It would be easy enough to find out if Bri was at St. Margaret's. All he had to do was walk over there. Think of Julie's reaction when he and Bri walked back into 12B together. What a Christmas present that would be.

Alex decided to practice walking. He strolled from the sofa to the girls' bedroom, then back again to the kitchen. He ate two more spoonfuls of frozen red beans, then walked back to the bedroom. No dizziness. Sure he was a bit weak, but that was to be expected. But there was no hurry. If Bri was at St. Margaret's she was being taken care of. She'd be worried, though, worried about him and about Julie. Better he should get going.

"Alex?"

"Go back to sleep," Alex said. "I'm fine. I'm just going out for a walk."

Julie sat bolt upright. "What are you talking about?" she said. "You can't go for a walk."

"Just to St. Margaret's," Alex said. "I think Bri might be there."

"She isn't," Julie said. "Yesterday, after I checked the stairwell, I walked over and asked. Father Franco saw her on Thursday, but she left the church. He said he figured she'd be okay since the electricity was still running."

Alex collapsed back onto the sofa. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded, as though Bri's fate would be different if Julie had only had the good sense to tell him.

"Because you were sprawled out on the floor when I got back," Julie said.

"I'm not sprawled out now," Alex said. "Bri might be wandering around the streets. We need to look for her."

"Alex," Julie said.

"What?" he said.

Julie looked miserable. "If some guy grabbed her," she said. "Like that guy, you know… Well, Bri couldn't fight back. I know she felt a lot stronger because she'd helped you so much, but I couldn't even get away from that guy. Bri's hardly eaten in days and it's so hard for her to breathe. I don't think she's wandering around the streets."

"We won't know until we look," Alex said. "If you don't want to go, I'll go by myself."

Susan Beth Pfeffer