Under the Ice

by Aaron Paul Lazar

  I was relieved to hear the resolve in her voice.

  Oscar asked, “Can you put Gus on? I need to talk to him for a minute.”

  I spoke up. “I’m right here. I’ve got it, honey.”

  “Bye, Oscar,” Camille said.

  “Oh, Gus. I’m glad you’re home. Have you seen the weather report?”

  The wind whistled outside. It had been kicking up pretty hard since we returned home.

  “Not a chance. I just got home a little while ago.”

  “We lost our power an hour ago. Supposed to be high winds tonight. There’s a good chance of snow. It’s on the edge, though, they said it also might rain.”

  “No power? Oh, man. Are you okay? How’s Millie?”

  “We’re fine for now. But if they don’t repair it soon, it’ll get pretty chilly in here. I do worry about Millie’s hands. Her arthritis is so bad, and the cold makes it worse.”

  I didn’t hesitate. “Why don’t you come up, before it gets worse. We’re doing fine up here, and if we lose power, we’ve got the woodstove and generator. We’ve got lots of room, Oscar. Plenty of room.”

  I could hear the relief in his voice. “I was hoping you’d offer, tell the truth. We’ll pack some things and be there in an hour.”

  Chapter 54

  Adam and Freddie arrived at the same time. Freddie parked the Jeep and walked over to Adam’s cruiser. He practically leapt out of it and pulled her to him. They kissed and separated, chatting rapidly in the cold air.

  My breath fogged the glass as I watched from the kitchen window. It was such a relief to have a good man in Freddie’s life. What an improvement, I thought. At least something’s going right.

  They both trotted inside and shook hail from their coats. The tiny pieces of ice plinked onto the linoleum floor.

  “It’s really coming down out there. And it’s getting slippery,” Freddie said, walking briskly toward me. She threw her arms around my neck. She kissed my cheek and whispered, “Welcome home, Dad. Wish it were under better circumstances.”

  I tucked a damp lock of hair behind her ear and smiled into her pretty eyes. “Me, too. It’s been a tough one. Camille’s a wreck.”

  I shook hands with Adam. “Any headway with the investigation?”

  He frowned. “Sorry, sir. Nothing yet.”

  “The twins are just waking up, Freddie,” Mrs. Pierce said, looking over her shoulder. She closed the oven door and straightened, blowing a stray gray curl away from her forehead.

  “We’re on it,” Adam said, taking Freddie’s arm. They headed for the stairs.

  Mrs. Pierce and Maddy had joined forces in the kitchen. Maddy carved a huge pork loin into thick chops. She filled two cast iron skillets with the meat drenched in crushed garlic cloves and sprinkled with aromatic rosemary. Mrs. Pierce steamed cauliflower and sliced her favorite soft cheese to melt over the top. A pot of water boiled, ready for the capellini that would be tossed in just before we all sat down. She told us a salad crisped in the refrigerator—filled with romaine lettuce, chopped plum tomatoes, yellow peppers, and black olives. For dessert, a pan of apple crisp bubbled in the oven.

  In spite of the trauma of the last day, it was good to be home. I’d missed our home cooking.

  Joe and I worked the phones while the ladies cooked. We tried to locate Gilmer Saltzmann. I used my cell and he used the landline. I called every Saltzmann in the Rochester area. Joe worked on the cops in Avon and the surrounding towns. We had no luck. Each time I struck out my mood darkened a little more. By five o’clock, we decided to take a break, and when Oscar and Millie chugged into the driveway, I was glad for the distraction.

  Siegfried met the Stones in the parking area to help them up to the porch. I opened the door and was surprised to see the porch steps and ramp had completely glazed over. Hurriedly, I grabbed a few handfuls of rock salt from the bag on the porch and broadcast it over the ice.

  Millie was tucked into her wheelchair with a blue plaid blanket and wore a black angora hat. A matching scarf hid her mouth and nose. She ducked her head down low to avoid the onslaught of sleet. Siegfried guided the chair up the ramp, transferring it to me, then ran back to help Oscar with Tinkerbell, their golden retriever-mix. He accepted the leash from Oscar and took hold of his elbow. Slowly, they walked together up the icy path, fighting a strong wind.

