Nearly Departed in Deadwood (15 page)

      Jade Newel was the missing girl’s name. She’d disappeared at the tender age of ten, most likely still pre-puberty, so I figured the chances of her having run away were slim.

      The last place she’d been seen was in the very library in which I sat. One of the librarians had been interviewed (not Miss Plum, judging by the sophisticated word choices in the quotes), and said Jade had left shortly before closing time that Tuesday, which was eight o’clock.

      The librarian remembered the girl as a quiet but happy child. Jade’s outfit that evening had been a sweater covered with sunflowers and yellow snow boots. She’d been wearing a candy necklace, too, which the librarian made sure to stress was not really allowed in the library, but she’d made an exception that day. Jade had been one of her “favorites.”

      Like Emma, Jade had been a blonde. Her face was more heart-shaped, her hair longer, but she still had the general look of the others—and Addy. Jade’s aunt described her as a polite, but shy girl. She hadn’t had a lot of friends, only a handful and most from her swim class.

      Her teacher used words like “good student,” “smart girl,” and “avid listener.” The cops added quotes with “manhunt,” “probably just lost in the woods,” and “hope to find her soon.”

      The parents offered a sizeable reward, for which they thanked the community that had contributed. The article’s author had ended with sentiments of hope and requests for prayers.

      I sat back. The few remnants of breakfast I’d managed to choke down churned in my stomach as worries of Jade’s fate, and that of all the other young girls in Deadwood—including my daughter—loomed.

      I turned to Doc. His nose was buried in a book, the title shielded by his hand. “How do you print from this thing?”

      He didn’t look up from the page he was reading. “Push the green button on the front.”

      Ah. That was the green button’s purpose. I pressed it and waited. “Nothing happened.”

      “The printer is by the front desk. The Off switch is under the knob I was turning.”

      “Thank you.” Standing, I grabbed my purse. I’d like to have dug up more information on Jade’s disappearance, but between my technological incompetence and the need to put a couple of walls and some fresh air between Doc and me, it was time to skedaddle.

      “Did you find what you were looking for, Violet?”

      “I’m not sure.” The article was too fresh, my thoughts drowned in details and images. I needed to let everything soak in and see what was left on the surface afterward. “Thanks again for your help.”

      He dragged his eyes from the pages and looked at me as I passed in front of him. “You’re welcome. Are you available on Sunday to look at some more houses?”

      I was available now if he’d quit sniffing around and actually bite into something. Anything. “Sure. What time?”

      “One. Have fun on your date tonight.”

      I couldn’t tell by his face if he was picking on me or not. “I’ll try.”

      My hand was on the doorknob when his voice stopped me. “Wear green.”

      “Excuse me?”

      His lazy grin was back. “You should wear something green to match your eyes.”

      Doc was a mix-master when it came to sending signals. His words seemed casual enough, but the intensity of his dark gaze had me nailed to the floor. I stood there, my tongue stumbling over itself, my face stuck between a blush and a frown.

      “I’ll see you on Sunday, Violet.” Just like that, he returned his focus to the book in front of him and dismissed me without a second glance.

      I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, my breaths swift and shallow.

      What was wrong with me?

      In five hours, Wolfgang would be pulling up in front of Aunt Zoe’s house to take me to dinner. Undoubtedly, he’d be dressed in something drool-inspiring, his hair messed up just right, his cologne a notch above subtle, lighting pheromone firecrackers under my skin.

      So, why was I standing here with my pulse pounding, imagining what Doc looked like naked as a jaybird?

      * * *

      “He’s here!” Natalie called from her post by Aunt Zoe’s front window.

      I gulped, nausea swelling up into my throat.

      “Mom, your boyfriend is here,” Addy sang as she came skipping into the upstairs bathroom, where I sat on the black-and-white checkered linoleum next to the toilet in my new, slinky green dress I’d bought at a consignment store in Lead.

      “I heard.”

      If I were Cinderella, Addy would have been one of the little bluebirds today, whistling while she fluttered around me, helping me get ready for my date with Prince Charming. By the time I’d yanked up my stockings, she’d started planning the wedding.

