by Patricia Fry
“I’ll go with them,” Ben said.
Savannah sighed with relief. “Thank you.”
Fifteen minutes later Savannah laid the sleeping baby in his portable crib, cleaned up Lily’s hands and face after she’d eaten the ice cream, and opened the back door to see what the older children were doing. “Oh, here they come,” she said rather anxiously. “Good. It looks like Rags is with them. You got him?” she called out. “Good job!”
“Wasn’t an easy task,” Ben said.
The other officer just stood back and shook his head.
“Yeah, he didn’t want his treats at first,” Kira explained, “but Adam finally pushed some through the gate and he came over and ate them.”
“What was he doing in there?” Savannah asked.
Ben cocked his head. “As near as we could figure, he was doing unofficial sentry duty.”
“What?”
The other officer laughed. “Sure looked like that’s what he was doing. Or else he could smell leftover fish from their evening meal and was waiting for someone to invite him in.”
Savannah chuckled. “With Rags you never know, but I’m awfully glad you caught him. Good job, Adam…Kira.”
“So, do you think the thief is hiding over there?” Gladys asked.
“Or he lives there,” Ben said.
Suddenly Kira gasped. “The Preacher!”
Savannah frowned. “Oh my gosh. Kira, do you think he…?”
“Are you saying you suspect someone who lives there?” Ben asked. “He’s a preacher?”
Savannah exchanged looks with Kira before responding. “I guess he used to be a preacher, right, Kira?” She explained further, “I think he rents a room from the young couple who bought the place from Kira’s folks.”
Kira nodded.
“He cuts through our yard a lot,” Savannah said. “He’s always out walking. But I can’t imagine that he’s a shoplifter, can you, Kira?”
She shook her head.
“What’s his name?” Ben asked. “Maybe we can find out if he has any priors.”
Savannah shrugged and looked at Kira. “Do you know?”
“I’ve only heard him called The Preacher.” She glanced at Ben. “But I can find out in the morning. I’ll call my mom.”
“Okay.” Ben nodded toward Savannah. “Call it in, if you would.”
“Sure. Thanks for coming out, guys.” Savannah started to close the door, then called out to them, “Hey, want an ice cream cup to take with you? I need to start using up stuff from the freezer to make room for the fruit from the orchard.”
Ben turned back and smiled. “Sure.” He then asked, “Do you freeze all that fruit from your orchard?”
“Just some of it. I also can it and make jam.” When she saw his face light up, she said, “Maybe I’ll bring some down to the station, say, sometime next month.” After waving goodbye to the officers, Savannah put her hands on Adam’s and Kira’s shoulders. “Okay kids, the excitement’s over. Let’s all get back to bed, shall we?” She watched the children traipse up the staircase, then picked up the baby to put him back in his bassinet. Gladys carried Lily to her bed. Once Lily had settled down, the two women walked quietly out into the hallway. Savannah put her arm around her mother and whispered, “I’m so glad to have you here. What would I do without you?”
Gladys smiled. “I’m having the time of my life.”
****
The following day, shortly after Kira’s mother picked her up, Marci and Rose arrived for Adam. “Thank you for having him ready on such short notice,” Marci said. “I was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to miss the neighborhood hike this afternoon.”
“Not a problem. His plans with Michael for the day fell through, as you know, so this worked out just fine.”
As Savannah poured iced tea for the adults and gave juice boxes to the children, Adam bubbled over with stories about his exciting visit with his dad and Savannah.
“Whoa, son,” Marci said, “I’m exhausted just hearing about it. How about you tell me the details on our drive home?” She patted his cheek. “I’d like to talk to Savannah for a minute, okay?”
He nodded and started to walk away. When Savannah noticed that Lily was becoming impatient while trying to get her spinning top to spin, she said, “Oh, Adam, I almost forgot something. Aunt Maggie has some cookies for you to take home—you know, those ginger cookies you like?”
“Great!” he said.
