Chapter 16

Elmer shifted in his chair hoping Angel would have good news for him and the child. She came prepared with all kinds of documents and folders and he was pretty sure she knew what she was going. He sure hoped so.

“So, how are you doing Elmer,” she asked. “You haven’t said much.”

“I’m just worried about what we’re gonna do about Missy. Can you tell me what needs to be done so I can get back to not worrying so much?”

“Let me explain in very, very simple terms. Her parents abandoned her so her grandfather was left with custody of her. Apparently no father is listed on the birth certificate, so we don’t have to worry about him at all. The first thing we need to do is one, have the court appoint me as guardian ad litem; and two request permission for you to adopt Missy if that’s what you want to do. If not, we can request permission to have you appointed her permanent foster parent. We will, however, have to publish your desire in the newspaper so if her mother is nearby and sees it, she can have an opportunity to explain her side and claim her child. That’s doesn’t mean she’ll get her. We know that Missy is safe here with you, but her grandfather didn’t have legal custody of her and you don’t have any relationship or legal custody of her. So now she becomes a ward of the court. We will ask the court to give you temporary custody until we can finish all this other stuff …”

“What if her mother reads about this and then finds out about that $2.5 million she’ll be hanging on her like poison ivy. That’s who she’s needing protection from.”

“I tend to agree with you,” said Angel. “There’s no need for anyone to know about the money. We just need to place an ad in several papers trying to find her real parents. If they don’t show up, then we go ahead and try to get you legal custody. The first thing we have to do, and I recommend doing this immediately, is to file for a license for you to be a foster parent. Considering the circumstances I doubt the courts or anyone would object.”

“Hope this don’t take too long. I ain’t as young as I used to be even though I look it. I used to be the most eligible bachelor in Duluth, but now with a kid hangin’ round women don’t throw themselves at me so much anymore.”

“Elmer, are you having second thoughts about becoming a parent?”

“No. It ain’t that. It’s jist that my chances of hookin’ up with a good wife are slimmer now with a child needin’ protection.”

“In my experience mature men with children instantly become babe magnets.” Angel winked conspiratorially at Elmer with his messy hair, plaid shirt, and bib overalls. In spite of his appearance the man was warm, genuine, and had a heart as big as her home state of Texas. “Speaking of which, have you talked with Miss Jessie lately?”

“That old busy body. She came by and brought me a hamburger rice hot dish before she went on a trip somewhere. That’s the last I saw of her.”

“Oh my isn’t that your favorite hot dish? The one with mushroom soup and soy sauce?”

“Yeah but that’s just a coincidence. Her’s ain’t the best I’ve ever had even.”

“Oh I’d like to taste it!” said Angel.

“It’s all gone,” said Elmer looking down to avoid her smile. “I think Missy ate it.”

“Missy doesn’t like rice, Elmer, and I know you would never feed that to your dogs. So I guess the Hot Dish Burglar must have paid you a visit this week too.” She tried to keep the smile from off her lips, but her eyes were definitely twinkling mischievously.

“I think you’re right about that. But you asked if I’d talked to her lately. Is something up I don’t know about?”

“Only that Kim and Mick had their baby. It’s a boy. They named him Kaden and I hear he’s the cutest baby ever born. Rob and I are planning a day trip to see them on Sunday. We’re leaving the kids with Paul and Sarah so you and Missy are welcome to ride along if you’d like.”

“Wonder why Miss Kim didn’t call me? I’m almost a grandpa to that kid.”

“She just had it yesterday and Jessie happened to be in the area. In fact, she was going down to visit a friend and was planning to spend the night with Mick and Kim. Turns out she spent the night at their house but they weren’t there.”

“Well that makes sense. If they left it up to Jessie to call everyone here she’d purposely leave me off the list. Give her another reason to come nosying around to find out more gossip. I shouldn’ta told her about the $2.5 million, but she weaseled it outta me. She caught those two trying to steal Cody from outta my back yard. I can’t leave to go see Miss Kim until I know they are behind bars or dead.”

“Actually I think telling Jessie about the dog situation was the right thing to do. She’s pretty smart at finding out things and I’ll be willing to bet she can find out the truth about those scoundrels.”

“She don’t need to do me no favors if that’s what you’re sayin’. I can’t pay her and I sure didn’t ask for her help. Women like her are always looking for a way to get into a man’s life. I don’t need none of that and I won’t be obliged to no woman writer.”

“You were just telling me how your chances of finding a good woman had decreased since you took in Missy and now you’re dismissing Miss Jessie without a second thought.”

“Y’see? You said it yourself. I’m lookin’ for a GOOD woman and Jessie ain’t the one.”

“Okay have it your way. I need to be getting …”

Missy chose that time to make her entrance. She was listening at the top of the stairs wondering what was going to happen to her. Now she had a pretty good idea and was glad Angel was willing to get involved. She also knew that Elmer watched every time Miss Jessie left and came home. In her opinion Elmer had a crush on Jessie and would have married her if only she had asked. Elmer would never risk the rejection of a ‘no’ from any lady.

Bouncing down the stairs and into the living room, she went directly to Angel to give her a hug. “Hi, Aunt Angie. What’re you doing here? Need me to come and help you with the laundry?”

Angel laughed at the spunky child who seemed to be growing up far too quickly. “Sorry, no chores today. I came by to talk to Elmer about the custody situation. Actually I pretty much need to talk to you too.”

“I kin tell when I ain’t wanted,” said Elmer rising from his chair.

“Sit down Elmer,” said Angel. “I was going to ask Missy if she wanted to ride down to Minneapolis with Rob and me tomorrow to see Kim’s new baby.”

“Heck ya!” said Missy with some degree of exuberance. “Please Elmer, can I go? Please?”

Chapter 14

Bryce Phillips, attorney at law, had a swank office in downtown St. Paul. Much to Jessie’s surprise, he was years younger than his reputation. Tall, dark, and exceptionally handsome, he wore a tailored suit, starched shirt with French cuffs and gold cufflinks, and a tie of subtle hues. Even his shoes were expensive and polished to a high sheen. There was nothing superficial or artificial about Bryce Phillips, particularly not his personality. One would expect a certain snobbishness with such elegant surroundings and attire. Bryce, however, adorned his desk with pictures of his family, and his coffee table with an open Bible. Jess had heard rumors that he held a quick devotion and prayer time every morning with any employees wishing to participate. Now she believed the rumors.

“Ms. Bishop,” he began with a soft voice. “I am so glad to meet you. Please have a seat over here and I’ll ask Greg to get us some refreshments.” Apparently Bryce had pressed a button or alerted Greg somehow that they were ready, but Jess couldn’t figure out how he did it. The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Greg appeared. The assistant, Greg, was younger than his employer though equally as handsome and charming. He politely asked Jessie her preferences and disappeared as quickly as he appeared, back in minutes with an English Breakfast Tea for each of them along with cranberry lemon scones baked fresh that morning by none other than the ladies from Dessertizers & Appizerts, Darla’s friends.

After a couple of sips of tea and bites of scone, Jessie opened the conversation. “I understand you represent the estate of the late Evangeline LaCroix,” she started slowly. “It’s my understanding she left a large sum of money to the care of a dog. Have I been mislead or is this in fact true?”

Bryce laughed and wiped his sensuous mouth with his linen napkin. His dark eyes sparkled as he leaned forward with elbows on his knees. The leather sofas and coffee table area of his office created the perfect atmosphere for discussing business or repeating gossip. The twinkle in his eye indicated he may be prone to the latter at this moment.

“Ms. Bishop, may I call you Jessie?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you. My client, Ms. Evangeline LaCroix, left a great deal of money to a number of charities. She has one daughter, an adopted child as you probably know, who has done nothing but embarrass her mother for the past twenty years. Eve loved Sylvia like any mother would love her daughter. Sylvia on the other hand was no more than a gutter snipe by heritage. She left home and got involved with a Englishman at a young age. She married the man to keep him in this country since his visitor’s pass from the U.K. had expired. Eve was a deeply spiritual person with a heart so pure and full of love it’s impossible to comprehend how Sylvia could treat her the way she did. Eve fostered dreams of Sylvia going to college and taking over the philanthropic work she had begun. Sylvia had dreams of grabbing Eve’s money and tying one on.’

“You haven’t answered my question Bryce. Did she leave money for the care of a dog?”
“What you’re asking me, Jessie, is did she leave $2.5 million for the care of one dog that she named Xaviar and who is now cared for by a family in Duluth who call him Cody. Am I correct?”

“Close,” smile Jessie. “The family isn’t a family.”

“And you’re not a lawyer.”

“How do you know that?” winced Jessie.

“I’ve never met a lawyer who wore Youth Dew cologne. It was my grandmother’s favorite.”

“Oh dear, now you make me feel old. I’ve worn it for years. Actually, I never professed to be a lawyer, I only said I represented the family of the late August Pendergast. And I do. I represent their interest whole heartedly.”

“And you just said the family wasn’t a family, so how can you represent the family?”

Jessie stood up, picked up her purse, walked to the door, opened it and departed the room. A second later there was a knock at the door. When Bryce went to answer, there stood Jessie.

“Good morning, Mr. Phillips,” she said holding out her right hand. “My name is Jessica Bishop and I represent the surviving friends and the granddaughter of the late August Pendergast.”

Bryce took her hand and laughed, pulling her into a warm hug. “Jessie, I love an honest woman and the friends and granddaughter of August Pendergast are lucky to have you. Now, please take a seat and let’s continue. How can I be of service to you and your clients?”

Jessie went into a brief yet detailed description of the situation surrounding Augie’s family, Missy, the friends in Duluth, and the orphaned dog. She left out the part about the relic that had gotten Paul involved with Augie in the first place, not sure how her host would react. Just about the time she got around to telling him the story about Sylvia and Reggie trying to steal Cody, her cell phone went began to ring.

“Please excuse me,” she said excitedly. “I’ve got to take this.”

Bryce got up to leave her in privacy, but she waved him back down, shaking her head to indicate there was not need for privacy.

“It’s a boy!” she cried for joy after disengaging from the call. “They’re going to name him Kaden Cody Frazier-Tandesky. Wow, that’s a lot of name for such a little boy!”

“Are you a new grandmother?” smiled Bryce.

“Oh no, these are friends. Kim and Mick Tandesky just had their first child, a little boy.”

“I’ve heard of Mick Tandesky,” said Bryce. “He’s got quite a reputation in this town.”

“Oh that. Yeah, I guess he does. You mean for blowing the whistle on his old employers. Really, Mick’s a very nice guy and he works so hard to help others and he’s going … “

Bryce was laughing out loud by this time. “Please Jessie, stop trying to apologize for Mick. He’s my hero. Any man willing to risk his own safety to save others from the ravage of drugs is alright in my book. I don’t suppose you know the guy who was part of his miracle cure, do you? Man, I’d give anything to meet both of those men.”

Jessie smiled proudly. “You may just get that opportunity, Bryce. I know them both very well. In fact, I’m spending the night at Kim and Mick’s before I head back to Duluth. If you’ll help us with the dog situation, I’ll make sure you get to meet and have coffee or something with both of them. You’ll never meet two finer men in your life.”

“It’s a deal!” said Bryce giving Jessie a high five. He may have lived elegantly, but the little boy was still inside. “Now, where were we in this story? Oh yes, Sylvia and Reggie I believe are trying to steal the dog. Please continue.”

“Yes indeed. They are evil. I went to visit them at their apartment and they said they were just staying there until their real place was finished. Yeah, right. Anyway, I let them believe I was with a celebrity gossip paper and needed more information on them as the society couple from St. Paul who inherited the LaCroix estate. Of course they didn’t deny it. I could see their evil little minds churning as we spoke. Gutter snipe is far too good a word to describe Sylvia, and their place had such an awful smell. I’m not sure I’ve gotten it out of my clothing yet.”

Jessie Bishop has a tendency to become very excited and talk a lot when she’s in a state of excitement. For the next hour she talked about the whole group including the Harpers, Elmer, Paul and Sarah, Angel and Rob, Melissa, Augie, Cody the dog, and how Bryce might be able to help with the Melissa situation and with the dog matter. Together they decided a part of the money should go to Elmer and Missy for the care of the dog, and the remainder should be put in trust to help other animal organizations with grants.

It was nearly 4 PM when Jessie rushed out of Bryce’s office after a quick hug and steered her car in the direction of the hospital. She would be the first, she hoped, to see Kaden Cody Frazier-Tandesky. What a beautiful name. Everything was going to be just fine. She knew it in her heart.

Chapter 15

Riley sat under a tree outside her tiny cabin and smoked a joint. She knew they could probably smell it up at the restaurant, but she was quite certain Doobie would be the last person to object or turn her in. Hard as she tried, getting off the dope was just more than she could do. She hated lying to these people who all seemed so nice, but until she got her personal matters settled it was a role she needed to play. Running into the person she came looking for was the last thing she expected to happen so quickly. If only the rest of the story would work out so easily she could be on her way to a new life, a do-over.

Putting out the joint, rinsing her mouth with antiseptic mouthwash and changing her clothes, she headed back up the hill to the Surly Cow. The dinner crowd would be showing up within the hour and there was a lot of prep work yet to be done.

Doobie was standing in the back doorway waiting for her when she rounded the building. “Hey,” she said without looking him in the eye.

“Hey back,” said Doobie. “I understand you have a right to do whatever it is you do on your own time, but smoking dope won’t fix the problem.” No more was said. First Doobie, then Riley walked into the restaurant and silently began prep work for the evening shift.

Riley chopped salad, put out fresh veggies, formed hamburger patties and checked on the steaks marinating in the walk-in. Doobie re-stocked the bar, fired up the grill, set up his utensils, and sipped a glass of wine.

