The first thing I did was take out a bag of muffins. Dr. Campbell would surely be finished with his supply so it was time for another. Quickly, I ate a bowl of warmed up soup and then dashed over to the Krueger house.
Mrs. Patterson must have been watching out the window because she opened the door before I knocked.
“Hello, Mabel Wickles,” she said. She wore a big smile and held out her hand. Instead of shaking mine, she simply squeezed it tightly. “I’m so happy to meet you. Bobby told me all about you.”
“Well,” I said, laughing. “I hope it was all good because I only met him once.”
She pointed to the muffins in my hand. “Trust me, it was all good. He loved all those muffins you gave him and he informed me that you were going to keep him in supply.”
“I’m glad he liked them. I brought these over for both of you.” I held them out and she eagerly accepted. “By the way,” I said. “It must be quite traumatic moving into town from the country. Let me know if you need anything. As you can see,” and I pointed to my house, “you can just yell and I’ll probably hear you.”
“Thank you so much, Mabel. By the way, my name is Henrietta but everyone calls me Ettie. When I have all my things put away and the house cleaned up, you’ll have to come over for tea.”
“I’d love that,” I said. “And I’d like you to meet my friend, Flori Flanders. We have coffee every morning at my little shop. When you’re settled, you’ll have to walk over.”
“Thank you.” She had a wistful look in her eye. “This is actually just a temporary situation. Bobby is having a house built on the outskirts of town.” She didn’t look too happy about it. “I’m not sure if I fit into a big fancy house, Mabel. As soon as I walked into this little house, I felt right at home.”
It made me feel a little sad too but I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t think the up and coming doctor would stay in the old house that resembled mine.
“Well,” I said. “Hopefully, it will take a long time to build. Winter’s coming so it probably won’t be finished until next spring sometime anyway.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s going to be ready by the end of November.” She sighed and then brightened. “We’ll just have to make the best of the next few weeks, Mabel.”
One of the men stopped and stood beside her.
“Okay, ma,” he said. “That’s all the boxes. We’d better get back to the farm.”
She hugged him and thanked him. “You should stay and have a bite to eat, Tommy.”
Tommy gave her a rather sad smile. “We better get out of here before the big boss comes home.” He gave me a quick glance, nodded, and was gone.
Ettie shrugged and looked at me. “I have a troublesome family, Mabel.”
I laughed and said, “You and Flori will have a lot to talk about. You can compare notes.” I looked at my watch. “I’d better run. There’s a sign on my shop door that says I’ll be back at one.”
I stopped at my back door to see if any cats wanted inside. Phyllis was the only one waiting to get in so I gave her a pat on the head and a scratch behind her ears before closing the door. I knew she would rush to sit on the back of the couch so she could sleep in the sun.
The brief visit with Ettie Campbell had left me feeling empty. She was obviously a lovely person. It was easy to see there was nothing 'put on' about her. For some folks, it comes naturally and for the rest of us, we have to work at it. Not that she could take Flori’s spot in my heart but she could be a good friend.
I wondered what she meant when she said her family was troublesome. Obviously, her sons didn’t all get along. Who would even guess those men were brothers. I had seen both men at the house and none of them resembled Robert in the least. Well, maybe if they washed up, got haircuts, shaved, and dressed in expensive suits, they might look like they came from the same family.
I didn’t see Ettie for the next couple of days. One of my water pipes at the store sprang a leak and by the time I got home that night, I went straight to bed. I spent the next day cleaning up and sorting out anything that was ruined. Most of my merchandise was all right. The only real damage was losing two dozen rolls of toilet paper.
Meanwhile, the ladies of Parson’s Cove were busy with their ‘catching the doctor and the hooker together’ game. It ended up that the only one who ever saw them having a private conversation was Prunella Flowers and she didn’t know anything about the game. Prunella has a slight problem with rum and coke, which she camouflages as sweet iced tea. When asked what they said and what happened, she said, with a slight slur because it was not long after drinking her iced tea, “I think she said something about going to sea.” She looked very confused. “Or, maybe it was about having a fun time in the sea.”
“A fun time in the sea?” one of the women exclaimed. “What does that mean?”
This confused poor Prunella even more so she said, “Or maybe it was being at sea for a long time. Do you think he was a sailor?”
Flori came from the hospital to the shop at full gallop to share that with me. I thought both of us would have a heart attack from laughing so hard.
Finally, when we had recovered and calmed down, I said, “You know what she was probably saying was, ‘long time no see.’”
“You’re right, Mabel. I never even thought of that. By the way, how is Ettie Patterson doing? You know, I haven’t even met her yet.”
“You will tonight. I’ve asked her over for a glass of wine. You’ll really like her. She has a troublesome family just like you.”
Flori looked shocked. “I have a troublesome family?”
I changed the subject. We went back to rehash Prunella Flowers and had another good laugh.
Chapter Ten
Flori and Ettie both arrived at the same time. Usually if I tell Flori to come at seven, she comes at six forty-five, but tonight it was right on the nose. The only explanation I could think of was that she waited behind my lilac bush so she could meet Ettie by the back door. Well, it didn’t really matter as they were both laughing and chatting as they came in.
