The Search for Grandma Sparkle

by Darlene Miller

  Nancy moaned, “Why, oh why, did this happen to our family? What will the neighbors think?”

  There was silence. No one knew what to say. Then Nancy jumped up and looked at Sarah. “I should be home when George returns. I need to get supper ready for him, Sarah. Will you take me home?”

  Susan got up from the sofa. “I can’t stay here alone. I’ll just go to Michelle’s house since Dad doesn’t want me in his house. Call me when you find them.”...

  Tom looked at Sarah as if to ask, “What is going on here? We just got here.” She shook her head negatively at Tom. He got the message. “Don’t ask.”

  When they arrived at George and Nancy’s house, she quickly got out of the car. Sarah remained in the car long enough to whisper to Tom. “I need to help my mom now but we will talk after supper. Don’t ask questions now.”

  The meal was eaten with little said except to ask for some food to be passed.

  Sarah then turned to her mother. “Go sit with Dad. Tom will help me clean the table and do dishes.”

  Tom picked up dishes from the dining room table and followed Sarah into the kitchen. “What in the world is going on with this family? Your mom and dad didn’t even talk to us.”

  Sarah shrugged her shoulders. A single tear ran down her cheek. “Let’s go outdoors for a walk if it’s not raining, so we can talk after the dishes are done.”

  Tom answered, “Okay.”

  They walked to the barn where Susan showed him the calves.

  “I’m sorry,” Tom whispered. “Tell me more about your family?”

  “Dad is a good man. Everyone will tell you that. He works hard on the farm. He helps people like harvesting the corn on the Davis farm when Fred Davis was sick last year.

  He loves my mother. He never cheats or tells lies. He feels he is always right when as the head of the family, he makes all the decisions. He never asks my mother or us girls for our opinion regarding any issue. If we question him, he feels as if he has lost control over the situation and gets angry.

  Mother’s time is used either to prepare and serve food or to keep herself beautiful. Dad wants breakfast at 7, coffee time at 10, dinner at 12 noon, coffee time again at 3 PM, supper at 6 and a snack before bed. She spends a lot of time on her clothes, hair, nails and makeup. Even though she is beautiful, she never felt that she was as pretty as her sister.

  Making decisions is hard for Mother. When you talk to her, she is always negative about everything. I don’t know if it is because she has low self esteem and depression or if it’s because Dad never allowed her to think for herself. He would say, “Don’t worry your pretty little head,” about everything.

  Dad and Susan were very close. Since he didn’t have the sons he felt were needed on the farm, he allowed Susan to drive a tractor and work outside with him. She is bigger than I am and never complained. This was okay with me since heavy work is hard for me. I’m more the indoor type.

  He allowed Susan to go to Ames to the State College, no doubt hoping that she would learn about farming and find a good farmer husband. Instead, Susan learned that there was more to life than the farm. In spreading her wings to new experiences, she started drinking and smoking, got a tattoo, a navel ring and went partying.

  Then she met John and told Dad and Mom that she had fallen in love with him and wanted to marry him. Dad became very angry and told her that he would never go to the wedding and if she married him, she wasn’t welcome in his house. Dad said that he had to protect his wife from ‘scum.’

  Susan was nineteen so she was legally old enough to get married. I went with them to the courthouse where a judge married them. Mom didn’t go to the wedding. She said that she couldn’t go against the wishes of her husband.

  Jessica was born on Christmas eve, a year later.

  Even though Susan didn’t come home anymore, I spoke to Susan on the phone and visited her when John wasn’t around but she didn’t tell me that he was physically abusing her. I suspected something was wrong but she always had an excuse for whatever bruises I saw. She adored baby Jessica and she is a very good mother. They never had enough money so she felt that she needed to work to put food on the table. Her girl friend, Michelle, kept Jessica while Susan worked at a nursing home as an aide.

  Two years ago, Susan had car trouble so she needed John to take her to work in his pickup and then take eighteen month old Jessica to Michelle’s house. Jessica was asleep when Susan put her into the car seat in the back of the king cab.

