“Good girl. You have to trust me, Bids. Gloria only wants what’s best for you. To look after you. That’s the truth, right?”

“That’s the truth,” I whispered. The sandwich was a big stone in my middle.

“It’s important you do everything I say. You have to listen to me. It won’t be much longer. I’ve just got that feeling.” She put both of her hands over her heart. “Telly called just now and wants to meet for a dinner. Don’t that sound lovely?”

I sniffed. “When?”

“Soon, I think. He didn’t say. But that can only mean one thing, right? Good news.”

“Good news.”

She smoothed my hair. “Don’t you worry, Bids. If you don’t misbehave again, those…Well, you know, they won’t drive over and take you. Of course I can’t be certain, sweetheart, but I don’t think so. Okay?”

Tears started coming out again. I couldn’t stop them. I could just see the men standing at our happy, happy door. They would be tall and angry and they would grab my arms and my legs and they would throw me in a dark trunk of a car. They’d probably grab Jenny the Head, too. Then we’d disappear forever. It’d be cold and wet and smelly. No one would find us. Me and Jenny the Head would be like Rowan. All disappeared. He wasn’t on the bottom of the lake, though. He was a wolf in the basement. Maybe I’d turn into a wolf too. Instead of a turtle. Jenny the Head would stay the same.

“Do you trust me, Bids?”

I nodded.

“Who do you love the best?”

“You.”

“Say it.”

“I love you best, Gloria.” And I did. Inside my heart it was mostly Gloria in there. A tiny, tiny, tiny secret bit for Aunt Erma. None for Telly because he didn’t help Gloria. Or Dian, even though she was nice. I didn’t know how much was for Rowan. If any. He was so bad he wasn’t even Rowan no more. Carl killed him dead. But in a different way. Maybe he was on the bottom of the lake and he mostly died and he crawled out and came home. He was probably dripping and rotting and falling apart. Like in my dreams when Shar and Darrell rowed me out. He could be that way. He could. I didn’t know.

—

Later there was a knock on our door. I was in the kitchen because Gloria let me out of my room. My legs went funny. I thought it was the men coming for me, but when Gloria answered it was only Shar. Gloria told her I was sick.