by Jan Fields
****
Two days passed with no word from Alice. Eventually, Annie kept her laptop set up all the time on the kitchen table, plugged into the wall to save the battery. She didn’t want to miss getting an email from Alice.
On Tuesday morning, Annie was gathering her crochet project to take with her to the Hook and Needle Club, but she squeezed in one last email check. She felt her stomach clench just a bit tighter when she still had no messages.
Annie knew she could be a bit of a worrier, but Alice had promised to email, but she hadn’t. And her cellphone was sending Annie’s calls straight to voice mail. Since Annie didn’t know the name of the inn where Alice was staying, she couldn’t just call there. With each passing hour, the feeling increased that something was very wrong. Alice was too considerate to leave Annie worried—not if she could help it.
As she headed out the door, she decided to squeeze in a quick stop by Ian’s office before heading to A Stitch in Time. Ian could be counted on for calm, clear advice, and Annie felt the need for a little reassurance.
As she pulled into a parking space in front of A Stitch in Time, Annie smiled at the sight of the Lincoln Continental in the next space. Stella was probably already seated in one of the cozy chairs inside, her needles clicking at full speed. Annie looked between the needlework shop and Town Hall—if she went to see Ian, she was sure to be late for the meeting.
Finally, she headed across the street. She didn’t want to talk to everyone at the Hook and Needle Club while she was so worried. Once Ian helped her find some perspective, she would be able to tell her friends about Alice without any hysteria.
Annie crossed Town Square quickly and trotted up the steps to the imposing Town Hall. She’d been inside many times, of course. The happy visits were always to see Ian, but she’d made more than a few stops at the Stony Point Police Department as well. Annie’s tendency to attract mysteries had put her in danger more than once, and she had good reason to appreciate the police force.
As she strode across the airy foyer, her eyes were drawn to the glass case with its display of work by local artisans. The beautiful colors and patterns in the display never failed to make her smile. Stony Point was home to so many talented people.
She turned down the hallway toward Ian’s office. As always, she was halted in her tracks by the imposing stare of Ian’s secretary, Charlotte Nash. Annie happened to know Charlotte had a lovely smile when she used it, but she guarded the mayor’s time with all the seriousness of a palace guard.
“Hi Charlotte,” Annie said. “Do you know if Ian has a minute?”
“I’ll ask.” Charlotte looked purposefully toward a bench a few feet away. Considering how avidly she listened to every scrap of gossip that passed through Town Hall, Charlotte was very careful about keeping her own conversations private.
Annie obediently walked to the bench and sat, knowing that everything went smoother when Charlotte got her way. She had barely sat down when Ian’s office door opened, and he walked out with a huge smile. “Annie,” he said. “What a pleasure!”
Annie was surprised at the sense of relief that washed over her. It was as if a tiny part of her now relaxed; she counted on Ian to take care of the problem. Annie frowned slightly at the thought. She liked to think of herself as more independent than that.
Ian stopped at her frown. “Oh no, don’t tell me I’m in trouble.”
Annie smiled. “No, not at all. I do have something I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Shall we go into my office?” Ian asked.
Annie nodded and followed him quietly.
When Annie walked into the office, Ian gestured to one of the handsome leather chairs that faced his desk. As she sat, he took the other chair so they wouldn’t have the desk between them. “So what’s wrong?” he asked, half-jokingly. “More trouble from your attic?”
Annie smiled slightly. Ian knew how often things from the attic in Grey Gables came with a mystery attached to them. “No, this time my problem is more human,” she said. “I’m worried about Alice.”
Ian looked surprise. “I thought she went on some photo shoot with Jim Parker.”
“She did,” Annie said. “They went to South Carolina to take photographs on an island I told them about. But Alice was contacting me every night to recap the day’s work, and I haven’t heard from her in over two days.”
“Two days doesn’t seem terribly long,” Ian said reassuringly. “Maybe they’re just busy.”
