Stranger in the Woods

by Geof Johnson

  Shelby squealed, set the book down, and dashed into the foyer with Liz following her. Shelby threw open the door and clapped her hands, smiling a welcome to the dog, and to Liz’s father, sort of.

  “Hold on,” he said as they crossed the porch with Beepee. “She’s wet. She wouldn’t stay under the umbrella on the way over here.”

  “I don’t care.” Shelby was already kneeling before the happy pup, who was licking her face, knocking Shelby’s glasses askew while she giggled.

  “Zach,” Liz called, “could you bring me a towel from the laundry room? And hurry.”

  A minute later Zach and the twins appeared in the short hallway and Zach tossed Liz the towel. She wrapped it around Beepee and dried her quickly. Beepee shook free of Liz’s clutches and bounded over to Zach and the other two boys, weaving between them and wagging furiously.

  Liz’s father glanced into the library and said, “You working in here, Liz? I thought you’d be sorting through the boxes in the basement today.”

  “Shelby and I are trying to get the books cleaned up so we can use this room. It smells too funky right now.”

  “You got a basement?” Jason said.

  “There’s a laboratory down there,” Zach said. “It used to be my great-great uncle’s.”

  “The mad scientist? Can we see it?” Justin said.

  “It’s locked, and it’s got a steel door. Nobody knows where the key is.”

  “Have you looked?” Jason said. “Maybe we can find it.”

  “We haven’t had time to search for it,” Liz said. “That’s pretty low on our priorities right now. We don’t even know if the key is in the house. Uncle Nicholas may have taken it to his grave.”

  “I doubt that,” her father said. “He probably had a special hiding place for it, knowing him. It’ll probably turn up in some secret compartment under a drawer somewhere.” He gave Liz a tiny wink, and she fought back a smile.

  “A secret compartment! Whoa.” Zach turned to the boys beside him. “Maybe we can find it today.”

  “Honey,” Liz said, “don’t go tearing the house apart looking for the key.”

  “Can I at least show them the basement?”

  “We’ll have a quick look, and then Shelby and I need to get back to cleaning up the library.” She led them through the short hall to the kitchen and then to the doorway to the basement. She opened it and flicked on the light, then stood aside and said, “Who’s first?”

  The kids looked at each other hesitantly, and Liz’s father walked forward and said, “I’ll go.” He started down the steps and the others followed, including Beepee.

  When they reached the bottom, Zach gestured at the long wall with the steel door on it. “This is where the lab is.”

  Jason furrowed his brow. “That’s one heavy-duty piece of metal, isn’t it? Guess you can’t break it down.”

  “Or take it off the hinges,” Liz’s father said. “I doubt you could even cut through the walls without some serious equipment, knowing my uncle. There’s probably reinforced concrete behind the sheetrock. He didn’t want anybody breaking in here. He was a very secretive person.”

  Shelby touched the door and said, “But why? What was he making in there?”

  “All his inventions. That’s how he made his money, and he didn’t want anybody stealing his secrets.”

  Justin scratched the scar over his eye with his index finger while he scrutinized the steel barrier. “Wouldn’t you love to see what’s in it? Bet there’s all kinda cool stuff. You think he made, like, secret weapons?”

  “I know he did some work for the military,” Liz’s father said, “but I don’t know exactly what.”

  “Dad,” Liz said, “did he have a safe deposit box? He could’ve put the key in there.”

  “He had one, but I’ve already seen the contents. It was mostly just important papers, like his patents and the deed to the house and stuff. No keys, or jewelry, or anything like that.”

  “Then it’s got to be around here somewhere.” Zach turned and gestured at the dust-covered trunks and boxes stacked on the floor behind them. “Bet it’s in one of those.”

  “Can we look in ’em?” Jason said.

  Liz shook her head firmly. “I don’t want you kids rummaging through them and strewing stuff all over the basement floor. You’ll make a huge mess.”

