Read Online Seven Minutes to Noon by Katia Lief - Free Book Online

her baby.”
    “Maggie told us that, yes.”
    Frannie was giving her a little out, nudging her off the hook. It was true, Maggie had said it. Alice simply hadn’t contradicted her. She felt herself begin to relax, the words now flowing a little more easily.
    Alice looked squarely into Frannie’s black eyes. “It isn’t true.”
    Frannie waited. Listened. Reached out for Alice’s other hand.
    “Lauren’s known for months her baby’s a girl.”
    “A girl,” Frannie repeated softly.
    “Her name’s going to be Ivy. Or is Ivy. Or—” Alice pulled one of her hands away to cover her eyes.
    “Thank you, Alice. It might help to know.”
    Alice wiped her eyes dry and finished. “There’s one more thing.”
    Frannie nodded.
    “Tim doesn’t know.”
    “About the name?”
    “The name or the sex,” Alice said. “He didn’t want to know. He wanted to be surprised. That’s why Maggie didn’t want to tell you.”
    “I can understand that,” Frannie said, her gaze sweeping from Alice’s face to her fingers. Alice now realized she had been tracing the scratch in the linoleum, back and forth, for at least a minute.
    “Are you going to find Lauren?”
    “Yes.” The deep confidence of Frannie’s voice was an island of hope. Irrational, but necessary, hope. “I won’t give up on her, Alice, no matter what.” Frannie’s lean arms tensed as she shifted her chair closer to the table. This woman was strong, Alice thought, stronger even than she looked. “The task force is going out again today. They’re knocking on every door, talking to everyone.There’s a transient element to the area, a lot of young people moving in and out, folks coming for the restaurants. You never really know who’s going to turn up one day to the next.”
    “You should go home and sleep,” Alice said, not meaning it at all. She wanted Frannie out there every minute of every day and every night until Lauren materialized back into the world.
    “I can’t sleep anyway,” Frannie said. “I don’t know about some of the guys around here, but when women start disappearing in my neighborhood, it bothers me. I’ll be pitching the case at roll call this morning and working the rest of the day.”
    One of Alice’s babies began to move, and soon both were shifting inside her. She stood up. “I should go. My family’s waiting at home.”
    “I’ll walk you out.”
    In the precinct lobby, the women shook hands.
    “Thanks again,” Frannie said. “I’ll call you if anything happens.”
    Alice walked alone into a morning whose sleepy quiet had bubbled awake while she was inside the precinct. A little girl in a flower-power helmet raced by on a hot-pink two-wheeler, her father trotting steadily beside her. An old woman in a cotton day dress swept her front stoop. Alice couldn’t wait to see Mike and the kids. Maybe, she thought, she could manage a nap this morning. Maybe today things would turn around. Lauren would safely return. Frannie would call with good news.
    But that, it turned out, was wishful thinking.
    Frannie never called. The day passed. By evening, Alice’s agitation was unbearable. Finally she phoned the precinct, expecting nothing, and was surprised when Frannie told her there was, in fact, something to report.

Chapter 7
    “We’ve got a witness,” Frannie said. “Our first lead.”
    The children’s melodious voices floated from the backyard through the screen door into the kitchen. Alice sat at the table, watching Mike at the stove, where he patiently stirred his special risotto. It was her favorite dish. Dense, creamy rice, ham, onions, carrots, peas. A hint of lemon.
    “He’s an artist,” Frannie continued. “Lives right there on the canal, in that round house with all the skylights. He had his easel set up on the Carroll Street Bridge Friday morning. He saw Lauren at quarter to twelve, crossing the bridge.”
    Quarter to twelve. On her way to Pilates.
    “This guy,” Frannie continued, “he didn’t know