Maggie nodded.
"But, they never came home. Their mother was frantic. By Sunday night the whole colored section was in an uproar. The police thought they might have just wandered off. I mean after all, you know how those people are. But one of those hillbillies squatting in that abandoned house down by the old rail yard found the little girl's body in the river Monday morning while fishing. I heard the police think it may have been the oldest one, named Carl who had something to do with it."
"Carl Willis?” Lee asked.
"That's the one,” Mrs. Voorman nodded. “I hear they've got him at the station now."
Maggie shuffled her feet. “You said two girls were missing?"
"The other little pickaninny hasn't been found. I imagine they're trying to make that Carl Willis confess where she is. But between you and me I don't think they're going to find her alive. She's somewhere in that river, just like her sister. Mark my words."
"Horrible!” Maggie replied.
"At least they were only coloreds.” Mrs. Voorman shrugged. “I couldn't imagine God letting anything so dreadful happening to anyone in our church. Still, Magnolia, I'd keep a close eye on your little Patty for a while. Maybe it wasn't one of those hillbillies. The pickaninny girls were colored, so it most probably was a colored who did it.” Mrs. Voorman shivered. “You can never be too safe with your little ones."
Mrs. Voorman smiled down cupping the chin of a wild-eyed Patty. “But between you and me, Magnolia, I think the police have got the right guy. I only hope I get put on the jury.” She nodded to Lee. “The Bible says an eye for an eye, you know?"
"Thank you, Mrs. Voorman,” Maggie put her hand behind Patty's head. “We'll make a special point to keep Patty close until all this is over."
Mrs. Voorman pulled her umbrella in closer. “You can't ever be too careful. I know there are times I feel so afraid these days. And it's not just because of the Red menace from the Communists. Just the other day, last weekend, Saturday, all afternoon I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. Have you ever felt like that, Magnolia?” She again shuddered. “Like someone's watching you?"
"I wouldn't know,” Maggie shrugged. “But it does seem like there's been more than our share of unusual goings on lately."
"You see,” Mrs. Voorman moved from foot to foot, her rubbers squeaking as she shifted her weight, “that's why we need God more than ever right now. The whole world is rife with perverts, Yankee civil rights agitators, liberals, and those Godless communists.” She put the fingers of her left hand to her forehead as though she had a migraine, shaking slightly. “I just don't know what the world's coming to anymore. That's why it's important to see to it our children are getting a good churching every Sunday."
"I couldn't agree more, Mrs. Voorman. Thanks, for the news.” Maggie turned to go, melting Lee with her glare. “Come on, Lee."
"Bye, Patty. Bye, Lee.” Mrs. Voorman waved, and singled him out with her eyes. “I know we'll see you next Sunday, won't we?"
Lee held up his free hand in a cursory wave. “Sure, Mrs. Voorman."
At last they got to the car, and Maggie fumbled with the keys, never seeming to be able to remember which was the right one.
"Come on Mama,” Patty stamped her feet and whined, “I'm getting wet."
From the look that Lee saw her give to Patty, he knew Maggie would need a little extra churching next Sunday as well.
Maggie had lost her place and couldn't remember which key she had already tried in the lock.
"Oh, this is so frustrating,” she said her hand shaking.
Lee stepped up, taking a risk. “It's this one.” He pulled at a key. “The one that says Ford on it."
Maggie jabbed the key in the lock and opened the door. No thank you was forth coming.
Lee noticed a woman walk past just as Maggie got Patty inside. Patty had stepped on the seat and Maggie was furious. “How am I supposed to sit down on your muddy foot prints?” She was brushing at the seat vigorously with a hanky she'd pulled from her purse. “Patty Coombs you don't got the sense God gave a turnip."
Patty looked terrified.
Ignoring Maggie's tirade Lee called out to the passing figure, “Brenda!"
The woman stopped. She didn't have an umbrella. She was hunched over and holding a scarf over her head, keeping the corners tucked under her chin with both hands.
She seemed dazed. “Lee?"
