Jennifer rapped lightly on the door and called Eugene's name. "Maybe some iced tea will do us all a bit of good," she said. "I think it would be a good thing for all of us to sit down and talk." She tried to hide the anxiety she felt. Eugene was not answering the door. Inside, she could hear one of the cats running back and forth.
"Would you excuse me a moment?" she said. There was a chance the writer was in the back garden so engrossed in his work that he hadn't heard the ruckus on the front porch.
"I should have stayed at home with Mimi." J.P. sank to a sitting position on the top step. He hadn't heard a thing Jennifer had said. "I should never have let Sharon push me out of the house. I should have stayed there for Mimi. Now look what's happened."
Jennifer eased down the steps and hurried along the side of the house. As her shoes clicked on the driveway she listened for the sound of Eugene's typewriter. There was nothing. Just the birds and insects that Eugene nurtured.
She slipped her key ring out of her pocket and unlocked the big, old wooden gate that opened on a thicket of trees and vines. In the middle of a suburban area, Eugene had managed to create a small wilderness. His garden was filled with many exotic blooms, yet there was also plenty of space for the native plants and the herbs and weeds that he used for his seasonings.
Jennifer almost screamed as an angry mockingbird let out a raucous cry and fluttered out of a privet hedge. The garden was too quiet. Preternaturally quiet. She had a sudden vision of a giant lizard, a creature who looked at her with the intelligent eyes of someone who had once been a little boy.
"Eugene!" She whispered his name though she'd intended to yell. "Eugene!" This time she was louder. Still, only the woodland creatures answered. "Thank goodness it's broad daylight," she muttered to herself.
Determined not to be a total idiot, she marched through the garden, checking all of the nooks and crannies where Eugene liked to sit and think. At last she had to accept the fact that the garden was empty— Eugene was gone. And J. P. Frost was sitting on the front porch waiting for some word of his child. What would he do when he discovered that Eugene and Tommy Franklin were now missing? What was she going to do?
The idea that Eugene might be in danger spurred her forward. She entered the house through the back door and checked to make sure all of the cats were safe. All were accounted for except Familiar. There was no sign of the black cat.
With her concern growing with each step, Jennifer opened the front door. "Mr. Frost, Eugene isn't home."
"I'll bet." He glared at her.
"Come in and look for yourself." She sighed.
A flush crept up the man's face. "I'm sorry. It's just that there's nothing I can do. Nothing. I thought if I talked with this writer, he might remember something that would help us find Mimi."
"Eugene has talked with the police. He told them everything he knew, and he's been hunting for Mimi, too. We're both very concerned." Jennifer couldn't begin to tell him how worried she was.
"Tell me honestly, Ms. Barkley. Would Mr. Legander hurt my child?"
"No." Jennifer closed the door behind her as she stepped out onto the porch. She put her hand on the man's shoulder. "Eugene would never deliberately hurt anyone, especially not a child or an animal. I swear that to you. Whatever has happened to Mimi, Eugene has nothing to do with it."
J. P. Frost stared at her for a long moment. "I believe you sincerely believe that. I just wish I could believe it, too." He turned, walked down the steps, and got into his car without looking back.
Chapter Six
Eugene has no idea he's being tailed. Here he comes, sauntering down the street and taking time to smell the roses, and the wisteria, and the dogwoods, which don't smell, and the azaleas, and the honeysuckle and every other bloom that happens to catch his fancy. Jeez! He's eating one of the honeysuckle blossoms. The man knows his botany, but I just hope he doesn't pick up the wrong bit of flora.
Of more immediate concern than poisoning is the car idling after him. With the glare on the windshield, I can't get a good view of the driver, but I have no doubt he's following Eugene. The question is, why?
I made a stop at the library this morning, but the sight of a dozen little heathens, eyes agoggle with anticipation to hear a story, made me decide to come straight home. I'm from the old school— children should be seen and not heard. Now my sixth feline sense tells me I should have stayed around and watched. Eugene looks happy, but that car makes me wonder. And by the by, where has our author been? It's almost noon and the reading was over an hour ago.
