Deadly as the Driven Snow

by Agnes Alexander

  “That’s not good enough. I’m going.” I went to the peg where Dad kept his heavy coat and pulled it down.

  “June, I don’t think—”

  Roberta butted in. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to stop her, so I’ll go with her, boys.”

  “June, it’s cold out there. Put on my boots. They’re there by the door,” Mom instructed. “Brad, maybe you should go with them.”

  “No, Mom. I want Dad to stay here with you.”

  “Are you sure, honey?” Dad asked.

  “June’s right, Mr. March. We don’t want to leave your wife alone,” Charles said.

  • ♥ •

  Roberta and I stayed about fifteen to twenty feet behind Tad and Charles because they insisted we do it that way, so we wouldn’t compromise the clues if there were any. We were several yards into the woods when I noticed the deputy pointing out something to Charles, then move on.

  When we reached the spot, I looked at the limb of the scrub pine he’d pointed out. I wanted to reach out and grab it because I was sure Jason had brushed by it in the dark.

  “Oh, Roberta,” I whispered. “I can’t stand it if anything has happened to Jason.”

  “I know how you love him, June. Let that love keep your strong.”

  “I’m trying.”

  She patted my shoulder, but didn’t say anything.

  We walked for several minutes without talking. The deputies in front of us came to a sudden stop. Charles turned around and called, “Stay back…I think we see something.”

  “What is it, Charles?” I cried.

  “I’m not sure, just stay there.”

  “No. Is it Jason? Oh, please, God, let him be all right.”

  “We better wait here, June.”

  “No, Roberta. I’ve got to see.”

  Charles was running toward what I could now see as a form on the ground. “Keep her back, Roberta,” he yelled.

  I think I screamed, but I couldn’t get away from Roberta’s grip. “Please, let me go. I’ve got to get to him.”

  “You just calm down, honey. What good are you going to do Jason if you don’t keep yourself together?”

  “Oh, Roberta,” I began to sob as I put my head on her shoulder. “I can’t live without Jason.”

  “Okay, I’ll take you up to them if you calm down a little.”

  I pulled myself together as best I could. “I’ll be all right. Just take me to him, please.”

  With her arm around me, we walked slowly toward the form on the ground. I could see Charles checking his pulse and Tad was on his cell phone. I was praying as hard as I could, and I was hanging on to Roberta for support because my legs were about to fail me.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Oh, Lord. It’s Allen.” I almost collapsed when I looked down at the man on the ground. “Is he…”

  “He’s breathing, but it’s shallow,” Tad said. “I’ve called an ambulance.”

  “Does this mean…” I shook my head because I didn’t know what I wanted to ask.

  “As soon as the medics get here, I’ll continue to look for Jason, Mrs. Striker.”

  “Continue now. I’ll look after Allen.” I knelt beside Charles. “What happened to him?”

  “Looks like somebody hit him on the head, then did a number on his body. He’s beaten up pretty bad. His head has an awfully ugly gash, and there’s blood all over him. Looks like his legs might be broken.”

  “Oh, poor Allen,” I mumbled. “I hope Jason…”

  Roberta interrupted me. “Why don’t you and Tad go on and search for Jason? I know CPR, and I’ve had some medical training, so we can take care of Allen.”

  Charles got up. “Okay. We’ll let you know when we find him.”

  Roberta and I looked at each other and I knew there was nothing we could do except wait for the rescue people. I thought of Gwyn and wondered how she’d take the news that Allen was hurt. I hoped she’d be as upset as I was when I thought he was Jason, but for some reason, I doubted she would be.

  “Allen is a good man,” Roberta said as she removed her coat and wrapped it around him. “He’s going to be just fine, aren’t you, buddy?”

  “Of course, he is.” I took his hand. “He’s been a wonderful friend to Jason and me.”

  “I know he talks about how good you’ve been to him when he’d have to come to your house for something.” Roberta chuckled. “He’s also told everyone at the office how you pamper and pet Jason. Said if he ever married again, he wanted a woman just like you.”

  “Gwyn doesn’t know what a good man she has.”

  “I don’t think she’s going to have him long.”

  “What do you mean, Roberta?”

  “He told me the other morning that he was fed up with the way his marriage was going, and he planned to do something about it. He said the mornings he picks Jason up and sees how happy he is just because he’s been with you proves to him marriage can be more than a little food and occasional sex.”

  “I’m sorry it has been like that for him.”

  “Face it, June, you and Jason are a wonderful example of how a marriage should be.” She chuckled again. “Why do you think I got such a kick out of coming to that apartment and being with the two of you? It makes me want to try marriage again.”

  “You’d make a wonderful wife, Roberta.” I smiled at her and saw her shiver. “You’re getting cold, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll be okay. The ambulance should be here soon.”

  “It was sweet of you to give your coat to Allen, but why don’t you take it back and let me put mine on him for a while?”

  “No way. At least I have my vest on. That helps keep warmth in. I don’t think that sweater you have on under your coat is quite the same.”

  The sounds of sirens cut through our conversation. “See there,” she added. “They’ll be here in a matter of minutes.”

