“Oh.” Decker lowered her gently. “What leg was it in?”

“Her right thigh. She has a high pain threshold. She couldn’t decide if she should really cry or not. When she saw me smiling, she figured it was okay not to cry.” Rina looked at the children. “Hi, kids. Where’s your mother?”

“Out for a walk,” Minda said. “Are we in your way?”

Pessy added, “Mama told us not to move.”

Rina frowned. “No, of course you’re not in our way. What do you mean, she went out for a walk?”

Minda said, “Just that she went out for a walk. She likes to walk. I can’t believe this show isn’t a joke. Mrs. Decker, how can they give away things like washing machines and furniture?”

“The show makes money on the commercials,” Rina answered.

“The commercials give the stuff away?”

Rina said, “I’ll sit down and explain it to you tonight, Minda.”

Decker forced out a smile. “I was just about to make some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Why don’t you come help me out, Rina?”

She followed him inside the kitchen. He closed the door and whispered, “What the hell is going on? This woman drops her kids into a strange city, into a strange house, parks them in front of the TV, then goes out to take a walk? Is this logical, Rina?”

Rina was concerned. “She wasn’t here when you got home?”

“No, she wasn’t.” Decker made a disgusted face. “Poor kids. They’re so lost. They don’t even know what a game show is. They’ve got that beaten-down look…” He paused. “I wonder if she’s abusing them?”

“Peter!”

“I’ve seen hundreds of abused kids, Rina. It’s not an off-the-cuff diagnosis.”

Suddenly, Rina paled. “Do you really think so professionally? Or are you just grumpy?”

Decker ran his hand down his face. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just tired.”

No one spoke.

“What should I do?” Rina asked.

Decker said, “Probably nothing you can do. If you confront her, she’d probably deny it and leave. End of case. Reminds me of my days in Juvey. Nothing’s worse than murder, but some things come close. Hell, I’m probably wrong. She might just be your average flakey Jake. Occupational hazard and all that jazz.”

“You sound very defeated, Peter. What happened?”

“Nothing. Probably my blood sugar’s low.”

Rina said, “I’ll make some lunch. What would you like? Egg salad?”

“Fine.”

Hannah hit his chest and burped. Decker laughed. “You want to go look at the horsies with me?”

Hannah grinned broadly.

“That’s a good idea,” Rina said. “Take her out to the horses.”

“Should I take the little boy, too? He seemed interested in them. He thinks I’m a cowboy.”

“You ride horses, you’re a cowboy. Isn’t Pessy sweet?”

“Yeah, he seems like a nice boy.” Decker shook his head.

“What?”