I guess I'll have to sniff out the answer to that one after I ID the driver of this car. Oh, my goodness, it's a woman, and she's crying! And she drove away as soon as Eugene turned to walk up the steps to his house.
* * *
"FAMILIAR, my handsome, black friend." Eugene stopped to scratch the cat. "Beautiful day. What an exciting reading. The children were exceptional. And that little Tommy Franklin. He asks the most exquisite questions! What a unique mind he has. My mind is slipping, though. I left without telling Jennifer."
The cat purred but kept his attention on the road where a little red car hit the curb and careered around the corner, as if the driver were drunk.
"My, my, that car almost wrecked." Eugene turned to tickle Familiar under the chin. "I took a stroll through Dr. Ambrose's backyard. Of course, if he'd caught me, he would have shot me. He isn't all that fond of me, especially since I introduced that crate of field mice into the tree stump in his backyard. He simply didn't understand that the mice would live in the tree stump while they destroyed it. He would have eventually gotten rid of the stump, which was his goal, and until that time the mice would have had a cozy home." Eugene sat down on the step beside the cat and stroked his sleek, black fur. "Why is it that people can't seem to grasp that all rodents aren't their enemy? We can live together. Even help each other out. That's the grand design."
"Meow." The cat turned bright golden green eyes on him.
"You understand, don't you? I think my children do, too. That's the wonderful thing about children. They know intuitively. Until society manages to bully it out of them and turn them into humans."
"Meow!" Familiar put his paw on Eugene's leg.
"How about a stroll over to the fish shop? I have a yen for some broiled flounder today."
Familiar got up and walked to the end of the sidewalk.
"Impatient rogue, aren't you?" With a spry step, the writer took off, with the black cat leading the way.
* * *
JENNIFER SAT DOWN on the steps at the library and buried her head in her hands. There was no sign of Tommy Franklin. None of Eugene. The police had searched the library from top to bottom without a trace of the young boy. Reluctantly, the police chief had called in the FBI. A two-man team was on the way to "interview" Eugene at this moment. They had left Jennifer in the care of the tall, lean agent who now lounged in the doorway at her back. He seemed content to prop against the cool marble pillar, but she knew he was waiting for her to make a move. Whatever she did, he would follow. Including going to a political rally with James Tenet at six o'clock. Jennifer groaned into her hands.
The mess was going to hit the fan, and very soon. There was nothing she could do, either. Worry about the missing children was uppermost in her mind, but she couldn't help but acknowledge the troubles that were now looming for Eugene. He was strongly implicated in the disappearance of Tommy Franklin. Two children were missing, and Eugene had been the last one to talk with each of them. She groaned again as she saw the imaginary headlines. The only bright spot was that Crush Bonbon had left the library before Tommy had gone amiss.
But James would surely have heard of the child's disappearance. She glanced at her watch. He was due to pick her up in two hours. If she canceled, it would only make things look worse than they really were. She wouldn't cancel her date unless—
"I hope you feel guilty. You're an accomplice, you know. If you'd listened to me when I'd tried to tell you abo
ut that old man, Tommy Franklin would be safely at home."
She dropped her hands and swung around. Her worst nightmare had sprung to life in front of her. Crush Bonbon stood in the open doorway and he was pointing a finger at her.
"They should charge you with a crime. You set him loose on this town. You aided and abetted him while he plotted to injure those innocent children."
Jennifer stood, looking from Crush to the FBI agent, who gave her no more than a bored glance. There was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He would be of no use.
"Be careful what you say, Crush. I'll slap a slander suit on you so fast you'll pop your girdle." She resisted the urge to poke at his big belly.
"Truth is my defense." His small eyes sparked with the challenge.
