A Rumor of Bones: A Lindsay Chamberlain Mystery (12 page)

Mrs. Greenwood stared at Lindsay with liquid cow
eyes. "She's got no right to talk to me that way"

"Mrs. Greenwood," broke in the sheriff. "Who were
you living with at the time Marylou disappeared'?"

"No right a'tall. You don't come to a body's house
with news their child is dead, then talk to them like
that. It ain't right."

"Who were you living with when Marylou disappeared? Was it her father?"

"Him? He disappeared before she was born, and
good riddance."

"Did you live by yourself, or did you live with
someone? That fellow we just met. Did he live with
you at the time?" the sheriff persisted.

"No. He come about a year ago. Twelve years is a
long time." She looked down at her hands. "I've been
grieving for 12 years. How can I remember?"

"You need to try," said the sheriff. "Who helped
you look for her, for instance?"

"Oh, yeah, that'd be Bobby, Bobby Whitaker. But
he's been gone a long time. He didn't like all the
police hanging around back then. Say," she brightened, "you don't think he's the one who hurt my
baby? He sure hurt me a lot."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"No. His folks live down at Flint Rock."

"Thank you, Mrs. Greenwood. We'll be in touch"

"What about my baby. If you've found her, she
needs a Christian burial."

"I'll be in touch as soon as possible, Mrs. Greenwood."

The sheriff and Lindsay left Mrs. Greenwood sitting alone in her small clapboard house, twisting her
fingers in her lap.

They were quiet on the drive back. The sheriff concentrated on driving. Lindsay watched the trees going past and pressed the bridge of her nose trying to drive
back a headache. Suddenly, she asked the sheriff to
pull over. He found a wide space in the road and
stopped. Lindsay jumped out of the car, ran to the
woods, and threw up. She stood with a hand on a tree,
taking deep breaths. The sheriff handed her his handkerchief. It was wet and cold.

"I always carry a cooler in the trunk," he said.

Lindsay put it on the back of her neck for a few
seconds, then wiped her face.

"Thank you."

The sheriff opened a cold drink and handed it to
her. She took several sips. "I can't believe I talked to
that poor woman like that. I was appalling. It's a good
thing I didn't have a rubber hose."

"We did a pretty good job with the good cop/bad
cop routine," said the sheriff, smiling.

"We should have asked a neighbor to stay with
her," Lindsay said.

"She'll be all right. She's the kind of woman who's
good at suffering."

"I should have been kinder."

"She probably abused her daughter. It's hard to be
nice to someone who hurts her kid. The woman I go
out with is a teacher. Teaches kids the same age as
Marylou. Dee may have taught Marylou. She sees
them come to school with black eyes, bruises, sore
arms. Some are thin and hungry, wearing only a
sweater in the middle of winter. They always say they
ran into a door, or fell down the steps, or forgot their
coat. Dee finds them winter coats, enrolls them in the
free lunch program, and reports them to the welfare
folks. But nothing much ever happens. She gets real frustrated. One of the fathers went so far as to
threaten Dee one time, and I had to have a talk with
him. He didn't bother Dee anymore, but he still beats
his kids. It's hard to work up a lot of sympathy for
folks like Mrs. Greenwood."

"She was probably one of those thin little kids with
bruises, black eyes, and no winter coat herself," said
Lindsay. "I should have behaved more professionally.
I owe her an apology." She walked back to the car.
They rode in silence.

"I heard you and Derrick are professional dancers,"
said the sheriff after a while.

"No, we're strictly amateurs. We enter contests
now and then. We haven't lately, though. Marsha said
there is a place about 40 miles from Merry Claymoore. We're all going dancing there."

"Yeah, that's what she told me. That ought to be a
nice break from all this."

"You ought to come and bring your friend."

"I might do that"

/ knew a woman, lore/' in her hones...

-Theodore Roethke

I Roue a Woman

THE FIRST THING Lindsay had packed when
Frank told her he had hired Derrick was a dancing
dress and shoes. It had been almost a year since Derrick and she had danced together, and she hoped for
an opportunity to start again.

