Going to the Chapel

by Janet Tronstad

  When I go back out into the main room, Jerry is just coming out of the bathroom wearing one of his brown T-shirts and a clean pair of jeans.

  Jerry tells me he’s decided he’s done all of the measuring that he can at the Big M and he’s going to see if he can find any clues about Cassie’s mom today.

  I look at the closed bedroom door and speak quietly. “Does Cassie know you’re going to do that?”

  He shakes his head as he puts two slices of bread into the toaster. “I thought I’d see what I can find out before I say anything to her. There might not be any way for me to find anything, but I’d like to try. Cassie said her mom used to live in Los Angeles.”

  There are a few cups of coffee in the pot so I get some mugs from the cupboard.

  Yikes. There’s a loud pounding at the door and I almost drop one of the mugs.

  “Open up. The police.” A male voice calls out.

  “What?” I squeak out as I put the mugs on the counter.

  “Don’t answer that,” Cassie whispers from where she stands in the doorway to the bedroom. She’s got her robe on, but not her glasses and she is squinting at me. She just got up. “It could be a trick.”

  “There’s a man in here,” I call out since we’ve already made enough noise to tell whoever is on the other side of our door that someone is home and I’m hoping a show of force will prevent any trouble.

  “Yes,” Jerry adds and he makes his voice even deeper than it is so he sounds like a wrestler.

  “It’s all right, girls,” we hear Mrs. Snyder say. “I checked their IDs for you. They really are the police.”

  Okay, now that’s not right. I step over, unlock the door and open it.

  “You shouldn’t be out here, either,” I scold Mrs. Snyder who is standing there holding a black wallet. I try to avoid looking at the two men who are standing in the hall next to her. They are dressed in police uniforms and Mrs. Snyder is in her fuzzy purple robe with her hair in curlers. “Besides, anyone can get a fake identification card. Police don’t go knocking on doors at this time of the morning.”

  One of the policemen cleared his throat. “We’re here to see Jerry.”

  Now that stops me. “Our Jerry?”

  “We have someone watching the fire escape,” the policeman adds in a voice loud enough to carry inside Cassie’s apartment. “There’s no way out.”

  “Is it the plants?” I say. I know Cassie has those plants sitting on the fire escape landing outside her window. Maybe the policemen think she’s growing something illegal out there. “They’re all just houseplants.”

  “May we come in?” the policeman who has been doing the talking asks.

  I hear the phone ringing inside the apartment so I figure they may as well come in while I answer it. I’ll leave the door to the hallway open just in case, though. “Mrs. Snyder has the number for the police, and if she hears anything funny in here, she’ll be on the phone.”

  “That’s right,” the older woman says, but she makes no move to go back to her own apartment. In fact, she follows the policemen right into this apartment so I’m not sure how much help she would be if these men turned out to be bad guys.

  The phone is right by the door so I grab for it. “Hello.”

  “Julie? Is that you?”

  “Aunt Inga,” I say, wishing I’d thought for a minute before I answered that phone. Aunt Inga will only worry if she knows we have policemen at our door at this hour of the morning. Things like this don’t happen in Blythe.

  I can see the policemen looking around Cassie’s apartment. They have their hands on their gun holsters as though they might need to be ready for action.

  “Aunt Inga, can I call you back?” I say.

  “So, which one of you is Jerry?” one of the policemen says as he looks back and forth between Jerry and Cassie.

  “It’s a man’s name,” Jerry says as if he’s offended the man can’t pin him down in an instant. “It comes from Gerald.”

  “So, it’s you,” the other policeman says as he eyes Jerry carefully. “We would like to ask you some questions.”

  I hear Aunt Inga’s gasp and realize I haven’t hung up yet.

  “Who is questioning Jerry?” Aunt Inga asks.

  “Just a minute.” I put my hand over the speaker on the phone and say to those in the room, “That gun he has is a toy gun. It might look real, but it came inside his Greatest Detectives of the World kit. It’s made for little kids to play with.”

  The policemen look at me as if I’m nuts.