"Truth! You wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on the butt. Eugene has nothing to do with the disappearance of these children. As soon as he returns home, he'll tell the authorities that, and everything will be cleared up."
"Care to lay a small wager on that?"
"Of course!" Jennifer didn't really want to bet, but he'd thrown down the gauntlet.
"How about you give me thirty minutes on my show if Eugene is charged? Thirty minutes where I can ask you any questions about Eugene, children's stories, or how much money your publisher makes off Eugene and how important it is for you to protect his reputation— no matter what."
"Fine, if you'll give me thirty minutes— without interruption— if he isn't charged. Thirty minutes where I get to have my say and you get to answer my questions."
Crush's eyes squinted with delight. "Lovely."
"Check the docket book this afternoon. Eugene Legander won't be charged with a single thing. You want to know how I know?" She stepped forward, so close that she could smell his Old Spice cologne. "Because he's innocent!"
She turned on her heel and sat back down on the step, ignoring him. "Old Spice," she muttered to herself. "The people who make it should sue him for wearing it!"
She heard the library door close and she rubbed her forehead with the heel of one palm. It had been a long, long day and it wasn't getting any shorter.
"Jennifer!"
At the sound of her name she turned around to find Mrs. Whipple at the half-open door. "It's the telephone. Eugene for you. He's very concerned for you."
Jennifer sprang to her feet and almost ran over the FBI agent as she hurried inside. Before she could even get the receiver to her mouth she was talking.
"Where have you been? I've been frantic. Have they told you about Tommy?"
"Hold on, dearest. I've been to the fish market. Familiar and I selected the most superb flounder. Caught only this morning. I've put it on to marinate with some lemon and spices and— "
"Eugene!" Jennifer felt her control snap. "I don't want to hear about a dead fish!"
"That's exactly what those two FBI agents said."
She heard the caution in his voice and was instantly calmer. The two agents were probably standing right beside him. Eugene had a method to his madness. "What about Tommy?" She couldn't help the feeling of dread that came over her every time she spoke the young boy's name.
"I'm terribly worried about him." Eugene paused to clear his throat and gather his emotions. "I left him on the steps, reading a book about a boy in India. He was perfectly content and happy when I decided to walk home."
"You said you would wait for me." Jennifer knew she sounded petulant, but she was so worried she could hardly breathe. Now that Eugene was in good health, all of her concerns centered on Tommy and Mimi. She couldn't allow herself to imagine what might have happened to the children.
"I did wait. But then I decided it was a perfect day for a stroll. The flowers are magnificent." The sound of two male voices could be heard in the background and for a moment Eugene was interrupted.
"I told you the route I took," Eugene said. There was a note of false patience in his voice. "I've told you at least six times. Are you incapable of remembering, or is this some tactic where you think I'll forget what I said and slip up because I'm lying? Well forget that. It's a waste of your time. I'll tell the same story every time because it's the truth."
"Put one of the agents on the telephone," Jennifer directed through gritted teeth. If they were badgering Eugene, she'd give them something to digest until she could get over there and give them the main course.
"Everything is fine, darling. The gentlemen have asked their questions, and I believe they're ready to leave?" There was the sound of chairs scraping on the hardwood floor. "Yes, they're going. They wanted to take me down to the FBI headquarters, but I think they realize that's unnecessary. I've agreed to go down to see Chief Bixley in the morning." There was the sound of the front door closing. "Thank goodness they're gone." Eugene's voice was heavy with relief, but it grew shaky. "I'm so worried about little Mimi, and now Tommy. What do you suppose is happening to those children?"
With the agents out of his house, Eugene could express his concern. Jennifer knew exactly how he felt. The thought of the children made her sick. "We have to believe that they're still okay."
"That's why I agreed to talk with Bixley in the morning. He's got a lot at stake here, finding those children. And if there is some small detail that I've forgotten or overlooked, maybe he can ask the right questions. I've answered everything the FBI asked, and now I have to think."