“I’m sure they are busy,” Annie agreed, “but Alice and I were connecting every night through a video chat that Jim set up for us. And she promised that if she couldn’t get on to chat, she would email. But I’ve heard nothing for two days, and all my calls to her are going to voice mail.”
Ian frowned, deep in thought. “Well, Jim Parker has taken far too many chances with Alice—and with you—in the past. Still, I know he cares about Alice. I don’t think he would let anything happen to her.”
Annie nodded. “But they’re exactly alike when it comes to chasing adventure, and I’m worried that it’s gotten them into trouble.”
“You know,” Ian said, sitting back in the chair, “their trip could have turned—how should I word this?—romantic. That could certainly make them forget about other people for a while.”
“I hadn’t considered that.” Annie ran a hand through her straight blond hair. “I suppose that could have happened. Still, Alice knows I would worry.”
Ian’s face darkened again. “She certainly knows that, and Alice wouldn’t want to be the cause of that kind of concern. Do you happen to know where they’re staying?”
Annie shook her head. “I know the closest mainland town is Preacher’s Reach, and Alice said they were staying in an inn. But I don’t know its name.”
“Why don’t you let me look into what inns are in the area,” Ian said. “Then I could ask Chief Edwards to make some calls. He’d get a straight answer quicker than I could. We can at least find out where they’re staying.”
Again, Annie felt a wash of relief. “Thank you, Ian. I knew you would help me.”
“I’m just happy you thought of me,” Ian said, smiling. “You know, we’re likely to find that they just got so caught up in their adventure that they forgot. You very well could get a sheepish call from Alice by tonight.”
“I hope so,” Annie said fervently. “I truly hope so.”
5
My great-grandfather’s home always felt oppressively dark to me as a young child. It had plenty of windows—tall windows that were frequently cast open to catch any hope of breeze in the summer—but the island was so full of trees that the light all over the island felt weak as if it were sickly. My mother fretted about disease on the island. I was more concerned about monsters.
—Steven Fuller, 1925
Feeling considerably better, Annie hurried back across Town Square, hoping she hadn’t missed all of the Hook and Needle Club meeting. She was happy to see the white Lincoln still parked in front of the shop.
Everyone looked up to smile at her as she hurried into the shop.
“I was afraid you were going to stand us up,” Mary Beth said.
“Especially when Peggy saw you dashing toward the mayor’s office,” Gwen added.
“And that’s why there is no point trying to keep a secret in Stony Point,” Kate said with a laugh. Kate had experienced plenty of teasing over the handsome police detective she’d met in Texas at the needlework convention they’d attended, and Annie doubted there was anyone in Stony Point who didn’t know all the details. Of course, distance had dampened that relationship fairly quickly.
“Welcome back, Kate,” Annie said as she walked over to take an empty chair beside Gwen. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.”
Annie then addressed the rest of the group. “I wanted to ask Ian’s opinion about something,” she said. “Now I would like to ask yours.”
“You know how we love to give our opinions,” Mary Beth said.
Peggy
giggled. “That’s for sure!”
Annie explained about Alice’s promise to keep in touch and how they’d used video chat. “But I haven’t heard a word for two days,” she said. “And when I’ve called, her phone goes straight to voice mail.”
Peggy grinned. “Maybe she’s busy with her pirate.”
“Maybe,” Annie said doubtfully.
The gentle clicking of Stella’s knitting needles stopped and the older woman set her knitting down carefully in her lap before turning intense eyes toward Annie. “Nonsense,” she said. “Alice takes her word seriously. After being married to that rat John MacFarlane, she certainly knows how painful it is when you can’t count on someone’s word. If she said she would contact Annie, she would do it—unless she can’t.”
Annie felt the sting of tears as Stella gave voice to exactly what was worrying her. “That’s what I thought,” she said. “Alice knows how much this would worry me.”
The women’s faces all grew very serious as the possibilities sunk in.
“Do you have any other reason to expect something might have happened?” Gwen asked. “Any warning signs?”