  “Oh, so it’s a game,” Aunt Inga says, sounding more relieved than she should.

  I look at my hand. I thought I had covered the phone well enough so Aunt Inga wouldn’t hear anything.

  “Don’t worry about anything,” I say into the phone. She probably just heard a word or two of what is happening. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Have a fun time,” Aunt Inga says as if everything is right in the world.

  I hang up and turn to the policemen. “The gun’s plastic. Jerry can show you. For that matter, I can show you.”

  I look around for Jerry’s duffel bag and see it over by the sofa.

  The policeman standing closest to Jerry turns to him and says, “We want to know about the note you left at 1802 San Rafael Road in Palm Springs.”

  “Oh,” I say.

  “I thought a dog ate that,” Jerry says as the policeman holds up a white paper bag carefully flattened inside two flat pieces of plastic. The bag does look as though it’s been tossed around so maybe a dog did have it in its mouth at one point.

  “So you admit you wrote the note,” the policeman says. The policeman turns the bag so we can see the black letters on one side.

  “But it doesn’t mean anything,” I say. The police are obviously not worried about the diet of some mangy dog. I’m beginning to get the picture here and I don’t think I like what the police are thinking. Jerry might be a bit dense at times, but he’s not a criminal. “He was just trying to impress the woman who was the wedding planner.”

  “The one who took the money?” the policeman says as if he doesn’t believe me.

  I shrug. “Well, he’s not interested anymore, of course.”

  “I never was all that interested. I was just being nice,” Jerry says. “There’s no crime in that.”

  The policeman talking doesn’t look as if he believes Jerry. “We need to take you in for questioning related to the theft.”

  “Can’t he just answer your questions here?” I say. “He didn’t do anything, you know. He’d never mess up Elaine’s wedding. In fact, he’s spending his days trying to make it all go smoothly. You can ask Aunt Ruth. She has him measuring the aisle in the chapel.”

  The two policemen look at each other and then back at Jerry. “What’s your last name?”

  “You don’t even know his full name?” I ask. “How did you find him?”

  “Reverse directory,” Cassie says from where she’s standing beside the bedroom door. “From the telephone number he left for Mona.”

  “Ransen,” Jerry says. “But my mother’s last name is Nilsen. She’s Aunt Ruth’s sister.”

  “Ruth?” the policeman prompts.

  “Ruth Torrance.”

  The two policemen look at each other. Finally, one of them looks at Jerry again. “Did you set this whole thing up with the wedding planner? Maybe she wasn’t turning sweet enough on you and you thought you’d make it worth her while to pay a little attention to you? After all, you were at your aunt’s place. You could have met Mona and given her information on the sly.”

  Okay, now I’m getting alarmed. “He wouldn’t do that. Ask anyone.” I look around. “Ask Cassie.”

  “He wouldn’t do it,” Cassie says emphatically.

  The policeman doesn’t look convinced. “Lots of crime happens between family members.”

  “Not in our family,” I say. We’ve never even talked about stealing from each other. I can’t imagine it has entered anyone�
�s mind. We might have our problems, but criminal activity is not one of them. “Call Aunt Ruth if you don’t believe us.”

  I hold the phone out to the policeman. “Her number is on that Post-it note on the cupboard door there.”

  Okay, so I’m bluffing a little. I don’t think he’s going to call Aunt Ruth and ask for a reference for Jerry. I’m having a hard time thinking of ways to keep Jerry out of trouble, though. I know if this had happened a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t even blink an eye if Jerry was hauled off to jail. I wouldn’t have wanted him to suffer in jail for a long time, but I wouldn’t have felt that I would miss him if he were someplace else for a month or so. Now, his troubles are my troubles.

  I give a deep sigh. I’m turning so soft I don’t recognize myself.

  The policeman takes the Post-it note off the cupboard door. “I’ll make the call in the hall. Remember, someone’s watching all the exits.”

  “He’s not going to escape,” I snap at the policeman as he leaves the room.

  “Not with someone guarding the fire escape,” Jerry says, with a touch of humor.

