The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  At the mention of her attacker, Naidenne shuddered.

  “Did Deputy Williams say whether the man has been captured?” she asked in a small voice.

  Scott could imagine what was going through her mind and wanted to reassure her.

  “No, but that guy is long gone from here. He probably drove Judy’s car clear to Canada before these local yokels even took your disappearance seriously.”

  “I hope so. I’d like to know when he’s caught, though.”

  “Of course. But you don’t need to worry. He couldn’t be stupid enough to come back here again. Although I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on him,” Scott said, through gritted teeth.

  “I can’t imagine you ever being violent, Scott, no matter how much you might want to,” she said, standing and putting her good arm around his neck.

  Scott kissed her deeply, then held her for a long moment.

  “You’d better get to your office, dear. Whether you decide to write another sermon or apply for another pulpit is up to you. Whither thou goest, I will go…or stay, with you,” Naidenne said.

  Rosamund came in the back door, eager to share her future decisions with her family.

  “I’ve had a good look around Len’s condo, and we’ve discussed everything, including finances and retirement and we’ve decided to buy a house,” she announced as she entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, Rose, that’s wonderful! Will you let me help you find your dream home?” Naidenne asked.

  “Of course,” Rosamund replied.

  “Congratulations, Sis. See you girls later,” Scott said and went out the back door on his way to church to try to decide his own future.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Gwennie Barthlett, Peggy Burt and Judy Falls were sitting at Judy’s kitchen table, surrounded by scissors, glue guns and snips of pink-colored construction paper. They were crafting nut cups in the form of tiny diapers for the next day’s baby shower.

  “Who is in charge of the games?” Gwennie asked. “I know some really clever ones, if anyone needs suggestions. There’s this one where you smear peanut butter or creamed peas in preemie diapers and…”

  “I’m sure Eskaletha has all that under control,” Peggy interrupted.

  “I think she’s planning a more, um, sedate party, in consideration of all Naidenne’s been through, lately,” Judy added.

  “This whole town has been through a lot. First, that rash of break-ins, then Mrs. Oldham’s funny death…I don’t mean ‘funny ha-ha’, just funny-odd, and then Naidenne getting snatched by that escaped convict,” Gwennie said. “Has anybody heard just what all he did to her while he had her in his clutches?”

  “I don’t think we need to even think about that,” Peggy replied. “I wish we would hear the police have captured him and thrown him back into Pelican Bay, though.”

  “They couldn’t keep him there, before,” Gwennie said.

  “I just want to know he won’t ever come back here,” Judy commented.

  *

  Scott was in his study at the church, staring in consternation at his old-fashioned computer monitor, trying to compose a cover letter to send with his pastor’s profile to the pulpit committees on his list.

  He had a hard time selling himself as the best man for the job, while feeling his failure here in Bannoch so bitterly. He was convinced, if only he had been able to reach these people, they never would have considered treating their pastor with such disdain.

  Someone rapped on the office door and he quickly minimized the computer display.

  “Come in,” he called.

  Orville Locke entered the study, head down and with his grimy baseball cap in his hands.

  “Hiya, Pastor. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see how your missus is doing.”

  “My wife is as well as can be expected, Locke,” Scott responded, without getting up.

  “That’s good to hear. You mind if I set down?”

  Scott nodded toward the chair, without smiling.

  Locke cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hat but didn’t speak.

  “What can I do for you, Locke? Is something on your mind?”

  “Yeah, sort of, I guess,” he replied. “Uh, well, there is something…I just wanted to make sure you weren’t still miffed about our little joke at the last board meeting.”

  Orville spoke quickly, without making eye contact.

  “Joke! What joke?” Scott almost shouted, making Orville cringe.

  “Why, that silly business about the roof, of course,” he blustered. “You never thought we were serious, did you?”

  “Mr. Locke, I have no doubt you were all very serious. You were united in your determination to take the cost of a new roof for the church out of my compensation, and I am serious, now, too. I’m so serious that I am considering turning in my resignation.”

  “Now, Pastor, I know you’ve been under a lot of stress with what happened to your wife and all, but, Scott, how can you think we’d do something like that after all these good years together? We’re your family, after all.”

  Scott was dumbfounded.

  After taking in what his trustee was saying, he stood and came around his desk to stand beside Orville’s chair.

  “Is this the official position of the entire board, or are you speaking only for yourself?”

  “Well, some on the board maybe got the impression you might not have appreciated our little joke and asked me to come clear the air a bit. We all talked it over, and, yeah, it’s unanimous. We’re real sorry if you took our bit of fun the wrong way.”

  Scott looked steadily at Orville until the man met his gaze before speaking.

  “If you are representing the board, here, then I accept your apology. It took some courage to come to me and admit your misdeed…”

  “I didn’t say…” Orville interrupted.

  “And, since we are in agreement that you all behaved abominably toward your pastor, can I assume there will be no repeated threats to cut my salary in the future?” Scott continued without pausing.

  Orville squirmed, looking everywhere but at his pastor, then shrugged and nodded.

  “Thank you, Orville. I appreciate you coming here today. I confess I wasn’t looking forward to leaving Bannoch. This town and this church are home, and most of the people here are, as you say, family.”

