by Diane Weiner
“No,” said Emily. “She had a lot of homework. I hate to ask, but does Maddy seem okay at school? Is she making any friends?”
“She keeps to herself, but the last few days, she’s not scowling as much.”
Nancy served the pie. “Give her time. This is all new to her.”
Emily hoped she was right. The cat café project might be the thing that makes her feel like part of the community. That, and officially becoming a member of the Fox family.
Chapter 21
Saturday morning, Emily went on an early run, then sat down to work on her new book. Mair still lived in the same place she did when Nathan disappeared. Maybe if she got a good look at the house and property she’d come up with some ideas as to where the body could be hidden. She pulled up the five acres of property on Google Maps. According to Mair’s ex-husband, he wanted to sell the place in the divorce, but she refused. How could you live in a place where you lost your only child like that? She herself would want to move as far away from the horror of that day as possible. Like her own mother did, after her sister…
Henry came in from a morning bike ride. “Hard at work on the new book?”
“Yep. I’m wondering where Mair dumped her son’s body. She couldn’t have gone far, since her husband said the gas needle hadn’t moved.”
“Didn’t the police check the car for evidence?”
“They found nothing, but Nathan’s father said the area rug was missing. She could have wrapped him in it.”
“You think she was able to wrap her lifeless son in a rug and carry him to the car all by herself?”
“Nathan’s father thinks she poisoned him. Problem is, Nathan wouldn’t go outside without his shoes. And the police did a thorough search of the property after he disappeared.”
“What are you thinking? Was there a pond on the property, or a lake?”
“Supposedly they sent divers into the lake and they found nothing. I’d like to see that property for myself. Mair left campus early yesterday. I overheard her say she was going to New York for the weekend.”
“And you want to go scout it out, right?”
“Couldn’t hurt. Want to come?”
“Sure, after I take a shower. I’m going over to the inn this afternoon to help paint the new cat room.”
Emily closed her laptop and grabbed the adoption forms from her nightstand. She and Henry had filled them out the previous night, and she was hoping to get them in the mail today. There was space for additional information and she wondered if it would speed thinks along if Maddy stated her desire to proceed with filing the paperwork. She went downstairs to Maddy’s room.
“Maddy, Henry and I are going to do some research for my book. On the way, I thought we’d drop these forms in the mail. Would you like to make a statement before I seal it up?”
Maddy took her time reading through them. Then she grabbed a pen off her desk. “I’m writing that my guardian has been taking excellent care of me since my mother’s death and I’d like nothing more than to join the Fox family.” She signed it with a flourish.
For a moment, Emily wondered if she was being sarcastic, but took the plunge. She hugged Maddy, perhaps a little too tightly. “I’m so happy you want to be with us.”
Maddy didn’t pull away, but instead hugged back. “Me, too.”
Henry, hair wet from his shower, said, “Can I join in?” In a Hallmark movie moment, all three embraced. “Maddy, do you want to come for a ride with us? Mo…Emily wants to scout out the scene of the crime for her new book.” He couldn’t believe he almost referred to Emily as mom. Nothing like scaring Maddy away.
“Sure. As long as we’re back in time to paint.”
It was a beautiful, fall day. The leaves contrasted radiantly against the clear blue sky, making for an idyllic ride through the country. On the way to Oakbridge, they passed a makeshift apple cider stand fashioned from a barrel, and pickup trucks selling tomatoes and other produce out of wooden crates. Entering the town, they passed under an iron arch which read Welcome to Historic Oakbridge.
“We’ve arrived,” said Henry. “Keep your seat belts fastened.” The main street was two blocks long, lined with wrought iron hanging lanterns and covered in large cobblestones that made Maddy bob up and down in the back seat.
“Look, they have their own history museum,” said Emily, pointing out her window.
Henry said, “My parents brought me to that museum one summer. This town’s been here since before Vermont officially became a state.”
“If we follow this road and take the first right, her house will be about a mile in.”
