by Gina LaManna
Nora jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “Maybe I should start following cooking directions more often.”
“Are you telling me that all these years, with everything you’ve cooked, you’ve never followed a recipe?” I pointed to the plate. “That we could have been dining on this…this gourmet food if you’d just followed instructions?”
“I suppose so.” Nora took a small sip of her margarita. “It’s just that directions can be so boring. Usually I don’t have the patience. I prefer to freestyle.”
My jaw opened and closed. When I couldn’t think of anything to say, I scooped up one of the tacos and ate the entire thing.
“Nora, promise me one thing,” I said as I finished chewing.
“What’s that, dear?”
“If you’re going to cook for us, how about you try following the directions every now and again?” Not only would the food be delicious, but she’d save a lot of money. Because the way things were now, most of the stuff she cooked ended up hidden in the garbage.
“I suppose I could try that,” Nora said. “It might be fun. Maybe…if you want, we could cook something together sometime? Grandmother/granddaughter bonding?”
“That would be great!” An idea popped into my head. “What if you came over on Leap Day and helped me prepare the meal for Anthony’s birthday?”
Nora’s eyes wandered over to my own skillet, which looked like a lump of coal. “You could use some help.”
“Lots of help,” Meg added. “She needs all the help she can get. In fact, I’ll come over, too.”
“Oh, what a fabulous plan. Then I’ll get Carlos to distract Anthony at the house while we cook,” Nora mused. “I am liking this idea more and more.”
“I’ll be the lookout,” Meg said. “I’m good at checkin’ Anthony out, so I can see him coming from a loooong ways off.”
Nora tapped her chin and gave me a side-eyed stare. “Maybe I can even eat dinner with the two of you?”
I hesitated for a long beat. “That’d be interesting.”
Nora threw her head back and cracked up laughing. “I’m just kidding. I want great-grandbabies, and I know those don’t get made with your grandma hanging around.”
“Nora!” My face flushed. “We’re not married yet! First things first.”
“Technically, you don’t need to be married for that to happen.” Nora said. “I’m just stating facts.”
“I know how it works,” I said. “I’m just making sure you don’t get your expectations too high. We’re just celebrating Anthony’s birthday.”
“Well, it will be a magical day,” Nora said. “Because really, it doesn’t exist, right? Like Meg said, it’s Unicorn Day!”
I ignored Nora’s bony elbow nudging me in the rib cage, and turned my attention to the phone buzzing in my pocket. “Hang on a sec, I’ve got to read this.”
The text had come from a number I didn’t immediately recognize. I opened it, my heart in my throat. When I saw the name attached to the message, a wave of disappointment washed over me. I realized I’d been hoping it was from the girls.
However, it was not. The message was a short and simple line from Miss Lovegood: Found something that might be important. Want to stop by?
I gestured for Meg and Nora to follow me as I hurried out towards the car, mumbling a thank you and a wave in Candace’s direction. She gave a small finger wave back, her smile growing a little bit brighter with each step that brought us farther away from her precious ingredients.
I already had the phone to my ear by the time I unlocked the car door and shooed my grandmother and friend inside.
“Miss Lovegood?” I said, climbing in myself. “I know you asked me to stop by, but I am across town at the moment. I’m really sorry to interrupt you during school hours, but I was wondering if you have a minute to give me an idea of what you found?”
“Sure, of course,” she said, amidst the sound of shuffling papers. “The kids are with the gym teacher now, so I have a couple minutes to spare.”
“Thank you,” I said, starting the car and rubbing my fingers against one another while pinching the phone against my cheek and shoulder. The chill set in fast, and I cranked the heat higher. “Did you change your mind about the handwriting sample?”
“Not entirely,” she said. “But I found something odd. Just last week, the girls had a spelling test in class. Both of them spelled the word ‘friend’ incorrectly, putting the ‘e’ before the 'i’.” But in the note you showed me, the one in the photo, it’s spelled correctly.”
“Maybe they learned from the test?”
“Maybe, but I hadn’t given the corrected exams back yet. I just finished grading them over lunch, which is what reminded me of it. I checked a few more handwritten assignments of theirs, and “friend” was spelled wrong there, as well. I don’t think they knew the correct way to write it.”
I chewed on my lip. “So either they figured it out for themselves, or someone showed them how to write the note.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” she said. “The handwriting looks like theirs, but it’s possible someone was spelling out the message for them. Or maybe they were copying someone else’s note in their own handwriting.”
“But that would mean…” I lowered my voice, not wanting to ruin Nora’s pleasant mood. “They weren’t alone.”
“Possibly. There’s a lot of possibilities.”
I frowned. Short of the girls improving their spelling from last week to this one, I didn’t see a whole lot of options. “Thanks for the message. I really appreciate you looking into it.”
“If there’s anything else I can do, let me know,” she said. “Good luck.”
I hung up the phone.
“Bad news?” Nora’s eyes had already lost their pleased sparkle that’d appeared after Meg declared her tacos delicioso.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I’m not sure it’s good. She said—”
I didn’t get the chance to explain what Miss Lovegood said because my phone rang again.
