02 Outwitted

by Beth Solheim

  "My crossers are none of your concern. That's confidential information. I want it to stay that way. If word got out, every lunatic in the country would be camping on my doorstep searching for their dead relatives. It's difficult enough guiding the crossers without added distractions."

  "I appreciate what you're doing. Everyone's got secrets."

  "I don't." Jane beamed up at Bernie.

  "This isn't a secret. It goes way beyond secrets." Sadie gestured with her hand. "I don't need to explain this. You're interfering where you don't belong."

  "I disagree. I want to help." He sat next to Jane and cupped her hand in his. "Right now the two of you have a bigger problem than the crossers. You've got two bones and a necklace. You should have gone to the sheriff with the first bone."

  "I thought it was an animal bone," Sadie said.

  "Well, what are you going to do about it now you know it's a human bone?"

  "Check it out, that's what I'm going to do. The whole law enforcement crew is busy trying to locate the baby. By the time they find him, we'll be done with our own research. That's when I'll tell Lon."

  The screen door banged and Aanders followed Jed into the cabin. "Dad's still sleeping on his porch swing."

  "More like passed out," Sadie mumbled.

  "Whatever it is, he's dead to the world. Sally's painting his toenails," Jed said.

  "She'd better not be using my new polish. I haven't even used it yet." Sadie hurried to her bedroom. A muffled shout came from the corner of her closet. "That little thief. I thought I hid it where she wouldn't find it."

  "Who's all here?" Bernie looked at the chair under the clock.

  "As far as crossers go, just Jed." Sadie returned to her chair.

  Jed looked from Bernie to Sadie. "You're right. Jane blabbed."

  "She blabbed all right. Couldn't keep her flappers shut."

  Aanders gaped in disbelief. "You mean Bernie knows about the crossers? He seems to be taking it pretty well."

  "He doesn't have much choice. He had the nerve to tell me he thought I was unstable. Can you imagine?"

  Jed's eyebrows twitched as he looked at Aanders.

  "You need to quit dwelling on what I said." Bernie held a hand toward Sadie. "I accept it. I understand. If you notice, I'm still here."

  "Just ignore her," Jane huffed. "She's a legend in her own mind. She can't take criticism."

  Jed and Aanders slumped against the backs of their chairs and peered at Sadie.

  "What is this? Kick her while she's down day? We've got more important things to deal with." Sadie glared at Jane. "If you're so smart, what would you do?"

  "I have an idea." Aanders sat upright and leaned against the table. "Maybe I can sneak down into the crawlspace while Dad's sleeping."

  "We can't risk it," Jed said.

  "I know what we can do." Bernie gestured with excitement. "I'll invite Clay to go fishing. Just tell me how long you want me to stay on the lake."

  "That will work." Sadie turned toward Aanders. Ask one of the dock boys to get a boat gassed up and ready to go. Make sure all the fishing gear is in it, too."

  A half hour later, Sadie and her collaborators watched listless Clay follow Bernie down to the dock.

  "He sure doesn't look like he wants to go fishing. He looks puny." The boat motor roared to life and sped away from the dock. Jane smiled and threw a kiss back to Bernie.

  The screen door banged against the frame. A breathless Aanders stumbled into the cabin. "I found a shovel and some boxes."

  "A shovel?" Jed met Sadie's gaze. "You can't use a shovel. You've got to keep everything intact for the deputies."

  "I know," Sadie said. "Aanders just wants to help. I need to see for myself what's down there before I tell Lon."

  When they entered Clay's cabin, Sally looked up and grinned. "Look. I did it myself." She held up her foot. Red glitter nail polish adorned each toenail, three toe knuckles, and several spots on the wood flooring. The hairs on the applicator brush had dried into a rubbery clump adhered to the braided rug.

  Jed whispered a fearful, "Oh, dear." He scooped Sally off the floor. "Sadie's not going to be happy." He shifted a hammer and screwdriver into his free hand. "You're coming outside with me so we can keep watch."

  Jane lifted the trap door and eased it back against the rug. "Are you sure you want to go down there? It looks awfully small?"