"Yeah, Brenda.” Lee raised the umbrella. “It's me, Lee. Lee Coombs."
Suddenly she seemed to recognize him; a spark came into her dark, tired eyes.
"I'm sorry about Mrs. Ballard,” Lee offered.
"Me too,” she agreed. “I knew that sitting in that little house would be the death of her. That's where I found her. She didn't come up to the house in the afternoon. So when it was time for me to go, I went down, and there she was lying on the floor, sweat soaked from head to toe, sopping wet.” For a moment Brenda's eyes seemed to glaze over, as though she was no longer looking at Lee, but through him.
"Strange that she chose that afternoon to die,” she continued vacantly. “It wasn't all that hot in there, not like I had imagined. Actually I felt a chill from the moment I opened the door and went in. It was cold and still, terribly still. Like how it is down in a cellar that's been all shut up. Even walking down from the house, I knew something was wrong. I could just feel it.” She gave a shiver then mouthed something, but Lee couldn't hear any words. Then she seemed to come back to herself. “Must've been the shock of finding her dead like that, but for some reason I just can't seem to get it out of my mind. I keep seeing her. Her face was all blue and her tongue was sticking out, actually touching the floor. Isn't that horrible?” Brenda shivered again. “And that door down to the bomb shelter was standing wide open. Wide open. You know, that was the first time I ever remember seeing it not all closed up. It makes me wonder if perhaps she'd been down there."
Maggie had sat got in the car and was listening.
"I'm sorry to hear about all that.” Lee shook his head, water running in rivulets down either side of the yellow cap of his raincoat. He was holding the umbrella up to keep the rain off of Brenda as best he could. “Are you going to stay on and keep working there?"
She shook her head, moving her hands to hold her scarf in place. “It appears my services are no longer required. First thing Mr. Ridley did after setting foot in the house was ask me where I'd found the body."
She was shivering every now and again. “I'd known he was coming. The lawyer had told me. I had lunch all set out and his room prepared and everything. He didn't even say hello or thank you. Once I told him about finding his mother's body in the little house, he just told me to get out. He said if I had any personal property to take it with me, but that he'd be expecting an inventory from the lawyer, and I'd best not take anything that wasn't mine. He then went straight out to the little house. That's the last I saw of him until this morning. Ghastly man, absolutely ghastly."
Lee could see that it wasn't just the rain; she'd been crying.
Maggie slammed the door closed and rolled down the window. “Lee Coombs, if you don't get in this car this instant I'm leaving without you, and you can just walk home."
To illustrate her point, she started the motor.
"I've got to go, Brenda,” Lee said hurriedly.
Brenda let go of her scarf with one hand and tousled his hair. “You take care, young man."
"I will,” he replied folding down the umbrella. “And you too."
On the way home, Maggie insisted that Patty sit in the front seat between herself and Lee. She said the back seat was clean and dry, and she wanted it to stay that way. It was coming down heavier now than earlier, and the windshield wipers beat back and forth at full speed. Lee, in total silence, watched the ebb and flow of the sheets of water formed at the edges of the windshield as the wipers slapped up. The water flowed up in a sheet, which then ran up the glass in streams to disappear over the roof. To Lee, the effec
t was fascinating.
Maggie was driving exceptionally slow because of the rain. It was embarrassing on the highway, as a long line of cars had formed behind the slow moving Ford. When people were finally able to pass, many would honk their horn as they roared by. Of course, this only served to make Maggie that much more nervous. She was gripping the wheel intensely, wringing her hands back and forth, her knuckles white. She was leaning so far forward she almost clutched the wheel to her breast. Neither he nor Patty dared make a sound. They just sat still, listening to the beat of the wipers and the swoosh from passing cars.
