Cain straightens. "I wasn't worried. I just know the madam has powerful influence in this town, and sometimes it's better to leave questions unanswered."
"Influence like Eric?"
Cain doesn't respond.
"You know those women said Ellie's dad is looking for her. Even if she's okay, isn't it wrong that her family thinks otherwise?"
I let that hang in the air as the landscape soars past, silence settling between us like a sticky morning fog.
Cain shifts in his seat. "Let's talk to Angie about it."
"Thought you said it was only rumors. No harm, no foul."
"I don't like that her dad is looking for her," he says. "You're right. People shouldn't be afraid of Madam Karina. It isn't right." Cain seems to be telling himself this as much as me.
"You think Angie knows something we don't?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Think she'll tell us?"
"Depends on how much she lost at cards this morning."
Angie trails outside as we pull up, cussing at her Dobermans to get back. Get back to where, I'm not sure.
An American flag hangs limply on a pole at the top of her trailer, and an old oak tree bows over her home like it's paying homage. Pecan shells and dog feces litter the ground and, though it's a park, the next trailer over is well out of earshot. Angie lights a cigarette and strides toward Black Betty, her beloved tractor. She lays a hand on the machine like she's afraid it may suddenly vanish.
She points her cigarette at us. "Madam Karina know you're here?"
"You know she doesn't," Cain replies.
"Then you best get off my property."
I almost remind her that it's technically not her property. Might be because I'm envious of her dusty trailer with its curtains and mud-caked doormat. It's home for Angie, and that's something.
"We just want to come in for a few minutes." Cain heads toward the front door, but Angie cuts him off.
"I can't let you do that."
Cain peers over his shoulder at me. "She must have lost her ass this morning."
Angie smacks him on his shoulder. "That's got nothing to do with nothing. And I didn't lose my ass, smart aleck."
"How much you win then?" he antagonizes.
She presses her lips together. "I would have won if that old fart Deloris didn't cheat."
"She is a cheat," Cain agrees.
Angie stares at him with one eye narrowed, trying to decide if he's messing with her. She must decide he's not, because she groans and waves toward the trailer. "Well, go on then. Make yourself at home. You're going to anyway, right?"
Angie's dogs rush in before the three us can take a step inside. The woman yells at them without conviction and sits down on a pink sofa that's wildly out of character for her. Then again, I suppose her trailer is yellow. A fact she seems proud of.
"I'll take a glass of tea," she tells Cain. He smiles and disappears into her kitchen. He's been gone for five seconds when Angie yells, "And don't give the dogs any peppermints. You know how it makes Kali sick."
"I know, I know … "
"That damn dog and her damn stomach," Angie mutters to herself before turning her attention on me. "I suppose you're looking for answers."
I sit in a chair across from her, hoping if I stay silent she'll talk more freely.
"Wondering what it is you got yourself into and just how sincere that Madam Karina is?" When I don't reply, she says, "Well, I'll tell you this much. I hope you don't got plans for leaving. Because once you become Madam Karina's property, you're tagged for life."
"What happened to Ellie?" I ask.
Angie sits back and sighs. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"
"Where is she?"
Cain comes to stand in the doorway, his back to the kettle.
Angie looks at the ceiling. "Mr. Hodge will skin me if he finds out you two are here digging around."
"Angie," Cain urges, his voice gentle. "That girl's dad was here, in Pox, looking for her."
"Well, he came to the right place."
"You think she's still here?" I ask.
"I think you know exactly where she is." Angie directs the statement to me. "And that's all I'm going to say about it."
I swallow a lump in my throat. "Is she dead?"
Angie's face peels back like an orange. "What? No, you twit. That girl ain't dead. What do you think this is, some true crime novel? Madam Karina has a heavy hand, but she's not a murderer."
The woman runs her hand over one of the Dobermans and he lays his head on her knee. "What you need to be concerned with is what you'll be asked to do while working for Madam Karina."