“Oh, Mabel, this is lovely!” Ettie exclaimed as she sat down on the sofa in my living room.
I had gone out of my way to make everything special. Usually, Flori and I sit down with the bottle of wine on the coffee table, two old wine glasses that I bought at Dollarama one time when I was in the city and if I’m 'out doing' myself, I put a slab of cheese on a cutting board with a knife. Sometimes, I even dump some Ritz crackers into a soup bowl. If we’re more than average hungry, I bring out the muffins or make some toast. We’ll even munch microwave popcorn with our wine.
This evening, however, I’d poured the wine into one of my mother’s decanters. I believe it was the first time I had used it. Even after she was gone, I never used any of her fancy dishes. Once a parent has you paranoid about breaking things, you never seem to get over it. I also brought out her crystal wine glasses and serving tray. On the serving tray, I placed two kinds of cheeses cut into small squares, some cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced cucumbers, and green grapes. I also served small gherkins and two different types of crackers.
When we walked into the living room, I thought Flori was going to faint. She stood gaping for a few moments.
“Mabel, what have you done to your house? This looks marvelous.” She glanced around the room.
Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that I brought home some scented candles from the shop and in case there were a few stray cat hairs flying around (which there always were), I put some throws over the chair and sofa. I wasn’t sure how Ettie felt about cats or even if she was allergic, so they were banished to the outdoors. Phyl was on my bed upstairs sound asleep so I shut the door and left her there.
Ettie looked almost as amazed as Flori.
“Oh, my,” she said. “I’m not used to such fancy stuff, Mabel.”
I looked at both of them. “What’s the matter with you two? This is not fancy. I never get to use any of this ‘fancy stuff’ so just sit down and
after a few glasses of wine, you won’t notice that you’re drinking out of crystal!”
It did take two glasses to loosen them up. Flori was holding her glass so tightly I thought she might crush it and Ettie held hers with both hands. Slowly, they began to relax and the food began to disappear. Also, the wine.
“Ettie,” Flori said. “Mabel told me that your son is building a house out on the east end of town. That new housing development is going to be beautiful when it’s finished. I’d give anything to live out there.” She giggled. “I’d give anything just to say I lived there.” She turned to Ettie. “I imagine you’re so excited about it all.”
If I would’ve been closer, I could’ve given Flori a kick but it was too late. She was well meaning.
Ettie put her glass down and looked from Flori to me. “Well, as you know, Mabel, I’m not happy about this at all.” She turned to Flori. “I’m sorry, but no, I’m not excited at all. I’ve been trying to talk Bobby into letting me go back to the farm. I mean, what am I going to do out in that big house all alone?”
“I thought you sold the farm,” I said. “In fact, we thought you couldn’t move into town until you had.”
She shrugged. “That’s what I thought too but then it seems Bobby changed his mind. He said we didn’t need the money from the farm and to leave the boys there to work it. I’m glad he did because that gives them a place to live. It isn’t much but those two boys seem to be content with food on the table and a roof over their heads. To be quite honest with you, I wish Bobby were more like that.”
It couldn’t have made her feel all that glad though because her eyes filled with tears and she pulled a tissue out of her pocket.
As she wiped a tear from her cheek, she said, “I’m sorry. All this is almost too much for me - this moving into a new house. I really don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it. I’ve never even been inside one of those fancy homes.” She sighed. “Our lives were so much simpler years ago when my husband was alive and the children were small. We were poor but we were so happy. Somewhere along the way, everything changed. I often wonder about it even now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “How did it all change?”
“Funny you should mention it because I was thinking about it today … how things in our lives changed and what has happened to us.” She stopped and savored her wine. “I guess it all started when the boys became teenagers. It was such a difficult time in their lives.”
Flori interrupted. “I know exactly what you mean, Ettie. The minute my kids became teenagers, they turned into strangers.”
The two women smiled at each other. Of course, I made no connection at all. Flori’s children were strangers to me the moment they emerged into the world and they are to this day.
Ettie was silent for a few seconds as if collecting her thoughts. “That’s what I’ve always thought; our life became difficult when our boys became teenagers but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was something else too.”
“Really?” I said. “What do you think it was?”
Her cheeks reddened and she looked embarrassed. “This probably sounds silly but it seemed that everyone’s life changed when Doris Patterson disappeared.” She looked at me. “I know it doesn’t make sense and maybe I’m just thinking that way because Carly has come into our lives again. That was quite a few years ago now so you might not remember.”
“Yes, I do remember. I don’t understand though, how did it affect your family?”
She shook her head. “It’s so hard to explain. My husband used to tell me that I was imagining it. I don’t know; maybe I was. He said that all families go through difficult times and ours was no exception. I only brought it up once about Mrs. Patterson and he got so upset that I never mentioned it again. Perhaps, he was right. He said if I started talking like that folks would find out and they’d think we really had problems.”
“What happened with your family? Were you close to the Pattersons?”
