Miz Scarlet and the Vanishing Visitor (A Scarlet Wilson Mystery) (13 page)

“Let them come, Miz Scarlet, and meet the girl
without telling her anything. We’ll play it by ear and get it all
sorted out.”

“I don’t know. Mozzie’s coming home and....”

“Jenny needs family. These people have wondered all
these years why their granddaughter disappeared. They assumed that
the Mulroney family was so upset by Christina’s suicide that they
wanted nothing to do with the Martinez family.”

“And all this time, they could have all been united?”
The tears hit hard, unexpectedly, sending a sharply stinging pain
behind my eyelids. How could I say no to Jenny’s family? “When do
they want to come?”

“They’re flying in on Friday.”

“So soon?” I wasn’t sure I was ready to give up
Jenny, at least not until I was sure she would have a good life.
Still, what right did I have to stand in the way? “Okay.”

“I’ve got to go, babe. I’ll talk to you tonight,
after dinner. Bye.”

“Bye back.”

When I retrieved Jenny from my mother’s arms, I
grabbed my pocketbook, along with the keys to the Focus. I had
tucked my credit card with the big limit in my wallet. Good thing.
When the secretary passed the bill for Mozzie’s medical care over
the counter, I actually gulped hard when I saw the total. It was
almost a year’s worth of car payments. And then I looked at Jenny,
cradling her canine buddy in her loving arms. Somehow I would
figure out a way to suck it up. If things didn’t work out with her
new family, the teen would still have Mozzie.

It took three pages of written instructions, six
different medications and ointments, and special food for the dog
before we got vet permission to go home. We had an appointment on
the following Tuesday to make sure he was healing properly. Dr.
Greenwald told us it was a small miracle that the pup survived his
ordeal. For her, it had been one of the highlights of her career as
a vet. And then she instructed the secretary to credit me half the
vet fee, which was more than three hundred bucks. She said she
utilized an experimental wound medication on Mozzie and she’d write
an article about its success in the AVA journal.

“Thanks, Doc,” I told her.

“I wish I could do more, I really do.” Her eyes fell
on Jenny and Mozzie, nose-to-nose. “This is what it’s really all
about.”

“Can I see you for just a minute?” We stepped out
into the hall. “I just wanted to tell you that we found Jenny’s
grandparents out in California. She doesn’t know yet, and we hope
it’s going to be a good thing for all of them. But if it’s not,
know that saving Mozzie probably saved Jenny as well.”

“Thanks for telling me.” The vet hugged me. “I’m a
sucker for a happy ending.”

“Me, too.”

Back at the house, January and Huckleberry were
curious about the new visitor. Mozzie was still on bed rest, so we
set him up in a nice, cushy crate in the living room, where he
could watch the action while he healed. His new canine friends hung
out with him, Huck lying next to the doggie version of a hospital
bed. January decided she preferred curling up next to Lacey in the
club chair.

“He’s already starting to look better,” Laurel
decided, observing the patient.

“Isn’t he?” Jenny sounded like a proud parent. “He
still needs a lot of care, but I think he’ll be okay.”

I waited until the following day, when I had more
details, before I sat Laurel, Lacy, and Bur down for a family
meeting. Cousin Willow had stopped by to help Jenny change Mozzie’s
bandages according to standard nursing protocols, so I knew that
would keep Jenny occupied while I talked to the gang.

“Mr. and Mrs. Martinez will be arriving on Friday.
Bur, can you pick them up at the airport?”

“Sure, Miz Scarlet.”

“We’re not going to say anything to Jenny about this,
at least till Antonio and Maria have a chance to meet their
granddaughter.” The Googins girls nodded in agreement as I said
that. “And even then, we’ll have to figure out how to break the
news.”

“Of course.”

The days flew by, the hours filled with inn
responsibilities and care for the injured pup. I took the healthy
dogs on their daily walks, while Jenny stayed with her patient.

On Thursday night, I told the teen that we had a
couple coming from California and we needed to get the Black Oak
room ready for them as soon as the Whipples checked out.

“No problem,” she answered cheerfully.

My stomach spent the day rumbling as I worried and
fretted, fretted and worried. What if Jenny thought we betrayed her
by keeping the secret? How would she take the news? What would we
say to her? What if she didn’t believe Antonio and Maria were her
grandparents?

