Conspiracy of Silence

by Martha Powers

  “Was he making horseshoes?” Clare stared at the log building wondering what it would be like to work in a windowless building in the dead of a Minnesota winter.

  “No. He was making tools. I can’t remember what kind, but he heated a metal piece and then bent it into a shape. It was megacool.”

  “I’ll bet. What’s that?” Clare said pointing to what looked like a pontoon boat with a roof pulled up against the bank. “That’s called a wanigan.”

  “A wagon?”

  “No, a wanigan. I think it means boat. It might be an Indian word. I’m not sure. The lumber guys lived inside there when they floated the logs down the river. It sounded pretty icky. They’d get their clothes all wet during the day and then at night they’d pull the boat over to the side and hang everything up to dry.”

  “I agree. It must have been rather smelly. I drove up to Lake Itasca because I figured I was never going to get another opportunity to see the source of the Mississippi. It’s just a little trickle and I walked across. The water was ice cold so I can imagine how it would be to work in it all day.”

  Erika was walking backwards listening to Clare. She had never seen her so animated. Maybe she’d not paid enough attention to the girl. She’d have to try harder if she wanted Erika to tolerate her presence.

  “Do you know how they called the men to dinner?”

  “If it was like the western movies, they banged one of those triangle things.” Clare illustrated waving her arms wildly.

  Erika laughed. “That would be good too. What they did was blow a horn. It was called Gabriel’s horn. Isn’t that awesome?”

  Clare agreed that it was and Erika turned around and skipped ahead.

  “This is the cookhouse where the lumber men would come for their breakfast and their dinner. The bosses didn’t want them to come back from the woods so they took the lunches right out tothem.”

  “What did they eat?” The thought of food made Clare’s stomach growl and she was grateful that the light was starting to fade and they could leave soon and get some dinner.

  “I don’t remember. Soup, I think, or maybe stew.” Erika turned to look at Clare, her face screwed up in thought. “They might have had pasties. There’s a place in town that makes them.”

  “I saw that restaurant. I was going to go in but I didn’t have time.”

  “They’re really good in the winter. It’s like a meat pie. Meat and carrots and potatoes and onions stuffed inside this pie dough and then they add gravy.”

  “That’s it, Erika, I’m starving,” Clare said, laughing as she grabbed the girl’s hand. “I promise I’ll bring you back here when it’s open. Let’s go get some pizza.”

  They followed the trail back to the administration building. Clare cursed under her breath every time she had to stop to take a stone out of her shoe. It was darker now and she had to concentrate as she navigated over the uneven ground. She sighed in relief as she saw the car ahead, until she noticed that it was tilted to the side.

  “It can’t be,” she said, staring at the car. Both tires on the driver’s side were flat.

  She turned to Erika. The girl’s hands were covering her mouth and her eyes were wide with shock.

  “What happened?” she said.

  “I don’t have a clue. I suppose there could have been some glass on the road.” Clare looked around the empty parking lot. “At this rate we’re never going to get to dinner.”

  “Can’t you fix them?”

  “No, Erika, I can’t fix them. If it was only one flat tire I might be able to figure out how to change the tire but I can’t fix two tires.”

  Clare spoke more sharply then she’d intended because she was hot and tired and furious that they were stuck at the logging camp until a tow truck could reach them.

  “But it’s getting dark. And I don’t want to be out here in the dark.”

  The frightened voice brought Clare to the realization that she was dealing with a child.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” she said, softening her tone. “I’ll call Mrs. Grabenbauer and see if she can come get us and then we’ll send the garage people out to fix the tires.”

  “Hurry, Clare, it’s going to be dark soon.”

  Clare reached for her cell phone. Not finding it immediately, she set her purse on the hood of the car and looked through it. Her phone wasn’t in her purse.

  “My phone must have fallen out in the car.” She opened the front door and searched on the floor of the front seat. “Can you look on your side, Erika?”