It was a relief when they turned off onto Seminole Road. Maggie drove even more slowly, but at least Lee didn't feel so self-conscious about the long line of cars stacking up behind. They crept along, pounding into the occasional pothole, the windshield wipers slapping back and forth seemingly faster than the wheels were turning. To his right loomed the dark gray tree line of Broaddus Marsh. Lee couldn't see out very far, the window was fogged, and it was raining so hard, but he was washed over with the sense that something was there. Maggie didn't have the radio on. She found it too distracting even when it was sunny. But Lee thought he could hear a trace of music, the tinkle of the piano Carl had talked about. He found himself wishing they were already home. As they approached the outskirts of the ruined neighborhood, an emergency light was flashing ahead, illuminating the drops and spatters on the windshield with sparkles of red.
"What is it, Mama?” Patty sat up on her knees, gripping the dash and rubbing the fogged windshield with her hand.
Maggie gripped the wheel a little more strenuously and drove even more slowly. “Maybe someone went off the road?"
Lee leaned over to look at the speedometer, and saw from the bounce of the needle they were only doing something around five miles an hour, and coming a little closer, he could make out it wasn't one emergency vehicle but three.
Using her palm, Patty rubbed a larger window in the fog of the windshield. “Mama, there's two police cars and an ambulance."
An officer in a bright yellow rain coat stepped out between the Sheriff's car on the left and the Lenoir Police unit parked on the right side of the road. He had a flashlight and he waved for Maggie to move through.
Maggie, slowed to a grinding crawl and rubbed her hand on her side window, to try to see what was going on. The rain was coming down so hard it was difficult to make out anything other than there were a number of men in yellow rain coats milling about in front of one of the houses.
"What's going on, Mama?” Patty actually climbed over in Maggie lap to get a look out the window.
"Patty Laverne Coombs, you get back,” Maggie yelled. “Do you want to cause your Mama to have a wreck?"
Lee shook his head. At this speed, they'd be lucky if they could dent a marshmallow.
Patty turned back rubbing her muddy shoes on Lee's raincoat. She followed the lights, as they passed, craning her neck and then peering over the back seat, but not getting into the back to look out the rear window.
"I can't see anything,” she complained.
"Do you think it could be the other missing girl?” Lee asked.
Maggie shot him a hateful glare. “Isn't that just like you, scaring your sister? How could you think such a thing? Right here? So close to our house?"
Lee turned to face out his side window and decided to keep his thoughts to himself.
After turning into their drive, Maggie pulled up as close to the porch steps as she could and had Lee get out with the umbrella and stand by her door before she would get out. With Patty in tow, Maggie flung the car door open, and bending down, slammed it while running up the steps.
Lee followed her up to see the front door was standing wide open.
With Lee still holding the dripping umbrella, the three stood there on the porch staring.
Maggie looked at Lee and opened her mouth, as though she was going to blame him, but there was no question but that Maggie had been the last to leave the house that morning. Lee and Patty had waited in the car for her to come out.
"The door's open,” said Patty.
Lee closed the umbrella and leaned it against the railing, then unclipped his raincoat. He was as wet underneath as he would have been if he had just gone out and stood in the rain. His white shirt stuck to his skin as though it wasn't even there.
Maggie stood stock still, frozen to the spot, staring at the door.
"I'll go take a look,” Lee offered.
Silently, Maggie stepped aside and let Lee pass. She had Patty by the hand, holding her arm up as though she meant to lift her from the ground.
Lee stepped in. It was quiet. He couldn't hear anything over the rain anyway. But the living room looked the same. Cautiously he looked down the hall, nothing. If it had been a burglar, it didn't appear as though he'd touched a thing. Going around to the side and back doors, Lee found them gaping as well. He closed and locked each of the open doors and then came back to the front room.
"No one's here,” he called out. “Everything looks fine."
Maggie pulled the screen door open and peered in. “Did you check the bedrooms and the bathroom?"
Lee shook his head.
"Go do it,” Maggie ordered. “A burglar could be still in there hiding."
Coming down the hall Lee looked into the bathroom. The light had been left on. He was glad he was the first to see it so that Maggie couldn't blame him. The room looked the same, a heap of clothes was piled up by the toilet, and Patty's toothpaste mess was still in the sink. But he was struck by the sharp smell of a trace of after shave.
