Longarm and "Kid" Bodie (9781101622001) Read Online Free PDF Page B

harshly.”
    â€œMe too,” Rose added. “Neither Ida nor I slept a wink last night, and we were so filled with remorse over what we said about the boy that we rushed over here to the office at first light. Of course, it was locked and we didn’t know where the doctor or his wife lived and . . .”
    â€œNever mind about that,” the doctor interrupted, cutting Rose off and turning to face Longarm. “The important thing to focus on right now is that the boy is somewhere out in the streets with a dog that is huge but quite weak from blood loss. We’re really hoping that you can find Bodie.”
    â€œSo you can all tell him what a terrible kid he is and that he’s not only a killer but a thief?” Longarm asked.
    â€œThat’s not fair,” Nurse Winslow said. “We bent over backward to help the boy after the shooting.”
    â€œYou’re right,” Longarm conceded. “It was unfair to say that. But I sure wish that Bodie hadn’t decided to run. Sheriff Miller is probably already furious that I haven’t brought him by to make a statement. And now we don’t even know where to find the kid and his dog.”
    â€œWe’ll help you find him,” Ida offered. “Rose and I can join the search.”
    â€œYes,” Rose said, her spirits lifting. “We need to find and help him. Maybe there’s still hope for Bodie. Maybe he isn’t past redemption. Has the boy received any education? Can he read or write?”
    Longarm didn’t see what that had to do with anything at the moment. “Probably not, Rose.” He passed a hand wearily across his face. “I guess we should just start walking the streets. Bodie thinks a great deal of his dog, and he might have gone into a butcher shop and bought Homer meat with part of the doctor’s thirty dollars.”
    â€œThat’s a good guess,” Ida said. “And we should also visit the cafés and restaurants. You said that my grandson was quite thin. I’ll bet that the first thing he did early this morning was to get himself and that dog food.”
    â€œAll right,” Longarm said, deciding that the time for talking about Bodie was over. “I have to go by the sheriff’s office and admit that we let Bodie out of our sight and he’s disappeared. The sheriff will, of course, be mad as a wet hen, and he’ll most likely assign a few of his deputies to also start looking for the boy and his dog. With any luck at all, one of us will spot Bodie and Homer.”
    â€œWhat do we do if he won’t come with us?” Ida asked anxiously.
    â€œTry to entice him with the promise of more money or food . . . or whatever you think will work,” Longarm advised. “And we’ll all meet up at your house.”
    Ida’s eyes widened. “
My
house?”
    â€œYes. Inside or on that big front porch of yours. If we take Bodie to Sheriff Miller’s office, he’ll probably be placed under the man’s custody, which is the last thing I want or Bodie needs.”
    Ida and Rose nodded in agreement. Nurse Winslow touched Longarm’s sleeve. “I’m sorry that my husband and I can’t join in the search, but we have patients to see. I just wish I’d have slept here last night and prevented the boy and his dog from running away.”
    â€œI’m not sure that you could have stopped Bodie,” Longarm told her. “The boy is very determined, and it’s clear to me that Bodie hates being told what he can or cannot do.”
    â€œEven so,” Nurse Winslow said, “I might have been able to reason with him.”
    â€œNo sense in talking about it,” Longarm told her. “Let’s get moving.”
    Longarm hated to do it, but there was no choice but to go tell Sheriff Miller that Bodie was missing and probably wandering around lost in Denver.
    * * * 
    â€œWhat!” the