Candy and Cowardice by Sue Hollowell

was enough to go on, though the more I looked around, the more people blended together. If this guy was a local and a repeat offender, had nobody gotten enough of a profile for the police to narrow down the suspects? This small town was like an extended family, and if he lived here, I was sure somebody knew who it was. But coming from out of town to accost people would give him just enough anonymity to escape detection. I bumped along through the shoppers, gazing down the aisles leading outside, convinced he wasn’t here. I stepped down a hallway, halfway to the exit, peering in the windows to a toy store and an art gallery. Nothing. I returned to the center of the mall, meeting Unkie in the pre-arranged location. He shrugged. “Nothing,” he said, swiveling his head. “But I’m not giving up.” Grasping my hand, Uncle Jack led me to the line to purchase tickets for a carousel ride. “Should have thought about this in the first place.” He paid for two as we waited for the ride to stop and let us on. The attendant held the gate open as Unkie led me to a bench, scooting in to make room and surprising me when he didn’t mount a horse. I hadn’t had this much adventure in decades, and I wasn’t sure whether to be open to the joy or scared for my life. Either way, the short time I had with this man was exhilarating, an emotion I didn’t recognize but one that I welcomed. “This way,” Uncle Jack said, “we can cover the entire mall repeatedly, and in a short amount of time.” I shivered to think