All In The Family

by Roseanne Dowell

  This time it worked. Aunt Beatrice Lulu was free. Uncle Ed helped her onto the platform and kissed her. “Of all the crazy things to do. You’re not getting out of my sight for the rest of the day.”

  Aunt Beatrice Lulu snuggled against him. “Deal,” she said.

  William and Jake put the top portion of the tunnel back on the slide while the kids followed the adults for dessert.

  “Thanks, you were great.” Callie kissed William’s cheek.

  “That’s all I get for great?”

  “For now. Let’s go get some dessert.”

  William put his arm around Callie and they joined the others. A couple of the kids were playing in the sandbox with dinosaurs. Dinosaurs. Why did that trigger a memory? And of what?

  “Hey Callie, bring that handsome hero over here for a big piece of cake,” Aunt Ethel yelled.

  “Well you’ve certainly ingrained yourself with my family. They liked you to begin with, but now you’ve sealed the deal.”

  “Hey, I only helped. Anyone would have done the same thing. I’m just glad we got her out. Poor thing, Ed said she’s claustrophobia. I’m surprised she even wanted to go down that slide.”

  “She’s a follower. Her sisters did it, so she did it. I’m sure she thought she’d zip through like they did.”

  “Yeah, but anyone with claustrophobia wouldn’t have even zipped through a tunnel like that. Even a couple seconds enclosed causes extreme stress.”

  “Do you have claustrophobia?” Callie stopped walking.

  “No, Linda had it. Even riding in a car sometimes set it off. No way would she’d have gone down that slide.”

  “So you’re thinking maybe Aunt Beatrice Lulu doesn’t have claustrophobia?”

  “Not saying that. But she remained awfully calm after that initial kicking the sliding board.”

  “Aunt Beatrice Lulu has a tendency to exaggerate things. Anyway, you’ve still scored points with my family.”

  “Thanks, you’ll have to come and meet mine. You’ve already met Berry. I don’t believe you’ve met my father.”

  “I’d like that.” A date to meet the family. Was she ready for that? What the heck, she’d never know if she didn’t try.

  “Good, how about Wednesday? Dad makes a family dinner on Wednesday.”

  “Sure. Wednesday it is.”

  Things had quieted down now that the aunts calmed down. These memories would stay with Callie forever. If anyone would have said her mother would climb a tree, she’d never have believed it. Her uncles and father were back from their golf outing and the kids couldn’t wait to tell them the afternoon’s adventures. Hearing it from them was almost as much fun as witnessing it.

  “And then the branch broke. They couldda hurt themselves really bad. Uncle Ed was so mad. But Aunt Beatrice Lulu didn’t care.” Melissa, Aunt Ethel’s six year old granddaughter related the story with hand motions and wide eyes. “Nope, she marched right over to that sliding board and then she got stucked. Daddy and Mr. William had to take it apart.” She shook her little blond head. “I guess some peoples just never learn.”

  Callie laughed at the expression on Melissa’s face.

  “You shudda seen her get caught on the sliding board.” Charlie, Aunt Lottie’s grandson, jumped up and down. “They had to take it apart.”

  Apparently playing by the swings didn’t prevent the kids from seeing what was going on.

  “Some kids haven’t learned they’re supposed to be seen and not heard.” Aunt Beatrice Lulu apparently didn’t like being talked about. Especially not in that light. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest, and pouted.

  Suddenly the chair bent downwards, farther and farther back. Aunt Beatrice Lulu grabbed onto Uncle Ed’s chair to prevent herself from falling and pulled his chair down with her. They both ended up with the back of the chairs on the ground, their butts still on the seats, but their legs dangling over the edge of the chairs.

  Everyone jumped up, panicked. Callie thought for sure a trip to the hospital was in order.

  Aunt Beatrice Lulu looked at Uncle Ed. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, are you?”

  Aunt Beatrice cracked up laughing. Everyone rushed to help them up, but they were laughing so hard they just laid there.

  So much for everything calmed down. Callie looked at her watch. Time to go. “Ready?” she asked William. “Or do you want to hang around here with these crazy people.”