  Thegirl jerked open the car door and looked on the floor and the front seat. They both looked in the back, but the phone was not in the car.

  “I don’t suppose you have a cell phone?” Clare asked Erika.

  “Dad said I could have one when I’m twelve.”

  “Remind me to tell your father you need one now. You must be the only child in the entire civilized world who isn’t text messaging every minute of the day.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Erika’s voice was so high that Clare realized she was close to panic.

  “We’re going to walk out to the road and hitch a ride. I’m sure your father will be furious at me for my stupidity in losing the phone but that can’t be helped. I know you thought we’d have an adventure, but this one is a little more than even I’d planned on.”

  Clare put the car keys in a pocket of her slacks. Her wallet went into the other pocket and she dumped her purse on the floor of the car. She looked over at Erika who was wearing shorts and a sleeveless jersey. Although it was still hot out, she suspected that it might get cold before they got home. Reaching into the back seat, she grabbed her jacket then closed and locked the car.

  “Allset, Erika. Take my hand.”

  The girl stood motionless, and in the fading light Clare could see the beginning of tears in her eyes. She didn’t know if the emotion was fear or rebellion, but she knew it didn’t matter. If she didn’t get her moving now, the girl would end up in hysterics.

  “Erika!” she spoke sharply and the girl blinked. “No nonsense now. It’s time to go home.”

  At the word home, Erika reached for Clare’s hand. She walked woodenly at first then after a minute or two her steps became more normal. Slowly, they made their way back down the drive to the highway. The going was rough and Clare’s shoes continually picked up stones, causing a momentary stop. Eventually Erika complained of the cold and Clare gave her the jacket, buttoning it up around the girl’s neck.

  “Look up at the sky, Erika. The stars are beautiful. I’ve never seen so many in my whole life. In Chicago there are so many lights that the only stars you can see are the really bright ones.” She raised her arm and pointed. “See over there. That’s Orion. I have to admit that it’s the only constellation I recognize.”

  She tried to keep up a cheerful patter as they walked, but Erika failed to respond except for an occasional grunting sound.

  “My mother, Rose, bought me a first-aid kit when I bought my first car,” Clare said. “It was enormous. It had everything necessary for any kind of emergency. Here I was living in Chicago, and one of the things in the kit was a packet to use in case of snakebite. Believe me, Erika, you have as much chance of being bitten by an elephant as you do by a snake in downtown Chicago.”

  She was encouraged when Erika gave a smothered sound that might have been a laugh.

  “My favorite was an emergency hammer. It was glow-in-thedark orange and stuck to the side of the car door with a piece of Velcro. Rose said that if my car ever went into water, I could use the hammer to cut my seat belt and break the window. All my friends thought it was funny. I actually thought it was a good idea. The only trouble was that in the summer heat the adhesive on the Velcro would loosen and the hammer would fall. If I was driving it invariably would drop on my foot and scare the life out of me. Toobad the kit’s gone. It had flares and we . . .”

  In the dark, Clare stepped on a rock and lost her balance. She put her han
ds out to save herself as she fell on the driveway.

  “Are you okay?” Erika said, leaning over her.

  Clare pushed herself to her feet, feeling a burning sensation on her hands where she had scuffed her palms against the gravel. Her slacks were torn and she could see there was blood on the edge of the tear. Her knee seemed to be scraped but she was, thankfully, unhurt.

  “I messed up these pants but good. Lucky we’re not still going out to dinner.” She looked ahead, relieved to see that the highway was just a short distance away. “We’re almost there. Then it will be easy walking.”

  “Oh, Clare, I’m so sorry.” Her voice was choked and tears would soon follow.

  “It wasn’t your fault that I tripped, honey.” Clare put a comforting arm around the girl. “Just think of how much fun you’ll have telling about your adventure at the logging camp. Come on. I’d offer to race you but, as you can see, I’m not all that speedy in these sandals.”

