Windward Secrets (20 page)

Jill lowered her head back to her book and Claire gazed out at the ocean. Movement to the right caught her eye. Drew and Ike were walking up the beach toward Windward Cottage. Claire reached over and tapped Jill lightly on the arm. When Jill looked up Claire tilted her head toward the man and dog. Jill smiled in appreciation and laid her book on the porch floor.

Claire watched as Jill ran to Drew. He picked her up and swung her around with Ike barking and jumping beside them. Hand-in-hand, they walked toward Drew’s cottage. Ike stopped and looked back at Claire, and then followed his master.

The wind blew lifting little dust storms across the tops of the dunes. The sea grass bent slightly waltzing with the wind. Claire’s eyes scanned the beach and the breakers in wonder of the beauty before her. Closing her eyes she rocked gently. When she opened her eyes there were five children on the beach; two boys and three girls. The boys had built a mountain of sand and were playing King of the Hill. The girls were trying to fly kites that kept crashing back to earth. Finally, the boys gave up their battle and helped the girls until all three kites were high in the sky. The smallest girl’s kite was the highest. She laughed and squealed with excitement pointing to her kite.

Claire watched for quite a while before the kites were pulled in. The children ran into the surf, jumped waves and kicked water at each other. Smiling at their joy, Claire continued to watch as the children worked their way down the beach and disappeared.

Funny
thought Claire.
Those are the first children we’ve seen since we’ve been here.

Claire woke to a touch on her shoulder. “Time for supper Claire,” Jill said, softly.

Claire shook the sedation of sleep away and looked up at Jill. “Did you see the children on the beach?”

“What children, Claire?” Jill looked at her friend with a furrowed brow.

“There were five of them. They were flying kites and playing. They went in the direction of Drew’s cottage, I thought you might have seen them?”

“Claire…we were sitting on a dune the whole time. There were no children,” Jill said, very slowly and softly.

Claire shrugged. “Must have been a dream.”

Jill returned to the house and Claire looked down the beach. Lifting her hand she gave a tiny wave and whispered, “Goodbye.”

Chapter Thirteen

Tuesday

Claire yawned and rubbed her eyes. Turning over she saw Jill was already up and gone.
Probably off with Drew
she thought, as she sat up and looked around the room. It was strange not to have Ike beside her. The sun beckoned through the windows and Claire headed for the shower. Betsy’s room had been left open since they found the scrapbook and Claire paused and leaned against the door frame. They had cleaned the room and opened the windows to air it out. No longer musty and forlorn, the room now looked like any other little girl’s room from years gone by.

Diane and Caroline’s doors were still closed when Claire passed them. Jill had started coffee, but was nowhere to be seen.
Hmmm… it’s such a beautiful day I think I’ll ride into town and get some cinnamon buns.
Leaving a note, telling the others where she was going, she unlocked her bike, strapped on her helmet, and peddled toward Haworth. She felt invigorated. The morning was clear and crisp; not a cloud in the sky. The ocean to her right was a brilliant blue with frothy, white caps. She and her friends had gathered enough evidence to put Wendell away. And, she had found memories of her childhood. Life was good. She felt great.

The sound of a car drew her attention and she looked up to see a white panel truck in the opposite lane. It was coming fast and started to cross the center line.

What the heck is wrong with that driver? Surely he sees me?
Claire could see two men clearly in the front seats as the truck headed directly at her. She looked to the right, it was a sheer drop to the ocean below. Her only option was to cut left and try to get to the other side of the road. She jerked the handlebars to the left and pumped as hard as she could.

***

Jill walked up the beach alone to find Diane and Caroline rocking on the back porch.

“Did you have a good walk?” Caroline asked.

Looking dejected Jill replied, “No. Drew wasn’t there. His car was gone and so was Ike.”

“Did he mention he wasn’t going to be home this morning?” Caroline asked.

“No, he didn’t,” Jill said. “I’ll call him later.” Looking around Jill asked, “Where’s Claire?”

“She rode into the bakery for pastries,” Caroline replied. “She should be back soon.”

Diane looked at her watch. “You know we’ve been talking for over an hour and Claire’s still not back. Don’t you think she should have been here by now?”

“Sure do,” Jill commented. “My stomach’s growling.”

Caroline rose from her chair. “I’ll give her a call on her cell.”

Moving into the kitchen Jill and Diane set the table in anticipation of breakfast. They could see Caroline through the doorway tapping her phone and instantly heard a phone ringing in the parlor.

