Today's Promises Read Online Free PDF Page A

saying our good-byes.
    Jaynie and I hug the twins for a solid ten minutes, and then Mandy walks us to the door. The twins stay behind in the living room to, upon Mandy’s suggestion, resume their board game.
    “Hey, guys, hold up a sec.” Mandy grabs a jacket from a hook near the door and adds, “Let me walk out with you to your car.”
    It’s kind of clear by now that she wants to tell us something out of earshot of the kids. Jaynie looks over at me, like I may have an idea as to what Mandy wants to talk about.
    I have no clue, so I shrug and shake my head.
    Once we’re out in the tiny, postage-stamp front yard, I turn to Mandy and ask, “So, what’s up?”
    She glances back at the house. I guess to make sure the twins haven’t followed us out.
    When she’s sure the coast is clear, she says, her voice still hushed, “I just want to give you guys a heads-up. You should hear this from me first, not someone else.”
    “What’s going on?” Jaynie asks, her brow creasing with concern.
    Mandy makes a face. “Uh, well, here’s the thing… Josh recently heard from an old friend who’s now a state trooper that the authorities are re-opening an investigation into what kind of environment Mrs. Lowry was providing for us foster kids the past several years.”
    “A horrible one,” I scoff.
    Jaynie’s face pales. “We aren’t going to have to testify or anything, right?”
    That’s Jaynie’s big fear.
    Every terrible thing we endured is still so fresh and raw for all of us, but especially for Jaynie. She suffered the worst at the hands of our captors, and that’s really what they were. We were all trapped up there at the Lowry house. I could talk if I needed to, about all the shit we went through, but I know for a fact Jaynie isn’t anywhere near that point yet.
    Testifying isn’t a worry, though, at least not for today.
    We realize this when Mandy explains: “There’s a detective on the case, but he’s not looking into what happened during our time at the Lowry house. Not that it wasn’t awful, what we went through, but it seems”—she lowers her voice another notch—“something much worse may have occurred before any of us ever lived there.”
    “Shit, Mandy.” I take a step back. “Like what?”
    “Yeah, what could be worse than what we went through?” Jaynie chimes in.
    Mandy wraps her arms around herself, like she’s now chilled by more than the cool night air. I understand. I’m feeling kind of icy myself.
    “A girl went missing,” Mandy says. “A girl Mrs. Lowry was fostering about seven years ago.”
    “So back when she first started fostering, then,” I remark.
    “Yeah, back then.” Mandy nods. “I guess state records had this girl listed as having been placed elsewhere, following the days she spent at the Lowry house. Apparently, though, that was some kind of mix-up.”
    I muse, “I guess they’re going through everything now with a fine-toothed comb.”
    “Yeah, only because Allison and Mrs. Lowry were convicted of felonies,” Jaynie interjects, shaking her head. “You know, those crimes that involved money people lost. Not anything to do with how kids, like us, were physically hurt and mistreated. I swear,” she practically spits out. “It’s always about the goddamn money, isn’t it?”
    “Maybe not this time,” Mandy says, sending a sad, small smile Jaynie’s way. “The girl who used to live at the Lowrys, the one involved in the mix-up, they’re really looking into this pretty intensely. Apparently, her name was similar to someone else’s in the system. And that girl is the one the state was keeping track of.”
    “That’s one hell of a mix-up,” I snort, disgusted at the total ineptitude of the state system.
    “I know, right?” Mandy shakes her head. “Anyway, the authorities think this girl may have never left the Lowrys.”
    I watch Jaynie as she swallows hard.
    “How old was she?” I ask, my voice cracking at the implications of what Mandy is