“I’m staying anyway,” I said. “I’ll be out in the barn. I have my phone if you want me to come in with you while Harvey...while Sheriff Martin is here.”
“Okay, Piper. Thank you.” Miss Julie puttered around at the kitchen sink, nervously putting things away.
After Dad left, I went out to the barn and let Dotty into her stall. She was sopping wet, but I didn’t care. I rubbed her dry and brushed her for a while, thinking about the theft. Poor Miss Julie had had a break-in less than a month ago, and now she had been robbed. Crooks must think of old people as easy targets. I brushed hard and gritted my teeth at the unfairness of it. Miss Julie was sweet to everyone and that was her reward. Dotty turned her head and snorted at me, telling me that I was brushing too hard. Wet hair was flying off her little round spotted rump.
“Sorry, girl,” I said. “I’ll go easier.” I detangled her snowy mane and tail with a large comb, then gave her a horse treat and let her back out into the wet. I saw Harvey Martin’s squad car at the house, but Miss Julie hadn’t called, so she didn’t need me there. I caught Nickel and led him through a stall into the main area of the barn, tied him up and began to brush him.
“Hey, Piper.” Jeff walked into the barn and looked behind him. “What’s the sheriff here for?”
“A lot of Miss Julie’s jewelry is missing,” I said.
“Where’s Cassie?” said Jeff.
“I haven’t seen her. Why? Do you think she had something to do with it?”
“I didn’t say that, but I never know where she’s going to turn up or what she’ll be doing. I get nervous when something bad happens and I don’t know where she is. Sometimes I think she has to stay ahead of the law. Are you really brushing wet horses?”
“Yeah, I am,” I said. “They like it and it gives me something to do, even though I end up looking like a wet rat.”
“Nah, you look kinda cute, like that,” he said. “How’s the algebra going?”
“It’s good. I get it now,” I said, wiping my face, which I knew must be muddy.
“Okay, see ya.” Jeff headed back to the house. I stared after him. He thought I was cute?
By that time, I was done brushing Nickel, so after giving him his treat, I let him go out into the rain again. I put all my brushes and combs away, tidied up the barn and walked back to the big white house. The rain had stopped and I could hear loud voices from the house. Stepping up on the back porch, I peeped in the window. Harvey Martin and Miss Julie sat at the big oak table and Jeff stood by the refrigerator. I opened the door as softly as I could and slipped into the room, watching them. They all three saw me come in, but kept talking.
“I just want to know where you’ve been when you weren’t in school,” Harvey was saying.
“I didn’t take the stuff, and where I’ve been isn’t your business,” Jeff was saying, louder. “I don’t have to account for my whereabouts to you.”
“Well, son, now, you really do. We need to know what you’ve been doing.”
“Oh, so I’m automatically the one that took it? I’m not the only one around here. This house is like a revolving door—people come and go all day and all night!”
Jeff waved his hands around like he was shooing flies. I understood that Jeff didn’t want to point a finger at Cassie, but couldn’t he just do it anyway?”
“Oh, well, Jeff,” said Miss Julie, “I do have a lot of people who come around, it’s true. But you live here—you’re here most of the time.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not the only one!” Jeff stated, turned and stomped up the stairs.
“Oh, Jeff...” called Miss Julie, but Harvey said, “Let him go, Julie. He’ll settle down in a while. He’s a smart kid and he’ll realize I need to check on everyone’s comings and goings. I will have to question him when his mother is around, since he’s underage.”
“Do you think he took the jewelry? I’m sure he didn’t,” I said. It didn’t make sense. Jeff was a better guy than that and I was starting to like him. Not like like him, just like him.
“I can’t say, yet,” said Harvey, walking to the door. “I need to talk to everyone that’s been out here this week. Julie, you’ll get me the list of items and their value by this afternoon? And a list of everyone you can think of that was here all week. For any reason.”
