Still House Pond (34 page)

“The sheriff?”

“Didn't you see him there at the table? He's been with us all morning. He's laid out a grid according to where we found the hat.”

Copper blanched. She would never get used to hearing Lilly spoken about this way. “I don't know the best way for you to handle this, but Manda wasn't violated. The sheriff mustn't ask about that.”

“You go prepare Manda. I'll be right back.”

Copper brought Manda into the sitting room.

The girl was trembling. “Do I have to do this?”

“I'm afraid you do.”

The men came in. The sheriff took over. He led Manda through the events of Wednesday. He was thorough but kind. John thought to ask about Lilly's hat. Manda remembered Lilly was wearing it when she was sitting on the porch.

Dimmert stayed with his sister when the other men left the room. He sat on the settee and put his arm around her shoulder. “It will be all right, Sis. You done the right thing by coming back.”

“I was so stupid. How could I believe in that man?”

“You ain't stupid—just young. He's the one that's stupid. I'll tell you one thing—he won't be playing any music if I catch hold of him.”

Copper was saddened to hear the threat of violence coming from such a sweet man. It seemed ironic how quickly one person's evil action led even good men to hostility.

“You don't need to worry about that,” Manda said. “I took care of it myself.”

Copper left them alone. Dimmert would help Manda more than anyone. John was waiting for her in the kitchen. She walked outside with him. They saw a few of the men gathered around the sheriff out by the barn.

“I want to see what they're saying.”

He didn't try to stop her, but when they got to the barn, he slipped his arm around her waist. “We want to be in on anything you're planning, Sheriff,” John said.

“I know the man Miss Whitt's referring to,” the sheriff said. “He's been run out of every town hereabouts. He's a drifter and a petty thief. A ne'er-do-well. I expect he's skipped town, but we'll track him down—given time.”

“Say,” the dispatcher from the train station cut in, “I can put his description and that he's wanted out over the wire and tell you where to find him by sundown.”

“Well, there you go,” the sheriff replied. “You get on back to town. Get this thing sent out, and we'll see what happens. Meanwhile the rest of us need to return to the job at hand. If we don't find her this afternoon, we'll start on this side of the creek tomorrow.”

“Sheriff, do you think this scoundrel had anything to do with Lilly's disappearance?” John asked.

“My best guess is no, but stranger things have happened. We'll find out when we bring him in. I can assure you of that.”

Copper clung to the sheriff's words the rest of the day. “My best guess is no,” he'd said. She chose to believe him. It was either that or . . . what? Live as a shell for the rest of her life while trying to be a mother to her other children? How did anyone deal with this? She didn't have any answers, but she could pray.

Dark clouds as big as boulders rolled across the sky, but the rain held off. Cara brought the children back before supper. There were plenty of leftovers to feed them. Someone had thoughtfully set aside half a dozen chicken legs. Jack was in heaven.

“Take some of this home for Dimmert,” Copper said as Cara prepared to leave. “It'll just spoil sitting here.”

It was way past dark when John came home. Copper hadn't noticed the night steal in until he lit a lamp.

“Why are you sitting in the dark?” he asked.

“I'm just waiting for Lilly.”

Standing at the stove, John ate the plate of food Copper had left for him. “I'm beat. We need to go to bed.”

“You go on. I have to watch.”

John left the room and returned with a pile of blankets from their bed and a bolster pillow. He arranged them right in front of the screen door. “We can rest here.”

“If I lie down, I'm afraid I'll go to sleep. I don't want to sleep. What if I miss her?”

“You're not making sense,” he said. “When Lilly comes home, she'll see the lamp in the window and she'll wake you up.”

“Let me be.”

“Well, no,” he said. “I won't let you be. You'll lie down here, and I'll sit on the porch. I couldn't sleep anyway.”

Copper let him guide her to the makeshift bed. Her whole body cried out with grief and weariness. “Promise? You promise you won't close your eyes?”

“I'll do my best, sweetheart.” He plumped the pillow behind her head and covered her with a light cotton quilt.

