02 Outwitted

by Beth Solheim

  "I am. I'm going to miss you." Jed smiled. "If only I could tell everyone the real truth about Sadie Witt's imaginary friends."

  "I'm afraid that's something I'll take to my grave. I don't like it when they talk behind my back, but there's nothing I can do about it. I can't quit guiding the dead because my feelings get hurt. Aanders will experience the same frustration."

  "That's a shame," Jed said. "You're accused of being crazy when it's completely the opposite. Where's the fairness in that?"

  "Indeed," Sadie replied. She glanced up at Jed over the top of her glasses. "Have you made your declaration?"

  "I'm going to the parallel world. I'm taking Sally with me."

  A huge sigh of relief surged from Sadie's lips. "Thank you. I hoped I'd hear you say those words. Now you have to find someone on the brink before it's too late." Sadie brushed a tear from her eyelid. "I've become quite fond of you. If all my crossers were as compassionate as you, it would make my job a lot more tolerable."

  Lon and Aanders strolled up to the table. Lon pulled a chair out with his foot, balancing a plate in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. "You okay, Sadie?"

  "I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." Sadie patted the chair next to her and pulled it out for Aanders.

  Jed grabbed Sally's arm as she skipped down the row between the tables. "Not so fast. Be careful, or I'll make you sit down until it's time to go."

  Lon set his coffee cup on the table and mumbled out the side of his mouth. "Don't look up."

  Sadie's head shot up.

  "I said don't look up. Kimmer's looking at us. Pretend you don't see him or he'll sit with us." Lon placed a forkful of macaroni salad in his mouth.

  "You don't mind if I join you, do you?" Kimmer set his plate on the table and unbuttoned his suit coat. "I'd prefer to sit where I can have an intelligent conversation, but there's no other chair available."

  Sadie set her fork on her plate and pushed it toward the center of the table. "By all means. We don't mind if Humpty Dumpty joins us, do we Lon?"

  Lon coughed and shoved in another forkful.

  "Oh, it's you, Sadie." Kimmer stretched his neck and looked down at Sadie. "They must not have booster seats here." He buttered the front of his roll. "I see your boss dressed you today. Either that or you've come to your senses."

  "You're a fine one to talk about fashion. You look like you…" Sadie jerked as Lon's boot connected with her shin.

  "How's the investigation coming, Lon?" Kimmer buttered the back of his roll. "Any idea what happened to Celeste?"

  "Not yet." Lon glanced at Aanders, then at Sadie.

  "Do you think they'll classify it as murder?"

  "I'm not sure."

  "Well I don't think those bones ended up the cabin all by themselves." Kimmer cocked his head. "Even an idiot can figure that out."

  Lon kept his gaze on his plate. "The investigators are doing the best they can."

  "I'm sure. Did you find anything with the body?"

  "Like what?"

  "Evidence." The chair creaked as Kimmer shifted. "Anything that will help the case."

  "I'm not sure what the forensic team found. I wasn't there." Lon stood and signaled to Aanders. "We'd better see if your mom needs help."

  As Lon rounded the table he turned back toward Kimmer. "Come to think of it, they did find something with the body, but I can't talk about it."

  30

  "I want to thank everyone for gathering on such short notice," Sadie said, while curious murmurs floated through the crowd. She had knocked on every cabin door earlier to notify resort guests a sheriff's deputy would make an announcement at 10:00 AM. The guests clustered behind her as she stood next to the porch railing.

  Lon climbed out of his squad car and joined Sadie. She introduced him. Unrolling a bright neon-orange poster, he handed it to Jane. The sisters gazed at the sheet intently while Lon waved everyone closer to the porch railing. "I felt it's important to inform everyone an infant has been abducted from our local hospital."

  An undertone rose from the crowd. Guests looked at one another and then back at Lon with apprehension. "I don't think there's cause for alarm. We believe the abductors have left the area."

  Sadie watched Pam Avery lift the blanket off Chelsie's face as she held her close. Dan put his arm around Pam. Sadie sympathized with their concerned expressions.

