The Mysterious Package (A Hannah and Tamar Mystery Book 1)

by Christa Nardi

  “That would be great, Grands!” Tamar replied without hesitation.

  “Definitely,” Hannah seconded. “Anything else planned already? Is it really okay if we go to the Maverick game? We need to tell Matt and Dylan.”

  “Now, Hannah, of course you can go to the game. It’s scheduled late in the afternoon I think.”

  That settled, the girls took over the cleanup. After a long walk with Maxy and Minxy, the girls left messages for Matt and Dylan to make plans. When they joined Grands and Gramps in the family room, they set up their laptops on opposite sides of a card table. They divvied up the many social media options and began their search for Gwen.

  “What’s all that stuff you’re doing, Hannah? Doesn’t look like school work to me.” Gramps mouth twitched as he tried not to smile. He glanced over her shoulder again, then walked around the table to peer at Tamar’s screen.

  “Gramps, this is social media. This one is called Tumblr, but there are lots of others.”

  “Like that Facebook you got us on so you could share pictures and talk to us?”

  “Uh huh, that’s right. Different people use different sites.”

  He settled into his usual armchair and read his paper. Hannah looked over at Tamar who shrugged and kept pecking away on her laptop.

  “You trying to find that girl you met?”

  Hannah and Tamar both paled. Tamar stammered, “Yeah, we are. How’d you know?”

  He smiled to himself. He’d seen them both typing the same thing into different sites. Some things are better left unexplained. He shrugged. “Any particular reason?”

  The girls exchanged glances and Hannah squeaked out, “Just wanted to get in touch with her.”

  Eyebrows raised, he looked from one girl to the other. His eyes twinkled and went back to reading the paper. He continued to observe the two as the night wound down.

  “Did you see Matt’s post? He shared a joke about the Eagles being turkeys, perfect for Thanksgiving,” chuckled Hannah.

  Tamar jumped up and shared her screen with her sister and Grands as a diversion. “Isn’t this dog beautiful?” Minxy wagged her tail at the photo generating laughter all around.

  CHAPTER 3 Shopping

  Sunday was bright and crisp, much as expected for late November in Vermont. Hannah checked the local and society sections of the Sunday paper for Gwen or anyone else named Singleton. No luck.

  “Grands, do you know a family named Singleton? Maybe through your work at the library?”

  “Is that the name of the girl at the train station? You didn’t find her online?”

  Hannah nodded to the first question and shook her head to the second. “No luck so far. Her family may be in Rutland or some other small town nearby. Nothing in the paper for Singleton.”

  “Well, let me see what I can find out. Sometimes the face-to-face social network works better, if not as efficiently. But girls, let’s keep this our secret. I don’t want Gramps to make it into a big deal. Ever since he retired, he gets bored and makes little things into big things.”

  After the girls acknowledged her request, Grands continued, “Now, could you please clean up while I get ready?”

  The girls smiled back in agreement. They had just finished clearing the table and putting away dishes when Gramps came through the back door with the dogs. A light dusting of snow dotted Gramps’ hair and the dogs’ coats. The girls grabbed the “his” and “her” doggy towels off the nearby hooks and helped dry the dogs before Gramps let them have the run of the house.

  “So, girls, what’s the story with this girl at the station? You didn’t get her contact information then, and now you want to find her? What’s up?” Gramps had on his ‘no-nonsense now’ face. He hadn’t been a cop all those years without sensing when something didn’t add up, retired or not. He stroked his moustache and stared at Hannah.

  Eyes wide, it was Hannah’s turn to stammer. “She … she gave something to Tamar and we want to give it back.” Pleased with her impromptu explanation, Hannah smiled. Tamar nodded her agreement.

  “What did she give you?”

  “A package. A small package. Just a package.” Tamar avoided her grandfather’s eyes.

  Gramps’ voice had an edge to it as he asked, “A package? What’s in the package?”

  “No idea. We didn’t open it.” Tamar shrugged her shoulders.