When the back work was done, Riley went about making sure all tables were cleaned, chairs checks, candles lit on each table, and no trash was on the floor. Salt and pepper shakers, sugar and cream dispensers, and artificial sweetener bins were on each table along with white linen napkins and silverware. It surprised her that the rustic atmosphere was accented by the very whitest linen napkins and expensive silverware. Even the glassware used at the Surly Cow was far and above the most beautiful simple crystal she had even seen. Her employer acted like a stoner but too much of this place told her he came from class. And his comment about the dope … what was that about? Did he have experience personally or through someone else? He was definitely a strange, mysterious man. Not totally unattractive either, but these were thoughts she needed to squash before they got the better of her. Men had always been the bane of her existence, her downfall, the reason so much was lost or given up.

“Riley,” said Doobie interrupting her thoughts, “would you make sure the front lights are on? It looks kind of dark out there. Let me know if I need to replace some.”

Riley stepped outside and found two bulbs out. When she got back in and told Doobie, he got two bulbs and left the building to fix them. The phone began to ring and she answered with a cheery, “Surly Cow would you like to make a reservation?”

“You know better than that, don’t you darlin’.” The voice one she had hoped never to hear again. “Don’t hang up the phone ‘cause then I’ll have to walk in there and talk to you. This guy fixing the light bulbs, is that your new boyfriend?”

“N-n-no. What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

“I can’t help you. I don’t have any money.”

“You’re workin’ aren’t ya? Then I guess you must have money.”

“No, it’s not like that. I get free room and board and that’s it.”

“Oh, so you’re sleeping with the dude and smokin’ his dope, that it?”

Riley looked up and saw Doobie about to enter the front door. “I’m sorry sir you must have the wrong number.” As she was hanging up the receiver she could hear is vicious laugh. He was outside watching her. How did he find her?

“Who was that?” asked Doobie with a strange look on his face. “I could hear his maniacal laugh all the way over hear.”

“I don’t know who it was, just some drunk dialing the wrong number.”

“Did you check caller ID?”

“No, I didn’t think of it. Why would I?”

“I don’t know. You just look a little shaken. I thought maybe if you got his name I could call him back and give him a piece of my mind.”

“Thanks, but I can take care of myself. It really was nothing, just some drunk.”

“Well then you need to eat something before the crowds start because you’re shaking like a leaf. You hypoglycemic or anything?”

Ignoring his last question Riley headed for the back of the restaurant and fixed herself a sandwich. Eating was not a habit for her so she didn’t think about it as much as some people. It was difficult to choke down anything right now knowing he was just outside waiting for her, taunting her with his presence. She was so tired of running away and this time she had found what she was running to and would not allow herself to be forced to run again. This game had gone on long enough and tonight she would end it.

The sandwich did little to settle her nerves or her stomach. She finished what she could of it, washed her hands and went back to prepping in the kitchen before the restaurant started getting busy. Doobie was busy setting in a new keg when the first customers arrived. They were a young couple from the area and were usual weekenders. After they received their drinks and orders were taken, the floodgates seemed to open. Six parties of four appeared all at the same time leaving Riley with no more time to dwell on who was waiting for her in the woods.

When everything appeared to be calming down for the evening Doobie said he was going to pop back into his apartment to take quick shower and change clothes. He had spilled a great deal of grease and sticky-sweet grenadine on his clothes during the rush.

Wiping down the tables Riley looked up to see a lone female diner enter through the front door. She didn’t look familiar, so Riley put on her best smile and asked if she could help.

“I know it’s pretty late,” said the lady, “but I’ve been traveling and I’m starved. A gas station back aways recommended this place. Is it any good?”

Riley laughed. “Ma’am if I said no to that question I wouldn’t be employed very much longer. Quite frankly, I think it’s the best place in the world. “

“What makes it so special?”

“The food of course, and then the owner who is some character, but also very fair and easy to work for. Plus, we get the best customers ever, you included. Can I get you something to drink while you look over the menu?”

The lady looked at Riley with a smile. “Aren’t you supposed to say something like, ‘hi, I’m Heidi and I’ll be your server tonight’?”

Riley chuckled and looked into the very pleasant face of the stranger. “We don’t as a rule because everyone knows both of us. I’m obviously not Doobie, so … hi, my name’s Riley and I’ll be your server this evening. May I get you something to drink?”

“Riley, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Just call me Tate. My mother had a weird sense of humor. And yes, I think I’ll take a beer, something heavy and dark.”

It was the first time all evening Riley met someone new who was interesting and nice at the same time. She brought out an ice cold bottle of a Dutch beer and put it on the table next to a pilsner glass. Tate was busy looking over the menu but looked up as Riley delivered her drink.

“What do you recommend?” she asked. “I’d love a good steak, but that’s awfully heavy for this late at night. Do you have any walleye left? That sounds good with just some coleslaw and toast.”

“Coming right up” said Riley with a big smile.

“After you turn that in, is there any rule against joining a customer for a chat? I’ve been traveling all day with no one to talk to outside of myself and after a short time even I can get pretty boring.”

“Let me check with Doobie when he gets back. He had to change clothes because it was a pretty heavy night. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Doobie hadn’t returned yet when she went into the kitchen and since she didn’t know how to cook she left the order pinned up where he was certain to see it, filled a glass with Bubble Up and went to join Tate.

“Are you from around here?” Tate asked.

“No, not really. I’m sorta passing through.”

“Passing through to where? Where’s your next stop, or your final stop?”

“I don’ know yet.” Riley caught herself wondering why she was being so open about herself with this stranger. Maybe, she thought, I just need someone to talk to and she’s just passing through too. She won’t know anyone around here so no one will know anything.

“You must have some idea of where you want to go, what you want to do. This certainly isn’t the end of the line for you, is it?”

Riley looked at her surrounds before answering. “No, it’s definitely not.”

“Where do you come from,” asked Tate, hoping to find out more information about this particular subject.

“It’s a long story,” said Riley. “I made some mistakes when I was younger. Some very bad mistakes. I’d like to undo them or make them right, but I don’t know how. I came back here to find someone and now that I have I don’t know how to approach the whole matter. Then my past keeps catching up to me and threatening me so I don’t have a prayer when it comes to making things right.”

“Wow. That’s a pretty big load for someone so young to be carrying around.”

“I’m not really so young. I’m actually pushing 33, but I know I don’t look it and I sure don’t act it.”

“Is this past you talk about here now, threatening you?”

“Yeah.” Riley looked down at her hands in her lap. She could feel her body tense at the thought of walking back to the cabin alone after work. What would he do this time?

“You look shaken. Why don’t I offer you a little break. I’m going to drive into Duluth when I’m through eating. You can come with me, spend the night in a decent hotel, and not have to worry about anything past, present, or future for just one night. Don’t worry, I’m not a pervert. I’m actually a mom and wouldn’t want my daughter standing in your shoes with no one to help her.”

Riley still could not understand why she was opening up to this lady Tate, still she cautiously but politely refused the offer and stood to finish her clean-up work.

Doobie returned to fix Tate’s dinner and nothing more was said.

After Tate ate and made her offer once more to Riley, she too her leave of the restaurant and got into her car to leave. Doobie stood in the door of his restaurant as he was closing up wondering why Riley was so riled up tonight. Watching the Tate lady drive out of the parking lot and turn left towards Duluth, he surveyed the area as always. He felt like Riley was safe, for the most part, until he saw a car parked up on the road. The car was dark but he could see the silhouette of someone inside, smoking a cigarette so that a red tip glowed occasionally. If the guy needed help he would surely come to the door. Doobie wasn’t into approaching strangers in cars parked along country road late at night. Out here the dark was darker, blacker, more dense than in the city.

When he turned around and locked the door, Riley was still standing by the bar. “Um, Doob,” she started not daring to look at him. “Could I stay here tonight?”

“Hey Riley, I don’t …”

“Oh no. Not like that. I meant if I could sleep on the couch just tonight because I am so tired, too tired to walk to the cabin and …”

“Does this have anything to do with that wrong number and the car that was parked on the road?”

“It’s gone?”

Doobie saw hope in her eyes. “No, it’s still there. Do you know who that is?”

“No, I don’t,” she lied. “Well, then I guess I’ll see you in the morning.” Riley turned to walk away when Doobie’s voice stopped her.

“There’s an extra pillow and some sheets and a blanket in the cupboard above the sofa back there. The bathroom is yours. I’ve got my own in my room. At least this way I know you won’t be smokin’ anything funny and you’ll get to work on time.”

“Thanks,” was all Riley could whisper. For one night she might actually feel safe.

Chapter 12

Kim was in a whirlwind of excitement anticipating Jessie’s visit. It was rare they got overnight visitors and someone with news from home was always welcome. She dusted, she cleaned, she baked, she planned menus, she vacuumed, she washed and dried sheets and towels, and … she went into labor.

It was 2:30 in the morning when her water broke. There was no need to wake Mick, he was uncomfortably alerted. While helping Kim change into clean, dry clothes, he also started the washing machine and tossed in their sheets and comforter. Her pains were not far enough apart to be alarming just yet, but the idea of sleeping another minute was out of the question.

“Want some coffee honey?” Kim yelled from the kitchen? “It’ll help keep you awake.”

Striding through the door and putting his arms around her, he kissed her shoulder and neck. “I don’t think there is anything that could put me back to sleep at this point. Rocky is about to make his debut!”

“Or Roxanne! Remember, it could possibly be a girl.”

“Well, we need to start picking out names since there’s no one we can call at this hour.”

“What about Jessie?” asked Kim. “She’s planning on being here at 11:30 in the morning. We might not be here then.”

“I think I can wait a couple more hours before waking her. I don’t think even Jessie would be in a good mood getting a phone call at 3:00 AM. How are the pains?”

“They’re about 10 minutes apart. If it wasn’t for the back ache I could probably go back to sleep, but there’s no sleeping with this back. So, let’s get out that baby name book and see what we can come up with. You go first. Wait… let’s make it tough. You have to make a list of girl’s names and I have to make a list of boy’s names. Okay?”

“Whatever you say my darling wife. You can make all the lists in the world, but I’ll win in the end.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because when we see that baby – boy or girl – we’ll just know what his or her name is. It’s not something that can be planned.”

“Is that how you and Maxine did it?”

“Not exactly, but I heard it works. I was more or less stoned through both births, sad to say.”

“Oh, so if you look at our baby and it’s all gooey and ugly and you say something like holy cow she’ll be stuck with that name for life?”

“Or he… remember, it could be a boy.”

“Whatever!” Kim laughed as she threw the name book at her husband just in time to grab her enlarged abdomen and enjoy another labor pain. “Did you get the time?” she gasped.

“Yeah. Let me know when it’s done.”

The seconds felt like hours to Kim, but she breathed a sigh when the pain subsided. It wasn’t horrific yet and she was thinking labor wasn’t all that bad. Little did she know.

At 6:00 AM they made the call to Jessie who said she still needed to come down for a meeting but could stay in a motel.

“Absolutely not,” said an exhausted Mick. “If we’re here you can help with Kim and if we’re not, there’ll be a key under the stone in the flower bed. Make yourself at home. I’ll give you a call when there’s news to report.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Jessie. “How’s our girl holding up? How far apart are her contractions?”

“I think they’re at like six minutes now, so we could very well be gone before you arrive. You’ve got our cell phone numbers, right? I’ll have them both with me. I may not be able to hear the ring over Kim’s screaming, but I’ll have them on vibrate. Oh shoot, I shouldn’t have said that. There’s a book flying towards my head!” Mick laughed and Jessie joined in.

“You two sound like you’ve been up all night. Try to get some rest if you can. Do you want me to come down now so you can nap before it’s time to go?”

“You can come anytime you want, but I don’t think the little fat lady is going to let me sleep. I’ll put on a pot of coffee and see you whenever you decide to arrive. Oh, and Jess, we’re taking names for the baby, got any ideas?”

“Wow, waiting until the last minute aren’t you? Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“We don’t know. Well, actually I don’t know. I think Kim does. Darn it, there’s another book. Think of names and come on down! See you soon.”

Jess put her few items into an overnight case and packed her car quickly, wanting to be the only family friend from Duluth to be present for the birth of Kim’s first baby. This would be Mick’s third, having sired two in his first marriage to Maxine. Jess wondered how much of God’s plans went into divorces and remarriages and new families. It was so hard to understand life. She had always wanted to marry, raise a family and be the one to bake cookies for the neighborhood children. She had some of that for a few years, but her husband left her and the kids blamed her. Instead of baking cookies for her own and the neighborhood kids, she worked two and three jobs to survive. Was God cruel or did she have a different purpose in life?

Trying desperately to get to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in time for the birth, she drove a wee bit over the speed limit. Actually, it was more than a wee bit. It was more like thirty miles per hour which did not go unnoticed by a highway patrolman hiding behind a clump of trees along the highway. His quick response to her crime spree gave her pause to slow down, pull over, and stop. She knew she was in for a big ticket and wished she could offer more than a feeble excuse of a friend having a first baby.

“Ma’am, you were going bit fast back there. Is something wrong?”

Jess couldn’t believe her luck. She had transgressed in front of a humane officer who, for once, considered there might be a reason behind the speeding. Unfortunately, his kindly attitude left her totally unarmed.

“Not really, sir,” she said trying not to look like a victim. “A friend is having her first baby and I was hoping to get there in time. I don’t have any children of my own living at home, and, well … I guess I kind of live vicariously through these young people. I’m terribly sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, Ma’am. May I see your driver’s license and insurance card please.”

The officer took the two documents and went back to his car to run a check on her license plates, her license, and whatever else it is cops run checks on in the mysterious chambers of their squad cards. What seemed like a great length of time to Jessie was actually no more than a few minutes when the officer returned.

