Max & Me Mysteries Set

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “Whose side are you on, Jess?” Max gave me a dirty look.

  “I didn’t say I thought Enrique was guilty. I don’t think he is. He was getting food for his sisters and trying to keep from getting shipped back to Mexico.”

  “We have to tell Cooper.”

  The phone rang just as Max started to pick it up. Cooper had seen the news as well, and we made plans to meet him the next day.

  Max, as usual, went right to sleep, but I couldn’t. My mind kept coming up with awful scenarios. With Enrique arrested, what was going to happen to the girls? I imagined them waiting on the island alone and hungry, worried about their older brother. I wasn’t forgetting about the cougar either. Enrique had the boat, which meant they were stranded.

  Assuming they were even on Ghost Island. Thinking about the island reminded me about Josh and Kevin. I felt better knowing that if the girls were stranded there, they might go in search of help. They’d find the archeologists’ camp, and Josh and Kevin would be able to call … the police.

  I tried to brush away the images from my mind, focusing instead on images my mother had shared with me in the early stages of my leukemia. “Just think about Jesus sitting beside you, gathering you in His arms—like He did the children in the Bible.” I closed my eyes and imagined Callista and Maela sitting with Jesus. I prayed that no matter what happened, Jesus would be with them. I did the same for Enrique, praying that the real robbers would be found.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTEEN

  MMorning came too soon, and with it news that Enrique would not tell the police where to find his sisters. He told them that he had never taken anything from any of the homes in Lakeside. Police had told the reporters that they had evidence to the contrary and they had made an arrest.

  After breakfast, Amelia took us into town, saying she could get us in to talk with Enrique. The police officer Amelia talked to agreed to let us go in. Maybe he thought Enrique would talk to us since we were friends. “I don’t know if he’ll tell you anything,” the officer said, “but the most important concern we have right now is locating those little girls. I don’t think he realizes the danger they are in if we don’t find them.”

  He took us into a visiting area where we sat at a table. Enrique had been crying and ducked his head when he saw us. “What do you want? Did the police send you? I’m not saying anything.”

  “Enrique, no. Just listen.” I looked around, wondering if the police recorded conversations between prisoners and visitors. “We’ve been looking for you.”

  “Why? So you can get the reward?”

  “Enrique, please.” I lowered my voice. “We don’t want you to be deported. We just want to help.”

  “She’s right, buddy.” Cooper leaned forward. “With you in here, Callista and Maela are in danger. Please tell us where they are. We can help you.”

  “They are strong. They can take care of themselves.”

  Max drummed her fingers on the surface of the table. “Please. Tell us where Callista and Maela are so we can at least bring them food and make sure they’re safe.”

  “No. The police will arrest them too.” Enrique looked worried, and I thought we might be breaking through. “Don’t you understand? If I tell you anything, the police will follow you.”

  “We can make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “No.” He leaned forward and whispered, “The spirits will guard them. I am not worried.”

  He jumped to his feet and slammed his fist onto the table.

  I ducked, thinking he was going to hit one of us.

  “You are not my friends.” Enrique spat the words at me. “It’s because of you the police caught me. You told them I had been at the market.”

  I wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. My parents had apparently told the police what Sam and I had seen.

  The guard grabbed Enrique. He scowled at the guard and said, “Take your hands off me. I can walk.”

  The guard ignored him and took him back to wherever they were holding him. I held my hand to my throat, trying to make some sense out of what had just happened. An officer escorted us back out to where Amelia waited.

  “Did he tell you anything?” Amelia asked.

  “No.” I glanced around at the clerk and another police officer, but couldn’t be sure if they were listening to us. We walked straight out to Amelia’s truck and climbed inside. Cooper jumped in the back with Amelia’s dog, Molly.

  Sitting between Max and Amelia, I felt my face grow warm with anger. “My parents must have told the police about Enrique getting food at the grocery store.” I leaned back, wishing I could disappear into the seat. “It’s their fault Enrique got caught. It’s my fault for telling them.”