  Arm around Erika, Clare moved as quickly as she could toward the highway. Her feet were bruised and she could feel a blister forming. She’d have to remember to keep a pair of sneakers in the car in case of emergency. She wished she’d thought to break the window in the administration building and call for help. It was too late to go back and, with her luck, they might not have had a working phone. When they reached the highway, she wanted to kneel down and kiss the asphalt.

  “Now we should be able to make better time.”

  “Can’t we wait here until a car comes along?” Erika’s voice was a definite whine.

  “It’s better to keep walking if for no other reason than to stay warm.”

  Since Clare hadn’t seen the lights of any cars on the highway as they were walking toward it, she wondered how soon someone would come along. In the moonlight, she could see that it was close to nine-thirty. She knew Nate would worry if he got home before them and then couldn’t reach her by cell phone.

  She remembered all the movies she’d seen where the people broke into song to keep up their spirits. She couldn’t think of any songs and when she suggested it, Erika said she didn’t feel like singing. She decided humming would be a good substitute, but they were going up hill and she needed all her breath. They were almost at the top of the hill where it turned and headed downhill, when suddenly lights behind them illuminated the road.

  “It’s a car,” Erika yelled, whirling around to look back down the road. “It’s a car!”

  “Thank goodness,” Clare said, watching in relief as the car came toward them. “Come off the road so he has room to pull over. Be careful. The ground falls away on the side.”

  The car was picking up speed. Erika stood on the shoulder of the road, waving wildly. As the car came closer, the girl jumped up and down in her excitement.

  “It’s coming. It’s coming,” she shouted.

  The car was coming too fast. Erika was silhouetted in the headlights, but the car wasn’t slowing down.

  “Get back, Erika,” she screamed.

  Clare raced back to the girl who was frozen in place, arms held straight out, palms up as if she could physically hold off the car. Clare’s feet slipped in the sandals as she stretched to reach the girl. The car picked up speed and the angle of the light changed as the car swerved directly toward Erika and Clare.

  S

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Erika!” Clare screamed as the car bore down on them. Blinded by the twin beams of the oncoming vehicle, Clare reached out to grab hold of Erika’s arm. She yanked the girl back from the edge of the road, instinctively turning away from the speeding car. The girl’s body catapulted into Clare, hitting her shoulder and knocking her off her feet. Clare’s vision was filled with the looming shape of the car, then she hit the grassy verge with a thump and began to roll down the side of the hill. She smacked into the base of a clump of bushes with a bone-jarring jolt.

  In the darkness, Clare heard the car racing away, heading down the hill toward town. Then there was silence. Her vision blurred and she could feel her body sliding into a void. She struggled to breathe but a sharp pain lanced her side.

  “Clare! Clare! Where are you?” Erika. The name came to Clare from a distance and it took her a moment before she remembered the car and the girl silhouetted in the oncoming headlights. Was Erika hurt? She tried to raise her head, but the muscles in her neck refused to respond.

  Clare could hear the girl shrieking at the top of the hill, but she couldn’t catch her breath. She gulped at the fresh air, her lungs burning with the pressure. She crossed her arms over her chest and fought to take in several shuddering breaths.

  “Erika.” The sound was a mere whisper. Clare licked her lips and tried again. “Erika.”

  “Clare. I heard you. Where are you?”

  Mustering as much energy as she could, Clare coughed out a shout, not trying for words, only a sound. Above her, she heard scraping steps and she coughed again.

  “Oh Clare,” Erika cried from the top of the hill as she scrambled down the side. “Oh, please don’t be dead. Oh please, Clare.”

  Erika half slid, half crawled to Clare’s side. She lay down beside her, sobbing uncontrollably. Clare didn’t have the energy to speak. She merely put her arm over the girl and made soft shushing sounds in her ear. By the time Erika’s crying had reached the hiccupping stage, Clare’s breathing was back to normal. Her one side was really painful, but she didn’t think she’d broken any ribs. She thought she’d just had the wind knocked out of her.

  “Erika, I’m all right.”