  Gramps leaned back and studied the ceiling for a brief moment. He took a deep breath. “Girls, you don’t know who she was, or what she gave you? It could be illegal or dangerous. We’ll talk about this later, Grands is coming back. Shh.”

  Gramps dropped them off at the mall with Grands. Not a fan of shopping, he preferred to pick them up later. The mall had the usual fare with major anchors at Macy’s and Nordstroms, as well as some local stores. Holiday decorations were up and canned holiday tunes filled the air. Santa was due to arrive on Wednesday and Black Friday sale signs were posted in almost every store window.

  In one of the local boutique shops, Hannah and Tamar each picked out new sweaters. Tamar immediately fell in love with a slate blue, v-neck sweater. Hannah tried on at least six different sweaters – all in shades of turquoise.

  “Now I remember why it’s no fun shopping with you. You take forever to decide.”

  “And you grab the first thing you see.” She looked in the mirror. “It’s so hard to decide.”

  “Well, if you ask me... I think Matt would prefer the view with a low-cut neckline instead of that bulky turtleneck.”

  Hannah blushed and returned to the dressing room. Tamar suppressed a smile when Hannah took her selection to the register.

  While they were buying sweaters, Grands found a pair of shoes for herself and a flannel shirt for Gramps in another store. After shopping for a while, they went to the food court and the three of them savored fresh-made pretzels.

  “I just love my sweater, Grands. Most of the stores and stuff are the same back home, but that sweater shop had a lot of sweaters, vests, and shawls. Oh! Hannah, look over there. Isn’t that Gwen?”

  Tamar took off in Gwen’s direction without another word. Of the sisters, she was the more impulsive.

  “Stay here and guard our pretzels, Grands.” Hannah scrambled to catch up with Tamar.

  Gwen was once again dressed to the hilt from her boots to her Burberry coat. All smiles, she waved her hands every which way as she talked with two other girls. The three of them could have passed for models for designer shops. Perfect hair with perfect make up and perfect clothes.

  Tamar burst into the group. “Gwen, I’m so glad we found you.”

  Gwen’s smile disappeared and she stared down her nose at Tamar. “Excuse me. Who are you?”

  “Remember? The train from Maryland? You gave me a package when we pulled into Rutland. How can I get it back to you?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t remember you. And I think I’d remember if I gave you something to hold for me, don’t you?” Gwen turned her body toward Tamar and Hannah and winked. “You must have me confused with someone else.” With that she turned her back on them and re-engaged with her friends.

  Red-faced, Tamar looked at Hannah. Hannah exaggerated the effort to close her mouth with her hand, and pulled Tamar back toward Grands before Tamar could get herself in trouble.

  As the girls sat back down, Grands asked, “So how’s your friend? I’m so glad you found her.” Grands looked around. “Where did she go?”

  “Don’t know, Grands,” Tamar answered.

  Hannah shrugged. Grands eyebrows arched, however after a quick glance at the girls’ faces, she didn’t pursue it.

  While Grands was taking a short nap, Gramps came up to the girls’ room. “We need to talk about this package and that girl. Grands said you saw her at the mall?”

  “She was hostile and cagey. She denied giving me the package and then she winked.” Tamar’s voice got louder as she spoke and she waved her arms around.

  Gramps moved his hand up and down. If she didn’t lo
wer her voice, Grands would hear them.

  Hannah confirmed what Tamar said. “She obviously didn’t want to talk to us in front of her friends. She’s definitely a snob. We didn’t push it. Unfortunately, because she pretended she didn’t know us, we still don’t have any way to contact her.”

  Gramps shook his head. “Okay, where is this package?” he demanded.

  Tamar went to the dresser and pulled out the small package. It was wrapped in brown paper, about the size of a cell phone, but much thicker, like two or three stacked on top of each other. She handed it to Gramps.

  His nose began to twitch. “Musty.” Then he sneezed so loud Hannah and Tamar jumped and then laughed. Gramps smiled at their reaction.

