Grady didn’t reply, just kept moving deeper into the mine, the child struggling against his grip. Grady cursed as the boy kicked out, making contact with his leg.
Luke strained to hear more. Was it Mark? He couldn’t decide if they should rush Grady and grab the boy or wait and see what Grady intended to do. Before he could make up his mind, Grady slipped on a piece of loose shale, and the boy jerked out of his grasp and scrambled away.
“Hey, get back here.” Grady lunged for the boy.
The boy stepped back, his eyes widening as he teetered on the edge of a drop-off. Luke bit back a gasp as the boy tumbled down the steep incline, his scream mixed with the sounds of falling rock and dirt. When the rocks stopped falling, there was dead silence.
“Hey, kid?” Grady held the lantern high. “Answer me, boy.”
There was no reply. Grady cursed under his breath as he stumbled along the ledge. After several minutes, he stopped, peering into the darkness below.
“Good riddance. Saves me the trouble of knocking you off like the boss wanted.” Grady turned and walked out of the mine, the flickering light fading to complete darkness as he disappeared.
Luke crouched in silence, horrified at what he’d just witnessed. Was the boy dead? If he hadn’t fallen, would Grady have killed him right before their eyes? Grady hadn’t even bothered to see if he was still alive.
Suddenly one thing became clear. He couldn’t bargain with these people for Mark’s freedom.
* * *
Darkness cloaked the orphanage.
Jake rapped his knuckles on the kitchen door, just loud enough for Livy to hear. He waited about two seconds before turning away. After all her brave talk, she’d probably decided she’d rather sleep than wander around shantytown in the cold. He eased off the porch, being careful not to cause the boards to creak. He didn’t want to wake Mrs. Brooks and have to explain why he was here. A dark shadow, covered head to foot in a black cloak, slipped away from an oak tree a few feet away. He stopped and stared.
Livy? She moved silently, coming right up to him. Blue eyes, sparkling in the moonlight, peered out from underneath the hood covering her hair. “You ready?” she breathed, so low he barely heard her.
He nodded and headed toward the center of town, setting a bruising pace. If she wanted to play detective, she’d need to keep up. He crossed the street and cut down the alley between the blacksmith shop and the livery stable. Livy fell behind. Jake slowed his pace and let her catch up with him. “Too fast for you?”
She jutted out her chin. “I’ll manage.”
He zigzagged across town, avoiding houses whose dogs tended to bark if a shadow came within a hundred yards of their space. They were both winded by the time he paused at the edge of shantytown and canvassed the area. The grist mill lay to their right, shrouded in the grove of cottonwoods nestled against the frozen creek. Shantytown ran the length of the creek between the mill and the coal mines north of town.
Early Chestnut settlers had raised families and started businesses along the creek, but when the railroad came through, people moved closer to the train station, abandoning the buildings. Squatters, indigent coal miners, and now a gang of street kids had taken up residence. If they could cobble together a place to live for free, they would.
Jake panned the area, not seeing anything out of place. He padded across an alley to a jumble of dilapidated buildings, intending to skirt them. Livy followed. Moments later, she tugged at his coat sleeve. Then she leaned close and whispered in his ear. “Follow me.”
Curious, he let her lead the way. She ducked low and entered a ramshackle building that looked in danger of falling down on their heads. He started to call out for her to wait, but she’d already darted through the opening. Jake squeezed through. No wonder the street kids were so elusive. They were able to get into much smaller spaces than he could. The shack, leaning against another building, acted almost like a hallway. The rear wall had collapsed, and Livy eased through that as well, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he still followed.
She wove her way in and out of close places. “This is the type of place the street kids would stay in. Buildings most people wouldn’t think twice about looking