The Pink Bonnet

by Tolsma, Liz;

  Gladys’s eyes filled with tears. “I know. She done said just that.”

  Cecile’s throat closed, and darkness threatened. She forced air into her lungs. “Then let’s go.” She marched from the house, not caring who was following, if anyone. If she had to, she’d find Millie by herself.

  But Percy, R.D., and Gladys traipsed after her. Once in the borrowed motorcar, Cecile turned to Gladys. “Where is a likely place Miss Tann might have gone? Somewhere you haven’t searched yet.”

  “Another family down the road a few miles also adopted a kid from that lady. Just got her last night. Maybe she’s gone there.”

  Cecile hugged herself. “That makes sense. Percy, head that way.” Could this other girl be one of the children from the nursery school? Maybe Cecile would have good news for another mother as well as herself.

  Now she was jumping ahead too much. First, they had to locate Miss Tann. Then they had to get Millie back. Alive.

  Percy tore off down the rutted road. Cecile finger-combed the tangles from her hair. She prayed, begging God to return Millie to her in one piece. She kept a vigil out the window, eagle-eyed for any sign of Miss Tann or her car. But she saw nothing but cotton. Fields and fields of the crop. The bolls whitening, the field hands picking the ripened fluff.

  Several precious minutes ticked by. They came to a house much the same as Gladys’s. This one was white. A little girl played in the yard. Blond and curly-headed with a pink bow in her hair. Wide blue eyes. Faith. But Cecile couldn’t allow the child to recognize her. This woman who now had her might take off with her. Cecile turned her face away.

  Gladys led the way to the door. She called through the open screen. “Earlene, are you home?”

  A young woman answered, freckles dotting her fair face. “Gladys. What can I do you for?”

  “Is your girl here?”

  “She sure is. Where else would she be?”

  “Miss Tann been around your place at all today?”

  Earlene shook her head. “Why?”

  “Fanny’s missing.”

  “Her name is Millie.” Cecile stepped in front of Gladys. “She’s my daughter. Miss Tann kidnapped her from me in Tennessee a couple months ago. Now she took her from Gladys. Have you seen her black Cadillac today?”

  “No, I sure haven’t. Would’ve remembered it if’n I had.”

  Percy tipped his hat. “We’re much obliged, ma’am. If you see Tann, let us know.”

  Earlene nodded.

  The foursome traipsed from the porch to the car. Cecile confronted Gladys. “That’s another one of the girls Miss Tann stole. Now tell me where else might they have gone.”

  “I dunno. Maybe back to the city. I don’t have any clue. We done searched everywhere.”

  Cecile shook Gladys’s arm. “You must have some idea. Think, please think.”

  R.D. stood away from the car as Cecile got more forceful with Gladys. “You have to tell me. You must have some idea where Millie is.”

  “I done told you, I have no clue. If’n I did, don’t you think I’d be there now to get my Fanny?”

  He directed his attention to the farmhouse. The lace curtains blowing in the soft breeze at one of the windows parted. A sweetfaced child peered from behind them.

  R.D. loosened his tight collar and forced himself to swallow. The child popped her thumb in her mouth. Waiting to be rescued. Rescued. The word took him aback. Since when did he believe these children needed rescuing?

  The girl leaned against the weathered window frame. The afternoon’s sun caught the glint of a tear on her cheek. And a little of the ice around his heart melted. How could it not?

  Earlene stepped from the house and joined the convocation beside the auto. As if an invisible string pulled him in, he moved toward the little girl in the window. The yard’s green grass softened his footfalls. Even Vance was intent on the discussion. No one paid R.D. any mind. He approached the child and flashed her a tentative smile. In return, she lifted one corner of her mouth.

  “Hello.”

  She waved, her fingers slim and white.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Faith. I’m not Harriet.”

  “I know.” What was Pearl’s given name? She’d never mentioned it. Had she forgotten it? Or just buried it so deep inside she couldn’t recall? Or didn’t want to? Before he’d come over here, he’d heard Cecile’s words. This was another stolen child. “You’d like to see your mommy again?”

