A Drunkard's Path (12 page)

Once dinner started, a hearty meal of my grandmother’s special meat loaf and mashed potatoes, romance seemed to be the last thing on anyone’s mind. Jesse and Oliver were good-naturedly arguing about English football, which, I found out, Jesse actually followed.

“Anytime you put two guys on a field with a ball, I’ll watch it,” Jesse admitted a little shyly.

“Good for you,” Oliver said. “Though you really should support Liverpool over Manchester United.”

“You’re nuts” was Jesse’s response as he stuffed more potatoes in his mouth.

On the other side of the dining room table, Eleanor, Kennette, and I were pretty much left out of the conversation, so we ended up discussing Carrie’s quilt. The separate conversations continued for more than ten minutes, until a beeping noise from Oliver’s jacket interrupted. He reached in for his phone, looked at it for a moment, and frowned.

“This text messaging is a bother,” he said, and he put the phone back in his jacket. “Doesn’t anyone want to have a conversation anymore?”

“Isn’t that what we’re having?” Kennette asked.

“Well, we’re actually having two conversations,” I corrected her. “You guys are talking sports, and we’re talking about abstract quilt designs.”

“We’re making a quilt for one of the club members who’s opening a coffee shop,” Eleanor explained.

“And it’s abstract in design?” Oliver’s interest was piqued. “What are your influences?”

“No one person, as far as I know. Susanne just drew several designs,” I said. “One is pretty much boxes of colors. It’s kind of a variation on a log cabin design. The second is appliquéd circles and semicircles on squares made up of strips, and the third is an Amish-style quilt with lines of bright fabrics alternating with background stripes of black.

“I like the second,” Kennette offered.

Oliver leaned toward her. “Why?”

I felt suddenly like we were in class, but Kennette was relaxed. “I don’t know,” she said without a hint of insecurity. “I just like it.”

Oliver smiled and leaned back. “You have a clarity of vision that one rarely sees in a new artist.”

Kennette beamed and Jesse winked at me. It was, I had to admit, a nice evening.

“Dessert anyone?” Eleanor jumped up. “I’ve made an apple pie.”

“Let me help,” offered Oliver. The two left the room for the kitchen and were gone for just a little longer than it would have taken to bring in the pie, plates, and a pot of tea. When they came back, they were both smiling. Watching the way Oliver shyly moved around Eleanor, I was a little jealous of their smooth romance. But not for long. I reached out and took Jesse’s hand.

“Well.” Kennette got up from the table. “I think it’s time my date and I went for a walk.” She patted Barney and he jumped up and headed for the door.

“What about dessert?” Eleanor asked.

“I won’t be long.”

“Take my wool coat.” Eleanor disappeared into the hallway and came back with a teal blue coat. “It’s very cold outside tonight. The wind is howling something fierce.”

Kennette was swallowed by the large, heavy coat as well as the scarf and hat Eleanor had brought for her, but she didn’t seem to mind. I think she enjoyed being the center of so much fussing. Once fully enclosed in the winter getup, she patted Barney’s head and he followed her out of the dining room.

“We’ll be right back,” she said.

“We’ll have hot tea waiting for you,” Eleanor called after her.

“And keep a cup hot for me.” Oliver grabbed his coat. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Nasty habit. I’d like to tell you I’m giving them up, but I’ve already given up too many delicious cravings. I’m keeping the ones I have left, no matter how ill-advised.”

He opened the back door and stepped outside.

“Stay on the back porch,” Eleanor said to him. “It’s protected from the wind and snow.”

“A smoker,” I chided Eleanor once Oliver was gone.

“A man’s allowed his vices,” she said. “Jesse, you look like you could use a piece of pie.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jesse gave me a look that said he’d noticed what I had. Eleanor was smitten.

Ten minutes later when he came back into the dining room, Oliver’s hands and face were wet.

“See, I told you it was cold outside,” Eleanor said as she gently touched his cheek. Oliver took her hand.

“I washed up a little to keep that nasty cigarette smell from ruining the scent of your pie.” He kissed her finger and she smiled at him, while Jesse and I pretended not to notice how happy they both seemed.

Oliver, Jesse, and I each had two slices of pie before Eleanor took the plates away. “Save some for Kennette,” she scolded as she put the kettle on for a second time.

“Where is she?” Jesse asked. “It’s been at least half an hour.”

“Maybe we should go out and look,” I said.

“Barney’s with her,” Eleanor tried to reassure us, but she looked worried. “He has some sense, that dog.”

“If he had any sense he would have come in twenty minutes ago. It’s cold out there,” I reminded her.

“I’ll go.” Jesse got up.

“I’ll go with you.” I stood next to him.

He looked like he was about to protest, but then he nodded. “Oliver, you and Eleanor hold down the fort. If I can borrow a flashlight, that will help. Nell will take her cell with her, so call her if Kennette or Barney comes back.”

“What do you mean Kennette
or
Barney?” Eleanor asked. “They’ll be together.”

“Then why aren’t they back?” I asked.

“Barney just got interested in some squirrel, that’s all.” Eleanor took a deep breath and Oliver put his arm protectively around her.

Jesse and I wrapped up warmly and headed out. It was snowing, but for a while Jesse was able to find a set of human tracks and a set of dog tracks. Then, near the river, both sets disappeared.

Ice crystals were forming on my face, and the wind was making it hard for me to keep my eyes on Jesse. I was getting confused even though I knew the area, and Kennette had only been at the house for just over a week.

