The Girl With the Dragonfly Tattoo: An Austin, Texas Art Mystery (The Michelle Hodge Series Book 4)

by Roslyn Woods

  “Don’t you think we should talk to Kerr?” Wilson asked.

  “Yes, but maybe for different reasons than the ones you’ve got.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to go easy on him?” Wilson asked.

  “No, it doesn’t. I won’t go easy on him.”

  Chapter 42

  Monday, August10, 7:45 p.m.—Tavy

  Standing in the porch light, the twelve-year-old looked different from the way Tavy remembered her. Her hair was the same—long, very dark waves—but she wore a yellow bikini top, and her shorts barely covered her slim hips. Her eyes and mouth were heavily made up, and long streaks of tears, blackened by mascara, streamed down her cheeks.

  “What is it, Madison? Come in here!” said Tavy, drawing the girl in from the porch and closing the door behind her before turning the lock. “What’s happened?”

  The dog whined, wagged her tail, and nuzzled the girl’s knee.

  “Dad’s not home, so I came over here,” she answered.

  “I’m glad you did, but didn’t you know where he was?”

  “I forgot. He told me, I just forgot, and I didn’t have my keys! It’s good he’s not here anyway, cuz he’d be mad. Just don’t tell him, okay?”

  “Don’t tell him what?”

  “Anything! Don’t tell him anything!”

  “How could I tell him anything? I don’t know anything. At least, not yet,” Tavy answered with a frown on her face. “But you’re going to have to tell me, Maddie. I need to know what’s happening. I thought you were at camp.”

  The girl trudged over to the sofa and plopped down, allowing her flip-flops to drop onto the floor before lifting her bare feet up and tucking them beneath her. Blue settled her head on the girl’s knee and whined again. “I was, but I came back to my mom’s house yesterday. I’ve been at Brenda’s party. School’s starting next week, and she had a party.”

  “And how did you get to this party?”

  “Mom. She took me. It was a swim party. I was going to stay over.”

  “And?”

  “And Mario was there, okay? Is that what all the questions are for? So you can tell Dad I went to a party and Mario was there?”

  “What? I don’t even know who Mario is.”

  “He isn’t anybody! He’s nobody, and I’m never going to speak to him again!” she said, and with that she threw her body against the throw pillows beside her and buried her face into one of them, her shoulders shaking with sobs while Blue whined sympathetically.

  Tavy seated herself on the couch beside the girl and placed her hand on her shoulder. She waited until the sobs had subsided before she spoke again. “Did you break up?” she asked quietly.

  Maddie turned her face from where it had been buried in the pillow, and Tavy could see that a good deal of the makeup had been rubbed away. That pillow cover would definitely have to be dry-cleaned.

  “No,” Maddie answered sadly. “We weren’t exactly going together. He told me he liked me two weeks ago! He was the one who said it! Then I go to this party and he’s all over Brenda! Brenda! My best friend! I hate that bitch!”

  With that, Maddie turned her face back into the pillow and commenced sobbing again.

  “So you left?” Tavy asked after a couple of minutes.

  “Of course I left! What would you have done? I left and I walked home, only Dad wasn’t there.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Tavy said, heading for the front bathroom beside her father’s bedroom in the hall and retrieving a box of tissues from under the sink. She returned to the sofa and placed the box atop the end table near her and pulled out four or five tissues.

  “Why didn’t you go to your mom’s house?” she asked while handing the tissues to the girl.

  “Because she lives a million miles from here, that’s why! Dad lives like three blocks from Brenda’s.”

  “I see.”

  “Only I’m glad he wasn’t home. Cuz if he was home I’d be in trouble with him, too, and I just don’t need that right now!”

  “Who was chaperoning the party? Brenda’s parents?”

  “Yes. Sort of. They were playing cards with some other people and mixing drinks in the house and all the kids were in the back by the pool.”

  “And they were expecting you to spend the night?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You just walked out through the house?”

  “No. Through the gate. What difference does it make?”

