Getting Back to Normal (13 page)

Robby shakes his head. “I’ll stay here. In case Theodore comes back.”

At the duck pond, Tammy looks carefully around. Then she sits down on the bench. “I can’t believe Archie actually sat here.”

“Many times. I think it’s his favorite spot. Mine too.”

Tammy points toward the water. “Could be he comes here because this is where he died.”

I stare at her. “Of course! You’re absolutely brilliant, Tam! The newspaper article said ‘body of water’ so I assumed it meant one of the pools behind Greystone.”

Tammy grins. “I suppose I have been a good detective, finding out stuff about Archie.”

“And you’re the only person I can talk to about him.”

“Really, Vannie? You don’t plan to tell Mayda some day?”

I shake my head. “She’s not the type that believes in ghosts. If Archie hasn’t been able to make her see him by now, then it’s not my place to tell her about him.”

Tammy jumps up. “Let’s go see Greystone! I want to check out every nook and cranny.”

“We can poke around downstairs and go into the shop, of course, but upstairs is locked up.”

“Oh.”

“But there are flowers blooming in the greenhouses. And I’ll show you the twin pools behind Greystone, and The Shed and The Carriage House. There’s lots to see!”

Tammy falls in love with the twin pools. She gazes, hands clasped over her heart, at the beautiful mosaic scene of mermaids between them, and ignores the stagnant water.

“I can imagine an elegant summer ball in olden times. A live band playing. People in tuxes and gowns dancing around the pools.”

“And being fished out with long nets when they fall in,” I joke.

Tammy gives me a stricken look. “That’s not very funny, Vannie, considering how Archie died.”

“Sorry.” I point to the right. “Anyway, the green houses are over there. Let’s go inside.”

We wander through the green houses, admiring the lush and colorful tropical flowers. I guide Tammy through the cacti section. I’m glad she likes these weird-looking plants the best as I do.

“Now you have to see The Shed at the far end of MG,” I tell her when we’re outside again. “Daddy’s thinking of turning it into a small museum.”

We go the long way, walking along the road that rings around the back part of MG. We’re startled by a small animal leaping about the Great Lawn to our left. The sight of two pointy ears and a tail has me laughing out loud.

“Look, Tammy, it’s Theodore! Whatever is he doing?”

“I think he’s trying to catch an insect.”

At that, Theodore leaps high in the air and falls down, landing on his back. We burst out laughing.

“Theodore!” I call to him. “Come here, Theodore!”

The dumb cat flicks his tail and stares at me. Then, very deliberately, he looks away.

“See how he ignores me?” I say, disappointed.

Tammy laughs. “At least he knows his name.”

“He does?”

“Uh-huh. That was a definite snub.” Tammy walks closer to study Theodore. The cat watches her and doesn’t run away.

“He’s not quite ready to join the family,” Tammy says. “Tell Robby to keep on giving him lots of attention. He’ll win him over in the end.”

“Robby will be real happy to hear that. Theodore, come here!” I shout, deciding to give it one last try.

Theodore’s ears stiffen as he looks at me. For one thrilling moment I think he’s going to come. Instead, he dashes across the path and disappears in the woods on the other side of the road.

“Let’s follow him.” I point to an opening between two giant rhododendrons. “Through there.”

“Er—I don’t know,” Tammy says. “It all overgrown. Maybe there are snakes.”

“Oh, Tammy, don’t be such a baby. There’s not one snake in all of MG.”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly,” I say, though I don’t know any such thing. “Come on!” I shout over my shoulder as I dive through the opening. Poor Tammy has no choice but to follow.

“It sure is dense in here,” she says a minute later. “I can’t even see the road any more.”

The woods are overgrown, with many of the bushes taller than we are, and there are no paths to follow. It’s as if we’re some place wild and far from civilization. I’d pause for one of Mom’s “Moments of Beauty” only there’s no time.

