The Case of the Vanishing Novice (Sisters of the Last Straw Book 2)

by Karen Kelly Boyce

  “Why don’t we just drive the car down and pick them up at the Nelsons?” Sister Krumbles asked. So Mother Mercy started the car and off they went.

  Outside the building, they saw Sister Lovely in the alley. Sister Krumbles yelled, “Come on and get in the car! Let’s go home and make lunch.”

  Sister Lovely was so startled that she dropped her third cigarette. Quickly she stomped on it and straightened her habit. She knew her face must be very red.

  Did the other Sisters see me smoking? she thought. I really have to quit this awful habit!

  She was so anxious to hide that she forgot all about the groceries. She forgot all about Kathy. She just jumped into the car and said, “I’m very hungry! What shall we have for lunch?”

  It wasn’t until the Sisters were almost home that they realized that someone was missing. “Where is Kathy?” asked Mother Mercy.

  “Oh! I asked her to carry the groceries into the Nelsons’ house while I stayed outside!” Sister Lovely said. “We have to go back and get her!”

  “Oh…Knuckleheaded Non-thinking!” shouted Sister Lacey. They drove back towards the town.

  Sister Lovely felt so guilty. She had not helped deliver groceries to the Nelson family. And now her friend Kathy had been left behind. Sister Lovely bowed her head and wanted to cry.

  The Sisters expected to find Kathy waiting outside but when they arrived, she was not there.

  “She must still be inside. I’ll go get her,” said Sister Lovely. She jumped out and ran up to the Nelsons’ apartment. She knocked on the door. “Hi, I’ve come to pick up Kathy,” the gentle Sister said.

  “Why, Kathy isn’t here! She left some time ago, when my husband went to work,” replied Mrs. Nelson.

  Sister Lovely felt sick. Hurrying down the stairs, she looked for Kathy. Outside, she looked up and down the block, but couldn’t see Kathy.

  She had to go back to the car without Kathy. “Mrs. Nelson said that Kathy left a while ago. I can’t find her anywhere!”

  The other Sisters wanted to jump out the car and start looking for Kathy. But Mother Mercy stopped them.

  “There’s no sense for the rest of us to get lost. Let’s be logical about this,” she said. “The grocery cart you used is not here. When she didn’t see Sister Lovely, Kathy probably took the cart and went back to the grocery store to meet us. Sister Lovely and Sister Krumbles, you two walk back to the store and look for her on the way. The rest of us will ride back. We will probably find her waiting there!”

  But when the Sisters who were driving reached the grocery store, there was no sign of Kathy. For a moment, no one knew what to do.

  “Don’t fret,” said Mother Mercy. “Maybe Sister Krumbles and Sister Lovely have already found her.”

  But soon they saw the two Sisters walking toward the car. Kathy was not with them!

  “Oh…Missing Mystery!” whispered Sister Lacey.

  “We looked down every alley and side street!” said Sister Krumbles, now out of breath. “Kathy has vanished!”

  Sister Shiny could see the tear that escaped Sister Lovely’s eye and handed her a spotless handkerchief. “I’m sure we’ll find her!” she said.

  Mother Mercy took charge again. “Sister Shiny, you stay with the car in case she comes back. Be sure to buckle her in when she does! Sister Lovely, you and the children can search the grocery store. The rest of us will split up and search the streets around here.”

  So the Sisters started a new search. Off they went, up and down the city streets.

  They called Kathy’s name. They checked inside each store and apartment building. But they could not find her.

  The Sisters were tired and sad when they all met at the car with no Kathy. The sun started to sink in the sky. It began to get very dark. “What can we do? It will be nighttime soon! It won’t be safe to walk around the city!” cried Sister Krumbles.

  “Look!” cried Sister Shiny, pointing. Eagerly everyone looked up. But it wasn’t Kathy. It was the policeman, Officer Mallon walking towards them.

  “Punctual Policemen!” said Sister Lacey. “Perhaps Officer Mallon can help us!”

  “What a great idea!” said Sister Lovely, “The police know how to find missing people.”

  They all ran up to him. When the Sisters explained, Officer Mallon knew just what to do. He took them down to the police station to make a missing person report.

  After taking a description of Kathy, Officer Mallon said, “Sisters, I want you to go home.”