“John,” she said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around his neck, “I'm sorry I'm being so cross with you. I'm so sorry.”

Leaning over her, he kissed her gently. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

She lay back down and closed her eyes. A few minutes later she roused. She could see him sitting on the porch steps through the blurred screen of the door. “John?”

“Yes?”

“We're going to have another baby.”

“I suspected as much.”

She was not really surprised to hear that. She couldn't keep anything from him. “Are you glad? I need for you to be glad.”

“Thoughts of a new baby are a welcome gift right now. We'll be all right, you know.”

Copper laid her head back down. Her husband was watching. She could rest.

* * *

Lilly was afraid Tern wouldn't come back. Maybe he was lost or maybe his mean father had caught him sneaking away. Before it got dark, she had tried her lever against the barricaded door. It wouldn't budge. The wooden bar was stuck, probably swollen from yesterday's storm. She wasn't strong enough to lift it.

It was awful here now that the Stills were gone. A bat had swooped in through one of the narrow windows and scared her silly. It was good to be afraid of some things. Bats were definitely in that category.

She had been dozing for a while when she heard a pounding on the door. Steady roused and started barking.

“Lilly,” she heard, “it's me, Tern. I've come to get you out.”

Lilly was never so glad to hear anyone in her whole life.

He pounded again. “This thing's stuck. Hold on.”

Finally the door was open.

“All right,” he said. “Come out backward and I'll help you.”

Steady poked her head around Lilly. Tern rubbed the dog's ears. “I'm glad to see my dog.”

“She's my dog now.”

“What I meant is, I'm glad she's with you,” he said.

Obviously, it wasn't easy to carry a beagle down a wobbly ladder, but Tern did it and started back up for her.

“I can climb down without any help,” Lilly said. “You stay down there.”

He ignored her. “It's dark. You might lose your footing.”

Lilly's legs were shaking. She was afraid and she was glad for his presence. She wrapped the puppy in a piece from her nightgown and put it in the valise. “Will you take the puppy down next?”

“Puppy?”

“He's in here,” she said, handing him the bag. “Be careful. He's awful squirmy.”

She was glad it was dark and that she couldn't see the room behind her very well. It was hard to believe she was finally getting out. When Tern was ready for her, she stepped out into the night and went down the ladder. The ground was solid under her feet, but she felt weak as a new kitten and disoriented. The moon played peekaboo with heavy clouds. She didn't know the way home.

“Come on,” Tern said. “I'll walk you home.”

Steady's tail whipped against the back of her legs, nearly knocking her off-balance. Tern went ahead, carrying the valise. Lilly followed him. Steady followed her. It was obvious who Steady wanted to be with. Maybe she should feel bad about that but she didn't.

An owl hooted. From far away his mate answered.

“I love that sound,” Tern said. “I like being out in the night when it's peaceful.”

A canopy of tall pine trees whispered secrets over their heads. A night creature hunting in the dark scrambled out of the way.

Lilly stumbled over a root. She grabbed Tern's arm and held on. “I don't know where we are.”

“I'm taking you the short way home. I didn't think you'd want to go past the pond.”

She shuddered. She didn't want to think about that. They walked on. Tern held back brambles and kindly helped her over rocks. After a while they came upon the back of a cabin.

“Know where you are now?” Tern asked in a low voice.

“It's the little house,” Lilly whispered.

“I'm going to leave you here.” He set the valise down and patted Steady's head. “You'll be okay now.”

Lilly was suddenly shy. “I'm really sorry about your mama.”

“Yeah, me too.” Tern kicked at the ground with the toe of his boot. “I reckon I won't see you again. We'll be moving farther on come morning. We won't stop traveling for two or three days.”

Surprising herself, Lilly kissed his cheek. It felt smooth and warm. Tears trembled in her eyes. “Thank you, Tern Still. I can tell you have a kind heart.”

“Take care of yourself, Lilly Gray Corbett.”

