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“But twice is a pattern.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    J immy left for work five minutes later. He drove directly to the station, with me a few car lengths behind him. It was Saturday so traffic was light.
    I found a parking space on Elgin Street in front of the station. I sat in Dad’s truck and thought about what to do. I could walk in and confront Jimmy, or I could check out Hannah Jones. Tracking down Hannah seemed like the better idea. I’d find out more about her before I faced Jimmy.
    I’d have to do a search on Hannah to find out where she lived. I could follow her to see if she met up with Jimmy after his shift. Maybe they were making plans to meet when I watched them on Jimmy’s front steps.
    I had a few hours to kill. I’d go to Dad’s for supper and use his computer to do a search. I didn’t even own a cell phone, since I rarely called anyone. It would have come in handy now. I’d alsotry to find out more about Hannah from Cheri. The trick would be not letting Cheri know why I was interested.
    I drove slowly east toward Bank Street. I’d follow it south to Dad’s. My mouth watered at the thought of his ribs. I used to dream about them when I was on the road. Sometimes, I woke up thinking I could taste the smoky BBQ sauce.
    Other nights, I woke up dreaming about a fourteen-year-old kid dying on the pavement in front of me. Those dreams were the ones that kept me going from town to town. They were the ones that kept me from coming home.
    *********
    I pulled into Dad’s driveway and noticed his other truck was gone. It was silver with a cab and bigger than the one I was driving. I entered his house by the back door. I was sure Cheri would be working on supper but it was Dad who stood stirring something on the stove. The kitchen smelled of ribs and sauce. A bowl of steaming mashed potatoes sat on the counter.
    “Good. One of you made it on time,” Dad said.
    “Where’s Cheri?” I asked.
    “She went for a drive a couple of hours ago. She told me she’d be right back.”
    “She didn’t say where she was going?”
    “Not to me.”
    “Maybe I should go look for her.”
    “Where would you even begin? Come and eat before the meal gets cold. She’ll be here when she gets here.”
    “I’ll call her first,” I said. Worry made my voice hard. Cheri had said she wasn’t going to be gone long. Anything could have happened to her.
    Dad handed me two plates from the cupboard. “I already called and her phone is turned off. Let’s eat.”
    We sat at the table and served ourselves. Dad opened a couple of beers and handed me one. We drank out of the bottles. I tried to calm the worry in my belly and started eating. It was hard not to enjoy the spicy ribs and creamy potatoes.
    “So, you home for a while?” Dad asked.
    “I’m not sure. Once this business with Cheri is settled, I’ll probably head right out again.”
    “Well, might be good if you stuck around a while.” He threw a stripped rib bone onto his plate and picked up a fresh one. “Cheri hasn’t been the same since you left.”
    “I can’t be responsible for her happiness.”
    “I know. I’m glad you’ve come to help her now. Even if she doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”
    “I’m over Jimmy, Dad.”
    Dad chewed another rib and drank from his beer bottle. “She had to give up Evan. Court order. She’s not allowed to see him alone.”
    I lowered my fork. “You’re kidding me.”
    “I wish I was. She left him in a park and forgot all about him. Jimmy had a search party out looking for him. It took Cheri a long time to come down off whatever drug she’d taken to tell us which park.”
    “Cheri doesn’t take drugs.” Does she?
    “She swore up and down she hadn’t, but she was upset. Jimmy had just moved out. Excuse me.” Dad stood to answer the phone.
    I wasn’t hungry anymore. Something very ugly was going on with my sister. Could she have caused her own car accident? Maybe she’d even put the roadkill on her bed. She might be