  An hour later, Michelle called the nursing home to see why Jessica wasn’t there. Susan was frantic and called John but he didn’t answer the phone. Meantime someone reported a child alone in a pick up. It was locked and the windows were up. The child was no longer crying. The police and an ambulance were called. Someone got Jessica out of the pickup and the ambulance brought her to the hospital. The truck was registered to both John and Susan since she was paying for it; so the police called Susan’s cell phone and told her that her child was hospitalized with dehydration. Someone relieved Susan at work when she rushed to the bedside of her baby. Of course, social services were called. John just said that he forgot the baby was there. But social services noted the bruises on Susan and she finally admitted to her abusive relationship.

  Susan asked Mom and Dad if she could move back home but dad said that she made the decision to marry John and she should live with it. She needed to obey John so he wouldn’t hurt her. There are no divorces in the family. Mom just said that she was sorry but couldn’t do anything unless Dad agreed to it.

  Susan was at her wits end. I went to Grandma Sparkle and told her what had happened. Immediately, Grandma said that, of course, Susan and Jessica could live with her. She did have some house rules. No one was to smoke in her house. Susan was to ask Grandma before anyone came to visit her at the house and John wasn’t welcome to come see her there. Social services approved of Michelle as babysitter and approved the home situation without John. The divorce was final a year ago but the judge gave John two weekends a month to have Jessica as long as he is supervised. That means that a court approved person accompanies him to his mother’s house so she can play with Jessica while John does whatever he wants. Sometimes he goes out with his friends and leaves Jessica with her grandmother and the court approved woman. Apparently, John’s mother has threatened to disinherit her only child if he doesn’t allow her to visit her only grandchild.

  “Now you know what a messed up family I have.”

  “Did your Grandmother have any children besides your Dad?” Tom asked.

  “Well, there is Aunt Mary. I forgot. I need to call her!”

  Sarah pulled out her cell phone and punched in the number for her Aunt Mary.

  Mary Martin was Grandma Sparkle’s daughter and George’s sister but Sarah felt that she hardly knew her since she lived far away in Alaska. Mary didn’t write letters but sometimes Sarah saw something on Facebook about the family.

  “Hello Aunt Mary. This is Sarah Spoolstra. Did Dad or Mom call you?”

  “Hi, Sarah. No, they didn’t call. How are you?”

  “Do you have a minute to talk? I have some bad news for you!”

  “Yes. What is happening?”

  “I have some bad news about Grandma Opal. She is missing along with my niece, Jessica.”. . .

  “Yes, Jessica is Susan’s daughter. She is three-and-a half-years-old.”

  “When did this happen?” Mary asked.

  “It’s been about six hours now.”

  All we know is that she planned to drive Jessica to the Bussey Park to play but never returned home.”

  Mary moaned, “Oh, no. Her car is gone? Did you try her cell phone?”

  “Yes, her car is gone and she doesn’t answer her cell phone.”

  Mary continued, “Since there is a child missing, the sheriff may check the hospitals and put out roadblocks. Did you call him?”

  “Yes, Susan has called the sheriff. She and Mom talked to them awhile ago.”

&nbs
p; “This is so unlike her. Mom always wanted to know where we were. It used to drive George and me crazy. She always let us know where she was too. Please call me in the morning. I don’t know what I can do from Alaska but I want to be kept informed.”

  Sarah sighed. “Since it’s dark and raining, we can’t do much either except pray. Okay, I’ll try not to worry and I’ll call you when I have any news.”

  Sarah turned to Tom and said, “Aunt Mary is at J-BER in Alaska.”

  “Tom looked at her and asked, “Did you say jabber?”

  Susan shook her head negatively. There was a little smile on her face as she said, “No, it’s pronounced J-bear meaning the joint base of Elmendorf/Richardson. It’s both army and air force bases, and I don’t know what other military bases, combined in Anchorage, Alaska. Aunt Mary’s husband, Peter Martin, is in the Army so we don’t see them very often.”