CHAPTER 37
“You’re just remembering now?” I still hadn’t moved the car from our parking spot outside of the cooking class. “Is there anything else you can tell me about her?”
“Who is it?” Meg asked for the third time.
I waved her off, like I’d been doing for the last few minutes. It was hard enough to wrap my head around what Mrs. Pointy was saying without interpreting it for Meg at the exact same time. “Do you know what she looked like?”
“I told you,” Mrs. Pointy exhaled. “There was nothing unusual. The checkup was so routine; I didn’t even remember to bring it up when you asked yesterday.”
“Well, walk me through it one more time,” I said. “And tell me everything. What she said. What she looked like. If she had access to the drawer where you’d locked your daughter’s phone.”
Miss Pointy blew out a long, exasperated breath. “Bessie has had a nurse come by every week since she was born. Just taking precautions, of course. My daughter needs the best care.”
“Of course,” I said, my tone more get-to-the-point than sympathetic. “Except your regular nurse cancelled earlier this week?”
“Yes, which in itself, isn’t all that unusual. Miss Anderson, Bessie’s nurse, takes vacation now and again, and she has children of her own. Sometimes hers are home sick or something, and she sends a substitute in her place.”
“That’s what happened? She sent a substitute?”
“Yes. The only thing strange about it was that usually Miss Anderson calls to let me know she’ll be taking the day off and gives me the name of her replacement. I’ve never had any issues over all the years, and Miss Anderson must have sent upwards of twenty substitutes by now.”
I refrained from giving my two cents that what Bessie might need was not a visit from the nurse every week, but some quality time with her parents and a few friends. Maybe even a scrape on her knee from playing outside to toughen her up for the real wor
ld. “So what you’re saying is that Miss Anderson usually calls in advance when she cancels, but she didn’t call this time?”
“Correct. The nurse – hold on, I wrote her name down…” I waited as Miss Pointy opened and closed what sounded like cupboard doors in the background. “Dee. That’s what I have written down, just Dee. I must not have gotten a last name. Maybe it’s a nickname?”
“She was the substitute nurse?”
“Yes, she knocked at the time Miss Anderson is normally scheduled and introduced herself as a substitute. I remember quite clearly that she mentioned Miss Anderson by name.”
“You didn’t ask to see credentials?”
Mrs. Pointy turned defensive. “I just told you, she said Miss Anderson by name. When I asked why I hadn’t gotten a phone call, Dee told me that Miss Anderson’s daughter had gone to the ER, and she must have forgotten in her haste to save her daughter’s life. You’ll excuse me for not being suspicious in a sensitive situation like this one.”
“I was just asking,” I said. “Not implying anything.”
“Well, I didn’t have a reason to think much of it, except that I should send a card to Miss Anderson and her daughter.” Miss Pointy paused. “I forgot to send a card, and I forgot about the whole incident.”
“How did the nurse act while she was there? What did she look like?”
“Brownish hair, puckered-in cheeks, kind of like she’d eaten a lemon. Other than that, just the usual scrubs,” Miss Pointy said.
“Was she ever alone with your daughter?”
Miss Pointy fell silent, and I could visualize her shifting uncomfortably on the other side of the line. I could practically feel her claws coming out. “I don’t remember.”
“I’m not accusing you of anything, I’m just wondering if she had access to Bessie’s phone.”
“The nurse didn’t go near it.”
“Were they ever alone, even for a minute?”
“You know…” I heard a soft sucking sound, as if Miss Pointy had taken to chewing on her cheek. “She asked me if I had any Vaseline. I ducked out of the room and ran down to the bathroom to get her some.”
Bingo.
“But I couldn’t have been gone more than three minutes, tops,” she said hurriedly. “And when I came back, nothing unusual was happening.”
“Did she use the Vaseline?”
I could almost hear the memories clicking through Miss Pointy’s head. “Now that I think about it, I just set it on the counter,” she said. “I would have to check, but I don’t remember seeing her use it.”
“Interesting…”
“She said nothing but nice things to my daughter, and I had no reason to suspect anything…” Miss Pointy trailed off when I didn’t respond. When she picked up where she’d left off, her voice was softer. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about it. I hope you find Bessie’s classmates. I’m really sorry if this was important.”
“It’s okay,” I said. Honestly, I didn’t know how we could’ve leveraged the information even if she had told us yesterday. Dee was probably a fake name and a fake nurse with a fake resume. I jotted down the name of the nursing company that Bessie’s regular nurse worked for, but I doubted they’d have a Dee on staff. At least, not the Dee I was looking for. “I appreciate you calling.”
“Is there anything else I can do to help?” She actually sounded anxious, which made me dislike her a little less. “I remembered to call you because I sent home a card with Miss Anderson last time she was here. She was confused about why I was sending her daughter get well wishes. It turns out that her daughter is perfectly fine, and Miss Anderson thought that we were the ones who cancelled the appointment. The scheduler told her we were out of town and she wasn’t needed that day.”
I closed the phone after thanking her one more time and set my head back against the seat.
“Bessie’s mom?” Meg asked.
I nodded.
“We might have a fake nurse who used Bessie’s phone to send a text to the girls?”
