On Ice (17 page)

“
Oh, yes!” Nadine looked up at the colorful sculpture. “I’m part Tlingit and we hand down many traditions from generation to generation. In my tribe, we observe characteristics of animals and imitate the strongest traits. The totem is a glorified story stick. I’m proud of my heritage.”

Rene took a moment to absorb the information. Brightly painted faces stared down at her. “Is that figure a wolf?” She pointed to a dog-like face halfway up the sculpture.

“
Yes, the wolf is my spirit animal. It has many fine strengths, such as love of family and intelligence. They always travel in packs, you know.”

“
What about the bear?” Rene shivered as she recalled the warnings given to her at Cindy’s house.

“
The bear is the symbol of courage and strength.”

Rene looked at the countenance of the bear figure. “If I was in your tribe I would want the bear as my spirit animal. I need to learn his secrets.”

Nadine gave her a long look before inviting her inside.

Rene enjoyed visiting the Burkes. Their house was solid and spacious. The ceiling of the Great Room opened to the rafters. A stairway led to the second floor and all rooms opened off a gallery. The fireplaces on each end made it quite cozy. The kitchen and other rooms were under the gallery. It was warm and homey. Rene said as much to Nadine.

Sam Burke showed her his gun collection. He kept it in a locked room across from the kitchen. Gleaming wood and glass cases were also locked.

“
Can’t be too careful with kids around,” Sam said. He lovingly ran his hand along the edge of the polished wood.

“
That’s true.” Rene gazed in wonder at all the weaponry. “You seem to have taken all possible precautions.”

He showed her various guns that were his particular favorites, demonstrating the unique functions of each.

“
If I wanted to get a gun,” Rene said slowly, “what would you recommend?”

He didn’t seem to think this question odd. “What would you use it for? Hunting or protection?”

“
Protection,” she said promptly.

He stepped over to a glass case and took a large hand gun from its place. “This is my choice. It’s a forty-four Magnum. You could hit a man on any part of his body and knock him down. It’ll do real damage. You’d make a big hole if you hit his torso. If you hit a limb, you’d blow it off.” He placed it in Rene’s hand.

“
It’s too heavy,” she said. “I can barely lift it, let alone fire it. What would be smaller?”

He carefully replaced the gun in its shrine. “This one. A Glock forty caliber. It’s plastic. Makes a big hole but doesn’t weigh much.” He held it out to her.

“
It is light,” Rene said, “but it’s still too big.”

“
I know just what you want, then,” he said. “Glock makes a smaller weapon. It’s still a forty caliber but it’s small enough to fit in a lady’s purse. Is that what you had in mind?” He gave her a quizzical look.

“
Sounds perfect. How would I go about getting one?”

“Ordinarily, you’d fill out a criminal history check at a gun shop. If it came back clean, you could get one.”

“
Ordinarily?” Rene asked.

“
I happen to be a registered gun collector. I can order one for you without all the red tape.”

“
And,” Rene took a deep breath, “can you teach me to use it?”

“
Sure,” he grinned, “or, better yet, Nadine can teach you. She’s a crack shot.”

“
Place the order,” Rene said. “Please.”

~*~

The answering machine came on.

“
Rene, if you’re there, pick up.” Mark waited, picturing her standing beside the telephone. “Rene, pick up the phone.”

She was frightened, he knew that.

“
Don’t be afraid,” he crooned. “I’m not mad.” His voice was as smooth as satin.

What if she’s laughing at me, like Maddy? What if they’re both there, in my condo, laughing at me?

“
Rene you’d better pick up the phone right now!”

Silence.

He slammed the receiver down.

The time he’d spent in Paris was totally unfruitful. His investigator found no trace of Rene after she and the children left the hotel. She’d taken a taxi to the airport. Was that a ruse just to throw him off? The investigator said she could be anywhere. She could have taken a train or a bus. She could have started a whole new life anywhere in the world
...
but what was she using for money? Her credit card had not been used.

Is she with someone? A man?

He ground his teeth together. He took a deep breath and snapped his fingers one, two, three times.

The only one who knew for sure where Rene was hiding would be Maddy. He’d booked a flight home, determined to get the truth out of her.

~*~

CHAPTER ELEVEN

On Monday, Honeybee delivered lunch and several large packages from the school supply company. Mrs. Pindar had, she said, waved her down, demanding she make the delivery.

“
Thank you for hauling the supplies,” Rene said. “This will make my job a lot easier.” The older boys unloaded the materials as well as the meal.

“
Happy to oblige,” Honeybee said. “We try to help each other out here. How’s it going?”

“
As well as can be expected when you have different grade levels in one room.”

“
Folks say you’re doing a great job.” Honeybee arched an eyebrow. “I personally try to stay away from the little beasts.” Her raspy laugh came from deep in her throat.

“
I’m trying my best.” Rene gazed at the kaleidoscope of activity humming around her.

“
I work most days, but maybe we could get together sometime and just talk.”

Rene refocused her attention at the woman beside her. A hint of tension lurked beneath Honeybee’s calm exterior. “Sure. I’m either here or at the cabin. Call me when you’re free.” She watched Honeybee drive away and wondered what prompted the sudden desire for girl talk.

As the younger children finished eating, Rene and the older boys opened the boxes. They placed the materials on worktables, dividing the items into audio-visuals, texts and workbooks and expendable student supplies. Glen and Rick assembled a rolling cart and arranged CDs and workbooks on it. Gunnar and Logan unloaded a combination television-VCR with materials for each level. Rene smiled as she saw them working together. Younger children giggled excitedly as they examined colorful charts and art supplies. The copy machine would be delivered on Thursday.

