“No, since he can’t get a bead on Jilly, he’s gone looking for the old woman. He figures the confusion’s got something to do with her. The last I heard from him was when he called me from the pool hall on Palm Street to tell me he’s got some folks helping him out.”

“I hope they figure this out quickly,” I said.

“Me, too. What happened anyway?”

So I explained about the bogans and what Galfreya had told me.

“You’re still in Sweetwater?” she asked when I was done.

“We’re at the hotel.”

“I’ve never been there, but I’ll see if I can get someone to take me up there.”

She meant going by the between, which was way quicker than her driving here, or me going to pick her up.

“Maybe there’ll be something I can pick up from where the other girl disappeared,” she added. “Wait until I come, okay?”

“I’ve got nowhere to go,” I told her.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Jilly’s tough.”

“I know.” Then I had a thought. “That protection Joe put on her—does it still hold?”

She hesitated for a moment, then said, “Not until he’s had the chance to reset it. But don’t worry. Joe won’t let us down. You just hang in there, Geordie.”

“We’ll be here,” I said and cut the connection.

There was nothing more to say. Sure, Jilly was tough, but she was also physically limited so it wasn’t like she’d be able to do much on her own. And while I knew Joe would do his best, I was too worried to be comforted by that.

Con came into the room as I relayed my conversation to the others, putting the positive spin on it for them that I couldn’t muster for myself. I let them fill him in on what was going on while I went back to the room I’d been sharing with Jilly.

I sat on her bed and picked up one of her canes, holding it across my knees.

“Where are you Jilly?” I asked the empty room. “What did those freaks do with the two of you?”

There was no response, but I hadn’t expected any.

I hated feeling so useless.

I wanted to break something. I wanted to go out into the bush, track down these bogans, and pound the answers I needed out of them with this cane of Jilly’s.

But I knew Cassie was right. This was taking place in Joe’s world and he knew how to handle it. And unlike Galfreya, he wouldn’t care what it took to get Jilly back. Whatever was needed, he’d do it.

The others came drifting into the room then. I set the cane aside and schooled my face to not show how depressed I felt, doing my best to bolster their hopes.