Chapters (62)
- Cover
- A PENNY
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
- About the Author
- Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
- About the Publisher
“Maybe he shouldn’t, not just yet,” Marion said. “I don’t want anything to distract them from finding Carlos.”
“But this may be related somehow,” I said. “Angelina’s disappearance could be, too.”
Last night Angelina had a secret, romantic rendezvous with Alan. Was it possible, I wondered, that she was somewhere waiting for him now, planning to be a part of his escape?
“Oh, Callie,” Marion said suddenly, one hand to her mouth. “I feel like my whole world is falling apart—first one thing and now another. What’s going on? Is God trying to punish me?”
I put my arms around her shoulders and led her to a chair.
“God’s not punishing you,” I said softly. “He can give you the strength to get through this. He—”
“We found her!”
The policeman was shouting from the living room, and Marion and I both jumped up and ran into the other room. Apparently, the satellite tracking system had located Judith’s Mercedes Benz. It was parked just off the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward Quakertown.
Forty-Five
Forty-Five
We flew along the Northeast Extension at well over 80 miles per hour, Marion and Nick in my car with me, Derek and Sidra following along in their Jaguar. By the time we reached the exit, it wasn’t hard to figure out where the cops had found the Mercedes—there were already at least five police cars surrounding it in the nearby parking lot of a small shopping center. Judith was facing a uniformed policeman, yelling, while another cop seemed to be inspecting the car. A small crowd had gathered along the sidewalk, watching.
“I want a lawyer!” Judith was hollering as we parked and ran up to the scene. Her eyes were wide and furious, and when she saw us she gasped. “What are you doing here? Mother, tell these people that I don’t know what they’re talking about! I haven’t seen Carlos all day! I’m not saying another thing until I’m allowed to call an attorney!”
We all just stared at her, stunned that Carlos was nowhere to be found.
“He’s not here?” Derek yelled in horror.
“I’m afraid not,” answered one of the policemen.
“Where’s my son, you monster?” Sidra screamed, and before we could stop her, she had flown at Judith and knocked her to the ground. She pounded on Judith’s face while Judith howled in pain. The officers stepped in to pull Sidra off of Judith, but it took nearly a minute of wrestling to get her loose.
Everything was chaos with everyone shouting at everyone else. Judith was sitting on the ground now, yelling loudly. The police had herded Sidra and Derek to a nearby police car where they were trying to calm Sidra down. Nick supported Marion, who stood on the fringes of the crowd looking as though she was about to faint.