  “Much as I’d like to, I think it’s time to call it a day.”

  Callie made the rounds, kissing all her aunts and uncles goodbye. “You’re not going to stay for the bon fire?” Her grandmother asked.

  “Not tonight, Gram. It’s been a tough week. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 15

  Callie woke before the alarm clock. Something nagged at her mind, but darned if she figure out what. Something about that dinosaur. The phone rang interrupting her thoughts. Lord, she hoped it wasn’t going to start already. What happened to the quiet little town she loved?

  “Johnson.”

  “Callie, it’s Mom. Have you heard from your grandmother today?”

  “Mom, it’s only eight o’clock.”

  “I know, but I’ve been calling and she doesn’t answer. She’s not at the courthouse and she’s not home.”

  “She’s not home?”

  “No, her car’s there, but no sign of her. I even checked the bakery on the corner. They haven’t seen her.”

  “Her car’s still there?”

  “Yes.”

  Callie didn’t like the sound of this. She snapped her fingers. “Um, Mom, did you check with Jim Landry?”

  “Actually, he’s the first one I called. He’s not seen her since last night. Callie, I’m worried. He said they were supposed to go fishing later.”

  “Okay, I’ll check it out.”

  “Thanks, keep me posted. Oh, Callie, I checked with her neighbor, old Mrs. Tucker. She hasn’t seen her either. It’s not like your grandmother to go off somewhere without letting anyone know.”

  “I know, Mom. I’ll call you later.” Callie hung up and punched in Jim Landry’s number and hurried to her car. Maybe she was jumping the gun, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

  “Chief, it’s Callie. I’m headed to my grandmother’s could you’d meet me there.”

  “Still haven’t heard from her, huh? Okay, I’m on my way.”

  Callie hung up, flipped the switch for the lights and siren. She probably didn’t need them, but she wanted to get through traffic in a hurry.

  A couple minutes later, she pulled into Gram’s drive. Jim was already there, looking around outside.

  “See anything, Jim”

  “So far everything looks normal.” He walked around the side of the house. “Callie, you might want to call the boys, get a fingerprinting team out here. Doubt if they’ll find anything but you never know.”

  Callie walked around the side of the house, phone to her ear. “What ya got?”

  Jim pointed to the screen.

  Looked normal from a distance but up close, it was cut, window pried open. “Crap. Let’s go inside, see if we can find anything.” Callie started for the door.

  “Hold on a minute. Look at this.”

  Callie looked where Jim pointed. “What the hell?”

  Jim pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and grinned at Callie. “Always come prepared.” He bent down, picked it up and held it up to the light.

  “A rosary? What the hell we have here a religious criminal?”

  “Either he’s a religious criminal or we’re in trouble.” Jim pulled a plastic bag from his pocked, grinned, shrugged, put the brown rosary into the bag, and handed it to Callie. “If it hadn’t been for the silver crucifix I might not have seen it.”

  “What do you mean, we’re in trouble?” Callie slid the bag into her pocket.

  “Could mean someone thinks they’re doing God’s work.”

  Callie shivered. Just
what they didn’t need. “Let’s go inside, look around. Maybe he left something more identifying.”

  They met the forensic team at the door. “Go around to the window on the side, dust for prints.” Callie unlocked the door.

  Nothing out of place. Didn’t look like there’d been a struggle. Her mother would have mentioned that. Was it someone Gram knew?

  “You check the kitchen, I’ll check her bedroom.” The bedroom seemed more private. Not that her grandmother wasn’t free to do what she wanted, but still. Everything looked normal, bed made. Callie checked the hamper. That’s odd, no dirty clothes. She met Jim in the hall. “No dirty clothes in the hamper. I wonder how long Gram’s been gone.”

  “Nothing out of place in the kitchen. What’s in there?”

  Callie flipped the lights on to Gram’s office. “Everything looks okay here, too.”

  Jim went to the window, pulled up the shade. The guys were still working outside. “Window doesn’t look the worse for being pried open.”

