Free Find My Baby by Mitzi Pool Bridges Page A

them.
    “Long day,” Jackie said.
    “Long month.”
    “Wanna tell me about it?”
    Kayla stretched her legs out under the table; still not sure she was doing the right thing. Maybe she should just forget it, enjoy some conversation and go back to Aunt Nester’s. One look in Jackie’s concerned brown eyes and Kayla made up her mind. “I have a few questions first.”
    “Shoot.”
    Kayla leaned across the table, looked squarely at Jackie. “Will you repeat this conversation to anyone?”
    Silence.
    Taking a deep breath, Kayla said, “You have to promise. What I tell you has to stay between the two of us. The police are aware of my situation so it’s not like you’re breaking a law.”
    Jackie’s brow puckered. “You’re not going to tell me you killed someone are you?”
    Kayla had just taken a swallow of her drink…sputtered. Ginger ale spewed across the table. “Sorry,” she said wiping it with a cloth she kept in the waist of her jeans.
    “It was a joke, Kayla. You’re not the type.”
    “Oh! There’s a type?” She laughed, realizing it was the first time she’d laughed in a month. Jackie was good for her. There was something about her that made you want to confide in her, trust her. Kayla hoped she was right.
    “Okay, spill it. You didn’t ask to meet for a drink. Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s great. We need to relax. And goodness knows I don’t have anything against having a good time, but I get the idea you have something serious on your mind.”
    “You’re right. Did you see the news Friday night or Saturday morning? The picture of the woman wanted for questioning by the police?”
    “Sure.”
    Kayla jerked a thumb toward her chest.
    Jackie leaned across the table, looked closely. “No kidding! Amazing what a cut and dye-job will do. You fooled me.”
    “Before you run to the phone and turn me in, I saw the police Saturday so they’re not looking for me anymore.”
    Kayla told Jackie her story. She didn’t leave out anything except, just in case she was making a wrong judgment call, didn’t tell her where Aunt Nester lived. And since Aunt Nester was listed in the phone book under her married name, she would be difficult to find.
    “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I do know if that woman walks in here, I’m going after her, and you should know.”
    “Wow!” Jackie said. “A real honest-to-God mystery right here in Uncle John’s bar and grill.” She grabbed Kayla’s hand. “I’ll help you find the woman. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. You said you made a sketch of the kidnappers, do you have them with you?”
    Kayla pulled them out from the purse Aunt Nester loaned her. “Have you seen either of them? The guy probably has acne over his entire face.”
    “No. I haven’t. But I’ll be glad to show them to the others and to Uncle John. Maybe one of them can tell us something.”
    “Maybe. Just don’t tell them I’m the one asking. At least not now.”
    “Not even Uncle John?”
    Kayla thought a minute. She was in this now and she had to trust someone. She nodded. “He’ll need to know anyway if the woman walks in and I go after her.”
    Jackie patted Kayla’s hand. “You’re safe here.”
    “I hope so. Now I have to go. Aunt Nester is probably worried.”
    They scooted out of the booth. Jackie put an arm around Kayla’s shoulder. “You have help. The police. FBI. You have your aunt and her friend, Rosie. You’re not alone.”
    “Don’t forget Luke.” Kayla couldn’t forget him. He’d become part of the picture now.
    “Don’t forget you have me now, too. I’ll do everything I can. I’m more than willing to help.”
    “Thanks, Jackie.”
    All the way back to her aunt’s, Kayla kept one eye on the road, the other on her rear-view mirror.
    “I had no idea you’d be so late,” Aunt Nester scolded thirty minutes later.
    “Sorry. I should have called.” Tired beyond belief, Kayla didn’t feel like talking. She wanted to give her