  “You find this funny?” I look at Jerry and demand an answer. Here I am sweating over keeping him out of jail and he’s making jokes.

  “No,” Jerry says but he grins anyway. “I just never knew you’d stand by me like this.”

  “Well, I shouldn’t have to stand by you. You should have the sense to stay out of trouble.”

  I say the words before I realize I am the one saying them. Me! Miss Toppler! Something’s wrong when I am scolding people for getting into trouble. I’m supposed to be the tumbler, not the scolder.

  The door to Cassie’s apartment opens and the policeman comes back inside. He still has his cell phone in his hand and he looks at Jerry. “Well, Mrs. Torrance vouches for you. She said you didn’t know enough about everything to help the wedding planner anyway. She thought it sounded about right for you to be chasing after the wedding planner with the note, too. So I guess we’ll just get a statement here about what you know.” The policeman starts to slip his cell phone back in its case attached to his belt and he looks around. “Okay, you’re Julie, right?”

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Your Aunt Ruth wants you to call her. Right away.”

  I nod. There is no way to escape this one. The only good thing is that I needed to call Aunt Ruth today anyway so maybe I’ll be able to mention that the chapel everyone is talking about for Elaine’s wedding is part of a mortuary. Maybe she’ll be so relieved about Jerry not being in trouble with the law that she won’t be upset that the usual clients at the Big M are dead. It’s all about perspective.

  I grab my cell phone out of my purse and go out into the hall. The policemen are huddled around Jerry and asking him questions so I figure I may as well call Aunt Ruth now. I have to go to work soon and, since she’s already up, I may as well get this conversation behind me.

  The hallway is cold, but I lean against the wall next to Cassie’s door anyway and flip open my cell phone.

  “Is Jerry all right?” Aunt Ruth asks when she hears my voice. “I can’t imagine the police would think he’d steal a dime from me. He’s a good boy.”

  “Yeah,” I say. “They’re going to ask him some questions, but that’s all.”

  “Good,” Aunt Ruth says. “I told that policeman he was way off base.”

  “I’m sorry you had to know about this,” I add. “I know you’re already under a lot of stress with the wedding.”

  Aunt Ruth snorts. “Not anymore. When I heard what Gary’s mother wanted to do, I said to myself it’s time to take action.”

  “Oh.”

  “She thinks she can squeeze me out of the wedding when I’m the mother of the bride. Well, I don’t think so. That’s not right.”

  I smile. Aunt Ruth is back. “No, it’s not.”

  “Our family might not have the kind of money they do, but we know proper behavior when we see it. We can show them what a wedding should be like. Can you believe they didn’t want Howard and me on the cruise? We’re Elaine’s parents.”

  “I know,” I begin. “But there are many places to have the wedding. For instance—”

  “As if there could be a cruise so wonderful that Elaine wouldn’t need her mother and father at her wedding.” Aunt Ruth speaks without listening to me. “We gave birth to her. We should be at her wedding. What are these people thinking? I mean, it’s different if it’s the honeymoon. I understand that. I don’t expect to go on the honeymoon.”

  “Well, no,” I begin again. “But speaking of places for the wedding—”

  “Don’t you worry any. I’m so glad we have your help. Your chapel might be simple, but we can make something out of it. Just see if we don’t.”

  Okay, so there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to do this.

  “Aunt Ruth, you need to listen. I have to tell you something about the chapel….” I close my eyes. “The chapel is in a mortuary.”

  I open my eyes. There is silence on the phone line. “Aunt Ruth?”

  “We must have had a bad connection. I thought you said the chapel is in a mortuary.” Aunt Ruth gives a little laugh. “Who would put a wedding chapel in a mortuary?”

  “Because it’s not exactly a wedding chapel,” I say. “It’s the chapel we use for funerals.”

  There’s no response so I finally say. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell everyone right away, but I didn’t want to disappoint everyone.”

  “Funerals?” Aunt Ruth’s voice is a little weak. “With dead people?”

