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
“I have no idea,” he said. “‘Our special place’?”
“Does Angelina have a boyfriend?”
“No. Not that I know of.”
He seemed to be telling the truth, which meant he wasn’t aware of his sister’s relationship with Alan.
“Do you know when this was taken?” I asked. “Or where?”
He handed back the photo to me.
“Looks like Valley Forge to me. The big arch monument there.”
“Oh?”
“As for when, it would have to have been some time in the last few months, because she has only been that thin for a short while. My sister used to be heavy, you know. Very overweight.”
“I know.”
“The stupid kid,” he said, going to sit on the edge of the bed. He was quiet for a moment, then he spoke again. “She was fat and homely all her life. Then when she came here…she finally decided to do something about it. Lose some weight. Get in shape. It was a lot of hard work, and it took a long time, but she did it. Look at her now. She is a beauty.”
“I know.”
“She was easy pickings,” he said miserably. “Ripe to fall for the first smooth talker that looked her way.”
“You know who that smooth talker was, don’t you?”
Nick’s eyes met mine.
“Please, do not tell me it was Alan,” he said. “Because if he hurt my sister, I swear to you, I will go down to that hospital and finish him off myself.”
Forty-Seven
Forty-Seven
It didn’t take long for me to get to Valley Forge. There was a visitor’s center near the entrance, and I thought about stopping for directions. But then I looked at the photo of Angelina, and I decided it might be quicker just to find the monument by myself.
Following the road, I steered past the first few buildings and soon found myself driving through gorgeous rolling hills, dotted here and there with antiquated little military huts. There were a few people about, most of them jogging or biking on the roadside trail. I was going to stop and ask one of them for directions when I came around a bend and saw what I had been looking for: Up ahead in the distance loomed a huge monument, looking not unlike the French Arc de Triomphe. A big arch-like monument, as Nick had called it.
I found a parking place near the arch and got out of the car. Walking across a cobblestone street, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Angelina was there, sitting by herself on a bench that faced the monument.
I slowed as I reached her, noting that she was dressed in a pretty flowered dress with a white sweater, her hair pulled back in a headband, her face streaked with mascara. In her lap she clutched a small brown vinyl purse.