"Aqua Velva,” he said to himself. Continuing down the hall, Lee checked the bedrooms, his first, then Patty's and finally his dad's and Maggie's. He even looked under the beds and into the closets, but there was no one there.
After he'd reported back with the all clear, Maggie stepped in with Patty in tow. She took off her raincoat, hanging it on the tree by the mirror and said, “You go and get the police."
"Maggie,” Lee protested. “It's just the stupid doors again."
"You do as you're told,” Maggie scowled. “They're just down the road. Put your raincoat back on and fetch them over here. Did you hear me?"
Lee slapped his hands to his pants and started to stomp out of the door.
"Lee Coombs!” Maggie called out. “You go to your room and change before you go, and be quick about it.” Maggie was helping Patty out of her coat. “I don't want you ruining your Sunday clothes."
Lee pulled his sodden shirt away from his chest, pinching the fabric with his fingers. “It's already ruined. It melted at the funeral."
Maggie hung Patty's coat up next to her own. But Patty was staying close. Lee knew the worry in her eyes. She looked on the verge of sticking her thumb in her mouth, a habit Maggie had only recently broken. “Listen here, Mr. Sass-Mouth. Why is it you have to argue with everything I tell you to do? Do I have to talk to your father when I go to pick him up this afternoon? Do you need some more punishment? That can be arranged, you know."
Lee scowled as he slid past her. His wet shoes squeaking miserably as he retraced his soggy steps down the hall to his room. In just a few minutes his white shirt and black pants were in a crumpled heap on the bathroom floor, and Lee was splashing down Seminole Road, feeling much better in his shorts, t-shirt, and old tennis shoes.
The rain came down steadily splattering onto the umbrella he carried on his shoulder, which was angled slightly behind to allow for the wind which was blowing in from the west. He considered running, but the more time he took, meant the longer he could be out of the house and away from Maggie with her never ending list of chores. It appeared as though she was determined to not let him finish his next John Carter of Mars book. No sooner would he start reading, it seemed, than she'd pop up with something else for him to do. Still though, he knew he'd been lucky to receive just the one week grounding. Fourth of July was the summer's best holiday, and in his opinion, certainly on an equal par with Hallow
een. His grounding would be up next Sunday, and Monday was the Fourth. At least he wouldn't miss the bottle rocket wars with Ronnie.
The rows of pitiful trees stretching back to the Ballard house looked even more forlorn in the rain. The Spanish moss, which curled down from the dead limbs, sagged heavily dripping streams like a squeezed sponge. Looming about in the gray drizzle, the brownish trunks added but a hint of ruddy color to the gray on gray of rain and mist. The scene somewhat reminded Lee of the Transylvanian countryside where Lon Chaney Jr. lurked in the film The Wolfman, one of his favorites. All it needed was a little creepy ground fog, some wolf bane on the bloom, and a full moon to complete the picture.
The intensity of Lee's memory from his run to the store a few weeks ago was as fresh as ever. The chalky smell seeping up from the gravel road seemed to make it all even that much more real. Walking with Phoebe he really hadn't had time to think about it. But with such a dismal day the emotions came flooding back. He'd learned, if he let himself think about it too deeply, such as lying in his bed at night, some of the actual symptoms of the intense fear would return. He could feel it; it was all so real: his feet pounding, pounding, through the darkness, the darkness all around, his heart bursting in his chest, his lungs burning, the swing of his arms growing so heavy, the sweat in his eyes, and the overwhelming power of the presence just behind. Putting his eyes back on the road, he gazed just a few feet in front of his sneakers, and despite not wanting to get back to Maggie too quickly, he found himself walking as fast as he could. He pointed himself toward the red light flashing off in the distance and walked on.
The third house on the right, which had once had a tall brick facade sloping down the front, was the center of all the activity. The black and white Sheriff's car and the green and white Lenoir Police vehicle were still out front, and two men from the county ambulance were unloading a gurney from the open double back doors. Lee walked up the drive, which was choked with tall grass and weeds, which had grown rampantly after breaking through the crumbling asphalt.
Evil Heights, Book IV: In the Pit Page 2