Page 51 of Refuge for Cherilyn

“I guess they don’t have whiskey here, do they?” Candace muttered. Shaw gave her the hardest glare he could manage, but she seemed totally unconcerned. That had to change, and he’d address it later.

He watched as Cherilyn worked with Lara to pick out what she wanted. Maya’s requests were pretty standard?cheeseburger with pickle, mustard, and ketchup, with an order of fries and a soft drink. Maisey and Aaron were smiling and talking back and forth to each other, and Shaw was struck with how sweet the whole scene was?except for Candace, who sat there sullen and staring at the table. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, and he thought it was a shame that Morgan had ruined the girl to the point that she couldn’t enjoy a simple meal with ordinary folks.

As soon as their orders were all picked up by the server, Shaw turned his attention to the two women. “How’d the testing go?”

Maisey smiled. “The technician said there’s definitely some hearing loss, so that needs to be addressed. I’m not sure how much. They’ll issue a formal report to Cherilyn with the next steps outlined.”

“I hope whatever needs to be done is covered by Medicaid or I don’t know what we’ll do,” Cherilyn said so softly that Shaw could barely hear her.

Shaw set his jaw and gave Cherilyn a stern look. “She’ll get whatever she needs. I’ll see to that if I have to.”

“You don’t have to do?”

“Not up for discussion, babe. Just not. So what else did you do while you were out?”

“I got some flip-flops,” Maya announced. “Lara got mad because she couldn’t get any.”

“FLIPS!” Lara shouted.

“They’re just a couple of dollars. Why couldn’t she get any?”

“Because she can’t walk in them. They wind up all sideways on her feet and with the straps broken.” Cherilyn reached over and swept hair out of Lara’s eyes. “You need a haircut, honey.”

Lara didn’t say a word; instead, she held up two fingers, snapping them together and then apart, over and over like scissors. It was obvious she understood what Cherilyn was talking about.

“Yeah! A haircut. Maisey knows some good places, don’t you, sweetie?” Aaron asked and winked at his wife.

“I do. Got a really good one. I’ll fix you right up.” Maisey grinned. “She’s been doing mine for years.”

“Your hair is so cute,” Maya told the dark-haired woman.

“Thanks!”

Everyone except Candace chatted, laughed, and swapped stories all throughout lunch. Shaw was thinking about how they needed to get going when Aaron’s phone rang. The women went on talking, but something about the expression on Aaron’s face made Shaw’s heart skip a beat, and not in a good way. At least twice the officer glanced up at Shaw. When he hung up, he nodded to Shaw and stood, so the conservation officer stood and followed him outside. “What’s up?”

“That was central dispatch. Since SheriffMcEvers is aware of the situation, she told them to call me. They found a body in the back seat of a car at the resort park about two hours ago.”

“Frymire?”

Aaron shook his head. “No. FrankieTravis.”

* * *

Cherilyn sat thereon the sofa in Shaw’s house, unable to move. She couldn’t quite process what Shaw was saying. Frankie was dead? How had that happened? Her mind was going in twenty different directions until something he said brought her thoughts to a screeching halt. “What? What did you say?”

Shaw’s brow furrowed downward as he frowned. “I said his body was in the back seat of your car.”

“Mycar?”

“Yep. I had to give them an accounting for pretty much every minute since you left the woods, even though Aaron had told them he talked to Frankie last night.”

“But it wasn’t in my car when I was in the park.”

“No. Initial exam says it had been there less than twenty-four hours, and I assured them there was no way you could’ve gone back. You didn’t have a way to get there, and you couldn’t handle the body by yourself.”

“I just don’t… Why would somebody… Shaw, what’s happening? Why is this happening?”

“I don’t know, but Aaron and I are both sure it has something to do with Frymire.”

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