"Maddie...Maddie, you okay?" he whispered as she sat curled up in the corner, her head resting on the wall. "It's me, Race."

She whimpered slightly and opened her eyes, relieved to see Racetrack and not him...not any of them. "I...I am sorry...I must have dozed off."

"Were ya havin' a nightmare?" Race asked, handing her the hotdog and a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully.

"N-no," she lied, taking a drink and then a bite of her dinner in an attempt to avoid Racetrack's questioning.

"Listen, Madeline, I plan to find out what you're hiding. It ain't normal for - "

"What do you know of normalcy?" she snapped, a contemptuous look in her sparkling eyes. "You're a newsboy, you have no family. I have a family..." she trailed off. And once I had a normal life.

"Havin' a family don't mean nothin'," Race snapped back, sending his angry glare out the window rather than to her face.

A cold silence followed as the two adolescents sat on the cold attic floor, listening to the wind whistle in through the cracks in the ceiling. Finally, Madeline whispered, "Thank you."

"Ah, it was nothin'," Race answered. "The hot dog didn't cost but three pennies - "

"No, for saving me. I knew that J - that he would have killed me if not for you." She looked hard at Racetrack, who flinched a bit in her gaze.

"Ah, well, I was comin' back late from the races, and I really don't know what made me stop an' look in that alley. I mean, I didn't hear nothin'. Somethin' just told me to stop. I can't explain," Racetrack answered, staring at the dirty floor. So all I know is his name starts with a 'J', so that means she must know the guy. Beau? Brother? Relative? I'm gonna figure this out sooner or later. I'd prefer it be sooner, but I can tell she wants to keep everything secret.

"What are you thinking about?" Madeline inquired, gazing at the Italian.

"Ah, nothin' important," he answered, averting his eyes.

"Hmm. You're a very bad liar. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Race made no reply. I was a good liar 'till today...

"Well, I am fatigued, Racetrack, so may I sleep?"

Looking to the mysterious auburn-haired girl, Racetrack nodded. "'Course. I myself need some sleep." He stood up and brushed off the seat of his pants. "'Night."

With that, Racetrack disappeared down the dark staircase, leaving Madeline to her thoughts and menacing nightmares.

In a dark alley several blocks away, Jim Gaines slowly regained his senses and opened his eyes ever so slightly. His head pounded as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Cursing like the madman he was, he exclaimed, "She got away!"

Standing ever so slowly, he brushed himself off and started out the alley. However, he remembered that his weapon of choice was still lying on the cobblestones, and he turned back to retrieve it. When he saw the sticky blood that covered the edge of the blade, he grinned a crooked grin. Maybe I got her after all. But where is she?

Every bone in Jim's body cracked and ached as he pocketed the evidence and casually sauntered down the dimly-lit city street. He walked two blocks and started up the steps of a red brick apartment building, climbing to the second floor and heading to the end of the row, apartment 13B.

Sighing heavily, he knocked on the door in a pattern: one knock, pause, two knocks, pause, three taps with the index finger. Suddenly, the door cracked open and the careworn face of a middle-aged woman peered out. "Oh, hello Jim! Make yourself welcome." She was careful to make no mention of the bruises and various cuts on Jim; she knew too well of the barfights and gambling brawls he was famous for getting into.

Jim hadn't counted on Mrs. Smith to still be awake. "Is Tom in?"

"Yes," she answered, supressing a yawn. "You will find Thomas in the study."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jim answered, heading toward Mr. Tom Smith's study.

"Tom?" he asked, peering into the room.

Tom, who was in his late forties, looked up at Jim and motioned for him to step inside. "What's the news? You look a little roughed up."

"Madeline...was attacked," Jim lied, and very well.

Before Tom could say anything, Jim continued. "I tried to stop it, but the guy knocked me out and took off with her. Goodness knows where's she's at now."

Tom said nothing, but sat there in shock. Madeline was his only child, and she was his angel. "But...how..."

"I don't know, sir," he answered, hanging his head. "But I will begin looking for her immediately. Don't worry. I'll get some of the fellas to help." And I will find her, make no mistake.