“How do you know what to do?”
“Dad, mostly. He was a Marine scout/sniper during the Vietnam War, and he learned to move through the woods and jungle without being seen or heard. He taught me how to move in the woods when I was little. You know you have learned when you can kill a deer with a knife. I’m not good enough, but he is, or at least he used to be. He doesn’t have the time to spend up here much anymore. He says he would like to retire up here, but Mom won’t have anything to do with it. She doesn’t mind coming up for a week or two, but she starts going stir-crazy pretty quickly.”
Jed looked at Lizzie, curious. “Doesn’t your dad ever talk about the Marines? I know he served with Dad in ’Nam.”
“No. He won’t talk about it. I’ve asked. He says he tries to forget, but I know he can’t. I know he gets jumpy during thunderstorms and when fireworks go off.” Lizzie shivered with a sudden chill.
“I understand. Most veterans won’t talk much, especially the ones who spent a lot of time in action. It has way too many bad memories for them, and people who weren’t there don’t understand. I hate it when people make unfair judgments because they don’t understand or don’t care. All I’ve been able to get Dad to tell me has been when he’s been teaching me things. I’ve heard him and your dad talk together and listened without asking questions. Do you know Ray Hood from the Mendota plant?”
“I know who he is, but I don’t know him,” Lizzie said.
“He served with them, too. In fact, the Marine Corps is where Dad picked most of his managers because he knew what they were like and what they stood for. Dad says there is no training for success like the military, especially in a combat unit, because you have to depend on the guy next to you, and you have to have the character to lead them.”
Lizzie had finished her tea. “The tea really helped. I’m starting to feel like a human instead of a human Popsicle now. Thanks.”
“Good. Give it a few more minutes, and then you can get dressed and come outside. I’ll have the fish on the fire by then.”
Jed took Lizzie’s cup and walked out. He built a fire in the fire pit, and while waiting for it to produce coals to cook over, he cleaned the fish.
One nice thing about being a part of a company that produced outdoor equipment was the plethora of good equipment stocked at the cabin. It took only a few minutes to scale the fish, gut and clean them, and have them ready to broil. By the time Lizzie came out, he had set the cooking rack over the fire. The fire had burned almost down to coals, so Jed walked into the lodge and fixed coffee in an old tin coffeepot, blackened from an unknown numbers of fires. He took the pot outside and set it in the coals, then laid the fish over the coals to broil.
Lizzie watched as Jed fixed the coffee and started broiling the fish. “You’ll make someone a great housewife someday if you keep that up!” Lizzie giggled.
“Nah, not much chance. I’m useless in a kitchen. Out here I can make it, though.”
The aroma of fish broiling was tantalizing. Lizzie realized suddenly she was ravenous. She hadn’t eaten much all day. She hadn’t felt like eating before, but now the smell of fish grilling had her stomach growling and her mouth watering.
“Why don’t you grab us a couple of plates, cups, and some forks? I think it would be nice to eat out here tonight.”
“All right.” Lizzie walked back into the lodge and returned just as Jed turned the fish over to cook on the other side. “What else do you want with it, Jed?”
“I didn’t fix anything else tonight. I thought we could get by with just the fish for now. Maybe later if we are hungry we can eat something else. Mom says I’m weird, but when I’ve caught fresh fish and grill it like this, I don’t like anything to interrupt the flavor and enjoyment. See what you think, and next time we can do it differently if you like.”
Carefully, he pulled the fish from the rack and placed the large trout and the smallest one on Lizzie’s plate. “You get to eat your first catch all by yourself. It’s our tradition. If you don’t want both you don’t have to eat them, but I have an idea you will surprise yourself. Be careful of bones. I grilled them whole, instead of filleted.”
Lizzie was cautious as she peeled the meat from the bones and took her first bite. “This is really good! What did you do to it? I don’t usually care much for fish, but this is wonderful!”
Jed just grinned. “It’s easy. Fresh fish right out of the water, cleaned, and put directly on the grill over an open hickory fire, eaten in the fresh air when you are hungry. It works every time.”
CHAPTER 20
Detective Summers spent a fruitless afternoon talking with students, teachers, and sponsors, trying to find any information to help with the investigation. However, unlike on TV where the detective always finds a nugget of information from each person interviewed and is able to put a case together in a short time, life didn’t work that way, and she knew it. It took hours, and sometimes days, of fruitless fact-checking, stories, and information to maybe find one little piece of evidence to use. Everyone she spoke with corroborated what James and Mary Romson had told her, which didn’t surprise her. Neither of them had been real suspects from the beginning, but she never assumed anything in an investigation. Every lead had to be chased down to the end of the lead.
Each student, teacher, or sponsor had been accounted for, except for Teddy Baldwin. One would think he would want to stay home the first day after returning from Europe, but no, he had to go out of town to his grandmother’s to celebrate her birthday. Detective Summers would have to follow up with him on Sunday, meaning she had to work overtime again.
Sometimes she hated her job. The idea of having time for herself away from work did not seem to fit in with her job description. Two failed marriages attested to this. It was not because Sarah had not tried. She really had, but the pressures she placed on herself and her dedication to doing her job to the best of her ability had been too much for either of her husbands to accept.