  “Good. I hope they’ll take good care of Allen.”

  “I’m sure they will. He’ll be back to the office before you know it.”

  I hoped she was right, but I thought it might be longer. Allen didn’t look good at all, but I was going to keep praying for him.

  • ♥ •

  After the ambulance carted Allen away, Roberta insisted I go back to the house. I refused until Charles came back and told us there were no signs of Jason. He said there was a possibility the criminal had taken Allen’s patrol car because it was missing. They sent for the dog team and asked for reinforcements to aid in the search.

  The rest of the day was a fog for me. News went out that the sheriff was missing and one of his deputies was in serious condition in the hospital. People swarmed on the farm to search. Others came to the door to offer sympathy, or were just plain curious. Aunt Nadine was among them.

  I wanted to go out and look for Jason, but everyone put their foot down. They said I was too upset to do myself or my husband any good. I finally gave in and retreated to my room upstairs, but I knew I couldn’t stay there forever. What was I going to do?

  Facing the neighbors was bad enough, but they all wanted to speculate on what had happened and why Jason was in the woods at that time of night in the first place. How could I tell them it was because we had to be in each other’s arms at night? How could I tell them that it was my fault for expecting him to come to me?

  I was huddled in a chair at the window of my room watching the activity in the back yard below. Another car was pulling in. “Oh, heavens. It’s Sadie Middleton. I don’t want to see her,” I muttered.

  There was a light tap on the door. I buried my head in my hands. I wanted to scream ‘go away’, but I knew most of the people arriving were here because they cared about Jason and me. Since I knew this wouldn’t be Sadie, I raised my head and said, “Come in.”

  “Hello, sweetheart,” Aunt Nadine said as she came into the room with a tray. “Celia said you hadn’t eaten anything, so I insisted she let me bring you some tea and a sandwich.”

  “I
don’t feel like eating, Aunt Nadine.”

  “I know you don’t, June, but you need to make yourself eat a bite or two. You’re going to need your strength when they find Jason.”’ She put the tray on the table beside me and poured tea in a small cup. Handing it to me, she said. “Now, drink this.”

  I wanted to refuse, but I didn’t.

  “June, I know this is probably the hardest thing you’ve ever gone through, but believe me, you can get through it. You have the March blood in you, and we’re all tough.”

  I smiled a little. “I know that, Aunt Nadine, but without Jason, I don’t want to get through it.”

  She took a seat on the bed and looked at me. “I know you were little when it happened, and I don’t know how much anyone has told you about my husband, Raymond, but I loved him the way you do Jason.”

  I looked at her. “I only know he was killed when the tractor turned over on him.”

  “Eat your sandwich and I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  I don’t know why, but I picked up the chicken salad sandwich on the tray and began to nibble.

  “Raymond Norton was the love of my life. Nobody except your daddy understood when I married him. After all, he was from a poor family, and his father was a drunk, but I didn’t care. I loved him, and he loved me. Brad told me once that you don’t always get to pick out the person you love. Your heart does it for you. I know my heart picked Raymond for me because there was never any other man.”

  “Just the way my heart picked Jason for me.”

  “You’re absolutely right.” She smiled at me. “I’m going to tell you something, June. Something nobody in the world knows except me.”

  I stared at her and she went on. “For years I believed it was my fault Raymond was killed. Sometimes, I think it now, and I can’t help it.”

  “How in the world could it have been your fault?”

  “Raymond wanted to go into town that day to buy some things for the new outbuilding he was constructing, but I had this notion of making extra money by selling plants.” She sighed. “We argued a little about it at breakfast, but as with most of our arguments, it didn’t last long, and we ended up in bed. It was always our way of making up.”

  I couldn’t help blushing a little. My straight-laced aunt was telling me that she and her husband had sex to settle arguments. It was hard to grasp, so I didn’t say anything.

  “Afterward, I told him to go on to town and he could plow the field I wanted for my plants the next day. He refused, saying he wanted to plow first.” Tears came into her eyes. “I’ll never forget what he said to me. He often called me Naddie and he did that morning. ‘Naddie,’ he said, ‘I’ll still have plenty of time to go to town,’ He winked at me and added, ‘I want to show you how much I enjoyed this morning and maybe we can have a rerun tonight.’ Of course, I told him we’d have all the reruns he wanted, but it didn’t happen.” She dabbed her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Aunt Nadine.”

  She reached out and patted my knee. “It’s okay, honey. Though that was the last time for Raymond and me, he left me a wonderful gift. Exactly nine months to the day, Jackson was born.”

  “Oh, Aunt Nadine,” I said, getting up to go sit on the side of the bed with her. She put her arms around me and I said, “You do understand how I feel about Jason, don’t you?”

  “I think I do, honey. When I see you and Jason together, it always makes me think of Raymond.”

  “What happened to your husband wasn’t your fault.”

  “Logically, I know that, but in my heart, I keep saying if I hadn’t wanted that garden plowed, I’d be with my husband today.”

  “Something else could have taken his life. He could have been killed on his way into town or when he got home and started plowing. A number of things could have caused his death. I believe when your time to go comes up, you go, no matter what.”

