—
I heard the alarm go off in the morning, but resisted opening my eyes, weighed down by despair over the seeming impossibility of the puzzle we had to solve. I threw an arm across my eyes and groaned. I was reluctant to face the day, until a brilliant plan burst to the surface of my brain and my eyes flew open. I threw back the covers as a wave of optimism propelled me out of bed.
I turned the plan over in my head while I brushed my teeth and got dressed. While I scrambled eggs and fried bacon for our breakfast. While I loaded the dishwasher. That’s when a little doubt began to creep in. Who did I think I was, Nancy Drew?
I shook it off. This was going to work.
It was Saturday, so there was no camp. TJ played on his tablet and watched TV until, wanting more action, he went out to play in the backyard. Kate had installed a hoop on the side of the garage and TJ liked to practice his shots. I was vaguely aware of the sound of the basketball hitting the backboard. I puttered around in the kitchen, killing time, glancing out the backdoor at my son now and then, glad to have him out of sight of the front of the house.
At eleven fifteen, I positioned myself on the front porch swing with my Kindle, waiting. My nerves pretty much precluded any meaningful reading, but I’m pretty sure I looked like the real deal—simply a woman relaxing on her front porch.
Mr. Brindleson usually delivered our mail promptly at eleven thirty. He seldom deviated from his routine. This morning, I would talk to him.
He smiled and waved as he came up the front walk. I set my Kindle down and waved back.
“Nice day, isn’t it?” I said in my most cheerful manner.
“Sure is.” He stood on my porch as he sifted through the handful of letters he held, pulling out the ones addressed to me. “Would you like these?” he asked as he handed the packet to me.
I took them and smiled, not sure what I wanted to say, how to get where I needed to be.
“Looks like you got scratched up a little,” he said, indicating the red marks on my arms. Just the opening I needed.
I laughed. “Unfortunately. I went hiking up at Bluebird Lake yesterday. Should have worn long sleeves.”
“Might be a good idea for next time.” He turned and started to step off the porch.
“It’s, uh, it’s beautiful up there, don’t you think?”
He looked at me, an odd expression on his face. I never took the time to chat with him.
He shrugged. “We’re lucky to live in such a gorgeous place.”
“Do you ever do any hiking? I was thinking how fun it would be to have a cabin up there, on the water somewhere. But I wouldn’t have any idea where to look.”
“I’m sure you could find something. We have a few lakes around here you could check out.”
“I suppose. Seems overwhelming. Do you know anyone who’s bought something like that I could maybe talk to?”
He shifted his weight from one foot to another, relaxing a little, I hoped. “As a matter of fact, I have a cabin.”
“Is it near the lake?”
“Right on the water. It has a dock and everything.”
“Do you have a boat of your own?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s a beauty. Good for fishing and any kind of water sports.”
“Is yours on Bluebird?”
“No. One of the other lakes.”
“Oh, which one?”
It might have been my imagination but I thought he looked suspicious. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me. I’m just being nosy.”
He seemed to soften. “No problem. Bluebird’s more expensive. You get a better deal on Backbone Lake or Cupid’s Lake or one of the other ones. Of course, they’re farther away. Not as convenient for a weekend jaunt.”
“So you don’t get to visit yours very often?”
“When I need to.”
“Did you use a local realtor?”
“No. Cabin’s been in my family for a long time. I inherited it from my father.”
“I’m sure you enjoy it when you get a chance. I appreciate your tips on the other lakes.” I stood and picked up my Kindle and my mail and turned to the front door. “Nice to talk to you.”
He nodded, then looked behind me as TJ opened the screen door.
“Hello, young fella,” Mr. Brindleson said.
“Hi,” TJ said.
I felt a chill run up my spine. I stepped inside the door and said, “It’s time for lunch. Go wash your hands.” I nodded once again to the mailman then locked the screen door behind me.
My stomach was in knots at the thought a potential murderer had taken notice of my son.
