The Stone of Sadness (An Olivia Miller Mystery Book 3) (13 page)

“The woman is very nice. She takes good care of the place,” Joe said. “She’s quiet. A good neighbor. We sit around the fire pit together some nights now that the weather is good.”

“That’s great,” Olivia said. “I’m glad it’s working out.”

“I’m looking forward to having you stay with me for the month of August,” Joe told her. Olivia was going to stay at Joe’s house during August after she returned from her summer class.

“Me too,” she grinned. “You can make me tasty meals.”

“Bah,” Joe responded. “We’ll take turns.”

They chatted and rocked for another hour.

Joe stood up and stretched. “Time for me to hit the sack. I need a good night’s sleep if I’m going to keep up with you two on the river tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, Joe,” Brad said. “We’ll take it easy for you.”

The three of them knew that it would be Joe who would be way ahead of Brad and Olivia when they hit the water with the kayak and canoe.

“Goodnight, children.” Joe kissed the top of Olivia’s head.

“Goodnight, Joe,” they said in unison.

Brad and Olivia stayed outside on the porch for another half hour. Olivia sat in the rocker next to Brad with her legs pulled up under her and a blanket over her lap. She adjusted herself a bit in the chair so that she was slightly facing Brad. She watched him as he rocked, engrossed in a novel. His brown hair flopped over his forehead. Olivia admired the line of his chin, the curve of his bicep, his strong hands cradling the book. Lily lay at their feet, fireflies danced by the tree line, and crickets and peeper frogs chirped and called in the darkness. Olivia wondered if anything could be more perfect.

Brad shifted his position and caught Olivia looking at him.

“What?” he asked. He reached his arm across the space between the rockers, held his hand out to Olivia and she placed hers in his.

She gave him a soft, sweet smile. “Nothing.”

He leaned closer to her and raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Time to go in?” he asked.

Olivia nodded. They stood and gathered their things. Brad put his arm around her waist and they went inside. The two climbed the stairs with the dog tagging along behind them.

Olivia, Joe, Brad, and Lily had a wonderful day on the water. Despite applying sunscreen, each one had a bit of sunburn on their faces. Except the dog. Lily was like the captain of the canoe or like a carved figurehead on the bow of a ship. All day she stood at the front of the canoe surveying everything around her as Brad and Joe took turns paddling from the back. Now she was sound asleep next to Olivia on the rear seat of Brad’s car.

“I think that dog enjoyed the day more than anyone else,” Joe laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a creature who loved the water like Lily does.”

“Yeah,” Brad agreed. “She sure seemed disappointed when it was time to leave.”

Olivia patted Lily’s head as she watched the scenery passing the car window.

“I didn’t realize this state park was so huge,” Brad said.

“Yeah, miles of walking trails, the lake, river, a good size pond, fields,” Olivia commented.
Fields.
“Brad, would you turn left up here and take the longer way back to the house?”

“Sure thing. What’s up?”

“Would either of you mind if we stop at the field where the murders took place? I’ve been wanting to go take a look, but I just didn’t want to go there by myself.”

“I don’t mind, Liv,” Brad told her.

“Gives me the creeps,” Joe admitted. “I’ll stay in the car.”

“Afraid of ghosts, Joe?” Brad asked.

“Nope,” Joe said. “I’m afraid of the living. And the things they do.”

“I won’t be long, if you don’t want to get out,” Olivia told Joe.

Olivia gave Brad directions to the dirt road that would lead to the field where Mary and Kimmy were killed.

“Here. Here it is on the left.” Olivia was craning her neck from the back seat to see the road. Lily sensed the car slowing and sat up to see where they were. Brad turned onto the dirt road and the Jeep bumped up and down as if traveling over a washboard.

“Pull over here,” Olivia told him.

Brad pulled the car over as far to the side as he could. They opened the doors and stepped out. Lily jumped out and sniffed the brush along the dirt way.

“I’m going to stay here,” Joe said. “I think I’ll just close my eyes while you two investigate.” He hunkered down on the seat to get more comfortable.

“Okay, Joe, we’ll be back in a bit,” Olivia said.

“Take your time. I’m happy right here,” Joe replied. His eyes were already shut.