Sarah decided to call it a day—night actually—and go home and pamper herself with a nice long bubble bath.
CHAPTER 21
With supper over and the sun beginning to set, Jed doused the fire. He carefully poured water over the coals and then gently sifted through them with a stick looking for any glowing ember. Lizzie watched as he poured more water over an area he wasn’t sure about. “Why are you going to all that trouble, Jed? The fire is in the fire pit. It can’t go anywhere, even if it does flare up again.”
“When you are out in the woods, you can never be too careful of fire. It only takes one spark to start a big fire. You always ‘put a fire out after you put the fire out’ is the way my dad taught me. It takes only a few minutes, and it’s better than an accident. We had better get inside. The mosquitoes can get ferocious in the evenings.”
Jed led the way to the lodge, carrying the coffeepot and cups. Lizzie carried in the plates and utensils. Jed drew water from the hot water tank on the cookstove for the few dishes and then refilled it. He obviously knew his way around and had done this before. Lizzie groused, “I feel so helpless. I don’t know what to do to help.”
“Don’t worry! You’ll pick up on things soon enough. Remember, I’ve been doing this since I was knee-high to a hoptoad.”
Lizzie giggled at the expression. “My dad says that. I’ve never heard anyone else use the expression.” Quickly, the look of pleasure washed from her face at the thought of her father.
“Hey, now. You make me feel like you don’t like my company or something.”
Lizzie gave him a lopsided smile. “It’s not you. I just miss my dad. Europe was the longest I’ve ever been away from him. I don’t know how he is handling all of this. He must be out of his mind.”
“I know. I’ve been wondering about my folks, too. I decided there isn’t anything I can do about them, so I’m just going to do the best I can to take care of myself and you, too, so we can get back to them.”
“Do you really think we will be found?”
“I have no doubts. I just don’t know how soon. This is not someplace they will think to look. They’ll think Pete took us somewhere they won’t know about, and, without the plane and pilot, there wouldn’t be a way for them to get up here anytime soon anyway, unless they thought we were here.”
“Can’t they just get another plane?”
“I don’t know how insurance works on this. For one thing, they don’t know the plane crashed, so they will be looking for it. I don’t think the insurance company will just shell out for another plane until this one is found, or at least not for quite a while. Dad bought our Beaver cheap when it was surplussed out by the government. He’s made a lot of upgrades and improvements on it since then. I know he couldn’t buy one like it for less than half a million, probably more. I know it will be way more than he paid for ours.”
“Wow! I didn’t know it was so valuable!”
“Yeah. They don’t make the Beaver anymore, and it’s the biggest single-engine plane. Plus, it’s designed for getting in and out of places like this, so there aren’t a lot of options. That’s why I’ve been thinking long-term about staying here.”
“Poor Daddy. Your parents have to be hurting, too, but they have each other. Daddy is all alone since Mom died. I’ve tried to get him to date, but he says he isn’t interested.”
CHAPTER 22
Charles Sitton awoke early Sunday morning. He was groggy from the sedative given him the night before. At first he didn’t recognize where he was, but then everything came back with a rush. Tears welled in his eyes, and he felt tightness in his chest. Elizabeth! Friday had been the day he had lived for during the ten days she was in Europe. The equipment breakdown and fire at the plant had been the beginning of a nightmare. He had struggled to keep his mind on his work, wanting so badly to go home and see her, knowing she should be at home. He was so lonely since Collette died, and he had poured his whole life into Elizabeth. She kept trying to get him to date and find someone new, but he felt that doing so would betray his late wife. He missed Collette desperately, but he was slowly coming to terms with her death.
Elizabeth missing, on the other hand, was different. He felt he had abandoned her to danger because he had not been there to pick her up from the school. It was his job to protect her, and he had failed. He knew deep down that thoughts of failure were irrational, but still they were in his mind. He missed his morning hug and the “Love you, Daddy” that was his every day.
A soft knock sounded on his door, which was ajar, and it opened to a nurse pushing a cart before her. “Good morning, Charles. I’m glad to see you awake. Did you rest well?” The nurse bustled around the room, checking the monitors he had hooked up to him. “Your blood pressure, pulse, and heart rhythm all look good. Are you feeling up to a little breakfast?” She stuck a thermometer in his ear.
“I guess.”
“It will be here soon. They are delivering them now. Your temperature is fine. The doctor will be in to see you shortly.” She hesitated and then went on. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I want you to know I know how you feel. When my ex-husband took my son four years ago, I thought my world would end; but I got through it, and you will too. He was gone for almost a year before I got him back. I know the heartache and the loss you feel, but keep your chin up. I’m praying they will be found soon.” With that, she walked out of the room, pushing her cart in front of her.
Charles’s breakfast tray came in the door as she was leaving: oatmeal and stewed prunes, two food items he thoroughly detested. All he ate of the breakfast was a single piece of cold toast, and he drank the cup of lukewarm coffee. It was a lousy way to start the day. Charles knew he was a little on the grumpy side. Sedatives always left him moody.
