The Package

by Sharon Dunn

  Mary Beth rested a hand on Annie’s shoulder. “You are doing a good thing here.”

  After gathering her things, Stella bustled toward the door.

  “Thanks for coming today,” Annie said, “and for working with Lily.”

  Stella squared her shoulders. “The way you talked about her, I thought I was going to meet a brat. She is a sweet girl. Those cute little tight braids. Reminds me of myself when I was her age.”

  Annie had a feeling it wasn’t just the braids that reminded Stella of herself at that age. “We’ll see you Thursday evening,” Annie said as Stella went out the door. She watched from the window as Stella’s driver, Jason, opened the door of the Lincoln Continental for her.

  Alice hugged her friend from behind. “What are you thinking?”

  “This meeting went so well, I am dreading going home. Every time I think about that mouse, it upsets me. Wally has the library all torn to pieces, and now he has another job that is tying him up. Home doesn’t feel like home.”

  “Construction always goes like that, doesn’t it?” Alice was empathetic.

  Annie said, “That library is going to look great when it is all spiffed up, but living in a construction zone makes me crazy.”

  “I don’t have any parties tonight. What say we grab a bite to eat at The Cup & Saucer, and then I will help you look for the mouse?”

  “Or mice. I’m not sure how many I am dealing with. Dinner out sounds like a good idea.”

  After a blue-plate special of spaghetti and meatballs, Annie and Alice headed back to Grey Gables. Rain spattered lightly against the windshield as Annie drove toward the old house. She sighed when the house came into view. A lot of work still needed to be done on the outside of Gram’s place. She’d taken on the library job because she’d thought it would be a small one.

  Annie fumbled with her keys. “Shall I make a pot of tea? Vanilla almond for you, right?”

  Alice laughed as they stepped inside. “What does one serve at a mouse hunt?”

  “We would have to consult the etiquette books on that.” Once in the kitchen, Annie set her purse on the corner of the counter and filled the kettle.

  Alice placed her hand on her hips. “OK, where do you think they might be?”

  “I’ve set traps under the sink and where they nibbled on my granola bars, and I didn’t have any takers.” Annie ran her fingers through her hair. “You don’t think they would still stay upstairs but come downstairs to eat, do you?”

  Alice shrugged. “Could be. I don’t have any friends who are mice. You can’t find any holes where they might be getting in?”

  “Not in the attic or the kitchen.” She laid out the teacups.

  Alice started opening and closing cupboards calling, “Here mousy mousy.”

  “Now I see how this works.” Annie laughed.

  Boots trotted into the kitchen and meowed at Alice.

  Alice scrunched up her face at the cat. “That’s a pretty big mouse.”

  Annie laughed even harder, patting her palm on her chest. “Thank you, I needed a good laugh.” Still trying to catch her breath, she poured the hot water in the teapot.

  “Class went well today. I guess I just need to focus on that—on the things that are going well, not on the things that are frustrating me.”

  “I find myself looking forward to that class almost as much as the Hook and Needle Club. Those girls have filled a hole in my life I didn’t even know was there.” Just a hint of sadness entered Alice’s voice.

  “Life has a way of coming full circle like that.”

  “I always wanted children, but John was never open to the idea.” Alice sipped her tea and let out an ah-h-h sound. “Such is life, huh?”

  Though Alice tried to hide her sorrow with a quick smile, Annie could see the depth of pain there. “Being with the girls has been a good thing for all of us.”

  Alice nodded. “Now, about your mouse. I suppose we can tear the attic apart looking for the mouse house. If they won’t come to the traps, you’re just going to have to figure out where they are living.” Alice placed a hand on her hip and scrunched up her face.

  Annie groaned. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. This house is so big. They could be anywhere.” She sat on one of the counter stools. “I’m tired of the case of the missing mouse house.”

  “Are you getting tired of Grey Gables, maybe contemplating going back to Texas?” Alice’s voice had a lilt to it.