  Tom said, “Oh, I get it. Opal is her mother but your Aunt Mary is far away and not too worried yet.”

  Sarah answered, “You got it. I can’t help but be worried though.”

  Tom reached for Sarah and gave her a hug. “What do you want to do? Do you want to stay here or return to Ankeny with me?”

  “I’ve got to stay here. Do you think you can help search for them in the day light?”

  “Sure, but where do you want me to sleep?”

  “We, or rather I, will ask Mom and Dad.”

  The two young people walked into the house where Sarah’s mom and dad were sitting in the living room watching television.

  Sarah announced, “Mom, Dad, Tom is going to stay over night and help search for Grandma and Jessica in the morning.”

  Jessica’s father jumped up and shook his fist. “You will not sleep here! I won’t allow it! You aren’t married to Sarah. This family has had enough people gossiping about it.”

  Sarah just shook her head. “No, Dad. He can go to Grandma’s house. Susan is staying with her friend Michelle. Tom, the key is under the door mat. Please don’t answer the door or house phone. I don’t know who will come or what the media will do. Use your cell phone to call me if there is anything we need to know about.”

  “I’ll keep in touch,” Tom commented as he turned to leave the house.

  Tom arrived at Grandma Sparkles house, found the key and entered the house. He went to the living room and turned on the news channels but didn’t hear anything about the missing old woman and little girl.

  The phone in the kitchen rang. As requested, Tom didn’t answer it. After a beep, a message came on. A belligerent male voice yelled into the phone. “What the heck is going on? Can’t I even get a little peace since you divorced me? Someone called and asked where I was today.” There was a loud scream. The caller yelled, “The police are here!”

  The caller hung up.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The door bell ringing woke Tom. For a moment, he wondered where he was as he looked around in the spare room with shelves of books surrounding him. When he realized that he was in the guest room of Grandma Sparkles’s house, he peered out of the window to see a television truck parked in the driveway. Ignoring the door bell, he stretched and wandered to the bathroom. After his shower, he felt a little more alive.

  He wondered should he call Sarah on his cell phone about the house phone call last evening. Presumably it was from Susan’s husband, or former husband, John. He didn’t seem to know that his child was missing.

  It would be nice to know if they heard anything positive but if everyone was sleeping in, he didn’t want to wake them. He wondered if he should just drive over to Sarah’s house rather than telephoning when his cell phone rang. Sarah asked him to come over to their house for breakfast. Coffee and breakfast would be good.

  The reporter that Tom had seen earlier as he left the house, tried to stop Tom but he ignored the reporter as he sped out the driveway. The TV van followed him. “It isn’t my place to answer any questions,” he muttered to himself.

  He again ignored the media as he walked to the back door to see Sarah. She was waiting by the door and opened it for him before he could knock or ring the doorbell.

  She motioned for him to sit at the table and poured coffee for the both of them.

  George walked into his dining room and spied Tom. He barked, “What’s he doing here?” What’s with the vans and cars on the shoulder of the road? Do they think this is a circus?”

  “Dad, people want to help search for Grandma Opal and Jessica. We need their help.”

  Sarah continued, “I invited Tom for breakfast. . . . The sheriff’s department phoned. They have some new information and will be here soon to talk to us.”

  George demanded, “What is it? Why didn’t they tell us on the phone?”

  “Maybe they thought that the media would be listening in.” Tom offered. George Spoolstra glared at Tom.

  A sheriff’s car and a deputy’s car drove onto the driveway. As the uniformed men walked up the sidewalk, someone from the TV van yelled, “We’ll go away if you give us a statement.”

  George blustered, “What in tarnation. . .”

  The uniformed officer directed George to a chair. “Sit down, sir, and we will give you the new information.”