Henry followed Emily’s instructions, turning onto a dirt road, lightly covered with gravel. He pulled in front of a two story, white, wooden farmhouse with a wrap-around porch. “Here we are.”
“It looks kinda like The Outside Inn, only older,” said Maddy.
They parked in the dirt driveway and walked up to the house. The porch was completely empty. Emily knew if she lived here, she’d have set out a few wooden rockers, and maybe a two-person swing. Then again, Mair was the antithesis of cozy. God forbid her house should look inviting.
“There’s a brass plate on the wall,” said Maddy. She ran her hand across it. “This is officially a historic building.” She tried the door. “It’s locked.”
“Did you think it wouldn’t be?” asked Emily.
“Isn’t everybody uber-trusting in these small towns?” Maddy peeked in the window. “Did they check under the porch?”
“Probably one of the first places they looked.” Henry peeked through the wooden grate under the porch. “If a dead body was under there, the smell would have tipped them off pretty quickly.”
Emily made her way around the back of the house. “Look, they have one of those cellars you can get to from outside.” She stepped on the cement and tugged at the handles of the inclined, wooden doors.
Henry came around back. “They had to have checked there.”
“Look,” said Maddy. She pointed to a tire hanging from a tree.
“The best kind of swing,” said Henry. “We had one at our cabin when I was growing up. It hung from the big oak tree in the back yard.” He wondered if Maddy was too old to enjoy it if he rigged one up at home.
Emily tried the back door. “Everything’s locked. Why don’t we explore the rest of the property?” She should have known Mair would have kept everything locked up tight.
“It’s a lot to explore on foot. I suggest we drive,” said Henry. “Come on.”
Emily and Maddy got into the Jeep. Henry drove slowly around the fir tree-lined perimeter of the property. They passed what once must have been a barn, but was now a concrete foundation with rotting wood piled on top. They parked and took a look.
“Maybe he’s in there,” said Maddy.
“She couldn’t have buried the body so quickly, and the police searched the whole property as soon as Nathan went missing,” said Emily. She walked around the foundation and spotted a small, shack-like structure. “I’ll bet that used to be servant’s quarters.”
“You mean slaves?” said Maddy.
Henry, anxious to impart his historical knowledge on Maddy, said, “You know, Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery.” They walked toward the building and Henry rubbed the dirty window with the sleeve of his jacket. “Just one big room. I don’t see a body in there.”
Maddy pointed behind the shack. “What’s that?”
“An outhouse,” said Henry. “Did you say you needed the bathroom?”
Maddy groaned. “Are we heading back soon? I don’t want to be late for the painting party.”
“I guess we’re not going to find much. The police searched thoroughly. If she hid the body on the grounds, it’d have to be some secret cave or something,” said Emily. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected to find, but nevertheless felt disappointed that their search left them empty handed. “I’m ready to go.”
As they came nearer to the house, they
spotted a car pulling into Mair’s driveway. “Henry, park here, behind this tree. That looks like Mair’s car. She was supposed to be away this weekend.”
A dark haired woman got out of the passenger’s side. The driver walked around and gave her a long, drawn out kiss.
Emily said, “Who’s she with?”
“We’re too far away to see. Open the glove compartment. There are binoculars in there.”
“Binoculars?” said Maddy. “Emily, how much do you know about this husband of yours?”
“It’s for bird watching,” said Henry. “Get your mind out of the gutter, child.”
Emily grabbed the binoculars. “It’s definitely Mair and some man I’ve never seen before. Maddy, can you get a photo with your phone?”
“Let me take it through the binoculars.”
Emily never knew you could do such a thing. Henry was impressed that Maddy came up with the idea.
“Got it. They’re going inside now.”
After the front door closed, Henry started up the Jeep and headed back to Sugarbury Falls. Emily wondered if maybe the trip wasn’t quite as fruitless as she’d thought.
