by Ann Mullen
“She probably told Kansas that nobody would accept Sophie in their circle of friends,” I said. I held the pages up and gave them a shake. “I used your copier. I hope you don’t mind.”
Before he had a chance to respond, I continued with my statement.
“According to what Daisy wrote in these papers about her club members, I get the feeling that it didn’t take much to get on her bad side.”
“Daisy does have a nasty attitude toward people who don’t have money. She snubs them in such a demeaning way. Sometimes she can get right ugly. It’s very annoying.”
“What happened next?” I tried to hurry up the conversation.
“The long and short of the story is—Kansas took Sophie out on the lake. He tried to break up with her gently, but things got out of hand. She stood up in that tiny boat and started hitting him. She lost her balance and fell overboard. Kansas jumped in, but couldn’t find her.”
“That must have been awful for him.”
“For two days, Kansas locked himself up in his house and refused our phone calls. I found out that the police were going to arrest him, so Daisy and I went to see him. We found him hanging from a ceiling beam, a rope tied around his neck.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“We got there in time to save his life, but not in time to prevent brain damage. They gave him CPR, but all that did was keep him from dying. He was never the same after that.”
“That’s a terrible thing to happen to anyone.”
“Sophie’s body surfaced two days later. Kansas didn’t blame himself for her death anymore. He was in another world.”
“And Sophie’s mother was sure that the body they pulled out of the lake was her daughter.”
“She positively identified her.”
“Sophie Kent really is dead, huh?”
“Yes, she’s dead. There’s no doubt about that. A mother would know her child, no matter what condition the body was in. I believe that.”
“So that rules out Sophie,” Billy said. He looked at me and then back to Gabe. “We’ll concentrate on the women on this list. We don’t have anything else to go on for the moment.”
“If I can be of any…” Gabe stopped short. “Let me adjust this air-conditioning. We never keep it this cold.”
“I thought it was a bit cool in here, also,” I added.
“You didn’t adjust the thermostat?”
“No, we didn’t touch a thing. We just assumed...”
Gabe walked over to the thermostat on the wall and fiddled with it. He stood there and pondered something.
I stood up, grabbed the papers and said, “I think we’d better go. We need to be out looking for my mother.”
“Did you remember something, Gabe?” Billy asked.
“I just had a memory about Sophie. She hated a hot house. The colder the better she used to say. Oh, there were many things about Sophie that made her unique. The way she threw her head back when she laughed was so innocent, like that of a child. She was missing the tip of her finger and she used to poke me with it. It was a joke between the two of us and we got such a kick out of it. She was a nice girl. I really liked her.”
Gabe seemed to be drifting off into his own little world of memories.
Billy and I looked at each other. A sign sparked between us. We both shook Gabe’s hand as we turned and hurried out of his house.
Time was fleeting away!
“Are you thinking the same thing that I am?” Billy asked.
“I think so,” I replied. “I think Sophie’s still alive, regardless of what Gabe thinks, and I think she’s out for revenge.”
“Two years is a long time to wait.”
“Sometimes it takes a while to accomplish your goal,” I said. “If you want it badly enough, you have to have patience. Sophie must’ve had plenty of it.”
“What convinced you?”
“The same thing that convinced you,” I replied. “I was sure the minute Gabe mentioned the bit about part of her finger being missing. That did it for me. If she wants revenge, what better way to get it? Everyone thinks she’s dead, so who would suspect her?”
“We could be wrong.”
“You don’t believe that for a minute, Billy. She’s still alive. You and I both know it.”
We rounded the corner of the house and saw Athena sitting by the truck. She didn’t move or bark.
“I forgot all about you, girl,” I said as I bent down and rubbed her ears. “Huh, some fine watchdog you are! You didn’t even warn us that someone was coming. What good are you? Next time, you’re staying home.”
Athena stood up on her haunches and starting barking. She didn’t stop until we had reached the end of Middle River Road.
I should’ve known right then she was trying to tell us something.
Chapter 26
Dogs have a way of sensing things. They know when danger is near and they know when it’s not. Obviously, Athena didn’t feel threatened by Gabe. She knew we weren’t in danger either, or she would’ve warned us. I’ve seen her in action too many times to think that she’d fall down on the job. No, we didn’t have anything to fear from Gabe.
Athena finally stopped barking. She lay down on the seat between us and made some kind of noise that only another dog would understand.
“Who called you back there?” I asked as Billy pulled out onto Rt. 230 heading toward town.
“It was Cole on the phone.”
“I’m surprised,” I responded. “We haven’t heard from him in a while. What did he have to say?”
“He called to let me know about the breaking news and that they were doing everything they could to find your mother. He wanted me to be sure to tell you.”
“What else did he say?”
“We talked about what happened to Daisy at the hospital.”
Billy seemed to be beating around the bush.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“One of Sheriff Hudson’s deputies found an abandoned Greene County Sheriff’s car in the shopping center parking lot in Ruckersville. June Robinson’s body was in the trunk of the car. She’d been dead for a couple of days. The car’s been impounded and they have a forensic team going over it for prints and DNA.”
