Free Tomorrow's Promises (Bellingwood Book 7) by Diane Greenwood Muir Page A

been ended.
    It rang again and Polly answered it.
    "I'm sorry," Kelly Locke said. "I must have disconnected us. I'm not sure what to do. I have to be at work on Monday. I told him not to go after that girl. She'll find her way back when she's ready. And now this. Tell me where this hospital is?"
    "It's in Boone. I can find a phone number for you."
    "No, that's fine. I'll find it myself. You're the one helping him find Jessie, right?"
    "Yes, ma'am."
    "He said you were the daughter of a college buddy of his. It's nice of you to help him. I told him there were a lot of people in Iowa and he might not have any luck. But he said you put him in touch with a deputy."
    "Yes, and this morning I did find the young man that she came out here with, but I haven't had a chance to tell your husband yet."
    "Have you talked to Jessie?"
    "He says she's not there any longer."              
    "She left him? That girl isn't going to be happy anywhere. Well, I hope she figures this out."
    "It sounded like she was going to try to get a job somewhere. Can you tell me what kind of jobs she's had before? That might make it easier for us to figure out where she's gone."
    "I don't know. She didn't have a lot of gumption, so she only got menial jobs. Why wouldn't she call us?"
    "If you'd like me to put you in touch with the Boone County Sheriff's Department, they can help you work through this, Mrs. Locke. And I'd be glad to make some more calls, but I'd really like to have some idea where to start."
    "I understand that. Let me make some decisions here and I will be in contact with you later on today."
    "Your husband's room here at Sycamore House is still open. If you want to stay here, you're more than welcome to do that or there are a couple of hotels down in Boone."
    "Thank you, Miss Giller."
    "It's Polly. Call any time. Let me know what else we can do for you. Goodbye."
    After the call was finished, Polly went into her office and sat down at her desk. The day was already out of control. It wasn't even noon and she was ready to hide. She opened her computer and searched for malls in Waterloo and Cedar Falls. Maybe Jessie had been able to get a job at one of the shops there. It wouldn't hurt anyone if she made a couple of quick phone calls. She opened the directories and beginning with what she thought was probably the largest mall, Crossroads Center, calling one shop after another, asking for Jessie Locke. Twenty minutes passed and no one gave her a positive response.
    "Polly?" Drea stood in her office doorway.
    "I forgot!" Polly exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. I got wrapped up in something and completely forgot that I was supposed to be somewhere."
    "What are you working on?" Drea sat down in front of Polly's desk.
    "I'm calling stores in Waterloo, looking for that guy's daughter. He left here in an ambulance and I feel awful, knowing that she's all alone."
    "How old is she?"
    "I think he said she was nineteen. Old enough to know better, but still young enough to make stupid decisions."
    "You don't think she'd make really stupid decisions like prostitution or drugs, do you?"
    Polly shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what to think. I don't know these people at all. This guy was a friend of my dad's from college."
    Drea looked at her in confusion.
    "I know. He must have married a much younger woman. It sounds like it took him a long time to get his life back together after Viet Nam. But now he's had a heart attack and his wife has a job and a kid at home and she doesn't know whether to come out here or not and ..."
    "And you are supposed to be celebrating this weekend, not taking on the cares of the world."
    "But he has no one else and Dad would have helped."
    "You're right, but come on back to the party. Here's the deal. I promise that this afternoon, you can put all of us on the phones and we'll call every store in Waterloo or wherever it is and try to find this girl. If we help, then will you try to relax about it?"
    Polly grinned across the