I made a superhuman effort to disguise my shaking hands as I created TJ’s favorite lunch of peanut butter and jelly with a glass of milk. I was too queasy to eat anything myself.
The mailman took little girls. He wouldn’t be after my son. Would he? How could I have put my son in danger that way? It took a bunch of deep breaths before I got myself under control.
Rob called to say he wanted to bring over a couple of photos of Brindleson. I couldn’t wait until he arrived.
I called out the backdoor for TJ to come in, and put the coffee on. I went upstairs and brushed my hair and checked that my face wasn’t the pasty white I was sure it had been after my conversation with Mr. Brindleson.
When I came back down and glanced around, I didn’t see TJ and called his name. When he didn’t answer, I opened the backdoor and stepped outside. No sign of him in the yard. I hurried around the side of the house to the front, but still nothing. My heart jumped into my throat and panic started to fill up my brain as I rushed back to the backyard. The basketball lay in the grass at the edge of the paved area.
I ran back inside and upstairs to his room, which was empty, and checked everywhere, yelling for him. I could almost smell the fear cascading off me. My insides were clenched into a cramp.
Rob arrived while I was rechecking all the rooms.
“I brought the pictures so we can . . . .” He stopped when he saw my face. “What’s wrong?”
“TJ’s missing,” I said, my voice trembling.
“Are you sure he’s—”
“I’ve looked everywhere. The backyard, his room. The whole house. He’s been taken.”
“Why would you go there? Who would take—”
“Brindleson, that’s who.”
“Out of nowhere, he’d suddenly take your son? Why would he do that?”
“Because,” I looked down. “When Brindleson came today, I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could get any information from him that might give us a clue, so I spent a few minutes chatting with him. And then TJ came out and Brindleson saw him and now TJ’s gone.”
He took my arm and steered me to the couch. “Tell me what happened with Brindleson.”
I gulped a few deep breaths trying to get control of myself. Rob took both of my hands in his and squeezed them. “Take your time.”
Tears started in my eyes, and I brushed at them. “He asked about my scratches.” I held up my arm to demonstrate. “So I told him about going hiking and how nice it was and how I might want to buy a cabin on the lake. Then I asked him if he knew anybody with a cabin and he said he did. And I asked if it was on Bluebird Lake and he said no but didn’t tell me which one. But he said he has a dock. And a boat.”
“That’s good information.”
“He said he inherited the cabin from his father.” My hand flew to my mouth. “That must be where he took TJ!”
“First of all, we don’t know he took TJ. TJ’s a kid. He might have gone for a walk. We’ll go see if we can find him.”
“But if Brindleson—”
“If we can’t find him ourselves, I’ll investigate the Brindleson angle. For right now, though, let’s go see if we can find him. Okay?”
I was more than grateful that Rob was here to help, and dared to have a speck of hope.
“Where was the last place you saw
TJ?”
“He was in the backyard, shooting hoops.”
“How long ago was that?”
“It was . . .” I paused. It hadn’t even been an hour yet. “Twenty or thirty minutes maybe? By the time TJ finished his lunch, I thought Brindleson would have been long gone, so I wasn’t worried.”
“I don’t want to minimize your concern, but twenty or thirty minutes isn’t a long time for a kid to be missing.”
I hung my head. “I know. It’s just—”
“I know. You’re understandably worried because of Brindleson, but it’s too early to go there. Let’s see if we can find TJ.” He stood and extended a hand to help me to my feet. “Let’s go check out back.”
We wandered around the yard, Rob taking a close look at the area around the basketball hoop, and I opened the garage side door. We were greeted by the musty odor of a long closed-up space. There was a light switch on the wall by the door and I flipped it on. It provided much more illumination than I expected. I had barely stuck my head in here since we moved into the house. Now, I looked around. There was ample room for the car, and it was easy to see that Kate was a very organized person. Boxes were neatly stacked, tools carefully arranged on a workbench.