“
I ordered some things to make independent work stations for different levels,” Rene explained. “When you finish an assignment and I’m working with another group you can go to a station and work on your own. How shall we set up the stations?” They decided to use the corners of the room to set up four stations. Rene set out items for each table and the children arranged them. Rene helped the youngest students with their counting and alphabet station. The girls were thrilled with the colors and the games.

“
I can do it!” Star insisted.

“
I know my ABC’s,” Sara told her.

“
So what? That’s baby stuff!” Nicky sneered. “I knew that last year.”

Star chose that moment to express her displeasure with Nicky by hitting him on the head with a wooden puzzle. “You’re not nice, Nicky McCorkill!” she screamed.

Nicky also screamed, though the puzzle suffered the worst of the encounter. The pieces bounced off Nicky’s head, landing on the floor.

Rene took a deep breath. “Time out, Star and Nicky. You both know it’s not acceptable to behave this way. Nicky, it’s not nice to say things to hurt people’s feelings. Star, you must never hit anyone again. Do you understand?”

Both children looked properly abashed. Just then she became aware of a peculiar silence from the rest of the class. Turning, she saw the other students standing in the corner designated for the fourteen to sixteen-year-olds.

“
What’s going on?” she asked, pushing through the group. She stopped abruptly when she realized they had found the charts defining the human reproductive system.

“
Mrs. Nichols, are these dirty pictures?” Skye asked.

“
No, Skye, they’re not!” she said emphatically. She had hoped to introduce the materials carefully to the older boys. “Let’s not use these yet.” She gathered the anatomical charts and shoved them into a closet. Her cheeks were flushed when she turned around.

She ate her lunch and quickly arranged her own desk supplies. Filling her new stapler and scotch tape dispenser, she placed them on one side with an “in” box to collect student papers on the other. Reverently, she placed the new lesson plan book in the middle of the desk. Smiling at the children, she recalled how it felt to be their age, armed with new school supplies.

She quickly recaptured the children’s interest. They arranged materials for their grade levels near their worktables. The little ones got the alphabet, counting and colors visuals. The lower elementary got vocabulary and spelling charts and a table set up with a science learning station about insects. The upper elementary had a poster naming all of the Presidents of the United States and a learning station on the world’s rain forests.

The four older boys were her most challenging students. It pleased her to see their interest in the music and art appreciation materials she had selected for them. They arranged a cd player with headphones and a box of cds. For art appreciation she had chosen several books on the artwork of various periods. She would make up self-tests to give them credit for this work.

The school day sped by and the children gathered their books to go home.

“
I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called out to the children as they left. Then she located her own homework and took one last look before turning off the light. It finally looked like a classroom.

~*~

“
That was Terrence, calling from the airport. I told him to take a taxi here.” Ted hung up the receiver and gave Maddy his full attention. “You don’t mind, do you?”

He looks so pleased with himself
. Maddy managed a tight little smile. “No, I’m glad you pulled strings to expedite his visa. He’s great with the girls and I don’t want you to hire someone new.”

“
It won’t be forever,” he said.

She swallowed a lump of rage that wanted to scream, knowing that her husband should not be the recipient of her anger. “It just feels that way. I haven’t been to my club meetings. I know the other volunteers at the Houston Women’s Shelter think I’ve abandoned them.”

“
I won’t have you injured by that lowlife your sister married. You told your friends we were on vacation, right?”

“
Yes, but we should have finished lolly-gagging around the misty isles by now. Since you changed our phone number, Mark can’t harass us, but my friends must think we’ve moved.”

“
Give our new number to your friends, but sparingly, please.”

“
There’s no point in that. Anyone I contact will think I’m back from Europe and assume that I have a life.”

“
You do have a life, Maddy. Let me remind you that you’re alive and that might not have been the case if Mark Desmond had his way.”

Maddy hung her head and examined her long neglected nails. “I hear what you’re saying, Ted. I should be grateful to be alive, but I’m just so angry with Mark for keeping me in a cage, so to speak. I can’t tell people that my brother-in-law has been stalking me.”

“
You can if you wish and you can also explain that your nutso brother-in-law attacked you and is fixated on harming you. Maybe that tidbit of gossip will get back to the pretentious ass.”

“
Such strong language Dr. Ted.” Maddy flashed him a grin. “I’ve never seen this vicious side of you. I find it very attractive.”

“
Really?” He set his glasses aside and loosened his tie. “We’ve got a while before Terrence makes it here from the airport.”

“
What about the girls?” She laughed as he made a face. “Don’t worry, dear. I’ll still find you attractive tonight when they’re all asleep.”

~*~

“
My mommy’s coming after school for the meeting,” Star Culver assured Rene the next morning.

“
My dad’s coming, too,” Parker Wolf announced.

A chorus arose affirming the attendance of one or both parents.

“
Is there anyone who won’t have someone attending?” Rene asked. Only Glen Westfall and Rick Starkey raised their hands. She thought it sad that two of her brightest students had no parents to take pride in their accomplishments.

Rene introduced new materials to students in small groups. The smallest children were matching colors and shapes, while the lower elementary practiced spelling words. The upper elementary children inspected a globe to find the rain forests and she got the four older boys to correct each other’s English papers. Their mood seemed brighter today. She thought it had something to do with the new supplies.