by S F Bose
Sam stared at me and then looked at Grandma. “Hopefully, the vacuuming of the dining room will turn up the ring. I’d suggest waiting until that step is done before we talk to the other guests you mentioned.”
“Dante and Shelly Cloutier,” Grandma said.
“And Josh DeMarco,” Sam added, checking his notes. “While he may not be the perpetrator, he might be a witness to something else that happened.”
“It makes sense to wait,” I agreed.
As Grandma opened her mouth to reply, I felt an electric tickle on the back of my neck. It was a spidey sense alert. My gut was sending me a warning. Something bad is about to happen.
Chapter 6
Seconds later, there was a commotion at the front of the kitchen. Susan and Tony DeMarco pushed through the doors from the dining room, followed by Megan DeMarco. When they saw us in the back of the kitchen, they made a beeline for the farmhouse table.
“There they are,” Tony said.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, standing up. Everyone at our table stood.
“Josh is missing,” Susan replied, her voice tight with anxiety.
They were almost at our table when Tony said, “He’s not exactly missing.”
Susan stopped short and grabbed his arm so that they faced each other.
“Then where is he, Tony? If he’s not missing, where is he at this exact moment?” she shouted. There was dead silence in the kitchen. Tony’s mouth dropped open.
“I meant…I meant…I’m sorry, that was stupid,” he said. “Josh is missing.”
Susan’s hands flew to her face and her shoulders shook as she started to cry. Tony immediately wrapped his arms around her. Behind them, Megan’s eyes were like saucers as she watched her parents.
“Susan, please sit down,” Grandma said gently. “Tell us what happened so we can help.”
Susan DeMarco took a deep breath, shuddered, and dropped her hands. She briefly hugged Tony and stepped away from him.
“I’m so sorry. I’m a nervous wreck,” she said, glancing back at Tony. He mouthed the words, “It’s okay.”
Grandma Addie guided Susan to the chair she’d been using, and Tony took Dad’s chair. Then Grandma and Sam moved two seats down. Megan stood behind her parents, with her hand on Susan’s shoulder. Dad slid into the chair on the other side of Nana Anna.
“Can I get you some water or something?” Grace asked the family.
“No, thank you,” Susan replied. Tony and Megan both shook their heads. Grace and I sat down.
“Tell us what happened. Josh isn’t here?” I asked.
Tony looked at Susan and took her hand in his. Then he said, “No, he’s not. When we woke up this morning, there was an envelope taped to the outside of our door. Inside was a note from Josh. It said, “I borrowed the car. I’ll be back later. Don’t worry. Love always, Josh.”
Tony paused. Susan looked around the table. “Did any of you see our son today?” Her eyes glistened with tears.
“I’m usually one of the first people awake in the morning. I was down here at 5:00 a.m. and didn’t see Josh. But he could have easily gone out the front door and down to the guest parking lot and I never would have seen or heard him,” Grace replied.
“You checked, and the car is gone?” I asked.
“Yes,” Tony replied.
“How’d he get the keys?” I pressed.
“We all have a set of keys for that car,” Tony said.
“Have you called his cellphone?” Grace asked.
“We have. It goes directly to voicemail. We’ve left several messages,” Tony replied. “We also texted him. He hasn’t responded.”
“Maybe Josh just went for a drive. Young people like to go off on their own,” Grandma suggested.
Tony shook his head and sighed. “You don’t understand. He wouldn’t just drive off and not talk to us about it first.”
“Tell them,” Susan said quietly. She slid her hand from his and hugged herself.
Tony’s jaw clenched. Then he nodded. “Okay. Our son is a veteran. He was on active duty and deployed with the Marines for four years. A year ago, he got an honorable discharge from active duty. We were all happy he was out. At that point, the Marines reassigned him to the Individual Ready Reserve for his final four years. They can recall him to active duty during that time, but recalls don’t happen very often. It’s a good deal. Josh doesn’t have to drill on weekends or do anything in the reserves. When his reserve duty ends, his contract with the Marines will also end.”