“What’s the name of your friend having the baby?” he asked, handing her cards back to her.

“Mick and Kim Tandeski. They live in Minneapolis and work with the homeless and stuff. They’re really great people. Ever heard of them? Kim used to be a cop?”

“I’ve never heard of Kim, but Mick Tandeski has quite a reputation in the Cities. He’s the guy who blew the whistle on his old law firm that was trafficking drugs isn’t he?”

“Something like that. I don’t know all the particulars, but I know it was a dangerous thing for him to do after he got clean himself. Now he’s going to law school nights to protect the rights of the underprivileged. He’s quite a guy.”

“Wasn’t he that guy that claimed a miraculous cure from drugs or something like that?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” Jess was beginning to worry the story that sounded too much like a story written by someone in a drug induced state of mind and would not to bode well for her when it came to ticket time. Much to her surprise, the officer, though not acquainted with Mick, saw him as an example of how one should live. No ticket this trip.

“Miss Bishop,” he offered. “I understand your desire to get to the hospital in time for the birth of this baby, but I doubt that child is going to consider you as thoroughly and will come whenever it wishes. So if you will kindly slow it down a little, perhaps just to the posted speed limit, if not for your sake at least for the sake of all your roadway companions, we’d all appreciate it and I’ll let you off with well wishes for the Tandeski family.”

“Oh Officer, thank you soooooo much,” said Jessie. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and I promise, I’ll keep it on 60 the rest of the way.

Jess pulled back out on the highway with a big smile on her face and elation in her spirit. This was indeed a wonderful day, and the good Lord willing, she’d still be there in time to welcome the new baby to the world.

As she was driving away, the police office was dialing his own cell phone.

“Hey Ricky, I’ve got some good news for you. Tandeski’s new wife is having a kid today. Yeah, Mick Tandeski. Ready to give him a little pay back? I just stopped a friend of the family headed their way, let her off with a polite warning. I’m about six miles out. She’s headed south on 40 driving a late model white Volvo, S60 sedan, license plate number …

Chapter 13

Waking up to the ringing phone at 11:00 in the morning was not a good sign for Darla O’Bryant. The investigation she was working on was about to wrap up. She was out until after 3:30 that morning getting the final shots and information to put it all together. It never ceased to amaze her that people were willing to pay her to do and get useless information upon which they banked their security. This case was about a pair of 10 year old boys allegedly stealing apples from a neighbor’s yard. The neighbor hired her to watch his house and the house where the boys lived to see if they were sneaking out at night to steal his apples. He professed to have lost barrels of apples from the two trees in his back yard. The results from her stake outs and video taping with night vision lenses proved the caper was pulled off by two guard dogs and a pair of frisky squirrels. The squirrels climbed the trees and nibbled at the apple stems until the apples fell to the grown. The dogs grabbed the apples and took them to various parts of the man’s yard where they dug holes and buried them. Darla doubted this amounted to bushels, and the neighbor’s only real evidence was the number of less-than-ripe apples lying on the ground each morning. Her appointment to meet with him and show him the results of the investigation was not until Friday. This was Thursday.

“This had better be important,” she growled into the phone as she picked it up on the sixth ring.

“Well, it might be profitable if you’re interested,” chirped Jessie from the other end of the line.

“Jessica Bishop, is that you?” Darla squirmed to sit up in her bed.

“The one and only” came the same perky reply. “I’m in town and thought I’d buy you lunch, but maybe I should make that breakfast. Are you up or willing to get up?”

“Oh,” sighed Darla, “the soul is willing but the body is weak. However, you did mention food and a hot shower should work to bring some life back into this bod.”

“Good. How much time do you need? I have two fun assignments for you.”

“Cool, as long as they don’t require me to trail dogs, I’m up for it.”

“Uh, okay, I have ONE fun assignment for you!”

“You’re kidding right? You have a dog tail for me to tail and tell the tale? I’m just finishing one canine caper that includes apples and squirrels. If you have apples and squirrels, I don’t even want to hear about it.”

“How about an abduction attempt and two and a half million dollars?”

“Where’s breakfast? I am so there!”

Darla got the name of the place and time from Jessie, a place she knew well and frequented often. Her boyfriend, Sean, worked in downtown Minneapolis and they liked to spend their weekends meeting up for breakfast when neither one was working. Too bad Sean had to work today. He would miss seeing Jessie, the only woman he truly loved outside of Darla, Darla’s mom, and his own mother.

The restaurant was in a more progressive part of the City where younger, more imaginative entrepreneurs were starting out in business. Darla’s own shop, Table Scraps, a scrap booking supply store and cropping center, was just a couple of doors down from A Funny Yolk, the favorite breakfast joint. It’s owner, Lawton Schor, was consider one of the richest, most eligible bachelors in Minneapolis. Darla thought he was attractive though Sean’s personality suited her more and he understood her, which is something most guys she had ever dated could not accomplish. Darla was unique and only Sean found that uniqueness extremely attractive. Both knew they would marry, some day. Darla, somewhat skittish about commitment, kept telling Sean she had a lot more tail to chase – when she was on a dog caper, or rendezvous to keep when she was following a wayward spouse. He loved her humor and she loved his. They were perfect together and in time …

Meanwhile the hot shower did the trick and within 45 minutes Darla was headed out the door to meet Jessie at A Funny Yolk. It was a short ten minute drive from her house and parking was at a premium during the lunch hour so she spun around the block four times before finding a place to park her car. Jessie was there and waiting for her, sipping a large cup of coffee and watching people walk by the window.

When she spotted Jessie, Darla waved and Jess waved in return. The two hugged when Darla got to the table. Old news was shared quickly, gossip whispered over steaming coffee cups, and pictures of family and friends were passed back and forth. Jessie inquired about Sean while Darla volleyed back with inquiries about Elmer. Jess never admitted an interest in Elmer. She didn’t have to. Darla could read hearts through a woman’s eyes.

“Tell me about these new situations,” begged Darla as soon as their plates arrived. “I know everything there is to know about the nocturnal habits of dogs and squirrels although I have to admit none of my clients have been worth millions. What’s up with this?”

“The first case is about a dog, yes. It involves Elmer and Missy and Augie’s dog Cody.”

“Oh, I am so sorry. I heard that Augie had passed. I never met the man, but I need to send a card. Work has been hectic lately.”

“I’m sure they understand and know your heart’s with them. They have some pretty big issues to deal with right now and I’m not sure they’re going to turn out real good. I’d like you to check out a couple by the name of Harper, Reginald and Sylvia Harper. She’s the daughter of the late Evangeline LaCroix who appears to have been quite the philanthropist.”

“Are you kidding? Eve LaCroix was famous in this area. She supported every worthy cause in town, especially those concerning animals. There’s a story that she walked into a cock fighting ring and personally assaulted the men who were running it. Bettors lost their bets that day. Eve was famous for being fearless and tireless when fighting crimes against children and animals. I never met her and always wished I could.”

“Do you know anything about her daughter?”

“Not much. The daughter was adopted and disgraced Eve some years back. The papers will have all the stories in their archives. So how does this relate back to Elmer and Missy?”

Jess spent another half hour explaining as much as she knew about the case and offered Darla a healthy sum to take it on. They agreed and a retainer check was passed from Jessie to Darla.

“Let’s move on to the second case,” said Darla. “You said you had two and I’m hoping this one is dealing more with people. I’m starting to feel like I’ve got fleas and I catch myself wanting to chase cars. This isn’t good for a woman my age. By the way, are you planning to eat that bone?”

After sharing a good laugh, Jessie started telling Darla the little she knew about Riley Cruise. When she was through, Darla stared at her with an expression that screamed ‘where did you come from?’

“Let me see if I understand this,” started Darla. “You have a guy named Doobie, a stoner from the sixties apparently, who owns a restaurant named the Surly Cow. No one knows his real name or place of origin. Then you have a girl named Riley Cruise who claims to be from somewhere out east but your friends don’t think she’s from there or that her real name is Riley Cruise. And she cries. Riley has rented a cabin from Doobie under the name of Walter Cronkite, a deceased TV news personality, and she paid cash. Riley now works for Doobie and gets her cabin free. All of you are letting two 11 year old children hang out with these two during the summer along with the dog that could be worth $2.5 million. One of your friends who wants all this investigated is the guy who found a piece of wood and worked miracles. Did I get it all?”

Not quite. Paul didn’t find a piece of wood…”

“I know, I know. This whole picture is a bit weird. You still haven’t told me who you want me to investigate. Doobie? Riley? Doobie and Riley? The piece of wood guy? Oh wait… let me guess, it’s the kids, right? Have they been accused of stealing apples or steaks from the restaurant?”

“No, of course not. You’ve met Doobie, haven’t you?”

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I would have remembered a hippie and a restaurant called the Surly Cow. That’s good though. If no one has met me I can investigate whoever it is I’m investigating without having to wear a disguise. Who is it I’m investigating?”

“Riley. She showed up out of nowhere and doesn’t answer questions except with another question usually. When the guys asked her where she was from she stammered and then said back east. We don’t know anything about her at all. When Rob and Paul saw her out beside the building bawling they got concerned for the kids. You know how psychologists are. They’ll have her profiled as a serial killer before the end of the month if we don’t find out more about her.”

“I would suggest keeping the kids away from there, at least until we know more.”

“We’re trying to, but they’re interviewing Doobie because he went to seminary or something and they’re doing research on gays.”

“Oh, this keeps getting better and better. These kids are 11? Doobie the stoner went to seminary and you’re letting these kids hang with him because, number one they’re researching gays, and number two, guys who go to seminary are okay, right?”

“No, of course not. We all know Doobie. He’s been in Duluth for 10 years. He opened the restaurant a year after he moved to this area. He lived in that little shack he’s renting to Riley and when the building of the restaurant was complete, he moved into the back where there’s a small apartment.”

“Let me guess, he’s afraid someone’s going to sneak in and steal the pickles?”

“Darla, I’m serious,” said Jessie through her smile. “We’re really concerned about who this Riley person is and, well, maybe she’s got problems and we can help her.”

“I should have known you’d have some ulterior Good Samaritan motive in there. How do I get to the Surly Cow?”

“You’ll take it? Great. You can stay at my place and …”

“No ma’am I cannot. If I am going to be under cover for this operation, I need to be a stranger to everyone in that town, you included. I’ll use a different name and since neither Missy nor Bobby has ever met me, I won’t have a problem being recognized. Let’s see … what name should I use this time? Hmmm….”

“Harley!” Jessie blurted out without thinking.

“Jessie? You some guy’s biker babe? You got a secret life we don’t know about?”

“No,” Jessie was blushing at the accusations Darla was making in jest. “When I was in college I dreamed about getting into the movies and being a famous actress. I was going to change my name to Harley. No last name. Just Harley.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing, obviously. I’m still stuck in Duluth volunteering with the local stage productions but that’s as far as my acting career ever got.”

“Well then, Harley it is. I should be able to get up there the first part of the week. Is there someplace near the Surly Cow I can stay? I’ll make up a good story to go along with my sudden appearance. It’ll be good, trust me.”

“Oh, I have no doubt it’ll be very good. I can’t wait to hear it myself. Might have to drop by the Surly Cow and meet you. You can stay at the Dew Drop Inn. It’s about half a mile from the Surly cow and it doesn’t have a restaurant.”

“The Dew Drop Inn? Are you serious? How original is that? This case is getting funnier and funnier all the time and I haven’t even started yet. If we’re through here, I want you to meet some cohorts in crime who help me out sometimes. They have a place just down the block. Another restaurant, except they don’t like meals so it’s just desserts and appetizers. The girls that own it, Sheryl and Stephanie, are identical twins. Sher likes desserts best and then appetizers, while Steph likes appetizers first and then dessert.”

“So what’s the name of this restaurant?”

“Dessertizers & Appizerts! Since Sher is six minutes older than Steph, she gets to put her choice of name first. You will love these two girls. They make me look normal!”

“That would take quite a stretch!” laughed Jessie as they departed the Funny Yolk.

Bobby’s mother Esther stood staring into Eddy’s eyes not sure how to react or what to do. She believed the relationship was over when she was released from the hospital. Eddy, a married orderly with whom she had developed a relationship, was not around the last few days before her discharged. His wife, also a hospital employee, was well aware of the affair and was definitely not taking the news well, and Eddy was given a termination notice by the hospital.

At last she merely held the door open wider and stepped back for him to enter. It was embarrassing for her that he had shown up before she was settled in. Many boxes were still unpacked and cluttered up the place.

“How’ve you been Essie?” Eddy began, looking around him in disgust. “I tried to see you before I left the hospital, but they wouldn’t let me back in.” Eddy was a compulsive neatness freak and what he saw around him turned his stomach. Had it been him, all of this would have been done the first day he returned. Esther, Essie to him, however, worked slowly, methodically, recalling the memories of each piece.

“Why’d you leave the hospital Eddy?” She asked knowing the truth but wanting to hear it from him.

“Sandy found out about us. She wanted to make trouble for you and I couldn’t handle that, so I left.”

“What could she have done to me?”

“Essie, she knows where your boy is. She planned to take steps to make sure you never saw him again.”

“Why would she do that? I didn’t do anything to her.”

“You were sleeping with her husband, how did you think she would take it?”

“We didn’t sleep together Eddy. We had sex. How did she find out? Did you tell her?”

“Of course not! Why would I do that? I love you Essie. I just can’t find a way to get away from Sandy right now without it hurting you and your kid. Come here, let me hold you for a little while. I can’t stay long because that old crow will be looking for me, but I have to hold you. I promise I won’t let her hurt you. I’ll only stay with her as long as it takes to make sure you get your boy back and then we can be together.”

