head, exactly like someone who hadn?t.
?You just worry about teaching her to defend herself, and I?ll take
care of the research,? Cassandra said in a frazzled way as she
opened her book and started leafing through it. Hector smiled, obviously
glad he was off the hook.
Castor, Pallas, and Cassandra, asked Helen about different
habits?foods she ate, daily routines, even prayers her mother
might have taught her to say before bed. Nothing yielded an answer,
and they gave up when dinner was served.
It was good. Really, really good. Helen ate like she hadn?t been
fed in weeks. She drank glass after glass of water. She was so dehydrated
she could feel the cool water
fanning out in her system
and thickening her tissues like a dry rag fattening up as it absorbs a
puddle. She felt guilty at one point for hogging all the food and
forced herself to put her knife and fork down, but Noel looked at
her sharply and asked her if she didn?t like the meal. Helen murmured
an apology and gladly resumed chowing down.
After dinner, Lucas drove her back to her house, which by now
was a waste of both time and fuel, but something they had to do to
keep Jerry from getting suspicious about how Helen was traveling
around the island.
?I don?t like leaving you alone,? Lucas said, glancing nervously at
every shadow in the yard.
?I?ll be okay,? Helen lied. Actually, now that it was dark out she
didn?t want Lucas to get farther than a few inches away from her,
but with her dad home there was no option but for them to
separate.
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?I?ll be back in an hour or so,? Lucas told her as she got out of the