THIRD DAY.
Kathleen cried most of the day. The dam that had held back the tears for the last couple of days had burst. The sobs surged out of the depths of her misery. She wanted to go home. She longed for the safety of Johnny’s arms.
Did Marie or Adelaide wonder why she wasn’t at church service on Christmas Eve? Had Barker come to see why she hadn’t come to dinner Christmas day? Adelaide and Paul had planned to stop by in the evening. Surely they were wondering what had happened to her.
Kathleen continued to cry. She wanted Johnny! Would she ever see him again? Johnny, I love you. Please don’t forget me. Remember that I love you.
“Why are you crying, my darling?” Teddy asked when he came in and found her sobbing on the bed.
“I guess…I’m just lonesome.” It was the first thing that came to mind.
“Why don’t you put on one of the pretty dresses I bought for you? That should cheer you up.”
“I can’t put on stockings.”
“I’m sorry about that, my angel. You understand, don’t you, that I can’t take the chain off. I can’t lose you, my precious girl, now that I finally have you.”
Kathleen wanted to hit him. She wanted to scream for him to get out of her sight and stop groveling at her feet as if she were a goddess. His constant, cloyingly syrupy endearments grated on her nerves and made her want to scratch his eyes out.
FOURTH DAY.
Kathleen no longer feared that Teddy intended to rape her. Her plans, should he try, were to grab his testicles with one hand, squeeze and twist, and shove stiff fingers in his eyes with the other. A girl at the aircraft plant had told her that was how she had warded off a rapist.
Teddy knocked each time before he came into the room. Usually he sat in one of the chairs and watched her. Once he brought a notebook and wrote several pages. He was very open about it when she asked him what he was writing.
“A journal. A man never knows where he’s going if he can’t recall where he’s been.”
“You’re terribly smart, Teddy. Where did you go to college?”
“My dear, you flatter me. I didn’t go to college. Mother taught me at home. She was brilliant.”
“You must have loved her very much.”
“Yes. She was the most magnificent creature I had ever known until I met you.”
“Teddy, I could in no way be like your mother.”
“Precious girl, you outmatch Mother in sweetness and in beauty. She knows that and understands it.”
Kathleen searched for another topic of conversation, not knowing how to respond when he spoke of communicating with his dead mother.
“Read me what you are writing.”
“Would you like to hear it? Really?” His eyes smiled into hers when she nodded.
“Three-thirty-five. I put down the time because feelings are sometimes different at different times of the day.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Three-thirty-five P.M.” He read from the journal. “Mother, this is my fourth, day with my darling Kathleen. I am so happy. She is everything I told you that she would be: beautiful, intelligent, kind, and understanding. It is amazing that God could make such a vile creature as a man and such a perfect creation as my Kathleen. She has been so—”
“—Teddy, please don’t read any more. I’m not any of the things you say I am, and it’s embarrassing to hear you say so. I can be mean, quarrelsome, and I have a terrible temper. My grandma said it went with red hair.”
“You couldn’t be mean, my heart. You’re modest. It’s part of your charm, your goodness.”
“Do you mind if I lie down and rest for a while?”
“No, my sweet. I’ll just sit quietly and watch over you.”
“You don’t need to do that. I’m sure you have things you want to do. I’ll be all right.” Please go! Pl…ease go!
Kathleen lay down on the bed and turned her back to him.
“I do have a few things to do. Rest, my wonderful one. I’ll be back soon.”
When she heard the door close, she turned her head to be sure that she was alone, then heaved a sigh of relief and let the tears roll down her cheeks. How much longer would she be able to endure this without having a screaming fit?
FIFTH DAY.
Kathleen suspected that Teddy wasn’t well. He hadn’t touched her since the morning she awakened in this room. He had been strong then, holding her down on the bed. And it had taken strength to carry her out of her house and up the stairs.
Long ago she had dismissed the notion of trying to overpower him, not only because of the chain on her ankle. She couldn’t let herself be hurt in any way that would harm the baby.
Kathleen began to notice that at times Teddy winced at some apparent pain, and his face became wet with perspiration. Something was wrong with him. Dear Lord, don’t let him have a fatal heart attack. The thought of being chained in this room until she died of starvation was so horrible it made her stomach heave.
SIXTH DAY.
Teddy’s face was pale and his hands trembled when he brought her breakfast.
“Are you sick, Teddy?” Kathleen asked with concern.
“Only a headache, sweet girl. It will go away. I’ll lie down for a while and be good as new.”
’Teddy, don’t leave me chained. Please. If you got sick, I’d die up here.” She had promised herself she wouldn’t beg, but suddenly she was terribly frightened.
“My precious girl.” He cupped her cheek with his palm, the first time he had touched her since the first day. “I’ll not leave you. When I depart from this world, you and the little princess will be with me.”
His words were not comforting. They implied a deadly intent that frightened her more than ever.
He didn’t come back until evening. He brought bread and cheese, an apple, and a pot of tea. He sat in the corner of the room and watched her. When she finished eating, he took the tray and left with only a few of the sugary words she had come to detest.
SEVENTH DAY.