“Hmmm Essie, you smell so good. Where’s your bedroom? I don’t have much time, but I need you. I haven’t slept with anyone since the last time we were together. I can’t stand the thought of looking at Sandy, much less touching her. I need you Essie.”

Like the lamb to the slaughter, Esther followed Eddy into her bedroom and succumbed to his charms once again. She knew he would never lie to her and he would come back to her as soon as she got Bobby back safely. She would be patient. Eddy loved her and there was no doubt in her mind she loved him. She just wished she trusted him more. He was so good to her, but she had such issues with trust because of Walter. Eddy would prove his trust worthiness over time. Until then, she just had to be patient, love him, pray for him, and hope Sandy fell off a cliff somewhere.

The love making was quick and unfulfilling for Esther. She smelled the beer on his breath but excused this by reminding herself that Eddy was under a lot of strain from Sandy. What kind of a woman would threaten to keep a child from his mother over a man who didn’t love her? Esther wished there was some way she could report Sandy’s behavior to the hospital authorities, but when she expressed this to Eddy he warned her it would only be harmful to him in the end.

“Trust me babe,” he said as he dried off from a quick shower. “Anything we try to do to save ourselves will only make us look desperate and that woman is evil, she’s going to win. Her type always does. I’ve caught her in so many lies and situations it’s unbelievable.”

“Like what, Eddy? Tell me what she’s really like.”

“Esther, you’re so sweet, I don’t want to defile your beautiful ears with stories of her trash.”

“How can I help you get through this if I don’t know where you’ve been? Please Eddy, you’ve done so much for me, at least let me be your listening post.”

Eddy looked down at the floor as though embarrassed by the things he was about to say. “Esther,” he began slowly, tears in his eyes. “I loved her when I met her. We were so good together and … well, I thought … I hoped it would last forever. It didn’t last a month before I came home and found her in bed with …”

“With who, Eddy? Was it another man?”

“It was an old boyfriend. He’d come into town while I was at work and I guess this thing between them had been going on for years, long before I ever met her. I was so crushed … so sickened I didn’t know what to do. I left, went back into town and got drunk. A few months later when I had nearly wiped that out of my mind she told me she was pregnant. I wanted to believe the baby was mine, but that scene with this other man kept coming back and I just couldn’t get it out of my mind.”

“Oh Eddy, I can’t believe you have had to go through all that. Why did you stay with her? Why didn’t you leave then?”

“I was so confused Esther. I tried to get help for her, tried every way I could to work with her, but she just laughed at me. Deep down I still loved her and didn’t want to abandon someone who was so sick.”

“Is it true you were married before her? That she stole you away from your first wife?”

“Actually, it was my second wife. There are some things I haven’t told you about myself that aren’t very nice. I’m afraid of losing you, losing your faith in me. I don’t want to say or do anything to make me look like a jerk in your eyes. I was married when I was 17 to a girl I met while I was in the Navy. It was one of those quickie shore leave things that didn’t last a year. She was older than me and had a kid, so I felt sorry for her. I married her, adopted the kid then found out she was cheating on me while I was home taking care of her kid. I loved that little boy. As far as I was concerned, he was mine.”

“What was his name Eddy? Do you still keep in touch with him?”

“Yeah,” Eddy brightened as he pulled a picture out of his wallet. “Here, this is Scotty. I haven’t been allowed to see him for a long time, but I still pay child support every month.”

“He’s really cute,” smiled Esther encouragingly. “You’re such a good dad. I know Bobby will love you too. After you left your first wife, what happened?”

I was stationed in California and started dating a girl I met on base. It was great at first, but then she got pregnant and tried to pin it on me. I was pretty sure it wasn’t my kid because she had a reputation for sleeping around a whole lot. But, she contacted my commanding officer and before I knew it I was saying I do again to a woman I couldn’t stand.”

“How long did that one last?”

“Not long, really. I got orders for Japan and when I got back she either was pregnant or got pregnant the day I got home. All those months away I was thinking and praying and knowing I had to make this marriage work for the sake of my little girl. Then I got home after a year and wham, she’s knocked up before I get my socks off. I still don’t know if he’s mine or not. I really doubt it. Some of my buddies told me she was sleeping around while I was gone, and considering what she was before I met her, I have some doubts about that kid. Right after that boy was born was when I met Sandy. I fell hard for her and I believed everything would be different. Essie, please promise me you’ll never hurt me. Please?”

Tears started to form around the edges of Eddy’s eyes. Esther gently took his head to her chest and rocked him like a child. It was so sad to see this wonderful man cry because of the women who had abused his love, taken advantage of him. Eddy was the type though that would attract women. He had a certain boyish innocence about him even though he was tall, slender, blond haired, with deep set blue eyes more beautiful than any man should be allowed have. The sadness and pain in his eyes were what cut to the heart for Esther. She wanted to hold him, to save him, to give him the kind of love and understanding he deserved. And she would. All she had to do was get Bobby back and find a better job. Then Eddy could get away from Sandy and they could be a family. Maybe they could get his daughter from his second marriage too. That way Bobby would have a younger sister … how old was this girl? Eddy didn’t say and she didn’t want to ask anymore questions right now. He was in too much pain and needed time to heal. The boy from that marriage wouldn’t be an issue. Eddy didn’t believe the boy was his and she didn’t want another boy. That woman, the wife before Sandy, had the audacity to name her child Eddy, Jr. but that didn’t make him Eddy’s child. So, her love had been married to Darlene and Wanda and Sandy. Now he would have a real woman, a real mother for the children, a woman who would love him no matter what, a woman with the Biblical name of Esther. She liked that he called her Essie. They sounded good together, Eddy and Essie.

She rocked Eddy in her arms until she could hear the smooth, even breathing of sleep. Gently, she stepped up and let his head slide to the pillow at the end of the sofa. Sandy could just wait for him for a change. He needed to be loved, to have some peace, some rest. Essie looked down at him and loved him with her eyes, the love of a mother and wife, not lustful, dirty love. He snored a little, a dribble of saliva slid out of his mouth and down his cheek. These things brought a smile to her lips. Moments like these she wanted to cherish forever.

Chapter 9

“How long is that bloody dead dog going to stay in the freezer?” Reggie scowled at Sylvia who was slopping up cold cereal across the table from him. She had the worst table manners he had ever seen in a woman and wondered why she had not acquired some of the finesse of her late mum.

“Until we get the other one, ya idiot. You’re not eating. You sick?”

“Yes,” he looked at the milk dribbling down her chin and fairly gagged at the sight of her. “I think I’m coming down with something. When we get that other dog and leave this one, don’t you think someone will notice that he’s quite frozen? It’s not the smartest plan I’ve heard yet, you know.”

“Have you got a better plan?”

“Why not just find another dog like Xaviar, snatch one and leave the other in his place. No one will know the difference.”

“That kid will. Xaviar’s become attached to the little brat and she’ll be able to tell if the dog acts different.”

“Y,know something luv, I was just thinking. Didn’t you say the kid’s grandfather had passed away and she was living with this old chap, Elmer? So, where are her parents? Where’s her mum? If she’s an orphan and ain’t got no parents, then maybe we should adopt her and bring the little angel home with us.”

“Are you crazy? I don’t want no snotty nosed kid living with me. You take her but you can take her somewhere else.”

“That’s fine with me, because where she goes, the dog goes and where the dog goes, the bloomin’ money goes you twit.”

“You’re right, she is a cute little thing and we’ve always wanted children of our own, haven’t we. Too bad I’m barren and your swimmers only know the dead man’s float. Outside of that you’re plainly worthless. We need to adopt.”

“Flo down at the pub don’t think I’m worthless. She seems to think I’m hot.”

“That’s because you sweat in your beer. It ain’t got nothing to do with your looks. You’re a real porker to look at.”

“Look whose talking!”

“But ya married me. In fact, ya begged me to marry ya. I can’t be all that bad.”

“You wasn’t payin’ attention luv. I said I needed to marry ya so I wouldn’t be deported. You didn’t think I was after your good looks did ya? I’d already had everything else and that weren’t no good neither.”

“You was after my money.”

“And that worked out pretty well for me too, didn’t it? We’re both penniless. If you’d a let me handle your mum a couple of times we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“My mother hated you.”

“Not half as much as she hated you. By the way, what was it that killed the old bat anyway? Thoughts of you?”

“No, I think it was swine flu. She took one look at you and started feeling ill.”

The two sat and continued to bicker over their morning coffee or tea and the newspaper. There was no end to the fighting that could go on for days at a time. Luckily, a knock on the door, an extremely rare occasion, brought them to their senses for a few minutes.

“Who’s that?” asked Sylvia looking anxiously at Reggie.

“I don’t right know, luv. I don’t have my x-ray vision glasses on me right now. Why don’t you answer the door and find out the hard way?”

With a huff of ill humor Sylvia rose from her place at the breakfast table and pulled her raggedy old housecoat together, tying the knot tightly, before stomping off to answer the front door. As she reached for the door knob she lifted her head high and placed a smile on her lips. When she felt as presentable as the queen herself she opened the door.

“Good morning. I’m looking for Mrs. Harper? Is she in?” said the pleasantly dressed woman on the doorstep.

“She might be. Who are you?”

“My name is Jessica Bishop. I’m with the Celebrity Echo, a weekly publication. I’m sure you’ve heard of us. My job is to interview and highlight people in, shall we say, certain social circles. We try not to be snobbish about it, of course, but I understand you’ve come into a great deal of money through the passing of your beloved mother Evangeline LaCroix. It would be my greatest honor to interview you and your husband. I understand he’s British and quite the hunk.”

Sylvia stood speechless for a moment but a feeble mind is not necessarily a slow mind.

“We’d love to chat with you, uh …”

“Jessica Bishop, but you can call me Jessie.”

“Thank you, Jessie. How did you find us? We’re having the mansion redecorated and are just staying here until it’s ready. I’m sure you can understand. Would you give me just a moment? I want to make sure my hunk, er husband, is decent.” With that she all but slammed the door in Jessie face and sped back to the kitchen. In her breathless state, which Reggie took for desire, she tried to explain their predicament.

“Not now Sylvie, I’m reading the paper.”

“Shut it, you cow. There’s a lady here from the Celebrity Echo wants to interview us for the society page. I told her we was having the mansion redone so we’re stayin’ here temporarily. Would you mind putting on something decent over your boxers and wife beater? She thinks you’re a hunk ‘cause you got an accent.”

“Lots of women find me attractive, Sylvie. You just don’t know what a real man looks like anymore. If we’re havin’ the mansion redone, how’d she know how to find us here?”

“I don’t know. Just get dressed and meet us in the livin’ room. And hurry.”

Sylvie ran back to the front door and stopped to catch her breath before opening it again. This time she also fluffed her hair, checked her teeth in the mirror by the coat rack, and lifted her breasts which were sagging at a rate far greater than the value of G. With nothing to hold them, as she had not yet put on her bra, they tended to fall back into their slack position. Her only solution was to hold her arms together at her sides, and keep her hands crossed beneath her breasts in front of her. It is not certain why she felt it necessary to do this for a female reporter, however.

Once again, this time with more graciousness, Sylvia opened the door and welcomed Jessie Bishop into her home, and once more apologized for the living conditions as the mansion was, she restated, being redecorated.

As soon as everyone was seated in the living room, and Jessie had managed to put a dab or Vaseline under each nostril claiming sinus problems which caused her breathing to stop up, the interview could begin.

“Mrs. Harper,” Jessie began, “I understand you are the sole heir to the fortune left by your mother, the socialite and philanthropist, Evaneline LaCroix. How does it feel to be following in the footsteps of such a vastly admired person as Eve?”

“We’re humbled,” said Reggie without hesitation or consideration of his wife. “Eve meant the world to us and we are grateful to be chosen to pass on her legacy of humanitarian works.”

“So you do plan to continue her work in seeing that puppy mills and the mistreatment of all animals are eradicated from our society. Is that true, Mrs. Harper.”

“Yes, it’s true,” said Reggie. “You’ll have to excuse my little dumplin’ here. She’s still a bit overcome with grief over the loss of her dear, sweet mum.” He leaned over and put a protective arm around his wife, who turned her head the other direction to avoid the underarm body odor emanating from her loving spouse’s pit. “It’s alright luv,” Reggie said looking at his wife. “You don’t need to be ashamed to mourn. Your mum was a wonderful, wonderful lady and we will all miss her terribly.”

“I understand completely,” responded Jessie trying to breathe through her mouth as much as possible. Vaseline can only do so much and sometimes it’s more effective against the stench of death than the stench of sweaty, living cells, as was the case with the Harpers. “Perhaps you’d like to share some stories about Mrs. LaCroix and her dog Xaviar. I understand the little pooch is in line to inherit a great sum of money as well. Is he with you here?”

“Um, no,” said Reggie, pinching the back of Sylvia’s neck to make sure she didn’t speak. “He’s being boarded at a rather exclusive kennel in a location we can’t disclose. As you may be quite aware, Mrs. Bishop, there are people around who will steal an animal who has wealth and breeding. We don’t want to take any risks with Xaviar. He’s far too valuable, um, too precious to all of us.”

“Oh dear, I had never thought of that. If Xaviar were to be stolen, how could you identify him to have him returned.”

“Beats me,” said Reggie.

“We have several sources available to us in that regard,” said Sylvia, come back to life from her near-death-experience. “Mother always had DNA testing done on her dogs, plus, Xaviar has an identification chip inserted under the skin, and we have paw prints and dental records on file.”

“Oh my, that’s a lot of information to keep track of. Do you file all these records with the police?”

“No, we don’t always trust law enforcement to enforce, as they should. We keep all of Xaviar’s records in a locked file box in our bank. If anything ever happens to him, we can take those files to the police for positive identification.”

