the first place, after all. Just because she cut it out and took it with her when she ran didn’t make it so now. Maybe they would find the lost child before it was too late. Maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, anything innocent stood a far better chance if she handed the search over.

     Arms shaking with the effort, Jewel pushed herself up. During her battle with the weeds and her inner demons, her feet had dug backward into the silt, toes pointed to gain more leverage in her stretching search. Dragging the first one forward left her panting. Sliding it back into the sticky mud was almost more than she could bear, but she knew she needed to get her balance to drag the other out and begin the eternal fifty-foot trek back to the bridge. Putting her weight on the straight leg,...

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