“Josh had an eight-year commitment?” I asked. It seemed like a long enlistment.
“He did,” Tony replied. “After his discharge from active duty, he came home to live with us. The thing is…Josh saw a lot of combat in Afghanistan and lost some good friends there. When he returned home, we realized he had some issues. Josh had nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks, and his mood was all over the place. My brother encouraged him to go to the VA. Thank God he did. Josh was diagnosed with PTSD and got treatment through a VA residential program. Now he’s a lot better. However, our son hasn’t driven a car alone for almost a year. Usually, he drives with one of us as a passenger. So he wouldn’t go off in a car alone.”
“There’s nobody at the B&B who might have gone somewhere with him?” Sam Nolan asked.
“No,” Tony replied flatly.
I glanced at Sam. He had turned his chair to face our end of the table. His head tilted to the right as he focused on Tony. His face was neutral, revealing nothing.
“Josh also doesn’t know anyone in Mystic Grove. We asked him that when he picked your B&B for our Thanksgiving getaway,” Susan added.
That got my attention. “Josh picked the Bean Family B&B? Did he say why?”
“He found you online,” Susan replied. “He said he liked the photos, that it was in the country, and that you served Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Megan, you’re his sister. How has Josh been lately?” Sam asked.
Megan still stood behind her parents with one hand on her mother’s shoulder. She licked her lips. “Josh had been a little more moody and anxious. However, when he found your B&B a month ago, he relaxed again. He was excited about the family being together for Thanksgiving. He even used some of his savings to pay for the rooms. But once we arrived here, he was nervous again.”
“It was all the people,” Susan said quietly. “It takes Josh longer to feel comfortable with strangers now.”
I nodded. That explained Josh’s nervousness, lack of eye contact, blushing, and awkwardness in social situations.
“Megan, did Josh say anything about meeting someone here?” I asked.
She shook her head vigorously. “No. Never. I swear. But I will say this…” She hesitated, and her eyes darted down to her parents and then back to me. Her voice was lower. “Josh does drive by himself. He uses my car sometimes.”
Tony’s face reddened. “What?” He twisted to his right to look back at his daughter.
Susan turned sideways in her chair and looked back at Megan. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Folding her arms, Megan stepped forward and faced her parents.
“Because Josh swore me to secrecy. He knew you’d worry.”
“Of course we’d worry. That’s no reason to not tell us,” Tony replied.
“Yes, it is. Josh feels guilty when he does anything to upset you,” Megan snapped angrily. “I sometimes loaned him my car, so he could feel normal again and not worry about you.” Her parents looked at her and then at each other.
“Do you know where he went?” Sam asked.
Megan’s eyes darted to him. “No. But back home sometimes Josh liked to take my car for a drive to relax and get away from all the stress. We’d leave the house together in the car and he’d drop me off at my boyfriend’s place. Then he’d just drive alone. Maybe that’s what he’s doing now.”
Sam nodded. “So Josh doesn’t have his own car at home?” he asked.
“No, he sold his Mustang when
he joined the Marines,” Tony replied, glancing at Megan and then turning back to the table. Susan looked up at Megan and reached out her hand. Megan took her mother’s hand and the tension dissipated. When Susan turned back to the table, Megan stepped back and moved her hand to her mother’s shoulder again.
“Has Josh called or texted you?” I asked Megan. She shook her head. “No, he hasn’t.”
“And he didn’t tell you his plans to take the car today?” I followed up.
Megan shook her head. “No, he didn’t. If he had, I’d tell you.” She said it with a conviction that made me believe her.
There was a short silence. Then Sam cleared his throat and looked at Tony and Susan. “Okay. I completely understand why you’re concerned. However, I think there’s a very good chance your son is fine. That being said, if you’d like, we could call the Mystic Grove Police Department. Maybe they’d be willing to put an alert out on your vehicle.”
“No,” Susan said loudly and shook her head. “No police. Not yet. I don’t want it on his record that he went missing. And… he has PTSD. I don’t want an armed officer stopping him. It might trigger something bad.”
