Windward Secrets

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Windward Secrets Page 11

by K. A. Davis

“What are you doing?”

  Claire looked at her friend incredulously. “Really Jill? What does it look like? Ike decided to bring the storm inside the house.”

  Jill poured herself a cup of coffee. “I was worried when you weren’t in your bed this morning.”

  “I came down here to read because you were snoring. Ya know Jill, I would have liked to have had a fire last night. Too bad our secret visitor hadn’t started one for me.”

  Peeling open the bacon package Jill separated the strips of bacon and laid them in a frying pan. “Frankly, I’m glad he didn’t because I got a good night’s sleep not worrying about someone sneaking around. How did you sleep?”

  “Better than expected. I dreamed of Betsy again.”

  “Again? What do you mean again?”

  “Oh… didn’t I tell you? I had a dream a few nights ago about a little girl at the foot of my bed. It was the night I couldn’t find my book. I didn’t recognize her then, but after seeing the pictures I now know it was her.”

  Jill knitted her brows together and looked at her friend. “Claire, are you saying you saw Betsy here in the house?”

  “In the house… as in my dream. It makes sense. This is her house. She knew me. I think she came to me for help.”

  “Claire, you’re scaring me. That’s morbid.”

  “Don’t be scared. I think this house may be a ‘thin place.’”

  “What are you talking about? A ‘thin place’?”

  “A thin place is somewhere where the separation between heaven and earth is diminished and we can feel the presence of those who have lived before. I felt it my first day here but didn’t recognize it. Maybe I subconsciously chose Windward House because of Betsy.”

  “You’re really losing it.”

  “I read about thin places. Haven’t you ever heard of it?” Claire asked.

  “No. And, I’m not sure I want to.”

  “There’s nothing to be worried about. Thin places are places of peace and tranquility, where the past meets the present. I think, Betsy is our guide. She wants our help.”

  Jill smelled burning bacon and turned back to the stove. “Okay, whatever you say.”

  “I wonder if it was Betsy starting the fires, moving my book, and crying.”

  “Crying? Now what are you talking about?”

  Claire was seated at the kitchen table with Ike’s head on her lap. “I heard crying one night. I think it was coming from Betsy’s room. Don’t you think it makes sense?”

  Jill turned the bacon and looked back at Claire. “No, this does not make any sense. I’m worried about you.”

  “Don’t be. Just keep an open mind. I can tell you I feel more at peace. I’m not as frightened. This feels right.”

  Caroline and Diane entered the kitchen at the same time. “What feels right?” Caroline asked.

  Claire repeated her theory about thin places and Betsy.

  “I need coffee,” Caroline said, looking at Claire with wide eyes and circling her finger around her ear making the crazy sign.

  Diane was intrigued. “This is interesting. Tell us more Claire.”

  “No!” Jill interrupted. “We’re going to have breakfast in the present time and place. Claire can go into this later. How do you want your eggs?”

  Seated in front of a plate of bacon and eggs Claire laid out her plan for the day to her friends. “Okay. Here’s what we do. Jill and Caroline you go to the library and see what you can find about missing children. Sorry, I know this is going to be a big job. Hopefully, the library will have computers. While you’re there, Diane and I will see what we can find here in the house… even though I think I have it figured out with Betsy. Let’s plan to meet for lunch at Blackbeard’s at one o’clock.”

  Diane, Caroline, and Jill looked at each other anxiously.

  Diane reached over and touched Claire’s arm. “Claire, do you think you ought to call Spence and talk to him about all of this. It might make you feel better.”

  “Diane I’m fine. Really. Spence would only worry needlessly.”

  Jill had heard enough. “Claire! We’re seriously concerned about you. You’ve always been the practical one with more common sense than anyone deserves. You need to get a grip. We’ll help you with this, but I think you need some professional help.”

  Claire responded with assurance. “I’m fine. We only have a day to work on this and then we’ll be home in our safe, little houses and this will all be a memory. Please. Just give me another day.”

