Bone Is Where the Heart Is

by Maddie Sutton

  I remembered the picture in my purse and decided that maybe it was time Harry and I talked again.

  He was standing in front of a display case when I walked in. “Ah, Miss Cooper. What a pleasant surprise. Is there something I can do for you? Plot and scheme for the dog show, hmmm? Yes.”

  “Yes,” I said with a laugh. “I was talking with Maxine, at the vet clinic, and she had the most marvelous idea of a small, fun children’s agility type course. Nothing too adventurous, of course; all in good fun. Would there be room during the festivities for something like that?”

  Harry rested his finger on his chin while he thought. “I believe we can make room.” He waved me over to his desk and teased out a rough, hand drawn map of the downtown area. The booths for the craft section of the fair were blocked off, all with large red X’s drawn through them. He circled his finger in one area. “We could put up deer fence to section it off right here. Do you think that would do?”

  “Yes, I think it would do very nicely. Thank you, Harry. I’m starting to really have fun with this.”

  “I’m sure it will be great fun and succeed in raising enough money for the shelter.”

  “Good. Good. Um, Mr. Stillwell, can I talk with you about something?”

  Harry rolled his map up and slipped a rubber band around it. “Of course, my dear.”

  “Why were you at Violet’s that day? When Jolene and I saw you?” Before he could protest, I held a hand up to stop it. Digging in my purse, I held out the picture. “Was it for this?”

  He deflated when he saw the picture, taking it from me slowly. “Yes,” he said.

  “You were close.”

  “We were to be married.” Harry sat down in his chair. “She was pregnant, you see. Viola confided in Violet, thinking she would have her sister’s support. Instead the viper told their father and he lost his mind. Threatened me and my family with legal action. And he sent Viola away. I never saw her again.”

  How truly sad. I sat on the corner of his desk. “Clare’s your...granddaughter?”

  “Yes. Lovely young woman. Viola died not long after Margaret was born. My daughter. And all this time she never knew I was her father. I only found out about them a few years ago when Clare contacted me after going through her grandmother’s belongings. She thought that perhaps she could bridge the gap between Violet and her mother. Violet, of course, hadn’t changed at all and wanted nothing to do with any of them.”

  He held the picture out to me. I waved it away. “That was the reason you were there that day, wasn’t it? To get that.”

  Harry nodded. He tucked the picture into his shirt pocket. “Clare mentioned she saw it when she went to try to talk some sense into Violet.”

  “I’m really sorry, Mr. Stillwell.”

  “Don’t be. After all, I came out the winner, hmm? A beautiful daughter and granddaughter? That’s a very good thing. In any event, if you’re going to ask me what I was doing when Violet was murdered, I was in a committee meeting. It’s a matter of public record.”

  I shook my head. There was not a murdering bone in the man’s body. He just wanted a remembrance of something he lost.

  And with Kevin Spencer still on the run? No, it was pretty obvious who was guilty.

  Not that I was convinced of that, either.

  Mom, Dad, and Gramma brought Winston to meet me for lunch. After, we went shopping at the Dollar Cart for cheap decorations to spruce up the animal information tables. It started out as a short trip for a few things.

  We ended with almost fifty dollars’ worth of stuff.

  It was a good haul, much of which we could store for use next year. We loaded the bags in the trunk of Mom’s car, then I took them back to Dad’s truck parked in the municipal parking area and promised I’d be home for dinner.

  I took possession of Winston and switched vehicles so I could drive Dad’s truck for the last of my errands and he could drive Mom and Gramma home in comfort.

  All this swapping cars? Next on my to-do list, get a car.

  “Where are we going, Mary?” Winston asked. He stood in my lap, his paws on the door panel so he could watch the town go by.

  “I’m taking you to see our shop and home.”

  “We are leaving Mary?”

  “Not for good. Just into our own space, you and me.”

  His tail waggled. “I like that.”

  “Me, too,” I said.

  We went around to the back of the house. The grass was starting to get long. I didn’t relish the thought of having to haul a lawnmower out here to cut it. And I couldn’t ask my dad to do it, although he would with no complaint.

  It appeared our only professional lawn care service was on the verge of collapse with the owner running from the law. Something to figure out at a later time.

  The realtor left the side door open, just like she promised. Winston trotted in ahead of me to investigate on his own.

  I pulled my new spiral notebook and package of pens bought from the Dollar Cart to make notes. My brain was filled to the brim with ideas of what I could do as soon as the house was mine.

  In the middle of notes, I gave Jolene a call, leaving a voice mail to stop by after work. The disadvantage of living in a small town was everything closed after five pm.

  The advantage of living in a small town was everything closed after five pm. It was a sword that cut both ways. In this instance, it worked in my favor and Jolene promised to come by just as soon as the pharmacist cut her loose.

  The tick-tick-tick of Winston’s claws on the hardwood floors gave away he was upstairs somewhere on the east side of the house.

  A sudden feeling of unease washed over me, like something had changed in the environment behind me. I paused making my notes, holding very still while I strained to hear if there was someone else in the house with me.

  The feeling of being watched was unmistakable.

