Operation Wolfe Cub: A Chilling Historical Thriller (THE TIME TO TELL Book 1) (29 page)

Eddie fell back onto the sofa. “
Whew
, good because it was terrible. We almost didn’t get out of there.”

“
Hmmm
…that bad,
huh
?”

“Yeah, all kinds of things: crabs, the smell, the weird weather…attacking animals. Really, ask Major. He was there, weren’t you, Major?”

Chantain looked at the dog lying over in the corner, content as could be, without a care in the world. She turned back with a quirky look. “Attacking animals? You’ve got to be kidding, right?”

Eddie shook his head, then nodded. “Great black-backs! A whole flock of ‘em.”

“What? Oh, I see…seagulls were attacking the dog, and then you.”

“Yes. Did I tell that part already? No I didn’t but, that’s almost the way it happened. That’s what they were too, seagulls. They
um
—attacked only me, I guess…they left the dog alone.”

“Why would they leave Major alone? He’s always got his nose in those kinds of things.”

Eddie glanced over to Major: “They didn’t do anything to him. He was lying down….hey,
uh
, listen I don’t mean to change the subject but…I was a little bit of a jerk last night. What I’d like to say is, I’m really sorry for saying what I did.”

Just about then, she rotated the child to her other leg and something poked her. She looked funny, then immediately opened up the baby’s linen and caught the golden gleam of the medallion. Almost immediately, she gasped. Without thinking, she swiftly tried to tug it off the baby’s ankle, but it didn’t work. As the baby cried in pain, Chantain kept tugging. “It’s gold! How come it won’t come off of there?”

“Hey, easy with his leg, Chantain. It’s attached. I forgot to tell you that. Hey-hey, knock it off. You’ll pull his leg off.”

Chantain regretfully let go then pointed at it. “You forgot about
this
? Why, it’s gold! It weighs a ton too, I felt it. This is a lot of gold!”

Eddie looked disappointed. “Well, I actually wanted to show you the baby first before I—”

“Quick, take it off. I wanna hold it in my hands.”

Eddie held her hand back. “Not now, the thing’s secured real good. Really, I checked. Someone didn’t want it to get lost, I think.”

She really got excited then. “
Tahhh
, do you know how much this could be worth? Oh my God, look at it.”

Eddie sagged. “Well,
hmmm
, maybe it’s not solid gold. No, I’m serious…go ahead. Look at the color. It’s slightly off. It’s darker, can you see?”

Chantain immediately put her wedding ring up against it. “
Hmmm
, well,
hmmph
. You’re right…it is a little darker.” She quickly pulled her hand away. “I don’t care—it’s still gold. I can tell gold when I see it. You can’t fool me.”

Immediately, she placed the baby on the sofa between them, examining the medallion more closely. Her fingernails navigated the lines of the rolling star symbol, then her impromptu detective work spotted a hairline flaw in the seamless design. “
Ah-ha
, it’s a locket.”

Click

“Oh, look…something’s inside of it.”

Before Chantain could grab the note inside, Eddie already had it in his fingers, opening it up. “It’s a note…
hmmm
, how about that, it looks like it’s...it’s written in German.”

“You picked up some German words from the war, didn’t you? What’s it say? Maybe it’s something good. Hey, I know. Maybe it’s what you’re looking for. What’s it say? Hurry!”

“Hold on—I’m not that good. I have to go to the table and flatten it out. I need more light.” Eddie kept his eyes glued to the wrinkled paper all the way through the living room and into the kitchen. As he felt for the back of the chair to sit down, Chantain yelled from the living room, “Well? What’s it say? Do we have anything?”

“Hold on, I said. The writing’s sloppy. It’s hard to make out…it’s from his father, it looks like…
hmmm
, says the boy’s name is…
hmmm
, looks like his name is—Randolf?”

Chantain blurted, “Randolf? That’s all? That’s terrible. We can’t name him that.”

Eddie continued, “It says here…it says the
uh
—ku-ku-keep su-sake belongs to Randolf, along with this note…yeah! I think that’s what it says. I can’t quite figure out the rest… oh, I know what it says…it says that the keepsake and letter will help my son find who his pu-pu-parents, I mean
father
, is. It looks like it says where they’re buried, if I’m reading it right. Yes, I think that’s what it is.”

Chantain shouted, “Who cares where his father is buried? What kind of monkey Dad is that?”

“Hush, be quiet a minute, I’m reading some more. Oh yes, here we go…says their grave is at—oh, damn…never have been good at names.”

“How did you get Randolf then?”

“It says so. I can read that…this is a place with a bunch of writing and directions.”

