The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  *

  After a long, restorative nap, Naidenne felt more like herself as she descended the stairs just before dinner.

  “Can I help with anything, Rose?” she asked her sister-in-law, as that woman put the finishing touches on the dinner table.

  “Nope. You just sit down and relax. Len and Scott have been giving me a hand in the kitchen and everything is all taken care of. We’ll eat as soon as Bunny gets here.”

  As if on cue, Bunny knocked at the door.

  Len let her in, and she congratulated him, once again, on his marriage.

  “Thanks. Let me just tell you again how sorry we are for your loss,” Len intoned.

  “I appreciate that. Now let’s put my bereavement aside and start celebrating,” she said before spying Naidenne on the sofa.

  “Deenie, I’m glad to see you looking so much better. How are you feeling? Are you sure you’re up to this little party?”

  “Oh, yes. A celebration is just what I need to put the events of the past few days behind me.”

  “Dinner is served,” Scott pronounced like an old-fashioned English butler.

  When the guests were seated around the table, they joined hands while Scott thanked the Lord for their many blessings.

  With a unison chorus of “Amen,” the group began to pass the food.

  By unspoken agreement, the conversation focused on the elopement and Bunny’s visits with her sisters. Details of Naidenne’s abduction were saved until after dinner.

  Scott and Naidenne had discussed how the evening should go and had decided to save their announcement until after she related as much of her unpleasant story as they felt comfortable sharing. Some things were for Scott’s ears alone and he had heard every painful detail the day he found her.

  But news of the new baby would end the evening on a happy note for everyone.

  “When I plunged down that dark chute, I didn’t even know what was at the bottom, but I knew what was coming back and figured nothing could be worse.”

  “Oh, dear! You poor thing,” Rosamund moaned.

  “You are a brave woman, Naidenne. Not many would have been strong enough to escape under those circumstances,” Len said.

  “Not brave. Just desperate. And I knew that house, you see. I saw all the renovations and knew about the old boarded-off kitchen. The only risk I was taking, really, was the fall and the chance no one would ever find me.”

  “Oh, well, then. If that’s all,” Bunny said with a roll of her eyes.

  “But you did find me, Bunny. You and Scott didn’t give up. I can never thank you enough, either of you,” Naidenne said with tears in her eyes and a catch in her voice.

  “We wouldn’t have known to come looking at that house if the Club ladies hadn’t sent out search parties, you know. And that nifty blood trail you left us helped a lot,” Bunny said.

  “Did your attacker stab you? Is that where the blood came from?” Len asked.

  “He cut my stomach when he was…playing with me, before he got rid of my car,” Naidenne replied. “I knew when he came back that he would kill me, though. That’s why I had to get out.”

  “How did you keep your sanity, locked in the dark basement, no water, no food and no way out?” Rosamund asked with her eyes wide.

  “I think Story Time’s over, ladies and gentleman,” Scott said, noticing the effect these memories were having on Naidenne. “I say it’s time for our newlyweds to cut the wedding cake. Bunny will you help me bring it in?”

  “Sure. Great idea.”

  Scott carried in a German chocolate cake with “Happy Retirement, Gloria” written in icing on its top.

  “It was the last cake in the shop. Sorry about the message,” he explained.

  “I don’t know…seems sort of appropriate. We’ve both retired from the single life and are looking forward to a Gloria-ous marriage,” Len joked, to chuckles and groans all around.

  Bunny, who had carried in the plates and forks earlier and returned to the kitchen, came out again with a bottle of sparkling cider in one hand and one of champagne in the other.

  “The wine glasses are in the china cabinet in the dining room, Bunny,” Scott directed.

  When everyone’s glass was full, Scott announced it was time for the bride and groom to cut the cake.

  Rosamund and Len joined hands on the cake knife and began to cut when Bunny cried, “Wait! Cell phones, everyone. We’ve got to take pictures.”

  There was a small scramble as phones were retrieved from pockets and purses, then the newlyweds resumed their pose for the photographers.

  The photography session over, Rosamund was dishing up slices of cake when Scott held up his glass.

  “Toasts!” he proclaimed, grandly. “First, to the newlyweds. May you have a long and Gloria-ous marriage.”

  Cries of “Here! Here!” met this toast and everyone clinked glasses and drank the beverage of their choice. Rosamund and Naidenne were the only ones drinking cider.

  “To the beautiful bride,” Bunny toasted and Naidenne followed up with a toast to the groom.

  Rosamund toasted Naidenne’s safe return and Len toasted Scott for the great party.

  After a slight lull in the general gaiety, Scott looked at Naidenne and she nodded.

  “And now a toast to the future aunt and uncle,” he proclaimed.

  Blank looks and general puzzlement gave way to whoops of joy as one by one the others caught on. Laughter, hugs and congratulations were exchanged.

  “How long have you known, Naidenne?” Bunny asked.

  “I found out the day I was attacked,” she replied.

  “Oh, no! That makes everything so much worse, somehow,” Bunny said.

  “Not really. I’m not sure I would have had the nerve to escape if not for the baby. I couldn’t let anything happen to our little girl, no matter what.”