  "I need to see what's down there," Sadie said. "Aanders will help me. You go outside and keep watch with Jed. He's going to remove the screen in case I need to pass anything through the air vent."

  "Maybe I should go down there with you."

  "You're too big. Besides, it's nothing but dirt and spiders down there."

  "Aanders is taller than me," Jane argued.

  "I wasn't talking about height." Sadie shooed Jane away with a wave of her hand.

  Belly snorted as he whined into the hole. His tail jerked frantically. Tail hairs darted in an irregular circle before he finally took the plunge.

  "Come back here," Sadie ordered. "I don't want you disturbing anything." Sadie pointed at Aanders. "Get him out of there."

  Aanders dropped into the hole. He flicked his flashlight on and crawled under the floorboards. A muffled comment wafted back toward Sadie. "It's okay. Jed already took the screen off and Belly went out through the vent."

  Jane poked her head into the vent opening. "Belly had something in his mouth, but he got away. It looked like a bone."

  Sadie sat on the edge of the hole and lowered her feet through the opening. She strained to reach the dirt with her toe. "Shine your light this way," she ordered. After both feet landed on the dirt, she thumbed the flashlight's on switch.

  "What you doing, Jane?" Clay rounded the side of the cabin.

  Jane let out a cry as her hand flew to her chest. "Clay. What are you doing here?"

  "He forgot his fishing license in his glove compartment," Bernie said, hurrying Clay past the opening and over to his car.

  Sadie and Aanders turned off their flashlights simultaneously and edged into the crawlspace darkness. They hugged the wall.

  Bernie kept his hand firmly on Clay's arm guiding him back past the air vent opening. He stumbled against Clay when Clay stopped in his tracks.

  Clay bent down and peered into the crawlspace. He held his hand over his eyes to shield the sun. "What you doing in there, Sadie?"

  "Planting potatoes," Sadie shouted as she waved at Clay.

  "Really? I'd help you, but I'm going fishing."

  "That's okay. I don't need any help. I'm almost done."

  Clay straightened. "See you later, Jane."

  As the two fishermen neared the dock, Clay looked back toward the cabin. "What a lamebrain. Everybody knows you need sun to grow potatoes."

  Sadie squatted near the bones. She brushed loose dirt away with her fingers, taking care not to disturb the skeleton.

  "Do you see the pirate?" Sally bent low and shouted through the air vent.

  "I do," Sadie answered.

  "Can you tell if it's a woman?" Jed strained to see into the darkness. "Can you tell if it's Celeste?"

  "It's hard to tell. The skull has lots of hair. There's dirt caked in it, but it looks like it could be black."

  "It's Celeste. I know it is." Jed rocked back on his heels.

  As Sadie felt along the folds of fabric, chunks of material broke loose and flittered into the rib cage. "Aanders, shine your flashlight over here."

  Sadie turned toward the air vent. "There's a notebook in here. I'm going to take it back to the cabin so we can look at it."

  "You better not remove anything in case it's evidence," Jane said.

  "I agree. Let the sheriff take care of it." Jed cupped his hands megaphone style and leaned into the opening. "Don't get your fingerprints on it."

  Sadie held her finger to her lips and whispered to Aanders. "What they don't know won't matter." She lifted the notebook cover with her fingernail. She shined the flashlights beam on the pages
and fanned through them. Sadie paused as she stated at one of the pages. "Oh good Lord."

  28

  Sadie shifted in her chair, tugging on the black fabric sticking to the back of her legs. Not only had the thermometer reached eighty-seven degrees and the humidity had turned unbearable, but Nan had insisted she dress in her best funeral attire. How disgusting. She looked like an old lady. Tempted to hoist her skirt up above her knees so her skin could cool against the metal chair, Sadie decided against it. It would only bring on another lecture.

  It wasn't every day State dignitaries came to Pinecone Landing to pay their final respects. A senator from St. Paul, who had served his constituents for over thirty-seven years, had requested he be interred in his home town. Nan arranged a memorial service in Pinecone Landing prior to the burial. The official funeral with all the pomp and circumstance had taken place a day earlier in St. Paul, but with campaigning for fall elections in full swing, campaign managers had made sure their candidates accompanied the senator all the way to the grave. Tearful publicity never hurts. Especially with the cameras rolling.

