Addie was still sitting on the side of her bed. “I’ve got to get dressed,” she muttered. “What’s wrong with me? My thoughts are all jumbled up, and they seem to come and go.” She went to the bathroom on wobbly legs, and when she returned to her room to dress, she went to the wrong wall for her closet. What is the matter with me? She wondered again.
She really should tell her mother that something wasn’t right, but she could hear them in the kitchen getting breakfast together. They sounded so happy. She had no right to give them something else to worry about – to cause trouble between them again. Surely, she’d be all right as soon as she ate.
She dressed quickly and went to the kitchen and took her seat at the table. Her mother had gone back to her bedroom for something.
A plate of food was set in front of Vicki. She looked at it in bewilderment. “What’s this? Where is my oatmeal?”
“For your information, young lady,” Ben said happily, “that is a cheese and tomato omelet. That’s all I could find. And you may as well get used to my cooking breakfast, because I’ll probably be doing it for a while. Are you going with me or your mother?” he asked.
Vicki looked at Ben. She wasn’t going anywhere with this strange man. What was he doing here? “Mother!” Where was her mother?
“Well, okay, but you don’t have to yell. I’ll see you later,” Ben said as he bent down and kissed Addie on the forehead. “Have a good day at school.” Then he called loudly, “Bye, Della. I’ll call you later. You take care today!”
Vicki watched the man leave, as a strange voice called from somewhere in this strange house.
“Bye, honey, and, Addie, I’ll pick you up after school! Della called back.
The kitchen door closed behind the man, then soon, another door closed somewhere in the house, as Vicki sat at the small table wondering what she was doing in this strange house, and who was the strange man who had kissed her on the forehead? She looked at the plate of food again, and she shuddered her dislike of even the looks of it. But father always said she must eat what was served her. She had never been served anything that looked like this before. She supposed she must try to eat it. He would be unhappy with her if she didn’t. Slowly, she took a bite, but it just wasn’t her kind of breakfast. She took a bite of the toast. It wasn’t even buttered on both sides. She tried the orange juice. It didn’t taste like her orange juice.
Surely, she ought to be leaving for school. Her friends would be waiting for her on the corner. She didn’t want them to go and leave without her. Maybe father would forgive her just this once. She wasn’t hungry enough to eat this unfamiliar food.
She heard a car door close outside. Perhaps it was father. She waited, but no one came. She really had to get started on her way to school. She got up and went out the same door the man had.
Everything looked so different to Vicki. She couldn’t understand it. She went around the house and crossed the small yard to the sidewalk. She had to hurry to the corner of Elm and South Street where Ruthie, Madge, and little Elmo would be waiting for her. She was afraid she was late. She started to run. She should be able to see them up ahead, but there was no one on the corner.
She was late. They must have thought she was sick with another earache. She ran faster. They would have turned down Elm Street. She had to catch up with them.
But when she reached the corner, they were no where in sight. She looked up and down the street. No children were walking to school from any direction. Surely she wasn’t that late. She looked about her. Everything looked different. Something was wrong. She must have turned the wrong corner. She had to find her friends. She turned another corner, running in the direction of the school. She ran, searching the neighborhood as she went, but all she saw were houses that had become old, and unfamiliar buildings where there should be vacant lots. This was not her neighborhood.
How had she gotten here? She was beginning to feel terribly afraid. She was lost. How had she gotten lost? How could she get back home?
She began to panic, running down one street and up another, turning corners at random, and looking for anything that looked familiar. Her breath was coming in short gasps, and there was a pain in her side. She had to get back home. She had to find a street that would take her back home – back to father and little Nicki. She ran until she felt like she couldn’t take another step. Soon there were no more houses, just big buildings that went on for blocks.
Her heart was pounding in fear when she stopped to get her breath. She must find someone who would help her. She looked around at her surroundings. This must be downtown where father often went. Maybe he was here, and she could find him. Maybe somebody would find him for her, or take her home. Surely, somebody knew how to find her home. She was more frightened than she could remember being since the first time Aunt Willy had locked her in a closet, and she wanted to cry so badly. But father would not be proud of her if she cried. She leaned against the cool brick wall of the building where she stood, biting her bottom lip to hold back the tears.
A little lady is always brave, her father had told her, but she wasn’t feeling brave. She was lost and alone. She was scared, and she wanted her father and Nicki. She wanted to go home.
A man’s voice was calling that strange name ‘Addie’ that she had heard before.
Chapter Twenty
Della drove into the driveway and parked beside the walk to the front door. It would be closer getting the groceries inside through the front door. The gray mist was just enough to make her feel damp, and she didn’t want to be out in it any longer than necessary. Although the air was warm and still, she didn’t want the risk of taking a cold on top of just getting over the flu.
She had brought in two loads of groceries and was coming in with her last, a ten pound bag of potatoes in one hand and a gallon of milk in the other, when she heard the phone ringing. She hurried to the kitchen, dropped the potatoes and picked up the receiver just in time to hear a click.
