The Girl and the Unlucky 13 (Emma Griffin™ FBI Mystery) by A.J. Rivers (i have read the book .txt) 📕

“Where is she?” I ask without stopping as I go past the nurse’s station.

“Same room,” they call after me.

“Convenient,” I mutter.

As I turn down the hallway, I see Misty coming around the corner on the opposite side. She notices me and gasps.

“Emma.” She rushes toward me, reaching out to latch onto my arm. “How could this have happened?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. I’m trying to find out. Catch me up on what’s going on.”

We hurry toward Ashley’s room. I don’t know what to expect, but when I get in the room, I find her sitting up in bed, her head rested back against a pillow. She has a line in her arm again.

“Honey, she’s here,” Misty says. “Emma just got here.”

“Hi, Ashley,” I say. “I’m so sorry it took me a while to get here. No one got in touch with me.”

“You didn’t call her?” Ashley asks, sounding stunned as she looks over at her mother.

Misty stammers for a few seconds, then gestures out through the door.

“I’m trying not to worry about you and my mother,” she explains. “I thought it was the responsibility of law enforcement to ensure everybody who needs to be here is here.”

Ashley nods and I step up between her and Misty.

“What happened, Ashley? Tell me everything. Was it Wolf?” I ask.

She nods, swallowing down the emotion that seemed to swell up in her throat.

“I was sleeping. A sound woke me up. It was a dog barking. It took me a minute to realize I was actually hearing it because I had been dreaming about a dog track. Isn’t it strange, the kinds of things you dream about? What do you think that means? I was at the dog track and there was a dog named Wiseacre who I put my entire bet on.”

Misty stiffens beside me, her arms moving to wrap more tightly around herself. I step closer to the bed, but she stays where she’s standing.

“Alright,” I say. “But what else?”

“The dog was in thirteenth place. But I was still rooting for it,” she says. “I just couldn’t let go.”

“I mean this morning, Ashley. What happened this morning? After you heard the dog barking and realized you were awake.”

“I didn’t want to get up yet. I just wanted to go back to sleep. So I rolled over. But before I could fall asleep again, my window exploded. Glass went everywhere. I screamed and jumped up, and there he was. He tried to get me and cut me.”

She indicates her side, then pulls the side of her gown around to reveal a bandage across a large portion of her pale skin.

“What did you do?” I ask. “How did you get away?”

“I pushed him away and ran out of the room. I went right to Leona’s room. I figured Wolf would be right behind me, and her room is the closest. But he wasn’t there. Leona was terrified when she saw me and we screamed for my parents until they came in. My dad ran outside to look for him, but he wasn’t anywhere and the police were already there. Apparently, someone had called to tell them about the writing on the garage door. That must have been what the dog was barking about.”

“But no one saw Wolf?” I ask. “No neighbors saw him come to the house or leave it?”

“No,” she shakes her head. “We asked everybody, but no one noticed him.”

“There’s only woods behind the house,” Misty says. “He could have easily gone into the trees and pretty much disappeared in a matter of seconds.”

“What about your grandmother?” I ask.

“She was visiting,” Ashley says. “She came over last night and said she had baby pictures and things she wanted to show me today. After the police came and were going through the house, she collapsed.”

“She had a heart attack,” Misty says. “All the stress of everything finally got to her.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I say. “How is she doing?”

“She’s alive,” she says, brushing tears away from her cheeks. “Unconscious right now. They have her sedated and are going to leave her that way until they think her heart is strong enough for surgery.”

“I think that’s why I was having the dream about the dog track,” Ashley adds as if the realization just dawned on her. “Before bed last night, Gran was telling me about how she used to go to see the dog races all the time. She loved betting on them.”

Misty narrows her eyes at her daughter. “What are you talking about?”

“When Gran and I were talking last night, you were in the kitchen getting dessert, she was telling about when she was younger. She said one of her favorite things was going to the racetrack and betting on the dogs. She said it always made her want a greyhound as a pet. I love cats, but if I was to get another pet, maybe I’d try a dog. When she gets better, I’m going to go with her.”

Her thoughts seem to be jumping around, but I attribute it to the stress she’s under and the repeated trauma she’s experienced.

“No,” Misty says, shaking her head. “Your grandmother never would have gone to a place like that.”

“She did,” Ashley says. “I guess there are things about her before you came along you didn’t know.” Her eyes snap over to me. “Emma, have you ever been to Vegas?”

“Las Vegas?” I ask, as if there is another Vegas that might be a viable option in this scenario. “No.”

“I want to go there. I hear it’s so much fun. All the bright lights and shows. And of course, the casinos. I’ve heard some people go there and lose a lot of money, but they just can’t get enough of it. This will make sure I have plenty to bring me with me, though.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“When I sue the police department,” she says. “They were supposed to be watching and they weren’t. So,