  “No we won’t,” Zach said. “We’ll be careful and—”

  “I said no. I want you to wait until I can be down here with you to help. That way, if you stumble across anything important, I can set it aside.”

  “And be organized,” her father said.

  “Of course.”

  “And make a list of everything that’s in there,” Zach said with a pout.

  “No, but if you find any old family papers or photographs, or whatever, I want to see them, and put them in a separate box.” She gestured toward the stairs. “Let’s go up and make popcorn. Then Shelby and I need to get back to cleaning the library.”

  Chapter 8

  The rain ended overnight and Sunday dawned sunny and warm. After lunch, Liz returned to the task of getting the house in shape, cleaning baseboards with Zach in the master bedroom downstairs. He wasn’t much help, though. Every few minutes, he dashed to the living room to look out of the front windows.

  “When are they gonna be here?” he said when he returned from his latest trip.

  Liz pushed a cardboard box aside and sat back on the floor, still holding the scrub brush in one hand. “Your friends have to eat lunch at home, remember? They’ll get here when they get here.”

  “But it’s time to go swimming.” He already had on his bathing suit, with a T-shirt over that. “What if they get here too late? What if they’re not coming at all? Can we call them?”

  “I don’t think we have their number, but I gave Shelby ours. If they have a problem, they’ll call. Now, will you please help me?” She gestured with one rubber-gloved hand at the other bucket of soapy water, ten feet away, where Zach had been working, intermittently.

  “Why are we going to all the trouble to clean this? We’re just using this as a junk room, anyway.”

  “I told you, it’s going to be a guest bedroom. We’ll store all these boxes in the attic or basement, eventually. But first, we have to clean and paint in here.”

  “What do we need a guest bedroom for? Who’s gonna visit us?”

  “Edie and her family might. We’re still friends.”

  “Why would they want to come here? This isn’t like Raleigh. There’s nothing to do. This place is boring.”

  “They might want to go swimming in the river with you and your friends.” Zach frowned, and she laughed lightly. “Or we could take Edie and her kids to the state park. I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard it’s nice. They have a visitors’ center now, and hiking trails and other things. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

  “Yeah, loads,” he said unenthusiastically and knelt beside the other bucket.

  “But first we have to get this place looking better. It should at least meet the basic standards of human decency.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “Really? That’s not what you said when we first got here.”

  Zach dipped his brush in the water and scowled at the wall. “Well, it’s about as nice as Grandpa’s house, except that it needs painting and stuff.”

  “My standards of decency are a lot higher than your grandfather’s. I think most peoples’ are.”

  “No, they’re not. Jason said their house is pretty messy.”

  “That’s probably because their mother has to work all the time. Have you even been over there?”

  “They can’t have anybody over when she’s not there.”

  “That sounds like a good rule.”

  The doorbell rang and Zach jumped to his feet and ran off. “They’re here!”

  Liz removed her rubber gloves and followed him. By the time she made it to the foyer, he already had the front door open. She could see a
ll of the Ross kids waiting on the porch, their bikes parked on the grass behind them. With them was a lean, tired-looking woman, with sandy-colored hair, tied back in a ponytail. Her arms were crossed, and the corners of her mouth were downturned.

  “Hello,” Liz said. “You must be Tina.” Liz introduced herself and extended her hand. Tina shook it without smiling. “Are you going swimming with the kids?”

  “No.” Tina crossed her arms over her chest again, seemingly tighter. “I thought I’d come over here and meet you while I had the chance.”

  “Mom,” Zach said from behind her, “can I go now?”

  “Don’t forget your towel.” He ran up the stairs and Liz held the door wider. “Tina, would you like to come in?”

  “I’ve only got a few minutes.”

  “Just for a sec. There’s no place to sit on the porch.”

  “We don’t need to sit.”

  “Can Beepee come to the river with us?” Shelby asked, standing with her brothers. She wore her new yellow bathing suit and a bright smile.

