The Rescue Quilt

by Carol Dean Jones

  One side of the room offered lounge seating with two burgundy leather couches. One massive piece of art hung on the wall – white with random strokes of gray, burgundy, and blue. An open door beyond the lounge area revealed a conference room with a long black table and black leather chairs.

  Charles followed Kirkland to his desk that was also black, severe, and totally empty once the man slid the file folder he had been working on into the top drawer. Kirkland motioned for the detective to take a seat across from him. As Kirkland sat, he asked in a modulated tone, “What can I do for you, detective?”

  Before Charles could speak, the young woman entered the room carrying a tray with coffee cups and accoutrements. She sat the tray on the side bar and added cream and sugar to the cup she offered Kirkland. She then looked at the detective and raised an eyebrow.

  “Black,” he responded. “Thank you.”

  Once she slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her, Kirkland repeated his question.

  “As I said earlier,” Charles began, “we’re investigating the possible homicide of Earl Hawkins. I’d like to discuss your involvement with the deceased.”

  “My involvement? I had no involvement. The old guy and I discussed my organization purchasing his property, but he was not interested. I’m currently working with the grandson on that. I only saw the old man a couple of times. There was no involvement, as you put it. What’s this all about, detective?”

  Ignoring Kirkland’s question, Charles continued. “What is your interest in the property, Mr. Kirkland?”

  Kirkland appeared to be deciding whether to answer the detective’s questions but finally sighed and began talking. He offered a somewhat modified description of the project, downplaying both the size and exclusivity of the development. His tone suggested that the Hawkins property was of little interest to him.

  “I understand,” Charles continued, “that the Hawkins land was critical to the project since it overlooks the lake.”

  Kirkland unsuccessfully attempted to hide his agitation. “We can go several ways with that,” he finally said.

  “And you’re working with the grandson now?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long have you known Travis Hawkins?”

  “The grandson? I met him at the funeral.”

  “You attended Earl Hawkins’ funeral?” Charles asked incredulously. “That’s unusual. You hardly knew the man…”

  “Wait a minute,” Kirkland yelled, slapping his hand on the desk as he stood. “What’s going on here? Am I a suspect? And if so, I want my lawyer here immediately…Stephanie?” he yelled toward the door.

  “You don’t need a lawyer, Mr. Kirkland,” Charles said calmly. “At least not yet…” he added as he stood.

  Kirkland’s face was flushed with anger. “Get out. My lawyer will contact you and all future discussions will take place through him.” Stephanie had just opened the door and looked at the two men questioningly. “Show Mr. Parker out,” Kirkland demanded.

  * * *

  “How was your morning?” Sarah asked. She and Charles had stopped at Sophie’s to pick up Emma and were walking both dogs to the park. Emma was holding her head high, complementing the curl of her tail. Barney climbed up and down the snow drifts that were piled high along the road while Emma stepped daintily along the cleared walkway.

  “I met with the guy who’s planning the resort on the Timberlake Village land. Well, I guess I should say on the Kirkland land. He owns it all except for the Hawkins lot, and it sounds like that’s in the works now.”

  “How’s that? Has the estate been settled?”

  Charles laughed at the word estate but then realized there was, in fact, a sizeable estate considering Travis Hawkins could probably name his price. “I’ll be looking at that next. I assume the grandson is handling all that, at least if he can stay sober long enough to handle the details.”

  They had arrived at the enclosed dog park and unsnapped both dog’s leashes. It was Emma’s first visit and she was ecstatic, running excitedly around the entire perimeter and ending up back by Charles. She was panting and appeared to be smiling. Charles took the ball out of his pocket and threw it. Barney, knowing the rules, ran to retrieve it while Emma watched with curiosity. The next time Charles threw the ball, both dogs ran after it and struggled to be the one who would return it. “She catches on fast,” Charles commented. “I’ll bring two balls next time.”