I nodded again.
“Why go through all the trouble?” Meg asked. “I don’t get it. There have got to be easier ways to get a message through to those girls. For crying out loud, hasn’t Nurse Dee heard of email?”
I shook my head. “I can’t figure it out. Why the risk?”
“Desperation?” Nora added quietly. “Desperation will drive a woman to do crazy things.”
“But who would be desperate enough to fake being a nurse just to use a phone? She had to know that both Bessie and her mom would be able to describe her features; they saw her face…I just don’t understand it.”
“Can you think of one person who’d be so desperate to reach the girls that they’d risk everything?” Nora asked, her eyes piercing into mine.
I turned to face Nora. “No, it can’t be.”
“Who are you talking about?” Meg asked. “I don’t follow.”
But again, before I could explain, the phone rang for the third time in the same parking space.
“Third time’s a charm,” I said, waving the phone for Meg and Nora to see. I glanced at the caller ID, relieved to see the name on the other end. “Hey, Jackson. How’s everything going?”
“We’ve got news,” Jackson Cole said, his voice abrupt. “Where are you?”
I rattled off the nearest street names in downtown Minneapolis.
My father let out a low whistle. “Looks like I’m in luck.”
“How do you figure?”
He listed two more street names, not a mile from where I was parked. “Can you head there and knock on the door? I’m headed there, but it’ll take me awhile.”
“Sure, of course,” I said, putting the car into gear. “I’m assuming this is about the girls.”
“Yes, I think we’ve discovered who has them.”
I sucked in a breath. “Has them? Whose house am I going to?”
“A house belonging to one Adriana Miller.” Jackson paused. “Marissa’s mother.”
“What does she look like?”
“Based on the most recent photo we could find, she’s got a narrow face, pinched cheeks, and brownish hair,” he said. He waited a beat. “Why, do you know her?”
“I just might,” I said. “I think we might’ve found Nurse Dee.”
CHAPTER 38
Nora sat as still as a gargoyle in the back seat. While I peeled away from the curb and whipped the car through the smoggy, snow-laden streets, I explained the most recent developments to my Sherlock and Watson spy team. The boulevard had turned gray with muck from the hundreds of tired boots trudging along the same path day after day, the grimy look of the city fitting the somber mood inside the car.
“So they think Marissa’s mother kidnapped them?” Meg asked. “No offense, but why would she take both? Don’t you think she’d stick with her own daughter and leave Clarissa alone?”
“That’s a great question, but I don’t know what’s going on inside her mind, unfortunately.”
“How’d they figure it out?” Meg asked. “I thought you told me you’d asked about their mothers.”
“Maybe Jackson found something using the police records because I did ask Nicky,” I said. “Right after the girls disappeared. But he was adamant that neither woman had been a part of his life since the girls were born, so I didn’t pursue it. Apparently both of them decided that a minivan and a picket fence wasn’t the life for either of them. They both took off and left Nicky alone.”
Nora nodded from the back seat, silently echoing Nicky’s point. “They haven’t even sent birthday cards,” she murmured. “It’s hard to call either of them a mother. I have watched Nicky struggle with those two little girls…and he’s done his best. I’ve helped where I could, but it isn’t the same. It’s true they have never been around.”
“But you guessed it just now,” I said, peering in the rearview mirror at Nora. “How?”
Nora shrugged. “Maybe she had a change of heart. I don’t know. I can’t i
magine letting my daughter go in the first place, especially not voluntarily. But I know how much a mother can want her daughter back.”
The car fell silent. I realized that the hurt lacing Nora’s voice came from a place ripe with experience. Except, my mom hadn’t come back. Though Nora hid her emotions on a day to day basis, there were still those moments, a brief fissure in her bubbly exterior that allowed me a glimpse into the true depth of her sadness. This was one of those times, and my heart cracked into pieces.
“You were a wonderful mom,” I said, struggling to keep my voice even.
Nora stared out the window.
“I know that for a fact because you’re the best grandmother I could’ve asked for, and terrible mothers do not make wonderful grandmas.”
Nora gave a small smile.
I turned my attention back to the road, honking at a semi, a pickup truck, and a pink VW beetle in that order. Apparently today was “Drive as far under the speed limit as possible” day here in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“But I’m still confused,” Meg said. “Why go through the trouble of doing the whole nurse bit? And why kidnap both girls? There is just so much math in here that’s not adding up to two that my brain is about to explode.”
“Maybe it’s not supposed to add up to two,” I said. “But then, what on earth is it supposed to add up to?”
Meg reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Listen, it can’t be easy to hide two girls their age. If it is actually Marissa’s mother that’s responsible, there’s a good chance she’s not out to hurt her daughter. We’ll find them, and they’ll be safe. Just you watch.”
I snapped my mouth shut and focused on driving. “You’re right,” I said. “We just need to find where they went, then this will all be over.”
“Let’s hurry,” Meg said. “Because we can’t forget about that gallon of milk I just drank. That lactose don’t wait for anyone.”
I pressed the gas pedal down a little further.
“There you go,” Meg said. “That’s more like it.”
