AFTER DINNER, the children helped clear the table. Kate washed the dishes, and Megan dried them while the other two youngsters took their baths. Meanwhile, Paul laid a fire in the fireplace.
Later they all sat around enjoying the fire, but it didn’t take long before the younger children’s eyelids began to droop. Kate hustled them off to bed and tucked them in with a kiss.
When she returned to the living room, she sat down in her favorite rocker. Paul was in his chair reading a biography of a famous church leader. Megan was sitting cross-legged on the floor, mesmerized by the fire.
“Megan, where did your mother say she was going?” Kate asked softly so she wouldn’t disturb Beck, who was sleeping on the cot in the far corner of the room.
Megan glanced in Kate’s direction. “Nashville. She likes country music.”
“Did she go alone or with a friend?”
The girl lowered her gaze and spoke softly. “A friend.”
Kate had an inkling of who that friend might be. “A boyfriend?”
Megan nodded.
So Glynis Maddock had left her children to go off with her boyfriend six weeks ago, apparently telling Megan she’d only be gone for the weekend. Kate tried very hard not to judge the woman, but Glynis’ actions suggested she wouldn’t be nominated for a Mother of the Year award anytime soon. “Do you know the man’s name?”
Megan sighed. “Hank Weller. He’s not very nice, but Ma likes him, I guess.”
Sometimes lonely women made bad decisions about men. It sounded to Kate as if Glynis might have fallen into that trap.
Or had she left because someone had told her to run?
Chapter Eight
By the time Kate slid into bed beside her husband, she was bone weary in the same way she’d grown tired after a day with her own young children.
She took Paul’s hand. “You were wonderful helping Beck with his homework. Very patient.”
“He’ll be fine if the adults around him are encouraging. I had a friend in elementary school who was dyslexic. Everybody called him dumb or stupid.”
“But you didn’t.” She smiled into the darkness, confident her husband had never been cruel to anyone.
“No way. He might have had trouble with reading, but he was a whiz on the soccer field. I always wanted to be on his team. He also worked harder on academics than any kid in our class, and he overcame a lot. Last I heard, he was a judge in Nashville.”
She squeezed his hand. “Good for him. And you.”
“I’m worried about you and the Maddock family, honey. I love that you care about the kids, but I hope you’re not getting in too deep. We don’t know anything about the children’s mother or why she left.”
“I know, but that’s what I’m going to find out.” Kate was silent for a moment, pondering her fear that both Glynis and the children were in danger. “At least they’ll be safe here with us until I can figure out what’s going on.”
Paul leaned over to kiss her. The last thing she heard before falling asleep was his whispered “I love you, Katie.”
THE NEXT MORNING, Kate rose extra early to pack lunches for the children and fix them oatmeal for breakfast. For however long they stayed with her, she was determined to see that they were well fed.
As Kate prepared the oatmeal—which she gussied up with strawberries, brown sugar, and a few chocolate chips—she thought about what a task it was to take care of three children. Besides being well fed, they also needed to be well clothed.
She turned to the kids, who were now all seated at the oak table waiting for breakfast. Beck’s jeans were three inches too short, Gwen’s little shirt had a button missing, and Megan wore a baggy flannel shirt that probably belonged to her mother. No wonder the boys teased her.
All the children needed new clothes. And haircuts. In fact, an entire makeover would be the perfect treat for Gwen and Megan, Kate decided as she finished garnishing the final bowl of oatmeal.
She’d talk to Betty Anderson, the proprietor of Betty’s Beauty Parlor. Betty and the beauticians working for her might be willing to make over the Maddock children as a philanthropic project. It wouldn’t be the first time that Betty, who had such a generous spirit, had performed an act of kindness for someone in the community.
But first things first. She needed to track down Glynis Maddock. Fortunately, the storm had passed during the night, leaving a bright blue sky and cool temperatures.
She drove the children to school, saw them safely onto the grounds, and was waiting at the library when Livvy unlocked the door.
“Goodness, did you forget something yesterday?” With a teasing glint in her eye, Livvy held open the door for Kate.
“Not really. I just have a research project I’m anxious to start.”
Livvy switched on the lights and went behind the counter. “What are you researching this time?”
“I’m trying to find a missing person.”
Livvy reacted with surprise. “Shouldn’t you be talking to Sheriff Roberts?”
“I don’t want to involve the authorities unless I have to.” Kate had made a promise to Megan, and she was determined to keep that promise as long as she could. “I thought I’d start with Google and see where that leads me.”
Upstairs, Kate sat down in front of the same computer she and Megan had used the previous afternoon and brought up Google again. When she typed in “Glynis Maddock,” all she got were references to a woman in England. Definitely not the missing mother she was seeking.
She tried the white pages for past addresses in Knoxville and a people-search function that turned up nothing useful. Basically, Google had never heard of Glynis.
“Think this through, Kate,” she said out loud. “Glynis was going to Nashville. How do you find her?”
She brought up lists of motels. There were hundreds. Even if she called them all, Glynis might not be registered under her own name. Hank Weller could have signed a registration form. Or they could be staying with friends, which would make the search impossible.
