Guilt by G. H. Ephron Page B

face.
    â€œGet down from there!” Jackie cried, and went to pull her away. But Luke motioned to her that it was all right.
    Sophie was so bold and fearless while Jackie was afraid of her own shadow. Kids could be so different from their parents. How on earth, Annie wondered, would Abby ever deal with a fence-climber? Annie would probably end up with a girlie girl who wanted to be a cheerleader. If she and Peter had a little girl, what would she look like? Annie nearly choked on the question. What was she thinking, anyway?
    Sophie climbed down and tugged on Jackie’s elbow. “Did you see? Did you see? The mommy’s got a black tongue. Luke says it’s more than a foot long.”
    Luke explained how the mother giraffe gave birth standing up, and the newborn dropped all the way to the ground. The mother had to kick and prod her so she’d get up and walk.
    â€œHer fur,” Sophie said. “It looks so soft.” She wiggled her fingers through the chain-link. “Can I touch her?”
    â€œRight now the mother is feeling pretty protective,” Luke said. “So I think we’d better respect that. But in a few weeks you can come back and I’ll take you inside.”
    Maybe this guy was different.
    â€œI don’t want to screw this one up,” Abby whispered to Annie, crossing the fingers of both hands. “You like him, don’t you?”
    It shouldn’t matter what I think was what Annie started to say. But she knew it did. It always had and probably always would. As much as they’d become friends, Annie was still the big sister.
    Annie’s cell phone rang. She fished it out from her leather backpack.
    â€œAnnie?” It was Peter. “You’re okay?”
    â€œWell of course I’m—”
    â€œWhere are you?”
    â€œI’m at the Franklin Park Zoo. Why?”
    â€œThe zoo? What are you doing at the zoo?” He sounded out of breath.
    â€œMy sister Abby—” Annie’s throat went dry. Peter wasn’t the type to check up on her. “Why do you want to know?”
    â€œWhere’s Chip?”
    Annie could hear shouting and sirens in the background. Something had happened. “I thought he was in court with you.”
    â€œI was late getting here—”
    â€œHere?”
    â€œI’m outside the courthouse. Annie, there’s been another bombing. Looks like it went off in the lobby.”
    Annie felt cold, barely able to breathe. Calm down, she told herself. Chip was just late. He always underestimated how long it took to get places, never factored in time to park. Or maybe he had decided to walk. Nah, he never walked anywhere.
    Peter went on. “I was hoping he’d called you.”
    No, the message light on her phone wasn’t blinking. Suddenly the smells inside the giraffe house were nauseating. She stumbled toward the exit and pushed through the door. Outside, she leaned against a bench and took gulps of fresh air. The static on the line felt like a pointed stick drawing a jagged line down her back.
    â€œAnnie? Are you there?”
    â€œYou’ve got to find him.”
    â€œI will. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something. Call me if you hear anything.”
    â€œIs it bad?” Annie asked, not wanting to know the answer.
    â€œIt’s pretty grim.”

8
    P ETER’S EYES stung. He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, just looking at the cell phone. One ring and his call had gone directly to Chip’s voice mail. Did melted cell phones ring? Did one-legged ducks swim in a circle? He squashed the comedy routine that threatened to erupt in his head. Stay anchored, he told himself as he pocketed the phone and tried to refocus. Thank god, at least Annie was fine.
    Chip was probably fine, too. There were loads of reasons why Chip wouldn’t be answering his cell phone. He could be using it, or have it turned off. He’d have to have