A Distant Memory

by Traci DePree

  “Do you want tea?” she offered, pointing to the teakettle that sat in wait on the stovetop.

  “Decaf would be awesome,” Livvy said, though her gaze was trained on the computer screen.

  Kate moved to check the water in the pot and turn on the heat. Then she got out two bags of decaffeinated tea as well as sugar and cream. About the time the teakettle whistled, the Web site for Pine Ridge College popped onto the screen. Kate moved to pour the hot water into the cups she’d prepared while Livvy perused the Web site, looking for the page that listed the faculty.

  “How in the world would Sonja know Bill?” Livvy asked.

  “I have a theory about that,” Kate said. “But let’s make sure it’s the same guy first.”

  Kate had just finished stirring sugar into the tea when she heard Livvy gasp for a second time and saw her cover her mouth with one hand. Kate set one cup on the table alongside the laptop and held the other in her hands as she sat down next to Livvy. There on the Web page was Dr. Johnson, much as Kate had seen him that afternoon, his vivid red hair combed back and a blush on his freckled cheeks.

  “It’s him,” Livvy said. “He looks a lot older, of course, but you’re right; it’s him.” She bent to read the information on his profile page while Kate sipped her tea.

  “So,” Livvy finally turned to Kate, “what is that theory you mentioned?”

  “Do you recall when Caitlin Evans told about being at the library when Sonja was helping some strange man who said he was an old friend of yours?”

  “Bill Johnson.” Livvy’s eyes widened in stunned shock. “He’d come looking for me but found Sonja instead?”

  “He gave Sonja his business card.” Kate crossed her arms over her chest. “Not long before she started taking piano lessons from him.”

  “So, was he the last person to see her?”

  “Maybe. One of his students seemed to think that they had a cozy relationship. How well do you remember Bill?” she said.

  Livvy seemed troubled by the suggestion. Finally she said, “I haven’t seen the man in over twenty years.” She shrugged as her gaze moved again to the Web site photo.

  “Some of the things he said didn’t make sense,” Kate said. “Like why Sonja would call him for a ride when her husband was mere minutes away...”

  “So if he was the last one to see her, he knew where she went, right?”

  “Not exactly,” Kate said, explaining what the professor had told her about Sonja saying she had an appointment after her piano lesson.

  “Do you think someone else picked her up at the college?”

  Kate shrugged. “That’s hard to say.”

  “But,” Livvy said, “this means she might be alive.”

  “That’s why the sheriff might reopen the case,” Kate said, though she tempered her enthusiasm. “The thing is,” she went on, “we also found out that Sonja had been keeping more secrets...about taking lessons and about her relationship with Dr. Johnson.”

  “The family had no idea?” Livvy asked.

  “No, though Becky did say that Sonja had been playing the piano more in recent weeks. She thought her mother was teaching herself.”

  “Maybe she wanted to surprise them, or she was afraid they’d laugh at her for taking lessons at her age,” Livvy suggested. “Isn’t music supposed to be really good for someone with Alzheimer’s?”

  “If she in fact had Alzheimer’s,” Kate reminded her friend. Then she amended, “Music is supposed to be therapeutic for all sorts of things, so I guess there is some sense to that theory.”

  But Livvy seemed lost in other thoughts. “Bill was deeply hurt when I broke up with him,” she said, shaking her head at the memory. “He left school without so much as a word about where he was going. Do you think that might’ve caused him to become...” She couldn’t finish the question.

  “Perhaps that was his turning point,” Kate said.

  “I hope not,” Livvy said. “I seriously hope not.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Let’s see what else we can find out about Dr. Johnson,” Kate said as she turned the laptop toward her and began clicking the keys.

  She first pulled up a site that searched for criminal records and typed in his name, but with a name like William Johnson, there were many hits. “What’s his middle name?”

  “Eugene.”

  No criminal records surfaced under that search. Next Kate moved to the Google search page and typed in his name. There were forty-two million results.

  “We’ll never find him this way,” she said. Then she typed in “Tennessee.” The search came back with just over eighteen thousand results. Still way too many. “Should I type in conductor or pianist?” Kate asked.