  Amelia shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself, Jessie. I imagine the police have been waiting for activity on the water ever since Enrique and his sisters went missing. With that and the burglaries, I’m sure they would have caught him eventually. Did he tell you anything about the girls?”

  I’m not sure, I started to say, then changed my mind. I felt certain he had given us a clue, but I had no intention of mentioning it to another adult—at least not until Cooper, Max, and I could discuss it. “I thought he might, but he just got really mad and started yelling. The guard took him away.”

  Nobody said much until we got back to the farm. I asked if I could stay over again. Amelia said yes if my parents agreed. Amelia asked us if we were okay with fish for dinner. We were.

  Once we got back, I called my mom. I told her about Enrique. “I’m sorry, Jessie. We had no idea the police would try to charge him with the burglaries.”

  “Can I stay with Max again tonight?”

  “Well, I …”

  “Please.”

  She sighed heavily into the phone, and I had the feeling she was feeling some guilt herself. “All right, but call me in the morning.”

  “I will.”

  The three of us helped Amelia with dinner. While we ate salmon, rice, and salad greens from the garden, we talked about Enrique, his sisters, deportation, and the robberies.

  “I can’t believe Enrique was involved in any of those home robberies,” Amelia said. “I believe you are right, Jessie. He’s been too busy taking care of himself and his sisters to bother with stealing credit cards and electronic gadgets.”

  Cooper studied a piece of salmon before putting it in his mouth. “What if his aunt is really behind the robberies? She or one of her housekeepers worked at the places that were robbed. Didn’t the police say she had keys to all those places?”

  Max kicked him, and I glared at him from across the table. “How can you say that? Leah Estrada is a nice lady.”

  “Not only that,” Amelia said, “but you don’t build up a business based on trust and then start stealing from your clients.”

  “Maybe. But a lot of people seem nice, and then one day you find out they’ve been dealing drugs or robbing banks or killing people. What if she made Enrique steal for her? She might have been blackmailing him—like saying she’d turn him over to the immigration authorities if he didn’t do what she said.”

  Max stood up and punched his arm. “Coop, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. I thought Enrique was your friend.”

  Cooper rubbed his arm. “He was—is. I don’t know. The police don’t arrest people without a reason. And his aunt has had all those keys.”

  “Circumstantial evidence,” Amelia said. “It may be a coincidence. Leah Estrada has cleaned for me. I trust her. Now, it’s possible that one of the women she has working for her is involved.”

  “Yeah.” Cooper brightened. “Like Mrs. Dougherty.”

  “As in Sunny’s mother?” I dropped my fork. “She works for Leah?”

  Cooper nodded. “My dad uses Leah’s maid service. We have a homemaker come in twice a week to clean and cook. When we got home from Seattle, Sunny’s mother was there cleaning. I was going to tell you, but with everything else going on, I didn’t get a chance.”

&
nbsp; “So did she say anything?” Max asked. “Like why does she need to clean houses? They live in a mansion.”

  He shrugged. “I went upstairs to work on my new laptop. All I know is that they talked for about two hours. I saw her leave, but Dad wouldn’t tell me anything when I asked. He and my mom and Sunny’s parents were friends before my mother …” He choked up and I looked away.

  Amelia patted Cooper’s shoulder and started clearing our plates. “I can answer at least some of your questions. The Doughertys have been having some financial problems. They’re selling their house because they have no choice. And I imagine Catherine Dougherty has no choice but to work now that her husband is out of the picture.”

  “What do you mean?” I carried my dishes to the sink. “He didn’t die, did he?”

  “No. I think death would have been easier. Chad Dougherty left and filed for divorce.”

  “Oh.” I sighed. “Not that it’s any excuse, but that sure explains Sunny’s attitude.”

  Max pursed her lips. “Maybe Mrs. Dougherty is behind the thefts. Sounds like she could use the money.”

