The man crouches down so his eyes are where her eyes are and he doesn't look silly any more, he looks like he's listening.
>>“So. A goat-monster took your sister away?... Do you know where it went?” She can tell he isn't being silly because he isn't repeating exactly what she just said and smiling, she hates it when adults do that, like they aren't even talking to her. But he isn't doing that and she's so surprised (because everyone's been doing that, no one believes her even mom and dad) that for a second she just stands there and forgets to not cry and then she has to swipe at her eyes while she nods. "She was coloring in my book and she always gets in my books even the ones for reading not coloring so I shoved her and made her go away and then it got her. I was supposed to make sure she didn't go near anything bad while mom was inside and I let her go near a goat monster and she's scared of animals, she doesn't even like dogs and she didn't want to be with a goat and now I don't know where she is and I'm supposed to." She feels her stomach wiggling like it does when she's about to throw up and grips the shovel harder till it hurts her hand so she's thinking about that instead of her stomach.
Then he says he fights monsters and she nods as if to say good, that makes three of us because maybe he isn't so silly after all and if his brother is really tall he can see into all of the windows and over doors and stuff and look for Lacey better.
>>“... is your Mom here with you? Maybe we should talk to her about this.” "Nope," Abby says, "she's crying at home and talking to the moms of the other kids the goat got. I'm not supposed to go in bars. My aunt will probably come get me soon because she probably saw me because she's always watching me. She's from Oregon and she doesn't like anything here and she doesn't believe me about the goat."