  “We found a black sedan license with number 063-BMW at a garage in Lovilia that sells tires. The owner said that he was already at the Knoxville race track when a call came in to fix a flat on the car. Since he wanted to tow the Sprint cars off the race track, he asked if someone else could fix the flat tire on G-71. A few minutes later, he received a call back that said that a “Good Samaritan” had offered to fix the tire, so he wasn’t needed. The races were called off because of rain. When the tow truck driver came down the hill by English Creek on Highway 5, he saw the black sedan with two flat tires and license number 063-BMW from Marion County. He remembered that this was the license number given to him by the woman caller. He redialed the phone number that had originally called for service. There wasn’t any answer so he left a message that he was towing the car to Lovilia.”

  Sarah asked, “Have you been able to trace Grandma’s phone?”

  “No. . . . We have had the car towed to Knoxville to check for fingerprints and any other evidence. The good news is that the hospitals in the area didn’t have any new admissions of a seventy-two-year-old woman or a three-and-a-half-yearold little girl.”

  Sarah’s red eyes told the story that she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep last night. She slumped into the chair and reported, “A group from church is searching the countryside for them.” Then she asked, “What should we do next?”

  The sheriff answered, “We need their help but we need to do this in an organized manner. To answer your question, you need to make a statement to the news media. I suggest that we help you make a statement and have the child’s mother read it. Is she here?”

  George mumbled, “No.”

  The sheriff continued, “We need everyone to cooperate. Tell her to come here.”

  George nodded to Sarah. “Call her and tell her that I said she is to come here to help find her kid and Grandma Opal.”

  Nancy jumped up from her chair and said, “I’ll help fix her hair and clothes before we go on TV.”

  Sarah went into the living room where the others couldn’t hear her and called her sister. When no one answered Susan’s cell phone, she called Michelle’s house.

  Michelle answered the phone. “Hello.”

  Sarah responded. “It’s Sarah. They found the car but no sign of Grandma and Jessica. We need Susan to come to our house.”

  Michelle’s voice sounded like she didn’t believe what she was hearing. “But what about her father?”

  “Yes, Dad said for her to come home. He is hostile toward everyone but the sheriff said that we all need to cooperate.” . . .

  “What do they want Susan to do?”

  “The sheriff is writing a short statement for her to read to the media. Why don’t you help her get dressed and drive her here?”

&nbs
p; Michelle responded, “This just doesn’t make sense.”

  “None of this makes sense to me, either. Why would anyone want to harm a little old lady and a three-and-a-half-year-old child? Our family doesn’t have a lot of money for a ransom.”

  Michelle asked, “Is John there?”

  Sarah answered, “No, John won’t be here. I don’t know where he is.”

  A shout was heard from the dining room when George’s loud voice boomed, “Why are you still here? You are not part of this family. Get out of this house.”

  Tom headed for the door. Sarah ran after him crying. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t go back to Ankeny yet. I need you. Why don’t you go back to Grandma’s house? I’ll call you as soon as the TV interview is over.”

  “Okay.” Tom replied.

  Sarah answered, “I really want you to be with me when we go out with the search party.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Ruth Vander Veer felt uneasy when she woke up Sunday morning. She had been calling Opal since Saturday evening but it continuously went to voice mail. This morning it didn’t even connect. Opal always answered her. She dressed for the early church service and drove there. When she came into the vestibule, Pete told her that Opal was missing with Jessica. Several men were skipping church services to form a search party to look for them.

  Now what should she do? Ruth knew that her old legs wouldn’t be able to walk through the fields or go in the woods in search for them. She looked at the box of homemade chocolate chip cookies in her hand that were for fellowship after church. If she skipped church and stayed in Opal’s house, she could make coffee or tea to help the searchers. That way she would also know when Opal and Jessica were found. It was unthinkable that they wouldn’t be found.

  There was a TV van on the road beside Opal’s house and a strange car in the driveway.

  Ruth rang the doorbell but there was no answer. Of course, she knew that the key was under the door mat so she knocked and then used the key to open the door of her friend’s house.