Doubleback: A Novel by Libby Fischer Hellmann

was on his cell and wasn’t paying attention.”
    Georgia got up and started toward the door. She avoided looking at Foreman; she knew Foreman would be upset, but she knew she was right. The whole thing smelled. She was almost at the door when a little girl ran into the room.
    “Mommy, Mommy... Guess what? I just got eight out of eight on a movie quiz! Come see, come see!” She grabbed her mother’s arm.
    Christine Messenger’s countenance shifted from anguish to smiles so quickly Georgia couldn’t believe she was looking at the same woman. “You did? What quiz is that?”
    “It was on the internet, and...”
    The child stopped abruptly as if she’d just realized Georgia and Ellie were there. Georgia studied her. Her red-brown braids were tied with green ribbons. She had frank blue eyes, pale eyelashes, and a button nose. Freckles splayed across a round face, and rosy patches glowed on her arms and legs where she’d been out in the sun. She was wearing a pink tank top and green shorts, which she kept hitching up.
    “Sorry, Mommy, I didn’t know you had company.” The way she emphasized the word made Georgia think Christine had instructed Molly never to interrupt when “company” was in the house. Georgia’s own mother, all Southern gentility and courtesy, had done the same thing. “A lady never interrupts,” she would say in the soft, lilting voice Georgia could almost remember. She looked away. She hadn’t seen her mother since she was twelve.
    “Is it that movie quiz on Kids’ Facebook?” Foreman interjected.
    The little girl’s eyes grew wide. “How did you know?”
    “My daughter loved that website, too.” Foreman laughed.
    “You have a daughter?” Molly asked eagerly. “How old is she?”
    “Eighteen.”
    “Oh.” Molly looked crestfallen. Eighteen had to be tantamount to fifty in her mind. “I’m only eight.”
    “I know.” Ellie looked at Messenger, but the woman made no move to introduce them. “Molly, I’m Ellie Foreman...” She gestured toward Georgia. “And this is Georgia Davis. We’re—friends with your Mom.”
    “Georgia...” Molly turned to Georgia. “Like the state?”
    Georgia nodded. “Ever hear of Georgia peaches?”
    Molly looked unsure. “I don’t know.”
    Ellie laughed. “Well, that’s just peachy. Just like Georgia.”
    When Molly giggled, Georgia couldn’t help smiling.
    •   •   •
    “I’m still not sure what I can do, Ellie,” Georgia said.
    They were outside a few minutes later. Night had fallen, and the street was now deserted. The wind had picked up, carrying the scent of rain. Crickets chirred nervously.
    “Then why’d you tell Chris you’d look into it?”
    “It was the kid. She—” Georgia stopped, not exactly sure where she was going. Once Molly had skipped into the room, it was hard not to be taken with her. In fact, the girl had forced Georgia reassess the mother. If Christine had raised a kid like that, maybe she wasn’t such a train wreck.
    “I get it,” Foreman said. “I know you have a thing for kids. Especially girls.”
    Was it that obvious? She’d spent years building her shell, making sure people couldn’t ferret out her secrets. But Foreman knew more about her than most.
    “Look, I admit,” Foreman went on, as if what she’d said was common knowledge and not even that significant, “the whole thing sounds weird, coming right after the kidnapping. But it’s clear Christine is scared. And I keep thinking what I would do if Rachel had been kidnapped.” She looked over at Georgia. “You know what I mean?”
    Georgia cut in. “You’re forgetting something else.”
    “What’s that?”
    “The woman didn’t offer to pay me. I’m doing this on my own time and my own dime. Don’t expect much.”
    Georgia was being hard. She had to be. Foreman might be led by a soft heart or the pursuit of justice, but Georgia couldn’t afford those impulses. She had to make a living.
    Foreman’s tone cooled. “In that