  “My goodness. You’d think it was winter,” Millie chuckled.

  I wheeled her into the kitchen and her hazel eyes searched mine. I had a feeling she was thinking about Shelby, but didn’t want to bring it up.

  “I know,” I said. “And to think I was just about to plant my peas.”

  Millie chuckled. “Not in this weather, you won’t.”

  Mrs. Pierce waved to her and dumped two boxes of capellini into the stockpot. “If you were in Florida in winter, you’d be outside in shorts and a tee shirt, Gus. And you’d be picking tomatoes.”

  The argument was long-standing. Adelaide Pierce was a transplanted Floridian, and she’d never quite adjusted to our northern climate. She and her sister had married twin brothers in their twenties and had settled in the Syracuse area. Her sister, Eloise, still lived there, although both were long widowed and often lamented about upstate winters.

  “Now don’t you go thinking of moving down south, Adelaide,” I warned. “We’d fall apart without you.”

  She tittered and blushed. “Oh, go on. You know I could never leave. You’re my family now, Gus. The whole crazy lot of you.”

  Maddy snorted a laugh and pushed back her blond bangs with one hand, flipping the chops with the other. “Adelaide’s right. We’re a bunch of doozies.”

  Both women tried hard to appear normal. Although we all knew it was an act, we went along with the charade. It seemed easier than moping around and wringing our hands.

  I took Millie’s wet coat, hat, scarf, and mittens and hung them up carefully in the mudroom. Oscar appeared at my shoulder and dropped a small suitcase and a pile of blankets on the floor. Siegfried followed with Tinkerbell and a bag filled with her food and dishes.

  “I brought blankets and pillows, just in case.” Oscar unbuttoned his overcoat and stepped out of his galoshes. “Plus, a few changes of clothes, toothbrushes, and our pills.”

  “Good idea,” I said. “Who knows how long this thing will last.”

  Oscar touched my sleeve. “Thank you, Gus. I hope we’re not too much work for you.” He glanced down at Millie. “But I must say, don’t-you-know, that it means the world to me to know my lady is safe and warm.”

  I gripped his hand. “It’s my pleasure, Oscar. And by the way, you never have to ask if you can come. You’re family.” I took his coat and hung it up. “I’d be worried about you two, anyway. This is actually much easier on me. I just hope we don’t lose power overnight before I can get the generator rigged up.”

  An electric, submersible pump powered our deep well. When the power went out, there was no water with which to flush, bathe, or cook.

  Siegfried heard me. “Ja! I will fill the jugs now. Already I filled the trashcans with water for the horses. They will last many days if the power goes out.”

  The best way for us to water the animals during a power outage was to line thirty-five gallon trashcans with garbage bags and fill them to the brim. We had only one generator, and although we could hook up the well pump to it, we had just a few outlets and usually used them for the refrigerator and freezer. I noticed that Siegfried had brought more firewood onto the porch and covered it with plastic sheeting, which was also a good idea. He took off toward Mrs. Pierce’s bathroom to start to fill gallon jugs with water. We kept a supply under the cabinets in all the bathrooms to help with flushing.

  “That Siegfried is such a good boy,” Mrs. Pierce said. “What would we do without him?”

  While she and Maddy chatted about Sig’s virtues, I started to open cupboards and drawers to check out supplies of batteries, candles, and oil lamps.

  Oscar leaned down to check Millie�
�s chair, making sure it was properly adjusted, and then started to wheel her past me.

  She reached up to touch my hand with cold fingers. “Gus? Are you sure you can put us up overnight? I mean, with all the difficulties you have right now…”

  I flashed a fake frown at her. “I don’t know. I might have to reconsider. You two are such troublemakers.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I hope she comes home soon, honey.”

  “Thank you. So do we.” I kissed her cheek. It was cold, like her hand. “Why don’t you two go settle in by the woodstove and warm up? Supper’s almost ready. And tonight, you’re sleeping in our bed.”

  Both opened their mouths to protest but I waved them away. There was no way I’d have either of them sleeping on the couch. Besides, I knew without asking that Camille would sleep the night in Shelby’s room.

