Bringing Maggie Home

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

  “Hello, Sean. Is this a good time to talk, or are you…busy?”

  So she’d picked up on his breathlessness. He tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder and forced a laugh. “Yeah, yeah, this is fine.” He turned the key in the lock and the door popped open. He tossed the food bag on the narrow console table next to the door, cleared the threshold, and gave the door a whack with his elbow. “So…you ready to chat?”

  Twenty-Three

  Kendrickson, Nevada

  Hazel

  Meghan bumped Hazel with her elbow and grimaced. She pointed at the cell phone pressed against her ear and whispered, “I caught him in the middle of something. We might have to wait a bit.”

  Hazel nodded, but she wanted—she needed—to get this conversation over with. A strange sense of urgency had sizzled beneath her skin ever since lunchtime, when Meghan told her how many children Mr. Eagle discovered on the missing-persons list. So many other families with only a shadow where a child should be. She wanted answers for all of them.

  Meghan cleared her throat and spoke into the phone again. “I hope I’m not bothering you too early, but Grandma and I have nearly been climbing the walls. She wanted to be sure to finish our conversation before supper since she has Bible study this evening. So I thought I’d take a chance and try to catch you. If this isn’t convenient—”

  The mutter of a low-toned voice emerged from the phone, but Hazel couldn’t understand what he was saying. Meghan was nodding, though, a smile on her face.

  “Good!” She winked at Hazel. “I’ll put you on speaker, then, so Grandma can be in on the conversation, too.” She lowered the phone and touched something on the screen. “Okay, Sean, we’re both here.”

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. DeFord.”

  Hazel enjoyed the sound of the man’s fluid, respectful voice. Whoever had raised him had done a fine job. “Hello, Mr. Eagle. I apologize if we’ve interrupted your routine. I suppose we were a little eager to talk to you.”

  “I completely understand.” Rustling came from the phone, then the distinct sounds of chewing. “I’m eager to talk to you, too.” His voice sounded muffled, evidence that he’d filled his mouth with something.

  Seated in the wingback chair, Margaret Diane petted the row of dachshunds lounging on the ottoman. “You interrupted his dinner. Have him call you back.”

  “No, it’s all right.” The detective must have heard Margaret Diane even with her across the room. “If you don’t mind me eating while we talk, I can do both.”

  Hazel exchanged an uncertain look with Meghan. “Are you sure? If you’d rather eat first and then call, we have time to wait.” But did they? The gnawing unsettledness increased. Hazel gripped the bodice of her blouse. Why was her heart pounding so? Her left temple throbbed with her racing pulse.

  “Please believe me when I say I’ve learned to eat and work at the same time.” A throaty chuckle rumbled, and a bit of Hazel’s unease lifted. “If you aren’t offended by the sounds of me consuming a bacon cheeseburger and fries, I will eat while we talk.”

  If he didn’t mind, she wouldn’t be offended. “All right, Detective.”

  “Call me Sean, ma’am.”

  “Fine…Sean.” She liked using his name. “What did you want to ask me?”

  Her expression attentive, Margaret Diane leaned forward in the chair. Meghan tipped closer to Hazel, too, and Hazel automatically cupped her hand beneath Meghan’s under the phone. The room seemed to buzz with compressed energy.

  “You said a woman in town thought Gypsies were stealing children.”

  Hazel nodded. “That’s right. Mrs. Nora Burton.”

  “I did quite a bit of research concerning child abduction and Gypsies, and the idea appears to be folklore born of prejudice. There’s no real evidence that this ever took place.”

  “Oh.” His matter-of-fact statements crushed the tiny bud of hope Hazel had held to all these years. She blinked hard, determined not to cry. “I see.”

