Searching for Yesterday

by Valerie Sherrard

  “And?”

  “We need to time this so Lenny gets the letter next Friday. If he’s going to make a move, I think he’ll do it that night, or maybe Saturday night.

  Annie was staring at me with a funny look on her face. “How will we know where he goes?” she asked.

  “We’ll figure a way to hide out and follow him,” I said, as if that was an easy, everyday thing to do.

  “Follow him ....” Her expression didn’t exactly boost my confidence.

  “If this works, he’ll lead us right to where he hid, the, uh, your ...”

  “My mom’s body,” she said. Her voice was flat, as though what she was talking about had no real connection to her. “I told you: just say what you mean.”

  “Right. Sorry. Anyway, I think it could work.”

  “It could,” she said, but she still sounded doubtful.

  “Well, we’d better hope so, because this is about the best chance we have.”

  Annie’s lack of enthusiasm for the plan bothered me. It might not be the greatest idea in the world, but at least it gave us something to try, which had to be better than sitting around suspecting that Lenny had killed her mother, and doing nothing about it. I had to remind myself that the whole thing must be pretty hard for her to deal with, and that it was natural for her to shut down a little.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “You want me to do what?”

  Greg’s question really didn’t surprise me. After all, I’d just asked him to help follow a possible murderer around in the middle of the night.

  “It’s just that you can borrow your dad’s car, and we really need a car for this,” I said, hoping I was managing to sound casual — as if that might make the whole thing seem perfectly reasonable.

  “Yeah, well forget it. Even if my father was willing to give me the car for something like this — and trust me, he wouldn’t be — there’s no way I’m helping you put yourself in danger. Again.”

  I ignored the very pointed way he’d said, “again.”

  “Greg, think how Annie feels, not knowing what happened to her mother.”

  “You know perfectly well I’d do anything I could to help, but skulking around in the dead of night isn’t on the list. If something happened to you ...”

  He let that trail off while I tried to think of something to say that would change his mind.

  “Look, Shelby, if you really think this guy is going to rush off to someplace he’s hidden a body, then go to the police. They’re trained for stuff like this. Let them handle it.”

  “We thought about that. There’s not enough proof,” I said. “Besides, I think we might technically be doing something wrong, sending him that letter.”

  “Really? You mean extortion is against the law?” he asked.

  “No need to be sarcastic. Besides we’re not actually trying to extort anything — we just want to trick him,” I pointed out. “And if we go to the police they’ll investigate the normal way and that will ruin our chances. We’ll never have another shot to trick Lenny into leading us to Gina Berkley ... and Annie will never be able to see her mother properly buried.”

  Greg shook his head. “Even if I did what you want, there’s no way we could follow this guy at night without him realizing it. Little River is too quiet a place — he’d notice the same car behind him in about three minutes.”

  “So, what if I’ve already got someone else?” I said, happy to be a step ahead of him. “Two cars could tail him without him realizing it.” Annie and I had realized that we’d need more than one car in order to keep from tipping Lenny off. We had our first driver lined up — Kayla!

  Persuading Kayla to do it had been a cinch compared to Greg, but then, Kayla had been Gina’s best friend for years.

  “I must be crazy,” Greg said, which was the same as saying he’d do it. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, kind of butting noses a bit because I was bouncing up and down in excitement.

  Greg laughed a bit at my exuberance but then he went into this long and, quite honestly, boring rave about how we weren’t going to be taking any chances and the kinds of precautions we should take and so on. I nodded and agreed without actually hearing much of it, but that didn’t matter because it’s not like I was going to do anything dangerous anyway. After all, I’m into figuring things out — not risking my neck!

  And that’s more than I can say for Betts. Wow ... I almost said “my former friend, Betts!” That scared me because it sounds like I just accept that we’re not friends anymore, which I definitely do not — or that there’s no hope things will smooth out between us, which I hope and believe will happen.

  But that’s not the point. The point is, two days after I last heard from Betts, Mrs. Thompson showed up at our door. Her face was strained and tired looking and her eyes were scared.

  “Shelby, I’m sorry to intrude ... I just wondered if you happened to have seen Betts today.”

  “Betts is pretty mad at me right now,” I said. “This is about the last place she’d be.”

  “I see.” Her eyes told me she knew that was at least partly her fault, but she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she asked, “Well, is there anywhere else ... I mean, can you suggest somewhere that I could check? Another friend’s place? A favourite hangout?” Her questions surprised me, not because they weren’t reasonable but because she needed to ask them in the first place. You’d think she’d know who Betts’s other friends were, or the places she might happen to go.

  Before I could answer, and much to my horror, Mrs. Thompson started to cry. I hardly knew how to react, except to tell her to come into the kitchen and sit down. She did, almost collapsing into the chair and covering her face with her hands as she sobbed. Feeling useless, I asked her if she’d like a cup of tea. She managed to say “no thank you,” but I felt like I should get her something, so I poured a glass of water from the fridge and sat in on the table in front of her. I added a box of Kleenex a moment later and then sat there helplessly as she plucked out a few, dabbed her eyes, and blew her nose.