Theodore Nuding, also known as Robert Brooks, sat beside the oven in the kitchen of the large Clifton house hugging a blanket around his shoulders.
This was supposed to be the happiest time in his life, the fulfillment of his dreams. It was not fair, Teddy thought, that the curse had chosen this time to rear its ugly head.
“It runs in the family, my dear Teddy,” his mother had said. “It has dogged my Greek ancestors down through the ages. I can’t avoid it and neither can you. You must constantly keep your affairs in order.”
He had heeded his mother’s advice, even to the filing of his will. The means of his escape from a painful, lingering death had been tested. Unlike his mother he had prepared for the inevitable. She had left it up to him, and even if he did say so, he had performed his duty admirably.
When he went to meet her in Heaven, he would take his darling Kathleen and the little princess with him. He couldn’t bear to think of going without them.
A random thought struck him and brought a smile to his face. What was the date? The thirtieth of December. Tomorrow would be the last day of the year 1945—the perfect time for him to take his darling little family to meet his mother.
Johnny and Tom Dolan waited in front of the Gazette office for the Greyhound bus that was bringing Hod Dolan down from Kansas. Tom had arrived on the fourth day of Kathleen’s disappearance and this was the seventh. The whole town had turned out to look for her, yet not a single clue had turned up.
Johnny was near exhaustion. He couldn’t sleep, had hardly eaten anything. His whiskered cheeks were sunken. The eyes he turned to Tom were flat and bleak.
“I hope Hod will have some new suggestions for us. Unless Kathleen has shelter, she can’t last much longer.”
“I hate to say this, but she could be out of the state, out of the country by now.”
“She’s near. I just feel that she’s around here somewhere. Someone took her who wanted to get back at me, or at Barker. May
be something was printed in the paper that hit someone the wrong way. She’s part-owner of the Gazette“
“You’ve not been home long enough to make many enemies,” Tom said.
“I made one. He worked at the Fleming ranch until Barker fired him. Pete got to him before I did. He said he didn’t know anything about Kathleen. Guess he smarted off at first, and Pete mopped the floor with him. Here’s the bus.” Johnny and Tom moved out away from the building and waited for the door of the bus to open.
United States Marshal Hod Dolan stepped down. He was a tall, impressive man in a black suit and a dark hat. Except for the streaks of gray in his black hair, he looked enough like Tom Dolan to be his twin.
“Hod! God, it’s good to see you.” The two men clasped hands and shoulders.
“How’er ya doin’, Tom. It’s been a hell of a long time.”
“Too bad it takes something like this to get us together.”
“Johnny. Lord, man. You’re no longer that skinny kid who helped me track the Barrow gang.” Hod grasped Johnny’s hand.
“A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, Hod.”
“Dammit, Johnny, I don’t know what to say. Kathleen is not only our brother’s daughter, she’s special.”
“Thanks for coming, Hod. We’re about at the end of the rope. We need someone to show us a new direction.”
“Molly said to say hello. She would have come down, but she’s got her hands full with the kids.”
“The car’s over here. We’ll go on out to the house, and Tom and I will fill you in. Barker has a crew out on horseback and so does Pete Perry. They may be back by now.”
“What’s this? Kathleen’s old Nash? This old heap still runnin’?”
“Yeah. My old car doesn’t have but one seat. I kind of rearranged the inside so I could haul stuff.”
It was almost dark by the time Johnny parked the Nash alongside Kathleen’s house. Three other cars were parked along the street: Pete’s, Barker’s, and Bobby Harper’s.
“Nice little house,” Hod said when they stopped.
“Kathleen has been living here since she came back from the city. Come on in. There should be some food in there if you’re hungry. Folks have been good about bringing it in.”
Bobby Harper met them at the door. He flung it open, then stepped back on his crutches to let them in.
“Bobby, this is Hod Dolan. Kathleen’s other uncle.”
“Howdy.” Bobby stuck out his hand.
“Johnny?” Marie came from the kitchen and put her arm around Johnny’s waist. “Any word?”
Johnny shook his head. “My sister, Marie Fleming, Hod. She’s been coming every day. We didn’t think it a good idea for her to be here alone, so Bobby took on the job of staying with her.”
“Hello, little lady. I bet Bobby didn’t mind takin’ on the job a’tall.”
“No, sir. I sure didn’t.” Bobby grinned broadly.
“Put your things in the bedroom. I’ll have supper on the table soon if Bobby will help me. Have you seen Daddy, Johnny?”
“Not since morning. Has anyone called?”
“A lot of people have called wanting to know if there was any news.” She reached up and put her hand on his rough cheek. “You’ve got to eat something. You’ll be sick and not able to help Kathleen if she needs you.”
“All right, little sister. I need to go wash off some of this road dirt.”
Johnny and Tom had filled Hod in on everything from day one to the present by the time Pete and Barker came back to the house. Johnny introduced them to Hod, and the four continued the discussion at the supper table.
“Paul, down at the Gazette, made posters with Kathleen’s picture and the offer of a five-hundred-dollar reward for information. Every town within fifty miles has been saturated with them. Paul saw to it that every paper in the state of Oklahoma and some in Texas received a news release.”
“No bites?”
“Nothing.”