Brad and Olivia made their way down the dirt road. Lily ran ahead. When the road opened to the field, Olivia said, “This is it, Brad. This is where they were killed.”

They followed a small path that cut through the long grass.

“From the newspaper descriptions I read, the car must have been parked right around here,” Olivia said.

“Strange to think what happened so many years ago,” Brad said. “It’s so peaceful.” He shook his head as they stood quietly observing the place.

“It’s hard to believe that two people were murdered here,” Olivia said, her voice soft.

Lily bounced towards them from across the field.

“There’s supposed to be a lake over that way,” Olivia told Brad. “The guys who found the bodies were on their way to fish.”

“Let’s take a look,” Brad said.

When Lily saw them coming towards her, she bolted back in the direction she had just come. Brad and Olivia followed the narrow path until it widened and edged along a clear blue lake that appeared to cover many acres.

“It’s beautiful,” Brad said. “Is swimming allowed?”

“I don’t know,” Olivia answered. “There’s swimming at a lake over off of River Street. There’s a town beach there. I take Lily to swim in the evenings. Dogs aren’t allowed when the lifeguards are on duty. I’m not sure if this is the other side of that lake. I need a map of town. I can’t get my bearings about where things are located in relation to each other.”

“Want to follow along the trail for a while?” Brad asked.

“Yeah, let’s,” Olivia said. “Maybe something will look familiar. I’ve walked Lily at the state park. Maybe this trail leads to the other side of the park.”

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the trail split.

“Which way?” Brad asked.

Olivia considered and pointed to the left. “This way.”

They walked on for another ten minutes and came to a small clearing. They could see the trail picked up again between the trees on the other side of the field. They crossed to the far side and headed along the path which inclined up the side of a hill.

Brad said, “Maybe we should head back, Liv. Joe might be wondering where we are.”

“Okay,” Olivia replied and then smiled. “But he’s probably still sound asleep.”

Just before Olivia turned around, something in the distance caught her eye.

“What’s that near the top of the hill?”

Brad leaned forward to get a better look between the trees. “It’s a building.”

“Let’s go see.”

The trail leading to where they were headed was overgrown, so they ducked and pushed aside branches as they trudged up the slight incline. They emerged from the woods into a large expanse of manicured lawn. An in-ground swimming pool could be seen near a large brick mansion situated at the top of the crest.

Olivia eyed the place. “This is the Bradford mansion. I talked with Isabel Bradford and her daughter, Angela here. I recognize the room with the wall of glass looking over the terrace and pool. This is Magnolia Hill.”

“The area of Howland with all the mansions? This is quite a place,” Brad said. “Do they have armed guards patrolling the grounds?” he joked.

“Emily Bradford told me that she used to meet Kenny Overman in a field behind her house. She would sneak out sometimes. That clearing we just came through at the bottom of the hill. That must be where she used to meet him,” Olivia said. “I didn’t realize that their property backed up to the state park land.”

A dog barked somewhere in the distance and Lily’s ears perked up. She started to advance towards the sound but Olivia took hold of her collar.

“No, Lily. Come on.” Olivia turned her around. “I guess we should get back to Joe,” she told Brad. The three stumbled through the brush to return to the trail.

When they reached the car, Joe was snoring in the front seat. Brad and Olivia exchanged impish grins. Careful not to make any noise, they took small, slow steps until they were right next to the open car window. Brad looked at Olivia and mouthed, ‘one, two, three,’ and then he and Olivia let out blood-curdling shrieks.

Joe startled from his nap and jerked straight up in the seat, blinking, trying to orient himself to his surroundings.

“Idiots!” he shouted at Olivia and Brad who were doubled over, laughing. “Are you damn fools trying to give me a heart attack?” Joe grumped at them and shook his head.

On Sunday, Brad followed the line of cars past St. Catherine’s Church and pulled into the field which was being used as an overflow parking area for those attending the annual church yard sale and festival. Joe, Olivia and Brad left the car in its spot and headed back to the sidewalk that led up to St. Catherine’s.

“I had no idea this was such a popular town event,” Olivia said.

“Quite a turnout,” Joe remarked.

“You should have set up a table to sell all of the stuff you’re removing from John’s attic,” Brad said.