“That is all simply amazing,” said Jessie standing and closing her notebook, at the same time putting her hand in her pocket to turn off the recording device. “I so appreciate …”

“That’s it?” squeaked Sylvia. “Don’t you want to know more about me? I’m her only daughter and I …”

“In journalism,” Jessie interrupted smoothly, “we like to start off with a tiny tidbit of information to whet the reader’s appetite. Then we build on that each week, until we get to the pièce de résistance, the one story that everyone is waiting to hear. Maybe by then the mansion will be done so we can take pictures of both of you in your natural habitat. With Xaviar, of course. I’m just dying to see it and I know our readers are too. Plus, you’ll be much more comfortable in your own home than in this … this….um, uh, temporary shelter that I’m sure must have been generously provided to you by one of your servile staff.”

Making haste to depart before anymore questions could be asked Jessie shook both of their hands, rushed to her car, washed her hands with bottled sanitizer and drove away.

“She was a weird bird, don’t you think luv?” asked Reggie as he watched her drive away through the curtains on the window.

“She’s with the Celebrity Echo. She’s probably interviewed celebrities all over the world, so she understands me. That’s more than I can say for you.”

“Celebreties huh? What’s she doin’ nosin’ around here then? You ain’t no celebrity.”

“A lot you know. When you’re raised with wealth and privilege, you’re a celebrity.”

“Then how come all she was asking about was the dog?” Reggie drew back from the window and put his hands to work unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it out from where it was tucked into his pants. “You gave her enough information to know how we identify the dog. What do you suppose she’s going to do with all that information?”

“Don’t be such an ass. She’s going to write a story about mother and that dog. Later she’ll write about us, the real story, the real celebrities still living.”

“Ain’t it kind of funny she didn’t ask for no pictures?”

“I bet she’s got plenty of pictures of mother.”

“Really? Have you ever seen her magazine? I ain’t never heard of it.”

“Well, I … I’m sure there are copies around mother’s house. Why don’t we go take a look. While we’re there I can find something nice to wear when she interviews us. Not much we can do about you, I’m afraid.”

“Not much needs to be done about me luv. I’m already charming.”

Meanwhile, Jessie Bishop was racing back to Duluth with the information she received through the unknowing Harpers. With windows wide open, the fresh, though hot and humid, air was gradually washing away the stench. No matter what it took, she was determined to save Cody for Missy. Some day that little girl would need the money, and she was going to see to it the child got what she deserved. As she drove, a plan was formulating in her head, and a smile began spreading across her lips.

Chapter 10

Jessie began typing up all her notes on everything she had seen, heard, and acquired from the Harpers. Then she spent hours in the library researching Evangeline LaCroix who was a well known philanthropist in the St. Paul area. Her main focus of interest for giving was always with animals and animal shelters. In her lifetime she had fostered or adopted over seventy dogs, Cody being the only one she raised from puppyhood. Pictures of her and Cody were plentiful in the society pages and philanthropic magazines. Before long she had quite a dossier on Eve and her dog.

Her next adventure would be to see about the will. This would be a more challenging chore, however, her creative mind was generally working overtime and this would be helpful.

“Good afternoon,” she said huskily into the cell phone. “My name is Jessica Bishop and I represent the family of the late August Pendergast.” Good she sounded official. “I’d like to make an appointment to visit with Mr. Bryce Phillips. I understand he represents the late Evangeline LaCroix.”

“Yes, he does” smiled the receptionist through the phone. She had been taught well. “I’m afraid Mr. Phillips is out of town until Thursday, would a Friday appointment be inconvenient for you?”

“Not in the least. What is a good time for Bryce?” She wanted to sound familiar, on his level.

“Shall we say 2:00 PM? If there are any conflicts, where might I be able to reach you Ms. Bishop?”

“My cell phone is always best,” replied Jessie as she proceeded to give the receptionist her number. “I spend an inordinate amount of time out of my office these days, but please feel free to call me at that number any time. And thank you for your courtesy. I look forward to seeing Bryce on Friday.”

The next call was to Mick Tandeski. He and Kim Frazier had married and settle in Minneapolis to help oversee the operation of the Tandeski Foundation’s Homeless Shelter. Mick worked many years with a law firm and knew probably every lawyer in the City. Certainly he would know something about Bryce Phillips. Besides, Mick was attending law school at night to be a legal advocate for the homeless in Minneapolis.

“Jessie! What a surprise! It is so good to hear from you,’ enthused a pregnant Kim over the phone. “Mick’s not here right now, but when can you come by for dinner. I’m not getting around as fast as I used to so come spend the day with me.”

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting such an effervescent welcome! Pregnancy sounds good on you! To be quite honest, I’d like to come down Thursday afternoon, spend some time with you and hopefully spend the night, if you have room. I’ve got an appointment on Friday and I really need Mick’s help with this.”

“Do we have the room? Are you kidding? We have four bedrooms in this place. One is for the baby and one for guests…and you are definitely a guest … and one is ours and the fourth is used as our office. You haven’t seen the house yet so yes, come down Thursday. Come as early as you can so we can have lunch and I can show you the baby’s room, and we can talk about everyone and everything back home and…”, Kim stopped suddenly and was crying. “I’m sorry Jess, I get so emotional sometimes. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Honey” said Jessie, “you’re pregnant and that’s wonderful. Mood swings are a big part of the whole program and it’s worth every single, miserable moment when you see those tiny toes and look into those sleepy eyes. Do you know the gender yet?”

“I do, but I promised Mick I wouldn’t tell him. Well, actually, I told Mick I didn’t know because he doesn’t want to know. Please tell me you’ll come early Thursday. I can’t wait to see you. We have so much to catch up on.”

“How about 11:30 Thursday morning?”

“That sounds awesome. I’ll see you then and I can’t wait to tell Mick. He’ll be so excited. He doesn’t have class that night either so we can spend time together. Oh this is great. I love you Jess. See you Thursday.”

The phone call served to lift Jessie’s spirits immensely. Kim had gone from a spit-fire cop, widow, and miserably lonely young lady to an exuberant, happily married, mother-to-be in just over three years. It seemed natural that her first husband, the one who had become a paraplegic thanks to a drunk driver, had also been a lawyer and now Mick was studying law. Before she got pregnant, Kim had worked with the Homeless Shelter as security. She was hired by the Minneapolis Police Department and allowed to work at the shelter pretty much full-time as part of her duties. It was a situation that worked out well for everyone, but as soon as she began to show her baby bulge she took maternity leave thinking she might never go back to fighting crime.

As soon as she completed all of her business for the day, placed all the articles and pictures into their respective folders, she took a long hot shower and sat down to relax in front of the TV set. Her cat, Snickers, jumped up into her lap and made himself quite at home. They each dozed off for a short time while watching some day-time game show. She had three days before Thursday with not a lot to do but relax and prepare.

About 5:30 in the afternoon, after a good hour’s nap with Snickers, she was awakened by the ringing of her cell phone. To her surprise the caller was Paul Grant.

“Hey Paul, what’s up? I don’t have the pleasure of hearing from you often enough.”

“Jessie, I need your help. You have to be a good detective to be a gossip columnist, right? So I have a job for you. We’ll even pay you.”

“Who’s we? What kind of job do you have in mind?”

“There’s a new girl working at the Surly Cow with Doobie. There’s something about her we don’t quite get, but we can’t get any information out of her and we can’t ask Doob. We wouldn’t care except Missy and Bobby are working out there this summer.”

“Paul, I hate to stop you, but you know about child labor laws and stuff don’t you?”

“Oh yeah. It’s not like that. They found out Doobie went to seminary or something and …”

“He did?”

“Yeah, go figure. Blew me over too. Anyway, the kids have some kind of secret questions they want to ask Doobie about the Bible. They won’t tell anyone else what it is. It has something to do with something Augie said before he died. He’s the one who knew about Doobie.”

“I’m following you so far, I think,” said Jessie, “but who is it you want investigated? Is it Doobie or the girl or the kids?”

“The girl. She says her name’s Riley Cruise and she’s from back east. I tried to ask Doobie some questions about her, but you know how he is. His standard answer is ‘I dunno’. “

“So what is it that makes you so suspicious?”

“When Rob and I took the kids out there to work the other day we stayed and had lunch. She waited on us and got a bit nervous when we asked where she was from, then she stammered back east like she had to think of something to say.”

“You shrink types are all alike. You think maybe not remembering where she was from right away has something to do with her toilet training? You look for weird where there isn’t any.”

“That’s harsh Jessie! My feelings are hurt.”

“I can just about imagine!” she laughed. “What’s the real reason you want her checked out?”

“When we were pulling out of the parking lot after lunch, that girl was at the side door bawling her eyes out.”

“Okay, so did you leave her a tip?”

“Yes, we left a big tip. I’m serious Jessie. I really think this kid has a problem and I don’t want to put Missy and Bobby in a position that could be dangerous.”

“Exactly what do you want me to do?”

“You can start by picking up the kids at 6 tonight and maybe hanging around, having dinner with them there. I’ll pay you back for everything you spend. Just keep your receipts.”

“That actually sounds like fun. Time with the kids alone and a bison burger to boot. Plus, I think I’ve got just the girl to do some detective work for you. She’s clever, she’s cute, and she can act any part. Let me work on this. Oh, and thanks for calling. This sounds like a lot more fun than some of my other projects. Want me to take the kids back to their respective homes? Oh, by the way, Paul, before we hang up, what’s going to happen to Missy? Is she going to be allowed to stay on with Elmer? He isn’t exactly in a position to adopt her, but can’t he get guardianship or something?”

“We don’t know what’s going to happen just yet, Jess. Angel’s looking into things for us. For the time being, we’re just happy she’s where she wants to be. If Sarah and I have to adopt her to keep her here, we’ll do it. We’d love to do it in fact, but that’s not what Missy wants. I think the kid deserves a chance to choose this time.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. How about Bobby? Is he still with the Harvey’s? Does he know his mom’s been released from the hospital?”

“She what?”

Last week’s posted chapter was mislabeled chapter 7 instead of chapter 6, so this week you are getting the real chapter 7 plus a bonus short chapter 8. Enjoy and Happy Easter everyone.

Elmer sat quietly waiting. This was not where he wanted to be, nor what he wanted to be doing. Life was hard enough without having to face these decisions. What was he going to do? While Augie was alive there was an income from his work as an adjunct professor at the college and his social security. Now, with Augie gone, the income was gone, and he was facing the task of supporting an 11 year old child on just his own social security disability check. What would it cost to get set up as a foster parent? Would they even consider him at his age and in his marital status? What was the best thing for Missy? Didn’t she deserve to have a mother and a father, people young enough to do things with her? And wasn’t she entitled to some kind survivor’s benefits?

At last he knew he had put off the inevitable as long as he could. He opened the car door and stepped out into the muggy Minnesota air and began that long walk up the sidewalk to the Scott home. In the back of his mind he hoped Angel wouldn’t be home, wouldn’t answer the door, or would be too busy to see him after all. Such was not the case. Before he could even ring the doorbell she was opening the screen and pulling him into a warm hug.

“Elmer, come in here where it’s cooler. How have you been? Can I get you some iced tea or lemonade? Go ahead, have a seat and I’ll get us both something cold to drink. The twins are napping so we can talk uninterrupted. Oh, it’s so good to see you.”

Finally taking a breath Angel left him alone while she went into the kitchen. He looked around at the well dressed home that was elegant and inviting, welcoming, and still you knew it was lived-in. This is where a happy family lived and loved. This is the type of home Missy needed. He was crazy to think she could really be happy staying with him. Besides, he was a loner. He’d always been a loner and people didn’t fit well into his lifestyle. He and his dogs, that’s the way it was meant to be. Not him, some kid about to enter puberty, and his dogs.

Angel, forever the perfect hostess, returned carrying a tray with two tall glasses of lemonade, filled with ice and perspiring in the humidity. Beside the glasses was a plate filled with an assortment of cookies. Not just regular cookies, but homemade from scratch cookies.

She looked as though she had just stepped out of a TV commercial with white linen slacks, a colorful sleeveless top and sandals. There’s no way she was dressed like that when the kids were awake he was quite sure. Then again, Angel and Rob were such awesome people maybe their kids didn’t cry, fill diapers, make noise or messes, and weren’t demanding. Fat chance. All kids were some bother, and that thought brought him back to the point of his visit.

“Angel,” he stammered a bit before getting her name out. “I know you ain’t working while the kids is small, but I really need some good advice.”

“Of course,” said Angel as sweetly as he knew she would. “Is this about Missy?”

“Yeah. What should I do?”

“Well Elmer, what do you want to do? What does Missy want?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know what I want or what’s best for her. She says she wants to stay with me and the animals but that can’t be the best thing for her can it? I’m an old man.”

“Elmer, Elmer, Elmer! Since when did 59 become old? I happen to know you are still the most eligible bachelor in Duluth. Have you considered foster parenting?”

“I’ve thought about it but there’s another problem. As you probably know I collect disability for my back. I can’t sit or stand too long, can’t lift much, and can’t walk very far. But that disability money ain’t much. We was doin’ okay when old Augie was alive ‘cuz he got income from the college. I can’t afford to support me and Missy on my disability and that ain’t fair to the girl.”

“You need to search your soul and ask God where he wants Missy,” said Angel.

“That there’s another problem I ain’t as God-fearin’ as you and the rest, Angel. I don’t go to no church and I don’t spend a lot of time on my knees saying thou art and thine and stuff like that. It doesn’t feel right.”