  “It’s not very big. You know what, I’ll take this to a friend of mine. If we can get an x-ray, we might be able to figure out what’s inside. It could be some kind of contraband. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can find out about this Gwen Singleton.”

  The girls exchanged looks and Gramps put the package in his pocket. “You don’t need to mention this to Grands. I don’t want her to worry.”

  Despite Hannah’s best efforts to read her history assignment, her mind wandered back to the train ride, Gwen, the package, and the man. Her phone rang and she put all of it, including the history book, on hold to talk to Matt.

  “Hi! I got your text. Sorry I didn’t call earlier. Just got home from practice.”

  “Hi yourself. I figured you were busy with practice. Is this an important game, or just the traditional rivalry kind of thing?”

  Matt chuckled. “It’s a little of both. Thanksgiving we always play the Eagles. This year the game’s at home so that adds a little hype. It’s also my last game as a Maverick.”

  “Wow. That must be hard.”

  “Hard to believe. Four of us are graduating. We’ve played together since middle school. Next year we could be on opposing teams. It’s not even December. Yet, the last game? It makes it all seem more real.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. There will be a lot of ‘lasts’ this year, but also lots of ‘firsts’ in the year to come.”

  Matt exhaled deeply. “It will be a great game. One for the memory books. And I got your message. Glad you and Tamar are coming to the game. I gave your tickets to Dylan. Hopefully, after that, we can get together. Are you up for skiing on Friday? Killington?”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Okay, well, I have to go. I’ll try to call tomorrow after practice.”

  Hannah disconnected and shared the information with Tamar. Minutes later, Dylan called Tamar to say hi and confirm their plans.

  Later that night, the girls again tried finding Gwen through the Internet. With a first name, they weren’t successful at all. Google pulled up one 50-year-old Gwen Singleton’s online ad for a matchmaking service. Singleton by itself, even narrowed to the Rutland area, yielded too many possibilities to sort through.

  CHAPTER 4 Gramps Comes Through

  Monday morning Grands put the girls to work. Their first job was to clean out the pantry and check what was there against a list Grands made. In the meantime, Grands cleaned out the freezer so there would be plenty of room for groceries and leftovers.

  “I think we’ll have a smorgasbord tonight. I found some chicken and pork chops that I’d forgotten about. I can bake them up with onions and peppers, and maybe some rice. What do you girls think?”

  “Sounds delish, Grands. You’ve got plenty of rice here. Do you have a rice cooker? Ours works great.”

  “Now, Hannah, don’t you remember my birthday last year? It was a gift from all of you. I use it all the time.”

  “That’s right. I forgot all about that. We’re almost done here with your list. Where should we put the stuff that’s expired?”

  “You can put it in the trash if it’s more than a month or so past the date. Within the month, put it in the garage in a bag. We’ll take it to the homeless shelter when we go get groceries. Speaking of which, while Gramps and I are gone, could you dig out the good dishes and rinse them off? You can stack them in the dining room once they’re dry.”

  During the day, they completed the chores and then attacked their school work. Tamar heard from Dylan again and they made plans to go skating after dinner. Matt had practice, so Hannah declined. She didn’t want to be a third wheel and she wasn’t quite as skilled on skates as Tamar.

  When Grands and Gramps unloaded the groceries, the girls helped put everything away. It didn’t take long. They sorted which foods to keep in the main refrigerator and which to stash in the one in the garage. Some of the smaller items, mostly water and soda, were stored in the small one in the loft.

  “Why don’t you girls come for a stroll with me and the dogs while Grands gets dinner going?” His tone told them it was not exactly an invitation, so they hurried to bundle up. As he leashed the dogs, Minxy and Maxi jumped around, excited.

  “Thank you, girls, for all the help. Your Grands and I appreciate it.”

  Tamar shivered as much from tension as the crisp air as they walked down the lane. The pine and other trees created a dimly lit tunnel. The dogs were in the lead and took their humans for a rigorous walk. Tamar and Hannah exchanged glances and waited for Gramps. Curious what Gramps found out, Hannah grew increasingly impatient. It was all she could do to remain silent.