  “There’s something else I’ve discovered that makes me question the theory about the Gypsies stealing children. Every last child taken shares two common descriptors—blond hair and blue eyes.” A slight pause accompanied by a gulp disrupted the flow of words. “The Romani ethnic group, commonly called Gypsies, are predominantly dark haired and dark eyed. If they took children with such a different appearance, they would have attracted a great deal of attention. Since they were often looked upon with disdain and tried to live separately from other ethnic communities, I can’t imagine them wanting to call attention to themselves. So I think we can eliminate the idea that Gypsies stole your little sister.”

  Hazel drew a shuddering breath and forced herself to speak evenly. “So you think Maggie is dead.”

  “I’m not convinced of that, either.”

  Hazel collapsed against the sofa cushion. Her hand fell into her lap. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears, and she strained to hear Sean’s voice over the intrusive sound.

  “Not one report of skeletal remains matching any of these children has been found. That tells me they didn’t wander off and die. I also find it unlikely that someone in Benton County would kill such a large number of children and hide their bodies so well they were never recovered. Of course, I have to explore whether someone who didn’t live in the county but traveled through frequently might be responsible for taking the children. As much as we don’t like to talk about such things, there are evil individuals who prey on a certain type. The commonalities in appearance compel me to consider the possibility.”

  Hazel hugged herself and asked God to erase the unpleasant images Sean’s words had painted in her mind.

  “I know this might be hard to recall, but do you remember anyone, whether someone local or a traveler, who paid extra attention to Maggie?”

  Hazel closed her eyes. Images flooded her mind. Her lips tugged into a smile. “Maggie was such a pretty little girl. From the beginning, Daddy called her his sunshine and his doll-baby. She really was as pretty as any baby doll. Lots of people noticed her and commented on her curly yellow hair and bright-blue eyes.” The jealous pangs she’d suffered as a child now seemed so petty. She opened her eyes and added staunchly, “Nearly everyone noticed Maggie. She was such a little darling.”

  “Do you remember, in retrospect, anyone who paid inappropriately excessive attention to her?”

  She shivered. “N-no. I…don’t recall.”

  Meghan scooted closer and put her arm around Hazel’s shoulders. “You’re creeping Grandma out, Sean.”

  “I’m really sorry. I know it’s a tough topic, but we have to look at the situation from every conceivable angle and eradicate as many variables as we can in order to follow the correct pathway. If you’d rather be spared the details, I can do the investigation on my own and report the end result when I’m finished.”

  “No!” Hazel hadn’t intended to shout, but the word exploded from her.

  The oldest of the four dachshunds stood and whined, and like dominoes falling, the others rose in turn and added their nervous yelps and whimpers. Margaret Diane herded the quartet to the kitchen, scowling as she went.

  Hazel jerked the phone from Meghan’s hand and held it close. “Please forgive me for yelling at you. But I don’t want to be left out of the search. I’ve wondered…I’ve waited…so very long. I want to be a part of every step of this journey, even if it means scuffing my knees over many false leads along the way.”

  Meghan squeezed Hazel’s shoulders and retrieved the phone. “Keep us in the loop, Sean, okay? I think it’ll be easier on Grandma than wondering what you’re finding.”

  “All right. Just so you know, my next plan of action is to extend my search for unidentified human remains matching the ages of these children. I’ll start with the states bordering Arkansas and then, if necessary, research the entire United States. It might take some time to compile a complete report, so please be patient with me, but I would like to either confirm or eliminate the possibility tha
t any of these children are still living.”

  “…any of these children are still living.” Hazel clung to his words. Maggie had to be alive somewhere. She had to be. If Hazel could hug her sister one more time, could ask forgiveness for leaving her alone to go after that snake, then—and only then—could she go to her grave with peace.

  Meghan

  “We appreciate everything you’re doing, Sean.” Guilt taunted Meghan’s heart. With her away, he was already carrying more than his fair share of their caseload and training a new detective. She should be the one investigating instead of leaving it all on Sean. “Please don’t use all your spare time on this case, okay? No sense in wearing yourself out.” She knew him well. His diligence wouldn’t let him rest until he’d found answers.

  “There’s one more thing I wanted to tell you and your grandmother. Are you both still on?”