“Don’t worry,” I say a minute later. “The woods end there. See, at the cyclone fence where the ground slopes up.”

“Oh, good.”

“That’s the MG boundary line. We can’t go any farther. You couldn’t get lost, Tam, even if you tried.”

Knowing this makes Tammy bolder. She veers to the left.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“I think I heard Theodore. Oh!” She stops so suddenly, I bump into her.

“What is it?” I ask.

But there’s no need for her to answer. Before us is a tiny one-room playhouse. It’s made of the same dark brick and slate roof as our cottage. We stick our noses against the window and peer inside. An old couch faces us from the opposite wall. Next to it is a wooden toy chest. In the other corner stands a child-size table and chairs with a tiny tea set on the table. Dolls sit in two of the chairs.

“I wonder if Mayda played here when she was a child,” Tammy says.

“I don’t think anyone’s played here for years and years. Weird, how it’s overgrown and deserted when all the other buildings are cared for.”

“Like Sleeping Beauty’s palace,” Tammy says.

“Kind of,” I agree.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

My eyes are drawn to the huge birdcage-type structure about ten feet past the playhouse.

“Look, Tam, a gazebo!” I shout, and run to check it out.

I step through the doorway of the peeling green wood. Inside are two benches, enough standing room for three or four people, and a cat.

“Theodore!”

He whizzes past me, chasing a small creature across the pebble-covered floor.

“Ick, he’s caught a mouse!” Tammy shrieks as Theodore pounces.

“Let go of that!” I yell.

I lunge after Theodore, who has the mouse between his front paws. The mouse breaks free and darts out of the gazebo. Theodore spins around and takes off in hot pursuit. I lose my balance and fall on a pile of twigs and dead leaves.

Tammy bursts out laughing. “Theodore’s not a very good mouser.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

I lean on one hand to get up, and the ground shifts beneath it. Not the ground, I realize, but loose stones under the leaves and twigs.

“What’s that?” Tammy asks when I’m standing. She points to something in the scooped-out space my hand has left behind.

“It looks like a piece of chain,” I say.

I bend down to pick it up. It’s not a chain, but the tail end of a necklace spilling out of a jewelry pouch like the one my mother kept her pearls in.

Slowly, I pull out the necklace. A tangle of blue stones set in an intricate pattern falls into my hand. Amazingly enough, the necklace isn’t damaged.

“Wow!” Tammy exclaims. “Sapphires. Probably set in platinum.”

“Tammy?” My voice squeaks with excitement. “Isn’t this the same necklace Elizabeth was wearing in that photo?”

Tammy’s not my best friend for nothing. “The one Archie gave her to celebrate Christopher’s first birthday!”

“The one the thief stole,” I say.

We stare at it in awe.

“Come on, Tammy,” I say. “We have to go back and hand it over to my father.”

Daddy’s in his office, sending off a fax. Typical of my father—he’s more interested in scolding us for going into the woods than for thanking us for our amazing discovery.

“And what were you doing there, anyway?” he demands.

“We were just following Theodore,” I try to explain.

“Chasing after a stupid cat! You could have tripped and fallen and broken an ankle!” He casts a sour look at Tammy and me.

“Well, if living here’s so dangerous, let’s tell the Petersons we need our house back,” I say.

“Don’t be fresh, Vanessa. That’s not the point and you know it.”

“Aunt Mayda will be happy to see this necklace,” I tell him. “It belonged to her grandmother.”

“How do you know?” Daddy asks.

Tammy and I exchange furtive glances. “We saw her photograph in the library, and she was wearing it,” Tammy explains.

“Is that so?” Daddy says. “I think you girls have had enough excitement for one afternoon. Why don’t you do something quiet around here, like your homework? Meanwhile, I’ll put this in a safe place until I can give it to Mayda.”

“Where’s Robby?” I ask.

“In the shed. Feeding that stray of his.”

“He is?” Tammy and I both shout. We fly out of Daddy’s office.