Chapter 22
When they arrived at Coralee’s, the painting party was in full swing. Emily stepped onto the white, tarp protected floor and drank in the smell of fresh paint. Fresh paint evoked memories of the past as well as anticipation of the future—moving into her brand new childhood home when she was in fifth grade, a bedroom transformed into her sister’s nursery, a freshly painted bookcase stenciled with Maddy’s name…
Henry looked up at Franklin the handyman, and Coralee’s son, Noah, perched on ladders, rolling paint across the ceiling. A splatter of white paint narrowly missed his shoulder. New neighbors Abby and Rebecca, in matching overalls, covered the moldings and door handle with blue tape.
Brooke said, “Hi, Maddy. This is going to look great!” She and her mom, Nancy, mixed paint with wooden spatulas. Brooke held the spatula, dripping green paint over the can. “Don’t you love this color? Looks like a peaceful park or something.”
Maddy said, “I can’t believe you all showed up to help!”
Brooke said, “I’ll get service hours for this, which is good, since I haven’t yet come up with a project of my own.”
Finished taping the door handle, Rebecca stood up and stretched her back. “Abby’s an artist as well as a photographer. She volunteered to paint that mural you talked about after the initial painting is done. Wait till you see.”
“I can help her,” said Brooke. “I’ve been painting since I was in preschool.”
Emily felt her heart warmed by the outpouring of support. Everything was falling into place. Maddy was adjusting to school, and although Emily understood she would always carry the pain of her mother’s loss, she was thrilled to see her awakening out of her depression thanks to the cat café.
Nancy handed her a brush. “Why don’t we start here.” Brooke lugged the can of paint closer to the wall.
“Nance, we just took a ride over to Mair’s place.”
“I thought she was out of town?”
“I thought so, too. I wanted to get a look at the property. I thought it might help my writing. Anyhow, Mair pulled up with an older man. From their body language, I take it they’re romantically involved, though it’s hard to imagine anyone falling for her. Maddy took a picture on her phone.” She called Maddy over. “Can you show Nancy the picture you took outside Mair’s house?”
Maddy pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Here you go.”
Nancy enlarged the photo with her fingers. “I’ve never seen him before. Maybe she worked with him at her old school. I have a friend who works at that school. Want me to ask?”
“Sure.”
“Send me the picture.”
Coralee carried in a tray of cookies and a pitcher of warm apple cider. “Food to keep you going. Help yourselves.” The sweet smell of cinnamon and spice was irresistible, and the tray was empty within minutes.
As the day progressed, the cat café came to life. The walls were done, and Franklin and Noah brought in the cat condo they’d been building. It reached floor to ceiling, with three balconies and a built in scratching post. Maddy and Brooke painted chairs that Coralee had pulled out of storage.
“I’m building a couple of coffee tables. I can knock them off this week,” said Henry.
Maddy looked around. “Do you think we can be ready to open next weekend?”
Abby wiped her hands on her overalls. “I’ll start on the mural tomorrow, and I’ve been taking photos all day. Your mom says she has connections with the local paper.” She looked at Emily.
Not bothering to correct the assumption she was Maddy’s mom, Emily said, “I’ll write up a press release and they can run it in the local section mid-week.”
It was well past dinner time, when Abby and Rebecca left. The room had been thoroughly transformed. Franklin and Noah volunteered to add the second coat of paint the next day.
Emily was covering the paint cans when Nancy brought over her phone. “I sent the picture to my friend and she got back to me already. Guess what? The man Mair was with is the married principal at the school where Mair worked when she got into all that trouble falsely accusing her colleagues. No wonder she wasn’t immediately fired.”
“Married Principal, huh? I wonder how long it has been going on.”
“My friend has worked there her whole career. She says the gossip mill had them together before her son’s disappearance. In fact, there were rumors Mair was trying to send her son away to an institution to clear the way for her to divorce Nathan’s father and get together with the boss.”
