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Dead Woman Crossing

Page 6

by J. R. Adler


  “Ah-ah.” A string of sticky saliva dribbled as she pulled her hand out of reach from Jessica.

  Kimberley wiped her daughter’s mouth with her fingers and wiped away some of the drool that landed on her dress. “You’re ruining your new dress, sweetie.”

  Turning her attention to her mom, she mouthed, “Thank you.”

  Nicole nodded. “I’ve got lots more for you. Can’t have my sweet granddaughter dressed in black, gray, and white all the time.”

  She nuzzled Jessica before setting her down. “You’re not a New Yorker anymore. You’re an Oklahoman.”

  Kimberley rolled her eyes. “She was stylish in New York,” she whispered.

  “They’d think she was a goth or a punk round here,” Nicole whispered back.

  As soon as her feet were firmly planted, Jessica started walking, albeit a little wobbly, but well enough. She reached down and picked up blades of grass, pulling them from the ground and throwing them in the air. Jessica had seen grass before, but rarely as trips to the park were few and far between thanks to Kimberley’s demanding work schedule and the fact they didn’t live all that close to a park.

  “Look at her go. She’s adorable!” Emily said.

  Kimberley noticed Emily rub her belly, and she wondered if Emily was pregnant or just daydreaming about a little girl of her own.

  “BOYS! TIME TO GO!” Emily dropped her hand from her stomach and yelled out toward the field. “Children sure are a blessing,” she said back to Kimberley with a smirk.

  Kimberley leaned down, picking up Jessica, and just as she hoisted her up, Jessica rocked forward quickly smacking her forehead into her mom’s mouth. Kimberley closed her eyes for a moment until the sharp pain faded. “They sure are.”

  5

  Emily sat in the back with Jack on her lap, Tom strapped in beside her on one side of her and Jessica in her car seat on the other. Kimberley had suggested taking two cars, but Nicole and Emily said it was fine as it was a short ride to the daycare center. Nicole drove, while Kimberley sat in the front seat, keeping a close eye on Jessica in the rearview mirror.

  “Mom, I want to go back to Happy Trails,” Tom whined.

  “We are.”

  “No, for good, like we used to. I miss my friends.”

  “Me too,” Jack added, pushing out his bottom lip.

  “You two are grown now. You don’t need daycare. I thought you were my big, strong boys?” Emily said.

  “I am a big, strong boy,” Jack said, holding up his tiny arm to flex it.

  “Wow! I had no idea how strong you had gotten. You definitely don’t need to go to daycare,” Emily said, pretending to admire her boy’s muscles.

  “Mom, look at mine. I’m even stronger, so I don’t need to go to daycare even more than Jack,” Tom said, flexing his arm.

  “You’re both right. So proud of my strong boys.” Emily wrapped her arms around both of them, pulling them in for a quick embrace.

  Jack looked over at Jessica who was sucking on the trunk of her stuffed elephant, completely content in her car seat. “Jessica, you gotta get stronger,” he said.

  “And she will.” Emily nodded as they pulled into a parking place.

  The door slammed behind her as Kimberley hoisted Jessica onto her hip. Nicole grabbed the diaper bag, while Emily took off after her two boys, who were already sprinting toward the front door of the daycare center.

  Tom stopped before pushing open the door and flexed both of his arms. “I think I might be too strong to enter, Mom.”

  “Oh get in there, you goober.” Emily laughed, tousling his hair and pushing open the door for her sons to enter.

  Kimberley stopped on the sidewalk, taking in the daycare center, which was clearly someone’s house that had been transformed for business purposes. The windows were decorated with kids’ artwork and colorful window clings. The bushes lining the house were well maintained, appearing to have been recently hedged. Inside, she could hear the laughter of children.

  “You really don’t have to bring Jessica here. I’d love to watch her,” Nicole said, making one final plea to Kimberley.

