is it, anyway? It gets dark so early this time of year.â
âItâs⦠God! Itâs going on four. I had no idea. Sheâs been out here sinceâwhen did Ma say she sent her out?â
âI donât know. Hey, do you see any deer traps?â
âOh, no,â Emaline moaned. â Boys and girls come out to play, the moon does shine as bright as day. Come with a hoop, and come with a call, come with a good will or not at all ⦠Daisy!â
The girls walked on until they were dragging. âAre your feet hurting as much as mine?â Lydie asked.
âTheyâre burning,â Emaline said. âIâd love to dip them in the river about nowâ¦the river! Ma never lets her near the water alone, itâs so cold, and the undertows and the drop-offs, what if she accidentallyâ¦?â
âNo one jumps into the river by accident, Em, not even a little kid. Calm down. You either jump or you donât, and she knows betterâ¦hey, listen.â
âWhat?â
â Shhh . Listen. Over there, I think, in the brambles. Footsteps.â
âDaisy? Daisy?â Emaline called. Twigs and leaves crackled underfoot, but no one answered. âDaisy?â
A raccoon waddled out into the open. It rubbed one eye and swished its plump tail, blinked, and scooted back into the brush.
âIf Iâd just gone straight home like I promised,â Emaline said. âIf only Iâd been on time. If onlyâ¦â
âLook, maybe Daisyâs already home,â Lydie said. âMaybe your ma whistled for us but we were too far away to hear. Maybe thatâs why we canât find her.â
âSo should weâ?â She straightened abruptly. âLydie, listen. I hear somethingâ¦Daisy?â
âNope, just us,â came a manâs voice. Emalineâs neighbor Jed Pike and his son Emmett stepped out from a crowd of evergreens. âYour mother called us about Daisy. Afraid we havenât had any luck so far.â
Emaline stole an anxious glance at Lydie.
âDonât you fret now,â Mr. Pike said, stepping closer. He
smelled like cows and hay. âMy nephew is out here too, and your mother had an alert put on the radio, so thereâll be others. Weâll find her. Say, you ladies have lights?â
âLights?â Emaline said. âNo. We didnât think weâd be out this long. We thought we were justââ
âYou might want to get something then,â he said. âThe sunâll set in another hour.â
The girls stared at him.
âGood idea,â Lydie finally said. âCâmon, Em, letâs scoot back to your house for a flashlight or a lantern.â She tugged at her cousinâs arm until Emaline finally let herself be pulled along.
When they got to the house, Emaline couldnât find her motherâthe house was so crowded with neighbors and friends. âWhat are all these people doing here?â Emaline asked Lydie. âLook at all the food they brought, like for a funeral.â She looked around for Jack, but he didnât seem to be here. Maybe he was out looking for Daisy.
âWhy is everyone staringâ?â Emaline said. She stopped mid-question, her legs suddenly wobbling, her head light.
Lydie helped her onto the sofa. âLet me get you some water,â she said, lifting Emalineâs feet onto the coffee table. âOr some juice. You need somethingâIâll fix you a plate.â
âNo, Iâd gag on it.â She leaned her head against the sofa and closed her eyes. âIâm fine, I just need a minute. Just one minute.â
âMiss Durham?â came a deep voice overhead. âEmaline Durham?â
Emaline looked up to see her Aunt Clarisse and a uniformed man hovering on the opposite side of the coffee table.
âEmaline,â said the big man with the brick-red mustache. âIâm Victor Brown, state