“Oh great,” Caroline called out. “She didn’t take her phone with her.”

Diane went to the cupboard and took out several boxes of cereal. “I’m not waiting any longer. She probably decided to ride longer since it’s such a beautiful morning. We can always make room for pastries later.”

Caroline looked back at her phone checking for messages. There were at least a dozen from Bill. Turning off her phone she held it up with her thumb and index finger like a dirty sock and let it fall back into her bag.

Another hour passed, the kitchen was cleaned up, and there was still no sign of Claire.

Jill went to the front porch and looked up and down the road. Returning to the kitchen she said, “I’m getting worried. Claire should have been back by now. What if she fell off that stupid bike?”

“That’s a good point,” Diane agreed. “Let’s go look for her.”

Jill hesitated. “Caroline, why don’t you stay here in case she comes back. You can paint on the roof and call us when she returns.”

It was agreed and Jill and Diane went to the car. They’re first destination was Haworth. Diane pulled up in front of the bakery and Jill went inside to ask if Claire had been there. The only woman working assured her she had not had any customers matching Claire description. Diane drove up and down every street, but there was no sign of Claire. From Haworth, they took the beach road around the peninsula past the lighthouse. They stopped at the cove where they had found the cave and searched the hillside and beach.

“You don’t think she would have gone back into the cave do you?” Jill asked Diane, concerned.

Diane shook her head. “I really don’t think so. There was no reason to. She seemed satisfied with our search yesterday.”

One last look around and they climbed back up to the road. Instead of continuing along the coast road, they wound inland on narrow, back roads. They checked fields and ditches. They stopped at roadside, gift shops and farm stands, but no one had seen a woman on a bicycle.

Caroline called several times to see if they had had any luck, and to tell them Claire had not returned to the house. After several hours Jill and Diane returned to the cottage.

Jill was starting to show her concern with her habitual pacing. “I’m worried. Something must have happened to her. She’s been gone since, since when? Do either of you know what time she left the house?”

Caroline and Diane compared their times. They had gotten up between eight-thirty and nine o’clock.

“Jill, what time did you go to walk with Drew?”

“About seven-thirty.”

“That means she left here sometime between seven-thirty and eight-thirty,” explained Diane. “It’s almost two o’clock. She’s been gone nearly six hours. This is serious.”

“I’m going to call Spence,” Caroline said. “Maybe she decided to go home.”

“Go ahead, but she wouldn’t have gone home without telling us.”

Caroline made the call and while she was talking to Spence, Diane said to Jill, “I think we should go to town and report her missing to Chief Peterson.”

Jill’s eyes widened. “Do you really think he’ll do anything?”

“This is pretty serious. He can’t be so incompetent that he wouldn’t follow-up.”

Caroline returned from speaking with Spence. “He hasn’t heard from her. He did say that she sometimes rides for hours, but agrees that we should be concerned. If we don’t hear from her in an hour or two, he wants me to call him back and he’s going to drive up.”

Diane looked at Jill. “How about asking Drew to bring Ike up to see if he can follow her scent?”

“Great idea. I’ll call him right now.”

Diane got her handbag and car keys. “Caroline, why don’t you come with me to town to find Peterson.”

***

Haworth was fairly empty and in a few minutes they were parked in front of the police station. Diane and Caroline entered the building to find a young secretary filing her nails. The name plate on her desk read Christy Blake.

“We’d like to speak with Chief Peterson please,” Diane said.

“He’s not here,” Christy said, putting down her nail file and looking annoyed.

“Where is he?” Diane asked, impatiently.

“Out,” the secretary said, with a smirk.

That was all it took. Diane strode across the room and slammed her hands down on the desk. With her face two inches away from Christy’s she said, “Find him. Now.”

Christy pulled back and put her hands up as if to ward off a blow from Diane.

Diane picked up the phone on Christy’s desk and handed it to her. “I told you to find him.”

Christy meekly took the phone and hit speed dial. “There are two women here to see you.” There was silence while she listened. Looking up at Diane she asked, “What’s your name?”

Diane told her and waited as Christy repeated it into the phone. “He wants to know what you want.”

“We’re here to report a missing person.”

“They say someone’s missing,” Christy repeated. “Yes, sir. Goodbye.”

