“This will be nice,” I agreed. “You really don’t mind not choosing something new?” I asked the younger girl.
“I like this material a lot, but could I look in the pattern book for a different kind of skirt?”
“Sure,” I answered. “Are we ready to go? Let’s take this along.” I refolded the fabric and slid it into the bag it had been stored in.
Len held out some folded clothing. “Here are the shirts you loaned the girls.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Are we ready, then?”
“I get to sit in back with Paddy,” Sunny sang out. Clearly, when the dog was around, I had second billing.
“Fine with me; I’ll take the front,” said Star.
“Hold on,” I said, “We have to drop Paddy off at the pet store before we shop. He’ll get some exercise there, so we’ll be able to work a little bit when we get to my house.”
Without too much fuss or delay we delivered Paddy to Fur and Fins, and continued to the fabric shop. Although both girls had been in a store full of bolts of material before, it wasn’t something they had done very often, and they were delighted to just walk around looking at pretty fabrics for more than a few minutes. I learned that Sunny liked blues and Star was partial to orange, which seemed odd to me, given her reserved nature, but I knew it was an “in” color. Maybe she had hopes of fitting into her social group more easily.
Star had her own money and she gravitated almost immediately to an expensive, soft, salmon-colored blend with a nice drape. She went in search of a pattern that would work with the fabric. Since she seemed to have a pretty good idea of what she wanted, I focused on Sunny who was flipping through the big pattern book, clearly not knowing what to look for.
I showed her how to find the section with girls’ clothes, and then suggested she look at the extra-simple patterns. She pointed to a skirt that was fuller than the one in Star’s former pattern, with a sash belt, and asked me if that was OK. I told her, with some relief, that it would be a great choice. I thought the style was more suitable for a pre-teen than the shorter, straighter skirt. I pulled the fabric we had brought along out of the bag, folded it and hand gathered one edge to mimic the lines of the pattern. Sunny stood in front of a mirror and when I held the “skirt” in front of her she squealed her pleasure.
Meanwhile, Star asked me to come look at a pattern. She had selected a tunic with slightly flared sleeves that could be worn over pants, with or without a belt. It would be beautiful in the salmon fabric, and wouldn’t be out of style in six months. Star apparently had natural fashion sense. She wanted to know if I thought the front opening would be too hard, and I assured her that we could do the placket together.
Of course, we also had to select thread, interfacing, and a zipper for the skirt.
We made our purchases, picked up the dog, and arrived back at my house just in time to think about lunch. I didn’t have hopes of getting much actual sewing done today, but after we ate (salad again, by advance request, and turkey sandwiches) we took the shopping bags upstairs and began to figure out which pattern pieces we would need.
I remembered that Sunny had said she liked puzzles, and as soon as I explained how the pieces were labeled she instantly grasped how they went together. Star seemed to struggle with the concepts a little more, but I pulled a caftan out of my closet to show her, and she saw how the placket front facing would work. We lightly pressed the paper patterns, and then I sent them both outside to play with Paddy for a while. Frankly, I needed a break.
Chapter 13
Star and Sunny were almost too good to be true. Although I was tired, it was not because the girls were a trial. They were polite, neat, and hard-working. I thought about that as I stacked the smoothed pattern pieces, setting them aside to await our next sewing session. The girls were probably on their best behavior with me. Perhaps their grandfather had warned them to be good, or maybe they were somewhat like newly-adopted orphans—afraid they’d be sent back if they weren’t perfect. It made me feel special, but it was also intimidating. I couldn’t live up to such a high standard for the long haul. Well, maybe I could pull it off one day a week. But I also knew that a perfect adult wasn’t what they needed. And I didn’t want to be a mother substitute.
My Chad was almost grown. I was fine with that. My thoughts drifted to Chad’s summer pursuit, researching moose on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. I hoped I’d hear from him sometime soon, but they only had intermittent phone service where he was, and I knew that I might not hear anything until he arrived for a scheduled visit in late August. He hadn’t yet seen my house in Dead Mule Swamp.
Thinking of mothers, I guessed that Sunny didn’t remember much, if anything, about Angelica. But, I wasn’t sure why Star had nothing at all to say. Surely she had memories of her mother. She hadn’t said a word when Len was pointing out the pictures that morning. Len implied that they still saw their father occasionally. I wondered if I should try to get them to talk about their parents. Then I wondered how to make that happen. Should I just ask? I wasn’t sure I was up to the task of helping children with serious trauma in their past.
I crossed through my bedroom and looked out a window on the side of the house facing the swamp. I couldn’t see the girls or the dog. They must have taken the trail. I wished they had let me know that they were leaving the yard, but I hadn’t told them they should, so I could hardly complain. And hadn’t I just been grousing that they seemed too perfect? I glanced at my watch and realized I’d been mulling over the situation for nearly a half hour. What on earth had the girls found to do?
I saw a movement in the trees to my left, on the other corner of the yard from the trail, and Star jogged into the mowed area. She looked a little breathless and flustered. “Miss Ana,” she called.
I pushed open the window and answered, “Up here, Star.”
“You need to help us get Paddy. He’s found something and we can’t get him to come back to the house with us. He’s acting really weird.”