Angel laughed out loud and leaned over to take a hold of Elmer’s hand. “I don’t think God wants us to talk that way either. I certainly don’t talk to God like that because I don’t talk to you like that. God accepts me as I am, the way He made me. And as far as going to church, it’s a personal choice. I was raised going to mass every day. Some of my dearest, most devout Christian friends don’t go to church because they abhor what organized religion has done to our core beliefs. God doesn’t ask us to form committees and governing bodies to decide what we can believe and can’t believe, what we can or can’t say, and what we can or can’t do. Churches have a tendency to be judges and that’s not what we have been asked to be. I’m not saying all churches, but there are just too many denominations out there for every one of them to be the only one chosen by God. Hey, I didn’t mean to get on my soap box but I think you get what I’m trying to say. Make God a part of your life just as you are. Communicate with Him the way you do with me and then just wait for His answer.”

“I’ll try. D’ya think He’ll help me figure out a way to do what’s best for Missy? She’s a great kid, y’know.”

“Yes, she is a great kid. We all love her. One thing I should mention about foster parenting. You get paid to do it. The drawback here would be we might have to find her legal parents and get their permission. If we can’t find them she becomes a ward of the state and we go from there. Until then whatever help you need you can count on all of us to be there for you and for Missy.”

“Thank you miss Angel. I knew you’d steer me in the right direction … what I don’t under…”

Elmer’s sentence was cut off by the murmuring voices of sleepy headed three year old twins coming through the door from their bedroom. One looked like a carbon copy of the other, and both looked like Rob. The battles over what to name the identical twin girls were world war history in their small circle of friends. First off Rob wanted a second opinion after the sonogram believing a mistake was made and he was going to be the father of twin boys. Then the lovely, calm mother-to-be allowed hormones to take over and let him know exactly what she thought about that idea in the most unchristian of terms, I might add. Hormones will do stuff like that. The battle lines were drawn. Rob was picking boy names and Angel was selecting girl names. In the end the girl’s actual names were feminine versions of Rob’s boy names, sort of. Somehow between the time of that first labor pain and the first glimpse of the baby, all battles are forgotten, the war was over, the two sides kissed and made up and everyone was happy to give in and let the other side win. Cory and Haden became Lori and Raven. Monique and Raquelle were dismissed when Rob emphasized the fact that their last name was Scott and didn’t go well with fancy French or Italian names. He won with minor concessions, one being that he had twin girls and definitely not twin boys.

The children stopped for a second while rubbing their little eyes and looked at Elmer. Raven, the older of the two by 13 minutes and change, was the first to recognize the family friend and run in for a big hug from the dog man. Lori, the quieter, shyer little sister, stepped sideways slowly, trying to get to her mom before deciding if she was awake and alert enough to welcome Elmer into their home. After the hug, Raven headed straight for the cookies and, as usual, brought one to her sister too.

“They are some beautiful babies, Ms. Angel. You plannin’ on havin’ more or ain’t that none of my business? You can tell me if it ain’t. I always wanted to get married and have little ones myself, but …”

“Why didn’t you Elmer? You would have been a great dad.”

“Sometimes things happen to change yer dreams, y’know? When you and Rob was separated did you ever think you’d be sittin’ here drinking lemonade with two beautiful little girls hangin’ on your knee, eatin’ your homemade cookies?”

Angel looked at her daughters wistfully. “No, I guess I didn’t,” she said. “I hoped and dreamed but I was never sure it could happen. Fifteen years is a long time to hold that dream.”

“I had a dream once too. Her name was Mary Lou. Mary Lou Conley, prettiest girl in Duluth back in the day. We dated in high school and planned to get hitched after we graduated. Her daddy had different plans. He made her go away to college and get an education. Told her she could do a whole lot better’n me. So, she went away to school, all the way to Moorhead State. Fore you know it she got hooked up with a football star from that college. His name was Dean Dahlman. Just the name sounds like a jock don’t it? Anyway my Mary Lou married that guy Dean and they’re living happily ever after out there in the west somewhere. Saw their picture in the paper when they was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. She looks as pretty as she did the last time I saw her. That fella she married weren’t much to look at but they got a bunch a kids and grandkids now. She’ll probably stay with him. I bet she’s forgot all about me by now.”

“I doubt anyone could forget about you, Elmer,” Angel soothed. “Some people don’t find their true love, their soul mate, until later in life. You just never know. There might be an even better Mary Lou waitin’ just around the corner.”

“A better Mary Lou? Not a chance. Maybe a just as good a one, but never better. I checked around the corner for I come in though, and there weren’t nobody waitin’.”

“I was speaking figuratively, Elmer…” Angel stopped mid sentence realizing Elmer might not understand what she meant and decided it was better to drop the subject and move on. “So, what do you want me to help you do about Melissa? Should we proceed with finding out about fostering? It’s a big gamble because the State then gets involved and can open a big can of worms. Right now no one knows you’re not related or that she is living with you without any relationship. Did Augie leave a will or anything to state what should happen to Missy if he died?”

“What you mean IF he died. He DID die. There’s a will alright, but he didn’t have legal custody of her neither. His daughter dropped Missy off with him and ran off with some man. Lucky Augie was able to get her birth certificate and Missy’s last name is the same as his, plus there ain’t no father listed so no one questioned it much.”

“What’s his daughter’s name? Do you have that birth certificate? It could help us a lot in locating the parents, or in this case the single parent, and get things on the way to finding a solution to your problem.”

“I ain’t got the certificate on me if that’s what you mean. It’s in a locked box at the bank where all Augie’s important papers was kept. I can’t remember exactly what his daughter’s name was, but it was unusual, like she was named for someone in the movies or somethin’. It was … um…,” looking around as if to find something to job his memory, Elmer concentrated heavily on remembering the name. “Eugenie! That’s it. She was named after Napoleon’s ole lady. Augie said she hated the name she always made up pretend names. Eugenie Pedergast. That was her maiden name but I don’t know if she got married or something and chnged her name. I bet you got access to that inner-net don’t ya? I hear you can find people by looking on there. D’ya think we could find this Genie?”

“Well, we can certainly try. Okay girls go play in your room for awhile. Uncle Elmer and I are going to check on some stuff on the computer.”

“I wanna play puter too!” squealed a delighted Raven. “So does sister don’t ya sister.” Lori nodded her little head full of curls, brown eyes wide in amazement and wonder at this big world she lived in. “See,” said Raven. “Sister wants to play puter too.”

“Not this time girls,” said Angel lovingly. “Uncle Elmer and I have some things to do on the big computer. Why don’t you go to your room and play on your little girl computers?”

“Okay,” said Raven, grabbing her sister’s hand and pulling her in the direction of their room.

“Okay,” echoed Lori as she allowed herself to be led.

“They have their own computers?”

“Don’t be too impressed they’re more learning tools than computers. The girls are pretty smart and we like to keep their little minds stimulated so we buy them educational toys like that. Let’s go see what we can find out about Eugenie Pedergast.”

Angie led the way down the short hall to the office that she and Rob shared. Theirs was a nice house, big enough for four people to live comfortably and still entertain on occasion. The office had two computers on two different desks so that when each was occupied the occupants were sitting back to back with plenty of room between them for the girls to play with their own educational toys. Angel sat down at one of the desks and proceeded to pull up the internet and attempt to find the missing parent. She tried several search engines with no results. If the girl had married and changed her name, there was no way they were going to find her. What Angel needed was Eugenie’s social security number and that might be a bit hard to get her hands on.

“I’m sorry, Elmer,” she said gently. “I don’t seem to be able to find out anything about her this way. I’ll go into the office tomorrow and see if I can pull up any records there. They have access to a lot of things I can’t get into from home. We won’t give up.”

“Thank you Ms. Angel. I appreciate what yer doin’. Where ever Missy ends up she’ll be takin’ with her a dog and a couple million bucks.”

“She what?” Angel stood with her mouth agape as Elmer said his good bye’s to the little ones and moved towards the door to let himself out, totally unaware that Angel had been left dumbfounded.

Chapter 8

Jessie Bishop stood on the door step holding her best hot dish and waiting for someone to answer the door. She was a long-time resident of the community, having lived in the same house just down the block for over 33 years. Not one to gossip or interfere in other people’s lives, she, however, was careful to watch out for her neighbors. At 55 years of age she felt like she was over the hill and had nothing left to live for. Still she continued to do what she could to help others. It was her nature, not something she chose, but just who she was. And it invariably came back to bite her.

“’Mornin’ Jess,” said a sleepy eyed Elmer. “What ya doin’ here so early?”

“I didn’t want to come by when you had so much company after the funeral. I figured I’d give it a few days before the food started running short and bring over my hamburger hot dish that you like so much. May I come in for a minute?”

“Sure, just let me pull some clothes on and I’ll be right back.”

Jessie waited patiently on the porch step wondering about the dogs noticing how nicely the roses were blooming and wishing Elmer would hurry. The casserole was beginning to get heavy.

“What are you doing up so early, Jess?” Elmer was back and pulling on a clean t-shirt.

“I couldn’t sleep as usual.” She stepped into the kitchen to put her casserole dish on the counter. Without stopping to consider this wasn’t her home she grabbed a paper towel and started cleaning off the counter then proceeded to wash the few dishes that were left in the sink overnight, put on a pot of coffee, got some cinnamon rolls from the refrigerator and re-heated them, got out the butter, set the table, and generally fixed breakfast for Elmer. It seemed the most natural thing to do and neither of them thought anything of it.

“Kids giving you a hard time again?” asked Elmer looking over the front page of the morning paper. Why’nt you just tell them spoiled brats to take a flyin’ leap and leave you alone? You don’t deserve all this grief Jess.”

“I kind of did that. I told them I was having mood swings and needed a hysterectomy so couldn’t make it to Arizona this year.”

“Why didn’t you tell ‘em the truth? Tell ‘em you’re fed up with being treated like some kind of criminal and you ain’t takin’ their disrespectin’ no more.”

“That was the truth, at least part of it. Speaking of criminals,” said Jessie, sitting down at the table with a cup of hot coffee. “I’ve been keeping an eye on those two people you said came by to check on Cody. They’ve been spying on you and trying to get close to that dog all week. I’ll bet they’re thinking they’re going to steal him and keep the money.”

“They can keep that darn money, it ain’t nothin’ but trouble, but they can’t have that dog. It would kill Missy to lose that dog. That was Augie’s dog, y’know. By the way I heard you was writin’ a book. I ain’t in it, am I?”

“Have you ever been in my column?”

“If I have no one told me. You write that gossip junk right?”

Jessie had to laugh. Elmer played ignorant so well but they both knew he read every single one of her columns. She had a weekly spot in the Sunday paper. “I guess you could call it gossip. What’s the difference between gossip and news?”

“That’s easy. If you’re tellin’, it’s news. If it’s about you, it’s gossip. You need to be careful what you say in that column and in your book. They always say, what goes around comes around.”

“Thanks for the warning my friend,” said Jessie pouring him another cup of hot coffee. “But in my world what goes around gets published. It’s you who needs to be careful what you say.”

“I better not be in that book. I ain’t never done nothin’ to deserve no publication.”

“I don’t know, Elmer, taking in countless homeless dogs has already made you famous in the paper once. Then you took in two homeless people, and now you’ve got a step daughter and a millionaire dog. How much more newsworthy can a guy get?”

If you write all that stuff in that gall-darn paper I’ll have beggars and relatives I ain’t never seen before clamoring at my door all hours of the day and night. Then I’ll have six hunerd women claimin’ to be Missy’s mom. And that ain’t right either. Your gossipin’ can do a lot of damage when it’s put in the wrong place Jessie. I suggest you mind your own business about me and Missy and that dog. Besides, we ain’t takin’ that money.”

“And I don’t think they ever intended to give it to you.”

“Sure they did,” huffed Elmer putting his paper down on the table. “They come right out and told us they’re gonna give it to us for upkeep of the dog they call Xylophone or something like that. The lady even admitted she didn’t like the dog and he didn’t like her.”

“So why was she trying to steal him out of your back yard?”

“You don’t know for sure that she was.”

“You’re right. A man leaning into your fence, holding a dog treat, whispering ‘here Cody, come here Cody’ is probably just a lunatic vagrant who happened to have a spare dog biscuit in his pocket and always had a thing for Pomeranians and he called them all Cody after the one he lost when he was a kid. I can see how that could happen.”

“See, even you can figure it out,” smiled Elmer picking his paper back up and continuing to read.

“Elmer Jorgenson! I swear you’re as thick as a log sometimes. That woman was in the van with that man!”

“Did you see her? Are you sure it was the same woman? Member you wasn’t here when she was at the house before. You only saw her from down the street, or was you hiding in my bushes trying to figure out who the fancy shmancy lady was?”

“No I wasn’t hiding in your bushes. I saw her when she left because I was out watering my flower beds. You were the one who told me who she was when I asked about her. It was the same woman, I’m sure. She didn’t have on a fancy wig or fancy clothes, and she was driving an old beat-up van instead of the shiny new car, but it was her.”

“Let me get this straight,” Elmer said, putting his paper down again. “She didn’t look the same. She wasn’t dressed the same. She didn’t have the same hair and she wasn’t driving the same car, but you’re sure it was the same woman. That’s called macular degeneration. I read about it in your paper. You can’t see like you used to and your mind degenerates into imagining all kinds of weird things. Go get your eyes checked Jessie. This woman ain’t gonna steal no dog and she is trying to give us the money which we ain’t gonna take so it don’t matter no how.”

Elmer sat quietly waiting. This was not where he wanted to be, nor what he wanted to be doing. Life was hard enough without having to face these decisions. What was he going to do? While Augie was alive there was an income from his work as an adjunct professor at the college and his social security. Now, with Augie gone, the income was gone, and he was facing the task of supporting an 11 year old child on just his own social security disability check. What would it cost to get set up as a foster parent? Would they even consider him at his age and in his marital status? What was the best thing for Missy? Didn’t she deserve to have a mother and a father, people young enough to do things with her? And wasn’t she entitled to some kind of survivor’s benefits?

