Once in a Blue Moon Read Free

recent activity, but they circled it nonetheless, with a grim sense of purpose.
    On the far side of the fenced enclosure was the cinder-block shed housing the laundry facility, which consisted of a pair of coin-fed washing machines and dryers that were out of service as often as not. It was deserted as well. Not that Lindsay had expected to find her sister there, or anywhere on the premises for that matter. The Lucky Seven Motel wasn’t a place where people got lucky; it was where they landed when their luck ran out. Except for the handful of year-round residents, like Crystal and Miss Honi, most guests stuck around only long enough to make the next score, turn around a losing streak, or get pawned valuables out of hock. Fights born of desperation were commonplace, and the police were frequently called in to settle disputes. It wasn’t the kind of place where it was safe to wander around after dark. Especially for a three-year-old girl who didn’t know enough to stay out of trouble.
    Suppose Kerrie Ann had been kidnapped . . . or worse? What if at this very moment she was lying in a ditch somewhere with her throat cut? A fresh surge of panic caused Lindsay’s chest to constrict, and she had to pause for a moment to catch her breath. Please, God . . .
    They scoured the area. They knocked on doors. They walked up and down streets, calling out Kerrie Ann’s name until they were hoarse. But as twilight gave way to nighttime with still no sign of her, Lindsay’s panic crept over into despair. The night had become a vast ocean that seemed to have swallowed up her sister, and she felt as if she were drowning in it, too.
    “You go wake your mama. I’ll call the police.” Miss Honi made no pretense of being upbeat this time. Lindsay could see that she was scared, too.
    They were heading back across the parking lot when Lindsay caught sight of a black Labrador retriever in the back of a dusty blue pickup parked in front of one of the units. As they neared, the dog let out a yip and began to wag its tail. Some instinct drew Lindsay over to investigate. A wet tongue lashed at her outstretched hand, emboldening her to climb up onto the running board. She peered into the bed, and there, curled asleep on a dirty scrap of blanket, was Kerrie Ann.
    Lindsay felt a rush of relief so intense that the world went a little gray for an instant.
    Then Miss Honi spotted Kerrie Ann, too, and let out a cry. A moment later she was holding her “baby girl” tightly, tears running down her cheeks, ruining her makeup, while Kerrie Ann blinked up at her sleepily, no doubt wondering what all the commotion was about. “I was playing with the doggie. It’s a nice doggie,” she said simply when asked what she’d been doing out here all alone. It was easy to figure out what had happened. She hadn’t had her nap that day, because Miss Honi had taken her to the doctor for her checkup, so she’d grown sleepy and decided to curl up.
    “Didn’t you hear us calling you?” Lindsay cried in exasperation.
    Kerrie Ann shook her head, and Lindsay knew she was telling the truth. Whether she’d been born that way or had merely learned to adapt to Crystal’s comings and goings at odd hours, Kerrie Ann could sleep through anything. It wasn’t uncommon for Lindsay to wake up in the middle of the night and find that her sister had rolled off the couch onto the floor without waking up.
    She knew she should scold her sister for going off like that, but she was so relieved to see her that she didn’t have the heart. Instead they all trooped back to Miss Honi’s, where they polished off the leftover macaroni and cheese from the night before, along with a platter of sausages Miss Honi fried up. When Kerrie Ann had had her fill, she crawled into Miss Honi’s lap in the maroon plush recliner. “Bob Barker,” she announced in her clear, bell-like voice. The Price Is Right was her favorite TV show, and it had just come on. She fell asleep again in the middle of