Tony looked from Susan to us. “Maybe Megan is right and he’s just taking a drive to unwind. Or maybe something else is going on. We’d like to try to find him without the police.”
“Where could my boy be?” Susan asked softly, staring vacantly at a spot on the table. Tony took her left hand and squeezed it. Megan leaned down and hugged her mother.
“It’s okay, Mom. He’ll be back.”
“We have to help,” I said to Grandma. She nodded. This was more important than Marie’s ring. Sam looked at me and there was a hint of a smile.
“Mr. and Mrs. DeMarco,” he said. “I’m a licensed private investigator in Wisconsin. I’m also a former deputy sheriff. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to help you find your son.”
Tony and Susan stared at each other. Finally, Tony DeMarco nodded. “All right. I’ll pay whatever your fee is.”
“All you have to do is pay my gas money,” Sam replied.
“Thank you. How can we help?” asked Tony.
Sam thought for a minute. “I’ll need a photo of Josh, a description of your car, the plate number, your son’s cellphone number, your cellphone number, and permission to search his room.”
“You can search his room,” Tony agreed and handed Sam a small photo of Josh that he retrieved from his wallet. Then he rattled off a description of their blue Dodge Durango, the license plate number, and the cellphone numbers. Sam wrote it all down in his little notebook. He looked at what he’d written and twirled his pen again. Then Sam’s eyes slid to me. “Liz, I’ll also need your help. When we find him, he’ll be more relaxed if he sees a familiar face.”
“Of course,” I agreed, glancing at him. Then I had a disturbing thought. Could Josh have stolen Marie’s ring and gone somewhere to pawn or sell it? I rolled that around in my head for a second.
I looked back at the DeMarcos. “One more question. Was Josh in need of money for any reason?” I asked.
Tony’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “Money? No, Josh saved a lot of his military pay. It’s all in the bank.” I chewed on my lower lip. So Josh didn’t need money. Unless…could he have incurred a debt he hadn’t shared with his family?
“Did Josh have any loans he was repaying? Did he like to gamble? Play cards? Bet on the ponies? Sports betting?” I asked.
Tony frowned, and I thought he might erupt. Instead, he replied, “No loans. No, Josh wasn’t a gambler. He played poker at home with us for fun. Why these questions?” I noticed that Megan shook her head at my questions too.
“It helps us to understand Josh better,” I replied. “He didn’t know anybody in Mystic Grove. He didn’t need money. He didn’t have debts and wasn’t a gambler.”
Tony stared at me. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he finally agreed and stood. Susan stood too and we all followed their lead.
“Thank you for your help,” Susan said.
“Megan, would you take your mom back to our room, please? I want to talk to Addie for a minute,” Tony said.
“You bet, Dad.” Megan put a hand on her mother’s back but Susan looked at Tony with a slight frown.
“It’s okay, honey. I’ll be right up,” he said and smiled reassuringly. Susan nodded.
“Let’s go out this door,” Grace said, gesturing to the kitchen hallway door. “I’ll show you a shortcut back to the second floor.”
Megan and Susan followed Grace out of the kitchen. As she passed me, Megan said, “Please find my brother.”
“We will,” I replied firmly.
When the door closed, I turned back to Tony. He stood watching the door.
“You had a question for me, Tony?” Grandma asked. Tony’s eyes shifted to her.
“What? Oh no, sorry. I just said that. I wanted to explain something, but not in front of Susan,” he said and took a deep breath. We all sat down.
“The thing is Susan lost her mother and father when she was a little girl,” he said. “Her parents went to a wedding and left Susan and her brother with church friends. Susan was seven and her little brother was three. On the drive back from the wedding, another car ran her parents’ car off the road and they died in the crash.”
“How terrible,” Nana Anna said and Tony looked down.
“There were no other relatives, so they went into the system as orphans. Eventually, one family adopted Susan, and another family adopted her brother. She remembers screaming and begging that they be adopted together. But for some reason they couldn’t do that. She’s always felt guilty that she couldn’t protect him and keep them both together,” Tony said.