  Little pocks appeared in her chin, which quivered. “Yes.”

  “I’m sure you do. Was she a nice mommy?”

  Again, Faith nodded, her blond curls bouncing with the movement.

  “Was she nice to you, or did she beat you?”

  “Mommy only spanks when I’m bad. And not hard. Mommy hugs me. She loves me. God loves me and wants me to be a good girl.”

  He had to know more. Her first home wasn’t abusive. Just the opposite. From the sound of it, the home was filled with love. “Did you have enough to eat?”

  She puckered her rose-red lips. “Yes. I like peanut butter and bananas.”

  He chuckled, and so did she, her laugh rivaling the wind chimes ringing in the background. “I like that too. Do you have a daddy?”

  At this, she shook her head. “Daddy runned away. But Mommy loves me. I just wanna go home.”

  He couldn’t blame her. Despite not having a man in the home, she had a good life, from the sound of it. She didn’t deserve to be ripped away from her mother, a mother who loved her and was willing and had the ability to parent her.

  Was that what Pearl had? Was there a woman out there who longed for her? To feel the weight of her in her arms as she fell asleep? To kiss her soft brow when she tucked her in at night? To laugh at all the silly antics Pearl pulled?

  He further loosened his tie. “Do you know why that lady is here?”

  “Her little girl got taken just like me.”

  “That’s right.” What an awful, awful experience for a child. If the biological parent couldn’t care for their child, that was one matter. Adoption could be a beautiful experience. It could join an unwanted child with a family who wanted her above everything.

  But what about those who already had loving homes? That was a different matter altogether. “Did you see any strangers around here today?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  His mouth fell open. “Oh. Who?”

  “You people.”

  He chuckled. “Any others?”

  “No, sir.”

  “How about a big black car? Did you see one like that today?”

  “Yes.” She gave such a vigorous nod that the pink ribbon in her hair slipped out. “Like that car that brung me here. I told the lady.”

  He sucked in a breath. So, Earlene had lied. Probably so she didn’t lose the child she now called her own.

  “Where did that car go?”

  She pointed in the direction they had been traveling. “That mean lady came here.”

  “She was at this house? Today?”

  Another nod.

  “Did she have a little girl with her?”

  Another nod.

  “What did she say?”

  “Where was I. I was in the outhouse, but I peeked and heard ’em. The mean one said she was gonna take us someplace fun. With candy. And a Ferris wheel. But this lady said no.”

  Through the screen, R.D. tapped her nose. “Thank you very much for the information.”

  “Okay.” Faith stuck her finger back in her mouth.

  He broke into a flat-out sprint back to the car. “I know where Tann took her.”

  Mrs. Dowd’s green eyes widened. “Where? Is she close? Is she alright?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that last question, but I think I know where Tann was headed. Get in the car. I’ll tell you on the way.” The last complication they needed was for Earlene to discover they knew she’d been lying.

  The four of them piled into the vehicle and, with a spin of the tires
, Percy stepped on the gas. “Which way?”

  “Same way we were headed. According to Faith, Millie was with her. And alive.”

  “Alive?” Cecile breathed the word.

  “For now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Percy set a breakneck speed as they bumped over the dusty dirt road toward town. “Griggs, I have to hand it to you. Talking to the girl was brilliant. We all ignored her, but you recognized she knew more than Earlene was saying.”

  “Your bickering with Mrs. Knowles provided me the perfect opportunity to question Faith.”

  Cecile sat beside Percy, clutching Millie’s pink bonnet, her leg brushing his, setting his limb on fire.

  Percy sighed. “But why would Tann say she was taking them somewhere fun?”

  R.D. shrugged. “Probably to get Earlene to give her Faith. It’s the best lead we’ve had all day.”

  “You’re right there.” They had to get to Tann while Millie was alive and before Tann harmed her.

  “Y’all are wrong. There ain’t nothin’ fun ’round here. No carnival or fair. If’n there was, I’d sure know about it.” Gladys sat farther back in her seat and crossed her arms over her skinny chest.