  “Do you think they’ve noticed you’re not there anymore?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care!”

  “Well, you need to let someone know where you are, Maddie, because they’ll be calling your parents and the police.”

  “You think? Maybe that will make Mario sit up and notice! Maybe Brenda will get in trouble! Wouldn’t that be a silver lining!” She was angry and sarcastic, and Tavy was worried.

  “Maddie, it’s serious. It’s after eight. It’s getting dark, and your parents will think you’re missing. Why haven’t you called them?”

  “Because I left my phone and my backpack in Brenda’s room, and I’m never going to her house again as long as I live!”

  “Okay. I think you should use my phone and call your mother. She may have heard you’re not at the party anymore by now.”

  “No! I’m never doing that!”

  “But, your parents will be frantic!”

  “No they won’t. My mom doesn’t care, and Dad’s out of town!”

  “Either you’re going to call her or I will, Maddie. You just have to do this. It’s not fair to frighten them this way. Call your mom.”

  “Fine! You call her.”

  “Okay. I think my father wrote the number in his book. Her name is Rhoda, right?”

  “Oh, shit!” she said, resigning herself to Tavy’s resolve. “I can dial for you. Just don’t tell her anything.”

  “I’ll have to tell her something.”

  “Oh, all right! Just let me talk to her, then!”

  “Okay. But tell her where you are.”

  “Why can’t I just stay here with you?”

  “I’d be happy for you to do that, Maddie, but we need your parents to know you’re safe and to agree to it.”

  Tavy stood up and went after the cordless phone and carried it back to the girl. Maddie wiped her face on the tissues again and tapped in the number while Tavy watched and listened. The phone seemed to ring for quite a long time before it was answered.

  “Hey, Mom? I’m calling cuz I left Brenda’s. I’m at Tavy’s house.”

  How would Rhoda know who she was? It seemed strange that the girl should call her ‘Tavy’ to her mother.

  “Yeah, I walked over here cuz I forgot Dad was gone. Anyway, she says I can stay if I want…Why not? Why can’t I?…Because my phone’s at Brenda’s…Because we had a fight, okay?… Because I hate her!”

  There was apparently quite a bit a talking going on from Rhoda’s end of the line, and Tavy just watched Maddie’s glazed over expression while she listened. Finally, the girl angrily uttered a last word. “Okay!”

  She pushed the button to end the call and looked up at Tavy. “I hope you’re happy!” she said. “You’ve just made the worst night of my life even worse!”

  “I’m sorry, Maddie. What’s happening?”

  “She’s on the way over here. That’s what’s happening!”

  “Well, I’m sorry she decided you couldn’t stay with me, but she is your mother. She needs to know where you are.”

  “That’s easy for you to say! You don’t have to live with a horrible mother who hardly knows you’re alive and just uses you to get back at her ex-husband!”

  You have no idea, she thought, but she only said, “I really am sorry, Maddie.”

  “It’s okay,” the girl answered with a shrug. “I know it’s not your fault.”

  “Do you think you should wash the makeup off your face before she gets here?”

  “Yeah—and—uh—do you have a shirt or
something I could borrow? I was wearing regular clothes when—”

  “You can go through the third drawer in the dresser. There are some tank tops and t-shirts in there.”

  “Thanks,” Maddie answered. “Do you think we could let Mom think it’s one of Brenda’s shirts?”

  “I won’t say a thing about it. How’s that?”

  “Okay. That’d be good.”

  It was well over an hour before Rhoda arrived. In the meantime, Tavy had changed to jeans and a cotton shirt, and Maddie’s face was clean of makeup. She had put a turquoise t-shirt over her yellow swim top and was looking pretty much like a twelve-year-old again when she said, “Have you got anything to eat? I’m starving to death.”

  “How about a sandwich or some scrambled eggs?”

  “How about cookies? Do you have any gingersnaps?”

  “Yes, but have you had any real food?”

  “God, you’re just like Dad!” Maddie said, shaking her head.

  “How about a scrambled egg burrito and then some cookies?”