Annie shook her head. “Not really. Alice sounded very excited on every call. But she did say the local people weren’t very friendly.”
“Did anyone threaten them?” Mary Beth asked.
“Not as far as Alice said,” Anne admitted. “She might not have told me if they had though. She wouldn’t have wanted me to worry.”
“This island … ,” Stella said. “Was there anything dangerous about it?”
Annie explained about the legend associated with the island and the video they’d seen online. “But Alice said they hadn’t seen any sign of dogs—nor heard any either.” Then she told them about the satellite photos they’d looked at online.
“Oh my,” Mary Beth said. “Those buildings sound dangerous.”
“Do you think Jim and Alice might be hurt on the island somewhere?” Peggy asked.
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Annie admitted. “But a lot of thoughts have crossed my mind in the last two days—crazy townspeople, vicious smugglers, demon dogs.”
“I probably wouldn’t worry much about demon dogs,” Stella said drily. Then she looked around the group. “I really only see one answer to this.”
“What’s that?” Annie asked.
“We go down to South Carolina and see what’s going on.”
“Stella—don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” Gwen asked. “By the way, has anyone checked the weather down there? If there’d been a storm, that could account for no communication.”
Annie looked at her in surprise. “You know, I hadn’t thought to check on that.”
“Well, that would be simple enough,” Mary Beth said. “My laptop is in the back. We can just look it up.”
“I’ll get it,” Kate offered, hopping up from her seat to hurry into the back.
“I’m not sure I would worry less,” Annie said. “Thinking about Alice and Jim on an island during some horrible storm isn’t very comforting.”
“But it would give you an idea about what might be the problem,” Mary Beth said.
Kate carried the computer to the shop counter. All the women stood around Mary Beth as she checked online newspapers on the South Carolina coast. None reported any kind of storm damage or power outages. “I guess it wasn’t a storm,” Mary Beth said.
“Then it’s settled,” Stella said. “We should go down there at once.”
Gwen shook her head. “I’ll have to pass on this road trip. John would worry worse than Annie.”
“And I can’t get away from work,” Peggy said sadly. “Though I agree that someone needs to go check on her.”
“Well, I’ll go,” Stella said firmly.
Mary Beth smiled. “If Kate doesn’t mind staying behind to man the store, I’ll drive us.”
Annie held up a hand. “Well, before we plan a road trip, Ian said he’d track down all the local inns and have Chief Edwards call around. It may be that he can solve this mystery long-distance, and we’ll get a call from Alice right away.”
“Do you really believe that?” Stella asked skeptically.
“I’d like to.”
“It does sound like we should wait to see what Ian’s efforts produce,” Mary Beth said. “But I’ll be ready.”
Peggy sighed. “I bet it’s lovely and warm still in South Carolina.”
“We’re not going down to sunbathe,” Stella said sternly.
“Unless we find Alice right away,” Mary Beth added with a grin. “In which case, it would be a shame to waste the drive down.”
Stella just shook her head in disapproval.
Annie felt a surge of affection and gratitude for all her friends. She was so glad she didn’t have to face all her worry alone. She had to admit though, she would be happiest of all if she got home and found an email from Alice on her computer.
“I should head home,” she said. “Oh, I missed nearly the whole Hook and Needle Club meeting. Is there anything I should know?”
“Just that we’re on for the joint effort with the ladies at the Seaside Hills Assisted Living facility. Joan McTavish said they’re very excited about it. How’s your afghan going?”
“Amazingly well,” Annie said. “Not only has the cool weather kept me indoors crocheting, but it’s the only thing that can help calm me when I’m worried. So I’ve accomplished a lot in the past two days.”
“I can just imagine Annie’s flying crochet hook,” Peggy said. Then she sighed. “Well, as always, I need to run.” She gave Annie a quick hug. “Try not to worry too much. I’m sure it’ll all turn out OK.”
Annie smiled back. “Thanks, Peggy.” Peggy tugged on a jacket over her waitress uniform and hurried out. As Annie watched her leave, she hoped fervently that Peggy’s reassurances proved prophetic.