  Callie looked around the small office. Papers all appeared to be in order. One drawer, stood partially opened. “That’s not like Gram. She had a thing for keeping drawers closed. Even when we were little she stressed closing drawers and cupboards.” She covered her hand with her shirt and eased the drawer open farther. “Only some pens and pencils.”

  “Doesn’t look like we’re going to find much here. Let’s check with the neighbors, see if they saw or heard anything.” Jim turned to leave.

  “Wait. What’s this?” Callie picked up a card from the desk. “Holy picture?” Callie turned it over. “Margaret of Cortona? Patron Saint of the Falsely Accused. What do you suppose that means?”

  “Looks like someone has a grudge against your grandmother. Let’s go check with the neighbors and then we’ll see if your grandmother sentenced someone who’s been paroled recently.”

  “I’ll call and put Peters on it.” Callie pulled out her phone. “Oh, Mom checked with Mrs. Tucker next door. I’ll talk to Mrs. Erwin across the street, you check with Mr. Kirsch on the driveway side. Maybe he saw something.”

  ***

  “Only thing Mrs. Erwin saw was Gram come home about nine thirty.” Callie compared notes with Jim.

  “Mr. Kirsch said he was locking up about 10:30 and someone turned around in Jess’s drive. Nothing unusual, people turn around in drives all the time.”

  “Or it could have been something. But if he can’t identify the car, it doesn’t help us much. Let’s get back to the office. See if Peters came up with something.”

  Chapter 16

  Something told Jessica this wasn’t going to pass. Not this time. Spending a night in jail was the epitome of horror, but nothing compared to this. Wiggling her fingers helped ease some of the numbness in her hands, but not much. The rope burned her wrists every time she moved even a little. How much longer was this guy going to keep her tied up? It wasn’t like she could go anywhere. At least the jail cell had a window. Some light coming in.

  How long before someone missed her? Not that it mattered; they wouldn’t know where to look for her. Damn it, she didn’t want to die in this cold, dark room. Alone. If only she could get up, walk around. The duct tape cut into her ankles. To make matters worse, she had to pee.

  The lock turned in the door. Maybe he’d cut her loose. Let her move around. Whoever the hell ‘he’ was. Why would anyone want to kidnap her? She wasn’t rich. No one would pay ransom for her. Hell, no one in her family could afford it. And how the hell had he gotten in? The door was still locked. Must have been a window, but where? How?

  If only he’d take the tape off her mouth, let her talk. Not that she could talk herself out of this. But it was worth a try. It’d be nice to know who he was and what he hoped to accomplish. He just kept mumbling some kind of prayer or chant over and over again.

  Bright light shined in her eyes. He entered the room, but Jess couldn’t see anything but a shadow behind the light. He stood there, looking at her. Why didn’t he speak? Finally he set something on a table in the corner. A tray of food, hopefully, because then he’d have to take the tape off her mouth. Maybe even untie her hands, unless he planned to feed her. God, if she could just use the bathroom.

  He came toward her, ripped the tape from her mouth. Damn it hurt. He still shined the light in her eyes, bright, blinding light. She closed her eyes and turned her head against it.

  “I’m going to untie your hands. Don’t try nothing funny.”

  “Can I use the bathroom, please?”

  “There’s a potty chair in the corner.” He shined the light across the room.

  A coal bin! Black soot covered the walls. No wonder there weren’t any windows. Jess rubbed her wrists, getting some circulation back into her hands. “Can you take the tape off my legs? I can’t stand up.”

  He leaned down, cut the tape between her ankles and stood back. “Don’t try nothing.”

  “I won’t.” God it felt good to be able to move her legs. She managed to get to her feet, walked to the potty chair and looked at him. Surely he wasn’t going to stand there and watch. Apparently he was.

  He motioned for her to do her business. At this point it didn’t matter, she was damn near ready to pee her pants.

  The tiny room held a table in the corner where he’d set a tray of food, a small chair, and the sleeping bag she’d been sitting on until now. How long did he plan on holding her here? And what did he want? Finished with her business, she stood.

