Cut to the Bone by Joan Boswell Read Free Book Online Page B

brought a pocketful of liver treats to keep him focused.
    At the hour’s end, Hollis felt exhausted but Barlow resisted being led out.
    â€œHe did really good, didn’t he?” Jay said. “Crystal and I did too.”
    â€œYou certainly did, you’ll be dog trainers before you know it,” Hollis said.
    â€œI’d like to be a vet,” Crystal said as she walked beside Hollis. “It could never happen. It would cost way too much.”
    Hollis turned to look at Crystal. It surprised her when preteens expressed long-term goals. “There are always scholarships,” she said and was about to add a cliched comment about working hard when it occurred to her that she knew nothing about Crystal and shouldn’t make facile remarks.
    â€œI don’t want to be a vet,” Jay said, jumping over the cracks in the sidewalk. “I’ll be a detective like Nancy Drew.”
    This ambition didn’t surprise Hollis, but she smiled to herself thinking how surprised Jay would be if she knew how much detecting her foster mother had done. Maybe someday she’d tell her. They’d reached the second-hand Mazda van Hollis had bought to replace her much-loved truck. She’d purchased it when the CAS’s notification that they’d accepted her foster parent application arrived on the same day as an email saying that the Flat-coat breeder had a puppy for her. There was no way to squeeze two dogs, Jay, and herself into the truck, let alone bring along Jay’s friends.
    â€œHow about a mug of hot chocolate when we get home,” Hollis said.
    â€œI’ll go up and tell my aunt,” Crystal said.
    Hollis dealt with the police officer stationed at the entrance to the underground parking garage, manipulated the van into her allotted space, and shepherded her pack to the elevators.
    â€œI’ll be down in a minute,” Crystal promised as Jay, Hollis, and Barlow got out on the first floor.
    Inside the apartment Hollis flicked on the lights, said hello to MacTee, and headed for the kitchen, where she filled and plugged in the kettle. She spooned powdered hot chocolate into three mugs, pulled a package of oatmeal raisin cookies from the cupboard, and was arranging them on a blue-and-white plate when the apartment door banged and Crystal raced into the kitchen.
    â€œShe’s gone,” she shouted. “She didn’t wait, didn’t take me. She’s gone. Aunt Mary’s gone. The door was unlocked. She’s gone. She left me behind. I went down to the garage. Her car’s gone.”
    Crystal’s angry eyes, white face, and shivering told Hollis that the child was both furious and frightened.
    Time to take charge.
    â€œThere’s probably an explanation? Sit down while we figure out what it might be.”
    Crystal didn’t move. “I knew it. I just knew it. Now what will happen to me?” she wailed.
    â€œRight now what will happen to you is drinking something sweet to make you feel better. I’ll make the hot chocolate and we’ll talk about what could have happened.”
    Jay took her friend’s hand. “It’ll be okay.” She pulled a chair away from the table for Crystal, who allowed herself to be moved like a piece of furniture.
    Hollis poured the boiling water on top of the chocolate powder in each blue mug and stirred thoroughly before setting them on the table.
    Crystal stared at the drink but made no move to raise it to her lips.
    Jay picked up her friend’s cup. “You need this, Crystal. I read that a big slurp of sugar helps you get over shock. If you think your aunt has left you, you’ve had a big one, so drink.”
    Her words penetrated. Crystal obediently sipped.
    Hollis marshalled what little she knew about Crystal, who lived with her Aunt Mary, a woman Hollis pegged as an Aboriginal without any concrete evidence to support her assumption. The accountant had Hollis check up on tardy tenants,