Biggie and the Devil Diet - By Nancy Bell Page 0,57

or nice clothes and stuff." She looked down at her canned drink.

Personally, I think horses are just dumb, but I wasn't going to tell her that. "Are you going to the dance with me?"

"We'll see," she said. "Hey, J.R., I've got an idea. How would you like to go out and find Stacie?"

"Huh?"

"I think I know where she might be hiding. See, there's this cave out there. I found it once when I was riding alone, tracked a possum in there. The opening is hidden by a bunch of grapevines. Those guys will never find it."

"How come you think Stacie knows about it?"

"Because, the day I found it, I came back and told Abner. He said it was an old Indian cave. Stacie was being punished for not making up her bed exactly right and Grace was making her muck out all the stalls. I'm pretty sure she heard us talking."

"And you didn't tell the searchers that?"

"I forgot, J.R. I just this minute thought about it."

I looked up at the house. "How far is it?"

"Not far. Come on, let's saddle the horses."

"I should go and tell Biggie…"

She looked at me. "You have to tell her everything you do?"

"No!" I said. "No, I don't. Let's go."

We took the same route we'd taken the first time, only now we crossed the clearing and entered the woods on the opposite side. These woods were dense. The trees, mostly gum, oak, and dogwood, dripped grapevine and smilax that swagged from their branches like garlands on a Christmas tree. I called out for Misty to wait.

"If I lose you, I'll never find my way out of here."

"That's okay," she said. "We're here." She jumped off her horse and tied the reins to a low-hanging branch, leaving enough slack for the horse to graze in the soft green grass. I did the same and followed her toward what looked to me like a solid wall of green. She squeezed past the vines with me following close behind.

Inside it was dark and smelled like mud. I heard water running somewhere. Behind us, a curtain of green branches provided the only light in the place.

"Did you bring a light?" I asked.

"Didn't think about it." She took my arm. "It's scary, isn't it? Will you protect me if a bear comes out?"

I thought about Monica. She would never have said a thing like that. In fact, there have been times when she's had to protect me. Still, it felt good to be asked. "Sure," I said, hoping my voice sounded braver than I felt. "What shall we do now?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"Let's call her: Stacie! STACIE! Are you in here?" I put my two fingers in my mouth and whistled the way Rosebud had taught me.

Then we waited.

"Stacie!" Misty called. But it wasn't very loud.

"Shh," I said. "I think I hear something." It was a low moan. I sure hoped it wasn't a bear— or, more likely, a cougar. "Stacie?" I called again.

"Here." The voice came from the back of the cave. We both hurried toward the sound, sliding a little on the slippery cave floor.

"Where are you, Stacie?" I asked. "Say something."

"Over here." Her voice was barely audible.

I walked bent over with my hands stretched out in front of me. Finally they touched something soft and damp. "Is that you?" I whispered.

"Ouch. Yeah, it's me. Go away and let me die."

"How come you want to die?" I asked. "We went to a lot of trouble to find you. And a lot of other people are looking for you, too. What's the matter with you?" I was getting irritated.

"Come on, Stace," Misty said. "You don't really want to die out here, do you?"

"She's dead," she said with a sob. "I don't want to live without her."

"That sounds pretty dramatic," I said. "Now come on, let's get you out of here."

"No!" she kicked her feet toward us.

"Stacie," Misty said, "did you think Laura was killed in the accident? Is that why you ran away? She's not dead. She's in the hospital in Job's Crossing and probably worried sick about you. Now get up and come on out of here."

"Not dead? Uh-uh. You're just telling me that. I saw her, and she was dead." But there was a little glimmer of hope in her voice. "Really? She's not dead?"

"Not only is she not dead," I said, "but you're a hero for saving her life. Now, get up from there and come on!"

Stacie was filthy and sore from spending