  “I know, Mom. But it’s too much to ask of you. You’ll still have her for a couple hours after daycare before I get home from work, and I’m sure you’ll find that exhausting enough,” Kimberley said, walking toward the front door. She was tempted to say yes after having seen the way her mom had bonded so quickly with Jessica. She even thought it’d be funny to tell Emily’s boys that Jessica was also too strong for daycare and wouldn’t be attending, but she wanted her daughter to interact with kids her own age. Besides, taking care of a sixteen-month-old all day was a lot of work, and she didn’t want to burden her mom any more than she already had.

  Nicole walked alongside her, a slight frown on her face. “Okay,” she said defeated, while she opened the door for Kimberley to step in.

  Inside, Kimberley was met with a front foyer that was set up to look like a waiting area. Chairs had been lined along the wall for visitors to sit, and a table sat in the middle acting as a makeshift check-in desk. A plump woman with curly red hair and a permanent smile sat in one of the chairs holding a clipboard. She immediately rose when she saw Kimberley, Jessica, and Nicole.

  “Hi, you must be Kimberley,” the woman said, holding out her hand. “I’m Margaret, the daycare teacher for our toddler program.”

  Kimberley nodded, while she shook her hand. “This is Jessica.”

  Jessica turned her head away from Margaret and rubbed her eyes.

  “Oh, she’s just being shy. Say hi, Jessica,” Nicole said, rubbing her granddaughter’s shoulder.

  “Hi,” Jessica repeated with her head still turned away.

  Margaret laughed. “Oh, that’s alright, sweetie. You’ll warm up in no time.”

  She redirected her attention to Kimberley, while glancing down at her clipboard and flipping through the pages.

  “I think over the phone and via email, we got all the logistical stuff squared away—medical form is filled out, emergency contact form is good, scheduling good, payment is set. So, I guess I’ll just show you around.”

  “That sounds great. And you have my mother down for drop-off and pick-up?” Kimberley asked.

  Margaret scanned the pages. “Yes, Nicole, you’re good to go. If you’d like to add anyone else, you can do that now or at any time.” She nodded and then turned on her foot. “Right, this way.”

  Kimberley and Nicole followed behind down a hallway, passing by a couple of colorful rooms. Margaret pointed out each room, noting the age groups. She pointed out where the bathroom was, cubbies for the kids, and a kitchen that only staff used to prepare lunches and snacks.

  They entered a large three-season room at the end of the hallway that had been insulated for year-round use and converted into a classroom. It looked as though a rainbow had exploded inside of it, with pastels and artwork adorning every square inch of space. Nearly a dozen children were scattered throughout the room. A couple were coloring at a large table. Some were lying on the massive rug flipping through picture books. There were several beanbags and bookshelves surrounding the rug. A couple of kids were playing with toys near an area that had Little Tikes kitchens, stores, and workshops set up.

  Jessica wriggled in Kimberley’s arms wanting to get down, so she set her down and immediately Jessica walked toward two little girls sitting at a table coloring.

  “It’s free play right now. We have it for an hour each day to encourage the children to explore their own interests. It’s a nice way to observe the kids as well, to see what they like and how they freely interact with others, which will be noted in the weekly reports,” Margaret said with a smile.

  She pulled a piece of paper from the clipboard and handed it to Kimberley. “This details their daily schedules for this week. We’ll also send your little one home with a lunch menu and schedule every Friday for the next week. Jessica will be in great hands here at Happy Trails Daycare.”

  Kimberley no
dded and gave a tight smile. She couldn’t argue with what she saw. It all seemed wonderful, and Emily had had nothing but amazing things to say about the place on the car ride over. She watched Jessica laugh and giggle as she colored a sheet of paper with a crayon. She and one of the other little girls exchanged a couple of words back and forth as if they were having a full-blown conversation. Nicole walked over to Jessica and kneeled beside her, helping her hold the crayon properly and pronounce some of the words she was trying to repeat from the other little girl.

  “Do you have any questions?” Margaret asked with a beaming smile.

  “Can I just look around the building?”

  “Umm… sure,” Margaret said a little taken back.

  “I’m a cop, so it’s a bit of a habit to case a place.”

  Margaret opened her mouth slightly and nodded. “By all means, have a look around.”