  At last, Gramps cleared his throat. “The package does not have any metal in it. As far as the technician could tell it contains at least two objects, probably plastic. She guessed it’s most likely paper or cloth around them or both. Other than sneezing, the package didn’t elicit a positive response for drugs or explosives from the police dogs.”

  He made sure the girls were listening before he continued. “There’s no way to determine what’s inside without opening it – it could be something stolen – but it’s not contraband as far as we can tell. We don’t have any reason to open it. You know who it belongs to or at least who you think it belongs to.”

  Both girls started talking at once. “Where is the package?” “What do we do next?” “Did you find Gwen Singleton?”

  “One at a time, girls. The package is at the station. The Captain will hold on to it so you aren’t accused of stealing whatever is in the package. That’s also why it’s not being opened. It is still sealed, exactly as it was when you got it.”

  He looked his granddaughters in the eyes, one after another. “The next step is what you’ve been trying to do. Find the young woman and return the package to her. Or at least give her the opportunity to get the package back.”

  “How do we do that? We haven’t had any luck finding her.”

  “Do you remember passing that private school between Rutland and here? Highland Park?”

  The girls exchanged glances.

  “Does she go there?” Hannah asked.

  “No. Greyson Singleton is the Director of the school. He has two daughters and a son. One of his daughters is Lindsey Gwen. Turns out she goes by Gwen. She was named after her mother and uses her middle name.”

  “Gramps, do you have her number? Maybe we can call her and arrange to give her back her package.”

  “Cell numbers aren’t available the way landlines used to be. The school has a landline but that would only get you to her father. That might not be the way to go depending on what’s in the package.”

  Tamar scrunched her face, confused. “Like what?”

  “It could be evidence of wrong doing by her father. Or someone else.” He shrugged. “Or it could be nothing at all. If at all possible, the package needs to go back to her. She’s an adult. I assume she’s home for Thanksgiving.”

  “Is she in school somewhere?”

  “She’s a freshman at Georgetown. That’s why she was on the train with you girls.”

  “Well, at least that part of the mystery is solved. I’ll try to find her through the Internet with Lindsey or her initials while you and Dylan go skating. Strange though, if she wanted to connect she’d use the name m
ost people know her by. Then again, she might use a different name to try to be more private.”

  Tamar suggested, “You might be able to find an email address for her in the Georgetown directory. You can search for Lindsey or Lindsey Gwen. Or maybe some other mention of her in the Georgetown newspaper.”

  The dogs barked at the three of them. Less tense but chilled, they returned to the house just in time for dinner. Grands already had the food on the table when they sat down.

  “Hannah, it’s too bad Matt has practice. What are your plans for tonight?”

  “It’s okay, Grands. I’m going to try to finish up my homework. That should keep me busy. Matt will have more time after Tuesday. I don’t want to have any homework left.”

  “Speaking of school, how are the college applications coming? UVM is a good school and you could use our address for in-state tuition.”

  “You’re right, Grands, and I applied to UVM. I also applied to schools in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Right now, all that’s left is the wait. First to see where I’m accepted, and then if and where I’m awarded a scholarship.” Hannah sighed and fished for a diversion. “Tamar, what time is Dylan coming to get you?”

  As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Tamar went to the door and came back with Dylan. A lanky teen with curly brown hair and brown eyes, he exchanged pleasantries with Grands, Gramps, and Hannah. With the courtesies out of the way, Tamar and Dylan left for the skating rink. Gramps went out to his workshop, and Hannah helped Grands in the kitchen.

  “I asked my friend Bette – you know, Mrs. Irvin – if she knew any Singletons. She told me there are a couple of families named Singleton by Rutland, one around Highland Park, and even one in Montpelier. She described them as very well respected and well off. Does that sound about right?”

  “Definitely the well off part. Gwen was very well dressed. Did Mrs. Irvin know which family had a daughter about my age?” Gramps had said not to say anything to Grands so Hannah didn’t want to let on what they knew. Besides they still needed to contact her.