“How soon will they know anything?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Yeah, I know they’re always backlogged, but I believe they do the best they can.”
Billy smiled suspiciously and asked, “Is this the same woman who would’ve spit in the sheriff’s face this time last year?”
“I wouldn’t spit in his face, but I surely didn’t have much confidence in the police as a whole. But I’ve changed my mind. Sheriff Hudson’s been good to us. He’s been there when we needed him, and he hasn’t arrested us, and he could have if he wanted to make our lives miserable. Lord knows we’ve pressed our luck with him on many occasions.”
“I’m surprised at you. I think you’ve softened up.”
“I’ve wised up, not softened up. I know there’re good cops and there’re bad cops. That goes without saying. I now believe that Sheriff Wake Hudson is one of the good guys. And I’m glad of that, because I think we might need his help. I want him on our side, if that’s the case. Actually, I want him on our side all the time. It would make our lives easier.”
Billy’s cell phone rang. He reached down and snapped it loose from his waist and said hello. The conversation was short and Billy did most of the listening.
“What is it?” I asked when he finished.
“That was Jonathan. He found the green Mustang parked in a driveway of an empty cabin on Turkey Ridge Road. He questioned a man who lives in the house down the road and the man said the owners only come for a visit once every couple of years. Most of the time, the place sits empty. The man also said that the car was there when he drove by this morning.”
“Does he know how long it’s been there?”
“He told Jonathan it wasn’t there yesterday. Jonathan
called one of his contacts and it turns out that the Mustang was stolen a week ago from an author who lives in Dogwood Valley. She was out of town at a mystery convention and didn’t even know the car was missing. Her housekeeper discovered the car missing when she came to the house to prepare for her employer’s return. Fortunately, there wasn’t any damage to the car.”
“I wonder if Mom knows there’s an author living in her neighborhood.”
“Knowing your mother as I do, I’d say she probably knows her well.”
“She never said anything to me about it.”
“I don’t imagine that she tells you everything. I’m sure that she has to have some secrets.”
“Not my mother.”
“Don’t be so sure. She didn’t tell you about Eddie for a long time.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll ask her if she knows the author the next time I see her. Now, back to the car. That was pretty lucky.”
“It sure was,” Billy chuckled. “How often do you hear of someone getting their car back still in good condition after it’s been stolen?”
“Never.”
“The funny part is Jonathan said he didn’t see the car because it sat back in the driveway and was hidden amongst the trees. If it hadn’t been for Thor’s barking, he never would’ve seen it.”
“So Thor found it, huh?”
“Jonathan said Thor was barking like a mad dog and tried to climb through the half-opened window of his truck.”
As Billy drove past South River Road, Athena started barking. She pranced around in the seat and then jumped in my lap. She pawed at the window. Her barking got louder as she jumped from my lap and then tried to crawl up in Billy’s.
“What’s the matter, girl?” Billy asked. “Are you trying to tell us something?”
“She knows that’s the road to Grandma’s house. Don’t you, girl?”
Athena, weighing in at almost one hundred pounds, jumped up in my lap again and started crawling all over me. I pushed her heavy body away.
“Sit down, Athena!” I commanded. “You’re too big to be acting like a jumping bean. You weigh almost as much as I do. You’re going to squash me. Get down.”
I pushed her off me.
As soon as we crossed South River Bridge on Rt. 230, Billy pulled off into the first driveway available.
“Athena doesn’t act like this unless she senses something,” he said. “I’m turning around. We’re going to go to your mother’s house.”
“I thought about that a few minutes ago. I was going to suggest we ride by her house. We’re right here, so what could it hurt?”
“I don’t expect to find anything,” Billy said. “I doubt seriously that whoever abducted your mother would be keeping her hostage in her own house. That would be foolish. But then again, criminals aren’t known for their ability to make correct choices. If they were as smart as they thought, they’d never get caught.”
“Absolutely!” I replied. “Who in their right mind would do something so stupid?”
We turned and looked at each other. A meeting of the minds occurred.
“Criminals have done far worse things… idiotic things,” I rambled. “I bet a week doesn’t go by that you don’t read something in the newspaper about something stupid a criminal has done. I once read about a guy who robbed a clothing store and then went back to the same store a day later to buy something for his wife. Now how dumb was that?”
I was steadily talking. Nervousness had set in and I couldn’t seem to stop. I’m never at a loss for words when I’m in a fit.
“I was watching the news one day and there was a segment on about this woman who had stolen an expensive silver tea service from her employer and then tried to return it to claim the reward. It turns out that it was a trap and the woman was arrested. Now that’s pretty stupid, too.”
As we were about to cross over the concrete and wooden bridge to Mom’s house, my cell phone rang. I reached down, dug it out of my purse, and then flipped it open.
“Hello,” I said, not bothering to check Caller ID.