“Stay with me,” Jesse shouted. “Stay right next to me but look in the opposite direction.”

I nodded and stood with my back to him. I could see nothing but snow, and I could feel nothing but cold mixed with a growing sense of panic.

“What could have happened to them?” I asked Jesse.

“Barney probably ran after something and Kennette got lost looking for him.” Jesse sounded so sure. I leaned my head against his shoulder just for a moment of comfort. As I did, my phone rang.

“She’s back?” I asked before Eleanor had a chance to speak.

“No.” Eleanor’s voice sounded frantic. “Barney is back. He’s covered in ice and snow. And he’s soaking wet.”

“And he’s alone?”

Her voice was almost a whisper. “He’s alone.”

I hung up and started to tell Jesse, but it was clear he had figured out the situation. “She’s lost out here, that’s all.” Jesse turned toward me and held me. “Don’t get scared. It takes longer than a half hour to freeze to death in this weather.”

“You’re right. It’s just that it’s easy to get lost.”

“But she’ll walk toward the light coming from the house. She’s got common sense, right?”

Against my better judgment, I laughed. “Not really. But she’s got a way of getting herself help.”

Jesse grabbed my hand and started to walk toward the river, shining the flashlight on the water. “If Barney is wet, maybe he walked into the water. Maybe she followed him.”

With the snow and the incline, walking became nearly impossible. I grabbed Jesse’s coat and held on. I knew I was slowing him down but I couldn’t turn back. If Kennette was in trouble, then I was partly responsible. I’d brought her to Eleanor’s house, I’d insisted she be here for this dinner party, and I’d let her go out into the cold alone so I could sit with Jesse.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Jesse said.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I know you,” he said.

I smiled. He did know me, and that was pretty cool. I looked up at him, his glasses frosting over in the cold, and I thought how lucky I was to have found such a good man. But before I had a chance to say that, something flashed behind him.

I stopped and took a deep breath. “Something’s in the water,” I said slowly. “I don’t know what it is.”

“Stay here,” he said. “Stay right here.” He moved slowly, deliberately, toward the water.

“What is it?” I shouted.

For what seemed like an eternity, Jesse said nothing. Then he turned back to me. “It’s a body,” he shouted back. “A woman.”

 

 

 

 

W
ithin minutes officers from Archers Rest and Morristown were crawling all over my grandmother’s home and backyard. The snow had stopped, but that made moving around only slightly easier. When I came back inside, I sat in the kitchen so I could have a clear view of the backyard. Oliver had put his tweed jacket over a chair and was doing the dishes. Eleanor worriedly brought blankets into the kitchen.

“Kennette will be cold when she comes home,” Eleanor said.

Oliver took Eleanor’s hand but said nothing. Like me, he probably didn’t know what to say.

“I’m quite fond of her,” Eleanor said. “Some people you can know your whole life and never feel close to. And others you just connect with right away.” She looked toward Oliver and he smiled.

I wanted to say something but nothing would come out. I was irrationally angry at Barney for not being Lassie. I was angry at myself for letting her go out, and I was angry at Oliver for coming over and creating this stupid dinner party.

I got up, put my coat back on, and went outside. I saw Jesse and Chief Powell down by the river but they were in no hurry. It was clear that, whoever it was, the person was well past saving. Warm tears stung as they hit my cold cheeks.

“What’s going on?”

I turned toward a vaguely familiar voice and saw a teal wool coat coming toward me. 17542.01_ADrunkardsPāth.indd 84
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I ran to her and grabbed her.

“She’s okay! She’s okay!” I shouted. “She’s okay.”

Jesse came running toward me and Eleanor and Oliver came out of the house, without their coats. Barney ran after them, jumping at Kennette and me excitedly. Kennette struggled to get away from me, and when she did, she looked at all of us as if we were nuts.

“What’s wrong?” She looked from face to face, more upset than we were.

“Where have you been?” I yelled at her.

Tears welled in her eyes. “I lost Barney and when I went looking for him, I got lost. I couldn’t see in the snow.”

That was exactly what Jesse said had happened. But it was such a simple, logical explanation that I had been unwilling to believe it.

“Where did you go?” I asked, my voice still a full octave above normal.

Kennette was looking at all the fuss around her and seemed more confused than anything. “I went into this little sheltered area down river.” She pointed away from the house.

“Why didn’t you call?” I was still yelling. I knew how irrational I sounded but I didn’t care.

“I don’t have a cell phone,” she said quietly.

“Come inside now,” Eleanor said.

Jesse took my arm. “Get inside,” he said quietly. “Get her warm. We’ll get her story, but first she needs to calm down. We all do.”

“Come with us,” I said. “Everything’s okay now.”

“We still have a dead girl in the river,” Jesse pointed out.

How weird that I had forgotten that.

“Do you know who she is?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

“Can I see her?”

Jesse shrugged and pointed toward the body, now lying on the snowy ground near the water. I walked slowly over to the spot, nearly slipping twice. When I got to the body, I turned white.

“Oh my God” was all I could get out.

“What?” Jesse grabbed me and turned me away from the body. “Do you know her?”

“What’s going on?” Powell walked over. “This is a crime scene.”

“She knows the victim,” Jesse said quietly.

I was shaking, surprised by my own reaction. Once I knew it wasn’t Kennette, I had expected the woman to be a stranger.

“Let’s get back to the house,” Jesse whispered to me.

I nodded and Jesse pressed me against his chest and led me back to the house. Powell followed, barking orders at the other officers as he went.