  “Let’s try both.” Livvy scooted her chair a little closer to Kate.

  Those searches resulted in five links apiece, a much more manageable number. Kate moved to the top one that proved to be a site selling family crests. The next brought up the story of a prohibition activist of the same name who died in the 1940s. The third, however, was the jackpot: a Pine Ridge newspaper article from three years ago about the college appointing William Johnson to his position as chair of the music department.

  Pine Ridge College Finds the Right Man for the Job

  The president of Pine Ridge College announced today that they have hired Dr. William Johnson to chair the music department, a position that has been recently vacated by the former director.

  Dr. William Johnson, a renowned musician, has experience in symphonies around the world, including the San Francisco Symphony and the London Symphony Orchestra. A gifted pianist, Johnson has also taken part in his fair share of Broadway productions, as well as solo concerts and recording projects.

  Dr. Johnson grew up in Harrington County and attended Pine Ridge as an undergraduate. A widower, he says music is what keeps him going.

  Kate was already clicking on the next link. If they’d thought the article about the new job was a jackpot, the next site was a super jackpot: Bill Johnson’s personal blog.

  “Do you see this?” Kate pointed to the screen with a photograph of the professor in a blue sweater, gazing wisely, his arms crossed in front of him.

  Kate clicked on “Archives” to pull up the messages he’d posted shortly before Sonja’s disappearance. Most were ramblings about his upcoming concerts. There was nothing personal on the page. So Kate went further back in the archives to shortly after he accepted the job as chair of the music department. One blog was titled “You Can Never Go Home Again.”

  Kate clicked on the link.

  I moved back to this area because I wanted to come home, as it were. But I’ve since realized that home changes while you’re off chasing your own dreams. It shifts into new patterns of being like sand on a dune, moving with the currents of the wind. When you return looking for that place of belonging that you remember so well, it is gone, blown from the present into memory.

  Yes, some things are the same. Pine Ridge College looks much the same as it did all those years ago when I went there, but now it has high-tech equipment in every classroom, students with a worldview instead of the narrower perspective that we had growing up.

  So perhaps that is a good thing. And perhaps I shouldn’t have looked to a place or person to fill what was missing in my life.

  Kate met Livvy’s eyes as she too finished reading the post. “That’s lovely,” she said.

  “It doesn’t say that he found the answer to his quest,” Livvy said.

  “No,” Kate acknowledged. She paused as she thought back on her conversation with the man. “He knew that Sonja was living in Copper Mill,” Kate said, still deep in thought. “Why wouldn’t he have mentioned the connection between you and her? You both worked at the library. Doesn’t that seem like something you would mention? Yet when I asked him how he met Sonja, he dodged the question.”

  Livvy shrugged.

  “I mean, could he have been trying to hide something?” Kate went on. Her suspicions wher
e this man was concerned had only deepened. She needed to find out more about him, specifically why he’d moved back to the area. And just how close his supposed relationship with Sonja Weaver was. “Did you tell me before that his parents had moved?”

  “Probably,” Livvy affirmed. “My letters were returned unopened.”

  “So, who exactly did he move to be close to if not his folks?”

  “He had two sisters,” Livvy said.

  “Do you think we could pay them a visit tomorrow?” Kate lifted an eyebrow.

  “Um...” Livvy hesitated.

  “If you don’t want to, it’s really fine,” Kate said, seeing her friend’s discomfort at the suggestion.

  “It’s just...I...” Livvy inhaled and smiled at Kate. “It’s all so sudden. Maybe I should talk to Danny first.”

  “OLIVIA!” BILL’S ELDEST SISTER, Margo, squealed when she opened the door to her rural Pine Ridge home the next morning. The sixty-something woman held out her plump arms to hug Livvy. “I’ve missed you,” she said, holding Livvy fiercely.

  Her younger sister, Liz, held back slightly, though once Margo let go of Livvy, she stepped forward and offered a hand to shake. She looked to be young enough to be Margo’s daughter.

  “Hi, Livvy,” she said with a sweet smile.

  Finding the two had been a matter of looking in the phone book and calling Liz, who’d asked Livvy if it would be okay if elder sister Margo came to the odd reunion with their brother’s ex-fiancé.