Then a thought struck Kate. Maybe Glynis hadn’t come home because she’d been hurt.
From a quick search, she learned that there were ten hospitals in Nashville. Kate wrote down the phone numbers, but she wasn’t optimistic.
She tried Googling Hank Weller but had no better luck than she’d had with her search for Glynis.
Out of ideas, Kate leaned back and stared at the computer screen. “Where are you, Glynis? Your children need you.”
The troubling thought that Glynis had run away from some danger nagged at the back of Kate’s mind. How could she find a person who’d gone into hiding? And who or what was Glynis running from?
And how could this mother leave her children in danger, if that was why she left town?
Maybe Kate was going to have to talk to the sheriff after all. Or perhaps Deputy Spencer.
With a discouraged sigh, she logged off the Internet and went downstairs. A woman was at the catalog terminal, and Livvy was checking out a stack of books for an elderly gentleman.
When he left with his armload of books, Kate asked Livvy, “What do you know about the foster-care system?”
Livvy put her glasses on top of her head. “Are you thinking of applying?”
“Not exactly. More like I’d like to know how it works.”
“I had a neighbor in Nashville who had foster kids. A lovely grandmotherly type. She must have had half a dozen children come and go while we lived there.”
“Did she ever take in three from the same family?”
Livvy shook her head. “Her house wasn’t big enough. There are rules about how many bedrooms the family needs to have.”
“Then sometimes the children from the same family are split up?”
“Oh yes, that can happen. My neighbor had two little brothers for a while. She used to take them on playdates to visit their older sisters and brother who were living with two other families. I thought it was terribly sad the children had to be apart.”
So did Kate. Megan was right that she and her siblings might be separated if they had to go into the foster-care system. No wonder she didn’t want Kate to contact the authorities.
The woman who’d been checking the catalog terminal came up to the counter.
“Thanks for the information,” Kate said to Livvy, giving her friend a warm smile. “I’ll see you at choir practice tonight.”
Kate’s next stop was the Town Hall. The architecturally undistinguished brick building across from the Town Green housed the offices of the mayor and city-council members as well as the sheriff’s local office, where Skip Spencer was assigned.
The rain had washed the new leaves on the double row of maple trees that led up to the structure, and they glistened an almost Day-Glo green.
She entered through the double-glass doors and walked toward the deputy’s office. Skip was at his desk, his chair tipped back and his feet propped on an open drawer, reading a magazine.
“Good morning, Skip.”
The deputy’s feet dropped to the floor with a bang. In his hurried effort to stand up, he nearly lost his balance. Waving his arms to regain his equilibrium, he sent the magazine sailing across the room, where it smacked into a portable whiteboard sitting in the corner.
“Hey, Missus Hanlon.” He scurried after the magazine, his face almost as bright red as his hair. “You kinda startled me.”
“I’m sorry.” She swallowed a laugh. The twenty-five-year-old deputy was as earnest as could be, but there were times when he was as clumsy as a puppy who hadn’t grown into his feet yet.
“The sheriff’s not here right now. He’s in Pine Ridge, at his office there. I can call him if—”
“That’s all right, Skip. I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me.”
“Sure.” He straightened his tan uniform shirt, brushing away an imaginary bit of lint. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m trying to locate a friend.” Kate chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to give away too much or alert the authorities, who might bring in children’s services to check on the Maddock youngsters. “She moved away six weeks ago and didn’t leave her new address. Is there any way you can track her down?”
“Well now, I’m not sure.” He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “I could check to see if she’s changed her address on her driver’s license.”
“That’s a good idea.” Although Kate didn’t imagine Glynis would have officially moved to Nashville, leaving her children behind in Copper Mill.
Eager to please, Skip sat down at his desk and typed some commands on his computer keyboard. “What’s your friend’s name?”
“Glynis Maddock.” She spelled it for him.
A few more keystrokes, and he brought up another screen. “This shows a Glynis Maddock residing in Knoxville. Age forty-two. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Five foot six, one hundred and twenty pounds. Is that your friend?”
Kate peered over his shoulder to examine the blurred photo of Glynis. The resemblance to the children was unmistakable. Kate mentally made a note of the family’s former address in Knoxville.
“Yes, she’s the one. But that’s not her current address. She’s been living out in Smoky Mountain Hollow for several years.”
“Oh, then she definitely should’ve changed her address with the Department of Motor Vehicles. That’s the law, you know.”
“I’m sure it’s just an oversight on her part,” Kate said, nodding. “Is there any other way you can track down someone?”
“I can check for a police record, although I’m sure any friend of yours wouldn’t have one. But if for some odd reason she does have a record, it’d show her last known address, a list of criminal associates, and outstanding warrants.”
“I don’t think she has a record, but go ahead. Take a look.”
His fingers addressed the keyboard again. After a delay, the screen filled with data. Idly, he rubbed his slightly crooked nose as he read the information.
“Nope, no police record in Tennessee. I could check with other states, but that would take a few days.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
He swiveled in his chair to face Kate. “Where was your friend headed?”
“To Nashville.”