“Interesting. What if Mair didn’t carry her son’s body all by herself? What if she had help in the form of a strong, muscular lover? And suppose that helper brought his own car and carted the boy far away where he’d never be found?”
“Emily, I think this book you’re writing just got ever more intriguing. I’ll bet you’re on to something.”
“We’re going to grab something to eat. Want to join us?”
“I’d love to, but Byron’s got dinner in the oven. Keep me posted. I’ll see you Monday.”
Emily washed her hands and ran a brush through her hair before heading into the dining room. She wiped a smudge of paint off Maddy’s face.
“I’ve worked up an appetite, how about my girls?” said Henry.
“Starving,” said Emily. Maddy nodded her head.
The dining room had mostly cleared out given the late hour. When they were seated, Pat and Megan came over.
“Romantic dinner for two?” said Henry.
“Yep. And now it’s off to see a late movie. Sorry I couldn’t help out today. I just got off work a little while ago. So did Megan.”
Megan, looking adorable in a short black dress, said, “I was going to call you. We found out the name of the third wheel. It’s an investor who heavily funded both Splash Panels and the Nature’s Vista franchise Officially, he owns Splash Panels.”
“Really? Does he fit the description we got from Byron Patterson?”
“Not that the description we have from measuring a shadow is the gold standard, but yes, it could be the same person.”
Emily leaned in. “Do you know whether or not he was in Sugarbury Falls the night Danielle was murdered?”
“We’re working on it. Megan looked at her watch. Pat, we have to get going if we want to make the movie.”
Pat pulled out Megan’s chair. “Enjoy. I’m free next weekend to help out with the café, Maddy.”
“Thanks. We’re hoping to have it up and running very soon.”
Emily didn’t open the menu. On the way into the dining room, she noticed mushroom ragout on the chalkboard listing the specials and her mind was made up. Maddy ordered a veggie burger with sweet potato fries, while Henry splurged on the chicken pot pie.
“Do you think Pat is going to wind up marrying Megan?” asked Emily.
“W
ho knows. For now, they’re enjoying each other’s company.”
Maddy picked apart one of the yeasty rolls in the basket. “I want to have our grand opening next weekend. Emily, you said you’d write the article you were talking about with Abby’s photos. I’m going to ask Coralee who prints her menus and business flyers.”
Henry said, “I know an on-line printing company that can make them for you overnight, for an extra fee. Tell me what you want and I’ll take care of it for you.”
“Emily, do you have a pen in your purse?”
“Here you go. And here’s the back of a flyer that was stuck under my windshield if you need paper.”
Maddy sketched out her ideas. “If we wait till the next weekend, it will be Halloween and there will be too much competition for our opening. If we wait longer, it’s going to be way too cold for the outdoor strays.”
Coralee placed the food on the table. “What’s that? Your first advertising?”
“Yep. We want to have the grand opening next weekend. Are we being too ambitious?”
“Not at all. I mentioned it to some of our guests and everyone is in love with the idea. Enjoy your dinners.”
After more planning, and a satisfying dinner, they piled into the Jeep for the short ride home. Emily could barely keep her eyes open, and in the rearview mirror, saw Maddy curled up on the back seat. She’d tell all her students and colleagues at work about the café, and knew Coralee would also get the word out. She shuddered with excitement imagining Maddy being interviewed by the local news, holding shelter cats in her arms while she talked. She closed her eyes, rocked by the motion of the car, she leaned her head against the slightly open car window and relaxed, the cool night air brushing her face.
“Home, sweet home,” announced Henry. Maddy stirred from the back seat.
As they approached the front door, Emily felt a chill. The front door was scratched around the knob, and the wood around the door jamb was splintered. “Henry!”
“Take Maddy and wait in the Jeep. Call 911. Go.”
Henry carefully observed the front walk and worked his way around to the back of the house. His heart skipped a beat. Maddy’s window had been smashed with a rock; shards of glass littered the grass outside the sill. He ran back to his car. “Someone broke in and for all we know may still be inside.”