  “Only if I bring her,” Liz said. “And I’m pretty busy today, though I wish I could go because I would feel better if you had a grownup watching you.”

  “They’re fine on their own,” Tina said.

  “Are you sure? Zach and Shelby are only twelve years old, and Jason and Justin are—”

  “They’re fine!” Tina said through clenched teeth. “They’re not goin’ to drown. They woulda done it already. They’ve been there lotsa times without me.”

  Liz turned when she heard Zach pounding down the stairs with a towel draped over one shoulder. “I gotta get my bike,” he said to the kids waiting on the porch. “I’ll meet you out front.”

  “Honey?” Liz said. “Do you want me to come and watch? I can put off cleaning the baseboards for another day.”

  He narrowed his eyes and tightened his mouth, and Tina said, “I recognize that look. That means no.”

  “Okay,” Liz said, “but call me if you have any problems. Do you want to take my cellphone?”

  “Stop, Mom,” Zach said, barely moving his lips.

  “All right, but try to be back by five. If you’re not here by then, I’m coming to get you.”

  He zipped through the door to the kitchen and Liz squeezed one hand into a tight ball and put it to her mouth as she watched him go, suddenly anxious for him. She wanted to call to him again, one last reminder to be careful, but instead she turned to face the Ross family, waiting together on the porch.

  The feeling she got from Tina was icy and guarded. She stood stiffly with her arms still crossed like armor across her narrow chest.

  “Um….” Liz struggled to break the awkward silence. “Shelby, did you start reading the book I loaned you?”

  “Yes ma’am.” Shelby smiled again and bobbed her head. “It’s really good. I’m going to finish it tonight. Can I borrow the next one?”

  “You can stop by tomorrow and take all of them, if you want. There are twelve more, I believe.”

  Tina shook her head. “She can borrow one at a time, thank you. I don’t want to be responsible for all of them.”

  “But I don’t mind. Zach has read them already and—”

  “One at a time, please.” Her steely tone made Liz even more uneasy, as if she’d insulted Tina and should apologize. Liz didn’t know what to say, though.

  Liz was relieved to see Zach appear in the front yard with his bike. The other kids mounted theirs and they pedaled toward the sidewalk.

  “I guess I need to get goin’.” Tina said.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a minute. You just got here.”

  “I have a million things to do, laundry and cleaning and all. This is my only day to do it.”

  “Just for a minute. A quick cup of coffee and then you can go.”

  Tina worked her lips slowly from side to side while she seemed to be considering it. “Just one cup, then I gotta go. I’ve always wanted to see what the inside of one of these big ol’ houses looks like.”

  Tina stepped inside and Liz closed the door behind her. Tina gazed around the foyer for a moment before noticing the library to her right. “Shelby’s all jealous about that. It was all she could talk about last night.”

  “She was a big help yesterday.”

  “Wish she’d be that helpful at home. The boys, too. It sure would make things easier on me.” She looked around again and said, “Can I see the rest of the house?”

  “Just the downstairs. It’s all I’ve had time to work on.” Liz led her into the living room and Tina’s eyes widened appreciatively.

  “This room is bigger than my whole downstairs. All this furniture’s yours?”

  “Not the antiques. They were already here, and I put some others in the garage. This place would look empty if I only filled it with our things.” She showed Tina more of the main level, and when they entered the family room, Liz said, “I’m going to paint this soon.”

  Tina frowned at the walls. “Sure is dark.”

  “My aunt lived here for the last ten years and she had different tastes from mine. I’m going to paint it in light colors.” She swept one arm loosely through the air. “Every room. Bright, happy colors. I’m not going to live in a cave.”

  “It’s going to take a long time to paint all this.”

  “I thought I’d hire your kids to make it go faster. I’d especially like to use Shelby. I’m not sure about the boys.”

  Tina made a grim face. “I wouldn’t trust them. They’d make a mess.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. I may ask them to paint the back fence because it won’t matter so much if they’re sloppy. Shelby is very careful, though. I could have her work inside with me.”