  He motioned her to the table with the food. Not very talkative. Jess sat and lifted the lid covering the tray. A toasted cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Not a very nourishing breakfast. If it was breakfast time. Better than nothing. “What time is it?” Stupid question, but she had to start a dialogue somehow.

  “Seven o’clock.”

  Jess took a bite of the sandwich. Damn, she was hungry. Not the best sandwich, kind of greasy. Almost oily. Obviously he didn’t use butter. Still, it was better than nothing. “I don’t suppose you want to tell me why you kidnapped me.”

  He looked at her. Grinned an evil grin, mumbled something or laughed, she wasn’t sure which, but some kind of horrible sound came out of his mouth, then he turned and left. The lock turned in the door. At least he left the light.

  Too bad she hadn’t let Jim follow her home like he suggested. But would she have invited him in? That was the only thing that stopped her. They were moving too quickly. Hell, at their age, they should move quickly. Wasn’t that what Jim said? She smiled at the memory. Jim pressured her to go on vacation. Most she’d agree to was a day fishing. He’d be looking for her in a couple hours. They agreed to meet at nine.

  If she got out of here, things were definitely going to change between them. It was time for a vacation. Maybe even time to retire. It was time to enjoy life. If only she could get out of here.

  How that was going to happen she’d never know. No way could she overpower him. It wasn’t that he was a big man, but he scared her. His attitude. That evil grin. Those guttural sounds he made. What did he plan to do with her?

  ***

  Callie followed Jim into the office. Poor guy was beside himself with worry. He cared more about her grandmother than she’d realized.

  “Peters, what’d you find out?” Jim’s booming voice filled the station.

  “Nothing, sir. Absolutely nothing. No one’s been released in the last six months.” Peters looked up from the computer.

  “Look back farther. Go back a year.” Jim sat on the edge of the desk.

  Callie’s phone rang. Her mother. Damn, what was she going to tell her? “Hi, Mom. I was just about to call you.” Only a little white lie. “No, we haven’t found her yet. Did Gram say anything about someone following her or threatening her?”

  “No, why? What’s going on, Callie?”

  “Well someone broke into her office window and left a holy card on her desk.” No point saying anything about the rosary.

  “You call me the minute you know somet
hing. I’m going to call your aunts now. They don’t know she’s missing.”

  Oh, lord, last thing she needed was her aunts descending down on her. Aunt Ethel would insist on helping. Try to take over. Hopefully, today was her babysitting day.

  Callie never felt so helpless in her life. Worse than when she was attacked. Could the two incidents be related? Maybe another look in the alley was in order. Maybe Jim missed something. Okay, she was grabbing at straws. Jim was the most thorough investigator she knew, but she had to see for herself.

  “I’m going out to the alley, Jim. Maybe something will spark a memory.”

  “You think Jess’s disappearance has something to do with your attack?”

  Callie shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can’t just sit here.”

  ***

  Callie looked around the alley. Nothing to be seen here. She started back to the street when she noticed the surveillance camera on the Billie’s Restaurant across the street. Could that hold the answer? How long did they keep their tapes? Time to find out.

  Callie hurried into the station, surveillance tapes in hand. “Peters, set up the VCR.” Old technology, but business folks around had a theory, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

  Jim got up. “What’s that?”

  “Surveillance tape from Billie’s. Might show something from the night I was attacked.”

  “Damn, whyn’t I think of that?”

  Peters slid the tape in and the three of them sat on edge while Peters fast forwarded to the day and time Callie was attacked.

  “There. Stop!” Callie jumped up. “What the hell? That’s the guy my aunt insisted I meet.”

  “Is he the guy that attacked you?” Jim sat back on the desk.

  “Yep, look he’s wearing a hoodie.”

  A few seconds later, he pulled it up before he walked into the alley.

  “I’ll be damned.” Jim snapped his fingers. “He looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?”

  Just then Aunt Ethel stormed into the station. “What’s going on here? Watching movies instead of looking for my mother?”