Comeback by Vicki Grant Page A

Children Disappear .

Chapter Sixteen
    The lady doesn’t recognize me, but she must realize something’s up. There’s sweat streaming down my forehead.
    â€œWill there be anything else?” she says.
    I nod and grab a newspaper. I hand her my money. She gives me the bag and $2.43 change.
    I say thank you and walk slowly out the door. I don’t want her to remember the redheaded girl who bolted from the store.
    I run as soon as I’m out of sight and don’t stop until the park. Elliot’s still asleep. I sit down and open the newspaper.
    There’s Mom—“the estranged wife of disgraced stockbroker, Steven Patterson”—pleading for our return. There’s a quote from the guy I left the LeSabre with. There’s a cop saying we’re “believed to have boarded a bus to Cypress.”
    No mention of the man at the Lost and Found who gave us the clothes. Did he just not want to rat us out? Or was he worried about getting in trouble for giving us stuff that wasn’t ours?
    Who knows?
    At least no one will be looking for a kid in a Superman suit yet. I’ve got to look on the bright side.
    In the picture, I’m wearing my contacts. People probably won’t recognize me in my glasses. My hair is longer now, but it’s still red.
    I’ll cover it with my hood.
    I turn the page.
    Steve Patterson, former darling of the stock market, is suspected of defrauding his clients of hundreds of millions of dollars. With his company now worthless, it’s highly unlikely any of his victims will ever be compensated. “Suicide is too good for that man,” says Dave MacPherson, who admits that he will soon have to file for bankruptcy as a result of having invested all his savings with Patterson. “He wasn’t just my financial advisor. He was my friend. And he ruined us.”
    I shove the newspaper into the garbage can where it belongs—then I slip under the branches to wake Elliot up.

Chapter Seventeen
    Elliot is confused. He doesn’t know why he has to pee outside or why he can’t just sit down and eat his granola bar. Luckily, he’s learned not to complain.
    I grab my purse, stuff the blanket into the grocery bag and get going.
    We have to get out of Cypress—the farther out, the better. I walk as fast as I can—or rather as fast as Elliot can. It doesn’t take me long to realize we have to do better than this.
    I see a white-haired lady coming toward us. “Excuse me,” I say.
    She looks up and smiles.
    â€œI lost my wallet, and my little brother’s late for his doctor’s appointment. I hate to ask—but would you mind lending us bus fare?”
    Her smile fades a bit. I doubt she really believes me—but Elliot is pretty irresistible. She hands me five dollars.
    I thank her. I wait until she’s out of sight before I try the same trick on someone else. We’ll use some of the money for bus fare, some for food.
    It doesn’t take long to collect twenty-three bucks. We could get more, but I don’t want to be greedy. I’m also worried by how much Elliot has started to enjoy this. He coughs every time I mention his doctor’s appointment.
    The term scam artist jabs at my brain, but I ignore it. We’re only doing this because we have to.
    I’m holding Elliot’s hand, waiting to cross the street, when a cop car drives by.
    Are they looking for us? We can’t wait around to find out. I drag Elliot across the street and make him keep running until we get to a field. I hear the sound of another car approaching. I pull Elliot down behind some bushes.
    â€œIsn’t this fun?” I say.
    He’s confused. “Sort of…,” he says. He’s trying so hard to be good.
    Two cop cars speed by the other way.
    â€œWant to wrestle?” I say and push Elliot down. He struggles, but I hold him there until I’m sure the cops are gone.
    He comes up with such shock in