Burn Girl Read Online Free Page A

fairy godmother to the children whose parents were absent, either physically or emotionally.
    When she heard the soup bubbling, Dora got up and spooned some into two paper cups. She handed me one and I slurped it dutifully even though I wasn’t hungry. The liquid scalded the roof of my mouth.
    â€œI always wondered why you called the police after you found your mom,” she said. “You had to have known things would change. We could have figured something out together.”
    â€œI wasn’t really thinking. I just wanted the world to stop.”
    â€œAnd did it?”
    I laughed weakly. “Just the opposite.”
    â€œYou could have taken the car and gone anywhere,” she said.
    â€œWhere would I have gone? At least here I have you and Mo. And you need the car more than I do.” I couldn’t admit to her that a vehicle would make it easier for authorities to track me, should I decide to leave Durango one day. If I could make it to a large city, being on foot would allow me to slip into the shadows, untraceable.
    While Dora ate, I showed her the dress and shoes that Mo and I had chosen for Mom. She approved. I laughed when she confirmed that Mom would have liked something shorter.
    It was getting dark outside and the temperature would dip below freezing soon. Not wanting Tammy to worry, I called and said I’d stayed over at Mo’s for dinner. I couldn’t leave just yet. Dora and I snuggled beneath the bedspread and turned on the TV.
    It took some time to work up the courage to ask what I’d come to ask. “Did you see anything unusual the night Mom died?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œDid anyone stop by? Someone you didn’t recognize?” My heart pounded in anticipation of her answer.
    â€œWhat’s this about?” She cupped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to her. I buried my face in her neck. I hadn’t cried in front of Jane or Mo or Tammy since Mom’s death, but Dora was part of a world they’d never understand. She’d lived with addiction—her own and that of her former partner. She’d been homeless for more years than I’d been alive. Even so, the tears wouldn’t fall.
    â€œWhat if Mom didn’t kill herself?”
    Dora kissed the top of my head. “Ah, sweet child. It was an accident. Don’t read more into it. You’ll make yourself sick.”
    â€œBut what if someone else was involved?”
    Dora stiffened at my question. “You think someone killed your mother?”
    I explained that when I found Mom, so much about the room looked wrong. Too much meth had been left behind, as well as paraphernalia I didn’t recognize. She wouldn’t have had the money to buy it.
    And if she’d been with her junkie friends, they’d never have left behind such a stash. But everything I said made me sound more and more pathetic, as if I couldn’t face the truth … that I wasn’t a good enough reason to fight to stay alive.
    I got up from the bed and swung my arms back and forth, trying to shake off the emotion overtaking me because I hadn’t gotten the answers I wanted. Dora stood and grabbed both my hands.
    â€œListen to me. Bad things happen. There doesn’t have to be a reason. She died, but you’re alive. You have all the chances she never got. And more smarts to boot.”
    I smiled when she grabbed my chin for emphasis.
    A loud rap startled us both. Dora moved toward the door.
    â€œLeave the chain on,” I said.
    â€œOf course.” She shook her head at my obvious caution.
    The door opened just three inches, but enough to see a sliver of Mo’s face.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” I asked.
    â€œThought you could use a ride to Tammy’s,” she said. “It’s getting colder.”
    I kissed Dora good-bye and followed Mo back to her warm car. We’d met on a day much colder than this one, when I’d let my guard