It took several minutes before the door opened. In fact, I was almost ready to head back home.
The door swung open and in front of me stood a very good-looking young man. You know, the kind that women swoon over - dark brown curly hair but not bushy, thick black eyelashes but not curly girlie ones, and deep blue Paul Newman eyes. Mind you, not that I was staring. When he smiled, I almost forgot where I was, which at my age is usually the early signs of dementia.
“Yes?”
Plus, he had a deep gentle voice. I was already thoroughly convinced he was the doctor Parson’s Cove needed.
Without trying to sound too spellbound, I said, “Hi. My name is …”
He smiled. I waited. It was bad enough I almost forgot where I was but now I couldn’t even think of my name.
I laughed, which really did break the ice. “Well,” I said. “I’ll tell you my name when I remember it; meanwhile, I’ll give you these.” I handed the muffins to him. “Welcome to Parson’s Cove and my name is Mabel Wickles.”
His grin broadened. “Thank you so much, Mabel Wickles. I’m looking forward to getting to know you. I’m Robert Campbell and I’m planning on being one of your family doctors here in Parson’s Cove.”
He held out his hand. I placed mine in it and he gave me a gentle yet firm handshake.
I retrieved my slightly shaky hand and grinned. Since I'd seemed to lose all control of my normal sensible emotions, I felt it might have been a foolish grin. Sort of like a child gazing up at a lollipop she really wanted.
“Well,” I said, after composing myself quite well, “I’m looking forward to having you as my neighbor too. If there’s anything you need just let me know. If you like the muffins, I’ll make sure to keep you supplied.”
My lips transformed into a sappy smirk but I was unable to control it.
“Thank you, Mabel,” he said, flashing a radiant smile. “You’re very kind.”
I believe he was waiting for me to leave then because we stood and stared at each other until I finally said, “Have a good evening.”
“Good night,” he called out but I was already half way across his back yard.
Even though it was late and I knew Flori would be asleep, there was no way I could sleep without telling her about our new doctor. Parson’s Cove hadn’t had anyone this thrilling since … ever.
I knew she would pick up because Jake never answers even if the phone is right beside him.
“Who is this?” Flori yelled in my ear. “Is that you Junior? Are you at the hospital?”
Now Jake Junior is Flori’s oldest son and his wife is ready to give birth any second. The thought that Flori might panic when the phone rang never crossed my mind.
“No, Flori. It’s me, Mabel. Why don’t you check your call display?”
“Mabel? What on earth are you calling at this hour for?” There was a brief moment of silence while she checked her bedside clock. “It’s ten minutes after eleven. Why aren’t you in bed?” And then, I guess realizing that this might be an emergency, changed her tone. “Mabel? Are you okay? What’s the matter, sweetie? Do you need Jake and me to come over?”
I wouldn’t have Jake come over even if it were over my dead body. Not that I would ever say that to Flori. She still has hopes that Jake and I will be great friends some day. It’s been over sixty years since all three of us started school together and the miracle hasn’t happened yet.
“No, Flori. I just wanted you to know that I met our new doctor.”
Flori said nothing for several seconds. “You saw our new doctor? That’s why you called and woke me up?”
“Well, have you seen him yet?”
“Of course, you know I haven't, Mabel. And why are you so interested? You didn’t seem to be interested at all when I was telling you about him.”
“I know but that was before I knew what he looked like.”
“So what does he look like?”
“Like Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare all rolled up into one.”
“Really? That good?”
“Better.”
In a whisper, she said, “I wonder if Carly has seen him yet.”
“I don't know,” I whispered back. “But I imagine it will be soon.”
In the background, I heard Jake give a snort and then mumble something.
“You’d better go, Flori, before the old bear that sleeps beside you wakes up.”
“Oh, Mabel, you’re hilarious. It would take more than this to wake him.” Then, in a more serious tone, she said, “I’ll come over in the morning for coffee and you can tell me all about him.”
I was way ahead of her. I was thinking it might be time to take muffins to the hospital for all the patients.
Chapter Eight
Thursday in Parson’s Cove is probably the biggest ho-hum day of the week next to Tuesday. All the stores are closed on Monday but they might as well be closed on Thursday too. It’s what small town living is all about - mostly boredom. I’m actually quite amazed that we seem to attract murderers on quite a regular basis.
Perhaps, it’s as Flori says, the whole world has gone crazy and Parson’s Cove sounds like the only normal place left, so what better place to commit a crime. In other words, they are forcing us to join the cesspool of humanity.
Flori came in for her morning coffee and brought a few cookies (thirteen) she had baked the night before. That woman bakes nonstop. Unfortunately, both she and Jake reap the results. Butter, white sugar, cream, and extra large eggs will take their toll.
“Flori,” I said. “These sugar cookies melt in your mouth.” I popped the last morsel into my mouth and let the butter and sugar dissolve before swallowing. “Maybe you should take some up to the hospital. You know, for all those unfortunate patients who have Dr. Campbell as their doctor.”