  Scott held out his hand and Locke, recognizing he was being dismissed, rose and shook it limply, before going out.

  Scott walked back around his desk where he settled down with a deep sigh of relief.

  He sensed he’d just witnessed a shift in the dynamics of the congregation.

  He was filled with hope as he lifted up a prayer of thanks before picking up the phone to relay his good news to Naidenne.

  *

  Driving back to town after a hugely successful shopping trip, Bunny passed a pickup truck parked on the shoulder of the northbound side of the highway.

  “Isn’t that the same pickup that was slowing everyone down earlier today?” Shirley asked.

  “Sure looks like it. I don’t see anyone in it, though.”

  “Well, if that driver is trying to hitchhike, promise me you won’t pick him up.”

  *

  Carver Schramm was on foot, once again. The stolen truck had broken down shortly after the ladies passed it earlier in the day.

  He’d tried to figure out what was wrong and fix it, but Schramm’s tool of choice had always been a knife. He was completely out of his element under the hood of a truck.

  Eventually giving up on the pickup as a lost cause, he was forced to retreat once more to the shelter of the woods bordering the highway, this time carrying two heavy bags of provisions.

  “Why the Hell can’t I get away from this place? It’s like I’ve got a curse on me,” he fumed as he trudged along, stopping frequently to rest his arms and shoulders.

  He was still many miles south of Tillamook, where he hoped to find another car to steal, so he could fina
lly leave Oregon and all his bad luck behind him.

  *

  Dinner at the Davidson’s that night was festive.

  Len and Rosamund were excited about buying a new home, and Naidenne was enjoying the opportunity to give them some pointers.

  Scott felt a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

  The prospect of leaving Bannoch had been casting a gloom over him which wasn’t completely lifted by Naidenne’s rescue. He’d felt guilty about not sharing his troubles with her, too. She was right that he’d been wrong to try to shield her.

  “So, you have a big party tomorrow, eh?” he asked during a lull in the conversation.

  “That’s right. The Club ladies are throwing a baby shower for me, isn’t that sweet?”

  “Are you going, too, Rosie?”

  “No, I wasn’t invited, but I am sure the church will want to have one, too. So, I’ll get my chance to welcome this precious new baby.”

  “You should come, Rose. The ladies would be happy to have you,” Naidenne said.

  “No, thanks. I’ve already got plenty to do tomorrow.”

  “That’s right. I’ve lined up a couple of places for us to look at tomorrow afternoon,” Len said.

  “Hey, I thought I was your realtor,” Naidenne protested.

  “Oh, you’ll be the realtor of record, don’t you worry. I lined these up before we knew you’d feel like taking us on. If we decide to make an offer on either of ‘em, you’ll get to handle the deal.”

  “Where are these places?” Scott asked.

  “One is not far from here; right on the edge of town, but the other is about half-way to Tillamook. I’m not sure Len will want such a long commute. It will have to be pretty special to get us to move so far out,” Rosamund replied.

  “I’ve got a big day tomorrow, and I’m pretty tired. I hope you will excuse me if I go up to bed, now. I’m not sure if my lack of energy is because of all the, you know, or from the pregnancy, but I will be so happy when I get my strength back,” Naidenne said as she reached to carry her dishes into the kitchen.

  “Leave those, Deenie,” Scott said. “I’ll take care of the clean-up, tonight.”

  “You heard the man, Rosie. Let’s you and me take a little moonlight stroll before heading up to bed,” Len suggested, standing and holding out his hand to his bride.

  “If Scott doesn’t mind…there are a lot of dishes and I’m afraid I left the kitchen in a mess.”

  “You honeymooners just go, Sis. I think I can handle everything on my own. I’m a big boy,” Scott said with a smile and turned to kiss his wife on the cheek.

  As Naidenne turned away, he patted her bottom, gently, saying, “You go on up, dear. I’ll be along shortly.”

  *

  Walking hand in hand, Rosamund and Len strolled along the lanes near the parsonage as a fat, yellow late September moon hung in the plush night sky.

  Stopping at the intersection with a road leading down to the main highway, the couple admired the view of the twinkling lights of the town below them and the dark ocean beyond.

  “We have so much to be thankful for, Len.”

  “That we do, my love. That we do.

  *

  At the main Sheriff’s Office in Tillamook, Detective Rasmussen was talking to the sergeant on duty.

  “We’ve had a report of a man matching our guy being seen working on a disabled truck on the highway between here and Bannoch this afternoon. When it was checked out, the troopers found a pickup registered to one of those meth cookers we found in the burned-out barn, earlier today. Looks like our perp may have had a hand in that, too. At the very least, he stole their truck.”

  “Do you think he’s still in the area, then?” the sergeant asked.

  “If the witness was correct, he was seen this afternoon and, now, he could be on foot. I want as many deputies as you can spare to begin a house to house search, right away. I’ve notified the FBI of the sighting, so their men will be out there looking, too. Don’t get in each other’s way. We’ve got to get this guy before he does any more damage.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Carver Schramm was fed up, frightened, and dangerous. After a night huddled against the damp, rough bark of a pitch-dripping pine tree, feeling bugs crawling up his pants legs and jumping at each and every menacingly indecipherable noise in the darkness, he was exhausted, his temper on a hair trigger.

