems pretty scared.”
“She’d be traumatized, Dad,” Fred said. “This is the only place she feels safe.”
Larry frowned. “But aren’t we breaking the law by not reporting her right away?”
“I’m sure we are,” Carl said, “but I’d rather wait until I can check out her story before we turn her over to Child Services. I’ll go down to the police station tomorrow and run a search on this Mr. Gundy fellow.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Fred said. “Sammi is totally convinced that he’s going to come after her, and snatch her if she’s in another foster home.”
“Carl, he can’t be as bad as all that, can he?” Garrett said. “Seems like the state would never have let him be a foster parent.”
“Depends on how good a liar he is. But I’ll go find out what I can about him, though I doubt he has a criminal record. I don’t think he would’ve passed the background check if he did.”
“But what are we going to do with her tomorrow, if we don’t turn her over to the authorities?” Larry said. “All of us are going to be busy, with the kids’ graduation tomorrow night and everything.”
“I’ll look after her,” Evelyn said. “She probably needs some clothes. I’ll take her shopping and get her a few things.”
“Mom,” Rachel said, “you shouldn’t have to spend your money on her.”
“It’s fine.”
“But what about tomorrow night?” Larry said, “She can’t go to graduation with us. We don’t have enough tickets.”
“I’ll call Gina,” Evelyn said. “She might be willing to stay with Sammi. Fred could give her one of her magic pendants, and she’d be safe enough.”
Larry scowled. “You guys sound like you really believe this Mr. Gundy is going to swoop out of the shadows and grab that little girl, and molest her or something.”
“Sammi seems to think so,” Fred said.
Carl took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s not make any decisions about her until I can find out more about her foster father.”
“What if he’s as bad as Sammi says he is?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t know.” Carl inhaled slowly and pushed the fingers of one hand through his short brown hair. “Then we’ve got a real problem.”
* * *
Duane Gundy watched as his wife set the phone down. “Well?” he asked.
She shook her head. “They still haven’t seen her.”
“I don’t believe ’em. Libby’s her best friend. I bet Sammi’s hiding over there. I’ll go over there and ask ’em in person. I can tell if they’re lyin’, if I can look ’em in the eye.”
“I don’t know, Duane. I don’t want to bother them again, and Mrs. Carter sounded like she was telling the truth. Maybe you should drive around again and look for Sammi. Maybe go check the diner. She’s bound to be hungry by now.”
Duane Gundy grabbed his car keys from the hook by the kitchen door and shoved his wallet in his back pocket. “I done checked everywhere I can think of. I’m goin’ to Libby’s house.”
Gundy spit on the ground before he banged on the Carter’s front door again, cursing to himself. A few seconds later, Mike Carter opened it, but didn’t turn on the outside light. He wore a white undershirt and faded black jeans, and he was barefoot. A barbed wire tattoo circled his right upper arm.
“Damn, Duane, what the hell do you want?”
“I want Sammi. I know she’s over here.”
“My wife done told you she ain’t here, and we ain’t seen her.”
Gundy tried to see past the lean, sinewy man into the house, but the partway open door offered only a limited view. “Well, she ain’t nowhere else. She’s gotta be here.”
“She ain’t. Now quit botherin’ us. We’re tryin’ to eat supper.”
He could’ve been lying, but Gundy couldn’t get a good look at his eyes in the darkness. “Let me come in and see for myself.”
“I said she ain’t here!” Mike glared at him.
Gundy crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. “Well, I ain’t leavin’ ’till I see for myself.”
Mike leaned back inside the house and yelled over his shoulder, “Luke, run into my bedroom and fetch my gun.”
“Now, hold on.” Gundy stepped off the small wooden stoop and held out both hands defensively. “No need for that. I’m leavin’.” He walked to his car, and when he glanced back, he saw Mike still standing in his doorway. Gundy slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and drove off. He didn’t go far, just a short distance down the road, where he had a clear view of the Carter’s house. He pulled onto the shoulder, turned off the ignition, lit a cigarette, and waited.
* * *
Fred lay in her bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, thinking about Sammi. Boy, what a night. Another big problem for us to deal with, and just when we thought we were home free.
Jamie had a theory about it. He always seemed to have a theory about something. He thought that their power attracted problems, like a light attracts moths at night. The brighter the light, the more moths. And the stronger the magical power, the bigger the problems. She tuned him out when he began to expound on his hypothesis, but it did seem to make sense, now that she thought about it.
Though I don’t see how we could have a bigger problem than the demon.That was awful. She sighed and rolled over onto her side. That poor little girl. An orphan, just like Aiven. Is that a coincidence?Jamie thought it might not be. Such a similar situation, Sammi and Aiven, orphans with magical powers, showing up on our doorstep.
Her musings were interrupted by a light tap on her door. A small, timid voice said, “Fred, can I come in?”
“Sure.”
Sammi stepped inside, gently closed the door, and hurried on tiptoes across the hardwood floor to Fred’s bed.
Fred drew back the covers and felt a sudden swell of affection for the vulnerable little girl as she climbed in, and Fred scooted over to make room for her. “I thought you would be asleep by
now,” Fred said, and pulled the lightweight blanket over both of them.
“I’m too scared.” She pressed against Fred’s side, and Fred could feel her trembling.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of here. You’re safe.”
“You don’t know Mr. Gundy.”
“That’s true, but if he shows up, do you want Jamie to blast him, like this?” Fred poked her fingers into Sammi’s ribs, and the little girl giggled.
“Can Jamie make him go to that world where he put the two bad witches?”
“You know about that?”
“Unh hunh. I know lots of stuff.”
Fred shook her head in the dark. “You might want to keep some of that to yourself, at least for now. My dad seemed a little ticked off that you’ve been listening to us. It’s not polite to eavesdrop, you know.”
“I can’t help it most of the time. I hear stuff. I don’t try to, I just do.”
“There must be millions of people talking in shadows all the time. How do you filter it all out?”
“I usually only hear people talking about magic, or something that’s important to me.”
“But there are probably thousands of people talking about magic at any given time.”
“I used to hear so many people at once that I couldn’t pick anything out, but now I mostly hear certain things.”
“Maybe it changes as you get older.” Fred absent-mindedly rubbed her cheek with one hand while she thought of her next question. “Can you tune in to whoever you want?”
“Sometimes, kinda. Ever since I started hearing you and Jamie and everybody, I’ve been trying harder to focus on you. I’m getting better at it.”
Fred inhaled deeply through her nose and chewed on a fingernail. “I wonder why you heard us in the first place. Do you really think it’s because it was important to you?” She felt Sammi shrug, and Fred said, “Jamie is going to want to talk to you about your magic the first chance he gets, so be ready for that. And I probably should tell Momma Sue about you.”
“She’s the voodoo queen?”
“Yes, and she’s going to want to meet you, I’m sure. Mrs. Malley probably will, too. Shadow Witches are extremely rare, from what I’m told.”