“Oh my heavens, no. In fact, we had nothing to do with them. I’m sure Doris and I could have been friends but she was never allowed out on her own. There were no other families around and it would have been so nice to have someone drop in for a cup of tea. Once in awhile, we would run into each other in the store or maybe out on the road while we waited for the school bus but we never got a chance to talk much. She was always in a rush to get home.”
“You must have a reason for saying her leaving affected your family, Ettie.”
She nodded and her eyes glistened. As soon as Flori noticed, of course, her eyes did the same. No one on the face of the earth can outcry Flori.
“Bobby was just a young lad when it happened. He used to walk to school with Carly all the time. They were good friends. I hate to admit it but I really hoped they wouldn’t have feelings for each other as they got older.”
“Was she a bad girl even back then?” Flori asked as she moved a little closer to the edge of her chair.
“Oh my, no. She was a lovely little girl. It wasn’t anything to do with Carly. We didn’t want Bobby to get involved with her family. I don’t mean Carly, but the father and her brothers. They were very tough and how shall I describe them? Uncouth? The boys were using vulgar language when they were still so young. I don’t know how many times they were kicked out of school. Although we were poor too, we tried to be as hospitable as we could but they were loners. They had a big No Trespassing sign on the gate leading to the house and no one dared enter.”
Flori wiped her eyes with a wadded up tissue and came to life. “Did you know they were making moonshine?”
Ettie nodded. “I’m sure they were but we never knew what they were up to. We kept our distance. Folks said that the police were even afraid to go there. You could always see vehicles coming and going. You couldn’t see their house from our place because of the trees so we never knew what was going on. Frank, my oldest son, told me they had cameras up so they could see who was at the gate.” She took a sip of wine. “We found that if we left them alone, they left us alone.”
“What about Bobby? Did he always keep up his friendship with the Patterson girl?” I asked. I didn’t want to tell her that the whole town was extremely interested to find that out.
Tears slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away and nodded. “We couldn’t stop him. In fact, no one knows this but me, but I used to see him sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night and running across the road to the Patterson place. It broke my heart but I knew if I said something my husband would give him such a beating.” She looked apologetic and smiled. “That’s when parents still gave their kids whuppings.” She took another sip of wine. “Now as I look back, I realize that it would have been better for him to get a good beating. It might have put a stop to him sneaking over there.”
Flori, as you can imagine, couldn’t say much because of all her weeping. When she finally was able to breathe, she said, “Ettie, I know exactly what you were going through. You don’t know how many times I protected my boys from getting a beating but now I regret it too. To tell you the truth, I was afraid Jake might end up in jail so I kept a lot of secrets. Did we do the right thing? I don't know.”
I was curious. “So, Ettie, what happened between Carly and your son?”
“I’m not sure but something happened when Bobby was older, maybe about seventeen or so. Suddenly, things changed. He became very quiet and stopped communicating with any of us. I was glad when I saw that he and Carly weren’t together anymore but sometimes in the middle of the night, I’d still see him sneaking in from the Pattersons. It scared me because I didn’t know what was going on.”
“Did you ever ask him about it?”
“I did approach him once but he got so angry I never did again. Bobby and I were always close when he was small. We’d sit at the kitchen table, drink lemonade, and talk. That was the first time Bobby treated me like that and it was very hurtful.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Flori n
odding vehemently.
“Did he give you any reason why he was going over to Patterson’s?”
She shook her head. “No, he went on the defensive. You know the same response all teenagers give. Was I checking up on him? Why didn’t I trust him? He tried to make me feel like the guilty one.”
Flori laughed. “They all do it. You wouldn’t know about it, Mabel, but kids can put such a guilt trip on you that you suffer for the rest of your life.”
“I know, Flori,” I said. “I can’t believe what those kids of yours get you to do because you feel guilty.”
She looked confused. “They do? Like what?”
“Like, for example, they make you do all their baking because the girls tell you that you never taught them. So, you feel guilty because you think you were a bad mother. But I can tell you what really happened.”
“What?”
“Flori, I was there so many times when they were small and you tried to teach them things. They never let you. Then, when they got older, they always said you did it better so they didn’t want to take away your glory.”
She sat, stunned. “My word, you’re right, Mabel. That’s what they always say.”
I turned to Ettie. We were getting off the subject of the Pattersons and the Campbells and I wanted to get back to it.
“So, Ettie, what happened with Bobby? He seems to be an upright citizen so somewhere along the line, there must have been a turning point in his life.”
We were now on our third glass of wine. There was only one bottle left. The food was fast disappearing too but I think most of it was in Flori’s tummy.
Ettie smiled. “Yes, Bobby has done very well for himself. I remember the day he announced he was going to be a doctor. He was eighteen. My husband and I were flabbergasted. We had no money for that but we didn’t want to discourage him. We commended him for his high goals but also told him to be realistic. His brothers and sisters made fun of him. It seemed the more fun they made of him; the more determined he was. And, he’s reached his goal. I have no idea how but he has.”
Cold Case Conundrum Page 6