  “Oh no, it’s nothing like that.” Annie turned slightly on her stool, taking in the whole of the kitchen and all of the improvements she had made so far. “It’s just that I have this memory of how this place was when I was a kid and used to visit Gram. I think I am trying too hard to recapture that feeling. Or maybe it is just that I didn’t see the peeling paint and scratched floors when I was ten.”

  “Betsy filled this place with love. She truly practiced hospitality. That probably covered up a lot of the flaws.” Alice crossed her arms over her body. “Or it could be about perspective.”

  “Perspective?”

  “When I was in second grade, everything in Mrs. Stillion’s classroom seemed huge. I thought Mrs. Stillion was so glamorous. Years later, I went back to see her, because she was my favorite teacher. When I walked into the classroom and saw those little desks, I felt like a giant. Mrs. Stillion was a pretty lady but not a movie star. The classroom wasn’t as bright and colorful as I remembered.”

  “I suppose you’re right. I am remembering the Grey Gables of my childhood through a soft-focus lens.” Annie hopped off her stool. “Still, it would be nice to recapture some of the hominess I remember.”

  “What you are doing will honor Betsy, but you will also put your own mark on Grey Gables.”

  Annie looked at her insightful friend. “I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. I have to make Grey Gables my own, not keep looking in on the past. Once the wiring and the outlets are updated in the library, I’ll be able to upgrade my computer and get a printer, something Gram would never have understood.”

  Alice set her empty teacup on the counter. “Why don’t you show me what you have done in the library? Maybe there is something we can do together to hurry the project along.”

  Annie moved toward the hallway. “You know I’m not good with power tools.”

  “I might be able to help. I’ve had to learn a thing or two since my divorce.”

  Annie entered the library. The shelves on one wall had all been taken down. Wally and Douglas had repaired part of the wall they had torn out to update the wiring and add outlets. Gram’s favorite chair and Grandpa’s oak desk had been pushed to the middle of the room and covered with sheets. Annie sighed and tried to picture the day when this would once again be the cozy place she remembered.

  “What are all those boxes?”

  “The books I took off the shelves.” Annie bent over and flipped open one of the cardboard boxes. “Gram has some really wonderful books.” She held up a volume. “Lots of stuff that is out of print. I read so many of these books when I was a kid. I can’t bring myself to get rid of anything.”

  “There must be something you can part with to create a little more space.” Alice kneeled beside her on the floor. She lifted a stack of magazines out of another box. “Why was she saving these?” Alice held up several women’s magazines. The covers were faded and the model’s hairstyles indicated they were from the 1980s.

  “OK, those can probably be thrown out.” Annie picked up a magazine with a dog on the cover called Veterinarian Times. “This was probably Grandpa’s. It can go.” She grabbed another magazine. New England Needlecraft Arts. She flipped through the magazine. “I assume she saved this because her work was in it. It might be a keeper.” She turned to the table of contents, still not finding any reference to Betsy Holden. But the editor’s letter caught her eye. All of the air left her lungs. “Oh my.”

  Alice leaned closer so she was reading over Annie’s shoulder. “Joan Whitlock was th
e editor of New England Needlecraft Arts.”

  Her mind racing, Annie flipped the page. “The main office was in New Hampshire. That’s where the original Ocean Side Partners was. Joan must have lived there.” She closed the magazine and stared at the cover of a pretty redheaded woman modeling a crocheted cardigan. “Gram probably had a professional relationship with her. Joan was visiting here, and she got in touch with Gram.”

  “It’s a missing piece to the puzzle,” Alice said.

  Annie held the magazine to her chest. “Joan must have come here for some other reason. If she had come to see Gram, for sure, Gram would have invited her to stay at Grey Gables.”

  “Maybe if we can figure out the reason, we can find Joan. If we found Joan, don’t you think she would be in touch with this Therese Marie?” Alice’s shoulders slumped. “Or are you still thinking something happened to Joan?”

  “I don’t know, Alice. I really don’t know.” She looked at the magazine again. “I wonder if this is still being published. My laptop is about to die.”