  “But we can’t just go home without Kathy!” Sister Lovely said.

  “Don’t worry. I will put out an all-points bulletin so all the police in town will be looking for Kathy, starting now. Besides, look at those two children,” Officer Mallon pointed to Anna and Michael. They were dozing on a bench in the police station. “You’d better take them home and get some rest.”

  With heavy hearts, the Sisters drove the children home. They thanked the children for their help, and then went back to the convent.

  There they made dinner, hoping that soon Kathy would be home to eat it with them. But she didn’t come.

  Dinner was very quiet. Looking around, Sister Krumbles said, “Why, look at us! We are acting like we have no faith. What’s wrong with us?”

  “What can we do?” answered Sister Lovely. She felt very guilty over her part in losing Kathy.

  Sister Krumbles smiled. “Why, we can do what Sisters do best—pray!”

  She stood up. “Let’s turn the search for Kathy over to Jesus. He knows where she is. He sees everything!”

  Mother Mercy perked up. “Yes. He is the Good Shepherd. He will never lose any of His sheep.”

  Sister Shiny said, “Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the police to where Kathy is.”

  “Oh…Beseeching Benedictions! What are we waiting for!” exclaimed Sister Lacey.

  The Sisters all hurried to the chapel. There they all prayed together, telling their worries to Jesus. They had faith that He would take care of Kathy.

  Still, when it was time for bed, they could not help worrying. As they went to their rooms, each Sister was very sad.

  Mother Mercy tossed and turned. She couldn’t sleep because she kept going over new plans and new ways to search in the morning.

  Sister Shiny gave up trying to sleep. She cleaned her room to take her mind off her troubles.

  Sister Lacey mumbled in her sleep so loudly that she kept waking herself up.

  Sister Krumbles kept having nightmares and falling out of bed.

  But Sister Lovely felt the worst. She never went to sleep. She sat up all night praying for Kathy. And she did not go down to the basement to smoke, as she would have before.

  Chapter 6

  A Barking Miracle

  There was no talking at breakfast. There were a lot of sighs. The Sisters had hoped that they would hear from Officer Mallon by now. But the doorbell didn’t ring. The phone didn’t ring.

  Sister Krumbles went outside to feed the animals. When she saw Gracie still tied to the dog house, she felt sad.

  It was while watching Gracie sniffing her food that the idea came to her. A truly wondeful idea! Sister Krumbles was so excited! She danced around the yard, waving her arms in the air.

  As soon as Gracie was finished eating, she undid the leash and ran into the house with her.

  Sister Krumbles was so excited she did not wipe her feet on the mat. Neither did Gracie. “I know how we will find Kathy!” she shouted.

  “OH…..NO!” screamed Sister Shiny who had just mopped the floor. She began to cry.

  Mother Mercy’s eyes flashed with anger. “Sister Krumbles! Don’t we have enough problems with poor Kathy missing? Why did you have to bring that dog in here and upset Sister Shiny again?”

  Sister Lacey said, “Calm down, everyone! What were you saying about helping to find Kathy?”

  “Dogs have a good sense of smell! They can find missing people. You give the dog something that belongs to the missing per
son to smell, and the dog leads you to them!” said Sister Krumbles.

  She was so proud of her idea that she didn’t notice the look of disbelief on Sister Shiny’s face.

  “You mean that you brought this dog in the house to mess up the floor because of this crazy idea?” she asked. She began to cry again. “We will never find Kathy!”

  Mother Mercy shook her head, “It takes years to train dogs to find people! Gracie is just a puppy! She is not even housebroken! How in the world will she know how to find Kathy?”

  “Oh…Knowing Noses! It’s worth a try!” said Sister Lacey as she headed up the stairs, “I’ll go get something that belongs to Kathy.”

  “May we try it?” said Sister Lovely, “After all, Gracie loves Kathy more than anyone else. She may know how to find her.”

  “All right,” Mother Mercy said at last. “What do we have to lose?”

  All the Sisters followed Sister Krumbles as she brought the dog outside. She knelt down beside the yellow puppy and held a sock that belonged to Kathy to Gracie’s nose..She said, “Now Gracie—find! Find!”