At last he knew he had put off the inevitable as long as he could. He opened the car door and stepped out into the muggy Minnesota air and began that long walk up the sidewalk to the Scott home. In the back of his mind he hoped Angel wouldn’t be home, wouldn’t answer the door, or would be too busy to see him after all. Such was not the case. Before he could even ring the doorbell, she was opening the screen and pulling him into a warm hug.

“Elmer, come in here where it’s cooler. How have you been? Can I get you some iced tea or lemonade? Go ahead, have a seat and I’ll get us both something cold to drink. The twins are napping so we can talk uninterrupted. Oh, it’s so good to see you.”

Finally taking a breath, Angel left him alone while she went into the kitchen. He looked around at the well dressed home that was elegant and inviting, welcoming, and still you knew it was lived-in. This is where a happy family lived and loved. This is the type of home Missy needed. He was crazy to think she could really be happy staying with him. Besides, he was a loner. He’d always been a loner and people didn’t fit well into his lifestyle. He and his dogs, that’s the way it was meant to be. Not him, some kid about to enter puberty, and his dogs.

Angel, forever the perfect hostess, returned carrying a tray with two tall glasses of lemonade, filled with ice and perspiring in the humidity. Beside the glasses was a plate filled with an assortment of cookies. Not just regular cookies, but homemade from scratch cookies.

She looked as though she had just stepped out of a TV commercial, with white linen slacks, a colorful sleeveless top, and sandals. There’s no way she was dressed like that when the kids were awake he was quite sure. Then again, Angel and Rob were such awesome people, maybe their kids didn’t cry, fill diapers, make noise or messes, and weren’t demanding. Fat chance. All kids were some bother, and that thought brought him back to the point of his visit.

“Angel,” he stammered a bit before getting her name out. “I know you ain’t working while the kids is small, but I really need some good advice.”

“Of course,” said Angel as sweetly as he knew she would. “Is this about Missy?”

“Yeah. What should I do?”

“Well Elmer, what do you want to do? What does Missy want?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know what I want or what’s best for her. She says she wants to stay with me and the animals, but that can’t be the best thing for her, can it? I’m an old man.”

“Elmer, Elmer, Elmer! Since when did 62 become old? I happen to know you are still the most eligible bachelor in Duluth. Have you considered foster parenting?”

“I’ve thought about it, but there’s another problem. As you probably know, I collect disability for my back. I can’t sit or stand too long, can’t lift much, and can’t walk very far. But that disability money ain’t much. We was doin’ okay when old Augie was alive ‘cuz he got income from the college. I can’t afford to support me and Missy on my disability and that ain’t fair to the girl.”

“You need to search your soul and ask God where he wants Missy,” said Angel.

“That there’s another problem I ain’t as God-fearin’ as you and the rest, Angel. I don’t go to no church and I don’t spend a lot of time on my knees saying thou art and thine and stuff like that. It doesn’t feel right.”

Angel laughed out loud and leaned over to take a hold of Elmer’s hand. “I don’t think God wants us to talk that way either. I certainly don’t talk to God like that because I don’t talk to you like that. God accepts me as I am, the way He made me. And as far as going to church, it’s a personal choice. I was raised going to mass every day. Some of my dearest, most devout Christian friends don’t go to church because they abhor what organized religion has done to our core beliefs. God doesn’t ask us to form committees and governing bodies to decide what we can believe and can’t believe, what we can or can’t say, and what we can or can’t do. Churches have a tendency to be judges and that’s not what we have been asked to be. I’m not saying all churches, but there are just too many denominations out there for every one of them to be the only one chosen by God. Hey, I didn’t mean to get on my soap box, but I think you get what I’m trying to say. Make God a part of your life just as you are. Communicate with Him the way you do with me and then just wait for His answer.”

“I’ll try. D’ya think He’ll help me figure out a way to do what’s best for Missy? She’s a great kid, y’know.”

“Yes, she is a great kid. We all love her. One thing I should mention about foster parenting. You get paid to do it. The drawback here would be we might have to find her legal parents and get their permission, but if we can’t find them she becomes a ward of the state and we go from there. Until then, whatever help you need, you can count on all of us to be there for you and for Missy.”

“Thank you miss Angel. I knew you’d steer me in the right direction … what I don’t under…”

Elmer’s sentence was cut off by the murmuring voices of sleepy headed three year old twins coming through the door from their bedroom. One looked like a carbon copy of the other, and both looked like Rob. The battles over what to name the identical twin girls were world war history in their small circle of friends. First off, Rob wanted a second opinion after the sonogram believing a mistake was made and he was going to be the father of twin boys. Then, the lovely, calm mother-to-be allowed hormones to take over and let him know exactly what she thought about that idea, in the most unchristian of terms, I might add. Hormones will do stuff like that. The battle lines were drawn. Rob was picking boy names and Angel was selecting girl names. In the end, the girl’s actual names were feminine versions of Rob’s boy names, sort of. Somehow between the time of that first labor pain and the first glimpse of the baby, all battles are forgotten, the war is over, the two sides kissed and made up and everyone was happy to give in and let the other side win. Cory and Haden became Lori and Raven. Monique and Raquelle were dismissed when Rob emphasized the fact that their last name was Scott and didn’t go well with fancy French or Italian names. He won with minor concessions, one being that he had twin girls and definitely not twin boys.

The children stopped for a second, rubbing their little eyes, and looked at Elmer. Raven, the older of the two by 13 minutes and change, was the first to recognize the family friend and run in for a big hug from the dog man. Lori, the quieter, shyer little sister, stepped sideways slowly, trying to get to her mom before deciding if she was awake and alert enough to welcome Elmer into their home. After the hug, Raven headed straight for the cookies and, as usual, brought one to her sister too.

“They are some beautiful babies, Ms. Angel. You plannin’ on havin’ more or ain’t that none of my business? You can tell me if it ain’t. I always wanted to get married and have little ones myself, but …”

“Why didn’t you Elmer? You would have been a great dad.”

“Sometimes things happen to change yer dreams, y’know? When you and Rob was separated did you ever think you’d be sittin’ here drinking lemonade with two beautiful little girls hangin’ on your knee, eatin’ your homemade cookies?”

Angel looked at her daughters wistfully. “No, I guess I didn’t,” she said. “I hoped and dreamed, but I was never sure it could happen. Fifteen years is a long time to hold that dream.”

“I had a dream once too. Her name was Mary Lou. Mary Lou Conley, prettiest girl in Duluth back in the day. We dated in high school and planned to get hitched after we graduated. Her daddy had different plans. He made her go away to college and get an education. Told her she could do a whole lot better’n me. So, she went away to school, all the way to Moorhead State. Fore you know it she got hooked up with a football star from that college. His name was Dean Dahlman. Just the name sounds like a jock, don’t it? Anyway, my Mary Lou married that guy Dean and they’re living happily ever after out there in the west somewhere. Saw their picture in the paper when they was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. She looks as pretty as she did the last time I saw her. That fella she married weren’t much to look at, but they got a bunch a kids and grandkids now. She’ll probably stay with him. I bet she’s forgot all about me by now.”

“I doubt anyone could forget about you, Elmer,” Angel soothed. “Some people don’t find their true love, their soul mate, until later in life. You just never know. There might be an even better Mary Lou waitin’ just around the corner.”

“A better Mary Lou? Not a chance. Maybe a just as good a one, but never better. I checked around the corner for I come in though, and there weren’t nobody waitin’.”

“I was speaking figuratively, Elmer…” Angel stopped mid sentence realizing Elmer might not understand what she meant and decided it was better to drop the subject and move on. “So, what do you want me to help you do about Melissa? Should we proceed with finding out about fostering? It’s a big gamble because the State then gets involved and can open a big can of worms. Right now no one knows you’re not related or that she is living with you without any relationship. Did Augie leave a will or anything to state what should happen to Missy if he died?”

“What you mean IF he died. He DID die. There’s a will alright, but he didn’t have legal custody of her neither. His daughter dropped Missy off with him and ran off with some man. Lucky Augie was able to get her birth certificate and Missy’s last name is the same as his, plus there ain’t no father listed, so no one questioned it much.”

“What’s his daughter’s name? Do you have that birth certificate? It could help us a lot in locating the parents, or in this case the single parent, and get things on the way to finding a solution to your problem.”

“I ain’t got the certificate on me, if that’s what you mean. It’s in a locked box at the bank where all Augie’s important papers was kept. I can’t remember exactly what his daughter’s name was, but it was unusual, like she was named for someone in the movies or somethin’. It was … um…,” looking around as if to find something to job his memory, Elmer concentrated heavily on remembering the name. “Eugenie! That’s it. She was named after Napoleon’s ole lady. Augie said she hated the name so always went by different names. Made up new names for herself all the time. Eugenie Pedergast. That was her maiden name but I don’t know if she got married or something and chnged her name. I bet you got access to that inner-net don’t ya? I hear you can find people by looking on there. D’ya think we could find this Genie?”

“Well, we can certainly try. Okay girls, go play in your room for awhile. Uncle Elmer and I are going to check on some stuff on the computer.”

“I wanna play puter too!” squealed a delighted Raven. “So does sister, don’t ya sister.” Lori nodded her little head full of curls, brown eyes wide in amazement and wonder at this big world she lived in. “See,” said Raven. “Sister wants to play puter too.”

“Not this time girls,” said Angel lovingly. “Uncle Elmer and I have some things to do on the big computer. Why don’t you go to your room and play on your little girl computers?”

“Okay,” said Raven, grabbing her sister’s hand and pulling her in the direction of their room.

“Okay,” echoed Lori as she allowed herself to be led.

“They have their own computers?”

“Don’t be too impressed, they’re more learning tools than computers. The girls are pretty smart and we like to keep their little minds stimulated, so we buy them educational toys like that. Let’s go see what we can find out about Eugenie Pedergast.”

Angie led the way down the short hall to the office that she and Rob shared. Theirs was a nice house, big enough for four people to live comfortably and still entertain on occasion. The office had two computers on two different desks so that when each was occupied, the occupants were sitting back to back with plenty of room between them for the girls to play with their own educational toys. Angel sat down at one of the desks and proceeded to pull up the internet and attempt to find the missing parent. She tried several search engines with no results. If the girl had married and changed her name, there was no way they were going to find her. What Angel needed was Eugenie’ss social security number and that might be a bit hard to get her hands on.

“I’m sorry, Elmer,” she said gently. “I don’t seem to be able to find out anything about her this way. I’ll go into the office tomorrow and see if I can pull up any records there. They have access to a lot of things I can’t get into from home. We won’t give up.”

“Thank you Ms. Angel. I appreciate what yer doin’. Where ever Missy ends up she’ll be takin’ with her a dog and a couple million bucks.”

“She what?” Angel stood with her mouth agape as Elmer said his good bye’s to the little ones and moved towards the door to let himself out, totally unaware that Angel had been left dumbfounded.

Paul sauntered into Rob’s office just before the lunch hour. Their morning had been hectic with staff meetings, client referrals, studying psych analysis charts, and drinking more coffee than their bodies required.

“Got any plans for lunch?” He asked his friend taking a chair across from Rob’s desk.

“I was thinking about going home and grabbing a sandwich with Angel and the kids. That is unless you’re offering something better.”

“How about the Surly Cow?”

“In the middle of the week? In the middle of the day? What are you some kind of pervert?”

Paul laughed. “It’s not like I asked you to go to a motel with me. Missy called and wanted to know if I could give her and Bobby a ride out there. Seems they’ve made some arrangements with Doobie to do some odd jobs for him this summer.”

“Well, for the kids then I guess it’s okay. Why do they want to do that? Doesn’t Missy have enough on her mind already?”

“Yeah, I really think she does, but she needs diversion too. It’s been over a week since the funeral and she has a lot of questions left unanswered. She claims Doobie’s some kind of magical religious guru or something.”

The two men walked out of the office, leaving suit coats behind. It wasn’t the heat, it was the humidity that soaked shirts and blouses this Minnesota summer day. Rob and Paul, great friends, co-owners of the Superior Clinic, both doctors of psychology, and survivors of some rather unusual personal events, rode together in air conditioned comfort to the home of Elmer Jorgenson.

When they arrived, Missy and Bobby were waiting on the front steps. On a leash beside Missy was her new pal Cody, the dog her grandfather bonded with before he died. The children ran to the car and got into the back seat, Cody jumped up to sit between them.

“Does Doob know you’re bringing the dog?” asked Paul.

“Yeah. He said it was okay.” Missy answered as if this was nothing unusual, taking a dog to work with you at a restaurant.

“May I ask why you’re taking Cody with you?” Rob asked, looking at Paul, knowing they were thinking the same psychological thoughts. They feared Missy was suffering abandonment issues and was afraid of losing the dog too.

“Someone tried to steal him. I saw it from the kitchen. This guy came around the back yard and offered him a dog treat and tried to steal him.”

“How do you know he was trying to steal Cody? Maybe he was looking for another dog?”

“I don’t think so.” Missy seemed resigned in her answer and left it at that.

Rob and Paul exchanged another look of concern, agreeing in thought on the diagnosis of their young friend.

“Why would anyone want to steal your dog?” Rob asked, hoping to get to the root of the real problem.

“Because he’s worth $2.5 million and Elmer says we can’t take the money.”

Rob stopped the car and put it in park. Turning around to look at the children, mostly at Missy, he sat waiting for further explanation knowing without a doubt the child was suffering deeply from the loss of her grandfather. No immediate answer was forthcoming.