  “Yeah, okay. You know, they don’t call them that here.”

  “What?”

  “They never call tortillas with eggs ‘burritos.’ They’re breakfast tacos, and we eat them all day in Texas.”

  “I see. Duly noted.”

  In a few minutes, Tavy brought the breakfast taco and a glass of apple juice to the coffee table. Maddie was sitting on the floor now, petting Blue’s silver head and looking sadly around the room.

  “Did this ever happen to you?” she asked Tavy.

  “What? Did I ever lose a boyfriend?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Of course. I’m pretty sure it happens to everyone.”

  “Not Brenda.”

  “Maybe not yet.”

  “You think it will?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Who did you lose?”

  Tavy took a deep breath and exhaled heavily before she answered. “When I was growing up I had some break-ups with boyfriends. Later, I broke up with my husband.”

  “Why did you? Why did you break up with your husband?”

  “Uh—I guess you could say he found a Brenda.”

  “Oh. That’s like Dad, too.”

  “He found a Brenda?” Tavy asked, surprise in her voice.

  “God, no! Mom found one. A Manfred. A Manfred Carpenter.”

  “That’s her husband?”

  “For now.”

  “You don’t think it will last?”

  “Why would anybody stay with her? She’s mean.”

  Tavy swallowed. “Is he nice?”

  “No! Well, he’s nicer than Mom, but that’s easy. He’s—cold. A pharmacist.”

  “Hmm.”

  Maddie ate the taco and drank the juice while Tavy looked on, wondering how much longer Rhoda would be, slightly embarrassed that her lovely living room would be somewhat cluttered with wooden crates of vegetables when Gus’s ex-wife arrived.

  Then Maddie piped up, “I’m sorry about Ed. He was—good. I’m sad about him.”

  “Yes. Me, too.”

  “I cried the first two days of camp. I just couldn’t stop. Everybody kept bugging me about it, but I didn’t know what to say about him. He wasn’t really my grandpa. He said he wished he was, though. He used to let me read your books sometimes.”

  “What books?”

  “The ones on the shelf in there. Girl of the Limberlost, Where the Red Fern Grows—all of them, really.”

  Tavy stared but didn’t speak before Maddie went on, “Reading them made me feel like I sort of knew you. He said you loved those books in there.”

  Tio must have told him.

  “Yes, I did,” she said.

  “I wish he was here,” Maddie went on, rubbing a tear from her cheek on the sleeve of the t-shirt. “He and Dad and Florencia are the only grown-ups who care about me. Do you know what that’s like?”

  Tavy’s answer would have been long and complicated, so she didn’t attempt it. “Is it the first time you’ve lost someone?”

  “No. I was little when Dad’s mom died. I think I knew her, but I don’t remember her, so it’s like the first time.”

  “And your dad’s father?”

  “He died when Dad was a kid.”

  Tavy nodded but didn’t speak for a minute. “You don’t have aunts or uncles?”

  “No. Mom has a sister but they hate each other. Dad was an only like me. You’re an only too, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I’m an only.”

  “I see you picked the veggies,” Maddie went on. “Dad’ll be glad. I think it’s getting to be too much for him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He picks the veggies for lots of people—You know, people who are too old and stuff. He plants their gardens, then he sets up their water systems and crap like that. Then he has to make sure the gardens produce, and then he picks the stuff for them to eat. The rest he puts out for Food is Free.”

  “You help him?”

  “Yeah, sometimes—I guess not that much, really. I should help him more.”

  “I didn’t know he did so much of the work.”

  “Yeah. Some students from the college help sometimes. He’s always trying to recruit helpers, but it seems like he works harder than other people.”

  “Why do you think he does it?” Tavy asked.

  “Dad? Because he can’t stand to think of anybody being hungry. He’s always been like that—worrying about people. He worries about me, too. All the time, I think.”

  “It seems to me your father is a very good person.”

  “Yeah. He’s just too strict.”

  “Because he loves you.”