  “Clare, oh, thank you, God. Did the car hit you?” She squirmed around until they were facing and she could put her arms around Clare’s waist.

  “No, it missed me. I just fell down the hill. How about you?”

  “I’ve got a sore knee.” Erika took a great gulping breath. “The car didn’t stop, Clare. It didn’t stop.”

  The words were spoken in a shocked whisper as if it hurt her to say it.

  “I know it didn’t.” The implications of that fact had not been lost on Clare, but she didn’t want Erika to consider what that might mean. “It’s all right, dear. We’re both alive.”

  “You saved my life. You pulled me onto the grass. That’s why you got hurt.”

  “I don’t think I’m hurt, but I think we’ll both be better if we get out from under these bushes.”

  Erika wiggled away and Clare used the branches to pull herself into a sitting position. She ran her hands over her legs and moved her feet, grateful that everything seemed to be in working order. Erika stood over her and looked almost ethereal with the blanket of stars and the moonlight above her.

  “You look like an angel,” Clare said, staggering to her feet. “It must be a miracle that we’re both all right.”

  “Oh, Clare, I’m so sorry.” Once more the girl put her arms around Clare’s waist and pressed her head into her chest. “This is all my fault.”

  “We’ll call it a combination of errors,” Clare said briskly. “Look around and see if you can find my shoes. I’d hate to have to walk back barefoot.”

  “There’s one,” Erika said, pointing.

  She scrambled up the hill, grabbed it and brought it back down to Clare. It took longer to find the second one, but eventually she let out a cry of excitement as she found it. Clare held onto the girl’s shoulder as she gingerly put the sandal on her badly bruised foot. Putting her weight on it cautiously, she found it a little more comfortable after several steps.

  “Now watch your footing and let’s see if we can get back up to the road without any more missteps.”

  Hand in hand, they climbed up the grassy bank. Clare winced as her muscles rebelled at each step. Once on the top, she surveyed herself and Erika and let out a hearty laugh.

  “We look rather the worse for wear, my dear. I don’t think your father is going to be well pleased with my guardianship.”

  Clare’s white slacks were torn at the knees and had dirt streaks and patches down both legs. Her arms
were covered with bloody scratches from the branches that had lashed her as she rolled down the hill. Luckily Clare’s jacket had protected Erika’s upper body but her knee was scraped and bleeding.

  “Your knee looks swollen. How does it feel?”

  “A little bit sore. And I hit my funny bone when I fell.”

  “Can you bend your arm?”

  “Yep.”

  “Thank God,” Clare said. She reached across and put her hands on either side of Erika’s head, tilting it so that she could look down at her face. Leaning over, she kissed her on the forehead. “I couldn’t bear it if you were hurt.”

  She found she was close to tears and as she looked at Erika she could see the girl was too.

  “Allright, young lady, I’m back to feeling hungry again. Let’s get going.”

  Each step was painful. Her body was bruised and the soles of her feet burned. Teeth gritted, she limped along. After a while, her body loosened up and a numbness settled over her.

  “Why didn’t the car stop, Clare?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps whoever was driving didn’t see us.”

  “It was like the car was trying to hit us. It turned right toward us.”

  “My best guess is that the driver might have been drunk.”

  “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” Erika said. “I’ll bet that’s it, Clare. I’ll bet you’re right.”

  Clare was relieved when she heard the lightness in the girl’s voice. It was better for the girl’s peace of mind if she believed such a rationale. She would have loved to have been able to accept such an explanation, but her thoughts had followed a much darker scenario. In Clare’s mind, the car had intentionally targeted them.

  “A car is coming.”

  There was enough fear in Erika’s tone to make Clare wonder if she too doubted.

  “Come over to the side, Erika. Stand by that tree.”

  The car coming toward them was not moving as quickly as the first one. Watching to make sure Erika was well protected, Clare stepped out in the road and waved as the headlights illuminated the road. She held her position until the driver shifted to high beams, then she stepped closer to the side of the road.