  Margo led the way into the sunny home that overlooked a ravine and seated them in a room with white wicker love seats.

  “You’re probably wondering why I called you after all these years,” Livvy began.

  Margo scratched her double chin. “We sure did,” she said. She had an enthusiasm that didn’t seem quite warranted by the circumstances. Kate studied her for a long moment before she realized that something wasn’t right with the woman.

  Margo bobbed her head as Livvy spoke. “We’re looking for someone, a missing woman,” Livvy went on. “She was a student of Bill’s, and we’re wondering if he ever mentioned her. Sonja Weaver?”

  “She’s missing? That’s so sad!” Margo said, her face falling.

  Liz reached to pat Margo on the knees like a child and said, “Can you get us some tea?”

  Margo popped up. “Oh, I forgot about that,” she said and disappeared to another part of the house.

  Liz waited for a moment before speaking. “You’ll have to excuse Margo,” she said apologetically. “This woman...Sonja Weaver? I’ve never heard Bill mention her.”

  The sounds of Margo humming in the kitchen bounced down the hallway.

  “Margo seems different than I recall,” Livvy said, as her gaze trailed to where the elder sister had departed.

  “There was an accident,” Liz said, her eyes darkening with the memory, “a horrible car accident a couple years ago. Bill’s wife, Nancy, was killed, and Margo was left with a slight brain injury.” She paused while Kate and Livvy absorbed the painful shock of the story. “She’s doing well, though. She has good days and bad days. You caught her on a good one.” She smiled tentatively.

  Kate glanced at Livvy and saw the moisture in her eyes. “Does that have something to do with why Bill moved here?” Kate deduced. “The accident?”

  Liz nodded. “Margo blames herself for what happened. She shouldn’t; it was the other driver’s fault. Bill couldn’t let her live with that guilt. He’s with her every chance he gets, helping take care of her.”

  Kate felt herself choke up and saw that tears ran unchecked down Livvy’s cheeks.

  “I had no idea,” Livvy murmured. She reached into her handbag for a tissue, then wiped her face.

  “How could you know?” Liz said. “We didn’t keep in touch after you and Bill broke up. Once he got married...” She shrugged.

  “How has he coped?” Livvy asked.

  “He has his good days and bad days,” Liz repeated with a kind smile. “His music helps a lot, and his faith.”

  Kate thought of the blog they’d read the night before. Livvy nodded as the bubbly older sister returned bearing a tray with crackers and four cups of hot tea. She was humming as she set them down on the white wicker coffee table.

  “I told Bill that you would want to see him,” Margo said, oblivious to their emotion. “When he moved home, that’s what I told him.”

  The comment seemed to surprise Livvy. She sat upright and said, “What did he say?”

  “That he’d think about it.”

  “And did he?” Kate added.

  Margo shrugged as she took a sip of her tea.

  “He knew you and Danny had gotten on with your life,” Liz put in quickly.

  A frown passed over Margo’s face. Kate watched her, thinking of all that Bill had sacrificed to ease her pain. Could someone who’d given up career and prestige to be close to a disabled sister while grieving his wife’s death truly be capable of hurting Sonja Weaver?

  If he was lonely enough? Perhaps. But the image Liz offered of a broken man with an injured sister hardly seemed consistent with that of a conniving criminal.

  “I NEED TO SEE HIM,” Livvy said as shadows from trees played like a silent movie’s flickering light on the windshield.

  Kate glanced at her, waiting for her to go on.

  “I don’t believe he had anything to do with Sonja’s disappearance.” She echoed the conclusion Kate had already reached. “If I can just see him, hear him talk for myself.”

  “How would Danny feel about that?” Kate asked, conscious that some husbands were deeply jealous of their wives’ old flames.

  “He’ll be fine with it.” Livvy shook her head. “When I talked to Danny last night, he said he wanted to see Bill sometime too. He cared about Bill.” She turned to look at Kate. “It’s not just about Sonja...I need to ask his forgiveness.” She paused. “But maybe I should call first. I don’t want to surprise him. That wouldn’t be fair.”