  Chapter 55

  As I’d predicted, before we’d even started dinner, Camille went up to sleep in Shelby’s bed.

  I caught Siegfried’s doleful eyes across the table and shot him a half-smile. To be honest, I was afraid to ask him what his sixth sense was telling him about Shelby. I couldn’t bear to imagine her being hurt.

  My daughter is in the hands of a demon, and I’m sitting at a dinner table, conversing and eating, pretending everything’s okay.

  I almost pushed back from the table and grabbed my car keys. I needed to do something. Anything.

  Oscar looked at me with his piercing blue eyes. He knew I was in pain, but helpless at the moment. Until the phone call came in for Adam about the whereabouts of Gilmer Saltzmann or George Martinelli, we were stuck.

  Oscar broached a neutral topic. “The weatherman said if the temperature hovers around thirty-two degrees, we might get significant icing.”

  Frozen rain pelted against the clapboards, mocking me. You failed your daughter; you failed as a father.

  Naked branches tapped against the side of the house, swaying in the dark night like greedy black fingers reaching for my heart. I ignored the feelings of panic flitting through me with every breath. “If it does ice over, it could bring down a lot of trees and wires.”

  I didn’t really think about what I said. I just mouthed the words.

  Millie’s face brightened. She sat up in her wheelchair and pointed. “Look at our dogs. Just look at them!”

  I turned around to glance into the great room where Max, Boris, Sheba, and Tinkerbell lay in various poses. Max sprawled on the couch, his head resting on a fringed pillow. Boris wiggled under a quilt on the floor. His snout poked out from under it, resembling a little old lady in a scarf. Tinkerbell, Sheba’s daughter, stretched out with her mother on the Oriental rug near the woodstove. They lay side by side. Sheba flopped her head over Tinkerbell’s back and then closed her eyes with a satisfied sigh.

  I smiled at Millie and felt a little better. The children chattered non-stop in the background the whole time. I tried to act normal for their sakes. The surreal scenario whooshed in and out of focus as I fought bleak thoughts of Shelby and the danger she faced with her biological father.

  Joe and Maddy exchanged intimate gestures, whispering at the far end of the table. Their relationship had grown since they’d moved in together and since Maddy helped him through his recovery. Relieved, I noticed he seemed relaxed and content with her. Maddy slipped her arm through his and re-tucked his napkin under his chin.

  Adam sat close to Freddie and they each tended to a twin beside them. I watched the young man with affection. Not only did he play amateur piano and listen to my radio program regularly, but he also had a knack for parenting. Celeste, normally our fussiest eater, gobbled up every bite Adam gave to her. Although I loved helping raise my grandchildren, I was glad Adam had joined our ranks. He was strong, responsible, and eager to please.

  “Professor?” he asked. “Would you play for us this evening?”

  I looked at him gratefully. He must have known how desperate I was for news and had suggested a cathartic way to pass the time.

  “Sure I will. I’d be happy to,” I said.

  We’d just finished the apple cobbler with ice cream when lightning flashed against the windows, immediately followed by thunder. Without warning, the lights flickered and went out. The orange glow from the woodstove in the great room shed little light.

  Johnny cried, “Opa? Where’d da lights go?”

  Everyone began to talk at once. The twins whimpered. I tried to calm the crowd, stumbling to the sideboard for the flashlights I’d lined up earlier.

  “It’s okay, everybody. We’ll have plenty of light in just a minute. Look, Johnny, here’s a flashlight for you. And let’s light some oil lamps and candles. We’ll be fine.”

  I moved around the room, happy to be able to divert my brain to a useful task. Here was something I was good at. This was something I could do, literally in the dark. I established golden provinces of light at strategic locations, placing two oil lamps on the table, several in the great room, and one in the kitchen. When it was all set up, I turned off all of the flashlights, except Johnny’s, to conserve batteries.

  I loaded batteries into the portable radio and tried to get a station to come in.

  Joe peered out the window. “Wow. It’s really icing up out there. Look at those tree branches, they’re hanging low.”

  I fiddled with the radio, and finally tuned in our local news channel, WHAM 1180. “Hey, Joe. Maddy doesn’t have a woodstove at her place. Won’t you two be cold?”