      I rolled onto my knees and gripped the cold toilet rim, the urge to empty my stomach bathing me in a fresh dew of sweat. The smell of ammonia drifted up from the sparkling bowl, which I’d cleaned after my first bout of nerves.

      “What are you doing?” Addy asked, unwrapping a sucker. “You’re going to get your dress all dirty.”

      “I’m getting ready for my date.” I was also regretting that fourth latte I’d slammed this afternoon after leaving the consignment store. Too much caffeine mixed with a bucketful of nerves on an empty stomach had me kneeling at the altar of the Porcelain Goddess.

      “You look like you’re gonna spew.” Sucker in her mouth, Addy pulled on a loose piece of door trim, letting it snap back against the frame over and over.

      “Would you quit messing with that trim, Adelynn!” I didn’t mean to bark at her, but patience wasn’t exactly piloting the Mothership right now. “I’ve told you too many times, you’re pulling out the nails.”

      “He’s getting out of his car,” Natalie hollered up the stairs.

      My stomach bucked.

      “You should brush your teeth when you’re done.”

      “Thanks for the advice, Sweetheart.”

      “Just in case he kisses you tonight.”

      “Nugghh,” was all I could manage as I hovered over the open lid, swallowing as fast as I could.

      “Do you think he’ll kiss you?”

      “I don’t know.” Kissing was the last thing my mouth was thinking about at the moment.

      “Here, Vi,” Aunt Zoe pushed past Addy and touched my shoulder. She held out a piece of bread. “Eat this, it’ll help.”

      I didn’t want to eat anything, but I shoved half the bread through my lips and managed to swallow. Then I choked down the other half and sipped from the glass of water she placed in my hand.

      “He’s coming up the sidewalk,” Natalie reported.

      Groaning, I sat back down on the floor. The clip holding my French roll in place clacked against the tiles as I leaned my head against the wall.

      “Mom, can Kelly stay over tomorrow night?”

      “I don’t want to talk about this right now.” Nor think about Kelly, Emma, Jade, or anything else having to do with the missing girls. This was supposed to be my night of romance. There was no way I was going to be able to get into “the mood” with worries and fears cooling the hots I had for Wolfgang.

      “Adelynn,” Aunt Zoe glanced over her shoulder, “go downstairs and help Natalie greet your mother’s guest.”

      “I hope he slips you the tongue, Mom.” Addy waved as Aunt Zoe nudged her out of the room and closed the door.

      Forehead crinkled, I stared at the door. “Where’d she learn that?”

      “MTV, probably.” Aunt Zoe held out another piece of bread. “You sure you’re up to this tonight? I can go down and tell him you’re under the weather.”

      The doorbell rang.

      Stuffing my mouth full of bread, I pointed at myself and then gave Aunt Zoe a thumbs-up. There was no way I was going to put off this date. For one thing, my hair had participated and looked damned good. For another, I was planning on returning this fancy, green, lace-covered get-up as soon as possible in exchange for store credit. My bank account was looking a bit anorexic lately, and I couldn’t afford to purge much more cash on non-essential items like expensive dresses—although it did erase twenty years and two kids from my cleavage.

      I swallowed the bread. “I’m going on this date, even if it means carrying a barf bag in my purse and slipping off to the restroom every ten minutes.”

      “All right.” Aunt Zoe offered me a hand up. “Then let’s fix your lipstick and powder your nose.”

      The blonde staring back at me in the mirror didn’t look like she’d spent the last half hour doing the Hokey Croaky. Hell, with all of the makeup Natalie had painted on me, the mirror could be a window to the past. Back before children had added frown lines, age spots, and gray hairs that only Clairol knew about.

      A light knock on the door made Aunt Zoe and me both turn. The door opened wide enough for Layne to slip his head through. “Mom?”

      “Yeah?”

      “Wow! You look really pretty.”

      My son, my hero. I’d have to reward him with ice cream for that one. “Thanks, sweetie.”

      “Why do you have to go out to dinner with
him
? Can’t you just eat here with us?”

      Aunt Zoe and I exchanged grimaces in the mirror.

      Layne had been doing a great impression of Eeyore since I arrived home with my new ensemble in hand. He’d made it no secret that he didn’t relish having his “man-of-the-house” status threatened.