Annoyed, she wondered if it was Ben, or if Addie had forgotten something. The thought of Addie brought to mind how odd she had acted that morning – asking if it was a school day, and what she wanted her to wear, like a small child, and she was certain she had called her ‘mother’ as she was leaving her room. Addie never called her ‘mother’ except on rare occasions like Mother’s Day, or her birthday, or if she awoke in the middle of the night ill.
She would be relieved when it was time to meet with Brother Morris. They couldn’t afford an expensive psychiatrist for Addie, if that’s what it took ... The phone rang again. She shut the refrigerator door, where she was storing fresh vegetables, and rushed to it.
“Hello.”
“Della,” Ben said. “Did you get your shopping done?”
“Yes. I just got in a few minutes ago. Had you called?”
“Nope. It wasn’t me. I just want to see how you’re feeling, and to tell you the strangest thing. You know the house on South Street?”
“Yes.” That was one thing she was never likely to forget. “What about it?”
“Well, I went over there this morning to fix the roof, there were workmen there boarding up the place. They didn’t know why, so I called Grant Cutler, the attorney, and he said the owner had decided not to rent it, that I could come by and pick up my money for the work I’d done.”
“That is strange,” Della said. “Wonder who owns the house?”
“That’s no mystery. Cutler is the Stonegate attorney. Miss Willy owns it. And if she wanted the place boarded up, why didn’t he ask me to do it?”
Della was quiet. She had told Ben briefly, the night before, that Donnie’s grandfather had told Addie who the people in the photograph were, and that the little girl, Vicki, was the other person inside Addie, but that was about all. She was going to have to tell him the rest of it – Julian Dane, Wild Willy, everything.
Now what did this mean – Miss Willy shutting up the house where little Vicki had met her death, and after all these years. Shutti
ng it up like she had shut herself up in that stone mansion. Could there be some connection?
“Della, are you listening to me? Are you still there? Honey, are you okay?”
“Oh, yes, Ben. I’m fine. And that sure is odd – about the house.”
“Well, it sure surprised me. I guess you got our girl to school ...
Hey, I gotta go. Johnson is calling me. I’ll see you later.”
Della stood leaning against the door facing, holding the phone. He said he guessed I got Addie to school? I didn’t take her to school. I thought he did. Now I’ll have to wait until she gets home on her bike before we can go see Brother Morris. She would have to call the parsonage and tell him they would be a little late.
But when she dialed the parsonage, there was no answer. I’ll try again when I’m through putting the groceries away, she thought. But when she did, there was still no answer. She made a ham sandwich since she had managed only a bite of some dry toast and coffee for breakfast. Then she decided to get a wash in the machine before she sat down to try to eat the sandwich.
After gathering items to be washed from the bathroom and her bedroom, she thought she’d better check Addie’s room again. She might have missed something that morning. She opened Addie’s door and gasped in surprise.
The bed was unmade, and the room was strewn with clothes. What on earth had gotten into Addie? This was not like her at all. She stooped to pick up a wet towel on the floor beside the bed and saw Addie’s watch on the bedside table. Addie never went anywhere without her watch. This was getting more confusing by the minute. Then she saw her school books still neatly stacked on her desk, and the morning’s odd behavior of her daughter flashed through her mind again in detail. Della’s confusion turned to fear, and the bundle of wash slowly fell from her arms to the floor.
Addie had acted like a small child – even her speech! Hadn’t it had that slight English accent? Yes. She was sure it had. And Ben had gotten out of the house without taking her to school. “Oh, my!” Della exclaimed. Had they both gone off and left her in the house. Horrified, she ran from the house toward the garage wondering if they had, where was Addie? And more important, who was Addie?
Della moaned aloud when she saw both the new ten speed and Addie’s old bike parked in their places. She looked at her watch. It was almost ten-thirty. Where was her child? Who was her child? She had to call Ben, she thought desperately as she raced back into the house and to the phone.
She looked up the Johnson’s Furniture Store number and quickly dialed. But when she asked for Ben Martin, she was told that he and Mr. Johnson had gone off in the truck. And no, the woman didn’t know where they had gone, or when they would be back, but she would be glad to take a message. Della left word for Ben to call her just as soon as he returned.
Frustrated and afraid, she replaced the phone in its cradle on the wall. She was also angry with herself. The thing that she feared most had happened to Addie. She had no doubt about it, and she had been too wrapped up in telling Ben about the baby to realize it. What should she do now? She had to find Addie. She would call the school. Maybe, just maybe, she had somehow gotten to school. Surely, she was all right, she tried to assure herself.
She picked up the phone to call the school, but then wondered what she would say. She couldn’t ask did Addie Martin come to school today? They were sure to ask who she was, and if she was Mrs. Martin, why did she not know whether Addie was in school or not? She slowly replaced the phone until she could figure what to say. The phone rang with her hand still on it, startling her. She grabbed it to her ear, certain it was Ben.
But her hopes were dashed when a woman’s voice answered her ‘hello’ with, “Are you Mrs. Martin?”
“Yes,” Della answered, disappointed and irritated, knowing it would be someone wanting Ben to do some work.