  “Do you think Kirkland is involved in Hawkins’ death?” Sarah asked.

  “He’s used to getting his way. He’s capable, but I can’t say he did it.”

  “How about the grandson?”

  “I need to know more about him. I called the local sheriff’s office in Buckner, but they didn’t have much on him, just a few speeding tickets and a DUI charge that was dropped. It’s hard to get a feel for the guy from that.”

  “You need to go there?”

  “Ideally. I’d like to talk to a few people that know him, but it’s an eight-hour drive from here. Would you like to take a road trip with me?”

  Sarah thought for a moment. Ruth had asked her to lead the rescue quilt meetings since several members were new quilters and would need instruction. “I don’t think so, Charles. Why don’t you fly?”

  “I looked at that, but at $500 the department would need a better reason for me to be going. Right now, it’s just background checking. I might call the sheriff’s office again and see if they’re willing to send someone out to talk to a few folks for me.”

  They had been sitting on a bench watching the dogs run and play in the snow. Charles put his arm around his wife and asked if she were cold.

  “I’m getting there,” she responded.

  “Emma, Barney,” he called but was completely ignored. He repeated their names, this time one at a time. Each dog came, in turn, and sat by him. “Good dog,” he said slipping each a treat as they arrived at his side. Sarah snapped on their leashes, and they headed across the park and through the security kiosk, waving back at their friend Paul as he waved them through.

  “Poor Paul,” Sarah said once they were out of hearing distance. “Did you hear about his wife?”

  “No, what happened?”

  “She took the kids and left him. Sophie says he’s devastated. He’s such a nice guy…”

  “One never knows what goes on in other people’s lives,” Charles responded rather philosophically. “I’ve often been surprised by what we see when we go into these otherwise respectable-looking homes.”

  “I know. It’s the old two-sides-to-every-story thing, but whatever the reason, the poor guy is suffering and I feel bad for him.”

  Charles pulled her close to him and kissed her cheek. “You’re just an old softy.”

  “Old?” she repeated, playfully pushing him away. Barney ran to the rescue and planted himself between the two as they continued on their way toward Sophie’s house.

  Chapter 15

  “How did you get connected with this guy in Buckner?” Charles was sitting in Matt Stokely’s office discussing the Hawkins case. He had just told his old Lieutenant about the West Virginia investigator who agreed to help on that end.

  “I called the Sheriff’s office in Buckner again looking for someone to do some legwork for me, and Sheriff Tichner told me about this guy, Bartlett. He’s a volunteer with their Deputy Reserves.”

  “Deputy Reserves?”

  “Local folks who volunteer to help out. They get a uniform and usually just supplement the local sheriff’s department at events and things like that, but this Bartlett guy, he’s older, and he’s a retired private detective. They’ve used him occasionally for simple investigations. Anyway, I offered him a small stipend to help us out. Hope you don’t mind…”

  Stokely frowned. “How small?”

  “A couple hundred for the whole job, including the report.”

  Stokely sighed. “You needed approval for that, old friend.”

  “I know. I was on the phone
with the guy and decided to take a chance. I’ll pay it if the department won’t. It’s worth it to me to avoid making the trip.”

  “That trip would cost you as well, and a lot more.”

  “That’s what I figured.”

  “But I’ll approve it. Just submit the bill once you have his report.”

  “Thanks Matt,” Charles said as he stood up and moved toward the door.

  “When will he start?” Stokely asked as Charles reached the door.

  “He’s out there now. I expect to hear from him by the end of the week.”

  * * *

  “Come on in you two,” Sophie said hurrying Penny and Caitlyn into the house. The snow had picked up during the short period they had been out with Emma and was approaching blizzard conditions at this point.

  “I think I should head on home, Mrs. Ward,” Caitlyn responded looking worried.

  “Step in here so we can talk about it,” Sophie insisted. “I was on the phone with your dad just now and invited the two of you to supper.”