“All right, I’ll be right down.”
This seemed odd. The dog had stayed close to the girls when he’d been out with them before. I hurried down the stairs and out the kitchen door to meet Star. Just then, Paddy and Sunny burst from the same direction as Star had come. Paddy had a yellow circular object in his mouth. It didn’t look right for one of his tennis balls, and in fact, the ball in current use was practically at my feet. Sunny was once again chasing the dog and yelling. It was pretty much the same scene as a week ago, but with less wet mud. And a different prize.
“Come, Paddy,” I said in my sternest dog-trainer voice. He actually obeyed and came to me, wagging his tail. “Sit.” He sat. I could hardly believe my luck, but I pushed it a little farther, “Give.” He dropped the object at my feet, and I picked it up. He looked at me with his liquid brown eyes, and I checked my pocket for treats. I did have one, and rewarded Paddy for his exceptionally good performance.
The yellow thing was a rubbery band about a half-inch wide, and maybe two-and-a-half inches in diameter. It looked like one of those bracelets you could buy to support cancer research or some other cause. It seemed to be scratched or roughed up. I brushed some of the dirt off, and in the process the band rolled so that the inside became the outside and I realized there were words inscribed in the rubber.
I was rubbing my finger across them, to make them readable when Star suddenly snatched the ring out of my hands. “Sunny!” she exclaimed. Her voice was high and angry. “You shouldn’t have worn this today. How could you?” I could hear her voice crack, and a glance at her face showed pain as well as anger. I couldn’t figure out what was happening.
Sunny’s face darkened and her eyes flashed. “I didn’t! It’s not mine.”
Although Sunny was looking stormy, I watched the color drain away from Star’s face. Her skin turned a muddy gray-brown, and she began to sink to the ground. I grabbed for her and managed to keep her from toppling over, but she ended up on the grass in a tangle of knees and el
bows, clutching the bracelet. Tears were already running down her face.
“Star! What’s going on? What’s wrong?” I asked. I looked to Sunny for assistance, but she wasn’t looking very well either and came over to sit beside her sister.
“Let me see,” Sunny whispered, and Star rubbed the dirty band against her cheek, and then handed it to the younger girl who took it reverently.
Star lifted her tear-streaked face to me, sniffed, and said, “It belongs to our mom. Both of ours are home. Put away to keep them safe, you know.”
“Surely there are lots of rubber bracelets,” I protested. But something in Star’s eyes made me stop.
“Not like this one. Our mother special ordered these. You can get custom ones for only a few dollars. Show her what it says, Sunny.”
Sunny handed me the band. I turned it and read the inscription: “Sunny and Star - Happy Birthdays – Mommy Angel.”
Star explained, “We all have the same birthday. It’s so weird. Sunny and I were both born on August 21, but five years apart. And even stranger is that it was Mom’s birthday, too. All of us girls were born on the same date. That’s why she gave us the names we have. She said we were all heavenly. The three of us always wore these bracelets after she bought them, like a secret club or something. I suppose it was silly, but we were little and it was fun.”
I sat down beside Star and put my arms around her. She leaned against me. She wasn’t crying any longer, but every so often a shudder ran through her body. Sunny crept around to the other side of me, and I kept one arm around Star but pulled Sunny close with the other. Paddy laid his chin across Sunny’s knees. We sat there quietly for several minutes. Sunny seemed sad and curious, but less broken up than her sister.
“How did Mom’s bracelet get in the swamp?” Sunny asked.
“That’s an important question,” I said. “I think we are going to have to call the police.”
Chapter 14
“Why should we call the police?” asked Sunny.
“You little dumbbell,” said Star, giving her sister a withering look. “This means that Mom was here, after that morning. It’s the first thing anybody’s ever found of hers.”
“She wouldn’t go for a walk way over here. That doesn’t make sense.”
“You just don’t get it!” Star shook her head. “No, you’re too young. She was here with someone, or they brought her here. Don’t you see? Mom’s dead, and Paddy just found her body.”
Sunny said, “Oh,” in a flat voice and shrank into a tight little ball beside me.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” I pulled the girls to their feet. “We don’t know that for certain, but we have to report what we do know.” However, I was pretty sure Star was right.
Once we were in the house, Star asked if I had any decaf tea and if she could fix some. I knew that giving her something to do would be calming, so I told her where to find my stash of herbal teas, and she and Sunny took over the kitchen.
I decided to call the Sheriff first, and Len second. It seemed important to get things moving. I wanted to call Tracy Jarvi, the young female Chief of Police in Cherry Hill. I got along well with Tracy, especially since she had helped me, more than once. I wanted her support, but I couldn’t think of a way that Paddy’s find could be part of her official duties since I live outside the village limits, and I didn’t feel close enough to just call her as a friend.
I dialed the Forest County Sheriff’s Department and was transferred to a Detective Dennis Milford, someone I did not know at all. He sounded bored. It took several minutes to explain how the bracelet we had found would be of interest to the police, but he finally agreed to send a squad car out to my place.