  Gracie seemed confused at first, but she sniffed the sock. Then she appeared to know what to do. She ran toward the sidewalk. She pulled Sister Krumbles down the road.

  The Sisters followed Gracie all the way to town. When Gracie finally stopped, the sisters saw Officer Mallon walking down the street.

  “What are you Sisters doing here?” he asked. “What are you doing with that puppy?”

  “She belongs to Kathy,” Sister Shiny explained, as Sister Krumbles held the sock to Gracie’s nose.

  Before the policeman could say anything, Gracie took off running. All the Sisters and Officer Mallon followed her.

  It was a strange parade of dog, sisters, and a policeman. Many people stopped to watch. Some of them began to follow. Children pulled at their parents’ hands. Dogs pulled at their leashes. Everyone wanted to know what was going on.

  Before long, there was a crowd of people following Officer Mallon, who followed the Sisters, who followed Sister Krumbles, who was hurrying after Gracie.

  Dogs came from alleys and parks. They seemed sure that Gracie was after something good.

  They started to run with her. Large black dogs with pointed ears, little white dogs with fluffy tails, and yellow dogs with floppy ears joined the search.

  Finally, Gracie stopped right in front of the Nelsons’ building.

  “Oh, wonderful!” puffed Mother Mercy. “This is where Kathy was yesterday! But we need to know where she is right now!”

  Once again, Gracie sniffed Kathy’s sock. Then she barked. She ran to the front door of the building. She jumped up and scratched at the door and the other dogs joined in.

  “Now we will get into trouble again for making noise!” Mother Mercy said. “What a silly idea this was!”

  Someone inside the building came out to see about the barking. When the door opened, all the dogs rushed inside. Gracie was in front. She pulled Sister Krumbles along with her!

  “Oh no!” shouted Officer Mallon. He ran into the building and all the Sisters followed.

  The crowd who had followed the Sisters came too. In the building, the dogs jumped and barked, but not Gracie. She sniffed and sniffed around the hallway. Then she ran up the stairs. All the other dogs followed. And so did everyone else.

  Gracie ran to a door and began to jump and bark. All the other dogs jumped and barked too.

  The apartment door opened. All the dogs rushed inside!

  “No!” yelled Sister Krumbles. “I am so sorry!” she said to the person standing in the doorway as the dogs jumped up and licked her.

  But then she stopped in surprise. The person in the doorway was Kathy!

  “Well….I’ll be!” cried Mother Mercy, too amazed to be angry.

  “Oh, Son of a Doggy Detective!” said Sister Lacey. Sister Shiny started patting the dogs on the head. Everyone cheered. Then Officer Mallon and some of the people in the crowd helped bring the dogs downstairs.

  “But where have you been?” Mother Mercy asked Kathy at last. “The police have been looking for you everywhere!”

  “Why…I’ve been watching the children,” exclaimed Kathy. “Didn’t you know, Sister Lovely?”

  “Children! What children?” Sister Lovely asked.

  “Connor, Kaitlyn, and Andy.” Kathy moved to the side. Three little children in their pajamas stood behind her. “Their mother, Mrs. Johnson, had to go to work, and her babysitter had not yet come. I met her on the stairs when I was leaving. Mr. Nelson said he would return the cart to the grocery store and tell you where I was.”

  “No one told me anything!” said Sister Lovely. Then she realized that Mr. Nelson must not have seen her because she was hiding in the alley smoking. He must have taken the cart and left for work.

  A woman dressed as a nurse pushed past the onlookers and ran up the stairs, “Is everything all right? Are my babies okay?” she asked.

  Officer Mallon smiled. “Everything’s fine. The children are fine. We were searching for Kathy.”

  The children ran into the nurses’ arms. She said, “I asked Kathy to help me. I couldn’t be late for work. My niece was coming to watch them.”

  “Oh!” Kathy said. “Your niece called. She was too sick to come. That’s when I decided to stay and babysit myself. I meant to call but I forgot. I am sorry.”

  “Well, I guess that solves the mystery!” laughed Officer Mallon. “Now, would you Sisters like a ride home?”

  “Yes,” said Sister Lovely. “We should get home as soon as we can.” She knew she would have to tell Mother Mercy about her part in the mystery. Part of her was glad. Maybe this will help me next time I want to smoke! she thought.