  The Witt sisters listened to Lon's explanation while parents reached for their children's hands. Belly sidled up to Lon. He leaned against Lon's left leg and jerked his gaze back and forth with every gesture Lon made. "Just so you know, during the past two summers similar infant abductions have taken place in neighboring towns. I want to make it clear someone abducted the infants from hospitals and not from any other location."

  Venting her concern, a young mother standing at the back of the crowd said, "Were the babies found?"

  "I'm not at liberty to say, Ma'am."

  Another wave of concern issued from the group.

  Heads turned to the right as a car pulled into the parking lot. A gentleman of Asian descent opened the driver's door and lingered in position, studying the crowd gathered at the railing. He rummaged through the items on the back seat before layering two cameras around his neck.

  "Are our children in danger?" Dan Avery's question piqued the crowd's interest. "What kind of protection are you providing?" Reinforcing echoes rolled through the group as others insisted on an answer.

  "I don't believe your children are in danger at this point. Like I said, the sheriff feels certain the abductors left the county. All surveillance film is being reviewed and there will be a press conference this evening."

  "How do you know the abductor left the area? How can you be sure?" Two separate guests shouted out questions.

  "Because there are patterns to this type of crime. An infant would be a hindrance to the perpetrator. It would be reasonable he'd head away from the area where he could pass the child off to an accomplice."

  Heads nodded in agreement.

  Shoulders and arms jostled as the oriental man pushed his way through the crowd and stepped up onto the porch. Short in stature with close-cropped, sparse, silver hair, the Asian man wore black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and black leather sandals. One of the cameras dangling from his neck sported a long telephoto lens and swung widely with each step.

  Lon looked down at the intruder and scowled before continuing to address the questions.

  Jane and Sadie stood next to the cabin wall behind Lon and watched the Asian gentleman survey the area.

  A favorable smile crossed the man's lips as he noticed the sisters. Bowing with grace, he bobbed in place several times before stepping between Lon and the Witt sisters. He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pants pocket.

  Jane whispered in the man's direction. "Can we help you?"

  Belly joined the sisters. Wagging his tail in delight he sniffed the man's sandals.

  Bowing again, the gentleman pointed at the sheet in his hand.

  Lon waved toward the orange poster Jane held. "Our telephone numbers are listed on the poster. We're available to answer questions and are only a few minutes away if you need us. You can be a great help by reporting anything suspicious."

  Jane held the poster toward the crowd, but had to walk around the man who blocked their view. "I'll post this in the lodge lobby in case you need the number," Jane informed the crowd. She stepped back to rejoin her sister and bumped into the man.

  "Do you have a reservation?" Sadie placed her hand around the man's upper arm and tried to reposition him closer to the wall.

  Jane watched the gentleman bow and point to the sheet in his hand. "Maybe he doesn't speak English."

  Lon glared at the Asian man and bristled with impatience before he continued addressing the crowd. "The abducted infant is a seven-pound, four-ounce male with black hair. He was wrapped in a blue blanket. He wore a white T-shirt and a newborn-sized diaper. He also wore a blue stocking cap and booties."

>   Jane leaned toward Sadie and whispered in her ear. "Do you think he has a reservation?"

  Stretching in the opposite direction, Sadie leaned toward the man and asked in carefully spaced words, "What do you want?"

  Pointing at Jane's crotch, the man bowed lower than he had previously bowed and came up nodding with excitement.

  Two pair of eyes stared at the man and grew wide with alarm. The sisters simultaneously looked sideways at Lon.

  "I think I know who he is," Sadie mumbled, poking Jane with her elbow. "I think he's the Chinese man who wanted a date with you. It's Mr. Hahn, the guy from the dating site."

  Jane turned to stare at the man. "Are you crazy? He's too short."

  "That's not your biggest problem. How are you going to get rid of him?"

  "Me? What do you mean me?" The abrasive words spilled over Jane's lips. "How did he find me?"

  "Beats me. You can research anything on the internet."

  "He's pointing again." A choke escaped Jane's lips. "Did he point at what I think he pointed at?"

  "Are you Mr. Hahn?" Sadie stepped closer to the man.

  "Did you see what's in his hand?" Jane's whisper grew in intensity. "He's got my picture on a piece of paper."