  As promised Diane made a call to her friend, Ed, who agreed to see what he could find out about Wendell. Jill and Caroline left for the library and Claire and Diane went to the third floor.

  “We may as well start up here and work our way down,” Claire said.

  Two hours later they had searched every nook and cranny, looked under every rug, felt walls, gone through the kitchen cabinets, and even cleaned the ash out of the fireplace using a flashlight to investigate the inside of the firebox.

  Dust covered Diane’s spikey hair. Claire’s ponytail had failed her leaving strands of hair falling in her face that she tried to blow away with puffs of breath.

  “Nothing. This is disappointing,” Diane said, plopping down in the old recliner in the parlor.

  “I know. I thought we would find something, even if it was only a door to the basement.”

  Diane stood, startling Ike who had been stretched out on the rug in front of the sofa. “Basement. That’s it. There was no door. How do we get into the basement?”

  Grabbing umbrellas from a brass stand by the door Claire handed one to Diane and then opened the front door. “There has to be an outside entrance.”

  On the side of the house opposite the driveway, they found what they were looking for. Partially covered in sand, was a metal, bulkhead door with a rusty padlock the size of a hubcap.

  “Well, that’s useless,” Claire yelled, over the wind. Bending down, for a closer look at the lock, she gave it a hard tug. It held strong. She only succeeded in exposing her back to the wind and rain.

  “Let’s go back inside,” Diane yelled.

  Feeling defeated, they sat at the kitchen table with their hands wrapped around hot mugs of coffee.

  “Claire. Do you find it interesting that the one night we don’t have a fire is the night Drew is out of town?”

  Claire removed the tie from her hair and shook her head letting her hair fall. “So… I’m not the only one who has questions about Drew?”

  “I think I’m beginning to think like you and it scares me.”

  Claire fluffed her hair trying to get it to dry. “Frankly, I think it’s very strange. We have plenty of time before we have to be in town. Let’s take a little ride over to Drew’s cottage.”

  “Jill is really going to be pissed,” Diane said, reaching for yellow slickers on hooks beside the door.

  “If he happens to be home, we’ll just say we were running low on dog food.”

  Diane rolled her eyes. “First, we trespass and now we lie. What next?”

  Pulling into Drew’s drive, Claire and Diane were relieved his car was not there. The rain had eased and they ran to the porch. There was no answer to their knock so they tried the door and windows on the porch. Locked. They worked their way around the house, as they had at Wendell’s, but had no luck finding an unlocked window. There was a screened-in porch at the back of the house with windows looking into the kitchen.

  Claire cupped her hands around her eyes and peered in the windows while Diane kept watch for anyone approaching the house.

  “Nothing,” Claire said. “Jill was right. He keeps a neat house. Dishes are even washed.”

  Diane shrugged her shoulders. “We may as well go meet Jill and Caroline.”

  “Just for the heck of it, let’s drive past Wendell’s.”

  “Why exactly would we do that?” Diane asked, incredulously.

  “We should keep tabs on him. If we know where he is, he can’t surprise us.”

&n
bsp; Wendell’s driveway was empty. Claire was pulling the car into the drive when Diane yelled, “What are you doing? Claire, I’m not going in there again.”

  “Relax Diane, I’m just turning around.”

  Backing out, Claire turned the car toward Haworth and Diane breathed a sigh of relief.

  The rain had let up a little but the day was still dark and dreary. The sidewalks of Haworth were deserted. “Looks like that depressing town where the Twilight movies were filmed, doesn’t it Diane?”

  Diane glanced from side to side looking around the small town. “I’m waiting for a vampire to pop out at any minute.”

  “How about a Chief of Police?” Claire said, sarcastically as she pointed to the right side of the street. Chief Peterson’s patrol car was parked in a No Parking Zone in front of the Haworth Public Library and he was walking into the library as they passed.

  “Gee,” Diane said. “He doesn’t seem like the reading type.”

  Claire continued down the street slowly. “I sure hope Jill and Caroline are out of there.”