  “I just hope I run into somebody today,” he growled. “Any yokel crossing my path dies.”

  Trying to keep out of sight while staying as close to the highway as possible, so as not to get lost, was forcing him to slog through underbrush and rough terrain.

  The tattoos on his arms were crosshatched with scratches and smeared with trickles of blood. Irritating insect bites on his back and neck added to his foul mood.

  He had eaten the major portion of the food in the sacks and jettisoned the rest as not worth carrying.

  A heavy marine layer obscured the sun and dripped damply from the trees as he passed under them. The gray-misted day was a perfect backdrop for Schramm’s black thoughts.

  A large collie broke from the trees above the deer track Carver was following. Catching the fugitive’s scent, the dog barked and began to trot nearer.

  Schramm gripped his knife, tightly, while waiting for the animal to reach him where he crouched in a brushy hiding place.

  Before the dog was within range, it stopped with ears perked and a whistle pierced the quiet. The obedient canine bounded away.

  Schramm held his breath in anticipation of the appearance of the dog’s owner. After a few moments when he neither saw nor heard anything, he relaxed and walked on, adjusting his route further down the hill. This brought him to a bluff behind a rather remotely situated house at the end of a winding private drive.

  It was close to midday and Carver was hungry. He decided to check out the house for something to eat, before moving on.

  *

  “Come on, Rosie. I want to see this place and get back to work in time for my staff meeting this afternoon,” Len urged his wife.

  “I’m almost ready. I had to find my camera. I want to take pictures, so we can look at them, later, when trying to decide where to buy.”

  “Doesn’t your cell phone take photos?” Len asked.

  “I think so. I’m afraid I haven’t quite figured out how to send them to my computer, so I can look at them. The phone’s screen is so tiny, it hurts my eyes,” Rosamund replied.

  “I don’t have time right now, but this evening, if you remind me, I’ll show you how to take advantage of all your phone’s features. No point in paying good money for all the bells and whistles, if you aren’t going to use them.”

  “Thanks, dear. I’m ready. We’re leaving now, Naidenne,” she called up the stairs.

  Naidenne came out onto the landing.

  “Have a nice drive, you two. I wish I could go with you,” Naidenne said.

  “Well, you have fun at your baby shower. We’ll tell you all about the house this evening. We’d better leave, now, Rose,” Len said and held the door open for her.

  “Bye!” Naidenne called before returning to her room to finish changing clothes for the party. It was getting hard to find outfits to fit her now rapidly changing shape.

  Discarding a pair of slacks that she couldn’t zip up one-handed, she shrugged and reached for a loose beige knit shift hanging in the back of her closet.

  “I guess it is lucky I never sent this dowdy thing to Goodwill, after all,” she said with a smile. “This weekend I’m going to ask Scott to take me to the mall in Tillamook to shop for maternity clothes, sling or no sling.”

  Awkwardly tying a royal blue patterned scarf around her neck in a loose knot, she decided the shift didn’t look half bad, after all.

  She rearranged her curls, swiped a smear of gloss on her lips and skipped down the stairs just as Scott came in to take her to the baby shower.

  “You must be more careful on the stairs, De
enie, and hold onto the bannister. You’re walking for two now, remember,” Scott grinned.

  “Yes, dear,” Naidenne replied, in mock obedience, before smiling up for a kiss.

  “I’m sorry you need to play taxi today. I know you were busy at church,” she said.

  “Not a problem. I’m happy to break away for a quick smooch with my wife, anytime.”

  “Do we have to wait until my car is found before we can file an insurance claim and replace it? What if… that man… drove it off a cliff or into the sea, or something?”

  “I’m waiting for a call from our insurance agent about that. When he gets back to me, I’ll let you know what he says. I wish we could afford to just replace the car, but, well, you know how it is. Staying here in Bannoch is emotionally and spiritually satisfying, but not such a boon to the budget, I’m afraid.”

  “We managed before and we’ll manage, now. God always gives us what we need,” Naidenne said.

  “Thanks for the sermonette,” Scott responded. “Let’s get you to that shower. Not a good idea for the guests of honor to be late.”

  “Guests? Are you staying, too?”

  “Heaven forbid! No, I meant you and our daughter. You’ll never catch me at a baby shower. I’m allergic to giggly gossip and girly games,” he teased.

  *

  Bunny Banks wrestled a large package out of the trunk of her car and lugged it to Eskaletha’s front door, along with a bag of smaller gifts slung over her shoulder.

  Unable to reach the shoulder-high doorbell with her hands so burdened, she tried depressing the button with her shoulder. When that didn’t work, rather than setting down her packages, she slipped off one of her flats, backed up a few paces and rang the bell with her toes, nearly losing her balance, just as Olivette walked up behind her and put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

  “Now this is the first time I have ever seen anyone do that,” Olivette said.

  “Oh, I didn’t see anyone coming,” Bunny responded. “Sorry about that. Guess I should have waited. Patience has never been my highest virtue, I’m afraid.”