  Alice got to her feet. “I can check on my laptop. I need to get home anyway.”

  Still holding the magazine, Annie said goodbye to Alice and then wandered back into the kitchen. She put away the tea and cookies, and then wiped down the counters. She was shuffling through the mail when the phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “New England Needlecraft Arts went out of business in 1998,” Alice informed her.

  A shroud of disappointment covered Annie. “Oh well, at least we know what Joan’s connection to Gram was.” She opened the magazine again, staring at the page that listed the editors and contributing writers. “Do you suppose any of these people who worked with Joan are still around?”

  “Maybe.”

  Annie closed the magazine. “It could just be a wild-goose chase too. You have a good night, my friend.” She hung up the phone.

  A second later the phone rang again. Alice probably remembered something. Annie picked up the receiver. “Yes, my dear.”

  A raspy voice came across the line. “You have something I want. Give it back.”

  Annie’s arm went limp as she let the phone fall.

  11

  Icy tendrils crept down Annie’s back. She braced her hand on the counter. Her vision blurred as her mind replayed the words of the caller. The voice had cut straight through her. Finally, she let out the breath she had been holding and leaned down to pick up the phone. Caller I.D. said the number was unknown.

  Her hands were shaking as she dialed the police station.

  “Stony Point Police Station.” She recognized Chief Edwards’ voice.

  “Hello … I’m …”

  “Mrs. Dawson? Are you all right?”

  “I’m … ah … I’m … I just received a threatening phone call.”

  “Are you in any danger now?”

  “I don’t think—” The front door. She hadn’t locked it after Alice left. “I don’t think I am.”

  With the phone still in her hand, she paced down the hallway to the front door. After locking it, Annie drew back the curtain and stared out onto the dark street.

  “Are you still there?”

  “Yes, I am still here,” Annie’s voice cracked.

  “Annie, would you like me to send my deputy over?” The chief spoke with professional calm.

  “Well, I—” Annie tugged at a strand of hair. She couldn’t think straight.

  “I’m sending Officer Peters over. Hang in there. He’ll be there shortly.”

  “Thank you.” Annie said a prayer of thanks that the chief could be decisive when she could barely put two thoughts together. She hung up and gazed out the window.

  Something moved by the bushes. Her heartbeat sped up. Annie blinked. Maybe it was just the wind. She stepped away from the window. The house seemed colder.

  Still gripping the phone, Annie sat in the living room, waiting for the officer; her feet planted firmly on the floor, she stared straight ahead. The ticking clock dominated the room. At a time like this, her longing for Wayne grew even stronger. Wayne would speak his calming words and take on that protective attitude he had, and she would find the strength to handle something like this. But Wayne wasn’t here. She’d have to find the strength on her own. Annie took in several deep breaths and prayed for her fear to subside.

  Whoever wanted these stock certificates had been bold enough to break into her house and now to make that threatening phone call. The culprit had known that one of the stock certificates was in her purse. She was being watched. What was keeping Joan or Therese from coming forward if either of them was the one breaking in and making calls? Maybe there had been something illegal connected with the stock that would surface if one of them came out in the open to claim them.

  Maybe this. Maybe that. She was tired of this whole thing. Her heart hadn’t stopped racing.

  Annie rose to her feet, still rattled by the phone call. She wanted to hear her daughter’s voice. She paced into the hallway while she dialed LeeAnn’s number.

  “Hello, Sorensen residence. Who do you wish to speak to?” Joanna’s little-girl voice caused Annie’s heart to swell with affection. LeeAnn must have been working with the twins on phone etiquette.

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  “Grandma,” came the gleeful reply.

  “How’s my best girl?” Annie strolled back into the kitchen.

  “Good. We went swimming today, and I jumped in the deep end.”

  “Good for you.” A calm washed over Annie. Just hearing that sweet childish voice made all of the difference in the world. “Grandma sure loves you.”