  “Supper?” Caitlyn repeated looking puzzled.

  “Sorry,” Sophie responded. “That’s an old-time word. When I was growing up we had dinner at noon and the evening meal was called supper. Anyway, your dad said it was fine with him.

  “Good,” Caitlyn responded, shedding her coat and sitting down on the stool to remove her boots. Penny was busily doing the same but while standing on one foot and tugging on her boot. She looked at Caitlyn and smiled shyly. Penny was beginning to open up with her new family and especially seemed to appreciate Caitlyn’s attention. The two girls had become acquainted primarily around the dogs. They often went by and picked up Barney so that they each had a dog to walk, but today they just had Emma.

  Emma shook herself hard until all the snow was cleared from her fur and she then laid down on the rug at the front door to lick the snow off her feet. Sophie returned from the kitchen with a damp rag and began wiping her feet. “Why are you doing that?” Penny asked.

  “To get the chemicals off that the road crew spread earlier. It helps to melt the snow off the road, but it can really hurt the dog’s feet.”

  Caitlyn smiled as she watched Sophie handling Emma as if she were a small child. One day she had overheard Sarah and her father saying that Emma brought out a side of Sophie that they didn’t know she had. “The softer side of Sophie,” her father had said.

  About that time the door swung open and Timothy came bursting in along with a strong gust of cold air that took them all by surprise. As he was fighting against the wind and attempting to close the door, they heard another voice yell, “Wait for me,” and Andy rushed in as well.

  “We have five people and a dog all crowded up in this small foyer,” Sophie announced. “Let’s move all the girls into the living room while you boys get your coats off and knock that snow off your shoes before you come in. Come along, Emma,” she added. “You’re one of the girls.”

  Sophie had hot chocolate ready for Caitlyn and Penny, coffee for the adults, and a large dog biscuit spread with peanut butter for Emma. She stood back and watched Penny and Caitlyn interacting with their fathers. Penny was laughing at something Andy had said and she appeared relaxed and happy. As she turned to Sophie, she was still giggling. “Grandmother, did you hear what Caitlyn’s dad just said?” Sophie had to fight to hold back the tears that burned the back of her eyes. It was the first time Penny had called her Grandmother.

  While her guests warmed themselves, Sophie began scooping chicken and dumplings into individual bowls and placing them on the kitchen table. She pulled a tray of rolls out of the oven and slid them into the bread basket. “Bring your drinks in and sit down,” she called happily. Having been alone for many years, it was a joy to have the house full of family and friends. And a granddaughter, she marveled. She was still adjusting to the reality of it all. She and Tim had been talking about his plans and it sounded like he would be moving within a month or so, but she intended to enjoy every minute of it until that happened.

  Once dinner was served and everyone was eating heartily, Tim spoke up saying, “I got some good news today.”

  “Oh?”

  “I had a call from Mrs. Rankin, the school counselor, today.” He looked at Penny with a mischievous smile. “And you, young lady, brought in top scores on your tests.”

  “I did?” Penny responded cautiously. “What does that mean?”

  “That means you’ll go right into the high school.”

  Penny looked apprehensive. “High school?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Rankin said you’re definitely ready. Your mother did an exceptional job with your home schooling. You scored extremely high in all the eighth grade topics and your math, reading comprehension, and science scores indicated you were right on par with ninth graders.”

  “But…” Penny sputtered, looking hesitant.

  “Don’t worry about it, Penny,” Caitlyn spoke up. “I finished ninth grade there and I’ll help you if you have any problems. They’ve got really easy teachers anyway. You’ll be fine.”

  Penny looked at the older girl appreciatively. “You think so?”

  “I know so. Just stick with me.”

  The adults chuckled. “You can’t go wrong if you stick with this one,” Andy said as he tussled his daughter’s hair lovingly.

  “Dad, stop it,” she responded pretending annoyance as she pushed her curls back in place. After a few seconds of silence, she turned to Timothy and asked, “When can she start?”