  “I seriously doubt she would resort to stealing,” Amelia said. “Though I don’t like to blame the tourists for everything, I have a hard time seeing our neighbors as thieves.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Cooper said.

  After dinner we did the dishes while Amelia went into the living room to put her feet up and relax. By the time we’d finished, she’d fallen asleep in her recliner. Max left her a note saying we were going out on the lake for a little while and would be back before dark.

  “I’ve been thinking about our visit with Enrique,” I said as I slipped a life jacket over my head.

  “Me too.” Cooper blew out a long breath. “I’ve never seen him get mad at anybody.”

  “Well, I can’t believe he wouldn’t tell us where his sisters are.” Max got into the canoe, and I climbed in after her.

  “I think he did tell us.” I gripped the sides of the canoe while Cooper got in and shoved off.

  “What are you talking about? He basically told us to mind our own business.”

  “That was for show,” I said. “Remember when he said, ‘The spirits will guard them’?”

  Max repeated the words Enrique had whispered to us just before he went ballistic.

  “It can only mean one thing,” I said. “We’ve been right all along. They’ve been hiding on Ghost Island.”

  “But where?” Cooper asked. “It isn’t like we haven’t looked.”

  “We only rowed around it,” Max said. “We didn’t actually go on the island except for near the archeology camp.”

  “Yeah.” Cooper rested the oar on his lap. “But you’re forgetting—the island is off-limits.”

  “You’re right.” I dangled my hand in the water and watched the droplets come off my fingers. “Maybe we need to tell the police that the girls might be on the island.”

  Max reached for the oar and directed the canoe farther from shore. “We can’t do that, Jess. I vote we go out to the island right now and have another look around. Maybe have another talk with Josh and Kevin.”

  “It can’t hurt,” Cooper agreed.

  “I think it’s a bad idea. It’s getting late and …”

  “That’s just it. We need to go now. Maela and Callista have already been out there alone for one night. We can’t let them be out there for another one. Don’t forget about the cougar. We have to at least try. They’re probably hungry and scared. If I were them, I’d want someone like us to find them. We could take them to Lakeside Farm. Mrs. T would keep them hidden and maybe even find a way for them to stay in the U.S.”

  Max’s reasons were full of flaws, but I heard myself agreeing. “Okay,” I said, “but we told Amelia we’d be back before dark. It’s already almost seven. That doesn’t give us much time.” I had a bad feeling about this. It wasn’t just that we hadn’t asked permission; it was also because we were in the canoe instead of the rowboat. And the dark storm clouds hovering near the island didn’t ease my worries at all.

  “We have over an hour, and we’re halfway there.” Max paddled faster. “Besides, you guys have your cell phones, don’t you? If we run into trouble, you can call for help.”

  Cooper and I checked our phones to make sure they were charged.

  He dropped his cell into his pocket, and mine went into my bag. “Let’s row to the place Maela’s float toy came from.” He pointed to a spot on the island where we could see an outcropping of rocks. We’d had to weave around them when we navigated the island the other day.

  We were about a football field away from the island when the wind came up. Those dark clouds I’d seen earlier had moved in to block what was left of the sun. A drop of rain hit my nose, and two more splattered on my cheek. I looked up into the darkening sky and cringed. Lightning flashed, and seconds later thunder rumbled and exploded around us. The canoe shifted back and forth on the wind-roughened water. I gripped the sides of the canoe. “We have to go back.”

  “I don’t think so.” Cooper seemed extremely calm as he reached for the oar. “I’ll row us to the island. We need to get off the lake.” The raindrops came harder and faster. More lightning, and thunder that sounded like we were in the middle of a battlefield.

  As Max rose off her seat to hand Cooper the oar, the canoe smacked into a rock. Max screamed. The oar flew from her hand. She spread out her arms to steady herself, but the canoe tipped wildly from side to side. Max toppled into the lake.