  Grandma sat up and turned her pert gaze on the phone. “We are both here, young man.”

  “Good. After I put together that list of missing children from Benton County, I felt it needed to become priority. Nine families who lost children under suspicious circumstances in one decade? So I shared everything I collected with the captain. He agreed that this shouldn’t be an on-my-own-time case. So he put it at the top of my stack.”

  Guilt struck again. Harder this time. A confusing mix of guilt that her grandmother’s case had been placed above others’ and guilt for feeling guilty about the case’s prominence. More than ever, she wanted to be an active part of the investigation. She glared at her cast and inwardly cursed it.

  Grandma’s mouth dropped open and she reached for the phone again. “You will look for Maggie all day? Not just during breaks? She’s your official case now?”

  Another chuckle rolled from the phone, and Meghan envisioned him smiling and nodding. “That’s right, Mrs. DeFord. Maggie and the other nine missing children make up my new official case. I’ve got a lot more exploring to do, but I’ve even been cleared to take a trip to Benton County for interviews if necessary. I hope it helps you to know we’re all interested in finding out what happened to Maggie.”

  Tears flooded Grandma’s eyes. Her chin quivered. She choked out, “She isn’t forgotten anymore. I’m grateful. So very, very grateful.”

  Meghan’s guilt was swept away in light of Grandma’s joy. She leaned toward the phone Grandma held two handed in front of her. “Let us know how we can help, Sean. I’m sorry I’m not there, but I’m only a phone call away. So holler anytime, okay?”

  “Will do, Meghan. I’ll let you go now. But I’ll be in touch if I have questions or if I uncover anything else of importance. Enjoy your Bible study, Mrs. DeFord. Bye.”

  The screen went black, and Meghan slipped the phone into her pocket. She smiled at Grandma. “Well, things are progressing, huh?”

  Mom swept around the corner with her menagerie and sat on the ottoman. The dogs flopped onto their bellies around her. “So what did I miss? Anything important?”

  “Our captain gave Sean clearance to make Maggie and the other children’s disappearances an official investigation.” Meghan glanced at Grandma, who sat with a satisfied smile curving her lips. “Sean might even travel to Benton County.”

  Mom’s eyebrows rose. “What about his other cases? Did they all get set aside?”

  Grandma’s face pinched with concern. “I was so excited about the idea of bringing Maggie home I forgot that he has other people needing his help to solve their mysteries. Maybe we should tell him—”

  Meghan shook her head. “It was the captain’s decision, Grandma. And I agree with him. This has got to be the oldest case the unit has ever covered. Those children are all in their late sixties or seventies by now.”

  “If they’re still alive.”

  Did Mom have to say everything that flitted through her mind? Some things were better left unsaid. Meghan frowned at her. “Sean hasn’t found solid evidence that they aren’t alive. They’re on the book as ‘missing,’ which means we need to try to find them. But given the length of time that’s passed since they disappeared, we don’t have months to wait. The captain was smart to put Sean on it right away.”

  An odd smirk appeared on Mom’s face.

  Meghan squinted at her. “What?”

  “You’d like to be working alongside him on this one.” A statement, not a question.

  Meghan’s face went hot. She looked aside.

  Mom laughed. “Maybe you should.”

  Meghan jerked her gaze toward her mother. “Maybe I should…what?”

  “Be a part of the investigation.”

  “I already am.”

  Mom huffed. “I meant as something more than a telephone contact. If he’s going to Benton County, maybe you should go, too.”

  Meghan pointed mutely at her cast.

  Mom rolled her eyes. “You traveled all the way to Nevada with that thing. What would prevent you from traveling back with it? We could rent a wheelchair and push you around.” She whirled on Grandma, who’d sat quietly with her lips pursed during their exchange. “What do you think, Mother? Would you like to return to Benton County?”

  Grandma pushed off the sofa and stood. “Right now I need to fix us supper and then go to Bible study. You are both welcome to join me. It’s a small group—less than three dozen people—and we’re always glad to include visitors.”

