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When Nate pulled his family’s minivan into the large church parking lot on Sunday morning, Sandra gasped. Parked in the corner of the lot, near the outfield fence of the softball field, were three police cars. A gaggle of people, some in blue uniforms and some not, stood at the edge of the woods.
“What’s going on?” Peter asked from the back.
“No,” Nate said.
“No what?” Sandra was unsure what or whom Nate was saying no to.
“Just no. We are going to walk into church, and you are not going to get involved.”
Sandra made a derisive pff sound. “Get involved? What are you talking about? We don’t even know what happened!”
“Exactly, and yet I can feel you already thinking about calling Bob.”
He was exaggerating. She hadn’t been thinking that. Police activity didn’t automatically warrant a call to the local middle school sports angel. She would at least find out if there was any reason to call him first. She caught herself hoping there was a reason to call him and then mentally slapped herself. Yes, she missed her angel friend, but she didn’t need to go wishing for tragedy so that she had an excuse to hang out with him.
Nate pulled the van into the parking spot furthest away from the action.
Like this was going to stop her.
“Dad, why did you park so far?” Joanna asked. The kid had a point.
“Dad’s afraid Mom is going to go all super sleuth again,” Peter explained, and though he said it without an ounce of respect, Sandra took it as a compliment and tried not to let her proud smile beam too brightly.
“There may be nothing to sleuth about.” Sandra tried to sound demure. She failed.
“Oh sure,” Nate said, “I’m sure that three state trooper cars means someone lost a kitten.” He blew out a puff of air that made his bangs twitch. “I just hope no one’s been killed this time.”
Sandra had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the case. The image of Phoenix running into those same woods on Tuesday night flashed through her mind and she shivered.
“What?” Nate asked. He was observing her far more closely than he usually did.
“Nothing. Just got a chill.” This made no sense. It was already seventy-five degrees outside, and Nate still had the van’s heater blowing on her toes.
Peter read her mind. “Do you think it has something to do with that guy who played in the softball game?”
“Don’t know,” Sandra said. But she was pretty sure that it did. There just wasn’t that much action in her small town. What were the chances of two dramas unfolding in the same patch of Plainfield forest?
“Did they ever catch that guy?” Peter asked.
Sandra opened her mouth to answer him, but Nate beat her to it. “Though your mother has been glued to all news media for the last four days, she hasn’t heard a peep, so we don’t know. But I can tell you that he’s not that dangerous of a criminal, or it would have been on the news whether they caught him or not.”
“Can we go in?” Joanna asked. “I’m scared.”
“Of course, honey, and there’s nothing to be scared of. The police are here. I’m sure they have everything under control.” Trying not to stare at the edge of the forest, Sandra slid out of the van and then opened the sliding door to spring her youngest from his car seat. She grabbed the diaper bag and turned to head for the church—again, trying not to stare at the woods.
Nate scooted ahead of her and opened the church door for her and then she was inside, where the quiet calm hit her like a sopping wet blanket. Now what was she going to do? All the action was outside, and now she couldn’t even sneak a peek! She swallowed hard and told herself it was none of her business. I’m not really a sleuth. I’ve just gotten into a few odd situations. Doesn’t mean I’ll ever get into another one. Right? Maybe. True, she didn’t want to get trapped or assaulted ever again, and she didn’t want to fear for her life ever again, but whatever puzzle was currently laid out at the corner of the woods—well, she really wanted to help put it together.
“It’s not my place,” she muttered aloud as she entered the room full of well-worn rocking chairs. It was her turn for nursery duty, so she couldn’t exactly sneak away to spy on the cops, at least, not without a trail of babies in walkers following her across the parking lot. She could envision it and shuddered at the thought. She flicked on the lights and looked around the cluttered room. No, she would not go find out why the police were in the woods behind the church. She would stay in the nursery, right where she was supposed to be.
She even avoided the urge to ask every mom who came in to drop off a baby if they knew anything. Most of these mothers asked her if she knew anything. But no one knew anything—until Ethel came in.
“How do you know what’s going on?” Sandra asked her kids’ beloved babysitter.
Ethel raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. “Because I went and asked them. Why, I watched Chip Buker grow up in this very church! In fact, I used to wipe his hiney right in this very nursery! He’d better tell me what’s what!”
“Well?” Sandra pushed. “What is what?”
Ethel leaned in closer but didn’t lower her voice. “He wouldn’t tell me who, but there’s a body in the woods.”
Sandra’s stomach sank. She’d wanted a puzzle to solve, yes, but she hadn’t wanted another death. “He told you that?”
Ethel looked at the carpet. “No, but there’s a van marked coroner here.” They stood there together for a silent moment. Then Ethel said, “Why don’t you go see what you can find out? I’ll stay behind with the babies.”
Sandra had never left a nursery so fast.