  “BILL?” LIVVY SAID INTO THE PHONE in her office as Kate looked on shortly after they’d returned from Pine Ridge.

  Kate could see the nervousness in her friend’s face as she went on. “This is Livvy—” She broke off as Bill said something. “I do? You sound the same too. Yes.” Another pause. “A friend of mine came to see you yesterday...Kate Hanlon?”

  Even from her spot across the desk from Livvy, Kate could hear the surprise in the professor’s voice. “Yes, it’s all so coincidental.” She glanced at Kate for a moment. “Say, I’m wondering if we can come and see you. Yes, me and Danny, and Kate too. Is that okay?” She picked up a pencil and fidgeted with it while she waited for an answer. “Yes. Sonja worked with me here at the library.”

  He said something else.

  “Okay,” she replied. “We’ll talk about it when we see you later today. And Bill, thanks.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Danny held Livvy’s hand as they stood outside Dr. Johnson’s office door at Pine Ridge College that evening. “Nervous?” he said to his wife when he knocked. They could hear shuffling, and then the knob turned.

  For a long moment, the former friends took each other in. But then a smile grew in Bill’s eyes, and he reached to shake Danny’s hand.

  “I’m glad you came,” he said. Then he reached to shake Livvy’s and said, “You look good.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “You do too.” There was a strain of emotion in her voice.

  He nodded to Kate, acknowledging her presence.

  “My office is too cramped for all of us.” Bill pointed behind him. “Can we walk down to the student union together?”

  “Of course,” Danny said, moving to walk alongside his former roommate while Kate and Livvy followed. The corridors were quiet in the early evening, save for an occasional person or two. The students had no doubt departed for dormitories and their studies.

  “I’m glad you called,” Bill said. “I feel just awful about Sonja. Are there any new leads?”

 
; “Just what you’ve offered us,” Kate said.

  They made their way down the stairs to the quiet student union. A couple sat at a far table engrossed in conversation. Bill led them to a spot near the front window that spanned the entire wall.

  “We were so sorry to hear about your wife,” Livvy said.

  Bill glanced at her and then Danny, who gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s been a hard couple of years,” he admitted.

  Danny asked, “How long had you been married?”

  “Fifteen years.” Bill’s eyes clouded. “There was a car accident...” He stopped as if he didn’t want to say more.

  “Your sisters told us about it,” Livvy said.

  He looked surprised. “When did you see them?”

  “This morning,” Livvy said, then changed the subject. “Why didn’t you let us know you were back in the area?”

  Bill shrugged. “We didn’t exactly part on good terms.”

  “We want to set that right,” Danny said, reaching for Livvy’s hand on the table.

  Kate saw the widower’s gaze follow the movement, then quickly shift away. Kate felt suddenly awkward and got up. “I’m going to give you kids some time to catch up,” she said with a smile at Livvy. “I’ll just be over in the bookstore.”

  Then she tugged her handbag onto her shoulder and went into the shop, where classical music floated on the air. She perused the titles, then meandered through the aisles, looking at various odds and ends. A good twenty minutes later, she poked her head out the door to check on the three at the table. Livvy motioned for her to come back.

  When Kate took her seat, she could sense that a change had happened. They were more at ease, comfortable.

  “I can’t get over that Sonja is missing,” Bill said with a shake of his head.

  Kate knew the feeling. “How did you meet her?”

  The professor gave a nervous laugh. He straightened in his chair and scratched his chin. “It was because of Livvy, actually.”

  Kate smiled. She’d suspected as much.

  “I, uh...,” he went on, turning to Livvy. “Several months ago, I thought I’d stop by the Copper Mill Library and see you. Your number was in the phone book, so I knew you still lived in Copper Mill. And I knew that your dream was to be a librarian.” He shrugged. “So I put two and two together and drove down thinking...I don’t know what I was thinking. But when I got there, I felt nervous. You weren’t there. Sonja was working the front desk. She was a nice person...Asked who I was and what I did for a living. She mentioned always wanting to learn piano, and I told her I gave lessons. Before I left, I gave her my business card. It was as simple as that.”