“Freddy!” Mrs. Truesdale set her cloth napkin on her plate and stood up. “What on earth are you doing here? It’s the middle of the week.”
“Mother, have you lost your mind? You bring a stranger into the house without consulting me. A delinquent teenager no less.” His angry gaze slid from me to Max and back again like he was trying to figure out which kid was the delinquent.
I swallowed hard. Freddy must be Amelia’s son. Would he make Max leave? Could he? Max and I looked at each other, and I could tell she was wondering the same thing.
“We were having lunch, dear.” Amelia acted like she hadn’t heard him. “Would you like to join us?”
“No, I won’t join you.” He hit the countertop with his fist.
“Well, then, perhaps you’d like to have a seat in the living room while my guests and I eat lunch. This is Max, by the way.” She placed a hand on Max’s shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze as if to tell Max not to worry. “And you remember Amy Miller and her daughter, Jessie.”
“Hello, Fred,” Mom said. “It’s nice to see you again.” I could tell Mom didn’t mean it. She was being polite, and I wasn’t sure why. The guy was rude. When Amelia introduced me, I turned away to take a bite of the cucumber-and-cream-cheese sandwich.
Fred stared at my mother for a second and seemed to relax a little. He actually smiled. “I do remember you. In fact, I have two of your paintings in my home and one in my office.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “I apologize for the interruption.”
“You seem upset.” Mom picked up her iced tea and took a sip.
“I am, actually. I got a call this morning from a … a friend telling me what my mother was up to.” He stole a glance at Amelia.
“What I’m up to is no concern of yours or your friend’s.” Mrs. Truesdale went over to the cupboard to get a place setting.
“But taking in a foster child at your age is insane.”
“It’s a wonderful idea.” She set a plate in front of him and poured him some tea. Smiling at Max, she said, “It will be fun having a youngster around again.”
“But you’re …”
“Too old? My goodness, Fred. You’re the one who tells me I shouldn’t be living out here alone. I’d think you’d be happy about Max coming to live with me.”
He didn’t comment, but I had the feeling he wasn’t giving up either. He’d called Max a delinquent. I wondered where he’d gotten his information.
I felt bad for Max and wished there was something I could do. I started talking about the adventure we’d had yesterday when Max and I had heard Amelia scream and had come to rescue her.
Amelia’s laugh seemed nervous. “Not that I needed rescuing, but it gave me a chance to get to know these two young ladies better.”
Freddy didn’t say anything, but I don’t think my storytelling helped Max’s cause any. He kept looking at my head, then Max’s. I was used to people staring at my bald head. Sometimes I told them about the chemo treatments and sometimes I didn’t. I decided to tell Freddy. “I have leukemia,” I said. “My hair didn’t grow back.”
“And my aunt shaved my head because she thought I told the police she was on drugs.” Max stared back at him as if daring him to make a comment.
Amelia winced. I don’t think she wanted her son to know that Max had been abused or that her guardians had been drug users. “But that’s all over now,” she said, taking hold of Max’s hand. “You’ll be safe here.”
“But will you?” Freddy pursed his lips. “How well do you know this girl? And with a history of drug use …”
That was it. I stood up and curled my fists into balls. “Max does not use drugs. You don’t know her at all. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and she’s my friend. You should be ashamed of yourself coming in here and acting rude and … and …” I couldn’t think of the word.
All of a sudden I felt stupid. My stomach hurt and I felt all shaky inside like when you haven’t eaten for too long or when you have to get up in front of the whole class and give a report. Mom put her arm around my waist and motioned for me to sit down. I did.
“Obnoxious.” Mrs. Truesdale finished the sentence for me. “Jessie is right, Fred. You don’t know Max, and you are being extremely rude. In fact, unless you change your tone, young man, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Fine.” He glared at his mother and pushed back his chair. Throwing his napkin down on the untouched plate, he said, “We’ll talk later. And don’t think this is over. I’m going into town to talk with someone who’ll listen to reason.”
He left, slamming the door behind him. Poor Molly stood there watching him and whimpering. She looked back at us with soulful eyes and sat back down in front of the door.
Amelia smiled at us, but her eyes looked sad. “I hope you won’t let Freddy’s tirade upset your lunch. He tends to be a bit overprotective where I’m concerned.” She went to the counter and brought back a plate of her lavender shortbread cookies.
“These are wonderful, Amelia,” my mother said. “The girls and I were talking yesterday and decided you should go nationwide with them.”
“Oh, thank you, but I don’t think so.”
I took one, but didn’t feel like eating. I knew Fred could make trouble for Max, and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her here alone. What if Fred came back and hurt Max or something? I’d managed to help her to escape one abusive situation, and I didn’t want her to end up in another one. Although I trusted Amelia, I did not trust her son.
I wasn’t sure what Max was thinking, but I knew I didn’t want to leave her. “You need to get your bike,” I said, remembering it was still at our house.
“I know,” Max said. “I could drive back with you and ride my bike back out here. It isn’t that far.”
“It’s too hot.” Mom glanced at Amelia. “I’ll bring you back, Max. That’s not a problem.”
