table and walked past Uncle Henry into the living room.
âArenât you gonna finish eating?â I asked. She hadnât even touched her eggs.
Uncle Henry frowned. âI donât reckon your mamaâs that hungry anymore right now, son,â he said. Then he gave me a wink, but it wasnât his normal happy wink.
âDid I say somethinâ wrong?â I asked.
With a big breath, he shook his head. âNo, young soldier, you did not. Donât give it another thought, okay?â
Hesitantly, I agreed not to.
âGood,â he said, and followed after my mother.
I looked across at Carry. âWay to upset Mom, ass face,â she said. Despite the fact that this was probably the first thing sheâd said directly to me in over five months, I ignored it and got off my chair. Quietly, I walked over and stood in front of the fridge, trying to listen to my mother and Uncle Henry talking.
âWhat are you doinâ?â Carry asked.
But I shushed her. Surprisingly, she shushed.
My mother was trying to talk quiet, but she was having a hard time of it. It sounded like she was crying while she spoke to Uncle Henry. âWhy would he tell them about Ruby Mae?â she asked.
âWell,â Uncle Henry said, âto most folk, Ruby Maeâs ancient history.â
âButââ She stopped to take a breath.
âBut not to you, right?â Uncle Henry asked.
âNo,â my mother said. âNot to me.â I definitely heard tears in her voice.
âYou have to let go of things, Leah. Itâs been twelve years.â
There was a pause and then, âI canât, Henry. I think about that little girl nearly every day of my life. I promised those folks Iâd get their baby back to them. I promised them.â
âLeah, it was pretty near your first case. You canât blame yourself for what happened.â
My motherâs voice rose, but stayed in a clipped whisper. âYou know what I told Sally Vickers the day Ruby Mae went missing? I said, âDonât you worry, maâam, I got myself a little girl, too. I ainât about to let anyone hurt Ruby Mae. Iâll bring her back home safe and sound, youâll see. Sheâs probably just out lost somewhere.â â As she spoke, she became more and more anxious.
Uncle Henry cut her off. âYou had no control over what happened.â
âOh, I brought that little girl home all right. Three months later. After . . . after . . .â
âOh, donât work yourself up, Leah. Come here.â
After that I heard soft, muffled sobbing.
âItâs this Dailey girl,â Uncle Henry said, his voice still as calm and quiet as ever. âSheâs just knockinâ at the door of old memories, thatâs all.â
âBut what if this is another Ruby Mae?â my mother asked. âWhat if it is, Hank? I . . . I donât think I can go through that again. What ifââ
âWhat if a twister hits Alvin and wipes us off the map tomorrow ?â Uncle Henry asked back. âYouâre gonna what if yourself to death. Take it one step at a time. Right now, all you know is you got yourself a missinâ girl.â
âBut we searched everywhere yesterday. Sheâs not in Alvin, at least not anywhere outside.â
âWell, maybe you missed a spot. Or maybe she donât wanna be found. Maybe she left town. Or maybe it is somethinâ worse, but let me tell you somethinâ right now. Youâre not the same person you were twelve years ago. Youâre a good cop. Youâre a detective, for Christâs sake.â
My mother laughed sarcastically at this. âYou know damn well why Iâm detective. Itâs got nothing to do with my detectinâ skills.â
âMaybe, maybe not. But it does have somethinâ to do with you being good at what you do. Your daddyâd be awfully proud of you. He was awfully proud of