“Would you like to push Lily over there in the stroller and get them?”
“Okay.” He looked around. “Can Rags come?”
Savannah shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. He’s just fine staying in today.” She laughed. “Actually, he seems a little tuckered out.”
“He sure does,” Marci said, gazing at the cat, who was stretched out in one of Buffy’s pink canopy beds.
“Take Lexie. You should be able to handle her and the stroller, don’t you think?”“Lexie?” Adam repeated. “Yeah, she’s a piece of cake next to Rags. Okay, I’ll take Lexie.”
The boy, the toddler, and the dog had been gone for a minute or so when Marci blurted, “Savannah, I’m going to give Billy Garnett a kidney.”
Chapter 8
“What?” Savannah said, nearly choking on her iced tea.
“I’ve made up my mind. I already had the compatibility test and I qualify.”
“Wow!” Savannah said. “That’s a surprise.”
“Yeah, I’m going to do it anonymously.” She lowered her head. “First, I need to find the courage to tell Eric.”
“Oh, Marci, you haven’t told him yet?”
“No. But I will, unless I can come up with a better reason for donating a kidney to the boy.” She looked impishly at Savannah. “Any ideas?”
Savannah grinned weakly at her. “Nothing but the truth, Marci.”
She stood and looked out the window. “I’ve been trying to find a way. It’s just so hard.”
“Marci, how are you doing? I mean, after you returned the boy’s cat you seemed to feel better. Now you’ve made the decision to give him a kidney. How do you feel about that?”
Marci paused before admitting, “I’m…a…a little scared.”
“About the surgery or…?”
“Everything, I guess.”
“And you will be until you unload the whole burden.”
“The whole burden?”
“Yes, the burden of guilt and deception. It’s not easy to hold in a secret like that. It can eat at your insides and mess with your mind. It’s not healthy, Marci. I’d sure like to see you…”
“I’ve got it under control,” Marci insisted, glancing outside again. “Where is he?”
Savannah walked to the front door and out onto the porch. “They’re on their way back.” She chuckled. “Looks like he’s showing Lily a butterfly or a ladybug. He’s sure good with the little ones.”
Marci didn’t respond. She picked up Adam’s overnight bag and headed toward her car. “Come on, Rose,” she said over one shoulder.
As Adam approached, Savannah walked out and met him. “I’ll take her the rest of the way. I think your mom’s in a hurry.” He started to jog off toward the car, when Savannah said, “How about my hug, there, speedy?”
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. She hugged him and kissed the top of his head. “Love you,” she said.
“Me too. Thanks for the fun time. Tell Dad thanks.”
“Sure will.” Savannah watched as Adam climbed into the car with his bag of cookies.
Once Marci had finished strapping Rose in for the hour-long drive home, she turned and waved. “Bye Savannah. Thank you for everything.” Savannah walked closer with Lily, and Marci said quietly, “I’m having the…um…procedure next week.”
“Take care, Marci. You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.”
Before Savannah reached the front door with Lily by the hand, Gladys stepped out. “Officer Ben’s on the
phone for you.”
Savannah picked up Lily and hastened her pace.
“Here, I’ll take her,” Gladys said, handing Savannah the phone.
Savannah watched as her mother led Lily into the house, then she sat down on a deck chair. “Hello?”
“Savannah, I just wanted to let you know, we think we…ahem…I mean, your cat has cracked the shoplifting case.” He laughed. “The Preacher…AKA Spencer B. Spencer, confessed. It seems that he has been treated for his shoplifting addiction more than once over the years and, after a spell of good behavior, he gets caught up in the desire to steal stuff again.” He chuckled. “So he moves to a place where no one knows him and starts his life of crime all over again.”
“Poor guy. You mean he has no control over it? That’s hard to imagine, actually. But I guess our brain can play some dirty tricks on us.” Her thoughts focused momentarily on Marci’s current dilemma. She took a deep breath. “So what will you do with him, Ben?”