“Would it be okay if Jessie spent the night?” Max asked.
“Really?” I hoped Amelia would say yes.
“Of course,” she said. “I’d be delighted.”
Max seemed relieved. I figured she wasn’t too thrilled about the possibility of another encounter with Fred either.
Mom settled a hand on my shoulder. “I’m not sure about your staying all night, Jessie. We’ll need to check with your father.”
“But …”
She gave me a no-arguments look. “You’ve only been home for twenty-four hours. We’ll see what Dad says.”
I blew out a long breath. Mom tended to be overprotective at times. I didnt know if she wanted to make sure I didn’t overdo it or if she wanted to protect me from Fred.
We piled into the van, promising Amelia we’d have Max back in an hour. Just as Mom started the car, a man drove in with Amelia’s pickup, followed by Randy’s tow truck. Randy jumped out and handed Amelia the keys. “Here you go, ma’am.”
“Thanks. What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Unless you want to give me some of that scone mix you make.”
“Consider it done.” Amelia nodded toward the pickup. “Did you figure out what the problem was?”
“Sure did. There was a slice in the tire. Looks like someone cut it.”
“Cut it? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” He held out his open palms. “Vandals, I’d imagine. The cut caused a slow leak, so it might have happened when you were in town yesterday or sometime during the night.”
Amelia sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you, Randy. I don’t have any of the scone packages on hand right now, but I’ll bring some next time I come into town.”
When the men left, I glanced over at Max, who looked more than a little worried. Something weird was going on here.
I ended up getting to stay over with Max, but mainly because Dad said so. I could tell he was worried about me, but Dad is into the whole deal about treating me like a normal kid whenever possible. I really wanted to go, and with Max and me
both pleading, he finally caved. Mom did too, but told me to make sure I had a cell phone. I was to call them if Fred showed up and caused any trouble. If he did, Dad would come out. To be honest, I was more worried about whoever had slashed Amelia’s tire, but I didn’t say so.
The whole family came along to drop Max and me off at the farm.
“I want to see the goat that butted Mrs. Truesdale,” Sam insisted once we were in the van.
I laughed. “You’d better be careful, or he’ll butt you too.”
“She’s right, Sam,” Dad said. “Goats can be rascals.”
“Will you ride me on your shoulders, Dad?” he asked after thinking on it.
“Sure, Son.” Dad winked at me in the rearview mirror.
Once I got my stuff set in Max’s room, we went outside to where Sam was feeding the goat. Amelia had put him in a pen. “He loves attention and he’s usually very sweet. But he’s frisky.”
“What’s his name?” Sam reached into the pen and patted his head.
“He’s a Nubian,” she said. “And not being very original with names, I call him Nubie.”
We played with the goat for a few minutes while Amelia showed my parents around. She insisted we all stay for dinner, so we did. We ate outside on the deck facing the lake. The gentle slope down to the water reminded me of our house. She’d made a pot roast and acted like she’d planned for a lot of people. Maybe she had. Amelia may have been old, but she sure could get around. I just never knew how well until these last couple of days. Still, I was worried about her. I wondered how far her son would go to get her off the farm and into a place in town. Maybe Max and I could talk to her more about that tonight.
My parents and Sam left around seven thirty. When they’d gone, Amelia suggested we relax in the living room with some tea. I had just finished mine when Amelia said, “I have a project I need to finish up tonight. Would you girls like to help?”
“Sure. What is it?” Max asked.
“Lavender sachets. Why don’t you two come with me and we’ll set up in the kitchen.” We followed Amelia into the craft room where she had stacks and stacks of material. She opened a closet and brought out a plastic container filled with all sorts of pretty sachets, then handed the box to Max. “You take these; and Jessie, if you’d carry my sewing supplies, I’ll bring the lavender.”
Minutes later, we were all sitting at the kitchen table. She used a funnel to fill the sachets with dried lavender that had been infused with a special oil to make the scent last. After showing us how, she handed that job to us. I held the funnel while Max spooned in the lavender. As we filled them, Amelia sewed up the small opening in each bag.
We worked like that for about an hour. Even with thick cushions on the chair, I was getting a sore behind and my muscles hurt. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes for a minute.
“You’re not falling asleep on us, are you?” Max asked.
“No. Just resting for a second.”
Amelia set her sewing aside. “I don’t know about you girls, but I’m getting rather tired.”
Looking over the finished sachets, Max whistled. “We must have done fifty of these things.”
“Sixty actually.” Amelia removed her glasses. “Well done, girls. I may have to consider hiring you.”
“It was fun.” I’d never been much into crafty things, but working alongside Max and Amelia had made the time go by fast. The sachets were beautiful.
“I don’t know how you girls feel about bedtime, but I’m an early riser. I’ll be heading for bed now and will be up around 4:30 or 5:00—or when the sun gets me up.” She smiled. “If you want to stay up longer or get up later, I’ll try not to wake you.”
I looked at Max, who seemed deep in thought. “I’m with you, Mrs. T,” she finally said. “I’ve never gotten up that early, but I’ll get used to it.”