  Kimberley nodded and signaled to her mom that she’d be right back. She left the room, walking down the hallway, passing each of the other daycare rooms again. She wanted to have a clear layout of the house, already considering more than a hundred different things that could go wrong. Kimberley took inventory of everything and double-checked doors, windows, ensuring they all had proper locking mechanisms on them. In one room, she spotted Emily trying to round up her two boys, who were adamant about staying and playing with their friends. Emily waved as Kimberley passed by, saying she’d be out in a minute.

  Out in the foyer, Kimberley looked around, specifically at the front door, ensuring it was strong and had several locks on it in case, God forbid, they’d have to keep somebody out. Years and years ago, this sort of worry would have never crossed her mind, but she had learned that even in small-town America, the worst could happen. She gave the solid oak door one final look, bending down to check the bottom of it, but before stepping away, the door swung open, thumping her in the head. A couple of stars burst in the corner of her eyes as she backed up and grabbed the top of her head, pressing her palm against it.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” a woman carrying a large diaper bag and holding her child on her hip said.

  The woman’s eyes were wide and green like emeralds. Her hair was long and dark, and the baby girl had entangled one of her hands in it, wrapping it round and round. She had creamy skin, like a fresh scoop of vanilla ice cream, waiting to be dived into. In this part of the country, that told Kimberley that she spent very little time outside.

  “I’m such a klutz,” the woman added.

  “No, no, no, that was my fault. I shouldn’t bend down in front of a door,” Kimberley said, lowering her hand from her throbbing head.

  “No, it’s my fault. I’m running so late… again. Ugh, I’m such a mess,” she said, shaking her head.

  It was then that the woman realized her daughter’s hand had her hair wrapped around it like a spool of thread. “Isobel, what did you do?” she said, trying to get her hair free.

  “Let me help.” Kimberley stepped forward, taking the bag from the woman and distracting the little girl long enough so the woman could free herself.

  “Thanks,” she said, switching the child to her other hip. “I’m Hannah, and this little monster is Isobel.” She smiled.

  Isobel looked like a mini version of her mom: the same green eyes, the same dark hair, although much shorter than the mane Hannah had.

  Kimberley shook her hand. “I’m Kimberley. My little one is with my mother in the toddler room. I was just taking a look around.”

  “You have one too? How old?”

  “Sixteen months.”

  “How is she?”

  “She’s a handful,” Kimberley said with a smirk.

  “So, that’s what I have to look forward to. Isobel here is fourteen months, and she’s been a handful since she learned to crawl.” Hannah let out a strained laugh.

  “Wait ’til she can walk,” Kimberley added with a laugh.

  “Oh God.” Hannah looked at her daughter and then back at Kimberley, slightly rolling her eyes jokingly.

  Kimberley scanned the woman’s face, seeing more than what met the eye. She was naturally beautiful and young, no more than twenty-five. She was exhausted, scatterbrained, the telltale signs of a mother with a young child. But there was something else there: a tinge of frustration, perhaps? Something that said, “Can’t you see everything I’m trying to deal with here?” Kimberley recognized it, because she had it too. Single mother.

  “You must be new in town. Haven’t seen you around,” Hannah said, gently bouncing her baby who had begun playing with her mother’s long, thick hair again.

  “I am. Just moved here with my daughter yesterday.”

  “Your husband didn’t move with you?” Hannah asked, obviously fishing to see if she could finally meet someone who shared the commonality with her.

  Kimberley picked up on it right away.

  “It’s just me and Jessica,” she said with a wide and inviting smile.

  Hannah gave a tight smile and a nod. “It’s just me and Isobel too.”

  She shuffled her feet slightly, unsure of what to say, so Kimberley broke the silence. “You said you were running late?”

  Hannah put her hand over her face and shook her head. “Oh yeah, duh. I work part time over at the pharmacy. What about you? What brought you here to Dead Woman Crossing?”

  “Well, my mom. Plus, I took a job as the new chief deputy,” Kimberley said with a nod.

  Hannah opened her mouth and then closed it as if she didn’t know what to say. “That’s impressive. Congrats.” Her enthusiastic tone matched her lit up face.

  “Thank you.”

  “Well, I better get going before I get fired,” she said with a slight laugh as she stepped around Kimberley.