  Just as I managed to convince myself that I was imagining things, a floorboard squeaked behind me. Before I could turn around to see who was there, someone hit me and the floor rushed up to meet my face.

  Winston was going crazy, barking and scrabbling down the stairs as I collapsed on the floor and blacked out.

  Post-lightning strike ranked up there as the worst feeling to ever wake up. A possible concussion was the second worst feeling.

  “Easy there,” a male voice said as hands helped me to sit up. I squinted to see Kane’s blurry face staring intently at me. “I’m glad you woke up. We were getting worried.”

  “I called 9-1-1.” That was Maxine’s voice. Outside, the sun was going down, it was getting darker and the pitiful light fixtures in the house didn’t have strong light. It was like staring through gauze.

  How long was I out?

  Maxine helped Kane to prop me up against the wall. “The chief is on his way. Do you need an ambulance too?”

  My hand gravitated straight to where I was hit, and a secondary knot from where I hit my head on the floor. “No. I think I’m okay. Just a bit of a headache and two goose eggs. What time is it?”

  “Almost six thirty.” Kane shifted to sit next to me and encouraged me to stretch out with my head in his lap. “Do you remember what happened?”

  “I was...making notes.” My hand flapped out at the notebook that dropped just out of reach. “Things I want to do and how I want to organize the downstairs for the shop. I heard someone behind me and...they hit me. That’s all I remember.”

  All of a sudden, it occurred to me. Something was missing. I struggled to sit up. “Where’s Winston?”

  “He wasn’t here when we got here,” Maxine said.

  Kane settled his large hands on my shoulders and guided me to stretch out again. “You need to lie down.” He didn’t give me another choice.

  I reluctantly did as he asked but relaxing was out of the equation.

  His fingers rubbed gently at my uninjured temple and one thumb stroked along my brow line. It was actually very soothing. Kane had magic hands. People s
aid he was good with animals. I guess he’s not so bad with humans, either. My heart rate began to slow down. I was safe with him there. He couldn’t, however, assuage my worry for Winston.

  By the time Chief Reed got there, I was beyond worried and well into fretting territory. “He was here, with me. Well, upstairs running around before I was hit.”

  “The front door was locked, but the back door was standing wide open when we got here,” Kane told him.

  Chief Reed inspected the door. “They must have followed you in, attacked you, then left. Can you think of any reason why?”

  “None. Please, Chief...Winston. You have to find Winston.” The thought of the little guy out there alone at night squeezed my heart so tight I couldn’t breathe.

  “He’ll be fine,” Maxine said, squeezing my hand. “When he ran away from Violet’s he would go straight to the shelter. He’ll find his way there. We need to worry about you and those knots on your head.”

  Hang the knots on my head. “Yes but...it’s night. Did he ever run away at night?”

  No one had an answer for that. Rural Mississippi had its share of wildlife predators and Winston was just the right size for a midnight snack.

  “We’ll do what we can to find him,” Chief Reed assured me. “But only on the condition that you go to the hospital and have your head checked out. According to Dr. Sawyer, you were unconscious when he arrived. A hit that hard—”

  “Fine.” I wasn’t up for arguing. “Please. Just try to find him.”

  Banged up head notwithstanding, I wouldn’t rest at all until I found Winston.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The knocking at the door at one am didn’t wake me. I never made it to bed. Between the killer headache and fretting about Winston, my mind didn’t allow me any space for rest. In fact, I had been contemplating borrowing Mom’s car and going out to see if I could find him. That was not a good idea, not while I was seeing two of everything.

  However, anyone knocking at that time of the morning never had any good news.

  Dad was pulling on his robe as he passed me in the hall. “Grab your cell phone, honey. Just in case we need it.”

  “Need it for what?” I snatched it off my bedside table and followed him down to the living room. Mom came up behind me and guided me gently to stand back while Dad answered the door.

  “Robbie,” Dad said and it was obvious he was relieved it wasn’t the cops or worse. “It’s kind of late for a social call, son.”

  “I know, sir. I was just...I wanted to call but...”

  Robbie was agitated, shifting side to side and trying to look around us for something.

  Mom scooted around me and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “What’s wrong, Robbie? Did you and Sarah fight?”

  If they did, why was Robbie here and not Sarah?

  “No. She never came home and she didn’t call me. I was hoping she was here. Is she here?”

  Instantly, every hair on my body felt rigid, just like the day lightning struck me. “I’ll check in the basement,” I said and headed for the small door off the living room.

  “I’ll check the garage,” Dad said.

  Behind me, Mom was guiding Robbie to the kitchen to get him something to drink.

  Dad had been in the process of finishing the basement for a game room so if Sarah had come in, there would be plenty of room to crash. And there was no place to hide, the basement was empty.

  I met Dad at the top of the stairs. “Nothing?” he asked. His face was tight with worry which just made my own feelings of dread worse.

  “No. I guess no for you, too.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll call the police.”

  When Chief Reed showed up, we were all surprised to see him. Dad welcomed him at the door and shook his hand. “Alistair, did they get you out of bed for this?”

  “No. I had—” His eyes flicked to look at me. Subconsciously, I smoothed at my messy hair. I must have looked a fright standing there in my well-loved sweatpants and baggy t-shirt that served as my sleeping clothes.