“What?” asked Missy, looking from Paul to Rob and back again.

“Missy,” Paul tried it this time. “Honey, Cody is a great dog, but I don’t think he’s worth that much money. Maybe to you he is, but …”

“No,” she said stubbornly not fully understanding why they didn’t believe her and didn’t already understand. “He really is worth two-and-one-half-million-dollars. That lady that died left it for him and her daughter came to see us to give us the money but Elmer says we can’t take it because no dog needs that much money and it will make us …I don’t know … something weird like snobs or something.”

“What lady?” asked Rob.

“The daughter lady. She’s real ugly and mean to Cody. She calls him ZAY-Vee–air, but she spells with exes. Dumb. He barks at her so I know he doesn’t like her.”

“When did all this happen?”

“Last week, day after grandpa’s funeral. Then yesterday this man came to the house right after Elmer left to go get some groceries. And he was watching and walking around the yard and he tried to steal Cody.”

“How can you be so sure he was trying to steal that dog? Maybe he was after another dog?”

“Because he said ‘here Cody, come here Cody’. That’s how I knew he was after my dog.”

Once again the two doctors allowed a look to pass between them, one that said they were concerned for the safety of the little girl, but still they weren’t sure if everything she said was the truth or part of it was grief induced. Psychologists have a tendency to look for emotional causes in everything. It can be an annoying habit outside of the industry, to mere lay people who sometimes take life just for what it is. They decided to let the subject drop for now and drove the rest of the way to Pike Lake in silence, punctuated occasionally by a question from one of the kids or conversation between the two children only.

At last they arrived at the rock and log structure known to everyone for miles around as the Surly Cow. On the shores of Pike Lake, just off Four Corners outside of Duluth, the restaurant was indeed one of the most popular in the area. The menu consisted mainly of the best cuts of steak, incredible burgers, occasionally some lobster, the largest, juiciest shrimp you can imagine, fresh-caught walleyed pike from the lake, and all the sides to go along with each.

The lunch menu bragged of the world’s greatest burgers starting with sirloin or rib eye, and going through the list to buffalo, elk, or venison ground to perfection right on the spot, or more accurately, in the kitchen. It was only recently Doobie, the owner, started adding bison to the menu in the form of both burgers and steaks. Not one to go with fad foods, he studied the efficacy of bison and found it worthy of his Native American roots. You must understand that Doobie’s Native American roots merely meant he was a sympathizer with the Indians and the way the settlers had massacred them, stolen their land, and defiled their beliefs. Then again, Doobie may really have had some roots in the heritage aside from the culture. He shared very little of his past with his clients, and no one knew him to have any friends outside of the business. He even lived in the back of the restaurant to make sure he got to work on time, he claimed. Truth be told, his life revolved around the Surly Cow and its regular customers. Nearly everyone in the Duluth business world was a once-a-week regular visitor to the Cow for lunch, and for some couples especially, a weekend or special occasion wasn’t complete without a night out at the Surly Cow.

Upon their arrival at the wooded area surrounding the eating place, Rob pulled his car off the road and into the nearly hidden parking lot. The children, along with the dog, got out of the car quickly and ran around to the back where employees entered. Paul and Rob watched the retreating backs of the two kids and the excited dog, before deciding to go on in and enjoy some lunch.

“Good afternoon and welcome to the Surly Cow,” they were greeted by a young lady who could easily pass for Doobie’s sister. She wore tattered blue jeans, a tie dyed tunic top, braided flowers in her hair, and flip flop sandals on her feet. “Sit where ever you like and I’ll follow. Have you been to the Surly Cow before?”

“Oh yes, we’re pretty regular here,” said Paul. “But you’re new. I’m Paul Grant and this funny looking guy here is Rob Scott. We both work in Duluth and brought you a couple of young employees and a dog to work with this afternoon.”

“That sounds like fun,” smiled the girl. “My name’s Riley and I’ll be your hostess, your waitress, your bus person, and bartender today. What can I get you fellows to drink?”

“We’re not allowed to drink alcohol on our lunch hour,” said Rob, “so I’ll take Diet Coke. What about you Paul?”

“Same for me Riley. It’s nice to see a pretty face around here for a change, not that Doobie isn’t pretty in his own way, you understand. And, I don’t know about Rob, but I’m ready to order. I’ll have the bison burger, plain and dry with ketchup on the side and some cole slaw. I’m hoping I can stay awake this afternoon.”

“I’ll have the same,” said Rob, “but load mine up with all the veggies and some mayo. I don’t want no sissy burger. Oh, and be sure to pile the onions on high. They give me breath that drives my wife insane.”

Riley laughed. “I’ll get your drinks and turn in this order. Be right back.”

While Riley went about her job, Missy and Bobby came running out from the kitchen. “Hey Uncle Rob, what time are you picking us up?” asked Missy.

“What? You said you needed a ride to work. You never said anything about going home again.”

“Okay,” the child smiled as if she had won the battle, “we’ll hitch hike. See you later alliga…”

“Come back here young lady,” Rob barked at her retreating backside. “You will do no such thing. One of us, me, Paul, Angel, or Sarah will be here to pick you up. What time do you get off?”

“Around ten I think.”

“Ten! You’re too young to be staying out that late on a school night.”

“School was out two weeks ago.”

“Well … there are child labor laws. I’ll check with Angel and I’ll bet she’ll say…”

“How about six then,” said Missy. “We’re not really working here y’know. We’re doing research and we get to help bus tables when no one’s around and wash the dishes as soon as Doobie teaches us how to work the machine. It’s gonna be the coolest summer ever.”

“What do you think about all this, Bobby? You’re being pretty quiet.”

Bobby smiled his enthusiasm. “It’s really cool back there in that kitchen. And Doobie said we can have a free hamburger every time we work. Can we come every day?”

“We’ll see. By the way, what kind of research are you doing?” Asked Paul.

“Bobby has this stupid idea that … Ouch! That hurt. What’d ya do that for?” Missy glared at Bobby whose elbow jab to her right side had caused the outburst.

“It’s top secret,” he said to Rob and Paul, ignoring Missy who was rubbing her side and still glaring at him. “We can’t tell anybody just yet. We’ll get back to ya. C’mon Missy, we’ve got work to do.” With that he grabbed her shirt sleeve and practically dragged her back to the kitchen, her yelling at him all the way.

“Are those your children?” asked Riley as she placed their drinks in front of them.

“Not exactly,” said Paul. “They’re more like an acquired niece and nephew. But, we love them just the same. Is Doobie working you too hard? You look a little peaked.”

“No, it’s just getting used to a new job, and Doobie is a bit more right wing than anyone I’ve worked for in the past.”

“Where are you from?” asked Rob. “I don’t remember seeing you around these parts before.”

“Back east. I’m from back east. Is everything here okay? I’ll just go check on your orders.” She was backing away from the table as she spoke, quite certain and hoping, they had no further requests.

“That was strange,” said Paul before taking a long draw on the straw in his Diet Coke.

“Yeah,” Rob agreed. “I don’t think she’s from back east.”

“What gave you that idea?” smiled Paul in return. They then settled into their quiet routine of waiting for their food and concentrating on the finer things in life, like bison burgers and cole slaw with a Diet Coke to balance it all out. No dessert this time. Work was waiting and they each had a full schedule for the afternoon.

When they finished eating, they left the money for their meals plus a generous tip on the table and yelled back into the kitchen at the children that someone would be there to pick them up at 6 o’clock.

Rob got into the driver’s seat again and Paul in the passenger seat. As they were backing out of the parking lot, both of them got a glimpse of Riley. She was standing at the corner of the building, crying … no sobbing, her whole thin, fragile frame shaking with each sob. Fear and anguish distorted her facial features. Paul grabbed the zoom lens camera Rob always kept in the glove compartment and tried to capture that scene in kodachrome. It was a long shot, but they both now had some serious interest in Riley and they intended to find out who she really was. In the meantime, they thought it might be best to limit the children’s exposure to this woman who showed up out of nowhere to work at the Surly Cow.

The view of the house from the corner of the street was not great, not even with binoculars. Sylvia and Reggie, trying to peer through the single set at the same time, fought one another for advantage. Their tacky old gray van didn’t provide much in the way of a camouflaged cover, so they dared not park any nearer than they were. At least no one in that house would recognize this vehicle because Sylvia borrowed her mother’s car, without permission, when visiting the home before. In fact, Sylvia borrowed a lot of her mother’s things, without permission since said mother was now deceased and could no longer object. Sylvia was certain she would still be heir to her adopted mother’s considerable fortune upon the demise of the wicked old lady, but to her ungracious surprise the large lump of the fortune had been left to a dog. It was still unfathomable to believe anyone in their right mind could be so stupid, so ungrateful, so…. everything that Evangeline LaCroix had been in Sylvia’s mind. If not for Sylvia Eve would have been no more than a barren, childless, old widow. And, being Eve’s only legal heir, Sylvia could only hope she would die intestate. No such luck. The old bag actually made out a will. Nothing, not a single dime, was left to Sylvia or her husband Reggie.

And so while she figured out a way to get her hands on Eve’s money Sylvia borrowed and borrowed as she wished. No one knew she had a key to her late mother’s house and no one seemed to care. The maid and nurse were off to look for new jobs. The gardener only came by on Wednesdays. Until the estate sale Sylvia was free to move about at her leisure. And she did. Borrow was all she could manage, however, since an exact inventory of everything had been compiled before Eve’s death.

“That old witch didn’t even trust me, me… her only child.”

“What the blazes are you babbling about now?” Reggie looked at her with that same look of disdain.

“Eve. She made an inventory of her belongings, down to her last panty girdle, before she died. You’d think she didn’t trust me.”

“She didn’t, luv. She hated you. Remember?”

Sylvia looked at her British-born husband and hated him nearly as much as she hated Eve. “It’s not right though. I was legally her daughter. She should have at least trusted me and left me something when she died.”

“Like what? A couple mil you suppose?”

“That would do for starters. We deserve it. We’ve suffered enough don’t you think?” Even as she said it Sylvia was thinking of how she could get a divorce from Reggie before she got her hands on Eve’s money.

“Of course we’ve suffered, luv, but that doesn’t mean she liked you any better. Actually I believe she was quite fond of me and had you not been so overbearing and rude we might have got along quite handsomely. You have a way of ruining a good party you know.”

“The only party I’m interested in ruining is this one you’re fantasizing about in your head. You’re the reason she hated me. If you remember things right I ran away to live with you and she couldn’t bear the humiliation. Her precious name meant everything to her. You ruined me.”

“I beg your pardon, luv, but you ruined yourself. I never asked you to come live with me. I just wanted to get in your knickers. Nothing serious. You’re the one got all hung up on commitment and … what do they call it now? … oh yeah, you stalked me.”

“Shut up and look to see if they’re leaving yet. I have to get that stupid dog. I never stalked anyone. Plenty of men wanted to take me out, but I was choosey and I chose you. You should be flattered.”

“Oh, you can count on it. I’m flattered alright. I just wish you’d shopped around a little more, that’s all. Oh, there goes the car. Now what?”

“We go by and grab the dog that’s what. And we leave the dead dog in it’s place.”

Reggie steered the van in the direction of Elmer’s house driving slowly along the street and turning into the drive to see if the dog was in the back yard with the others. Both he and Sylvia craned their necks to see, often batting at each other to get the better vantage point, but neither was able to see if the dog was indeed out in the yard.

“You go,” said Sylvia, pushing on Reggie’s arm.

“Go where?”

“Out there. You go see if the dog is out there. I can’t see a blasted thing from here. Take this treat with you and get him to come to you then grab him. They call him Cody, so he’ll probably respond to that better than Xaviar.”

“Bloody hell why me?”

“Because no one has ever seen you. They’ve seen me. If anyone comes out of the house or stops and asks questions, you’re just admiring the dogs, wanting to adopt, whatever.”

Reggie stopped for a second and looked his wife up and down. “I bet you made a bloody fine impression on everyone round here so’s they’d all remember you. I find you quite forgettable me own self.”

He disembarked from the driver’s side of the van and looked in both directions before proceeding towards the fenced in the back yard where the dogs were playing or resting. His right hand held tight to the dog biscuit in his pocket. Approaching the yard, he looked in every corner and finally noticed a red and white Pomeranian napping near the back door. The closest place for him to entice the dog without being seen was the other side of the yard. He walked slowly around the fence looking mostly into the yard as if admiring the animals, but occasionally glancing back at the van. Sylvia moved out of the drive and onto the street a couple of houses up so as not to call attention to their vehicle. In spite of feeling very conspicuous Reggie tried not to look around and appear suspicious in any way. His hands in his pockets, his eyes trying to stay on the dogs, he casually walked around the perimeter of the fence.

It took several minutes to arrive at his destination. Once there he looked intently at the animal in question to make sure it was the right one. Gingerly he pulled the dog biscuit out of his pocked and held it through the chain link fence, squatting down to be at the dog’s level.

“Cody,” he whispered loudly. “Here boy. C’mere Cody. I’ve got a lovely treat for you Cod…”

With a snap of powerful jaws the German Shepherd was the first of several dogs to jump for Reggie’s hand and the dog treat. The biscuit was gone but several dogs stood yapping and barking at him from the other side of the fence. Cody was not among them. Like a king, Cody stood on the back doorstep and watched while his pals in the yard scared off the offensive man in the red shirt and blue jean pants.

Reggie, on the other hand, was not feeling anything but fear. He raced back to the van, jumped into the passenger seat and ordered Sylvia to get the blazes out of Duluth as quickly as possible. With a few expletives for emphasis, he informed his lovely wife what she could do with her mother’s dog and the $2.5 million as well. Words he would live to regret. Seriously regret.