Chapter 6

 

It was too early to go home. The construction crew would still be working on the house, so I decided to drive into Emily City and do some shopping. They had a large pet store and I thought there were a couple of places that sold fabric. To get there, I needed to turn right around, go back past the Leonard place and on into the small city. I felt a bit foolish doing this. Would Len think I was returning to spy on them if he saw me go by? Well, I’d just have to take my chances. I turned around in the next driveway and headed east on Sheep Ranch Road.

There was no one outside the blue trailer when I drove past and I hoped I had slipped by unnoticed. I remembered to look for the tan trailer where Angelica and DuWayne had lived, at the edge of Hammer Bridge Town. It was falling apart; some windstorm must have dealt it a deadly blow. Through a hole in the wall I caught a glimpse of a gray table and chairs. I thought it must be hard for the girls to live so close to this reminder of what life with their parents had been like.

As I crossed Hammer Bridge I noted that despite how the road descended some, the bridge was high above the actual creek.

Although it wasn’t why I had chosen to come back this way, I recalled what Len had told me about the last day they had seen Angelica. I drove slowly, trying to look at the scenery through the eyes of a young mother who was applying for a job. Beyond the creek, though, there wasn’t much to see. Open fields, growing up to scrub oak and pine, abandoned farm houses, and an occasional woodlot didn’t inspire me. I liked the country life I was finding in the north, and there was plenty of beauty for those who looked for it, but this particular stretch of road wasn’t going to win any awards for most scenic highway.

In about two miles, ranch-style houses began to line both sides of the road, and a sign informed me that I was entering Waabishki. At the next corner, I passed a gas station and then the Suds-Your-Duds Laundromat. Directly opposite was Paula’s Place. Apparently the diner was still in business; a number of cars were in the parking lot. I pulled in. After all, it was nearly lunchtime.

Paddy would have to stay in the car, but I found a spot in the shade at the back of the lot. I shook out the blanket and spread it over the seat.

“Hey pup, you need to stay here and be good. Can you do that for me?”

Paddy wagged his tail, his response to most questions.

“I’ll bring you a treat.”

I locked him in, and tried not to look back as I walked toward the building, but out of the corner of my eye I saw him trying to force his long nose through the small opening I’d left at the top of the window.

The restaurant had been modernized fairly recently. Probably its location on the edge of a larger town helped build the customer base and bring in enough income to cover occasional renovations. There was an entryway with heavy glass doors, and a bulletin board choked with business cards on the wall. Two posters with cars for sale, and another asking for help to locate a lost dog were also taped on the paneling. I wondered if someone had put up pictures of Angelica seven years ago.

When I entered the dining room, I was pleased to find a bright, clean room with both tables and booths, none of which looked damaged or patched with duct tape as they were at the Pine Tree Diner, Cherry Hill’s one restaurant. There was plenty of light and every table held a small vase of flowers. A sign said, “Please seat yourself,” so I chose a table near the side window where I could keep one eye on my car. It looked as if Paddy had lain down. At least I couldn’t see his nose in the window opening. Two blankets and a brush, I thought. I was making a mental list of things dog owners should keep in the car.

I turned my eyes to the restaurant. The flowers weren’t real, only silk, but the arrangements were tasteful and cheery. I was glad to see a condiment caddy on each table too. Since I’d had to eat out fairly often this year, I knew how annoying it could be to try to get the attention of a server for ketchup or extra napkins.

After Roger and I had split up, it had taken me a couple of months of searching before I found a place I wanted to live, because Roger had gotten our house. I’d stayed at a motel for a while, before I moved in with Vic’s mother, Rita, my mother’s cousin. She thought I was having a bad reaction to my divorce, driving around the northwoods, and meeting with realtors to view decrepit old houses. She told me in no uncertain terms that I should get over it and find a good college town, where they needed a Professor of Literature. Perhaps I wasn’t being sensible, but it kept my mind off Roger and Brian. I did not want to let my thoughts wander in that direction. Lately I had become more accepting of my situation, but the pain was still there if I opened the door.

And what had drawn me to Cherry Hill and Dead Mule Swamp? I still wasn’t really sure. The house I purchased wasn’t even particularly attractive. But its location was like something from a half-forgotten childhood dream. The house nestled into a curve of Dead Mule Swamp, the flood plain of the Petite Sauble River, and it was the last building on the maintained road. The area surrounding the yard was solid ground, probably wet in some years, but usually just rich woods. When I had first seen it, in March, there were snowdrops and violets pushing through the snow, and when I signed the papers, pink spring beauty carpeted the ground beneath the trees. I had since found an old trail that wound into the swamp and led to the open water that I could see only from my bedroom window. That was why I wanted the upstairs porch, to see the water better.

“Hello, I’m Madison and I’ll be your waitress. What would you like to drink?” the young voice broke through my thoughts.

I smiled at the girl, barely older than Star. “Just water for now, thanks.”

“Do you need a menu?” she asked with a cracking of gum.

“Yes,” I answered. Something made me add, “Is Paula here today?”

“Yup, she’s in the back. I’ll see if she can come out. Today’s special is ham and cheese on rye with two sides of your choice.”

The girl laid a large card encased in plastic in front of me, turned on a heel, and with more annoying gum-cracking, headed for another table.

