Mama Rocks the Empty Cradle by Nora Deloach Read Free Book Online

followed.
    I switched off the car, checked to make sure that all of the doors were locked. A flock of crows, disturbed by our arrival, cackled and scolded, then flew off over the tall trees. I prayed.
    The man in the Ford behind me didn’t move. I wasbeginning to wonder why he hadn’t gotten out of his car and come toward me when I realized that he, too, had seen the approaching car … he was going to wait until it passed before he made a move.
    As the white BMW neared, I flung open the door and jumped from my Honda. I ran into the middle of the highway, waving my hands frantically and screaming as loud as I could.
    The driver of the BMW slowed his car. Two young men in their twenties and a young woman gaped out at me, confused.
    “Help me!” I screamed. “Please help me!”
    The young man who was driving stopped his car. He opened his window and said, “Calm down, lady … what’s your problem?”
    “My tire,” I said. “I’ve got a flat tire!”
    “Uh, you feel like changing a tire?” the driver asked his two passengers. The young lady in the backseat rose up, looked me in the eyes, then whispered something to the two men.
    I felt the eyes of the man in the Ford boring straight into me. I pointed. “That man has been following me! If you won’t fix my tire, at least give me a ride … Just don’t leave me!” I begged.
    The three people in the BMW looked toward the parked Ford. “Okay, lady,” the driver said, as he swung his car in front of my Honda. “If you’ve got a tire jack, we’ll change your tire!”
    The man in the Ford shook his head. Then he turned the key in his ignition and pulled back outonto the highway. When he swerved past, I saw for the first time the baby who was strapped into the infant’s seat.
    The man had Cricket’s baby in his car!

CHAPTER
FIVE
    Y asmine’s problem had stuck in my throat like a lump of scorched rice pudding; the guy who had Morgan added to that lump. Now the only thing I could taste was bile.
    I’d planned to go back to Atlanta on Saturday. I’d concentrate there on influencing Yasmine not to have the abortion. After thinking about Cliff’s problem with his client, Mrs. Campbell, I decided that whatever delay he’d have in getting back to Atlanta would allow me time to spend with Yasmine. Now, that cold-eyed turkey in the blue Ford had pissed me off in a way that made me want to stay in Otis long enough to help Mama not only to track down who had brutally murdered Cricket, but to find out who had kidnapped little Morgan. If, as I stronglysuspected, the baby’s kidnapper was the guy in the blue Ford, I’d take pleasure in personally throwing salt into his eyes.
    By the time I’d picked up the food from Agatha and driven back home, a hodgepodge of emotions were surging through me. As soon as I walked into the house I’d intended to tell Mama that I’d spotted little Morgan, but I found her steadying herself, pressing one hand on the wall for support as she painfully made her way toward the family room. I waited until she was seated in the family room, her feet propped up on a stool. The expression on her face told me that she already knew I had something I wanted to tell her.
    “You wouldn’t believe who I saw,” I began. No sooner were the words out of my mouth, however, than my father walked into the room. He pointed to the food on the tiled kitchen counter. “What’s that?” he asked.
    “Cousin Agatha sent dinner,” I said, glancing at Mama. I suspected my father was thinking that while his cousin’s cooking could never equal Mama’s, it was definitely better than anything I could throw together. Whatever he was thinking, he pulled back the foil paper that covered the bowls. “Field peas, rice, corn bread, and fried chicken,” he reported, then he shook his head. “I’ll eat later.” He turned and headed toward the front door.
    “Mama, you wouldn’t believe who I saw,” I began again before we heard the door shut behind