“We’ll let his attorney and the DA sort that one out.” When Savannah didn’t respond, he added, “What usually happens is that we try to get the individual some help. Since this guy’s already gone that route more than once, that seems to be a waste of time and money. Maybe there’s a new treatment that would help.”
Savannah thought for a moment, then suggested, “You said he stays out of trouble for a while between his stealing binges? Maybe his attorney or a friend could find out what he’s doing during those periods of…of abstinence—you know, when he’s able to control his urges to steal. Maybe he’s working then or doing something else that keeps him from having the time to shoplift. I mean, if he isn’t going into stores, there’s no temptation, right?”
“Yeah, I hear what you’re saying. Let’s hope we can keep this guy on the straight and narrow and out of your backyard. Want to tell the little girl…Kira…that we’ve caught up with him and we’ll do our best to help him?”
“Sure will,” Savannah said. “Thanks for letting us know.” When she walked into the kitchen, she saw Rags coming out of the service porch. “Good job, Ragsie,” she said.
“Good job using his litter box?” Gladys asked from where she sat playing a game with Lily.
Savannah laughed. “Well, that too. No, he helped to nab another crook. The preacher man—you know, the guy with the feather in his hat—he’s the one who stole all that stuff the kids found. That’s who Rags tried to lead the cops to last night.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. They checked up on the guy, nabbed him, and he confessed. He’s a human kleptomaniac.” She turned to Rags. “And if you don’t find a cure for your addiction, you might end up in the slammer too—or worse.”
****
“Michael,” Savannah said when she heard his voice on her phone later that afternoon, “I’m so glad to hear from you.”
“Why? Is anything wrong?”
“No, not here. I was just wondering what’s going on there.”
“Well, I got here around nine this morning. Keith picked me up at the airport and filled me in on things. I saw Brandt this afternoon. He had minor surgery this morning and his wife, Irene, asked us not to come until later in the day.”
“How’s he doing?” Savannah asked.
“I guess not very well. They think they can keep him comfortable for maybe a week.”
“Gosh, a week. I’m sorry, Michael. How are you doing?”
“Okay, I guess. I feel sorry for Aggie. But hon, I find it difficult to feel anything much for Brandt Hanson. I mean, he’s a stranger, after all.” Before Savannah could respond, he said, “He wants everyone here.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Michael hesitated, then said, “He evidently has a secret he wants to tell us—all of us together. What do you think? Can you manage a trip with three children?”
“Three?” she questioned.
“Oh yes, this evidently involves Adam too. I’ll call Marci and see if she’ll let him go. Maybe you can pay Helena to travel with you and help with the kids.”
“And break my mother’s heart? No, I think we’ll do just fine. Adam’s a big help too.”
He hesitated. “You’re right; he is. Okay then, I’ll call Marci and you talk it over with your mother, okay? I’ll check back with you in an hour or so.”
Savannah had just hung up the phone when it chimed again. “Oh hi, Bri,” she said. “Did you make a deal with Dr. Stevens?”
“Not yet, but I think we’re close. I’m excited, Vannie. He has a lively practice.” She laughed. “Which is why he wants to retire. He said it’s designed for a young whippersnapper doc.”
“Funny. I’ll miss him. He’s become our GP lately. Hey, does this mean you’ll be our doctor?”
“Maybe,” Brianna said. She then asked more quietly, “Have you heard from Craig?”
“No.”
“Well, he texted me just now. He caught up with Paul Carter and he’s working with officials to bring him back to the States. He also said something about going after the big guns next.”
“Gosh, so he thinks the Goffs might be behind…um…what happened to you? I mean, what are they thinking? What made them think they could get away with something like this?”
“It could be that they’ve been getting away with it for a while. But yeah, someone’s bound to squeal.” Brianna’s voice was strained when she said, “Vannie, Craig said one woman’s still missing and presumed dead. The authorities had given up on the case. But because of my abduction, they’re evidently looking into that one again.”
“No kidding?”