  "That's from the website," Sadie said. "He must have printed it."

  Through clamped teeth, Jane warned, "Get him out of here before Bernie gets wind of this."

  Taking the elderly man's arm, Sadie led him down the steps, away from the gathering. Belly followed the pair while they made their way toward the lodge.

  A resort guest looked at Jane. "Do you think we'd be safer leaving the area and returning to our homes?"

  Jane clutched the orange poster to her chest. "I don't think it's necessary. You're safe at Witt's End. There's no need to leave."

  Dan Avery stepped forward. "I think Miss Witt is right. It's safe here. I'm staying. I hope the rest of you will, too." Dan pulled his wife close. They walked away from the crowd and headed toward their cabin.

  After Lon answered a few more questions, the crowd slowly dispersed.

  When Sadie returned to the cabin, Jane said, "Did you get rid of the Chinese guy?" She reached under the sink and pulled out her spray bottle. "I'm a nervous wreck. I need to clean." She waved at Jed's chair. "I'm going to clean your chair, Jed. If you're in it, you'd better move." She spritzed the chair.

  "I got rid of him, but it took some doing. Thank goodness his son met us at the lodge."

  Aanders entered the cabin, letting the door slam behind him. "You mean the Chinese man? I think he wanted to talk to Jane yesterday, but I couldn't understand him. He had a picture of Jane in his hand. He kept shoving it in my face."

  Jane's hair swung free around her face as she concentrated on scrubbing the wooden seat. "Did you find out what he wanted?"

  "He obviously wanted you." Sadie chuckled. "It wasn't my crotch he pointed at."

  "That's ridiculous. He doesn't even know me."

  Sadie pulled a photo envelope from her skirt pocket. "I think he knows you better than you realize. He's quite the photographer." Sadie laid six photos in a row on the kitchen table. "He wants you to have these. Apparently he had them developed on his way over this morning. Mr. Hahn and his son are staying at the resort across the lake, but they've spent most of their time fishing in our bay."

  Jane tapped on one of the photos. "That's terrible. My rear end isn't that wide."

  Aanders leaned over and peered at the photos. "Yes it is. It looks just like you."

  "What?" Jane's shriek caused Aanders arm to lurch as he pulled two other photos to the edge of the table.

  "That shouldn't surprise you," Sadie said. "Anyone who wears a bra big enough to double as a porch swing should know their ass is wide."

  "How come none of these pictures show Jane's face?" Aanders lifted one of the photos off the table and held it under his nose. "Look." He pointed to the left corner. "There's Judge Kimmer coming out of the Avery's cabin."

  "What?" Sadie grabbed the photo. "Kimmer? That's odd. I didn't know he had been here again. He usually parks it in front of our cabin to harass us."

  Jane tapped on the photo. "Isn't that the same shirt Dan wore this morning? That means Kimmer was here this morning."

  Jane dropped into her chair. "Kimmer, a Chinese man, and photos making make me look like a walrus is more than I can handle. Why does everything happen at once?"

  "A walrus and a Chinese man? Do I even want to know what you're talking about?" Bernie closed the screen door and walked over to the table.

  "Jane's overwhelmed. Why don't you take her for a pontoon ride to calm her down," Sadie said.

  "Is she complaining about the crossers again?"

  Sadie frowned at Bernie. "How come you're taking the crossers so calmly? Most people would have bolted and never looked back. Don't you think it's odd you're sitting at a table with dead people?"

  "Dead or alive, we're all equal."

  "There you go again. That's a cop-out. Why don't you admit it gives you the willies and quit being a know-it-all?"

  "Don't be so hard on him," Jane said.

  "I'm trying to fit in," Bernie responded. "Having to accept what goes against everything I believe isn't easy."

  Sadie removed her purple-glitter glasses and ran her thumb and forefinger over one of the lenses before slipping them back on. "Look." She tapped the newspaper. "Every square inch of this morning's newspaper is about the infant abduction."

  "Sally, can you scoot over so Sadie can spread the paper on the table?" Jed leaned toward the table.