I was surprised by Max’s answer. Her aunt and uncle stayed awake most of the night and didn’t get up before noon unless they had to go to work. When I asked her about it after we’d gone to bed, she said her real parents had been like Mrs. T, going to bed around ten and getting up at six. “I never did get used to going to bed late. I like getting up early.”
I yawned. “That’s good.” I closed my eyes and must have fallen asleep right away cause I don’t remember anything else until Max woke me up around 1:00 a.m.
“Jess! Did you hear that?” She shook my shoulder.
“What?” I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The room was dark except for the yard lights filtering through the blinds.
“Shh. Listen.” Max pointed toward the ceiling. “Somebody’s up in the attic.”
It was quiet for a moment, and then I heard a soft shuffling noise. “It’s probably just a mouse.”
“That’s no mouse. I heard footsteps.”
I sat up straighter. I heard them too now, along with what sounded like the click of a door closing. “Maybe it’s Amelia,” I whispered, hoping that was the case. I sure didn’t like the alternative.
“I’ll go check.” Max was about to open the door when we heard a creak on the floorboard in the hall. The mystery person was right outside the door. I shook my head and motioned for her to stop. Fortunately she did.
I joined her at the door and whispered, “I can hear the steps creaking.”
Max eased open the door, peeked out, and ducked back in. “It’s definitely not Mrs. T. We need to call the police.”
“There’s no phone in here,” I moaned. I’d left my cell phone downstairs in my sweatshirt pocket.
“Did you notice if there was one in Mrs. T’s bedroom?”
I shook my head. “I only saw the one downstairs in the kitchen, and I’m not going down there.”
“He’s probably gone by now.” Max ran to the window. “I don’t see a car. Jess, come here, quick. That’s him. He’s heading for the lake.”
Sure enough, a large, dark figure was running toward the dock. “He’s carrying something.” The intruder placed a package on the seat of his boat and began rowing away. Max ran for the door. “We need to tell Mrs. T.”
My thoughts, exactly.
Amelia had a phone in her bedroom, on the nightstand beside her bed. She put her hearing aids in and listened as we told her what we had heard and seen, then called 911.
“My goodness,” she said as she hung up. “What a terrible thing to have happen, and on your first night here.” She grabbed her robe from the end of her bed and slipped it on. “Let’s go downstairs and have some chamomile tea. That should settle us down. I’m just glad no one was hurt.” She frowned. “Though I can’t imagine what a thief would have been doing in the attic of all places. Are you sure he was up there?”
“Positive,” Max said. “We heard him. I think he might have dropped something, because the noise woke me up.”
“Well, I didn’t hear a thing.” She chuckled. “Course, I’m half deaf without my hearing aids.”
We sipped on our tea and talked about crime scenes and how you don’t touch anything. We all wanted to go up in the attic to see what the thief had taken, but wouldn’t. We didn’t want to contaminate the crime scene.
A sheriff’s patrol car pulled into the driveway. Fifteen minutes from the time of the call—I was impressed.
The deputy, Jack Keagan, is a friend of my dad’s. They went to school together, and his daughter, Hope, is in my class. She’s one of the girls who don’t talk to me or Max. Jack’s okay though. He was one of the guys who tried to find me when I got lost on the lake.
“Hello, Jessie, Max. What are you two doing out here?” Before either of us could answer he added, “Amelia, are these two girls giving you trouble?”
“Certainly not,” Mrs. Truesdale said. “In fact, quite the opposite. Max is my foster daughter, or she will be as soon as we complete the paperwork. Jessie is our guest.”
He looked like he didn’t believe her. “You called about a break-in?”
While Max and Mrs. T talked to Deputy Keagan, I thought about t
he guy we’d seen get into the boat. At least we thought it was a guy. I suppose it could have been a woman. There was something about that walk and the size that made me think it was a man.
When they finished talking, the deputy went outside and looked around. Several minutes later, he came back in and asked Amelia to go with him to look through the house for anything that might be missing.
“You were right, Max,” Amelia said when they came back into the kitchen. “Our intruder dropped a jar full of buttons. That must have been what woke you. They’re all over the floor. It’s a wonder he didn’t fall on them.”
“Is there anything missing?” I asked.
“Nothing that I could see. It’s hard to know, as I don’t get up there all that often. The lid on my old trunk was up. I’m sure it was down before.” She sighed. “I’ll have to have a look around tomorrow when the light is better.”
“Did you get any prints?” Max asked the deputy.
“Nope.” He shook his head. “Just took a quick look around. Made sure there weren’t any intruders. I could send a crime scene specialist out here, but it doesn’t look like your thief got away with anything important. Besides, the guy was probably wearing gloves.”
Max rolled her eyes. “There was a man in Mrs. T’s house. Isn’t that important? What if he was casing the joint? What if he plans to come back and murder us?”
“I doubt that’s the case, Max.” Amelia turned to the deputy. “She’s right, you know. He could come back. I think maybe you should send someone out. If there’s any possibility …”
“How did he get in?” I asked.
“There was no sign of a break-in.” Jack rubbed a hand through his hair like he was annoyed with me for asking. “Which means the guy may have had a key, or he may have climbed in through an open window.”
Max & Me Mysteries Set Page 13