Lilly bent to unfasten the carryall. She pulled the puppy out and held him closely to her chest. When she looked up, Tern was walking away. She watched until he disappeared. The path was still dark, but now she knew where she was. She carried the pup around the little cabin, through the side yard, and up to the porch. She saw her daddy John sitting on the top step. He was leaning against the rail, snoring.

“Daddy,” she said, touching his knee. “Daddy.”

He startled awake. “Lilly?”

“I found us some dogs.”

“Oh, praise the Lord.” Daddy pulled her onto his lap.

“John?” Mama said from behind the screen door.

“Copper, come out here! Lilly's home!”

Mama let the screen door slam loud enough to wake the house. She sat down on the step beside them and started crying. “Thank You, Lord,” she praised over and over, kissing Lilly's cheeks for punctuation. “Oh, my baby girl, where have you been?”

Lilly sighed. “It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it right now.”

“You're tired, aren't you? The story can wait until morning. Your daddy made us a bed right inside the door. We'll lie down there.”

Lilly was already nodding off with her head on Daddy's shoulder. She felt so safe and happy. Mama held the door as he carried her in and put her down on the pallet. Mama lay down beside her and pulled her close. The bolster pillow felt like heaven beneath her head. Steady whined and scratched at the screen door.

“Can they come in, Daddy? They've gotten used to sleeping with me.”

He cracked the door, and Steady carried the puppy over the threshold. She dropped him right by Lilly, then sat there watching. Lilly knew she was wondering what was going to happen to her. She patted the floor beside the pallet. “Lie down.”

She was almost asleep, but her eyes jerked open. She thought she heard a ladder thumping against a doorframe and rusty hinges screeching. Mama's arms tightened around her.

“Don't leave, Daddy,” she said.

“I'm right here, Lilly.”

She raised her head. He was sitting in one kitchen chair and resting his feet on another. Steady exhaled noisily, like she'd been holding her breath for a long time. Lilly ran the dog's silky ears through her fingers and slept, as safe as safe could be.

35

As summer turned to fall, Copper felt her family was fairly back to normal. Lilly was taller and becoming a young lady. Mazy and Molly had adopted one of the barn cat's kittens—thankfully they agreed to share. Kate Jasper took the other three, but she let Lilly name them. They were probably the only cats in the history of time to be named Verily, Inasmuch, and Cipher. It was good to know Lilly's sense of humor was intact.

Jack was even more rambunctious, if that was possible. He slept by himself now, probably because the puppy he'd named Brownie slept at the foot of his bed. Steady rarely left Lilly's side.

Much to John's chagrin, the house had indeed become a zoo. As well as the dogs and the cat, a canary had joined the household. Lilly carried the bird all the way home from Alice's. It sat beside her on the train, singing in its wire cage.

Copper couldn't imagine why she wanted the bird. It looked to her like it would only bring back bad memories.

“But it wasn't all bad,” Lilly said when she was questioned. “I learned lots and lots from my stay at the Stills'.”

Lilly had told the story of her ordeal in bits and pieces over several weeks. Copper was amazed at her daughter's fortitude. She and John and Lilly spent many evenings pondering the events, amazed at how God had worked everything for good. If Manda had not gone into the barn, she would have made sure that Lilly didn't run off that day. And if Lilly had not gone to the pond near the Stills' house, she would have been on the train when it wrecked. Copper still couldn't bear to think about that.

Manda was living with Darcy in Eddyville. It was for the best. Manda had asked for forgiveness, and of course it was granted. She was a good girl at heart but with much to learn.

The middling man, as Manda dubbed him, had been arrested in a nearby town for a string of petty thieveries. He was serving time. They were all relieved Manda didn't have to press charges to get him put away. Fair or not, it would have ruined her reputation.

Isa Still was another story. Some of the same men, John included, who had searched so diligently for Lilly tirelessly hunted him the rest of the summer. It worried Lilly, and she was relieved when they gave up the pursuit. “What will happen to all the little boys and the baby if Mr. Still goes to prison?” she'd asked. “I don't think the grandma can take care of everyone by herself.”