“News coverage and a reward of that size will usually get you something if there’s anything to be got.” Hod was sorry he had been so blunt when he saw the look of despair cross Johnny’s face.
“We’ve gone over the whole county by car and by horseback. We’ve looked into every nook and cranny.” This came from Pete, who had put in almost as many hours as Johnny looking for Kathleen.
“Maybe we should go back over the area, slowly, starting at the edge of town and fanning out to search every foot of ground. You’re reasonably sure she’s not in town?”
“Folks in town have known about the reward for five days. I believe that if anyone had noticed anything slightly suspicious, we would have heard about it by now.”
“Fifty men from the reservation will be here at daylight. Some will be on horseback and some afoot,” Barker said quietly. “Some speak very little English; but they are good trackers, and I’ll be with them.”
Hod studied Barker. If he had not been told that the man was Johnny’s father, he would have guessed it. Johnny had his father’s classic Indian features.
“The volunteers will meet in front of the Gazette in the morning at seven.” Pete helped himself to a piece of corn bread. “Mayor White is in charge of them. We’ll have to decide what we want them to do.”
“Hod, Keith McCabe will be back here the day after tomorrow. He’d been here since the first of the week and had to go home today to tend to some business.” Johnny had eaten to satisfy Marie, but the food was sticking in his throat.
“It’ll be good to see that son of a gun. By the way, what was Kathleen wearing when she was last seen?”
Johnny answered. “She went to the show on Sunday night. The ticket seller said that she was wearing a green dress and a black coat.”
“Her coat had a round collar and big gold buttons down the front,” Marie said while filling Johnny’s coffee cup.
Pete got up to leave. “See you in the morning, old hoss,” he said, and clasped Johnny’s shoulder.
“I’ll be going, too. Are you bringing Marie, Bobby?” Barker asked.
“Yes, sir. I’m learning to drive pretty good with one foot.”
Marie put on her coat. “I’ll be here tomorrow, Johnny.”
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,” Tom said. “Maybe it will bring us some good news.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
EIGHTH DAY.
Kathleen knew immediately that there was something different about Teddy, aside from the fact that he was pale and not quite steady on his feet when he came to her room with her breakfast.
His eyes shone as if he were terribly excited, and his face was damp with perspiration. He was freshly shaved, which was not unusual, but he had also trimmed his hair.
“Eat your breakfast, my precious pet. I have things to do downstairs, then I’ll be back.” He placed the tray with a pot of tea and a piece of toast on the dressing table.
“Teddy, unchain me and let me come down and help you.”
“No, no. There’s no need-for that. You’ll be free of the chain soon enough, sweet one. Would you like for me to wash your hair this morning?”
“No, thank you. I washed it last night.”
“It’s lovely, my darling. You’re lovely. Eat your breakfast like a good girl.”
“Teddy, do you feel all right? It scares me for you to be sick.”
“Because you love me, sweet one?”
“I…could learn to care for you,” she told the lie easily because it was what he wanted to hear. “What if you get sick? If I’m chained in this room, I can’t help you.”
“It will not come to that, I promise. Eat your breakfast before your tea gets cold. And, my beautiful Kathleen, put on the emeralds: the necklace, the earrings, and the ring. I want to see you decked out like the goddess you are. Humm?”
He went to the wardrobe and pulled out a foam green peignoir with a gown to match.
“You haven’t worn this. Wear it for me, angel girl. It will make me happy. I’ll be
back soon.”
Kathleen was trembling with fear by the time he left the room, his feet spread apart in an effort to keep his balance. As soon as the door closed, she went to the place where the chain disappeared in the hole in the floor and tugged on it for the hundredth time.
Eat your breakfast. How many times had he said that today? Enough times so that it seemed to be more important than usual.
She lifted the top from the teapot and sniffed. It smelled the same but had he put something in the tea? She held the strainer over the cup, poured the tea through and carried it to the toilet. She emptied the second cup, then crumbled the toast in the toilet before she flushed it.
Fear ran rampant through her.
You’ll be free of the chain soon. What had he meant by that? If he wasn’t going to turn her loose, the only way she would be free of the chain was if she were…dead?
He is going to…kill me!
Since that first day, she hadn’t considered that he would do that. He had said that she would come to love it here. She took that to mean he planned to keep her here for a long time. Did he think that he was going to die and wanted to take her with him?
The thought sank into her mind like a chunk of lead.
She told herself that she wouldn’t panic. She had to plan what to do if she was going to live to have her baby. If he put something in the tea, it was to put her to sleep or to make her drowsy and easy to handle.
She had to suppress the anger that made her want to scream and throw things. She couldn’t afford to allow rage to cloud her mind when she was going to need every bit of courage she possessed in order to be ready when he came back to the room.
Kathleen hurriedly dressed in the green gown and peignoir, fastened the necklace around her neck, and attached the earrings to her earlobes. With the ring on her finger, she lay down on the side of the bed nearest the door. Hugging a pillow close to her, should she need it to protect her baby, she tilted her head so that she could see the door through the slightest rifting of her eyelids.
With her heart beating like a tom-tom in her breast, she waited.
After the Parade Page 31