  Percy concentrated on his driving. “We have to find out for sure. Otherwise, we have nowhere else to search.”

  Gladys grunted and frowned.

  Cecile leaned against the black dashboard as if she could push the automobile to go faster. “Keep going, Percy. Go to the town. But please, please, hurry. Please, Lord, let Millie be there. Keep her safe. Watch over her.”

  He prayed along with her whispered requests. If it was the good Lord’s will, they would locate Millie in time.

  The endless ribbon of road stretched in front of them. Browning fields of cotton fanned out on every side. The dying leaves rustled in the wind, the noise of it just audible over the auto’s engine.

  Ahead, a dirty young boy wearing nothing more than patched overalls led a skinny cow by a frayed rope. He waved as Percy skirted him.

  “Faster, Percy, faster.” Cecile urged him on.

  “I’m giving this old girl everything she has and then some. We don’t need to break down again.”

  “But if we miss her …”

  “We won’t. Keep praying we won’t.”

  Off in the hazy distance, a cluster of buildings rose from the fields. Little by little it grew until it filled the entire bug-splattered windshield.

  Percy steered the car down the main street, brick buildings lining the roadway. A bank rose three stories above the town. The marquee of the theater proclaimed performances of the movie One Sunday Afternoon. A woman with a passel of children, all holding hands, scurried across the street in front of them. A stooped old lady wearing a long black dress and leaning on a cane shuffled from the mercantile to a waiting wagon.

  Cecile strained forward in her seat. “I don’t see a black Cadillac. Are we in the wrong place?”

  They ground to a halt at a stop sign. A tall, thin man dressed in a white suit and a white bowler hat nodded at them as he exited the bank.

  Cecile leaned out her window. “Excuse me, sir. We were led to believe a black limousine was headed this way. Do you know anything about this?”

  He clutched a corncob pipe between his yellowed teeth. “Nope, don’t rightly do. This here’s such a remote area, simple folk. If’n there was a car like that, the whole town’d be abuzz about it. And I ain’t heard a thing.”

  “Thank you very much.” As the man continued on his way, Cecile tapped the dashboard. “Now what? A dead end. Another one. Each time I think we’re getting close to Millie, we end up farther away than ever.”

  Percy grasped the steering wheel. “Now, now. What we do know is that the child isn’t here. Mrs. Knowles, do you have any other thoughts?”

  She shook her head.

  Griggs cleared his throat. “Faith did say she saw the Cadillac headed in this direction. We’re on the right track.”

  “And Faith wouldn’t have made that part up. She had to be telling the truth.” Cecile clutched the bonnet even tighter.

  Percy swung a right-hand turn. “Then I say we keep searching this town until we come up with some clue, some indication of where they might have gone. Someone here must have seen Tann’s car. It stands out too much to go unnoticed.”

  They drove the few streets that comprised the village. Every now and again, Percy stopped the car, and Cecile jumped out to ask the residents if anyone had seen a black Cadillac. After the third or fourth such stop, she returned to the car, a bead of sweat on her red forehead, a tear on her cheek. “Nothing. She’s managed to disappear into thin air.”

  “We’ll find them. Someone has to have seen them.”

  “Lemme ask over yonder at the hatmaker’s. Y’all ain’t from around here. Nobody’s about to give you information, but they might talk to a local.” Gladys patted her brown hair.

  They moved down the street until they arrived in front of a white clapboard building with the name HABERDASHERY stenciled in gold on the big display window.

  Gladys slid from the car and entered the shop. No sooner had she disappeared inside than movement caught the edge of Percy’s sight. A purring noise. Then something dark slithered by. The late afternoon sun glinted off the windshield.

  “That’s it! There they are.” He started the engine and peeled into the road.

  R.D. piped up from the backseat. “What about Mrs. Knowles?”

  “We don’t have time to wait for her. We have to catch them. Now. Before we lose them again.”

  “Was that Miss Tann’s car?” Short of breath, Cecile clung to the edge of the car’s seat.

  “We’ve got them in our sights now.” Percy stomped on the gas pedal, and the car lurched forward. “I’m not going to lose them this time.”