  “...some stuff to finish up at the office when the call came in. Can you tell me what happened?”

  We all gathered around the table. Gramma was the last to join us but only because she couldn’t find her slippers. She had to opt for socks with the plastic bobs on the bottom to prevent slipping. Judging by the one chewed slipper she held up, I’d say that Winston had developed a taste for footwear.

  Mom had coffee ready for everyone as the chief talked to Robbie first, then the rest of us about who had seen or talked to Sarah last.

  Unfortunately, no one knew anything. I was the last of the family to see Sarah when I talked to her at the shop before heading to the realtor. She was supposed to meet Robbie this evening for a movie but never showed up.

  Chief Reed’s phone rang in the middle of his interviews with us. He made his apologies and stepped into the living room to answer it. I couldn’t hear what he was saying because he was talking too low. Looking around at the faces of my family, and yes, Robbie was family too, it was clear we were all trying not to think of the worst.

  Winston was missing. And now my sister was missing. The stress was going to wreak havoc on my frame of mind.

  The chief came back in. “A unit went by the shop. We think there was a break-in. Your daughter wasn’t there, Galen,” he said gravely. “We’re trying to reach Belinda Colby now but she’s not answering her phone.”

  “Dear Lord,” Mom said, uttering a soft prayer under her breath.

  Dad took her hand and squeezed it. After a kiss, he followed the chief out into the front yard where they talked for a few more minutes. From where I stood at the living room window, I could see lights were coming on in the surrounding houses. A few neighbors came out to stand on their lawns.

  Chief Reed shook Dad’s hand and glanced at me before he got into his SUV and drove off.

  Dad didn’t get back into the house before the neighbors were streaming over to find out what they could do to help.

  Most of them at least. This was a small town; no doubt a few wanted to be the first with the scoop for the gossip mill that would kick into high gear by tomorrow morning.

  I prayed that the gossip didn’t include the death of my sister.

  After hours of dealing with concerned neighbors checking on Mom, Dad was able to run everyone off. He took Mom back upstairs to bed, leaving me, Gramma and Robbie at the table.

  “She’s not dead,” Gramma said. Her voice held such conviction, I wanted to believe it. “She’s not dead because that doesn’t happen to our family.”

  “She’s a fighter,” Robbie said. At least he was holding on to hope. I felt a little guilty that I allowed myself even a moment of doubt.

  I retrieved a pillow and some blankets for Robbie to crash on the couch and tried to get some sleep myself.

  Not like that was going to happen.

  My phone chirped with a text not a half an hour after I stretched out.

  are you up?

  It was Jolene. What was she doing up at this time of night?

  I had to squint to see my phone screen. That knock on the head really rattled my vision.

  yeah.

  worried about winston? we can drive out to the shelter and see if he’s there.

  winston and sarah. she’s missing. robbie said she didn’t come home last night.

  There was a long pause before the next text.

  get dressed, I’m on my way.

  Jolene was the best friend anyone could ask for, saying nothing but drawing me into a huge hug when I opened the door. I held a finger to my lips, glancing at Robbie who had dropped off to fitful sleep, judging by the tangle of the blanket with his legs.

  I left a note for Dad not to worry, saying that Jolene and I were headed to the Waffle House. Of course, we’d take the long way around.

  That allowed us to drive by the Hole in One first. There was police tape up but no one was around.

  Jolene park
ed the car behind the building and we got out.

  “We could get in so much trouble if this is still an active crime scene,” I said.

  “I know. You won’t be in the jail cell alone.”

  That’s my best friend, right there.

  Through the front window, we could see the broken display case. I rattled the door in frustration. In the wreckage, I saw Sarah’s cell phone beneath the broken glass counter. “Damn it. Locked.”

  Jolene gripped my arm hard and hauled me to the car. “I have an idea.”

  “We can’t break the glass,” I protested as she dragged me along.

  “An old trick my brother taught me.” She dug around in her purse and emerged with a credit card.

  “Does that work anymore?”

  “Only if no one locked the deadbolt.” She crouched down to get a look at the back door latch. “We may be in luck. Keep a look out.”

  I stood watch as Jolene fiddled with the door until we heard a click. “My brother, the criminal genius.”

  “I thought he was a locksmith.”

  “You don’t know him like I do.” She pulled the door open and motioned for me to turn the flashlight on my cell on.

  I ran into the doorway on the way in. It had been hours since I had been conked senseless. Surely my vision should have cleared by now?

  The storeroom was a bit of a wreck. It was hard to tell if that was caused by the police or the burglars. The office was in worse condition. Paperwork littered the desk and the floor, the desk lamp had been knocked over. The drawers were open and the contents spilled everywhere.

  I went into the front of the shop and retrieved Sarah’s phone. Robbie blew her phone up calling her when she wasn’t responding.

  “Look at this,” Jolene said from the office.

  She was looking at the safe. “It’s empty. Surely she kept this closed and locked.”

  I didn’t know. Sarah would know...and she wasn’t here. My throat closed up, making it hard to swallow. I shook my head when Jolene looked up at me.

  “You okay?”