“That’s a wonderful suggestion.” She drained her third cup of coffee and slid out of the chair. There was a fire in her eyes. “I have to see this amazing doctor.” She set the cup on the counter. “I wonder how a person would go about making an appointment. Jake says I’m losing my hearing. I really do think I should get it checked out. What are you going to get checked out, Mabel?”
“I don’t need to get anything checked out. All I have to do is gaze out my back window. There are a few things I do want to check out though and they don’t have anything to do with my body.”
She giggled and sat down again. “I knew it. You’re just as enthralled as the rest of us. Don’t try to put on such a tough exterior all the time, Mabel.”
I grinned. “My exterior can’t be very tough, Flori. Did I tell you that I forgot my own name when I introduced myself?”
Flori threw back her head and roared. I was glad she was sitting because otherwise she would have been on the floor.
When she was finished laughing, crying, and blowing, I said, “Are you finished?”
She nodded as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Well, let’s get serious, Flori. I want to know how Robert Campbell was able to become a doctor.”
She stared at me. “I’m sure he went to the right schools, Mabel. Are you saying that you think he’s a quack?”
I shook my head. “No, I think he’s a real doctor but I’m wondering how his family could afford to put him through school when they’re so poor. That’s what I’m wondering.”
She sat down again.
“Why on earth would you worry about something like that? We talked about that before. Remember? That’s when you weren’t interested but you did wonder why he got the education and his siblings didn’t. Do we really care how he got through school? He’s probably up to his eyebrows in debt like all other young doctors starting out.”
“And you’re probably right. It’s just something I’d like to check into, that’s all.”
“Mabel, I think you need to get a life.”
I was thinking that too as I looked out the window and watched her walk down the sidewalk for home. Sometimes I’m amazed at our differences. If I
were Flori, I would be wearing all dark colors and trying to be as invisible as possible, but not my friend; today she was wearing her fall colors again. Her top was a mass of orange and yellow flowers, which seemed to blossom over her perfectly matching green slacks. She reminded me of a large bouquet. How she was able to find orange shoes to match her hair was amazing. She was not only big in size, she was also big in feelings. I never knew one person who didn’t love Flori.
Reg Smee stopped in for coffee about eleven and I was happy to see him. All morning, I’d had two customers, not counting Flori. I couldn’t even call one a customer because it was Nathan Horne and there was nothing in my store that interested him. His only interest was trying to get information about people - an interest we both share. He was quite thrilled when I put the bug in his ear about our new doctor because I was sure he was a bit worried about losing his sweetheart. Probably half the men in Parson’s Cove were by now.
After Reg made himself comfortable and had gulped down three mouthfuls of scalding hot coffee, I asked, “So anything to tell me about the new doctor?”
He shook his head. “Nope but I did some checking on the girl.”
“What girl?”
Flori had left four cookies and I watched in wonderment as all four disappeared into his mouth. They dissolved right before my eyes.
“You know, Carly Patterson. Doc Campbell’s old sweetheart, the one whose mother left her.”
He washed the remaining cookie crumbs in his mouth down with coffee.
“I actually did do a little checking. But, Mabel, you have to realize that this mayor’s job takes up a lot of time. I tell you, sometimes I wonder if I didn’t make a mistake.”
“You mean you’d like to be sheriff again?”
“Are you kidding? No, I’d like to be retired.”
I could understand that. It seemed I’d been retired my whole life. I did leave Parson’s Cove to take a secretarial course after high school but my mother complained so much about missing me, I had to come back. She really didn’t miss me; she didn’t want to be with my father 24/7.
So, concerned that there might be a murder within my own family, I came back and worked in the store. It might have been interesting to have a life somewhere else but things worked out for the best. I love my little store, my old house, and even my cats on certain days.
“You said you did some checking?”
He nodded and drained his cup. “Yes, it was very strange. Mrs. Patterson left about a year before Beth and I moved to Parson’s Cove, so all I ever heard were the rumors. I did check the records and there was nothing. It seems no one in the family reported her missing. The school records showed that Carly missed a lot of school after that.” He shook his head. “It must have been awful for a young child to lose her mother like that. Overnight.”
“So where did Mrs. Patterson go?”
He shrugged. “No idea.” He held out his cup for more coffee so I obliged.
“Didn’t anyone check into her disappearance?”
“There was a short police report. The sheriff and one deputy went out to the Patterson farm a few weeks after they discovered she’d left but that was about it. Old Mr. Patterson said they’d had a fight and she packed up and left. Apparently, he thought she had a lover or something. His sons said they’d heard their parents fighting. There is one thing that’s strange though and I don’t know why it wasn’t pursued.”
“What was that?”
Reg’s forehead wrinkled. That’s a sure sign that he’s concerned about something.
“Mr. Patterson and the boys said his wife packed up and left but Carly said her mother didn’t pack anything.”
“Really? Why wouldn’t the sheriff check that out?”
He shrugged. “Maybe because she was only a child. I think they said she was in her bed so she didn’t see her mother.”
“I can’t believe her mother would just leave and not say goodbye to her one and only daughter, can you?”
Reg thought for a moment with a scowl on his face. “It’s hard to say. She might have been fleeing for her life. Whatever the circumstances, it seems the authorities back then didn’t find anything suspicious.”
