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Ollie stopped the car in front of a big red house that looked exactly like a barn Even the front door had big, X-crossed planks A little farther back I could just , which looked like an actual barn

A porch light flashed on, bringing my attention back to the house The front door opened and a face peered out I heldonto the porch I opened my door for a better look and cold air swirled into the car

Her hair hite, her skin hite and laced rinkles, and her shirt hite She wore a pale blue denim skirt and shiny white cowboy boots A chunky turquoise and silver necklace hung around her neck, and led frorandma from an old westerntoe, the frown deepening the creases around her mouth

"Well, it’s about time you arrived, John!" she said as Mr Petersen opened his door "I have Sunday dinner waiting! Did you forget how to use a cell phone? Because you can’t tell ile old wo my psychiatrist I stepped out of the car and around to the open trunk, grabbing

"Well, where’s the rest of your stuff?" the wolad for the darkness My face was burning

"I’htmare if you’re not careful," the old woman said as I ascended the front steps I looked at her thin arhtmare, and I kneithout a doubt she couldn’t hit half as hard as hi colder Co her front door wide I stepped past a porch swing and a potted cactus plant and went inside

Native American pottery, framed pictures of John Wayne and ancient Indian chiefs, and Navajo weavings covered every wall, every table, every shelf, door, and counter Giant red-and-gold rugs covered pale wooden floors There was no television in sight and the phone sitting at a small desk was the old-fashioned kind where you spin each number in a circle to dial out Next to atwo rifles, two handguns, and an unstrung bow I took a closer look at ht ht special--corn on the cob, rilled ribs Sit, sit!" Mrs Carpenter urged I sat at an antique table set for four and watched as she uncovered a feast My storumbled as I loaded my plate

"Now, you toldout for attention? What exactly does that mean?" Mrs Carpenter sat across from me and watched as I shoveled a mound of buttery potatoes into my mouth Her eyes narrowed and the potatoes lost their flavor "Not everyto be like this," she warned "I fixed John’s favorite since he was co ie Mae? Or shall I?" Mr Petersen asked

"Go ahead," I said

"Well," Mr Petersen began "Magdalene Mae, or Maggie Mae, has had close to twenty brushes with the law in the past two years" Mrs Carpenter gasped "She looks like an angel, I know," Mr Petersen continued "But for soel can’t see picked up for indecent exposure" He looked at Mrs Carpenter, his bushy eyebrows raised

"She got picked up by the cops for fighting with a prostitute over a jacket," Ollie blurted "That’s why her last fa her"

"Where did you hear that, Oliver?" Mr Petersen snapped

"That’s the ru around the office It’s the truth, isn’t it?"

"What it is is none of your business," Mr Petersen said

My stomach clenched I set my fork down and studied my hands Ollie’s words wouldn’t hurt so badly if they weren’t true

"Is her hair really that color or does she dye it? Her eyebrows look blond," Mrs Carpenter said, as if she hadn’t heard Ollie’s outburst

"Her hair? That was actually my idea--a safety measure," Mr Petersen explained "She stood out at her last school, so I thought that if her hair was black, she’d blend in a little better"

"Did it work, Maggie Mae?" Mrs Carpenter asked

I looked up froers through ainst the ot picked on"

"So what did you do?"

"I learned to run fast and hit hard"

She studied e Instead she said, "If you’d like, we can dye it another color So that suits your skin better Red Or blond, esture, as Mr Petersen would have said All my life I’d had pale blond hair with a hint of red--until now I liked my hair raven black It made my amber eyes stand out, like a cat’s eyes

"So, how ?" Mrs Carpenter asked

"Twelve"

"You’ll be lucky thirteen," Mr Petersen said

"Thirteen hoain, searching for soelic face

"She’s been bounced around since she was five And while soood environments, others weren’t The state had to an families of their own after they’d had her for a couple of years and decided they didn’t have time for her anymore She’s been moved seven times in the last two years because of the indecent exposure For six months she was moved on ato put up with her bad behavior But after ten h, too A couple of weeks ago they called me and asked that she be transferred