Ever since he was wounded in Vietnam, he made it a point to take no more medication than was absolutely necessary because of all the painkillers he had been given then. The attendant addiction to pain meds had taken six months of abject misery to break. He would have refused the sedative had he been given the option. Now he had to deal with the after effects of the barbiturate. Charles detested losing control of his faculties.
A gentle knock at the door announced Doctor Lambert and the nurse. “Good morning, Mr. Sitton. I’m glad to see you awake and looking much better than last evening. I have some good news for you. After looking at your overnight charts, your blood work, and your EKG, I can assure you there was no heart attack. What we believe happened was stress-related. I understand you received a very bad shock yesterday, and I’m sorry for it. I certainly hope your daughter is found quickly and returned to you safely.”
“Thank you, Doctor Lambert.”
“Now, I would like you to remain here at least until this afternoon for observation, just to be on the safe side, but I don’t see any long-term effects. After you are discharged this afternoon, I want you to take at least a week off work and rest. You were totally exhausted when you came in here last evening, which was a major contributing factor. You were also dehydrated. During the next week, you are to rest and be sure to drink plenty of fluids, non-alcoholic . . .”
“No problem. I don’t drink.”
“Good! That relieves a lot of concern for me. I didn’t want you leaving here and crawling into a bottle. I will give you a prescription for sleeping tablets, and you will take them.”
“I don’t take drugs, doctor.”
“So I understand. I admire that, and I have also been told why. I appreciate your caution, and I wish all my patients had your mindset. These tablets, however, are not habit-forming in any way, nor do they contain any opiates or narcotics. They work with your body to cause you to sleep, but they will not interfere with your thought processes. You are perfectly safe with them. Please, don’t try going without them for at least the next five days, preferably ten. Your body needs the help to rest, and with all you have on your mind, I don’t believe you will do so without help. I don’t want to see you back here with an actual heart attack because you stressed your body and mind overmuch. Sleep will be necessary.”
Doctor Lambert handed Charles his business card. “Here is my direct office number. I want to hear from you at any time, day or night, if you have any chest pains, difficulty breathing, or any other issue. You will not be a baby or a wimp if you call, but you will be a fool if you don’t. Do you understand me, Staff Sergeant Sitton?”
That brought a slight smile to Charles’s lips as he came as close to attention as he could lying in a hospital bed.
“Aye aye, sir! It’s been an awfully long time since I was a staff sergeant, doctor.”
“Good. It’s been a long time since I operated on you in Tokyo General Hospital, too.”
Charles sat upright in the bed with incredulity on his face. “You were at General, Doc?”
“Yes. In fact, you were the last Marine I operated on before returning stateside in March of sixty-eight. You nearly didn’t make it. I normally didn’t keep in touch with my patients after they left my care, but since we are in the same town and because of the severity of your wounds, I kind of watched you from a distance. I hated losing patients then, and I hate to lose them now, so I hope you will follow my instructions.”
“Will do, Doc, and I want to say thank you, twice over now.”
“Sue, I think you can disconnect the monitors. I see no need to continue them any longer. Leave the IV in until we discharge Charles, if you will, please.” Turning to Charles again, he said, “Charles, I would suggest you listen to Sue. She has been through a similar situation, except hers was a spousal incident, but still she understands your angst. Not that it matters, but she was my chief surgical nurse in Tokyo, so she has known you longer than you have known her. You two take care of each other, you hear?” He turned and walked out the door.
Charles looked at Sue. “I guess I owe you double thanks then also. I don’t understand what he meant when he said for us to take care of each other, though.”
Sue’s face colored. “He was just trying to be f
unny.”
Charles looked at her with puzzlement, but Sue didn’t elaborate. She knew Doctor Lambert was just trying to match-make, as he had been doing ever since her divorce. When her ex-husband had taken off with her son, she had been frantic with worry, so she was able to understand Charles’s concern for his daughter. This gave her more of a connection with her patient than normal. She tried to remain professional and not let her emotions come into play, but it was impossible now. Her compassion was obvious, and Charles was appreciative.
“What is your last name, Sue?”
“Jenson. I went back to my maiden name after the divorce. It was Thompson.”
“I remember. It was a tough time, I know. How is your son doing now?”
“He’s doing okay. He’s fourteen. He struggles at night sometimes, and if I get stuck working late, he’s afraid I won’t come back. Doctor Lambert and his wife have been good with him, and Doc tries hard to be a good masculine role model. Jimmy really needs someone to look up to.”
“Maybe he would like to go on our fishing trip to our place up in Maine? I don’t have a son to take with me like the other managers do.” Then his face fell, grief stricken. “I guess that isn’t going to happen now, though.”
Sue was overwhelmed with compassion for her patient. She reached out and grasped Charles’s hand. “That was sweet of you. I know he would love it, and you will be taking more trips. You will get your daughter back, too. Keep your hopes up.” She gave his hand a squeeze and felt tears in her eyes as she saw the pain in Charles’s.
Charles saw the compassion in her eyes, and he covered her hand with his other hand. “Thanks. That means more than you know.” He felt a stirring in his soul he had thought he would never feel again. It wasn’t much, but a glimmer of hope remained in his subconscious.
Stranded at Romson's Lodge Page 6