  “I don’t know why I’m bothering you with this,” she said when she’d pulled herself together. “After all, it’s not as though I don’t know perfectly well where Betts is.”

  “You do?”

  “She’s with that, that creature.”

  “Kruel? Uh, I mean Edgar?”

  “Who else?”

  “But I thought she wasn’t allowed to see him anymore.”

  “What she is and isn’t allowed to do suddenly means nothing to Betts. I can’t believe the hold he has on her. And from what? A few dates? She’s gone from being a pretty decent kid to lying, sneaking around, and fighting us every step of the way.

  “Last night she said she had a headache and was going to bed. I went to check on her later and she’d climbed out her window and was gone. I lay awake — worried sick — until past three, when I finally heard her come in. And this morning, when I tried to talk to her about it, she called me a ...”

  Whatever Betts had called her mother, Mrs. Thompson apparently decided not to repeat it. Instead, she looked as though she might burst into tears again. I spoke up quickly, hoping to distract her before that happened.

  “Are you sure she’s with him?”

  “I didn’t see her go with him, but yes, I’m quite sure. I was hoping that maybe you could talk to her.”

  “I wish I could help,” I said, then, reluctantly, I filled her in on the gist of my last conversation with Betts.

  Mrs. Thompson shook her head, her face disbelieving. “I can’t believe she’d turn against you like that.”

  “Well, I think she felt betrayed when I told you about Kr— ... Edgar,” I said, trying to keep it from sounding like an accusation. “I’m hoping she’ll change her mind when she cools off.”

  “Of course she will!” Mrs. Thompson said. I wondered how other people could seem so sure about that, when I had such serious doubts that things would ever be the same with Betts and me again,
but I didn’t tell her that.

  “It’s beyond me why Betts would want to go out with this Edgar person anyway,” she continued a moment later.

  “I can sort of see it,” I admitted. “He’s older, he’s got his own car, and he’s in a band. Betts is probably flattered that he’s interested in her.”

  “But why is he interested in her?” Mrs. Thompson sighed. “Either he’s really immature, or he’s got a thing for young girls. Men in their mid twenties don’t date teenaged girls unless there’s some kind of serious flaw.”

  I thought it was pretty creepy, too, but I didn’t want to say so to Mrs. Thompson. In her present state of anxiety, she might easily repeat something I’d said to Betts, making the gap between us even wider.

  “I just don’t know what to do,” she said, looking shattered. Then she added, “There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do.”

  I thought I knew how she felt! Angry and hurt all at once, but mostly helpless. Just the way I felt about how Betts had acted toward me.

  I dreaded the thought of school going back in on Monday and wondered how it would be — alienated from my best friend.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  I’d expected it to be weird at school, but it turned out not to be as much of a problem as I’d expected. Lunch hour was the main time I usually saw Betts, but she never came to the cafeteria all week. Not once.

  It didn’t take long to find out why. Kruel was picking her up at noon. I did my best fielding questions and mumbled something vague anytime someone asked me who he was. Mostly, I tried not to think too much about the whole situation.

  And anyway, I was pretty focused on the plan to trap Lenny. I’d had five days to think of all the things that could go wrong with it and I’d come up with quite a list by the time Friday arrived. What if the letter hadn’t reached Lenny on time? We wouldn’t even know it! Or, what if he didn’t take the bait right away? We only had two possible nights to follow him. And there were a whole bunch of other things, from car trouble to Lenny spotting us.

  I was pretty sure I’d thought of every possible problem, so it was a shock to find out I hadn’t. Kayla had Annie meet her at work and I was ready and waiting for Greg to pick me up when the phone rang.

  “I’m really sorry, Shelby, but my dad just called. Something came up and he’s tied up in Viander. He won’t be home for at least a few more hours.”

  I could hardly believe my ears. Here it was, just an hour before the time we’d agreed to meet and get into place, and we were short a car. I told Greg I had to go figure something out and hung up while he was still telling me not to do anything reckless.

  Reckless, schmeckless, I thought. I have to do something. This could be Annie’s only chance to find out the truth. I can’t let her down.

  I paced back and forth and bit my lower lip. Neither of these things helped, although they did have my nerves so jangled that I nearly jumped out of my jeans when the phone rang again. I grabbed it, hoping against hope that it would be Greg again, telling me something had changed, but it was Annie.

  “I’m here with Kayla. She thought it would be a good idea for all of us to get together and go over things one more time.”

  “I hate to tell you this,” I said, and filled her in on the call I’d just had from Greg. She told me to hang on and relayed the news to Kayla, sounding much more calm about it than I felt. The next voice I heard was Kayla’s.

  “Okay, Shelby, we’re coming to get you. And don’t worry, we’ll figure something out. We have to.”

  It was fifteen minutes before I saw Kayla’s car turn in our driveway. I hurried out the door and slipped into the back seat. “I told my parents I was going out with Greg tonight and I don’t have time to explain things if they drive up,” I said.