“Well, I’m Leuty Williams. My husband met your husband in the hardware store one morning last week, and he said he could do some painting for us. And I was just wondering when he could do it?”
“Mrs. Williams,” Della said hurriedly, I don’t know his work schedule. If you’ll give me your phone number, I’ll ...”
“Well, let me tell you one of my problems. I can’t have it done before the last week of April because my sister is coming for Easter, and she won’t leave until then, But I’ve got to get it done before Memorial Day because we’re leaving town and won’t be back for a month.”
Impatiently, Della said, “Mrs. Williams, I’m sure my husband can work it out with you.”
“Well, now, let me ask you this. My bathroom is painted a high gloss enamel, and I was thinking of having it papered. Will the paper stick to that enamel, or will he have to paint something over it before it can be papered? - If I decide to paper it.”
“I don’t know the answer to that, Mrs. Williams.” Della was trying to keep the impatience out of her voice, but she was desperate. “But my husband will. If you’ll just give me ...”
“Well, another thing. I was wondering about color. Right now the whole house is painted white. Do you think I should stick to white or go with pastels? I’d really like a woman’s opinion. You know pastels are more the trend these days.”
Their livelihood depended on these phone calls, Della knew, but she had to get the phone free. She had to find her daughter. “Mrs. Williams, it would seem to me that you need a little color, but my ...”
“Well, now, that’s what I was thinking, but my husband ...”
It took Della six minutes to get the woman’s phone number and another three to say goodbye. She was almost at the point of screaming, or simply breaking the connection. Immediately, she dialed the furniture store’s number again. But Ben hadn’t returned. She left the same message for him to call and hurriedly dialed the parsonage again. There was still no answer there.
She had hoped she might even find some help with their pastor in finding Addie, and surely with Ben, but it seemed it would be up to her. She must not let anymore time lapse before searching for her child.
Addie could be wandering the streets lost and not in her own mind, or, she thought hopefully, she could be at school. That first phone call she had missed could have been Addie needing her books. Addie was very resourceful and responsible. She would probably be at the parsonage ... the appointment! That’s what she would use to call the school.
One of the students answered, “Riverbend High. May I help you?”
“Yes,” Della answered in the most business like voice she could muster up. “I need to get a message to Addie Martin. She’s a sophomore. She has an appointment this afternoon at four that needs to be changed to three-thirty. Could you get that message to her?”
“Let’s see now. It’s for Addie Martin. She needs to change her four o’clock appointment to three-thirty. Hold a moment, please,” the girl said.
Della could hear the girl saying to someone else, “Yes, Addie Martin. Oh, okay.” Then she returned to Della. “I’m sorry, but Addie Martin is on the absentee list today. You might try her home.”
With a sinking feeling, Della thanked her. Deep down, she really hadn’t expected anything more, but she had to check. Now what? A picture of Addie wandering around confused, not knowing who she was or where she was, flashed through her mind. She grabbed her sweater and purse and ran out the front door to the car.
First, she would drive the streets of the neighborhood looking for her. It had been almost four hours, and more fog had moved in. It was not going to be easy. Slowly, she drove up and down streets until she reached the high school, trying to check both sides of the street, and hoping the fog would lift. She drove around the streets of the school, then decided to check the business area around the Square.
When she reached the Square, she drove around it several times just in case Addie could be wandering in and out of stores, but there was no sign of her anywhere. The church was her next idea, simply because she didn’t know anywhere else to go. The fog was making it impossible to see more than a
short distance. Every one was now beginning to slow down, so it helped Della in her slow driving and looking. For almost two hours she searched the streets, until she was almost beside herself. The only place she hadn’t been was River Road and Forest Lane, Addie’s favorite streets, but that was impossible. She was on foot, and they were so far away. Still, she turned the car in that direction.
She might find a phone and try to reach Ben again. But what could he do that she wasn’t already doing? And she would have to explain her worse fear to him – the red hared man that Brother Morris had seen. Addie’s father – the spirit.
Had he found her wandering the streets? Found her? If he was Julian Dane, wasn’t he capable of always knowing where she was? An intense wave of nausea passed over Della, leaving her feeling lightheaded. Nerves, she told herself, and the lack of food was getting to her. She massaged the back of her neck with one hand as she drove as fast as the fog would let her down River Road toward Forest Lane.
She had to stay calm. Her child depended on her. When she drove onto Forrest Lane, she slowed down, searching through the fog, but there was no one in sight. And she was beginning to feel even more lightheaded and desperate. Thoughts of the red haired man, Julian Dane, would not leave her mind, and that reminded her of South Street. That was her last resort.
When she reached South Street, she looked for a boarded up house, and found it in the middle of the third block. She stopped at the curb in front of the house and sat looking at it. It was an innocent enough looking house, but there was no one around.
She looked at her watch and found that she had trouble focusing its small dial. She was not feeling at all well, but she had to go on. It would be almost three-thirty by the time she reached the parsonage. She had to be there just in case Addie did show up. She held little hope that she would, but Brother Morris would know where she should turn now, and she could call Ben.
The Daughters of Julian Dane Page 19