  “A girl? We’re having a girl?” Scott asked, incredulous. “How do you know? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “The doctor in Tillamook did an ultrasound and I wanted to save something to surprise you tonight, too.”

  “I am so happy for you both! This is wonderful,” Bunny said.

  “A little girl,” Rosamund said softly, sadly remembering Scott’s first little girl and saying a fervent prayer for God’s protection on this new life.

  Scott cleared his throat, “As you all know, this isn’t my first daughter. When my first wife, Jenny, and little Abigail died, I thought a part of me died forever, too. Finding Naidenne reanimated a piece of my heart. Learning about our daughter tonight has made me a whole man. We can celebrate our joy without being disloyal to the memories of my first family. Please don’t ever be afraid to talk about them. I’m convinced they are aware of everything and are sharing in our celebration.”

  After a moment of silence, while everyone thought about what was said, the general gaiety returned to the group and they began talking about the big changes in each of their lives and their plans for the future.

  Eventually, Naidenne’s tiredness became obvious and Bunny prepared to leave.

  “You are the best friend I’ve ever had, Bunny. First, you brought Scott and me together and now you’ve helped save my life. I will never be able to thank you enough,” Naidenne said tearfully.

  “Well, you’ve got to promise me just one thing, and we’ll be even,” Bunny said.

  “Anything! What is it?”

  “Promise me you won’t name that innocent little girl ‘Bunny’.”

  They laughed and Scott piped up, “What about ‘Leveline’ then?”

  “Aargh!” Bunny cried. “Don’t even speak aloud my given name in front of the baby. She’ll be scarred for life.”

  There were smiles on every face as the evening ended.

  Bunny drove back to her cabin, humming a favorite lullaby to herself.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Rosamund wasted no time in sharing Naidenne and Scott’s great news the next morning. Within a matter of hours, the joyous tidin
gs reached all the members of the First Ladies Club.

  *

  “This calls for a baby shower. We haven’t had one since we formed the club,” Judy told Elizabeth, when she phoned to spread the good news.

  “I think that is a wonderful idea, and we should invite Naidenne’s friends, Shirley and Bunny, too. They are almost honorary members, after all their help.”

  “Then, we’d better have it soon. Bunny’s just here on a visit, isn’t she?”

  “That’s right. I am going to call Eskaletha and get the ball rolling right away. Bye.”

  *

  Schramm slumped in a dilapidated recliner in the shabby living room of a derelict house tucked among the trees in the hills only ten miles north of Bannoch. He squinted at the snowy screen on the old-fashioned rabbit-eared television, trying to make out the images of the local newscast.

  Carver was trying to find out what they were saying about him, but the reception was terrible.

  He’d been lucky to stumble onto this place the day before, when he was getting really desperate.

  There had been smoke coming from the chimney of the house and from a smokestack on the barn out back.

  Creeping from window to window, he saw there was no one inside, but he heard noises in the barn.

  When he got close, the smell of acrid fumes told him right away what was going on.

  He grinned as he eased through the door, surprising the scrawny man working inside. At the sight of Schramm’s knife, he gaped wide in shock, displaying rotten teeth.

  Schramm’s blade was given full reign, at last, as he vented his frustration on the hapless meth-cooker.

  After his fury left him, Carver looked over the make-shift lab for any of the finished product. He scooped up the few crystals he found into a baggie and left the barn to inspect the house.

  There were no vehicles in the yard or the barn, leading Schramm to think the dead man had partners who might be out making deliveries of their illegal product.

  He decided to take as much food and water as he could carry and get away before the others came back.

  While filling a filthy pillowcase with provisions from the kitchen cupboards and refrigerator, he heard a motor approaching. Dashing to the window, he saw a single man in a rusty, dented pickup truck jolting up the rutted drive. The driver, a near twin for the ruined specimen in the barn, jumped down from the truck and headed for the house.

  Schramm pressed himself against the wall beside the backdoor and waited. When the door opened, he leaped out, slashing and stabbing his startled victim.

  Schramm emptied the dead man’s pockets of keys and money, then dragged him to the barn and left him beside the corpse of his friend, shutting the door tightly.

  He took his time exploring and satisfied himself that the two in the barn were the only ones who had been living in the house, so he no longer needed to rush off.

  He’d been hungry and cold since the stolen car ran out of gas.

  With the pickup outside, cash in his pockets and plenty of food to see him to the border, Schramm decided to hole up for the rest of the day and get on the road that night.

  He’d found a stash of booze in a cupboard and settled in to enjoy a drink or two. The alcohol and the meth combined to make him miss that night’s departure date and he’d slept off his hangover late into the morning.

  Now, before heading out, he wanted to find out if the locals were still looking for him.

  He was trying to make up his mind about whether or not to burn the barn down when he left, making it look like a meth-lab accident. The flames might bring too much attention before he could make himself scarce, but they might be just the distraction he needed. It was hard to think with his head still pounding.

  Rotten reception on the ancient television didn’t help. Schramm’s anger was mounting by the second as he fiddled with the bent wire coat hanger antenna trying to get a clear picture.

  Fed up, he picked up his beer, drank the dregs and flung the empty bottle at the screen, shattering both screen and bottle.

