The Big Ugly by Jake Hinkson

except to take a bite to eat or go to the bathroom up at the house. I give that little girl a iPad with some games on it."
    He led us past a couple of long cafeteria tables stacked high with factory sealed boxes marked POWER SUPPLY to a flight of wooden stairs leading up to a small apartment in the back of the barn. He gestured up the stairs and turned and walked back to his office.
    Once he was out of earshot, I nodded in his general direction and asked Jack, "What'd you tell him about her?"
    "Said she had to get out of town because of some legal difficulties with an ex. Left it vague. Darnell don't mind a little bit of trouble."
    I followed her up the stairs. She knocked softly and said, "Alexis?"
    "Yes?" a small voice answered.
    "It's Effervescence. I'm here with Ellie Bennett."
    And then we heard footsteps and the door opened.
    And there she was.
    * * *
    Alexis listened silently, and I told her everything, every bit of it, but the whole time I talked, I kept examining her face. She was pale, and although she'd always been skinny, she had lost weight since her time in Eastgate. Her auburn hair had grown out and hung flatly against her ears, framing her round face. She was pretty but her front teeth were a little large—some of the broads in Eastgate had called her Alexis the Chipmunk—and she had the habit of suddenly pulling her lips together as if she'd just realized she had big teeth. As I spoke, she kept clamping her mouth shut. Looking back on it, I have to admit that as I searched her face, some quiet part of my mind was occupied with the question of whether or not I valued her more than I valued ten thousand dollars.
    Jack and I both stood, and we seemed to dwarf her—me telling her everything that had happened, Jack listening with her arms crossed, both of us waiting on this tiny woman to decide what she would do with her life.
    As I talked, the kid sat on the floor and stared at a cartoon on an iPad. Kaylee Kravitz was a hulking little girl about five years old, with ruddy cheeks, and some thin brown hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail. She had the look of a kid whose father would be named Dale Crittenberger.
    When I finished talking, Alexis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She said, "What are you going to do with me?"
    That pushed me back a little.
    "Do? I'm—we're not going to do anything with you. I just wanted to come talk to you."
    She nodded. "Why?"
    I felt like she was being deliberately dense, but I didn't really know how to answer her. I guess, when you get right down to it, I didn't know why I was there. I suppose I wanted her to tell me it was fine to tell Junius Kluge where he could find her.
    "I just came to check and see if you're okay."
    "I'm okay."
    Beside her bed was the only other furniture in the room, a small desk and white metal folding chair. Kaylee sat on the carpet, her back to the wall, and scowled down at the iPad. She barely seemed aware that Jack and I were in the room.
    "Why are you here?" I asked.
    Jack leaned against the door, her hands in the pockets of her hoodie.
    Alexis thought about my question.
    "I just wanted to get away," she said.
    "From what? From who?"
    "Mostly from Evan," she shuddered. "He's horrible and gross."
    There was a small scratching at the door.
    "That's Leonard Nimoy," Alexis said. "Could you let him in, Jack?"
    Jack opened the door just wide enough for a large black cat to stroll in. He didn't seem vexed by new people. Kaylee raised her eyes from the iPad. She watched him prance over to the bed and jump up and nuzzle Alexis. Then she returned all of her attention to the screen.
    "Darnell has three cats," Alexis explained. "Tom Baker and Diana Rigg never come in, but Leonard Nimoy is our buddy, ain't you?"
    He headbutted her leg and slumped next to her. He cast a disinterested glance at me and Jack.
    "Alexis …" I said.
    Her eyes were as blank as the cat's. Hell, they were blanker. At least the cat looked bored.
    I said, "You want to tell me