In a few minutes, she was back, with a glass of water, and order pad in hand. “Have you decided?”

“I’ll have the special,” I said, “with cottage cheese and a salad. Thousand Island dressing, please.”

“American or provolone?”

“Provolone.”

“Mustard and mayo?”

“Yes.”

“That it?”

“All set for now.”

Madison took off on her rounds again, and a woman who was about my age approached the table, carrying two glasses of brown liquid. She wore a bibbed apron over jeans and a t-shirt. Her short salt-and-pepper hair was brushed into a spiky do above a red face. She had a frank and open look and a wide mouth, pulled into a genial smile. She didn’t look at all irritated to be called out of the kitchen, and she slid into the other side of the booth.

“Hi I’m Paula Wentworth. I hear you want to talk to me. Have some iced tea on the house.” She pushed one of the glasses toward me.

“Thanks. And thanks for talking with me. I’m Ana Raven, from Cherry Hill. I have to confess I’m a bit at a loss for words. I asked if you were here on something of a whim.”

Paula laughed. “Works for me. I was ready for a break. It’s beastly hot in the kitchen. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve only lived in the area for a few months and haven’t been here before today.”

“If I can make a regular customer of you, I’ll count it as work and take an extra break later.” She grinned. “In reality, the boss never gets to take a break.”

I took a sip of the tea. It tasted freshly brewed and refreshing and gave me courage to plow into a topic that was barely my business. “This morning I met the Leonards,” I began.

“Ah,” said Paula with a knowing look. “The disappearance of Angelica.”

“Yes.”

“What’s your interest?”

While Paula drank tea and fanned her face with the menu card that Madison had left on the table, I explained about the Family Friends program and how I was likely to be seeing a lot more of Star and Sunny. I told her that having more background might help me understand them better.

“Sunny probably doesn’t even remember,” Paula mused. “I haven’t seen them in years. The Leonards don’t eat out much. And they sure don’t come here. I suppose it’s too painful. Star must be in high school by now.”

“Corliss said she’ll be taking Driver’s Ed in the fall.”

“Corliss? Oh, you mean Len. Amazing! Well. There was lots of speculation and dirt in the papers, but I only know a little bit about it all, personally. Angelica and I were friends, even though she was younger. She was the same age as my baby brother, Frank. He’s close to three-hundred pounds now, but back then he was fit. Played football. Frank and DuWayne were buddies, they both liked football so much, and she would spend time at our house so she could see DuWayne.”

“Did her parents object?” I asked.

“Not that he was black, but they didn’t like how much time they were spending together. And then she got pregnant. That wasn’t part of anybody’s plan.”

“I was afraid it was something like that.”

“She finished school. I’ll give her credit. DuWayne was mostly a mooch, but Len got him a job at Forest Tech. DuWayne made enough to buy a trailer in that sorry mess they call Hammer Bridge Town, and they tried to turn it into some kind of home. They did care about each other a lot. It wasn’t just a high school crush.”

“So DuWayne is the father of both girls?”

“Absolutely! They looked like two peas in a pod in their baby pictures.”

“They still look a lot alike.” I smiled at Paula, but I could tell she wanted to get on with the story. Madison brought my lunch.

“Would you like something, Miss Wentworth?” she asked with a bit too much attitude.

“I’m good, Madison. Thanks.” Paula turned back to me. “Anyway, DuWayne managed to keep the job for more than a year. That was a bit of a surprise. But then he quit, and they got by on odd jobs and handouts from Len and Becky. Things were pretty tight for a few years. Then there was a big change.”

My mouth was full of ham and rye, but I raised my eyebrows in question. Paula took another drink before continuing.

“Suddenly, they had plenty of money. They didn’t move into a better place or anything, but they bought a new TV, and a truck, and a lot of other stuff...”

I swallowed. “Oh no! Drugs?”

“I think so. But that wasn’t my scene, and Frank was gone in the Army, so I didn’t see DuWayne and Angelica much during that time. Then Sunny came along, and things got better and worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“She never said so, but my opinion is that Angelica got pregnant in hopes of convincing DuWayne that his family was more important than illegal activities. I don’t think they were personally using anything hard, but probably pot and maybe some pills. So, her plan worked. DuWayne must have given up dealing because they quit buying extra things. But after a while any money they had stashed away was obviously gone.”

“That seems like a strange way to get someone off drugs.”

“I know. It sounds lame, but DuWayne really loved babies. So, that’s what I think. They went back to limping along on odd jobs. That’s about where they were when Angelica asked me if I needed some help here.”

“And you said, ‘yes?’”

“I told her to come in and we’d talk. It wasn’t going to be a free ride. I interview everyone, even if they’re only going to bus tables.”

“And that brings us to the day she disappeared?”

“There we are.” Paula’s gaze roamed over the dining room. “I need to get back to work, but it’s been nice to meet you. Stop in again. I’d like to know how those babies are doing.”

“Some babies!” I said. “Maybe I’ll bring them here for a treat.”

“That might work. But you should make sure they feel all right about coming, first. Star was old enough when it happened to have plenty of memories of her mother.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised. But I was already talking to Paula’s back. She was striding toward a brewing confrontation between a customer and Madison at the cash register.