Divine Evil

Reverend Barkley's house. They had hamburgers and ice cream.”
    “Do you remember seeing Clare at the parade, Annie?”
    “Sure. I met her friends. You had a black friend and a white friend. Isn't that right?”
    “Yes, and you showed us your bracelets. Cam would like to see them, too.”
    Obligingly, she held out her arm. “I like pretty things.”
    “These are pretty.” He slid aside plastic, gold-plated links, and painted metal to examine the silver bracelet. “Where did you get this one?”
    “I found it.”
    “When did you find it?”
    “Oh, sometime.” She smiled, twisting her wrist back and forth so that the bracelets jingled. “Before yesterday.”
    Cam battled back impatience. “Did you have it the dayI drove you home in my car? Do you remember the day we listened to Billy Joel on the radio?”
    Annie's eyes clouded, then brightened. “‘It's Still Rock and Roll to Me.’ I like that song. I know all the words.”
    “Did you have the bracelet that day?”
    “Yes, yes, indeed.” She ran her fingers lovingly over the letters. “I found it a long time before that. Before the roses were blooming and after the leaves came out.”
    “Okay. Can you tell me where you found it?”
    “On the ground.”
    “Here, in town?”
    She frowned. “No.” She remembered, but she couldn't tell him about the secret place. No one was supposed to know about that. Uneasily, she pulled her arm back and reached for a cookie. “Just on the ground. See a pin, pick it up. I pick up lots of things. Do you want more to drink?”
    “No, thank you.” Clare leaned forward to take her hand. “Annie, it could be important that you remember where you found this bracelet. I thought maybe because you liked it so much you might remember where. You must have been very happy when you found it.”
    She squirmed in her chair and began to stutter a little, like a child called on to recite before the class. There was a faint ring of red around her mouth from the Cherry Smash. “I just found it somewhere. Somewhere or other. Finders keepers. I find lots of things. It's okay to pick them up because people just drop them and leave them right on the ground.”
    “All right.” It was obvious to Clare that they were only going to agitate her. “I like your pictures.”
    Annie's nervous hands stilled. “I put them up, and I have company all the time. But only people who smile.No, sir, no sad faces. I made a special book with pictures so I can look through it at nighttime.”
    “I made something just today. Would you like to see it?” “Yes.” Annie folded her hands politely, even though she would rather have talked about her pictures. “You make statues.”
    Sometimes. “Miz Atherton says you make statues of naked people.”
    Annie blushed and giggled. “Isn't Miz Atherton funny?”
    “She's a riot,” Cam murmured. “Clare makes bracelets, too.”
    “Really?” Annie's eyes widened. “You do?”
    Clare reached in her pocket. “Today I made this.”
    “Oh.” Annie drew out the words into a sigh as she ran a gentle finger along the metal. “It's pretty. It's the prettiest ever.”
    “Thank you. Do you see the letters?”
    Annie bent closer and giggled. “A-N-N-I-E. Annie.”
    “That's right. Now look at this.” She took Annie's arm again to hold the bracelets side by side. “This one is different. It says something different.”
    Frowning, Annie studied both. “I don't know.”
    “This one doesn't say Annie, but this one does. The first one doesn't belong to you.”
    “I didn't steal it. My mama said it was bad to steal.” “We know you didn't steal it,” Cam said. “But I think I might know who it belongs to.”
    “You want me to give it back.” Her mouth began to quiver. “It's mine. I found it.” “You can keep the one I made.” She calmed instantly, like a baby with a pacifier. “Like a present?”
    “Yes, it's a present, but it would help us if you would give us the other.”
    Annie turned her head from side to side, humming under her breath as she considered. “Yours is prettier.”
    “It's yours.” Clare slipped it over her wrist. “See?”
    Annie lifted her arm to watch the sunlight glint off the metal. “Nobody made me a bracelet before. Not ever.” She gave a little sigh as she slid Carly's from her wrist. “You can have this one.”
    “Annie.” Cam put a hand on her arm to get her attention. “If you remember where you found it, you come and tell me right away. It's