  “Well, there are too many of you to fit in my car. I better call for help.” Officer Mallon made a call on his phone. He and the nuns said goodbye to the Johnsons. Then they all went downstairs to wait.

  Soon, a strange black-and-white truck with the large word “Police” drove up.

  “What is that truck for?” asked Sister Shiny.

  “That looks like a paddy wagon,” Sister Lacey said. “It’s what the police use to take criminals to jail when there are too many of them to fit into a police car.”

  “Oh, no!” shouted Mother Mercy. “I’m not riding home in that! What will all the neighbors think of us? What will Mr. Lemon think?”

  “He will probably think his plans to get rid of us have worked!” Sister Lacey said as she opened the door to the back of the wagon. “But he would be wrong!”

  Chapter 7

  A Job for Gracie

  Officer Mallon was embarrassed when he saw the paddy wagon. “I thought they would send more police cars to give you a ride home,” he said. “I am sorry.” He started to make a call on his phone.

  “No, no! The paddy wagon will be just fine!” Sister Lacey said. “We don’t want to cause you any more trouble.”

  “Trouble!” exclaimed Mother Mercy. “What about the trouble we will look like we are in when Mr. Lemon sees us?”

  “Officer Mallon!” Sister Krumbles said. She was very excited. “Could I--may I--drive the paddy wagon? I love to drive trucks!”

  “I don’t see why not,” he said. “If we are going to ask you Sisters to ride in a paddy wagon, you might as well drive it!”

  Mother Mercy still did not like the idea. Sister Lovely could see she was growing very angry again. She was about to lose her temper. “Mother,” she said, “May we ride in the paddy wagon? I think it will be fun.”

  “Oh very well!” Mother Mercy shouted, “If you must.”

  “Then you must come with us, because you are the head of the order!” said Sister Lovely.

  Mother Mercy did not like it, but she had to laugh. Soon she was sitting on the benches in the back of the truck with the other nuns, Kathy, and Gracie.

  Sister Krumbles and Sister Lovely sat up front with Officer Mallon. Sister Krumbles was so excited that she bounced up and down on the sea
t.

  With the siren blaring, Sister Krumbles drove the paddy wagon up and down the streets of the town before heading home. People stopped and stared. Most had never seen a paddy wagon speeding down the road, with its siren blasting, let alone one driven by a nun!

  Sister Krumbles did not drive straight home. Instead she zigzagged up and down the streets of the town. When she reached the Sister’s neighborhood, she careened around the avenues until all the neighbors wondered what was going on. They came out of their big homes to look. They could not believe their eyes!

  At last the exciting ride came to an end. Sister Krumbles parked the truck and the disheveled passengers got out. The neighbors came hurrying over to see what would happen next.

  And there was Mr. Lemon standing on the front porch of the convent. Next to him was another police officer. She wore a badge that read “Animal Control.”

  “Well…well!” said Mr. Lemon. “Have these nuns committed other crimes?”

  “Snarling Sourpuss!” said Sister Lacey. She was very mad at Mr. Lemon’s words, but she tried to be kind. “What can we help you with, Mr. Lemon?”

  “I want that dog put in the pound!” shouted Mr. Lemon, turning to the Animal Control officer. “She barked all last night again! All the neighbors are angry about it.”

  “Now hold on a minute,” Mother Mercy said, “You can’t take that puppy away. She just helped the police find Kathy!”

  “I am sorry,” said the female officer. “But I must take her.”

  Then Sister Shiny grabbed Gracie and started to run away. “This is the best dog in the world!” she cried. “You can’t take her!”

  “Sister Shiny!” shouted Mother Mercy. “We must obey the police!”

  Sister Shiny stopped running. She gave the puppy to Officer Mallon, and began to cry. “But it’s my fault. I made Kathy put Gracie outside. She wouldn’t be in trouble if it wasn’t for me.”

  “Please, everyone listen,” said Officer Mallon. “This puppy will not be going to the pound.”

  “What?” yelled Mr. Lemon.

  Officer Mallon said, “The police couldn’t find Kathy, but this puppy could. She followed the trail until she found the missing person. Nothing distracted her. That is a very important skill. I think Gracie should be a Search and Rescue Dog. I am going to ask the Sisters if they will allow her to join!”