  "It even made national news." Jane leaned into Sadie's shoulder. "I heard it on the Today show. They showed a photo of the baby. It's a good thing the hospital takes photos of all the newborns."

  "Can I stay here when you go to the hospital?" Sally looked up at Jed.

  "I wish you could, but we've got business to take care of." Jed smiled down at her.

  "I want to wait here in case my dad comes."

  "I'll tell you what," Jed said. "Go to the inner room and bring me the box from the closet."

  Sally skipped into the bedroom.

  "Mom told me most newborns look alike," Aanders said.

  "Putting his photo in the paper isn't going to help, is it?"

  Sadie ran her finger under the print. "It says he's got a distinguishing birthmark on his hip. I'm sure the sheriff wants the public to be aware of anything that might identify him."

  "This one?" Sally ran up to Jed and handed him the box.

  "If you're a good girl while we're at the hospital, you can have it." Jed set the box on the table.

  "What's in it?"

  "Remember the surprise I promised you?"

  Sally climbed up on Jed's lap. "Can I open it now?"

  "No. We'll open it later." Jed lifted the box. "I'll let you hold it if you want."

  Sally snuggled back against Jed's chest and smiled up at him. She cradled the box on her lap.

  Sadie turned the newspaper page. "I can't imagine how the mother must feel." She tapped the woman's photo. "She was on the news last night pleading for the return of her baby."

  "That's the baby that lives over there." Sally pointed toward the Avery's cabin.

  Jed redirected Sally's finger and brought it to his lips. He gently kissed the tip of her index finger. "I don't think it is. All babies look alike when they're born. Besides, the Avery baby is a little girl."

  "It's a boy. He's got a penis."

  "I don't think so. Only boy babies have penises," Sadie said.

  "He does. He's a boy." Sally leaned her elbow on the table and turned the paper back to the front page. "That's him."

  "You've never seen the baby with her clothes off. How could you see a penis?" Jed placed his fingers on her cheek and turned her face toward him.

  With exaggerated hand movements, Sally said, "I saw him. I saw his penis."

  Sadie leaned back against the chair slats. "When exactly did you see the baby with her clothes off?" />
  "It's…a…boy."

  Sadie took one of Sally's hands. She smiled. "How do you know it's a boy? Were you in the Avery's cabin?"

  Sally traced her fingers along the flowers adorning the box lid.

  "Sally? Tell me how you know the baby is a boy."

  "Can I go to the inner room now?" Sally looked up at Jed.

  Sadie lifted Sally's chin to get her attention. "I'm not going to get mad at you. You're my friend and friends don't get mad at one another. Just tell me why you think it's a boy."

  Belly's toenails clicked against the wooden planking as he trotted across the floor and nosed Sadie's leg. She held her hand out and ran her fingers through his fur.

  Sally copied Sadie and scrunched her fingers through the hair on Belly's neck. "First I saw the baby through the window. Then I went in and watched the mom cut his hair. She washed the hair off when she gave him a bath in the sink."

  Sally looked up with an amazed expression. "Did you know I used to fit in the bathroom sink? Mom used to put me in there when I was a baby. She told me she should have pulled the plug and let me go down the drain. It's a good thing she didn't."

  "I think your mom was teasing." Jed ruffled Sally's hair and gave her a hug. "Babies can't really fit down sink drains."

  "I know. I'm not ascared of sinks anymore."

  "You said Pam gave the baby a haircut," Sadie said.

  "I did? What are you talking about?" Jane folded the newspaper and placed it next to Mr. Bakke's urn.

  "Hang on a second." Sadie patted the air impatiently. "I'm talking to Sally."

  "She gave him new clothes from the store, too. She had them in a bag." Sally pointed toward the inner room door. "I kept some tags so I could play store lady. I played store with Belly yesterday."

  Jed glanced at Sadie. He nodded toward the inner room.

  Sadie leaned toward Sally and spoke gently. "Will you show me the tags?"

  Sally jumped down and ran to the inner room.

  "What's going on?"

  "I said hold your horses, Jane. I think Sally just put us on to something, and it's not good."

  Bernie put his hand on Jane's shoulder as he looked at Sadie. "Is there anything I can do?"