  “Max!” I screamed. She should have bounced up and grabbed the canoe. But she didn’t. I stared at the place she’d fallen in but saw nothing except the dark, murky water. It didn’t help that she wasn’t wearing a life jacket. Max usually wore a life belt under her shirt. At least I think she did. I couldn’t remember seeing her put it on.

  CHAPTER

  FOURTEEN

  CCooper knelt beside me. “She must have hit her head on the rocks. I’m going in.” Cooper pulled off his sneakers and rolled over the side of the boat into the water. He thrashed around the boat for what seemed like forever. Finally, he came up gasping for air. “I’ve got her.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “Don’t know … I think so … There are some rocks here. I’m going to try to get her into the canoe. You pull and I’ll try to lift her.”

  Cooper lifted her limp body partway into the boat. I got my hands under her arms and pulled hard. “She’s too heavy …” I grunted. “I can’t pull her in.”

  “Okay, hold on to her, Jess. I’ll get in.” Cooper’s weight along with Max’s pulled the boat over. I lost my grip on Max and fell backward into the freezing water. I started thrashing around, trying not to panic. I needed to get to the surface. Stay calm. You’ll float. You have on a life jacket. My hand scraped against rocks and sand. I turned and pushed off when my feet settled on the bottom. By the time I reached the surface, my lungs felt like they were going to explode. I tipped my head back and grabbed a gallon of air.

  “Cooper! Max!” I couldn’t see them or the canoe. I couldn’t see anything except giant shadows of trees against the ugly rain-soaked sky. I called again. No answer. Had Cooper been able to get Max to shore? Cooper had his life jacket on too.

  Lightning lit up the island for one brief moment—long enough for me to see the ragged shoreline. Then darkness again. I began doing a breaststroke.

  I’d only gone a few feet when my knee snagged against a rock. I was able to stand on it and catch my breath, but only for a minute. Cooper was right—we needed to get out of the water. A lightning strike in the right place could fry us. I could only hope that he and Max had already made it to shore.

  I don’t know how long it took me to make land. A lot longer than it should have. Even with the life jacket, I’d had to paddle hard to keep from losing ground against the current. I dragged myself up onto a rock ledge and lay there until my breathing returned to normal. The rock still had a little warmth in it from a day full of su
nshine. I turned over on my back. The rain had stopped, but the night sky offered no light. No moon. No stars.

  I made myself believe that Cooper and Max had made it to shore not far from where I was. That Max was awake and strong as ever. Cooper would have dragged Max to shore. Even with the load, he would have gotten there a lot faster than me. The current must have dragged me farther south, closer to the archeology camp.

  I couldn’t believe it. Stranded. Again. I should have stayed behind. Soaking wet and with no boat, we were no good at all to Maela and Callista—assuming they were here in the first place.

  The garbled thoughts swam through my mind as I lay there wondering what to do next. Cooper’s and my cell phones were probably lying at the bottom of the lake. Mom and Dad would not be happy that I’d lost another one. Amelia would have called them by now. They’d all be worried. Would they know to come here? Probably not, but it’s one of the first places they’d check, right?

  I rolled onto my side, curling up to ward off the chilling dampness. The shivering seemed to come from inside of me and wouldn’t stop. I had to get warm. I thought about Josh and Kevin’s camp. Maybe they’d have a campfire. At least they’d have dry clothes. I jumped up and down and hugged myself in an attempt to get my blood circulating. I couldn’t remember ever being this cold.

  Okay, Jessie, you need to think, I told myself. The island is not that big. If you walk close to the shoreline, you’ll eventually get to the camp. Then I remembered the cliff we’d seen when we entered the camp. I’d never be able to get around it. Looking into the inky black forest made me shiver even more. An owl hooted as if to warn me of the dangers of wandering through the woods at night. Not that I needed a warning. If Josh and Kevin were right, I’d be sharing the woods with a cougar.

  The storm had passed and I could now see some stars. Since the rain had stopped, I could see the lights of the towns in the distance. Off to my right were the lights of Lakeside Farm. I tried to orient myself to where on the island I had come ashore and where Cooper and Max might be.