  Turning left at the next corner Claire found a parking spot half a block from Blackbeard’s. “Good. There’s Caroline’s car. They’re here.”

  Claire and Diane wasted no time getting into the restaurant. Leaving their slickers and umbrellas in the vestibule, they opened the interior door to the restaurant and were assaulted with noise and activity. It appeared the whole town had decided to have lunch at the same time. Claire spied Jill and Caroline sitting in a booth near the large, open hearth fireplace where a fire blazed.

  “This is great,” Diane said, sliding in beside Jill. “How’d you get such a good table?”

  Taking a long draw on her straw Jill said, “Just luck. It’s really busy in here today isn’t it?”

  “Did you order yet?” Claire asked.

  “Only drinks,” Caroline answered, who quickly gave them a rundown of the specials and soup of the day.

  “Great. I’m hungry,” Diane said, picking up a menu.

  “What can I get you ladies to drink?” came a cheerful voice over Claire’s shoulder. Claire looked up to see a perky, blond waitress smiling with her pad and pencil ready to take their orders.

  “Where’d you come from?” Claire asked, surprised by her sudden appearance.

  The waitress gave them a fast and furious account of how busy they were, that she liked rainy days because it meant they would be busy, it made her day go faster and her tips better, and on and on, until Diane finally spoke up. “Hot tea for me, please.” Then looking at Claire, and tilting her head toward the waitress. “What do you want to drink?”

  “Coffee. Cream and sugar, please.”

  “Got it. I’ll be back for your orders in a jiffy!”

  Jill smiled and rolled her eyes. “And, that’s Brittany, our server. We already know her life story so, please, don’t give her any opportunity to talk. Be ready with your orders when she comes back.”

  “How did you make out at the library?” Claire asked, looking over the top of her menu.

  Caroline answered first. “We got a lot done. We found over fifty articles on missing girls.”

  “We divided and conquered by state,” Jill said. “We thought that was enough to start with and decided to check out the local newspaper office to see what they might have in their archives.”

  Diane leaned forward and with a low voice asked, “What did you find?”

  Brittany returned with the beverages before Jill or Caroline could answer. “Have you decided? The clam chowder is really good today. Makes you feel nice and toasty on a day like this.”

  “Yes. Yes. We’re ready,” Claire answered.

  Orders were quickly given and Brittany did her vanishing act.

  Diane repeated her question. “What did you find at the newspaper?”

  Caroline played with her straw and looked intently at Diane. “Absolutely nothing.”

  Claire blinked and frowned. “How can that be?”

  “We searched the microfiche for five years around the time you thought it was. There was absolutely no mention of Betsy’s disappearance.”

  “That’s impossible,” Claire said, frowning.

  “We thought it quite interesting,” Jill agreed.

  “Did you ask anyone at the paper about it?” Diane inquired.

  “No. As a cover, we told them we were doing genealogy.”

  “Smart thinking Jill,” Claire said, forgetting she was pouring cream into her coffee until it overflowed into her saucer. “How were you treated at the library?”

  “Fine. Why do you ask?” Jill said, taking a drink of iced tea.

  “When we were coming into town, Chief Peterson was entering the library. That seems like a strange coincidence, doesn’t it?” Diane explained. Seeing Brittany returning with their meals she stopped talking and had an idea. “Thanks Brittany this looks great. Brittany, can you tell us how late the library is open?”

  “Oh, sorry, I don’t read much, but you could call Mrs. Peterson and ask her?”

  Claire was elbowing Caroline in the ribs. It was obvious Brittany was not a frequent visitor to the library.

  “And, who would Mrs. Peterson be?” Diane pressed.

  “She’s the librarian. Been there forever.”

  “That’s interesting, the chief of police’s name is Peterson. Are they related?”

  “Well, yeah… they’re married, is that related enough?”

  “Of course. Aren’t small towns nice? Everyone knows everyone.”

  “Need anything else?” Brittany said, with a smile and pointing in the direction of the other side of the room. “Just got another table.”