      “I thought you liked Wolfgang.” I ruffled his hair.

      Layne shrugged. “He’s okay. A little odd, though.”

      He should meet Doc.

      Opening the door wider, Aunt Zoe took Layne by the shoulders. “Come on, let’s go downstairs. I made dirt pudding earlier and hid some treasures in it for you.”

      “Cool!”

      With a “good luck” and a wink, Aunt Zoe steered Layne out the door.

      I brushed my teeth, making sure to fill my mouth with enough minty-freshness to smell like an herb garden. Then I patched up my lipstick, interrupted only once by a counter-gripping ripple of queasiness.

      The sound of crutches squeaking and clomping along the hallway announced Natalie’s presence. “That dress was worth every penny,” she said, leaning against the open door, her cheeks flushed.

      I grinned. “It better be, because it took a lot of pennies to buy.”

      “The green makes your eyes look bigger, brighter.”

      “Thanks.” An image of Doc’s intense gaze when I left him in the South Dakota library room flashed in my mind. I blinked his face from my thoughts. I’d spent enough of the afternoon dwelling on his words and over-analyzing his signals. Tonight was about Wolfgang. Nice, no-hidden-messages, non-eccentric, gorgeous Wolfgang.

      “So?” My brows raised, I stared at Natalie’s reflection. “How’s he look?

      “Delicious. Drop a cherry on his head and I’d eat him for dessert.”

      I chuckled. “This sabbatical must be killing you.”

      Natalie ran her hand through her hair, tugging on it. “God, yes. Maybe I could cheat, just this once.”

      “No way. He’s mine, sister.”

      “Does that mean you are officially staking a claim?” Which had been our code words since we were teenagers for “back off, this one is taken.”

      “Yes.”

      “Fine.” She tucked a loose curl back into my French roll. “Are you going to sleep with him tonight?”

      “Natalie, it’s our first date.”

      “So?”

      “And I have two children.”

      “All the more reason to get it when you can.”

      Natalie’s needs of the flesh ruled her actions more often than not, which explained why she had trouble finding the right guy. Handsome for her usually equaled heartache, not honor, truth, and happily ever after. My record in the relationship series wasn’t much better, but I’d stopped trying and turned my focus on sexy men from the big screen who were either too old or too dead to break my heart.

      I brushed away a smudge of mascara under my eye. “I’ll just be glad to make it through dinner without dumping wine in my lap.”

      “You’ll be fine. Just relax, be yourself, and he won’t be able to resist you.”

      “Yeah, right. Until I have to cough up the fact that I won’t be able to even start working on his house, let alone sell it, until September. Maybe even October.” I wiped my hands on a yellow towel hanging over the star-covered shower curtain. “And that’s if I still have my job by then.”

      “I’m sorry about that.”

      I squeezed Natalie’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. It’s all this damned red tape.” I’d spent part of the afternoon jumping through the Historical Committee’s bureaucratic hoops and submitting the mandatory paperwork. “Until the city gives me the green light, we’re dead in the water—broken fibula or not.” 

      “I’d offer to bribe someone on the committee with sex on your behalf, but I’ve taken this sabbatical vow, you see.”

      That made me laugh. “Thanks again for watching the kids. Aunt Zoe really needs to be at the shop tonight.”

      “No problem. I have big plans for the twins involving M&Ms, Twister, and a strobe light.”

      “They’ll have seizures.”

      “Yeah, it’ll be a blast.” She loosened my spaghetti straps a bit, baring a hint more cleavage. “You ready, beautiful?”

      I took a deep breath and worked my lips into a smile any parade queen would envy. “Now or never.”

      She stepped back as much as she could with her cast to allow me to pass. As I brushed against the frame on my way through the door, something tugged at my hip. I heard a ripping sound.

      “Uh-oh,” Natalie whispered.

      I looked down. A dangling piece of lace flapped against my outer thigh, exposing a swatch of the green gauzy lining and a three-inch snag.

      Natalie plucked a small strip of lace dangling from a nail that stuck out of the loose door trim. “Looks like you need a different dress.”

      I ran to my bedroom and slammed the door.

     
Chapter Eleven