“Yeah.” Olivia grinned. “And then keep all the profits for myself,” she joked.

The church parking lot, the rec hall, and the field behind the church held food vendors, games for kids, craft tables, and tables and booths filled with all kinds of items for sale from yard sale trinkets to professionally crafted specialties. A band was set up near the food tent and the musicians were playing a mix of country, blues, and pop songs.

Joe was fascinated by a booth that sold wooden decoys, bird houses and furniture and he struck up a conversation with the man who handcrafted all of the items. Olivia admired a table of handmade jewelry and purchased a pair of dangly sterling silver earrings. Brad lingered over a table of out of print books.

The sky was bright blue and the day was warm and clear. It seemed everyone in Howland was at the event.

“I wish I hadn’t eaten lunch,” Brad said, eyeing the food concessions.

“I bet that won’t stop you,” Olivia teased as they approached the food tent where sausages sizzled on grills, individual pizzas were made with every topping possible, and soft serve ice cream was dipped into chocolate, caramel, or strawberry icings.

“Oh, look, fried dough.” Olivia trotted over to a food truck.

“Well, if she’s going to indulge, I’m right behind her,” Joe admitted.

“Sausage truck?” Brad asked.

“Yup,” Joe said.

Olivia met the guys at one of the picnic tables set up under a huge beech tree. She took the bench opposite them and bit into her fried dough. Powdered sugar dusted her nose and lips.

“Looks good on you, Liv,” Brad told her between bites of his sub sandwich of sausage, peppers and onions. Joe had one too and they had a plate of onion rings set on the table between them. They each had a frosty mug of beer next to their plates.

Olivia took a sip from Brad’s mug. “What should I get after this?” she asked.

“At this rate we’ll have to roll back to the house,” Joe noted.

“Or explode before we get there,” Brad said.

As the guys made short work of the food, a man’s voice spoke over the PA system announcing a tractor pull event at the far end of the back field. Joe and Brad grinned at each other.

“Go,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes. “I’m happy sitting here in the shade. Come get me when it’s over.”

The guys jumped up and hurried off like little kids. Olivia shook her head and chuckled as she finished off her fried dough.

“Hey.” A woman’s voice called. Olivia turned to see Jackie heading towards her with a gigantic banana split. “My dad and brother took off on me when they heard that tractor pull announcement. We were going to share this,” Jackie said. “Looks like you’re going to have to help me now.” She sat on the bench beside Olivia and placed the dessert between them.

“Oh, Jackie, no,” Olivia groaned.

“Here’s a napkin.” Jackie put a napkin and spoon in front of Olivia. “Eat.”

They dug in.

“Is it this crowded every year?” Olivia asked scooping a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, hot fudge dripping off the spoon.

“Depends on the weather,” Jackie said. She pointed at Olivia’s chin where a blob of fudge had landed. Olivia swept her tongue over her chin and giggled.

“Nice manners,” Jackie said.

In between bites, they ate and chatted, enjoyed the music and watched the people. Jackie and Olivia made plans to go for a jog the next day on the rail trails after Jackie finished up work. They polished off the banana split and Jackie left to go look for her relatives. She asked Olivia to join her.

“I’m not leaving this bench,” Olivia said. “I’m too full to move. I need to digest a bit before I go off walking around,” she kidded.

Just as Jackie left, Olivia saw Father Mike strolling towards the table, an older woman holding on to his arm. Olivia waved.

“Olivia,” Father Mike puffed. “May we join you?”

“Please.” Olivia indicated the opposite bench.

The priest put his cane against the picnic table, helped the woman balance as she arranged herself on the bench and then maneuvered his own legs over the seat and plopped down.

“The golden years,” he chuckled. “Not sure what’s so golden about them.”

The woman nodded her head. She was petite and slightly stooped. She had straight, silver gray hair, cut short with bangs brushed to the side. She wore slacks, sensible shoes, and a cardigan.

“Martha, this is Olivia Miller,” Father Mike said. “She is the young woman who is researching the Monahan’s murders. Remember I mentioned her to you?”

The woman reached across the table to shake Olivia’s hand.

“Olivia, this is Martha Martin. She was born in town and has lived all her life here.”