Free Flower Girl: A Burton Family Mystery by David Marshall Hunt

preferring his secret entrance into the basement after dark.
    "Not a word for four weeks and we are supposed to do what?" Angie said.
    "Thought I'd join you, Angie, and the pups for breakfast after your morning run. I brought some chocolate and almond croissants from the French bakery over by the campus south gate," he said with a big grin.
    "No cannoli cookies for the pups?" I asked. "Angie and I figured you were tracking Critter, but for four weeks?"
    Reddy replied, "I have a second bag of goodies from the Beastro, and I have a fix on Critter. I'll deal with him in due time. Meanwhile, Sara-Clare's TV documentary on child brides is debuting today. That’s why I circled 11 October." Shy and Comet were licking his hand and sniffing at the bag eagerly.
    "I reckon you're not such a bad dude after all." I said, adding, "That was the documentary Matte told us about at the lake."
    Angie said, "Let’s set up in the living room by the TV." I nodded and arranged some plush cushions in a semi-circle on the floor with a good view of the 42” plasma screen. Angie added, "I'll make some Hojicha."    
    Then it came to me, "Wait a minute. It's a Monday. The Beastro’s closed."
    Reddy rubbed his hands together, then pointed his palms upward and said, "Reddy has some magic of his own." Meanwhile, Shy and Comet devoured the cannoli and scrambled into the living room and found places to curl up on the cushions, figuring they were meant for them.
    "Great memory is a Burton family characteristic," Reddy said, as he turned on the TV and scrolled to the Past Meets Future (PMF) channel. Reddy hit the play and record buttons on the DVD player. Sipping hojicha, we started to watch Sara-Clare adroitly and passionately interview several young girls, mostly from Guatemala and the Philippines.
    New York Times correspondent, Sara-Clare O'Callahan, reporting live from a coastal village in Belize and from several other locations on the practice of slavery known as child brides. I have interviewed real people to reveal more about the practices of child marriage in developing countries and to see how a few courageous people are making at least a small difference in solving what is historically an ancient and often cruel practice. The stakes are high as are the risks. Child brides often experience violence, venereal diseases, infection, and poverty.
    We were glued to the monitor screen as Sara-Clare's report unfolded. When she interviewed a teenager from south of Manila, Reddy said, "Hit the pause button.” He pointed at the girl. "That girl is the spitting image of my second wife, Maria Cruz, but she was murdered many years ago."
    â€œYour second wife, what’s that all about?" Angie said, glancing at me.
    Reddy said, "Yes, Sara-Clare sent me an advance copy and that is the moment I will remember forever. Meanwhile, would you like to hear what happened next."
    "Okay if you promise to tell us more about Maria Cruz," I said. Reddy hit the resume button. After the documentary, Reddy continued the story of his latest adventure.
    "When I first viewed the documentary on child brides, it gave me some clues that I wanted to follow up on, so I called Sara-Clare and asked her where was the girl she called Dalisay in her TV special on child brides. She told me that Dalisay is Tagalog for 'pure' and that the girl is working as a nurse at Doctor Dooley's clinic in Belize. Sara-Clare offered to call her and tell her to expect a visit from me.
    I also asked her if any of the girls she had interviewed mentioned a Parks’ Clinic in Singapore. She thought the name may have come up once, but didn’t remember the exact context and would check her notes.
    "Okay, more about Maria Cruz," I insisted.
    Reddy cracked a wry grin and said, "A Philippine girl of twenty-one came into my life while I still anguished over the loss of Anne and my unborn daughter. Maria Cruz Highland befriended me and her family took me in for nearly a year before we