The Sisters went to work as Maggie snapped picture after picture. Each time she moved, a flurry of feathers sailed upward and sent the two dogs into a frenzy of barking and jumping.

“Where do you want this one to go?” Kathryn asked as she pointed to Donna Davis, who was screaming at the top of her lungs.

“After what I heard, the bathroom is too private for her. How about we suspend her from the dining-room chandelier? We’ll just hook her up, and her feet can rest on the table. If she moves, the chandelier will come out of the ceiling and she could get fried. Yep, I think that will work. Let’s do it,” Annie said.

“Kitchen, ladies,” Myra said. “We have something important to decide.”

With the Sisters, Maggie, and Charles assembled, Myra said, “Now that we have Bell’s records, which go back for years, a lot of kids’ lives could be ruined if they become public. The same is true for the records Maggie sent copies of to Nikki’s old law firm. So I propose we get rid of all the records other than those we have already acted on. I do not want to be responsible for making hundreds of children miserable as they are torn from the only homes they have ever known. I know that it’s unfair to the parents who lost them, but why make the kids suffer? What do you say?”

Every hand in the room rose in agreement.

“Myra,” Charles said as the others started to make ready for their departure, “now I know just why I love you as much as I do.”

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

“This is a horse, Agent Thomas,” Bert Navarro said, pointing to the animal waiting patiently for her new rider.

“Boss, you said transportation. You did not say what kind of transportation you required. Delilah—that’s this horse’s name—was the only game in town, and I had to steal her from some local cop. You might…uh…be hearing about that later today or tomorrow. Look around, boss. There’s nothing on wheels moving.”

Bert eyed the snorting steed, then his agent. He finally shrugged when he realized that Delilah was the only way he was going to get to Georgetown. “Okay, Thomas. You look dead on your feet. Go on up to the office, grab some z’s, and get something to eat.”

“Okay, boss. Listen, boss, stick to the middle of the road. Delilah goes where she wants to go, and she doesn’t like to be crowded. Just give her reins a little tug if you want her to go right or left. Otherwise, she just goes straight. She’s not good at backing up either.”

“Shut the hell up, Thomas,” Bert said as he struggled to get into the saddle. “You tell this to anyone, and your ass is grass. You hear me?”