Replacing the phone on her desk Christy looked up at Diane. “He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Caroline sat down in one of the orange plastic and chrome chairs that lined the front wall of the office. Diane paced back and forth, casting glances out the windows, anticipating the arrival of Chief Peterson. Fifteen minutes passed and Diane had had it. Once again, she approached the secretary’s desk. This time she reached across the desk and grabbed the front of Christy’s tight, red sweater and yanked her out of her seat. “Where is he?”

“Heeeee’s… attttt… Blllllackbeeeeard’s,” Christy stuttered.

Diane shoved Christy into her seat so hard it sent her rolling backwards into the empty desk behind her.

“Come on Caroline,” Diane said, as she pushed the station door open so hard it nearly came off its hinges. Caroline had to wait for the door to close to keep from being hit. Quickly re-opening the door she ran to the car where Diane already had it started.

Diane whirled the car in a U-turn squealing the tires on the pavement. At Blackbeard’s she was out of the car and in the tavern so fast Caroline had to run to keep up.

Peterson was sitting at a round table near the windows with two other men. Diane strode up to the table and shoved the beer in front of Peterson so hard it flew off the table.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Peterson yelled.

“I’m forcing you to do your job, that’s what the hell I’m doing,” Diane replied.

The other two men pushed their chairs away from the table and waited to see if Diane was going to come after them.

Peterson stood, taking a defensive stance and glaring at Diane. She wasn’t fazed, she walked to within inches of him. “You were called and told there is a missing person to report and you refused to come to the office.” Then, reaching into her bag, she pulled out her cell phone. “I’m one touch away from the State Attorney General’s office. If you want to keep your lazy ass job you’re going to accompany us back to your pathetic little office, fill out the appropriate paperwork, and organize a search party. Do I make myself clear?”

Peterson scooped up his hat that had been lying on the table and, without looking at the other men, he walked toward the door with Diane on his heels.

Caroline looked at the two men still seated at the table. The man on the left looked familiar. Pointing her finger at him she asked, “Where do I know you from?”

“No clue, lady.”

Following Diane’s example she placed her hands on the table and looked at him closely. “I never forget a face. It’ll come to me.”

Then in her deepest southern drawl she said, “Good afternoon gentlemen,” and walked away.             

Back at the police station Christy started to complain about Diane’s treatment of her when Diane said, “Shut up and sit down.” Christy quickly took her seat and tried to look busy.

Peterson removed his hat, hung it on a hook, and strode into his office. Diane and Caroline followed.

“What’s this about a missing person,” he said, sitting down and leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his fat belly.

Diane explained the details of Claire’s disappearance and waited.

Peterson was obviously stalling to annoy her. “Well now. It’s my guess your friend just found someone of interest she wanted to visit. We get a lot of that from ladies on vacation by themselves.”

Diane glared. “If you are inferring that Claire is having some kind of illicit affair, then you’re even dumber than you look.”

Peterson’s face glowed red with anger and his nose looked like it would explode. “Listen here lady...”

“It’s Ms. Fuller to you,” Diane quickly interrupted.

“I was about to say,” Peterson said, clearing his throat, “that we don’t consider an adult a missing person until they haven’t been heard from for three days.”

“We’re not going to wait three days,” Diane said, reaching into her handbag and pulling out her phone.

Chief Peterson quickly held up his hands. “Wait. There’s no need to be hasty.” Getting up and walking to the filing cabinets on the other side of the room he pulled out a piece of paper. Returning to his desk, he sat down and started asking questions. With the form complete, he slid it across the desk. “Read it and sign it.”

Diane did as she was told and passed the paper back. “When will you start a search?”

Peterson looked bored. “Ya know, your friend probably is already back. Why don’t you girls hustle on back there and see?”

Diane, not liking his attitude responded quickly. “Just what is it that makes you so lazy?”

Peterson was out of his chair and leaning over his desk in the blink of an eye. “Now, wait just one God damned minute. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Diane was on him like a dog on bone. Nose to nose she said in a calm, but strong, voice, “I am a taxpaying, law abiding citizen whom you are sworn to serve, and you are not serving! Another taxpaying, law abiding citizen has been missing since seven thirty this morning and you sat on your fat ass and drank beer, not only while on duty, but after you had been informed of the disappearance of that person. You sir, are in deep shit!” With that Diane turned and left the office.

Caroline looked at Peterson and added, again in her sweetest southern accent, “I’d be worried about that pension if I were you… asshole.”