“Of course,” said Miss Julie. “But Harvey, I’m sure Jeff didn’t take my jewelry, too. He has pitched in and helped Sam and me a whole lot in the last few weeks. I think he’s a great kid and I’m a pretty good judge of people.”
“Okay, Miss Julie, see you later.” Harvey Martin waved his hand and ducked out the door. The patrol car started and drove away while Miss Julie and I looked at each other.
“I’m here a lot,” I said. “Maybe I took the stuff.”
“Piper,” said Miss Julie, “No one thinks you took anything. I’ve known you all your life.”
“So it has to be someone you haven’t known a long time? That leaves two: Jeff and Cassie.”
“I know,” said Miss Julie.
Chapter Eight
~ Who is Robert Johnson, Anyway? ~
I got back to my house late in the afternoon, having helped Miss Julie make up her lists. She planned to email them to the sheriff, so I left and walked home. I tried to call Addie to talk about it, but she didn’t answer. I was already frustrated as I went inside and my mom jumped me in the hallway.
“I just got off the phone with Harvey Martin. He needs to know where you have been every afternoon and evening this week. I told him he could talk to you tonight.”
“Jeez, Mom! I saw him out at the farm earlier. Why didn’t he talk to me then?”
“He needed to do it with one of your parents there. Piper, are you okay? Is there anything I should know?”
“Mom! I can’t believe you can ask me that!”
“Now, Piper, you know in the past, sometimes you haven’t been really...forthcoming with information.”
“Now you think I’m covering something up? This is just great!” I ran up the stairs and slammed my door, furious.
“Piper, you come down here!” called my mom, but I ignored her, putting on the earbuds to my phone and turned up the music. I lay on my bed fuming for a while, then removed the earbuds and listened. Quiet. Not a sound in the house. Had I overreacted? It’s true I had told a few lies in the past, but I had always felt terrible about them and apologized, promising never to lie again. And I hadn’t. Well, not much.
Later, I crept downstairs and found Mom in front of the television, watching the news.
“Mom? I’m sorry. I’ll talk to Harv, er, Sheriff Martin when he comes over. It seems like everyone is suspicious of everyone.”
Mom looked at me and said, “You understand he has to talk to everyone. Even people he knows didn’t do it.”
“I know,” I said. I sat on the couch by her and put my head on her shoulder. “I don’t want Jeff to be a suspect either. I’m sure he didn’t do it.”
“Why?”
“I, I just am. He’s a good guy.”
“Well, hon, I’m glad you like him and I hope you are right. You know, you shouldn’t yell at people who love you. You made me feel really bad.”
“I know. I said I was sorry. I yell first and think later, I guess.”
“You sound like me, and I’m pretty sure I was worse when I was a teenager.”
“Will they arrest Jeff?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what Harvey knows about Jeff. Maybe I can find out when he comes over.”
We watched the television for a while and were deep into a reality show when the doorbell rang. Mom went to the door and let Harvey Martin in. He explained that since I was not eighteen yet, my mom should stay in the room while we talked.
I told him how I went to the farm after school, how I sometimes went up and talked to Miss Julie, but that I never went in the house unless she was home.
“You never just pop in and get a drink or something?” he said.
“No, there’s a faucet in the barn if I want a drink of water. I have never been in that house with Miss Julie gone, and I’ve never even seen the upstairs.”
“Well, if you’re sure of that,” said Harvey Martin, “then I can check you off my list. I only have Jeff Johnson still to talk to, and his mother.”
“Stepmother,” I said.
“Really?” said Sheriff Martin.
“He told me,” I said, looking at the two of them. “What?”
“Piper,” said my mother, “I know you told me that the other day, but I’ve been thinking. She doesn’t seem to like him and that might explain it.”
“Yeah, but why did he go live with her if she doesn’t like him?”
“Sometimes kids don’t have a choice if there’s no one else,” said Harvey.
After Harvey left, I went to my room and thought about how Jeff had to go live with Cassie, even though she didn’t like him. He was making the best of it, I thought, but it was really too bad. I made up my mind to do what I thought was right and I called Jeff.