“Yeah, the gal went on one of the travel adventures and never returned home. She’s been missing since March or April.” Brianna took a deep breath. “Vannie, if it weren’t for you and Aunt Maggie and Craig…” she laughed “…and your cat, I could have…”
“But Bri, you’re okay, and it’s because of you that those criminals won’t get their hands on anyone else.” When there was no response, Savannah said, “Bri, are you there?”
“Yes,” she said weakly. “Vannie, Craig said we could be in danger.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, they haven’t caught the Goffs and Craig hinted that they might want to silence me.”
“Why? You aren’t a witness to anything they’ve done, are you?”
“Not that I know of. It’s just that voice...remember, I told you I heard a voice a couple of times while I was…um…with the animals. I didn’t recognize it. I don’t know who it was. But I’m sure I can identify it if I ever hear it again.”
“No one knows that, do they?”
“Craig suspects the man might actually think I saw him.”
Savannah was quiet for a moment. “What does he want you to do?”
“Be incognito, I guess.”
“Hey!” Savannah said more brightly. “What are you doing this week? Do you have any plans?”
“Uh, not really, other than finishing up some details related to closing my practice in Straley and taking over the one in Hammond. Why?”
“Can you put that off for a few days or a week, maybe?”
“If I absolutely had to, I guess I could. What are you getting at?”
“I’m flying to Connecticut with the kids, maybe tomorrow. Why don’t you go with me? That ought to keep you out of the line of any potential fire. I mean, who would look for you in Connecticut?”
“Why are you going there?” Brianna asked.
Speaking more reverently now, Savannah explained, “Well, Aggie’s son is dying and he evidently has a deathbed wish—maybe a secret confession.”
“Huh?”
“He has something to reveal and he wants Michael’s and Keith’s families around him when he does. As soon as we clear it with Marci to take Adam with us, we’ll make flight arrangements. I could sure use some help with the kids. Come on—say you’ll go. It’ll be fun.”
“What about Mom?”
“I haven’t even asked her if she wants to go yet. Maybe she’d like to have some time off—hang out with Auntie or Helena. But Bri, it won’t be easy traveling with three kids—especially with two of them under three, so I will need help. What do you say?”
“Gosh, I guess I could.” Brianna said. She then burst out laughing.
“What’s funny?”
“Well, I was just thinking that traveling with you and three kids might be more harrowing than that extreme adventure trip I went on or any potential danger I might be in here. But yeah, count me in. I’ll go.”
“Okay, then, I’ll call you as soon as I have the particulars. Better start packing.”
“What was that all about?” Gladys asked when Savannah ended the call.
“Wow!” she said. “There’s a lot happening.”
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
Savannah glanced at her watch. “Well, Michael’s supposed to call me back any time, so I’ll deal with his request first.”
“Oh, a request, huh? What is it?”
“He wants us to come to Connecticut—the whole family—I mean, me and the kids, including Adam. He says his…um…whatever Brandt Hanson is to him, well, he’s dying and he has something he wants to get off his chest before he goes. Keith’s family will be flying in. Brianna’s going with me to help with the kids. I thought you might like to stay here, take care of the animals, and spend some time with adults for a change.”
“Bri’s going? That’s a surprise. Why is she going?”
“Well, we just thought it would be good for her to get away for a few days, that’s all. And I can probably use the help.”
“When are you leaving?”
“The sooner the better, according to Michael. He’s supposed to call me back and let me know.” When her mother remained quiet, Savannah asked, “You’re okay with that, aren’t you? I mean, you don’t mind if Bri takes your place on this trip?”
“No. Actually, you’re right, I could use a little me time. I’ve been wanting to check out a book club I read about in your newspaper. And there are a few old friends I haven’t had time to look up.” She smiled. “As much as I’ll miss you all, it will be kind of nice to get out and about without diaper bags and strollers.” She looked at Savannah. “Can I help you pack? Do you need to do any laundry before you go?”