After dinner, we all sat in the living room. Mozzie
came out of his crate and spent the evening on Jenny’s lap. Lacey
and Laurel shouted out the answers to the puzzles on “Wheel of
Fortune”. I excused myself to go call Kenny when the final spin was
spun and the contestant lost. I came back in time to watch
“Masterpiece” with the gang. Miss Marple was devastated by the loss
of a friend in “The Pale Horse” episode. At ten-thirty, we turned
off the TV, and Bur offered to carry Mozzie’s crate to the third
floor while I got Laurel settled in bed. By the time I climbed the
flight of stairs up to my suite, Jenny had the Cavalier King
Charles spaniel nestled on his doggie pillow in her bedroom.

“He seems to be pretty perky,” I smiled, watching the
small tongue dart out of Mozzie’s mouth to lick Jenny’s hand.

“Scarlet?” She looked up at me with those big eyes as
she sat on her heels.

“Yes, Jen?”

“I don’t know how to ever thank you for saving
Mozzie. I don’t know what I would have done if he had died.”

“I’m so glad we didn’t have to find out what life
would be like without him.”

“Me, too.”

“Good night. Sleep tight.”

The dawn came with a red sky as the sun rose. I
watched it through the kitchen window as I prepared breakfast. How
long before the storm clouds blew in from the south?

At nine, the rain began, lightly at first, and then
turned torrential. Bur was scheduled to collect Mr. and Mrs.
Martinez from Bradley International at two, on his way back from a
business meeting up in Springfield. Jenny worked on the guest
rooms, in between visits to the canine patient. Huck and January
wanted their morning walk, so at eleven, I leashed them and we
headed out onto one of the woodsy trails, where the tree canopy was
thick and most of the rain didn’t get through. I tried to work off
my anxiety by walking faster. By the time I returned, I was
exhausted, but still worried. At least I had passed the hour
getting some exercise.

Jenny was in the living room with my mother when Bur
returned with the guests. Placing Mozzie gently in his crate, she
hopped up and headed out to help with the luggage. Hands nervously
smoothing my Capri pants, I hurriedly followed in her wake, praying
things would go well.

The front door was open and through it, I could hear
voices on the porch as they all made their way towards the foyer.
January, alerted that we had visitors, came tearing out of the
kitchen to see whether they should be allowed into the inn.

“California, yes. We have an almond farm,” said a
deep male voice.

“Almonds?”

“Yes. You’ve heard of Blue Diamond Almonds? We’re
part of the growers’ association. The new thing is almond milk.
Have you ever had any? It’s great stuff, especially for people who
can’t digest dairy.”

Jenny carried two bags into the hallway, a pleasant
look on her face. A tall, thin, fifty-something man stepped through
the door after her. Ignoring the grandeur of the entry hall, his
curious eyes remained on the girl as she walked ahead. He was
younger than I expected him to be, sparse hair on top, but
distinguished-looking, with dark eyes. He gave me a quick nod as he
passed. He seemed slightly reserved, but hopeful.

Bur held the door for a short, attractive woman,
dressed in a mint green pantsuit, her brown hair curled into short
ringlets. Her eyes were lively, alert and friendly, but as she
waved hello, I was struck by her smile. This was definitely Jenny’s
grandmother. There was no mistaking the likeness.

“Hello there,” she called to me, her voice melodious.
“I’m Maria, as I am sure you’ve guessed. You must be Scarlet. I’ve
heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally have the chance to
meet you.”

For a moment, my heart skipped a beat. She was unlike
anything I was expecting. Just watching her, I knew instinctively
that Maria would love Jenny in all the right ways. This grandmother
was a keeper.

The Googins girls agreed when we compared notes a
short time later. Jenny was showing her grandparents to their guest
room. We could hear her giving them the details on the architecture
as they made their way up the main staircase.

“It’s really striking, isn’t it?” said Lacey.

“You mean that resemblance between Maria and Jenny?
Absolutely.” My mother wheeled her motorized chair to the door as
her cousin and I leaned against the wall there. Bur appeared in the
doorway, more luggage in hand.

“When are you going to tell her?” Lacey wanted to
know.

“We’ll have to see. The time has to be right. We
can’t just blurt something like this out,” I told them.