“Hey, Piper,” he said.
“Jeff,” I said, without beating around the bush, “Harvey Martin is going to come over and talk to you again about Miss Julie’s jewelry. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“Thanks. I figured he would sooner or later.”
“Are you worried?” I don’t even know why I asked that. He was silent for a minute.
“Piper, I didn’t take the jewelry. I’m not worried, because I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know why I blew up earlier, but I did not take it.”
“I didn’t think you did,” I said. “In fact, I told the sheriff you didn’t.”
“Well, thanks. By the way, have you talked to Cassie? Do you know where she is? I tried calling her, but she doesn’t answer.”
I had to stop and think for a minute. I hadn’t seen Cassie for several days. “No, Jeff, I haven’t seen her since the day Miss Julie brought Honey home. Do you think she’s out with her sister?”
“I don’t know and I’m kinda tired of trying to figure out where, what and why she’s doing things. Hey, Piper, you know what?”
“What?”
“Thanks for caring enough to call me. I didn’t think you liked me.”
“Oh. Um. Well, I didn’t at first. You were sort of... not friendly, and I thought you were just a nerdy geek and all.”
“So I’m not a nerdy geek anymore?”
“I don’t think so. But who’s Robert Johnson? You wear that T-shirt all the time.”
“Robert Johnson is the greatest bluesman that ever lived. He’s fantastic. Next time you come out to the farm, I’ll play you some of his music.”
“So you’re into blues?”
“Oh yeah, it’s so real. There’s no other music like it, and it’s purely American. You know rock and roll came from blues.”
“Really?” I said.
“’The blues had a baby, and they called it rock and roll.’ That’s the saying. A lot of the early rock and roll songs were real bluesy. You should listen some time.”
“Yeah. Huh.” I had nothing else. This was interesting, because I couldn’t get him to talk earlier, and now he wouldn’t stop. “So, I guess I’d better get some sleep.”
“Are you coming out tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I try to get out there every day.”
“Well, I’ll probably see you then. Maybe we could listen to some music.”
“Sure. G’night,” I said, hanging up. Jeff was surprisingly easy to talk to tonight. I thought about that as I turned out my light, smiled, and closed my eyes. He thought I was cute.
Chapter Nine
~ A Piece of Suede ~
The next day dawned clear and crisp, a nice glimpse of what fall would be like. I sailed on my bike out to Miss Julie’s farm, smiling as if I had a secret. Well, I did. Jeff thought I was cute and wanted to listen to music with me. Should I tell Addie? I had made such a big deal out of not caring about boys, she would really tease me. It was too hard to decide, so I just let it go.
Miss Julie’s car was in the driveway, but I wanted to see the horses first. Dotty and Nickel frisked in their paddock, the way horses do when they feel good. Nickel jumped around, kicking, and Dotty squealed and trotted away. Daisy stared at both of them, as if to say, “I’m too busy growing a baby to jump around with you idiots!” Her belly was huge, but she was obviously healthy and in good shape, with eyes bright and ears pricked with interest.
Miss Julie stuck her head out of an upstairs window and called to me.
“Piper! Can you come in here right away? I have something I need to show you.”
“I’ll be right there.” I called to the three horses so they would know I was there then went up to check on Miss Julie. I stuck my head in and smelled her morning coffee.
“Hi, Miss Julie,” I called to the empty kitchen “It’s me!” I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, with little doggy nail clicks following.
“Piper, you have to see this,” she said. She walked into the kitchen, waving something at me, with Honey tagging along behind her. She held out a small, ragged scrap of leather, dark brown suede. “I found this in my bedroom on the floor. It was half-hidden under the bed. Watch.” Miss Julie held the patch down by Honey’s nose. Honey immediately growled, then looked at Miss Julie and licked her hand. “What do you make of it?” said Miss Julie. “She growls every time I hold it near her face.”
“You found it in your bedroom? It looks like it was torn off a jacket or something. Do you have anything like that? Does Honey have leather chew toys?”