  “I know. I wish he’d come home tonight. Then I wouldn’t have to go with Mom.”

  “I wish he was here, too.”

  Just then, Blue started barking and dashed to the door. The bell rang, and Tavy glanced at Maddie before getting up to open it.

  “Tavy?” Maddie said.

  “Hmm?”

  “I didn’t mean to be so bitchy.”

  “Forget that.”

  “You won’t tell her—about—”

  “No.”

  Chapter 43

  Monday, August 10, 9:30 p.m.—Tavy

  Rhoda Carpenter stood in the lamplight, perfectly coifed and quite beautiful at first sight. Her hair, slightly darker than Maddie’s, was straighter than the child’s and done up in a modern French twist, a few tendrils carefully arranged around her long, sparkling earrings. Her dress, a sequined black affair, was a short, spaghetti strapped shift, revealing long, tanned legs that ended in silver, heeled sandals.

  “Hello,” Tavy said. “Please come in. I’m Tavy, by the way.”

  “Oh, I don’t really have time. I’ve got the car running. I need to get back to my party,” she said without introducing herself. In fact, her voice was surprisingly unfriendly and made her sound older than Tavy had first thought. “Come on, Madison!” the woman called to the girl seated on the living room floor with the dog. “Now!”

  Maddie hugged Blue before she got up. “Bye-bye, Bluesy Girl,” she said. Then she slipped her feet into the flip-flops and trudged toward the door, the dog following at her heels.

  “Where’s your backpack?” her mother asked.

  “At Brenda’s, and I’m not going in.”

  “Fine. Then you can deal with having no phone and explain losing it and the backpack to your father.”

  “Can’t you just go to the door and ask for it?” Maddie asked.

  “I cannot,” Rhoda answered. Maddie pushed past her and stopped to wait for her mother on the porch steps. The woman turned to the child and said, “You’ve inconvenienced me enough for one night. Get in the car and wait a minute. I need to talk to your friend for a minute.”

  Maddie didn’t answer, just headed for the red Mercedes parked on the curb. When the car door slammed, Rhoda looked back at Tavy.

  “So you’re Ed Bishop’s daughter, the ‘
gorgeous Tavy,’” she said with a slight smile.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “My daughter seems to think you’re something special.”

  “Really? We only just met the day I arrived.”

  “Yes, well, you know how kids her age idolize the strangest people.”

  Tavy felt that remark as a bit of a sting, but said nothing.

  “I see Gus has left his dog with you,” Rhoda went on, glancing down at Blue, who was now sitting politely at Tavy’s feet, whining occasionally.

  “Yes,” she answered, unwilling to elaborate at this point.

  “Poor Gus!” Rhoda went on, shaking her head. “He just can’t seem to establish a new relationship no matter how hard he tries!”

  “What?”

  “It’s partly the vegetables! Look how he’s ruined your little living room!” she said, glancing at the crates Tavy had stacked near the door. Was the living room little? It seemed rather large to Tavy.

  “You’ll get tired of it,” Madison’s mother went on. “What woman wants to be with a man who spends all his energy growing food for the poor instead of making a decent income for his family?”

  “I wouldn’t know anything about it,” Tavy said. “I’ve only been in Austin a few days,” she added, wishing the woman would go away even as she tried to understand what on earth she was talking about. Didn’t Gus have a full-time teaching position at the community college? Didn’t he live in a perfectly nice home in a lovely neighborhood?

  “That, and all the arrests!” Rhoda continued. “He’s such a bleeding heart! It’s comical, really!”

  Tavy found herself without a thing to say.

  “He’ll never get over me,” Rhoda went on. “I broke his heart. It’s why any woman worth a dime will never stay in his life even if they like him at first. Not any of those girls that surround him at the college, and not the new young teachers! He can’t ever get really serious about someone new. I just couldn’t stand his ways, and he’s spent all these years wishing I was still with him.”

  “Well, good night,” Tavy said, stepping back to close the door and wishing with all her heart that poor little Maddie had a different mother.