  R.D.’s voice sounded in her ear. “Isn’t it strange that she would be driving around the area, especially if she knows we’re here?”

  How could he have said that? “Don’t steal my hope. I know it’s just a sliver, but don’t yank that from me.” She had to keep believing they would find Millie and find her alive, or else she would dissolve into a puddle on the floor.

  Percy glanced at her. “She’s gotten sloppy. It’s our chance to catch her.”

  “Thank you.” His reassurance rang hollow though. He too believed it was unusual for Miss Tann to be in the area when she knew they were tracking her.

  “Or else she’s taunting us.”

  Percy glanced behind him. “That’s enough, Griggs. Hold your tongue.”

  He turned back and hunched over the steering wheel, clutching it with both hands, eyes straining in the dying light. Off in the distance, a flash of lightning brightened the coming night.

  The Cadillac didn’t speed like it had before but drove at a normal rate. Percy was able to keep up with it without pushing their vehicle.

  Cecile’s stomach danced. R.D. might be right. Something was rotten. Miss Tann wouldn’t want them to catch her. Not after she’d spent all day dodging them. If she still had Millie, she’d want to get away and not allow them to discover her. After five or ten minutes, the Cadillac pulled off the main road and down a lane flanked by soybean fields. Ramshackle sharecropper cabins dotted the field. The car ahead of them came to a stop. No one inside moved. Percy clicked his door open.

  Cecile reached out and pulled him back. “Don’t.” Her mouth went dry. The word squeezed between her tight vocal chords.

  He drew his eyebrows into a V. “Why not? This is what you’ve been waiting for. Your daughter is in that car. Let’s go to her.”

  “It’s too easy.” Her skin prickled.

  “You’ve let Griggs influence you. Don’t listen to him.”

  “I just said it all feels strange. Wrong.” R.D. pushed his glasses up his nose.

  Percy sighed. “Stay in the car if you like, but I’m going to get Millie.” He slid out and slammed the door.

  Cecile inhaled and ignored her premoni
tions. Millie might be in the car. Within reach. She had to get her daughter. She followed Percy to the driver’s side of the Cadillac. R.D.’s footsteps sounded behind her.

  The uniformed chauffeur exited and stood in front of them, legs akimbo. “So you found me.”

  “It appears we have.” Percy moved forward.

  With a shove against Percy’s chest, the chauffeur pushed him back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “To get Mrs. Dowd’s daughter.”

  James gave a wry chuckle. “I don’t think so.”

  All of Cecile’s muscles twitched.

  “Let me take her, and we’ll be on our way.”

  James shifted, and the glint of the gun at his hip caught Cecile’s eye. Had Percy forgotten the man was armed?

  Percy pushed forward and bent into the open door.

  James pulled his pistol and stuck it into Percy’s back.

  Cecile’s knees dissolved to mush. Griggs caught her.

  “Get in the car.” The driver waved the gun at them as he kicked Percy in the backside and shoved him inside. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

  “Millie!” Cecile cried out as she obeyed James’s order. A few moments passed. Her eyes adjusted to the dim interior. Tufted leather seats. Wood accents. But no child.

  “Where is she? Where is Millie? What have you done with her?” Cecile fired the questions at James.

  “Don’t worry none about her.”

  She climbed over R.D. to get out. “Tell me right now where she is. Where is Miss Tann? Are they together?”

  James pressed the gun against her breastbone. “You ask too many questions. Shut up and sit back.”

  R.D. wiped sweat from his forehead. Moisture trickled down Cecile’s spine. She shivered.

  James started the car and pulled back onto the road. Cecile leaned against Percy’s shoulder. He pressed her hand to his chest. At least she wasn’t alone. She had God. She had Percy. But she didn’t have Millie. Would she ever have her? With each passing moment, the likelihood dimmed, a flickering flame in danger of dying out.

  From outside the car, the crickets tuned up. Fireflies danced above the crops. A cool breeze drifted through the open window. The window. She whispered in Percy’s ear. “Could we jump out?”