  “Right away. Monday, I guess.”

  “Great,” Caitlyn responded excitedly. “I’ll come pick you up and we’ll walk together. What are you going to wear?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Come on. Let’s go pick out something for your first day.” The two girls slipped out of their chairs and ran to the guest room with Emma right behind them barking with excitement.

  Timothy turned to Andy and looked serious. “I don’t know how to thank you, man. Your daughter is making it so much easier for Penny. I was worried about her when we first got here…”

  “I don’t think you have a thing to worry about. I see something in that girl…something I saw in Caitlyn when she first came to live with me. She’s a fighter. She’s got good genes and her mom’s done a great job of building a foundation.”

  “I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of everyone, but her scores were off the chart. Mrs. Rankin said they would be considering her for advanced placement after this term. She scored in the top percentile in both math and science.”

  “See what I mean?” Andy responded. “Great genes.”

  “Of course,” Sophie interjected proudly. “After all, she’s my grandchild.”

  “Okay Mom. Don’t hog all the credit.” Sophie smiled lovingly at her son.

  Changing the subject, Andy asked about the apartments Timothy was considering. “Well, I’ve been looking at Collingswood over on Ninth Avenue, but it’s a little far from here. I was hoping to be closer to Mom so Penny could go back and forth on her own after I find a job.”

  “Would you consider a house?”

  “I’m not sure I can afford a house until I get a feel for what I’ll have coming in.”

  “I’m asking because there’s a little house right up the street. It faces the west end of the park. It’s really small, but a friend of mine owns it and he’s moving down to Florida to be near his folks.”

  “He wants to sell it? I don’t think…”

  “That’s just the thing. The realtor told him this is no time to sell. He’s looking to rent it. Now, it’s small like I said,” Andy explained. “It’s only got two bedrooms, a small yard in the front and a small area in the back. It might have a basement, but I’m not sure. Oh, there’s a garage he uses as a workshop.”

  “Hmm. Sounds like I should talk to the guy.”

  Sophie was holding her breath as they talked. The idea of having her son and granddaughter that close was more than she could hope for. Finally s
he spoke up and added, “You know, if you get a job Penny could come over here after school. She could do her homework here and she’d have Caitlyn right up the street…”

  “Tell your friend I’m interested,” Timothy said abruptly to Andy. “When can you talk to him?”

  “Is now soon enough? I could call him...” The two men hurried into the living room and Andy placed the call. Sophie could tell they were discussing the details and her son sounded excited. They seemed to be talking about meeting the following day if the roads were plowed. She heard her son say, “What do you mean plowed? We can walk over there.”

  Sophie sat alone at the table, but for the first time in many years she didn’t feel at all alone. “Thank you, Lord,” she whispered as Emma came into the room and looked up at her with love.

  Chapter 16

  “Sorry Charlie, there’s just not that much to report -- a couple of speeding tickets is all,” Bartlett said in an apologetic tone. “Neighbors liked him. He was living with a girl over by the college, and she figured they’d be getting married in a year or two. He’d been with Maxton Office Supply for the past ten years and was taking computer classes to get a promotion…”

  “Computer classes?” Charles tried to imagine whiskey-swigging Travis sitting in a classroom and had to smile. “You never know about a guy…”

  “Yeah, I feel bad taking your money on this one. The guy was clean. Now I have to admit, he had a couple of unsavory looking friends. I had trouble lining that up in my mind. Don’t know why he’d hang out with these guys, but you never know what makes a man pick his friends. I suppose our young Mr. Hawkins could have been experimenting with drugs or something, but I’m telling you for sure, he was clean when he died.”

  “Died? What do you mean died? Who died?”

  The detective was stunned for a moment by Charles’ reactions. When he spoke he asked, “Are you okay, Charlie? We’re talking about your guy Travis Hawkins, aren’t we?”