Rob did a token sweep of the garage, I’m sure for my benefit, and confirmed that TJ wasn’t there.
He pointed toward the back-fence gate. “Where does that go?”
I looked at him, a hint of relief. “There’s a creek.”
“Kids like creeks,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the gate.
The creek stretched in either direction. Trees and brush lined the banks on each side, effectively blocking our view.
“Should we split up?” Rob asked me, but I shook my head.
“I want to go with you,” I said.
“Let’s head right. If there’s no sign of him, we’ll go back the other way.”
He looked at my feet. “You might want to consider something more appropriate for tromping through the mud and debris.”
I was wearing flip flops and could see his point. I raced back to the house and pulled on the hiking boots I’d worn to the lake and was back outside in three minutes.
The creek was wide and swiftly moving. Lots of stones on the shoreline to maneuver around. After one slippery incident where my foot slid off a rock, Rob took my hand to steady me and didn’t let go as we picked our way along the creek. Nothing indicated TJ had gone this way, until up ahead I spotted something orange on the bank, half in the water. I took off running, shouting over my shoulder that TJ had been wearing an orange T-shirt.
Rob caught up with me as I stood staring down at a waterlogged Fanta Orange Soda carton. He must have seen the anguish in my eyes because he pulled me into a hug.
“Come on. Let’s go back the other way,” he said.
He took my hand again and I followed him along the bank. A ways past our back gate, the creek veered to the right. I was afraid to see what was around the bend. Afraid TJ wouldn’t be there, and afraid he would be. I slowed down. Rob could tell I was anxious, probably from the way I was trembling, so he put his arm around my shoulders and said, “It’ll be okay” as we walked together past the stand of trees that blocked our view of the creek’s path.
Again I spotted a flash of orange. Before I could react, I heard “Mom. Hey, Mom!” and my son, my wonderful son, was waving from the bank twenty yards ahead of us.
I ran to him and jerked him up into a bear hug. “TJ. Oh, my God. I’ve been worried sick.”
He looked at me, a puzzled expression on his face. “I was just exploring the river.”
“First of all, it’s a creek, not a river.” I hugged him again. “Thank God.” And then I started to cry. Rob was instantly at my side, his arms around me.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” TJ asked, looking back and forth between me and Rob.
“Nothing now,” I said. “When I couldn’t find you anywhere, I panicked. You need to tell me if you’re leaving the yard, especially if you’re going down to the creek. I mean it.” I tried to be stern, but relief overrode my anger as the anxiety left my system. “Come on. Grab your stuff. Let’s go home.”
“Aw, Mom. I was going to try out some of this fishing gear I found in the garage.”
“I don’t want you down here by yourself. It’s not safe. Let’s go.”
He looked at Rob, who shrugged. “You’re mom’s right. If you want, I’d be happy to take you fishing sometime. We can sort out the gear you found in your garage. Okay, buddy?”
TJ’s face reflected his inner conflict over doing what I said or arguing more, but he finally started picking up the fishing stuff, and gave Rob a sharp look. “Will you really take me fishing?”
“Absolutely,” Rob responded, resting a hand on TJ’s shoulder. “Here’s a tip for you, bud. With your fair skin and light hair, you really need to wear a cap when you’re out in the sun like this. Do you have one?”
“I’ve got a Yankee cap of my dad’s,” he said.
“That’ll work. Especially if you remember to wear it.”
I kicked off my muddy boots at the backdoor. “I need coffee.”
“I could use a cup, too,” Rob said.
As soon as TJ was out of sight up in his room, I slumped into a kitchen chair and buried my face in my hands. When Rob pulled me into his arms, I let him.
“I was really scared,” I moaned. “When Brindleson looked at him, I stopped breathing. When I couldn’t find TJ—”
He smoothed my hair, holding me against his chest. My heart was thumping so loud I was sure he could hear it.
“He’s okay. You’re okay, right?”