  Now I know she has the concept. It doesn’t make me feel any better.

  “You don’t need to worry about the dead people. They’re all in the viewing rooms. And it’s a really beautiful place. The courtyard has roses all around it and the chapel looks like an old European cathedral.”

  “Oh, dear.” Aunt Ruth’s voice is almost a whisper.

  It’s silent for a minute. I can almost see Aunt Ruth’s face from here, looking white and all rumpled as if she’s going to cry or maybe faint.

  “Is Aunt Inga there?” I finally ask. I’m a little worried that I don’t hear any scolding words. Shouldn’t she be telling me what a mess I’ve made of things? “Maybe I should call Aunt Inga and ask her to go over to your place.”

  “Yes. That would be good,” Aunt Ruth says. Her voice is monotone.

  I really wish she would say something about how foolish I’ve been. I hang up and stay right where I am so I can make another call. Fortunately, I have Aunt Inga on speed dial.

  “Julie?” Aunt Inga says when I tell her I am on the phone. “Is that you?”

  “Yes, it’s me.” I take a deep breath and dive into the hard stuff. “You need to go over to Aunt Ruth’s place. I think she’s a little upset because I told her that the chapel where I work isn’t a wedding chapel, it’s a mortuary chapel.”

  Aunt Inga doesn’t make a sound. This isn’t how I intended to tell her. I’m just getting a little freaked out about Aunt Ruth sitting there in shock.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” I say. Now I’m a little worried about Aunt Inga. “Say something. Are you all right? I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

  “You’re my Julie,” Aunt Inga says as though that sums everything up. She sounds disoriented, but not angry. “I’ll always be proud of you. Now, let me get my purse and I’ll go over to see Ruth.”

  “Thank you,” I say.

  I dab at my eyes before I open the door to go back inside Cassie’s place. The policeman who had been taking notes on what Jerry was telling them flipped his notebook shut so I assume they’re finished.

  “Don’t leave any more notes for criminals,” the other policeman says to Jerry as they both turn to leave. “You call us if you think you have a lead.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jerry says.

  The policemen leave and I just look at Jerry. He needs a shave and the T-shirt he has on is definitely the one he wore yesterday. But it’s real
ly good to see him still standing here. “Don’t do that again.”

  Cassie has the shades up on the windows in this room and the morning light comes in steadily.

  Jerry shifts his legs so he is leaning against the wall next to the bedroom door. He’s gets this puzzled look on his face and he looks over at me. “It’s kind of nice to have you worrying about me for a change. I used to think you liked it when I got into trouble.”

  I shrug. “We were kids then. The same rules don’t apply now that we are adults.”

  Did I just say that? I’ve been playing by the same every-kid-for-herself rules since I was five, at least when it came to my cousins. We wrote those rules in blood and hard feelings. Now, look at me. I don’t even know when I decided those rules don’t apply any more to Jerry.

  I am trying to think of something sane to say that would indicate I haven’t gone completely soft in my head when Jerry walks over to me. He stands there a second and then he gives me a quick hug.

  “What?” I squeak.

  “New rules,” he says calmly as he walks over to the kitchen counter.

  I, of course, just stand there. It comforts me a little that Cassie is standing there looking about as startled as I am. Only Mrs. Snyder seems to take it all in stride.

  “Isn’t that nice?” Mrs. Snyder says as she starts back to the door. “Well, now that the excitement is over, I’ll head back to my television.”

  “I should get dressed,” Cassie finally says.

  “I’ll make some more of that oatmeal,” Jerry says as he pulls a pan out of the cupboard. “Do we have more raisins?”

  I stand there for another minute. Who can think about raisins? Jerry just hugged me and it wasn’t an attempt to put a lizard down the back of my shirt or anything. Wait a bit. I concentrate on my back a second just to be sure nothing slimy is slithering down it, but everything feels normal. I guess we are growing up. Wow. I don’t know how I feel about that.

  I look over at the counter. He’s even going to cook us oatmeal and raisins. It is a new world.

  Chapter Thirteen