  Caroline chirped, “We’re good. Thanks. You go.”

  Brittany spun around and swiveled her curvy hips to the other side of the room.

  “Smooth, Diane. Good thinking,” Claire said. “Do you suppose Mrs. Peterson was on the phone to Mr. Peterson as soon as Jill and Caroline left the library?”

  “Why would she suspect anything?” Caroline asked.

  “Woman’s intuition. I don’t think the chief likes to get out of his car on rainy days even to visit his wife in the library. Eating donuts in a warm car watching the waves seems more his speed.”

  Diane looked at Jill and Caroline. “Did you do anything that would make the librarian suspicious? Did anyone see what you were researching?”

  “We were very careful. We didn’t say why we wanted to use the computers and sat at the side of the computer table with our backs to the wall so no one could see what was on the screens,” Caroline answered.

  “What about the history list on the computers?” she asked, looking at Jill.

  “I buried them so deep it would take an extremely good IT guy to find them.”

  “Good thinking. Where are the files now?”

  “We sent them to all of our home emails just in case anything happened to our iPhones or…,” Jill said, not completing the sentence.

  “Or what,” Claire asked.

  “Your paranoia is contagious Claire… in case something happened to us there would be a trail.”

  “You’re a genius Jill.”

  “I’m impressed, Jill. How do you know all that?” Diane added.

  “I work for an electronics firm, remember? Not really a big deal.”

  Diane reached into her handbag for her phone. She hit some buttons and then said to Claire, “Give me your phone.”

  “Why?”

  “I just sent Jill and Caroline’s files and my pictures from Wendell’s basement to my office printer and I want to forward your pictures too. I’ll have Karen, my assistant, send hard copies to us by private courier.”

  “Excellent,” Claire said, handing over her phone.

  Jill set down her coffee cup and looked at Claire. “How did you and Diane make out?”

  “We struck out. Didn’t find anything.”

  Caroline pushed her plate to the side and pulled a large envelope out of her purse. “Jill an
d I have more to tell you.” Opening the envelope she pulled out a legal size sheet of pink paper.

  “What’s that?” Diane asked.

  “This is a contract from the realtor to rent Windward Cottage for another week. I had decided, even before we got involved in the Wendell thing that I was not ready to go home. So…I rented the house for another week. I hope you all can re-arrange your schedules to stay longer, but if you can’t I understand.”

  Diane was the first to respond. “Are you serious Caroline? You really want to stay another week?”

  “Well, I know I don’t want to go home, for obvious reasons. I’m not happy about this mess we’ve stumbled into, but I think we need to at least try to do something about it.”

  “I can work remotely, I guess,” Diane said. “I’ll tell Karen to keep me updated and if anything serious comes up I can always drive back to Boston.”

  Jill chewed her bottom lip. “Gee, I don’t know. I’ll have to call my boss and see if I can have some more time. I have another week of PTO but I was saving it for a rainy day.”

  Caroline chuckled. “Jill, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s raining.” Then turning to Claire she asked, “What about you Claire?”

  “This is very generous of you, Caroline. Thank you. Of course, I want to stay but I’ll have to run it past Spence and, like Jill, I’m going to have to get approval from work.”

  Jill leaned toward Claire. “You have that look on your face.”

  “What look?” Claire said, spoon halfway to her mouth.

  “That look that says your brain is working overtime.”

  Returning her spoon to her bowl, Claire leaned back against the back of the booth. “I was just wondering how much information we could get out of chatty Brittany. Like Diane said, people in small towns know everyone and I’m betting they know everyone’s business too. Let’s make sure we leave Brittany a big tip. We may need her.”

  “May I make a suggestion?” Diane asked.

  “Of course,” the other three said, in unison.

  “As interesting as all of this cloak and dagger stuff is, I think we need a change of pace. Let’s spend the afternoon shopping or, at the very least, window shopping. It wouldn’t hurt to walk around town a little.”

  “I agree,” Jill said. “Too much sitting this morning. Let’s walk.”

 

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