“On another topic; have you thought about how our new doctor could afford to go through med school, coming from such poor beginnings?”
Reg threw back his head and laughed. “As you know, it did strike me as odd but I’m thinking he’s like all young folks, Mabel. Money grows on trees. All you need is credit and you can do whatever you want. Maybe Parson’s Cove will be his wakeup call.”
“Or,” I said. “Remember the accident Mr. Campbell had? Flori was telling me about it. A farming accident? I wonder if that’s where the money came from? Maybe insurance money.”
He thought a moment. “Could be. The other kids might not have been too smart in school so they decided Robert would be the doctor.”
That explanation made sense to me too. Really, I guess there was no reason to be concerned. Perhaps, he was the only one in the family who had any ambition.
It would seem odd to Reg and me because everyone we knew who sent their children to college saved up the money. They were hard-working parents who started putting money away for a college fund way before the children were even in school. That’s the type of parents Parson’s Cove used to produce. This is now another generation. A generation that expects to reap the same benefits but doesn’t plan for them. Were Flori’s kids saving money for their children’s futures? I seriously doubted it.
The mayor left to take care of his mayoral duties and I decided to do some ‘person searching’ on my computer. I knew I wasn’t as good as Nathan at doing research but I thought I might dig something up on either Dr. Campbell or Carly Patterson. I’ve often wondered if some of Nathan’s searching has been legal.
Nathan hooked me up to the internet at my house and at the store, so all I have to do is pay the bill every month. We kept it secret at the store because I really didn’t want people coming in with their devices just to check their emails or whatever. However, I do like having it for myself. Sometimes, Flori comes in with her tablet and we play games or search for old friends and relatives. Which, by the way, we’ve learned isn’t the best thing to do sometimes.
There really wasn’t much online about either Carly or Robert. I did find some high school pictures. Robert was much better looking now than when he was young and skinny. It seemed that Carly never did finish school. They were both on Facebook but I didn’t want to join just to see their pages.
Before giving up, I decided to check a little farther. Since there were millions of Robert Campbells, I definitely wasn’t going to spend the whole day. I thought I’d scroll down a few pages to see if anything caught my eye. One item did.
It was not only about Robert Campbell, but about Carly Patterson, too. For a moment, I thought I’d won the lottery. Then, I noticed the date. The newspaper article was over twenty-five years old. There was a picture of the two of them as smiling children each holding a piglet. It read: Carly May Patterson and Robert Joseph Campbell proudly show their prize-winning pigs. The write-up wasn’t long but there was a cute interview and they each explained how they had cared for their little animals. I actually felt quite sad after reading it because now they were becoming real to me. Why was one a successful doctor and the other an alleged prostitute?
I opened the website to the town newspaper and there were quite a few different postings going back many years. Perhaps there was one when Carly’s mother disappeared. There was. In fact, it was written up only weeks after the children had won their award.
With quite a bit of excitement and anticipation, I opened it. Instead of trying to read it online, I noticed it said ‘printer friendly’ so I decided to print it out. Sadly, there wasn’t much to it. The title, however, was more intriguing: Police Probe into Local Missing Woman’s Disappearance.
Mrs. Doris Patterson left her home and family several weeks ago. Mr. Patterson was questioned by the
Parson’s Cove and Elderberry Creek authorities as to her sudden disappearance. According to her husband, he and his wife had a disagreement and she left. Their three sons corroborated the story. The police conducted a search of the property and lake but no foul play was suspected. The couple have been married for over twenty years and Mr. Patterson thinks she was tired of the hard life on the farm and wanted to find something better. He stated that he loves her very much and wishes she would come back home. When asked if he would send his daughter, Carly, to live with relatives he said, ‘No, my daughter belongs with me. She needs to know that one parent cares for her.’ Several charity groups in the area are planning to join together to raise money for the family during this difficult time.
I read it over several times but if there was a murder in it, I couldn’t find it. At least, not for now. I was, however, beginning to feel for the young girl whose mother disappeared.
Chapter Nine
It looked like Mrs. Campbell must have sold her farm faster than everyone thought because the next day, I saw two men carrying boxes into Krueger’s back door. Both men looked scruffy. They wore old jeans with dirty ripped jackets. The thought crossed my mind that a doctor could at least hire some decent movers. It was difficult for me not to run over and ask what was going on but I had to leave for work.
When I walked out the door, I saw Mrs. Patterson walking towards her door, carrying a shopping bag. She glanced my way so I gave her a big smile and a wave. She answered in kind.
Maybe I would finally have a decent neighbor. Someone Flori and I could have over for an evening; someone who’d sit and share a glass of wine with us. (Which reminded me that I had only two bottles of Sadie’s wine left.) I really did not want to start paying the prices they charge at the store and I didn’t know who else made their own wine. Well, I suppose I could learn. I'm told it is easy, all you have to do is buy a kit.
At noon, I went home. It was a fairly decent day with on and off sunshine but no wind. The cats were anxious to go outside so as soon as I opened the door, they skedaddled in every direction.
Cold Case Conundrum Page 5