“If you don’t take me to Reva’s house this instant, I’ll go to your parents and tell them what you did to me the night of the dance. I still have that torn dress.”
Sam grimaced. “All right, get in, but I’m not waitin’ for you at Reva’s house.”
“No one asked you to,” Amanda snapped.
Amanda didn’t say a word on the way to Reva’s house. She didn’t even answer her mother when Grace whispered, “What did Sam do to you at the dance?” Amanda was too busy raging inside at Hank Montgomery. Here she’d been thinking she loved him and thinking what a noble person he was to try to help the poor, defenseless workers, when he was out lollygagging with Reva Eiler. And Amanda had told Taylor to go after Reva! What a fool she was about men—and women, for that matter. Reva had flirted with Hank at the Union Hall and conned Taylor into taking her home from the carnival.
Amanda began to imagine the terrible things she’d do to both Reva and Hank when she found them together.
“Here we are,” Sam said sullenly, “and this makes us even. Dad’ll have my head when I’m late.”
“You deserve it,” Amanda said, shutting the car door. “You shouldn’t take advantage of defenseless women.”
“You weren’t exactly defenseless with that professor around. He knocked one of my back teeth loose.”
Amanda smiled at him. “Maybe you’ll remember next time.”
Sam grimaced and drove away.
“Amanda dear,” Grace said, “you and I are going to have to have a long talk after this is settled.”
Amanda didn’t answer but went to Reva’s door and knocked. It was a filthy little house, with a broken swing outside, rusted tin cans in a pile by a fence with missing boards. Hollyhocks that looked as if they were fighting for life grew from something that looked like a truck fender. A pane of glass from the front window was missing and newspaper had been taped over it.
At her second knock, Amanda heard shuffling footsteps inside.
“What’d’ya want?” a man’s voice yelled.
“It’s Amanda Caulden, Mr. Eiler. I want to see Reva,” Amanda yelled back. “If she’s here,” she said under her breath.
“She’s asleep,” Mr. Eiler yelled.
“With whom?” Amanda muttered. “I really do need to see her,” she yelled through the door.
A hand angrily tore the newspaper from the broken pane of glass. The rest of the window was so dirty it may as well not have been glass. Reva’s face appeared at the window. “I am here, Miss Know-It-All Caulden,” Reva said, “and I’m alone in my bed, not that it’s any of your business. What brings you to this part of town? Need somebody to clean your toilet?”
“Where is Hank?” Amanda asked.
“Not with me.”
Amanda glared at her. “Then when did he leave? I assume it was his visit that has exhausted you into an early retirement.”
“It happens to be nearly ten o’clock. Some of us have to get up and go to work in the morning. Not all of us can be princesses like—”
“Just a minute!” Grace said, stepping forward. “Before you two young ladies”—she emphasized the word—“start pulling hair, I think we should find out what we came here to find out. Reva, Dr. Montgomery seems to have disappeared, and we were told he might be with another woman and we assumed it was you.”
“He hasn’t been here. He’s been out at the fields all day. I saw him for a few minutes yesterday and he was pretty upset. He said it was awful out there and for me to stay away.”
“Do you have any idea where he could be?” Grace asked.
“Maybe he went back to his hotel and went to bed. Or maybe he went to the Union Hall. Or maybe he went to the diner for something to eat. Or maybe—”
“You have to help us look,” Amanda said. “I think something has happened to him.” Now that she knew he wasn’t with Reva, she was beginning to calm down. Whitey had lied to her, but why? Was he, perhaps, lying merely because she was a Caulden? Or was there another reason?
“He’s all right,” Reva said. “Hank can take care of himself. Besides, it’s late and I need my sleep.”
“You either come voluntarily or I’ll drag you out,” Amanda said.
“Really, Amanda,” Grace said. “I’m sure Reva’s right and Dr. Montgomery is fine. Perhaps we should—”