“She was seven,” I said. “What could she have done?”
Tony looked at me and shrugged. “I know. That’s how she feels, though. When she was older, she started searching for her brother with no success. She still hasn’t given up. It’s eaten her up, though. The holidays are always very difficult for her because she misses her brother even more.”
“Your poor wife. I can’t imagine going through that kind of loss,” Grace said and I nodded. Susan had lost not only her parents and brother, but also a normal, secure life.
Tony cleared his throat and continued. “As a result of losing her younger brother, Susan’s very protective of both our children. After one year of attending Marquette University, Josh dropped out and joined the Marines. He said he wanted to make a difference while he was young. I thought my wife would die. She was terrified we’d lose him. I wasn’t thrilled myself, but Josh was an adult. Still, his military service was very hard on all of us. So when he left the Marines and came home a year ago, Susan was the happiest I’ve seen her in years. Josh was home again and we felt everything would go back to normal.”
Tony paused and gave us a sad smile. “Like I mentioned before, as a result of combat, Josh had a lot of problems. He needed help and he got it. He really is much better. The nightmares and panic attacks are pretty much gone, and his mood is more even. When we’re at home, or with family and friends, he’s more like his old self. But he’s still more anxious when he’s with strangers or larger groups. What’s encouraging is that instead of avoiding the anxiety, he works at connecting with people.”
“Why did Josh really want to be away from home on Thanksgiving?” I asked.
Tony took a deep, slow breath. “I think he hoped Susan would be a little happier here than at home for the holiday. There’d be more things to do and more distractions, so she wouldn’t think about her brother. And it was working. Susan was starting to relax. Then Josh disappeared today and it all fell apart. Now all the bad memories are back.”
“Susan’s afraid she’ll lose Josh like she lost her brother,” I replied.
“Yes,” Tony said. “Despite what my daughter said, it’s not like Josh to go off like this and worry his mother.”
“I understand,” I replied.
Tony rubbed his face
and then locked his eyes on Sam. “I wish I could give you more time, but Susan will be in Hell until Josh comes back. I appreciate your help, but if you can’t find him by tomorrow, I’ll have to bring in the police. For my wife’s sake, I can’t let this drag out.”
“Totally understandable,” Sam agreed and stood. “We’ll work as quickly as we can. Liz and I will start with Josh’s room. If we have more questions, we’ll come find you.” Then he handed Tony a business card. “My direct cellphone number is on the back of that card.”
Tony looked at Sam’s business card and nodded. “We’ll be here to answer any questions. Thank you,” Tony replied. Then he stood. He walked past the farmhouse table and went out the same kitchen door his wife and daughter had used.
Grandma Addie’s eyes cut to me. “We need to find Josh DeMarco and help his poor family. We also need to find Marie Wescott’s ring. The clock is ticking on both of those problems.”
I nodded. I knew we had to help both families. If we failed, it would be bad for the DeMarcos and the Wescotts. It would also be bad for the B&B. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Don’t worry, Grandma. We’ll find Josh DeMarco and we’ll find Marie Wescott’s ring,” I said firmly. Sam nodded in agreement.
Chapter 7
Sam and I walked with Dad to the check-in room, which was next to the front door of the B&B. It was a small office where B&B guests checked in when they arrived and paid their bill when they left. The room contained a wooden desk, several guest chairs, a computer with our reservation and payment system, a printer, and a phone.
Dad sat down at the desk and looked up Josh DeMarco’s room on the computer.
“He’s in Room 228, Shooting Star. Lock code 1488.”
“Got it,” I said and left the check-in room. I took the front stairs up to the second floor, with Sam Nolan on my heels. When we reached the landing, I turned right.
“Shooting Star?” he asked, walking down the south hall next to me.
“All of the rooms are named after Wisconsin wildflowers. Each room door has a room number and a plaque with a picture of a wildflower and its name.” I waved my hand at the room doors on our left. I called off a few names as we passed, “Frost Aster, Yellow Pimpernel,—”