Sometimes it was difficult for Jennifer to remember that Eugene was not a man of forty. He was always so full of energy and ideas, but his concern over the children was wearing on him, grinding him down.
"Rest, Eugene. I'll do what I can. Maybe James will know more details when I see him."
"What exactly happened to Tommy? Those agents were not very helpful, and of course, I haven't a clue."
Jennifer gripped the telephone and a sympathetic Mrs. Whipple handed her a cup of fresh black coffee. "In the time that you left and his mother arrived to get him, something happened to him. He simply disappeared. Just like Mimi."
"Tommy is a very self-reliant young man." Eugene sighed.
The defeat in that one sigh made Jennifer stand up. "I'm coming over to check on you."
"No."
"What?" Jennifer was astounded. Eugene had never told her not to come over.
"This is terrible. I need some time alone to think. Time to remember. I want to write down everything that transpired between Tommy and me before I walked away. I want to make notes about every car that was parked at the library. Anyone I passed as I walked away. I need to do this and I need utter quiet so I can think."
There was wisdom in Eugene's plan, but Jennifer also felt a creeping suspicion that he was too upset for company. That troubled her.
"I'm supposed to go to a political rally tonight. May I stop by after the rally?" She waited for his answer.
"Of course, and bring James with you. He might have some new ideas about this business. And don't ask— I've never heard you mention politics, so you must be going with that reporter. I may be old, but I'm not senile. Yet."
That tiny bit of feistiness in Eugene's tone took a burden of worry off Jennifer's shoulders. "We'll be by about ten or so. James has to go to the paper and write the story, so we won't be able to stay long."
"By that time, maybe Tommy and Mimi will be home."
"Maybe they will." She knew the words were empty as she spoke them.
* * *
JENNIFER SHIFTED her weight in the hard metal chair that made up the spectator area at the Fairhope rally. She'd listened to more than a dozen boring speeches by politicians running for everything from local to state office. The entire evening would have been entirely boring had it not been for James's acute powers of observation and humorous asides.
"Who's up next?" she asked. The woman who had walked to the podium looked familiar, but Jennifer hadn't bothered much with Alabama politics since moving to Mobile.
"Anna Green for the state legislature. She's a school board member, famous— or infamous as the case
may be— for her mudslinging in public meetings." James inched forward in his chair.
Around them the crowd stilled as Anna cleared her throat and looked over the gathering. "The future of our children is at stake here, and that's why I've decided to take my campaign from the school board to the state house! We can no longer sit back and let the moguls of television, rock music and publishing destroy our children and our society. They are the enemy and we must attack." Anna Green lifted a clenched fist at the roar of applause from the audience of two thousand at the city park.
"I can't believe this," Jennifer whispered to James as she watched the faces of the crowd. "These people are buying into that propaganda. Anna Green can't possibly make children safe by attacking movie moguls."
"But she can make these adults think that she can. She's tapped into a real fear. These people are worried about their children and grandchildren. They want to believe that someone more powerful than they are can promise safety." James made a few notes on his pad as Anna Green continued her speech.
"Our world has turned violent. Television, movies, rock videos, even books, have portrayed violence as the answer to all problems. Our children are victims of molesters, abductors and perverts. They are even victims of other children who have been taught to shoot, beat or murder by example. I say we must act now. Violence on television must be stopped. Books must be burned. Instigators of violence and cruelty must be punished."
Jennifer felt her skin shiver with the raw power that Anna Green generated. She spoke with fervor and passion, and the crowd was swayed by her emotion as much as by her words. A chill settled over Jennifer as she listened.
"Burn the books!" someone in the audience yelled out.
"Burn the movies!" a woman cried.
"This is scary," Jennifer whispered. "It's mob mentality."
"And carefully orchestrated." James held his pen poised. "I heard Anna Green speak two weeks ago, and there wasn't a mention of her campaign against movies and books. She's playing on the fears brought about by Mimi's and Tommy's disappearance."
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