  He finished packing up all the useful supplies he could find and took them out to the truck before disappearing into the barn, his mind made up.

  He ran out as whiffs of smoke began seeping through cracks in the barn siding.

  He was backing the truck out of the yard when a loud boom rang out and flames began to reach out of the hayloft and lick up the front of the barn.

  With a satisfied smirk, Carver bounced the pickup over the rutted track and out onto the logging road leading down to the highway.

  *

  In early afternoon, Bunny and Shirley were in Bunny’s rental car on the way to Tillamook.

  “I’m so glad she’s having a girl,” Shirley said.

  “Why?”

  “It’s just so much more fun to shop for girly clothes. We can find some really cute things in Tillamook for the baby shower.”

  “The shower is just what we need to relax and get back to normal, after all the horror of recent events,” Bunny said.

  “I wonder if Naidenne can relax, yet,” Shirley responded.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The man who took her, the one who stole Judy’s car, he hasn’t been caught, has he?”

  “Not that I’ve heard. But surely, he and Judy’s car must be long gone, by now.”

  “Didn’t you hear? Judy’s car was recovered not far from town. I guess it broke down or something. Anyway, unless he hitched a ride or stole another car, he could still be somewhere nearby.”

  “What an awful thought!” Bunny exclaimed. “I hope that hasn’t occurred to Naidenne.”

  Bunny’s car was catching up to a knot of traffic where the faster cars were attempting to get around a much slower vehicle.

  “I know people love their RV’s, but I sure hate getting stuck behind one,” Shirley observed, looking ahead.

  When only one car separated them from the source of the bottleneck, Bunny saw it was not a recreational vehicle, after all.

  A beat-up old pickup, its dragging tailpipe shooting sparks, was struggling up the slight incline, its driver hunched over the steering wheel as though urging the truck forward with his own strength.

  “I’ll be able to pass this guy as soon as the line of on-coming traffic gets by,” Bunny said, while being forced to match the truck’s speed.

  As they passed the pickup, Shirley turned to look inside.

  “Did you see all the tattoos on that guy’s arms? I’d hate to meet up with him in a dark alley,” she shuddered.

  “I didn’t notice,” Bunny commented, concentrating on her passing maneuver.

  *

  Scott scooted his chair back from the kitchen table and carried his plate to the sink.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay home this afternoon? I don’t have to go back to the office, if you need me.”

  “I’m fine. Rosamund will be back soon, so I won’t be alone. I can’t wait to hear what she and Len have decided to do about where they are going to live. If they buy a place, I hope they let me be their realtor,” Naidenne said.

  “Will you be up to going back to work, so soon, and with the baby coming?”

  “Of course, I’m okay to work. Or I will be in a day or two. I can hunt and peck on the keyboard with one hand as long as I need to. Women work right up to their due dates these days, you know.”

  “But not once the baby’s here,” Scott stated.

  “Babies are expensive, dear. I will stay home with her as long as I can, but that may not be long, at all.”

  “I didn’t want to bring it up, so soon after your terrible ordeal, but, before you were attacked, I had decided to look for another pastorate. The openings I’ve been reviewing all have starting compensation packages much more generous than I get here.”

  “But you love Bannoch Community Fellowship! You wouldn’t think of moving just for more money… especially if you made up your mind before you knew about the baby,” Naidenne protested.r />
  “You’re right. It isn’t just the money, but now the financial side weighs more heavily.”

  “What was it, then? What made you want to leave?”

  Scott silently struggled with himself before blurting out, “I got sick of the way I’m being treated!”

  Naidenne was stunned.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, softly.

  “I owe you an apology. I’ve been keeping some things to myself because I didn’t want to upset you.”

  “Please tell me. We are supposed to bear each other’s burdens, you know.”

  “I know…the trustees have been giving me a hard time ever since our marriage. They think my salary should be reduced because you work, and we have more income.”

  “But, that’s ridiculous! What does my working have to do with it?”

  “That’s what I said. I’ve been ignoring their gibes and snarky remarks for months, but the leak in the roof gave them a new tack. I know I told you it was just a silly joke, but, at the last board meeting they all voted to reduce my compensation, effective immediately, to pay for a new roof. It was just the last straw.”

  “Oh, Scott! I’m so sorry you have been dealing with this all alone. I just can’t believe the rest of the congregation knows what the board is proposing to do, though. Most of the people love you.”

  “Maybe so, but most of these good people come to church for comfort, fellowship and to worship God. They don’t want to get involved in church politics. That’s why so few of them are willing to serve on the boards. It gives people like the Oldhams and our current trustees free rein to do whatever they want.”

  “I haven’t given a thought to poor Maureen. Did the authorities ever say what she died of?” Naidenne asked.

  “Heart attack, apparently. No idea how her body came to be wrapped in a carpet in her garage. We know someone broke in. Deputy Williams told me there were signs the trespasser was squatting in the house for a while. Maybe the squatter found her dead of a heart attack and didn’t want to stay in a house with a corpse. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if all this business wasn’t the work of the same man…that escaped convict from California. His fingerprints were found in her house, after all, so he was at least there.”