Next I called Corliss Leonard. This conversation was much more difficult for the opposite reason. Len understood immediately how significant the events of the afternoon were. I asked if he would like me to come get him, although I wondered how I could do that, stay with the girls, and be here when the police arrived, all at the same time. But he said he’d drive himself to my place, if I didn’t mind. I assured him I’d be glad to have him come, and told him the girls would need his support. A guilty image of Len torturing himself into an upright position in order to drive intruded on my sympathies, but I knew we all needed him to be here. I told him we’d be watching for him.
These calls took so long that the girls had not only made tea but had each finished off a mug by the time I was able to talk with them again. They both seemed less upset, but still on edge.
“Your grandfather is coming here,” I began. “The police will have lots of questions, and I know he wants to be with you.”
Star still seemed stunned, and just nodded. Sunny looked confused and sat at the kitchen table with Paddy at her side. Just then we heard a car coming toward the house. It was good to have something to divert our attention. I looked out and saw a Sheriff’s car slowing to a stop. A young African-American man in uniform and a solid older man in a gray suit got out and approached the house. I opened the front door before they reached it, and invited them inside.
The uniformed man introduced himself as Deputy Brown, and the other as Detective Dennis Milford. The deputy looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I led them into the kitchen. Milford took charge and asked for the bracelet. Sunny still clutched it, but she held it out reluctantly. The younger man captured it in a plastic evidence bag he produced from somewhere and asked me to explain again how we had found the item.
I couldn’t imagine there would be any useful fingerprints or clues on the bracelet, given years in the ground, a soggy trip in a dog’s mouth, and then being wiped and held by three other people. However, I covered the basics of the afternoon’s events once again.
Star tried to tell him that they were just playing with the dog when he ran off, almost out of their sight among the trees, started digging in the dirt and then began to bark.
“How are you related to these girls?” Milford interrupted.
“I’m not,” I answered. “Their grandfather is on his way. He’s their guardian. And Angelica’s father.”
“OK, we’ll wait until he gets here.”
Milford pulled Brown aside and said something to him, after which the deputy went out to the car, and the detective sat down heavily at the kitchen table and clamped his jaw shut. We sat there in uncomfortable silence.
The girls became tense and increasingly frightened at the man’s gruff demeanor as the minutes ticked by. I was more than relieved when I heard another car approach. As soon as I said, “It’s your grandfather,” both girls jumped up and ran toward the front door.
After that, things began to get a little bit crazy. Len came inside with a girl hanging on each arm. He looked tired. He sat on the couch, still flanked by the girls, while they both talked at once, telling him about the afternoon. Detective Milford came into the living room and began to ask Len questions about Angelica that the girls had already answered. But he needed to hear the answers from an adult.
Meanwhile, I heard more vehicles outside, and stepped out on the porch. Another Sheriff’s car pulled up, with two more deputies, followed by the Cherry Hill Police SUV. I was more than pleased to see Chief Tracy Jarvi, with Tom Baker, whom she sometimes deputized when extra help was needed. I went out to meet them. Tracy has a rugged Scandinavian build, coupled with a gentle manner that inspires confidence, making anyone who needs help feel safe.
“Tom, Tracy! I’m certainly glad to see you,” I said. “But I thought you didn’t have jurisdiction here.”
“Remember, the law-enforcement services help each other out on big cases,” said the Chief.
“So far, it doesn’t seem as if the detective even believes this means anything at all,” I blurted out.
“Oh, he does. Did Milford come, himself?”
“He’s inside.”
“Don’t worry. He’s not very personable, but he’s competent.”
“That’s good to know.”
“I guess we�
�re gonna be lookin’ for a body,” Tom chimed in. Tom is my friend Cora’s son. His English isn’t good, and he always speaks too loudly because he is partially deaf.
Tracy put her hand on his arm and motioned for him to tone it down. “The girls are here. They’re probably upset enough.”
We went inside and quickly learned that Milford was getting people organized for a search of the swamp. He wasn’t happy that he needed the girls to show him where they had been, and he wasn’t happy at all that the dog might be the only one who really knew exactly where the bracelet had come from. Thankfully, he realized that Len would never be able to walk into the woods, but Len assured him that he would trust me to accompany his granddaughters. I wasn’t sure this was an honor I wanted to accept for such a potentially gruesome job, but I knew it was something I would have to do.
By the time everyone was organized for a search, it was late afternoon. But summer evenings are long here, and I knew we might be facing several hours of walking through the edges of Dead Mule Swamp. Detective Milford asked me to put Paddy on a short leash. When he found out that Sunny, a ten-year-old, had been closest to the dog when the bracelet was found, he was even less pleased. He didn’t seem to have much confidence in any of the resources he had been provided. He sent Star back to the house to stay with her grandfather and Deputy Brown, and she didn’t seem sorry at being left out.
The ground was firm near the yard, so there was no chance of finding footprints there. We had to either trust that Sunny might recognize where she had gone, or hope that an untrained puppy would figure out that he was supposed to lead us to something he had found.
Nevertheless, within a few more minutes, Sunny, Milford, Paddy and I were walking into the woods to the northeast of my house, with two officers, plus Tracy and Tom, following like ducklings in a row.
Chapter 15
Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp Page 6