“If it’s somethin’ serious, I could notify the Nashville PD to be on the lookout for her. Was she driving a car?”
Kate didn’t know. She hadn’t asked Megan. And she was reluctant to sic the Nashville police on Glynis. “I think she was traveling with a friend. Hank Weller. Can you look him up?”
“Sure thing.” He turned back to his computer.
Kate wasn’t at all sure that Skip should be giving her this information. But he didn’t seem concerned, so she wouldn’t be either. Another one of those pluses for living in a small town. People trusted each other.
“I’ve got a Perry Weller who did time for armed robbery of a couple of convenience stores in Knoxville a few years back. Is he the one?”
She studied the booking photo on the screen. Perry Weller was a heavyset man with dark hair and several days’ worth of whiskers. He stared at the camera sullenly, his expression giving Kate a cold shiver down her spine.
“I’m not sure.” Kate wondered if Perry and Hank could be related. If so, Glynis could be in very bad company, running away from even worse company.
Swiveling around again, Skip said, “I’m sorry, Missus Hanlon. I don’t know where else to check.”
Skip hadn’t come up with much useful information, and Megan might not know much about her mother’s friends, but Kate decided that perhaps a former neighbor in Knoxville might have some answers. She hoped that Glynis had been friendlier toward her previous neighbors, and that not all of them had moved away in the intervening years.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Paul took the children to school, and Kate headed off for the hour drive to Knoxville. She knew it might be a waste of her time, but she was ready to try anything to locate Glynis.
She found the address on Glynis’ driver’s license, an apartment in a long, dreary row of six-unit apartment buildings. The street was mostly empty. The little patches of lawn in front of the units were poorly kept and muddy from the recent rain. A nearby playground featured broken asphalt and swings that looked equally decrepit.
The Maddock family had suffered hard times for longer than just a few years. Kate prayed for the children and that something helpful would come of her trip.
Cautiously, Kate walked up to the apartment where Glynis and her children had once lived, checking her surroundings as she went. She knocked. While she waited, she sensed that someone was watching her.
Surreptitiously, she glanced around. A curtain moved in a window opposite Glynis’ apartment, but no one appeared.
Kate moved on to the next apartment and knocked again.
Almost to her surprise, a buxom woman with a scarf tied around her head swung open the door.
“Who’re you?”
“I’m a friend of Glynis Maddock. I’m trying to locate her—”
“Don’t know nobody like that.” The woman glanced up and down outside her apartment, shook her head, then slammed the door shut.
Kate tried a couple more doors but got no answers. Yet she’d seen the curtains move on the opposite building a second time. A nosy neighbor, she decided, might be the most likely to have known Glynis. She walked across the unkempt patch of grass and knocked on that door.
She waited quietly, and when there was no answer, she knocked again. “I’m a friend of Glynis Maddock,” she said to the closed door. “I think she may be in trouble, and I’d—”
The door whipped open, bringing with it a powerful whiff of tobacco. A gray-haired woman no taller than five feet, who could have been anywhere from sixty to eighty-five years old, glared out at Kate behind huge, oversized glasses with pink plastic frames.
“You shouldn’t be askin’ nothin’ about Glynis. You keep away from here. You hear me? Keep away.”
“Please. I have her children, and they need—” The door slammed closed.
Kate pulled a small notepad from her handbag and jotted down her name and phone number. Whoever this woman was, she knew something about Glynis. And knew she was in danger. Kate sensed that deep in her psyche.
Knocking again, Kate said, “I’m going to leave you my phone number. If you know how to reach Glynis, please let her know that her children are all right. They miss her.”
Only silence greeted her plea.
With a sigh, Kate sent up yet another prayer. If God had a plan for how she should help the children reunite with their mother, it wasn’t clear to Kate. Yet.
She tucked the note she’d written into the doorjamb and hoped for the best.
IN COPPER MILL, Paul parked his truck in front of Town Hall and walked toward the entrance. He’d spent the morning going over some old sermons, and then he’d gotten a call from Deputy Spencer asking that Paul and Sam meet with him after lunch.
As he pulled open the glass door into the building, Paul heard Sam call to him.
“Hey, wait up.” Breathing hard, Sam hurried up the steps to where Paul waited for him. “What’s this meeting with Skip all about?”
Paul shrugged. “I figured it was about the vandalism, but Skip didn’t say. I thought you’d asked to meet with him.”
“Nope. But I’d sure like to stop those vandals. Maybe Skip has a lead on them.”
Together they turned down the hallway to the deputy’s office. When they entered the office, Skip snapped to attention in front of a portable whiteboard on rollers. Across the top of the whiteboard the deputy had written Operation Vandal Trap in purple letters. Below that heading was the word Strategy in red, followed by several items written alternately in green and blue.
“Good. You’re both here right on time.” Skip extended his hand to each of them in turn.
Paul eyed the whiteboard. “Guess you’ve come up with a plan to catch Sam’s vandals.”
“Right. No general would take his troops into the field without a battle plan. I’ve been working out the logistics of our operation and the supplies we’ll need. The timing too, and the big guns we’ll bring to bear on the miscreants.”
For the Least of These Page 7