  “Love you too, Grandma. You want to talk to Mama?”

  “Sure,” Annie said.

  Annie heard Joanna trotting through the house calling for her mother; her voice grew farther away. A moment later, LeeAnn was on the line.

  “Mom, hi, you’re calling kind of late. Is everything all right?”

  She didn’t want to worry LeeAnn. That wasn’t why she had called. “Yes, I’m fine. I just was missing you, and I wanted to hear your voice. What have you and the kids been up to?”

  LeeAnn filled Annie in on swimming lessons and art projects. Annie told LeeAnn about the intergenerational project. As she listened to the sound of her daughter’s voice, tears rimmed in her eyes. She missed them. This was all so much to deal with alone. The thought of going back to Texas seemed very appealing right now.

  “All of that sounds so wonderful. I wish I could be there for it,” Annie said.

  “You know, Mom, you can.”

  “Yes, I know.” She loved Stony Point, but she had her moments of doubt. And this was one of them. She was seriously thinking about going back to Texas.

  The doorbell rang.

  “LeeAnn, I’ve got to go.” Hearing her daughter’s voice had helped her regain a sense of peace.

  Annie paced through the house, checking first through the window to make sure it was a police officer outside. She unlocked the door. She recognized the young man in front of her. Officer Cal Peters had been brought in when the previous deputy resigned. He must have decided to stay on permanently. His buzz-cut red hair stood straight up. He couldn’t have been a day over twenty. The freckles only added to the effect that he was barely an adult.

  Deputy Peters acknowledged Annie with a nod. “Mrs. Dawson. I understand you had a threatening phone call.”

  “Yes, come in. I’m not sure what we can do. I checked the caller I.D. No number shows up.”

  The officer stepped into the foyer. “Can you describe the voice for me? Was it a man or a woman?”

  Annie searched her memory. She’d been so shocked by the call. “I’m not sure. It could have been either one. The voice was low and raspy.”

  The officer rested his hands on his belt that held numerous gadgets. “Did it sound like the caller was trying to disguise his or her voice?”

  Annie nodded. “That could be. The voice didn’t sound natural. It sounded …
scary.”

  The officer took out a notebook. “What exactly did the caller say to you?”

  “I don’t remember the exact words. The voice said something like, ‘You have something of mine. I want it back.’” She shivered involuntarily.

  “What do you suppose the call was about?”

  Annie explained about the stock certificates and then said, “I suppose the call was meant to scare me. To let me know I was being watched. They aren’t demanding anything or setting up a time and place for me to return the certificates.” In the back of her mind, she wondered if the call wasn’t a set-up for the threats to escalate, to make her frightened enough to give over the certificates without questions.

  “You think this has something to do with the break-in you reported earlier?”

  “I think it is all connected to those stock certificates.” Annie tried to recall what the voice sounded like.

  The officer studied her for a moment. “The chief wanted you to know that he is paying close attention to this.”

  “I know there isn’t a lot for him to go on.” The phantom break-in where nothing was taken could probably be written off as her imagining things. And now, all they had to go on with the phone call was her foggy memory of it.

  Annie thanked the officer. She drew her sweater around her and watched from the window as the officer got into his car and drove away. She double-checked to make sure all of the doors were locked before heading upstairs. Boots stayed close to her while she got ready for bed.

  Annie slipped underneath her comforter. Boots jumped up on the bed and kneaded the comforter with her paws. Annie drew her covers up to her shoulders.

  She missed LeeAnn and the twins, but she wasn’t alone here. She felt the comforting support of the Hook and Needle Club ladies. Ian was a friend too. Though thoughts of her friends gave her some peace, Annie feared she was facing a sleepless night alone with Boots in this big old house. When Boots settled down at her feet, Annie listened to her purr until one of them fell asleep.

  ****

  The next day, Annie spent most of her morning preparing the garden plot for planting. It was late afternoon when she checked her watch. She needed to go into town and get ready for the big night of the teens and seniors meeting together for the first time.