I pulled away and looked up at him, my eyes brimming with unshed tears. “I’m okay. But I don’t think I would have been without you. I can’t thank you enough for being here.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Of course I would be here.”
I don’t know why, but I blushed. To cover my emotional reaction to his words, I stood suddenly and moved to the sink, turning on the water, and turning it off again. I didn’t even know why I was doing it. After a quick, apologetic glance at him, I removed a couple of mugs from the cupboard and poured coffee for both of us.
“This really helps,” I said, sipping my coffee. “It’ll take a minute before my adrenalin level drops.” I stared into my mug, allowing the relief to flood over me, then suddenly remembering why he’d come by.
“Your pictures. We need to have Emma look at your pictures.” I set my mug down hard and stood. “We shouldn’t be wasting time.”
He carried his coffee and followed me into the front room. He’d left the folder with the photos on the couch. We retrieved it before heading upstairs.
TJ looked up from his comic book when he saw us at his door. “Mom?”
“It’s okay, TJ,” I said. “We just need to talk to Emma.” I called for her as soon as I walked into the bedroom. “Emma, we need you. Come out.”
I smiled at my son. “Can you run downstairs and get my coffee for me?” I asked, wanting him out of the room when I brought out the pictures. “And stick it in the microwave for 25 seconds too, okay?”
“But I want to talk to Emma, too,” he whined.
“You can talk to her when you get back, buddy,” Rob said.
I gave TJ a little shove and he slouched out the door.
Rob hovered in the doorway while I sat on the bed. Fairly quickly, the room grew cold and a breeze lifted my hair.
“Emma,” I said. “We want to show you pictures of someone we think might be the man who took you and Marilee. Can you look at them?” I spread them out on the bed.
She didn’t say anything. Rob and I exchanged worried looks. Maybe this wasn’t going to work. Maybe Brindleson wasn’t the right man.
A shriek filled the room. Rob’s hand jerked and coffee sloshed out of his mug. The breeze that had played softly with my hair took on the force of a hurricane.
Jumping to my feet, I said, “Emma! Stop! It’s okay. It’s just us, me and Rob, and we’re trying to help you. Please.”
“I think that’s the answer we were looking for,” Rob said, setting his mug on the dresser and looked around for something to mop up the floor, grabbing one of TJ’s T-shirts I’d left on his bed for him to put away.
“It’s him, isn’t it, Emma,” I yelled over the storm raging in TJ’s bedroom.
Yessss came her answer as the wind died down. Sobbing came next, a heartbreaking sound.
“This helps us, Emma,” Rob said. “Now we know where to start looking. Thank you for your help.”
Hurry, she replied.
A thought came to me. “Emma, did you used to live in this house?”
No.
“Then why are you here? Why did you pick us to contact?”
You have my necklace.
“Your necklace?” I looked at Rob in confusion. “I don’t—”
“The pendant,” he said. “The one you bought from me?”
My hand went to my neck and I held the necklace out so she could see. “Is that what you meant, Emma?”
Yes.
“You lost it?”
It came off when the man stole me.
TJ got back in time to hear the conversation about the necklace. He looked around, his face scrunched up in disappointment as the chill disappeared. “She’s gone?”
“I think so. Sorry, honey,” I said. “Maybe next time she’ll stick around longer.” I took my coffee mug from his hand and rubbed his arm affectionately.
“Can I go watch TV?” he asked, sensing an opportunity to play on my guilt.
“For a little while,” I said.
“We’ll be down in a minute,” Rob added to his departing back.
“Rob, your aunt said she found it somewhere. Red something. I don’t remember what she said.”
He looked thoughtful. “Red Creek Range?”
“Yeah, maybe. That sounds right. Is that on Bluebird Lake?”
“No, it’s on Clarion Lake, an hour or so past Bluebird.”
“Brindleson didn’t mention Clarion. He suggested Cupid’s Lake and Backbone. Maybe he didn’t want me getting any ideas about where to find his cabin. Can we go there?”
Under the Willows Page 12
