Hush.

13::Glow

That Saturday I decided to do a little digging of my own.

Answers wouldn’t come to me, after all, and Ezra was reluctant and slow in giving them. Call me impatient, but I wasn’t content to sit around.

So I found myself at the coffee shop, cradling a cup of hot chocolate, sitting on one of the public computers. Here I was assuming I could just do a Google search and puff, there he would be. Was it so simple? Probably not.

I sighed. This absolutely reeked of desperation.

Even so, I typed in his name.

And like I thought, nothing popped up of even minimal use.

I released a suffering sigh, dropping my chin in my hand. I drummed my fingers against the desk, biting my lip in thought.

Maybe if I tried a different approach.

With that in mind, I typed in ‘Chicago’. Several recent articles popped up. A store opening, someone arrested for burglary, some guy receiving an award . . . there. The last one. I opened the link and the web page displayed before me. My eyes widened at the picture on the top of the page, a roaring fire that immediately engrossed me.

My gut churned.

This is it.

It was something, that was for sure. I just didn’t know what, yet.

I scrolled down and began reading the article.

“Nobody knows what could have possibly started what witnesses are calling the “Great Chicago Fire”, which spread to three houses along a neighborhood stretch. With high winds and dry air, the conditions were perfect for an event of these proportions. Two persons, a man and woman, are confirmed dead. More to come.”

Hm. Would Ezra know about that? The article was dated back a couple years ago, but he might know a thing or two.

I would ask him about it, later, if I remembered.

I left the website and continued browsing through the web pages, when my phone buzzed. Considering only four people had my number—my mother, Polly, Todd and Lilia—and one of them was MIA, the guess was an easy one.

“Hey, Polly,” I greeted, swiveling from side to side in the chair.

“Annie! Where are you?”

I paused. “Why?”

“Just tell me!”

“Um, I’m at the coffee shop in town. Why?”

She sounded excited. “I’m on the way to pick you up. Be ready in five.”

Whoa. Back up. “Excuse me?”

“I’m picking you up.”

“Why?”

“We’re going shopping!”

She promptly hung up, that last word ringing in my head. Shopping.

Shopping.

But I didn’t have any money. How was I supposed to buy things if I was completely broke? What was Polly thinking?

Didn’t you say you needed to go shopping?

Yeah, but not as a charity case.

A horn honked outside, and I grimaced. Some patrons in the café glanced out the windows. With an annoyed sigh, I closed out of the computer and strolled out the door, chucking my empty cocoa cup as I went.