The dress was not flashy like some of the dresses
she used for dancing. It was basic black with a full
skirt, tight bodice, and spaghetti straps. The shoes
were plain black heels. The shawl she draped over
her shoulders had come from Paris. She had purchased it when Derrick and she had competed in a
contest there. It was trimmed in black fringe and covered with great red, blue, green. and yellow flowers
woven from a shimmering metallic material onto a
black background. Lindsay tied her hair into a
smooth bun at the nape of her neck. She was putting
on dangling silver earrings when she heard Derrick's
voice.

"You look stunning."

Lindsay looked up to see him standing in the doorway of her tent.

"You're no slouch yourself." He was dressed in
black slacks and a white poet's shirt. His hair was
pulled back in a low ponytail, making him look like a
seventeenth-century highwayman.

"Frank and Marsha went in her car. I hope you
don't mind."

"No" She was not sure if she did or not, but when
she looked at Derrick again, she felt very glad to be
going out with him.

It was still daylight outside, but the sun was low on
the horizon. Derrick took her in his arms and spun her
around into a dip. When he brought her back up, he
kissed her, lingering for a little longer than a friendly
kiss. He released her after a moment, and they walked
to his car.

"I'm glad we're doing this," he said as he drove out
to the highway.

"Me, too. Tell me something, Derrick. We've
known each other for a long time. We were in school
together, we've been dancing partners off and on for,
what, six or seven years? Until now, you have never
seriously tried to seduce me. Why?"

"That's a good question. Why don't you think
about it?"

"You're infuriating sometimes ... and tempting. I'll
admit that ..."

"Why don't you give in then?"

"I suppose because you're my friend."

Derrick took her hand and kissed it. "We'd still be
friends."

Lindsay laughed. "Is this the way it's going to be
all evening? You keeping up the sexual tension?"

"You started this conversation."

"I guess I did, didn't 1?"

Derrick reached into his pocket and pulled out two
rings. He handed one to Lindsay and put one on his
own finger.

"Ah, you brought them," she said, slipping the
wedding ring on her finger.

"Well, I thought if we went dancing, we might
need them."

The Locomotion was a popular place. The parking lot
was full, and a stream of people flowed through the
double doors. Jane and her boyfriend, Keith, and Sally
and Thomas pulled in behind Lindsay and Derrick.

"Wow," said Jane when she saw them. "You two
are gorgeous"

"I'll say," chorused Sally and Thomas.

Derrick paid the cover charge for Lindsay and himself, and they fell in with the crowd flowing into the
club. They stopped in the entryway to let their eyes
get accustomed to the darkness.

The dance floor was large and extended out onto a
deck for those who wanted to dance outside. There
was no band tonight, but the sound room behind the
bandstand had a disk jockey.

Marsha and Frank had already arrived and reserved
a large table. Frank wore jeans and a dress shirt. He
looked dashing. Marsha's pale blonde hair was fashioned in a silk-smooth French twist. She wore it snug
strapless dress that looked like it was painted with
pastel brush strokes. It glittered when she moved.

"Don't you two look great," she said when she saw
Lindsay and Derrick. "I love that shawl."

"Thank you. It's nice to dust off and get dressed up
for a change"

"You can say that again," agreed Sally. "I'm so
tired of being covered in dirt and mud."

Frank and Lindsay's eyes met for a moment, and
she smiled. "I'm anxious to see you dance," he said.
"Jane has talked about it all week"

"Then we will have to dazzle you," said Derrick,
putting an arm around Lindsay's shoulder.

"I'm glad Derrick is so confident. He's leading."

Unaccountably, Lindsay felt uncomfortable. I've
got to get away from the site more, she thought.

"Hello." They looked up to see the sheriff. On his
arm was a petite woman with short, dark hair streaked
with gray. She had large, friendly brown eyes and a
bright smile. "This is Dee Marlar." He introduced her
to everyone around the table. Lindsay was surprised
that he knew everyone's name.

"I'm glad you came," she told the sheriff.

"It's to you I owe this night on the town," said Dee,
smiling broadly. "Thank you so much. When Greg
suggested we go dancing, I was about to search for
pods in the basement"

It sounded strange to hear the sheriff addressed by
his first name, but it was comforting. This was a night
to forget all things frightening.

