Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl

brushing back her hair.
    Something delicious scented the air. Pancakes. "Comida?" she ventured, remembering one of the words Marshall had used the night before. "Comida, Estella?"
    She was rewarded with a small nod and another smile.
    Leading Estella to the kitchen by one hand, Allison checked her phone with the other. There were texts from Nicole and Cassidy , saying they were okay and asking how she was. It was too complicate d t o explain what had happened, so she just texted them both back:
    FINE. X0. TALK SOON.
    In the kitchen, Marshall was pouring batter into the frying pan, with a stack of just-made pancakes on a plate next to him. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder.
    "How did you sleep?" she asked.
    He shrugged. "Probably about as well as you did. I heard her crying for her mother in the middle of the night."
    They both looked at Estella, who now seemed to have forgotten the terrors of the night. Children, Allison guessed, lived in the here and now.
    She was just pouring Estella a cup of milk when the phone rang. Marshall answered it. Whatever he heard made his forehead wrinkle. Without thinking, Allison gripped Estella's shoulder, only becoming aware of it when the girl gave a frightened little squeak.
    "It's a caseworker from Child Protective Services." He handed her the phone.
    She swallowed, and then said, "This is Allison Pierce."
    "Hi, Allison. This is Joyce Bernstein. I'm sorry our staff wasn't able to help you last night. It was pretty crazy. Now that things are calming down, we're starting to get up to speed over here. We'll be sending someone by to pick your girl up in about twenty minutes. Thanks for being flexible."
    "No problem." Allison kept her voice steady. It was illogical, but it hurt to think about giving Estella back. "So you found her parents?"
    "Not yet. But she's not the only child who got separated from her family. It's been a mess. Not only did we end up with a half-dozen other kids who were totally on their own, but three day care centers downtown got evacuated. And with the phones basically being down , no one could get in touch with anyone else. We're only just now getting things straightened out."
    It seemed important to have Estella fed and presentable before the caseworker showed up. Sensing that her world was about to change, she clung to Allison, refusing to sit on the telephone book that had served as a makeshift booster seat the night before. Allison ended up feeding her on her lap. Then she wiped Estella's face and hands with a damp paper towel and tried to gingerly brush the snarls from her hair. Only then did she think about her own appearance. She quickly changed out of her pajamas.
    All too soon, there was a knock on the door. Marshall answered it, while Allison hung back. She told herself it was hormones that were making this so difficult. Giving Estella to the authorities would be the quickest way to unite this girl and her family.
    At the sight of the middle-aged stranger wearing a red sweater and a wide smile, Estella started to cry. She buried her head against Allison's chest, her little hands clinging tightly to her blouse. Allison kissed the top of her head, inhaled her sweet aroma, and then gently began to pry her fingers loose. "They're going to find your mami, Estella. Mami."
    Her dark eyes were full of confusion and pain. Even if Allison had spoken Spanish, she had a feeling that Estella was too young to understand why her world was changing yet again. As she got one small hand loose, Allison braced herself. Would Estella scream and flail? But instead, when Allison held the girl out to the social worker, Estella gave her a look of dull despair. It was as if she was resigned to always losing the people she needed.
    Allison managed to hold it together }until the caseworker had Estella settled in a car seat and was pulling out of the driveway.
    Once she was inside the door, she let the tears come.

    Chapter 15

Riverside Condominiums
    Six hours after she had washed