“I have a suede jacket, but it’s tan, not dark like this. And Honey doesn’t have anything like this. What are you thinking?”
Honey was still sniffing at the leather scrap and when Miss Julie held it in front of her mouth, the dog took it. She shook it then, growling, like dogs all over the world shake things to kill them—even dog toys.
“I wonder...” I began.
“Wonder what? Tell me what you think, Piper. It’s just us here. If you’re wrong, no one will know. But I’m wondering if we are thinking the same thing.”
“I wonder if the suede piece got torn off someone in your bedroom that wasn’t supposed to be there,” I said. “I wonder if Honey knew that someone shouldn’t have been there and snapped at them and tore their jacket.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Miss Julie said. “But whose jacket?”
I held my breath, not wanting it to be Jeff’s jacket. That would probably make it Cassie’s.
“Where are Jeff and Cassie?” I asked.
“Jeff rode my old bike into town a while ago to get me some milk and eggs. I have no idea where Cassie might be. I haven’t seen her for days. Maybe Jeff knows.”
“He doesn’t know. He said last night he hadn’t seen her for days, either.”
“You talked to him last night?” Miss Julie seemed suddenly interested.
“Yeah, I called him about something else and he asked me if I’d seen her.”
“So you’re calling each other at night?” Miss Julie had a big grin on her face. I felt my face grow red. “Oh, silly, don’t get all embarrassed. You have a perfect right to talk to boys at night. And he’s an awfully helpful one...and good-looking, too. I don’t blame you. I just hope he’s not involved in taking my jewelry. He doesn’t seem like the type, and I can’t believe I would be that wrong about a person.” She lost her grin and the worried look came back on her face.
We decided to wait for Jeff to get back, although neither of us had any idea how long that would be. I got Honey’s dog brush and gave her a thorough grooming. Honey loved that, rolling on her back with a goofy doggy grin so I could brush all the feathery fur on her belly.
After I brushed Honey, I gave her a dog treat, which Miss Julie had stocked up on. This dog had won the Lucky Dog Lottery. Miss Julie made some iced tea for me, as it was now halfway through the morning and warming up. She put the tea in a tall glass and
a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of me.
“Eat up, Piper,” she said. “I’ll bet you didn’t have much breakfast and you’re hungry.”
She was right. I had grabbed an apple as I went out the door, but that was all. One apple didn’t stay with you long. I snarfed down three cookies in quick order and was reaching for the fourth when Jeff walked in the door.
“Hey, Piper! Good morning! Miss J., I couldn’t find brown eggs, only white,” he said, putting his grocery bag on the counter. He took out milk and eggs, placed them in the refrigerator and sat down at the table by me.
“That’s all right, Jeff,” said Miss Julie. “It’s hard to find the brown ones. I might have to get some chickens to keep out here so I can get fresh, brown eggs every day. Have some cookies.” He was already munching on one, so he smiled at her, pointing to his full mouth
“I don’t trust a man who doesn’t enjoy his food,” said Miss Julie. “Or a woman either, for that matter. Jeff, I found this piece of fabric. Does it look like anything you recognize?” She held the scrap out to him. Jeff took it, felt it and set it on the table.
“It looks like it came from Cassie’s suede jacket. Why?” he said.
We explained to Jeff how Miss Julie had found the patch of suede in her bedroom, how Honey growled at it every time and what we had figured happened. His expression got grimmer and grimmer by the minute, while his breathing grew harder and harder.
“You know what?” he said. “Know what took me so long in town? I stopped by the sheriff’s office to talk to him. I know I haven’t done anything wrong and I didn’t want him to think I had, so I just went ahead and talked to him.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“He asked me some questions, is all. Where I’ve been in the afternoons, what I’ve been doing. Routine questions and he seemed satisfied with the answers. I‘ve pretty much been here or at the library or at school. I told the sheriff about helping Mr. Simpson after school. But he didn’t ask me the question I really wanted him to.”
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