  The heat generated from so many attendees crowded into the mortuary added to the discomfort. Sadie fanned the neck of her blouse. Clay and Aanders demonstrated equal distress by squirming, scratching, and sighing deeply while their eyes glazed over with boredom.

  Sadie scanned the crowd. The majority of mourners flicked their funeral brochures in rhythmic harmony to keep air circulating around their shoulders. A sea of black suits. Three hundred to be exact. She should know. She helped Aanders and Clay count and arrange the chairs.

  The essence of influence and superiority generated by the attendees turned palpable. Minnesota's finest. All except for Kimmer, who straddled one and a half chairs next to his wife in the fourth row. Sadie noticed him hobnobbing with the politicians before the ceremony, as only Judge Kimmer could do. That would soon change. She could already imagine the whispers.

  Sadie had tried to talk to Lon earlier about her discovery, but he had been dispatched to an altercation at one of the boat landings. She also tried to tell Nan, but when the air conditioning went out in the chapel, Nan wasn't in the mood to listen to anything but the sound of a repair truck pulling into the parking lot. She'd tell them as soon as they returned from the cemetery.

  Before the mourners had arrived for the ceremony, Nan frantically tried to locate an air-conditioning repair man. While Nan used the phone, she shouted instructions to Clay on where to situate the casket in the viewing alcove. Because of the large crowd anticipated, Nan had hired Clay for the day. She loaned him a white shirt, a black tie, black shoes, and black pants from her stash of funeral burial clothes.

  For once, Clay looked almost human. Almost. Sadie had Jane to thank for the metamorphosis. Jane's passion for browsing rummage sales for cast-off clothing paid off. Jane's purchases over the years had also provided clothing for families who couldn't afford proper burial outfits for their loved ones.

  Sadie's gaze drifted to the window. She had never seen so many black limousines in one gathering. The high school prom held a close second, but it couldn't top this display of citizens' tax dollars gone astray.

  Nan approached the front of the room and stood next to the casket. Her striking presence caused mourners' heads to rotate in unison while they watched her cross the chapel floor. They quickly averted their eyes by dabbing with tissues to make sure no one noticed their lustful stares. A twinge of jealousy tickled Sadie. Nan radiated compassion. Her Scandinavian features contrasted sharply against her black suit, adding an aura to the mix.

  Nan closed the lid and motioned to Clay. He joined her and released the brakes on the casket stand. Nan signaled for the audience to rise as Clay pushed the casket down the aisle. A faint ring tone began to play Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Nan's gaze darted toward Clay. He frowned and patted his shirt pocket, then his pants pockets. The cell phone repeated the melodic ditty two more times before it stopped.

  Eyes wide with panic, Nan led the casket procession down the aisle and into the lobby. Clay followed behind Nan, bending every few feet to peer under the casket. As the mourners emptied the aisles and fell into place behind the casket, the ring tone began again. Nan kept her eyes straight ahead. She set her jaw and held her breath. Picking up the pace, she passed Lon who stood with seven other uniformed deputies. They saluted the casket and stared at it in disbelief.

  Lon glared at his cousin. Clay shrugged in panic. He patted his pockets and shot Lon a contorted 'I can't find my cell phone' expression. The desire to wring Clay's neck etched Lon's face.

  Lon stood beside Nan at the hearse. "See if you can get the pallbearers away from the car and I'll try to find the phone."

  Nan clustered the pallbearers in front of the hearse and gave instructions as to what would take place at the interment.

  Lon released the casket latch and signaled to Clay. "Close the hearse door behind me. Don't open it until I signal." Lon climbed into the hearse.

  Nan rapped on the hearse door before pulling it open.

  "I can't find it." Lon removed his hands from beneath the body.

  "What's the hold up," one of the senator's sons demanded.

  "I can't find it," Lon whispered again.

  Nan drew a jagged breath. "Just close the lid and pray it doesn't ring while we're at the cemetery."

  Lon climbed out of the hearse. He squeezed Nan's hand and quickly bussed her cheek in passing. Pulling the squad car forward, he tapped the switch to activate his overhead flashers.

