Page 37 of Refuge for Flora

Barrett was laughing. “Now you see why I told her? I think Flora’s got a protector in that old woman.”

“I think you may very well be right. She’s a tough old bird.” Zyan was quiet for a few seconds, but then he said, “Okay. To recap. What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to call Pikeville and ask about a missing person.”

“And then what?”

“We’re going to tell Flora about Jessica.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, and then we’re going to stop talking about me in plural pronouns.”

“Paid attention in English class, did ya?”

“I did. I especially paid attention to MissHagar’s cute little skirt.”

“Ooooo, lawd, it was fine, right?”

“Very.”

“Okay, bro. Looks like you have a plan of action. Is this somebody you want us to meet?”

“I told her about your pool and got her to buy a swimsuit.”

“Excellent! Well, when you take that plunge?pun intended?let me know and we’ll do a cookout so the womenfolk can meet.”

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Zyan. I knew I could count on you.”

“And I know I can always count on you. We… should… probably get off the phone before we start whispering sweet nothings to each other.”

“Yeah. That would be tragic. Later, bro.” Barrett ended the call, laughing the whole while. Call Pikeville and ask about a missing person. And tell Flora about Jessica. The first one? Not too terribly hard. The second?

It felt impossible.

Chapter 5

There had to be a way.It took Flora a couple of days, but she figured it out.

She knew what Barrett had said about not going anywhere alone, but she had something she had to do. Once she’d gotten Mrs.Murphy finished with lunch and napping, she took the Buick and headed to the shelter. She wanted to call first, but she didn’t have the number. It was hard to believe she hadn’t written it down, but it was nowhere to be found.

After she parked out front, she climbed the big concrete steps up to the front door and rang the bell. The door opened just a crack and a pale face peered through it. “Yes?”

“Hi. I’m Flora. I stayed here for a few days. Is Janet here?”

“Hang on.” The door closed and Flora stood there, not quite sure what to do.

Then the door opened wide and the woman smiled at her. “Flora! What on earth are you doing here?”

“I needed some help with something, and I knew you’d know what to do.”

“Well, okay. I’m not sure I’ll know, but I’ll sure try!”

“Great. Oh, and sorry I didn’t call first,” Flora said as Janet led her into the living room. “I looked and looked, but I couldn’t find the number.”

“That’s okay. So what can I help you with?”

“I need an email address, but something nobody can track to this area. Is there such a thing?”