“We don’t want to freak the squirt out,” Bur
concurred. “What time is Captain Peacock arriving?”

“Some time around six. He wanted to miss the weekend
traffic on the bridge, so he said he’d leave early in the
afternoon. By the way, I invited Myrtle and Willow to dinner. I
thought we’d surround Jenny with people who care about her, just in
case this doesn’t work out.”

The rain continued all afternoon. Antonio and Maria
got settled into their room and then joined us at five in the
living room for canapés and cocktails. Jenny introduced them to
Mozzie. Too overwhelmed by the dog’s close brush with death, she
let Bur explain the serious nature of the dog’s injuries.

“It’s terrible that someone would do that to a dog!”
Jenny’s grandfather declared emphatically.

“Are you a dog lover, Antonio?” Laurel inquired.

“Please, call me Tony. And yes, definitely. We have
three.”

“Three dogs?” That caught the teenager’s attention.
“What kind?”

“One is a Labrador, one’s a mutt we rescued from the
pound, and Mama has her cockapoo fur ball. We call her Angel.” He
pronounced in “ahn-hel”, but Jenny knew what the name meant.

“I love dogs. I’ve had Mozzie for four years. I got
him as a puppy.”

“He’s a beautiful dog,” Maria told her.

“Yes, but his ear will never grow back,” the girl
sighed. She showed Maria and Tony the tattered wound. “It was
terrible what they did to him.”

“The important thing is that both you and Mozzie
survived,” Tony told her. “Life is very precious.”

“Do you have any children?” Lacey wondered. A second
later, she cringed, remembering they had lost their son, Jaime. But
Maria didn’t flinch. Instead, she pulled out her wallet.

“We do. Our son, Geraldo, is married and has two
children, Jorge and Lara.” She flashed a photo of two adorable kids
posed by a wishing well. They looked younger than ten. “And our
daughter, Teri, is married and has a set of four-year-old twins,
Justin and Pippa.”

As I admired the photo of her daughter and
grandchildren, I couldn’t help staring. Teri’s hair was short, like
the teenager’s, and was almost the same color. She, too, had
Maria’s smile. It was almost like seeing Jenny in ten years, and I
had to bite my tongue to keep from commenting on the likeness.
Gazing over at Laurel, her expression mirrored my own. There was a
lot of Martinez in Jenny.

“Wow,” said Colonel Grey Poupon, sticking his big,
fat foot in it. “You and Teri could almost be sisters, squirt.”

Chapter Thirteen --

“Let me see,” the teenager demanded, sticking her
hand out for the photo. My brother placed it in her hand, his arm
protectively around her shoulder as he pointed out the important
points in common.

“Same hair, same eyes, even the same smile.”

That was the kicker. One moment Jenny was smiling and
happy, and the next, the color drained from her face. She looked
like she had seen a ghost.

“Excuse me.” That was all she said before she hurried
out of the room.

“Nice going, Bur!” I hissed at him.

“I was just stating the obvious....”

I didn’t bother hanging around to listen to his
excuses. I scurried out into the hallway, determined to explain
things to Jenny, but she was nowhere to be found. I knocked at the
powder room door, but I knew she wasn’t inside because the door was
open a crack and the light was off. She wasn’t in the kitchen or
the library either. Had she vanished again? I didn’t think she’d
left the house on her way to the summit, considering the stormy
weather outside, and I was fairly certain she wouldn’t desert
Mozzie, not after all he’d been through. Was she hiding from us,
overwhelmed by the sudden shock of coming face to face with her
paternal grandparents? Where could she be?

It took me fifteen minutes, but I finally found her
on the third floor, sitting cross-legged on the carpet by the far
side of her bed, out of sight, with a small shoe box open before
her. She was digging through it, searching for something.

“Here it is!” she cried. “Look!”

I took what she offered me, a tattered,
black-and-white photograph, now yellowed with age. A young man, not
much older than Jenny, was sitting in a swan boat, that familiar
Boston tourist experience.

“Jenny....” Where should I start? If only Kenny was
here. He was the one who knew the details. He should be the one
sharing her unknown past with her.

“This is my father, Scarlet. See? It’s written on the
back. ‘Jimmy at the Public Garden, Boston.’ I always knew I looked
like him.”