“I swear, that cat is everywhere,” I say on our way over to the shed.

Robby puts his finger to his lips as we step through the open door. He doesn’t have to worry about our frightening Theodore. The greedy cat’s too busy gobbling down his food to pay us any attention.

“Look,” Robby whispers. “He’s eating while I’m here.”

“Of course. He’s hungry,” Tammy says, grinning. “He’s been out having adventures.”

“You saw him?” Robby asks. “Where was he?’

“All over MG,” I say. “He tried to catch a mouse in an old gazebo.”

“What’s a gazebo?” Robby asks.

“An outdoor type of structure,” Tammy explains.

“And we found a necklace there,” I add. “An old, very expensive necklace.”

“Really?” Robby’s eyes open wide. “You mean like buried treasure?”

Tammy and I grin at each other. “Kind of,” Tammy says. “It belonged to your Aunt Mayda’s grandmother.”

“Did she lose it?” Robby asks.

I tousle his hair. “I think someone tried to steal it, but it never left MG.”

“You mean, like a magic spell kept it here?”

“Kind of,” I agree.

“Cool,” Robby says.

Now that his food’s all gone, Theodore moves to a corner to clean his paws.

“He’s a nice cat, Robby,” Tammy says, “and he’ll make a good pet.”

“And I’m a good master,” Robby says proudly.

“You sure are,” I tell my brother, hugging him. “You sure are.”

*

Since Tammy’s father’s picking her up at five-thirty, we decide to wait for him at the entrance to MG. We start out early, in case I can coax Archie to make an appearance. Tammy’s longing to meet him, and I want to tell him about finding the necklace. Robby asks if he can come too, but I tell him we have girl things to talk about.

He sighs. “But you had all afternoon to say anything important.”

Tammy and I giggle. “We never have enough time to talk,” she says.

I grin because it’s true. Tammy and I could talk for an entire twenty-four hours and never run out of things to say. And anything important is worth repeating once or twice.

When we reach the pond, Tammy has me close my eyes and concentrate on calling Archie.

“I’ll try,” I say, “but I don’t think he’ll show up unless I’m alone.”

“Do your best,” Tammy says.

Nothing happens. After ten minutes of squeezing my eyes and straining my mind, Tammy relents and we continue on to the gate house.

“I bet I never get to see him,” she says sadly. “Never.”

I feel bad for Tammy. “Maybe he’ll show up on Halloween. As you said, it’s a special time for witches and ghosts.”

“Right—in fairy tales,” Tammy scoffs, with none of her usual enthusiasm.

“Halloween must be magical, since it’s the only night Archie can leave here for good.”

Tammy doesn’t answer. I’m almost relieved when her father arrives a few minutes later. We say good-bye. I turn around and head back to the cottage.

I wonder about the necklace as I walk. How did it get there? And why hasn’t anyone found it, after all these years?

But maybe it was hidden under the pebbles, and the pebbles got looser with time and rain and snow. How extraordinary that the necklace remained in one piece without being damaged.

I wonder about the playhouse and the gazebo. Why were they abandoned when the rest of MG was lived in and used?

“Good evening, Vanessa.”

My hand flies to my heart. “Archie! You scared me again!”

We’re near the pond. I don’t know if it’s the dimming daylight, but Archie appears less solid than usual.

“I do apologize.”

I sit on the bench. Archie leans against a tree. Yes, he definitely is more transparent. I can see the bark through his tuxedo.

“You’ve had company this afternoon,” he comments.

“My friend, Tammy. She really wanted to meet you. But I suppose you know that.”

His smile is bittersweet. “It takes a great deal of effort to appear before more than one person. Please express my regrets. Tammy is a receptive person. I would have enjoyed meeting her.”

“I’ll tell her.” I suddenly remember the necklace. “Archie, you’ll never guess what happened! We found the necklace! The one you bought your wife.”