When Annie got home, she considered working off some of her nervous energy by raking the day’s blanket of leaves. Alice often teased her about raking almost every day throughout October in a desperate attempt to keep the lawn neat. It was as if the New England winds conspired with the trees to drop just enough leaves each day to trigger her “I need to rake” mode.
“I’d rather wait until the trees are bald,” Alice had told her once. “Then I just hire someone from the high school to rake them all up. Besides, they look pretty on the grass.”
“Won’t they kill the grass?” Annie had fretted.
“I expect the snow that’s waiting around the corner will take care of the grass,” Alice had said.
Annie looked over the fallen leaves again, but decided she’d better head into the house. She wanted to see if Alice had emailed. And she wanted to be close to the phone when Ian called with news of what he’d discovered.
Her computer had several emails, but all were trying to sell her something. With a sigh, she deleted them. She sat on the couch and pulled out her crocheting, hoping the feel of the yarn in her hands would calm her. Boots hopped up on the couch and climbed into her lap, nosing aside Annie’s hands to make room.
Annie smiled at the gray cat. “Don’t let me get in your way, Boots,” she said wryly.
Boots simply curled up and closed her eyes. Annie had been crocheting for about an hour when the phone rang. She jumped up so fast that Boots tumbled right out of her lap onto the floor.
“Sorry, Boots,” Annie said as she lunged for the phone. “Ian?”
“Sorry, Mom, it’s me.”
Annie sank into the chair beside the phone. “No need to be sorry, darling. I was just expecting a call from Ian.”
“Ian?” LeeAnn asked. “Should I call back?”
Annie was tempted to agree, but then she knew she was being ridiculous. She had call waiting. If Ian called, she would know. “No, but if my phone does that clicking thing, I’ll need to switch calls,” Annie said, apologetically.
“Wow!” LeeAnn said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Is this getting serious?”
<
br /> “Oh no, nothing like that,” Annie stammered. “He’s checking on something for me.” Then to move the subject away from her love life, she quickly asked, “Have the twins decided on a pet yet?”
“No,” LeeAnn said with a laugh. “And from the intensity of the discussion, we may be pet-free for a long time.”
“At least they’re learning debate skills from this,” Annie said.
“Right, but let’s get back to this call you’re waiting for. What’s Ian checking on? Not another mystery?” LeeAnn asked suspiciously. She was often less than enthusiastic about Annie’s involvement in her more dangerous activities. Annie smiled a little at the thought—it was something LeeAnn and Ian had in common. They both thought Annie should be more careful.
“Well, not another mystery with me at the center,” Annie said, and then she told her daughter about Alice and her disappearance, finishing with, “Alice wouldn’t want to worry me like this.”
“That does sound a little ominous,” LeeAnn said. “I hope it turns out to be something simple like she lost her phone over the side of the boat, or they’ve been staying on the island for some reason or another.”
“That sounds simple,” Annie said with a laugh. “Anyway, enough about my fretting. You must have called to tell me something. If it’s not a new pet decision, what’s up?”
“Yes,” LeeAnn said. “Joanna and John’s school is putting together a talent show, and the twins have decided to be in it. They want to do an act together.”
“How wonderful!” Annie said. “What kind of act?”
“Ah, that’s the problem. Joanna wants to sing. And John wants to do magic. So they’re in a minor battle to convince each other.”
“Sounds dramatic,” Annie said. “Was it a most intense discussion?”
“Definitely.” LeeAnn laughed. “Right now I’ve declared a mandatory truce just so I can have a few minutes of peace. I figure I’ve got thirty minutes, tops.”
“Well, whatever they decide to do, I’m sure it’ll be wonderful,” Annie said. “You’ll have to video it for me.
“I will,” LeeAnn said, and then Annie heard a crash and a shout in the background. “Oh, looks like the truce is over early. I’ll talk to you later, Mom.”