"I understand you're a teacher?" Lindsay said.

"I teach first grade, and please don't let that end the
conversation. Telling people you teach first grade is
like telling them you're a nun. I never get to hear any
good jokes or have any adult conversation."

"You won't be getting any adult conversation
here," Frank said, grinning.

"Greg tells me you and your friend are dancers, as
well as archaeologists." Dee and the sheriff sat across
from Lindsay.

"We dance a little," Lindsay answered, smiling.

"A little? Don't you believe it," said Jane. "They're
great"

"Derrick, it's going to be embarrassing if we fall
down after all these raised expectations," Lindsay said.

"I guess I'll have to be really careful not to drop
you

"Mind if I join you?" Ned pulled out a chair and
sat next to Lindsay. He was alone.

"Not at all," said Lindsay. "I didn't know you
danced."

"I don't really, but I watch real good " He smiled. It
seemed to Lindsay that he was making an effort to be
congenial with everyone.

The dance floor was half full, and Lindsay and
Derrick turned their attention to the dancers. After a
few numbers, Derrick rose, whispered to Lindsay, and
walked over to make a request. When he returned, he
took her to the dance floor.

"When a Man Loves a Woman" began to play, and
everyone immediately started dancing.

Lindsay and Derrick waited several beats while
they looked at each other, smiling and waiting for
space to open around them. They began with Lindsay's back to Derrick. He slid his hands down the
length of her arms, then grasped her hands and slid
them up her sides and placed them around his neck
while they moved slowly to the music. Next, Derrick put his arms around her waist and spun her around as
Lindsay bent backward in his arms. As he brought her
up, Lindsay put one leg up next to his waist and he
swung her around. Many of the dancers stopped and
watched. Derrick picked her up and held her above
him; she slid down the front of him, and he swung her
around again. It was slow, beautiful, and sensuous. At
the end of the song, they walked back to their seats
amid a round of applause.

"You two are good!" Marsha gushed.

"Didn't I tell you?" Jane said.

"I've never seen anyone dance better," Dee said,
still clapping. "It was beautiful."

"I'll have to say," said Frank, "you two certainly
delivered."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Derrick replied.
"That was just a warm-up"

"Where did you learn to dance?"

"I took classical ballet when I was a kid," he
answered. "And a little ballroom dancing when I was
a teenager."

"Same for me," agreed Lindsay. "Ballet, tap, and
modern dance growing up. I didn't do much ballroom. Derrick taught me most of those steps."

"How did you get to dancing together?"

"Derrick's danced competitively for a long time.
We were in graduate school when his dancing partner
quit. I asked him if I could try. It turned out we dance
well together."

"You sure do that," the sheriff agreed.

The disc jockey played "Stand by Me," and Lindsay and Derrick got up and danced. After that they
danced to a string of Elvis songs, then "Hit the Road, Jack." Lindsay and Derrick danced independently,
acting out the parts of the lyrics of the song. It was
popular, though they didn't do many of their more
sensational moves.

"Getting tired?" Derrick asked as they walked back
to their seats.

"No. This is invigorating. I really needed to do this,
but I think the women would like to dance with you,"
she said.

"I thought I would ask a little later."

They sat down. Frank had ordered them drinks.

"Thanks" Derrick took a long drink. "It's getting
hot out there."

"Hey, did you two get married on the way over
here?" asked Sally, pointing to their rings. Frank
noticed Lindsay's ring for the first time and looked
quizzically at her.

"We wear them when we dance in clubs," offered
Derrick. "There's always a few guys who make inappropriate assumptions when they see us dance. The
rings stop a lot of hassles."

"How sweet," said Dee.

"It's easier than having to beat someone up,"
responded Derrick, grinning at her.

"Do you ever dance the Lambada?" Jane asked.

"No," Derrick answered. "The Lambada is a very
inelegant dance." Lindsay noticed the sheriff nod his
head as if he agreed.

Marsha and Frank got up to dance. So did Jane and
Keith. Derrick asked Dee to dance. She wanted to but
was hesitant. "I don't dance that well."