  Kimberley backed up so she could get through to the back of the house where the childcare rooms were.

  “It was really great meeting you, Chief Deputy Kimberley…”

  “King,” Kimberley added.

  “Kimberley King. That’s got a nice ring to it. Keep your last name if you ever decide to throw in the towel,” Hannah said with a grin.

  “Noted.” Kimberley smiled back.

  Hannah nodded and ducked out of the foyer with Isobel and her bag in tow. She already felt a kind of connection to Hannah, as silly as that sounded. Both of them were very different, coming from two opposite worlds, but they were one and the same. Two women raising children alone.

  Hannah briskly walked back out of the childcare room, arms now free of any burden. She sidestepped Kimberley and opened the door but stopped to turn back.

  “Ya know, it can be real tough moving to a new town and fitting in or finding friends. I’m sure you’re real busy what with Jessica and being a sheriff and all, but… if you ever wanna grab a coffee or, hell, a drink sometime, don’t be a stranger, okay?”

  Kimberley could tell this was less of a kind and welcome invitation for the sake of being inviting and altruistic and more a woman who desperately wanted a friend of her own. Someone who had lived in this town for quite some time but still felt out of place and like she didn’t belong. But a friend wouldn’t hurt one bit. It would give her mother and David some space, and it would give more time for Nicole to spend with Jessica.

  “Sure,” Kimberley said. “I’d like that.”

  “Okay.” Hannah bashfully nodded as she walked away, leaving the daycare and heading to her car.

  They hadn’t exchanged information, but she knew where to find Hannah—here or at the pharmacy. Plus, Kimberley got the distinct feeling that in this town, everybody knew everybody else.

  Nicole and Emily walked together into the foyer where Kimberley was still standing thinking about her conversation with Hannah.

  “Hey, where are the kids?” Kimberley asked, looking at them.

  “You’ve got to go down the sheriff’s station, and I have some errands to run. I know you weren’t going to start until tomorrow, but Margaret said you had a free trial day included,” Nicole expl
ained.

  “And my boys begged to stay today. Said they were feeling too weak to leave. I guess my whole ‘strong boy’ approach backfired on me. Kids are too smart for their own good, so I just paid for the day for them. I have a hard time telling them no. Nicole or myself can pick them all up later today,” Emily said with a defeated smile. Although, she looked slightly relieved to have her boys out of her hair.

  Kimberley assumed Emily didn’t get much free time for herself.

  “Mom, why didn’t you ask me first?” Kimberley tried not to sound annoyed, but she was; she found it all a little odd since Nicole had been begging to watch her granddaughter.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re right, I should have asked. You’re her mom, and it’s not my place to make decisions like that for her.”

  Kimberley paused for a moment, deciding what to say, whether or not to press it. “It’s fine. I’ve gotta head to the sheriff’s station and you’ve got errands to run. So, it all works out,” she said, making amends.

  Not wanting to get involved, Emily walked ahead, pulling open the door for Kimberley and Nicole.

  “Are you sure, sweetie?”

  “Yes, Mom. It’s completely fine,” Kimberley said, walking outside.

  Nicole and Emily followed behind.

  “Here,” Nicole called out.

  Kimberley turned around just in time to catch a set of car keys. “What’s this?”

  “Grocery store is just a few blocks away, so Emily and I will walk and have David come get us. You go ahead and take the car,” her mother said with a smile.

  “You sure?” Kimberley raised an eyebrow.

  “Positive. Go on. Make sure you’re home for dinner so I can hear all about it.”

  “And don’t let any of them boys give you any grief either,” Emily added with a wink.

  “Thanks, and you know I won’t.”

  6

  Kimberley parked in front of the Custer County Sheriff’s Office. It was a twenty-five-minute drive from Dead Woman Crossing over to Arapaho where the office was located, but it was a straight shot on a few country back roads and was easier than a three-train subway transfer into Manhattan by a long shot. The building was plain and unassuming. Mostly poured concrete and some beige accent bricks for a bit of aesthetic relief, but it looked roomier than her previous precinct, likely with far fewer bells and whistles on the inside.

 

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