  Mom examined her fingernails.

  Meghan caught her grandmother’s hand and gently swung it. “I’ll go with you. I’d like to meet the people in your prayer group and thank them all for praying for me.” A lump filled her throat. Their kindness, their compassion toward someone they didn’t even know, touched her more deeply than she knew how to express.

  “That sounds fine.” Grandma moved stiffly in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll bake some potatoes. Then we can each top them with whatever we choose. Does that sound all right?”

  “Sounds good, Grandma.”

  “That’ll be fine, Mother.”

  When Grandma left the room, Meghan shifted to the front edge of the sofa cushion and leaned toward her mother. “Not one more word about the possibility of Maggie being dead, do you hear me?”

  Mom drew back as if Meghan had impaled her. “What did I do?”

  “ ‘If they’re still alive.’ ” Meghan imitated her mother’s snide tone. She shook her head. “All Grandma has right now is hope. Don’t take that away from her.” She stood, jammed her crutches into place, and hobbled past her mother, refusing to acknowledge the irritation glittering in Mom’s eyes.

  Twenty-Four

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Hazel

  During Bible study, Hazel’s mind continually wandered from the scriptures shared by the group leader. Her daughter’s flippant question “Would you like to return to Benton County?” haunted her mind. It had been so long since she’d visited the town where she was born and raised, so long since she’d seen the farmhouse where she fed chickens and learned to ride a bike and played tea party with her doll in the yard. A desire to return to that place, to those times, twisted her heart and brought the sting of tears.

  “Grandma?” Meghan leaned close and whispered, “Are you all right?”

  She was worrying her granddaughter again. She must gain control of her emotions. She sniffed hard and forced her lips into a smile. “I’m fine, honey.” She aimed her gaze at the man standing at the front of the room with an open Bible on his palm and tried once more to pay attention.

  “We see these beautiful words in the thirty-first chapter of Deuteronomy, starting with verse seven.” He slipped glasses onto his nose and began to read. “ ‘Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.�
� ’ ”

  The words—“beautiful words,” the leader had aptly called them—raised a wave of remembrance.

  Christmas 1965

  Cumpton, Arkansas

  Hazel waited on the turquoise-and-white vinyl seat of their brand-new Chevy Bel Air for Albert to open the door for her. He fussed if she tried to do it herself. Especially now.

  He opened the door, allowing in a gusty, cold wind. Hazel tightened her scarf before stepping from the car. At once Albert scooped her into his arms. She squealed and looped her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”

  He laughed, his warm breath creating a cloud that kissed her face. “I don’t want you sliding on the ice and falling. We can’t risk bruising your precious cargo.”

  She shook her head. Ever the trucker. Must even their coming blessed event be described as a package to be toted? “You’ll never make it up those warped porch steps if you can’t see your feet. You’d better let me walk.”

  The curtain on the front window of the old farmhouse whisked aside and a pale, unsmiling face peered outward. Hazel wriggled. “Put me down, Albert. Mama’s looking.”

  He laughed again and held her closer. “Let her look! We’re married. What’s wrong with showing her how much I love my wife?”

  “Oh, Albert.” She nestled her head in the curve of his shoulder, warmed by his snug arms around her and his bold words of affection. She loved him, too. More than she’d thought possible. He’d come into her life when she was past the age of fluttering eyelashes and whimsical daydreams of romance. He’d convinced her having a baby was a joyous, rather than frightening, prospect. He was better than any storybook hero.

  She lifted her face and sighed. “But I don’t want you to hurt yourself carrying me up the steps. So let me walk, okay?”

  “Okay, okay.” He teasingly growled the words, then gently set her on her feet. He gripped her mitten-covered hand. “But I’m still going to hold on to you.”

  She squeezed back, grateful for the contact. She hadn’t been home for Christmas since Daddy died four years ago. She felt like a stranger. A shiver shook her frame.