  “Then believe me when I tell you Jason’s disappearance is not your fault, June. He wouldn’t have come here to be with you if he hadn’t wanted to. If someone was determined to hurt him, they would have found a way, no matter what.”

  “How did you know I blamed myself?”

  “Brad told me. He knew how I blamed myself because of Raymond and he thought I should be the one to talk to you about it.”

  “Dad is so wise sometimes.” I buried my head on Aunt Nadine’s shoulder and she put her arms around me and let me cry for several minutes.

  In a little while, she straightened. “Now, June, I want you to finish your sandwich. I believe Jason is coming back to you and you don’t want him to find some sickly woman who refuses to keep herself in shape for him, do you?”

  I did eat my sandwich. I also washed my face and put on make-up and went downstairs with Aunt Nadine. I had known I loved her because she was Dad’s sister, but for the first time in my life, I realized I loved my aunt because she was a wonderful woman.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “June, what in the world are you doing here?” Jackson dropped his books to the coffee table and stared at me.

  “There was so much going on at Mom and Dad’s house that I had to get away.”

  Aunt Nadine came into the room. “Hello, Jackson. June is going to spend a few nights with us. The media and the visitors were getting on her nerves at Brad’s house, so I slipped her out to get away from it.”

  “I heard about Jason on the news, June. Sorry,” he muttered.

  “Thanks, Jackson, but I have every hope they’ll find him soon. They’re staying in close contact with me and they’ll keep me informed.”

  “Yes, and we have to keep mum about June being here. They think she could still be in danger.” She reached down and straightened his dropped books. “Dinner will be ready shortly. Why don’t you sit here and talk with June while I finish it up?”

  “Don’t bother making dinner for me, Mama. I have a date.”

  “Not that tramp, Melba Warrick, I hope.”

  “Mama, Melba is a nice girl.”

  “I don’t think so. Look at her background.”

  I knew Jackson and his mother were about to have a fight. I didn’t want that to happen, so I intervened. “Aunt Nadine, didn’t you tell me that you don’t always get to pick the person you love because the heart picks them for you?”

  “This is different.”

  “Why?” I looked at her and smiled.

  “I don’t know. I just feel like it is.” She turned and left the room without another word.

  “Thanks, June.” Jackson gave me a look I couldn’t interpret. “Mama and I have fought over Melba before. This is the first time I haven’t had to storm out of the house to end the argument.”

  “I don’t think anyone should be told who they should or should not date unless they’re putting their life in danger.”

  “You sure didn’t let anyone tell you, did you?”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m glad about that, too. Maybe that’s why I ended up so happy.”

  “I’d love to be happy like that someday.”

  “There’s no reason why you can’t be, Jackson.”

  “Oh, yes, there is. She’s right out there in the kitchen.”

  I sighed. “I know your mother can be a pain sometimes, but you’re a man, Jackson. You have to stand up for what you want. You should realize she does the things she does because she loves you. Then you should treat her with respect. But in the end, you can’t live your life to please your mother or anyone else.”

  “I know that, but she keeps telling me that I’m all she has. I know she was pregnant when my daddy was killed, and I guess she’s transferred both her hurt and her love to me. It almost smothers me at times. I can’t seem to do anything to suit her and when I try something new, she has a fit. I thought she might like the idea of me going to school, but she only worries about the women I see there.”

  “Then we need to find your mother somebody else to concentrate on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We shoul
d find her a boyfriend.”

  “What?” He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  “I’m serious, Jackson. Your mother isn’t too old to go out with some nice man. It would sure fix your problem, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes, but who in their right mind would be interested in Mama?”

  “You go get ready for your date and leave that to me.”

  He shook his head and stared at me. “I always knew you were a different personality, June, but you still surprise me with the things you come up with.”

  “Jason tells me that, too. He also says most of my plans work out. So, let me see if I can work this one out, too.”

  Jackson just shook his head again and headed down the hall.

  The mention of Jason’s name sent me toward depression again. I closed my eyes and thought about my husband. Where could he be? I had a feeling he was not that far away. But where? “Oh, God,” I prayed silently. “Please take care of him and bring him back to me.”

  “June,” Aunt Nadine’s voice broke into my prayer. “Dinner is on the table.”

  I started to tell her I wasn’t hungry, but I knew it would be no use. I got up and went into the kitchen.

  • ♥ •

  After dinner, I called the office. They still didn’t know anything more about Jason, but promised to call me before I went to bed to give me a report, even if there was nothing else happening.

  I called the hospital and talked to Gwyn. When I inquired about Allen, she said, “He’s still in a coma, but they think he’ll live.” Her voice was flat.

  “I’m sure he will, Gwyn. My thoughts and prayers are with him.”

  “I’m about ready to go home and get some rest myself. I’ve been here all day and I don’t see that my staying here is doing him any good. It sure isn’t helping me.”

  “I know waiting in a hospital can be tiring.”

  “That’s for sure. People keep coming in to see him, but I don’t know a lot of them. I’ve never met many of the people Allen works with.”

  “I know they’re all concerned. He’s well liked at the station.”

  “That’s what they tell me.”