  “Gotcha.” Kayla put the car in reverse and backed out onto the street before another word was spoken.

  “So,” I said, “About the driver shortage. I was thinking ...”

  “No need for that,” Kayla. “I called Brandon and he’s going to help.”

  And just like that, the problem was solved. “Did you fill him in on the whole story?”

  “Well, as much as I could in a five-minute phone call. He’s meeting us in the parking lot of Little River High so we can run through the game plan.”

  Brandon was already there when we pulled in. He was out of his car and waiting to climb into Kayla’s before we were fully stopped, sliding into the back with me.

  “The tall man walks at night,” he said solemnly.

  “Brandon, there’s no password or secret phrase,” Kayla said, shaking her head. “I told you, this isn’t a game. It’s serious business; you can’t clown around.”

  “You’re right. Sorry.”

  Kayla went over the plan we’d come up with and then she turned to Annie and I and said, “One of you will have to go with Brandon. Watching in pairs will be most effective. Besides, we’ll need steady communication and it will be best if the drivers can give their full attention to following Lenny — if he goes anywhere. You girls can take care of the phones. Either of you want to volunteer to make the sacrifice and travel with Brandon?”

  “I’m right here,” Brandon said, but he didn’t really sound offended.

  “I don’t mind,” Annie said. “Yeah, well, I was thinking — you’ve put up with doing flower deliveries with him twice this week. You’ve probably suffered enough, Annie. Shelby? Would you mind going with Brandon?”

  “No, of course not,” I said, though I did mind a little. Not because he didn’t seem nice, but I’d only met him once before for a few minutes and that wasn’t nearly enough to make me feel comfortable.

  Anyway, that hardly mattered because someone had to go with Brandon and apparently I was the one. I forced a smile as we switched to his car, which was cold and smelled faintly of some kind of aftershave.

  “Since they’re doing the first hour watching Lenny’s house, we might as well grab a coffee and some snacks,” Brandon said. “First thing I learned in Stakeouts 101 was that you need food.”

  A few moments later we pulled away from the drive-through with coffees and a couple of bags of donuts and cookies. Half a dozen of each, to be exact. Brandon was already biting into his second donut when we pulled up to the curb a block west of Lenny’s place and settled in to wait.

  The plan was that we would rotate every hour, with one car just down the street from Lenny’s, watching his driveway to see if he left the house. If he did, they were to call the second car to let them know which way he’d headed. The second car would begin to tail him at a distance while steady phone contact would allow the two cars to switch now and then, one turning off while the other moved into place. If he was nervous and watching, he’d never realize he was being followed.

  I’d just taken my first sip of coffee when Brandon’s cell phone rang, startling me. I yanked it open and said “What?” with my heart already pounding.

  “Hey,” Annie said, her voice barely above a whisper. I wondered if she thought Lenny had supersonic hearing or something. “I just thought I’d let you guys know that his car is here. So he’s home.”

  “Okay.” I relayed the message to Brandon, who was holding open one of the bags and peering inside. He stuck in his hand and brought out a peanut butter cookie, chomping into it with a satisfied smile. I was starting to wonder if he’d agreed to come because he figured it would be a good excuse to eat junk food.

  “It’ll be a while before he makes a move, if he’s going to,” Brandon said after he’d swallowed the first bite of cookie. “Even though it’s dark out already, there’s still too much movement around town. I’m guessing he’ll wait until there aren’t too many people around.”

  “Depends on where he has to go,” I said. “He might like the idea of having his movements covered up by the regular traffic.”

  Brandon looked across at me. “You could be right,” he said, sounding impressed. “That’s pretty sharp thinking.”

  I alm
ost said something about it not being my first mystery, but I managed to hold back. Nothing worse than coming off as a big bragger after someone gives you a compliment.

  It seemed that Brandon was right anyway, as the minutes ticked by. The time passed really slowly as we made small talk and fiddled with the radio dial, looking for something good to listen to. The worst part was how cold the car got when it was shut off for a while, though there was no choice. We’d all agreed it would look suspicious to leave the cars running, so the routine was to shut them off for ten or fifteen minutes, then drive up and down the road to warm them up before parking again.

  We traded places after the first hour and it was a bit more interesting to watch Lenny’s house. That, at least, gave us a sense of anticipation, like something might happen, but our hour slid by without him so much as stepping a foot out the door, and then it was time to switch again.

  We were about twenty minutes into our second stint away from Lenny’s place when the phone rang. I snatched it to my ear, heart pounding.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I tried to sound calm as I answered the phone, but inside I was feeling a little desperate. One big concern, which I hadn’t mentioned to anyone, was that Lenny would wait until really late at night. That would be a serious problem for me. My parents would worry if I was out too late — which would make them call Greg to find out if there was anything wrong. I didn’t want to think about what would happen after that, but I could guarantee it wouldn’t be good.

  “Hello?”

  “He’s on the move,” Annie told me, voice shaking. “He just backed out of his driveway and turned south. Kayla said for you guys to head south on your street. When he makes a turn we’ll let you know which street and what way he’s gone and you can pick up there.”