  “We need to talk about that.” Tina took a slow breath through her nose. “I wish you wouldn’t pay them so much when you hire them.”

  “But they worked so long and hard last time. Thirty dollars seemed too low.”

  “Plus the clothes. That counts as pay, too.”

  “Well, sure. But I thought it was fair.”

  “But it’s not fair to me.” She patted her chest with the flat of her hand. “I can’t compete with that. From now on, they’ll expect to get that much for everything they do, and I can’t afford that.”

  “They’re your kids. They should do work around your house for free.”

  “Try telling them that. They’d rather come over here and make thirty dollars than do anything at our house for nothin’. I don’t blame ’em, either. I’d be the same way, if it were me. Twenty dollars is all they should get.”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “Twenty is plenty for kids that age. And no clothes. That was too much, givin’ them the shirts and the bathing suit. Shelby loves hers, by the way.”

  “Shelby told me yesterday that she’s saving her money for back-to-school clothes.”

  “She needs them.” Tina put her hand on her forehead and exhaled wearily. “All three of my kids do. I dread it when school starts. I don’t know what I’m goin’ to do. Go back to the second-hand store, I guess, and hope they have something decent in the kids’ sizes.”

  Liz rubbed her chin while she considered that. “How about this? If I hire them for a hard chore, I’ll give them twenty dollars plus an extra ten for clothes.”

  “The boys will just spend the extra ten on crap. Junk food and BBs and whatnot.”

  “What if I give it to you and you keep it for them until it’s time to go shopping for clothes?”

  “I’d probably spend it on groceries or something. I’m always runnin’ low these days.”

  “Then what if I keep it until the end of the summer and give it to you when you’re ready to go shopping for back-to-school clothes?”

  “The boys won’t like that. They’ll want their money right off so they can waste it.”

  “Tell them too bad. It’s clothes or nothing.”

  Tina smiled with one side of her mouth, her lips together “I like
that. That’s more my style.” Her smile spread across her face. “You can do that, but only if the job is worth it. I still don’t want you overpayin’ ’em.”

  “Don’t worry. I have to watch my money, too. I won’t get a paycheck again until August.”

  Tina’s eyes locked with Liz’s for a long moment, and gears seemed to turn behind them. Liz could almost see them moving. Tina nodded toward the door that led to the kitchen. “I sure could use that cup of coffee.”

  Liz opened the top of the coffee maker and put in a new filter, then poured in some fresh grounds. Tina sat at the kitchen table, evaluating the room. “This kitchen is huge. You could put three of mine in here.”

  “This house is really better suited for a large family.” Liz turned the coffee maker on and leaned against the cabinet, facing Tina. “But there’s just Zach and me. I shouldn’t complain, though. The price is right.”

  “Doesn’t it belong to your family?”

  “My dad owns it, so we live here for free.”

  “Must be nice.”

  “Zach hates it.”

  “He’ll adjust. It’s always easier for kids.”

  “Not when they have to change schools at his age. That’s one of the main reasons he’s mad at me for moving him here.” She smiled wryly and studied Tina’s face. “I know we went to the same high school, but I don’t recognize you.”

  “That’s because I was two grades behind you and I ran with a different crowd. But I recognize you. You were Miss Everything back then. Homecoming Queen and Honor Society and—”

  “I wasn’t Homecoming Queen, I just made the court once, my senior year. That’s all.”

  “Oh. That’s all?” Tina arched one eyebrow, and Liz felt herself blush.

  Liz cleared her throat and said, “Is your husband from here, too?”

  “He’s from Chattanooga. That’s where I met him. I was livin’ there after I graduated, and I was goin’ to the community college, studying to be a dental hygienist. Kenny was going to the technical school, and we got married and he got a job workin’ for the cable company. But they transferred him here before I could finish school.” She spread one hand and flipped it over. “And here I am, back in Whitmer. I thought I’d escaped from this God-forsaken little town, but I’m stuck, now.”