A computer-type voice announces the next train coming in. It’s the train we need to take back to our part of the city.

I put everything back into the suitcase as the train comes to a stop. Everything except the postcards. I can’t believe our luck. I’m so happy, I feel like I could fly all the way back to Hope House!

The subway train rocks side to side as Noah lays the postcards out on his thighs in a line. “See,” he says, pointing, “it’s like they’re going east to west.”

He’s right. The farthest-east card is the one from North Carolina.

“That would make sense,” I say. “We’re pretty sure she lived in Lexington, Kentucky.”

Noah nods. He touches each card gently. “North Carolina. Tennessee. Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska.” His finger comes to rest on the last one. “Colorado.”

“You sure there’s no more?” he asks, frowning.

I nod. “And Colorado is still a ways from here. I wonder why she stopped writing to Sis?”

The train slows. “Next stop, Library Square,” the computer voice announces.

Noah gathers up the postcards and hands them to me. “Who knows. But I’d say these are the best clue you could have hoped for.”

The train lurches to a stop. Noah stands. “At least if you can figure out where the heck Heartwell Manor is.”

I laugh as I follow him off the train, pulling Jewel’s suitcase behind.

“You might want to get you some glasses, Noah,” I say. “The address is right there on the cards.”

He shakes his head. “You might want to get you some glasses, Piper,” he says.

I take the postcards out and look at the back. “Surely not,” I mutter. I shuffle through them, my heart sinking with each one. They’re all addressed the exact same way:

Sis

Heartwell Manor, Room 23-B

No town and no state.

35

Some Dogs

All day

people come and go,

come and go,

up and down the rows of

barking

jumping

tail-wagging

body-wiggling

dogs.

But not all dogs bark, jump,

wag, and wiggle.

Some dogs

look from one face to the next,

their eyes full of please,

furry vessels of barely contained

hope.

Some dogs,

not wanting to take chances

look sideways and wag

just the tip of their tail.

Some dogs

have had their hopes broken

too many times to risk

any kind of foolishness.

These dogs refuse to look

at all.

Some dogs huddle as far away from humans as they

can,

shivering from memories of hands

hurting.

Some people say

“Too big,” or

“Too old.”

Some people say

“Too shy,” or

“Too furry.”

Some dogs leave with people

and do not come back.

Some dogs leave with people

only to come back again

smelling of disappointment.

People stop in front of Baby’s cage

and smile.

“So cute!”

They kneel down and coo and cajole.

They snap their fingers and call,

“Come here! Come to me!”