  “She’s got the fireplace,” he said dubiously.

  “It won’t throw enough heat to warm the house. Why don’t you two just stay here tonight? It’s safer than driving around in this weather, anyway.”

  Adam approached with Marion in his arms. She slumped against his chest, sucking her thumb.

  “You too, Adam. You should stay. Besides, I’m sure Freddie would welcome the help tonight.”

  He nodded. “Okay. If you’re sure there’s room?”

  “We’ll make room. I’ve pretty much got it all figured out.”

  I began to organize the house into guestrooms. Freddie offered to share her king-sized bed with Johnny, although I suspected that she would have liked to offer it to Adam as well. Keeping with propriety, Adam and Joe would share the two youth beds in Johnny’s room. Maddy would bunk with Adelaide. Oscar and Millie were set to sleep in our bed, Siegfried insisted on camping on the floor in the great room, and I offered to take the couch.

  I stoked the woodstove and packed it with six pieces of maple wood. It would burn all night if I turned it down low. The stove was located on an outside wall, about forty feet from the fireplace. I’d built up the fire in the hearth as well, although it was more for light and atmosphere than for warmth. Elsbeth and I both had loved the open hearth, however, and our practical compromise had resulted in a woodstove on the other side of the room when we’d taken over the family homestead after the death of my mother.

  Freddie and Adam scraped and stacked the dishes, then went upstairs with flashlights to put the children to bed. The dishes would have to wait in the sink until morning when I got the generator hooked up. After the twins and Johnny were settled, Adam returned. Freddie stayed upstairs with the babies in case they woke up in the dark. She’d put all three children in her bed. With the help of Benedryl, Camille continued to sleep upstairs in Shelby’s room.

  For the next hour, I made up beds by flashlight. I finally finished and had returned to the kitchen to turn on the radio, when the landline rang. I snatched it from the hook. “Hello?”

  “Dad?” Shelby whispered.

  My nerves zoomed into high gear. “Shelby, are you okay? Where are you?”

  Joe and Adam rushed to my side. Maddy, Oscar and Millie sat up and listened.

  “I’m fine, Dad. I just wanted you to know. We lost power, but we’ve got candles and there’s a kerosene stove here.”

  I wanted to ask a thousand questions at once, but was tongue-tied. Finally, I asked the question that had plague
d me all day. “Is he treating you okay?”

  She lowered her voice a little. “Yeah. He just went outside to get the flashlight from the car. But he’s fine. I’m safe, Dad.”

  “Are you sure? Where are you? We’ve been worried sick.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure. He’s cool, Dad. We talk about God all the time. He’s really changed since Mom knew him. He’s not the guy who hurt her, he’s…transformed.”

  I doubted it, but knew Greg had worked hard to convince her he was a new man. Nevertheless, I answered as if I believed her. “That’s good, honey. Now listen, this is important. What’s your address and phone number?”

  “Well, I don’t think he’s quite ready to face you guys yet, and oops…he’s coming back. Gotta go. I’ll call you as soon as I can. Love you, Dad.” Her last words escaped in a rapid whisper.

  “Love you too, baby,” I said to the dial tone.

  I hung up. She’s okay. She’s safe for now. I debated going upstairs to wake Camille and tell her, but decided against it. It might raise new questions, refresh her worries. I’d tell her as soon as she woke up.

  Millie spoke first. “Is she okay, Gus?”

  “She said he’s treating her well. They’re talking a lot about God.”

  “Did she tell you where she is?” Joe asked briskly. He followed me into the great room. I perched on the edge of the couch and recounted the short conversation to them.

  Oscar spoke up. “It’s good to know she’s safe. Nonetheless, it’s still rather alarming that she doesn’t feel comfortable contacting you when he’s around.”

  I nodded. “I know. You’re right. He hates me with a passion and resents Camille for getting him locked up.”

  Maddy spoke up. “Bastard.”

  Millie’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. Maddy continued, as if thinking out loud. “She must be close if she said they lost power. Joe, can you find out from the power company what districts are out?”

  Joe bolted from his seat. “Good idea. We might be able to isolate her whereabouts, at least narrow it down to a few towns.”