“Jesse, it’s me,” Claire said. “We just got here.”
“I’m so glad that you’ve come. Where are you?”
“We’re at your house, silly. Where else would we go?”
“That was fast. It’s only been a couple of hours. How…”
“Abigail let us use her helicopter. It’s sitting in your backyard. I’m glad you have plenty of open space, or we never would’ve been able to land.”
“Who’s with you?”
“Randy and Detective Frank Trainum.”
“Frank’s with you? What’s he doing here?”
“He sure is,” Claire said. “As soon as Abigail heard about Mom, she called Frank and insisted he come help out. She said that he has contacts that might be of some help to us. She also said that this is his field of expertise. Actually, she said he’s probably the best detective you’ll ever find.”
“He’s definitely good at what he does and we sure could use his help.”
“What do you want us to do?”
“I don’t know just yet. Let me ask Billy.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, Billy said, “Tell him to meet us at your mom’s house. We’ll put our heads together and see what we can come up with.”
I relayed Billy’s request.
“What are you going to do there?”
“We’re just going to look around.”
“Hold on, Jesse,” she said. “Frank wants to talk to you.”
A few seconds later, Frank was on the line.
“What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” he asked.
“Nice to hear from you, too, Frank,” I joked. “I’ve been a good girl. Have you seen my son? Isn’t he just the best?”
“He is a fine fellow,” Frank said. “And that little Maisy is a trip. She crawled right up on my lap the minute I got here. She isn’t afraid of anything.”
“She takes after me.”
“Yeah, right,” he chuckled. “Where are you?”
“Hold on a minute, Frank,” I said. “We’re just pulling into Mom’s driveway and I don’t see her minivan. Maybe it’s in the garage.”
I looked at Billy with a confused look on my face.
“Frank, let’s rendezvous at Mom’s house. Get Claire to show you how to get here. You can use my Toyota. Sarah has the keys.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said and then broke the connection.
I met Frank Trainum a few months ago when Carl took my sister’s kids back to D.C. and then failed to return them. One thing led to another and we were knee-deep in murder and mayhem. Frank was the detective in charge of the case. We instantly took a liking to each other… well, almost.
Billy parked next to the detached garage. We crawled out of the truck and walked around.
Athena barked and took off into the woods.
I called to her, but it was no use. She was high-tailing it off into the woods, probably chasing after a rabbit. I went to the side door of the garage and opened it.
“Hey, the door wasn’t locked,” I said as Billy walked up behind me.
We walked into the garage and had a look around. Dad’s little black pickup truck was parked on one side, but Mom’s minivan was nowhere in sight.
“What do you think?” I asked Billy. “Where’s Mom’s van? She left it here the day of Alice’s funeral and hadn’t come back for it. Now it’s gone. That’s weird. Why would her van be gone? No one’s been here since the funeral.”
“That we know of,” Billy added.
“Let’s go inside and have a look around.”
“I’m right behind you.”
“Where’s your gun?”
“Right here,” he said as he pulled up his shirt. “You don’t think I’d leave the house without it, do you? Where’s yours?”
“Right here,” I said as I lifted up the leg of my pants. “Didn’t you wonder why I put on a pair of j
eans as warm as it is instead of wearing shorts?”
“Why didn’t you strap the gun to your waist like I do?”
“I feel funny wearing a gun on my hip for everybody to see. I feel like I should be in a cowboy movie. Besides, I like this ankle holster and the snub nosed .38. It’s lightweight and nobody can tell I have a gun on me. One day that could work to my advantage.”
“You’re right,” Billy said. “It’s rare to see a woman wearing a gun, so having one strapped to your ankle goes unnoticed by others.”
“And that’s the way I like it.”
“If it makes you feel safe it works for me.”
“You don’t mind do you? You said I could use your gun anytime I wanted to.”
“Help yourself. I don’t use it very often.”
“I guess not. You use that cannon instead.”
I slipped my house key into the slot and opened the utility room door. As soon as we stepped inside I felt as if an ominous, dark cloud was hanging over us. We looked for signs that my mother had been here, but nothing seemed to be out of place until we walked into Mom’s bedroom. There, tied to the bed post was part of a ripped up sheet; the rest of the sheet lay in a heap by the dresser. The room was a wreck. Someone had tied my mother to the bed post and then had torn the room apart! The mini-blinds were closed and the curtains had been torn down. There was no doubt in my mind that my mother had been held captive here and been tormented, especially when I saw the framed pictures that were once on top of the dresser, lying on the floor in a broken mess. Clothes were strewn all over the room. I turned and walked into the bathroom. The large mirror on the wall was smashed and bits of broken glass covered the sink. Blood droplets speckled the counter. Someone had cut themselves when they broke the mirror. Good, I thought, as long as the blood didn’t belong to my mother.
I walked out of the bathroom and stared at a pile of clothes on the floor by the atrium doors. I walked over and cautiously opened the closet door, fearing the worst.