  Nan followed behind Lon's squad car, assuming the pace set by the deputy. The limousine containing pallbearers fell into place behind the hearse while family members, dignitaries and friends pulled out of the parking lot and lined up for the trip to the cemetery. Lon nodded at his fellow deputies who blocked intersections along the route to assure the funeral procession could pass unimpeded.

  Sitting between Nan and Clay in the front seat of the hearse, Sadie fidgeted. The air dripped with tension. Clay feigned indifference. Sadie braced for a tongue lashing, but not one word escaped Nan's lips. Three distraught people stared straight ahead while Clay drummed his fingers against the armrest and tapped his shoe on the rubber mat.

  The penetrating summer sun encouraged many to remove their suit coats before approaching the gravesite. Lon directed the last of the mourners' cars while Clay helped the pallbearers lift the casket from the hearse and place it over the grave. Sadie arranged a large spray of flowers on the casket. The immediate family sat in white chairs surrounding the grave in the same order they had assumed during the exit procession at the church. The others gathered behind the senator's grieving widow.

  After the ceremony, Lon remained in the background while Nan gave final instructions to the family and presented the option of attending the body as the grave crew lowered the casket into the grave.

  Sadie sighed with relief as the family declined observing the final committal. Nan accompanied the senator's widow to her limousine. Sadie discretely signaled to the grave crew to lower the casket while the silent procession of mourners inched slowly toward their cars. Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall interrupted the somber scene. Gazes turned in unison to watch the senator's casket sink into darkness accompanied by a toe-tapping ditty.

  "Where's Clay?" Lon stormed into the mortuary lobby. "I need to have a long talk with my cousin."

  Nan handed two ends of the casket drape to Sadie and together they folded it into a square. "He skipped out as soon as we returned from the cemetery."

  Lon grinned at Nan.

  "Don't you dare grin at me. I've never been so humiliated in all my life. That man's going to be the death of me." Nan dropped onto the sofa and buried her face in her hands.

  Lon put his arm around her. "That's one funeral they'll never forget. If the senator appreciated a good bottle of beer, he probably got a kick out of it."

  Nan moaned. "How could I have been so stupid? Every time I ask Clay to help, it turns
into a disaster."

  "Did you see the senator's wife?" Sadie grinned at Lon. "She turned so white I thought she'd faint."

  "I'll never live this down. Don't ever bring it up again. Ever."

  Jane opened the lobby door and poked her head through the opening. "You're back." She strode across the lobby floor with Bernie close behind. "Did you tell them yet?"

  "Tell us what?" Nan looked up at Jane and then at Sadie. "Now what did Clay do?"

  "Hopefully nothing," Sadie said. "We're not sure yet. As soon as you finish, why don't you come over to the cabin. You're not going to believe what we've got to tell you."

  Sadie leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and ticked items off her mental checklist as she waited for Nan and Lon to join them. "If I leave anything important out, be sure to tell me. It has to make sense if Lon's going to believe it."

  Jed nodded. "Don't worry. I will. Somebody's going to pay for what happened to Celeste." As Sally's head bobbed in slumber, he shifted her to his other shoulder and tucked her head against his neck.

  Aanders opened the screen door and walked over to the cookie jar. He lifted a cookie out of the container. "What is this?" He sniffed the cookie and looked at Bernie.

  Bernie held up his hand in warning. "Don't eat it. It's one of Jane's experiments. I think she did something wrong."

  A voice from the bedroom wafted into the kitchen. "Fresh cookies in the cookie jar, Aanders."

  "Okay, Jane," Aanders shouted, placing his cookie on the floor for Belly. "I thought she had a new cookbook."

  "She does," Bernie replied in a hushed tone. "She obviously didn't follow it."

  Belly licked it, snorted, licked it again, and walked away.

  "Your mom and Lon will be here in a few minutes," Sadie said. "Let me do the talking."

  "You're going to lie, aren't you?" Aanders picked up the remote and switched on the television.

  Sadie took the remote away from him and pressed the off button. "Not exactly. I'm going to fudge the truth."