Chantain walked into the kitchen to pick up her coffee cup. She then leaned against the counter, staring out the window looking thwarted. “That’s silly. Why would we want the kid to know about his parents if we can’t get him back to them? They’re dead.” She turned to Eddie as if she had an idea. “So you can’t read where they’re buried? Nothing important, is it?”

“No, it doesn’t look too important. Things that stand out, I can read easier. I can’t decipher the rest…it’s smeared like he wrote it in the rain or something. The writing’s kind of sloppy too, like someone didn’t care.”

She sipped her coffee then rubbed her lipstick off the rim. “Sounds like a disrespectful father to me…oh well, it doesn’t matter. I’d never tell him about the gold thing
or
the letter. Nobody would want to go see their dead parents. That’s stupid.”

She then brushed by Eddie, leaving the strong scent of her perfume behind. He got up to follow her as she made her way back into the living room, but before she could touch the child again, Eddie stepped in front of her to reach down first.

“What are you doing, Eddie?”

“This is Randolf’s letter, and I’m putting it back where it belongs…in his locket which you were kind enough to discover. There, it’s back inside, snapped shut, for safekeeping. I feel better now.”

“Boy, aren’t we tough, bullying your way around me like that? Maybe you didn’t hear me. I said he’s never going to want to know who or where his dead parents are. Anyway, stop calling him Randolf.”

Chantain then felt his bottom, quickly realizing something was overdue. “I suppose you want me to change him too?”

“Would you mind? I changed him before you got here. Oh, come on…let’s not keep track of things.”

“
Hmmph
, maybe I
will
keep track.”

Eddie quickly moved for the front door. “Tell you what. I’ve got to clean up that tree outside and I won’t keep track of that, okay? I’ll let you two get more acquainted while Major and I make some sawdust and firewood. Come on, Major, let’s go outside.”

Major darted out the door, but before closing the door, Eddie poked his head back inside, smiling. “
Um
, Chantain… do you think this could change things?”

“What? Change what?”

“You know, between you and I…I mean the baby and all.”

Chantain lifted Randolf’s dirty diaper up in the air, looking disgusted. “I don’t know, Eddie…do you know what it’s like to change a diaper for someone else’s child? Yeah, I guess you do…
hmmm
, too bad.”

“I said I was sorry about last night. I mean it—and I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I mean, you know, the Jesus picture in the kitchen? All that stuff. It must have been the storm and all.”

“Okay then…I said I heard something last night.”

“I believe you now, really. He’s cute, isn’t he?”

Chantain smirked, “So, you think a child can change things in a relationship?”

“Well, yeah. You even said if I could only
uh
—if I didn’t have this injury of mine, you—”

“I know what I said. Don’t go repeating it all the time, please.”

“Okay, I won’t…I know he’s not ours, but—what do you think?”

Chantain turned her back to him, fondling the medallion. “I need to think about it, all right?”

Eddie leaned against the doorway, hanging his head before slowly picking up his chin. “I’ll take it as a ‘yes’ for now…look, I don’t want to be the only one around town with a rocky marriage, do you? You think everyone’s catching on about us? You think?”

Chantain raised her eyebrow. “Think what? Everyone’s more married than ever around here, looks like to me.”

“Yes, that’s what keeps a guy like me—”

“Straight. Is that what you think you are? A Mr. Nice Guy?”

“Yes, I try to be. As long as someone’s around. I suppose you wouldn’t understand. Anyway, could you give the kid a chance? What if I said please…I mean I’ll do anything to please you and—”

“Okay, okay, stop it. Let’s not get into this too quickly. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

Eddie stood tall in the doorway and then he stood up even straighter as he tapped away the nerves down through his cane. “Yes, okay…oh, are you sleeping in our bedroom tonight? I-I mean, your bed of course. Not-not mine, I mean. I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable on the couch for too long.”

Chantain looked as if a migraine was coming on. “Yes, I am. Whatever gave you the idea I wasn’t?”

“Nothing, I guess.”

Eddie had very little more to say as he stepped out of the house. While slowly closing the door behind him, a residue of doubt crossed his mind. He lingered on the porch, thinking and watching Chantain through the window tending to
his newfound baby. Limping down the steps, he appeared as if he were hanging on a thread of hope. Again, he looked back through the window of his home to watch the promising picture. Portrayed there behind the glass windowpane was Chantain, looking like she had started to come around to caring for the child without him. She appeared as though she was talking to him, rocking him, dancing, and even playing with him.

However, inside the closed walls of their home was another story. One could listen in on the deception that went way beyond those homey-looking, curtain-laced windows. As she carried on, dancing with the baby in her arms, she played along, singing loving songs of the thorn, “
La-di-da, la-di-da
. This is fun dancing around, no? You bet, little cutie…does Eddie
really
think that I could ever love someone
else’s
baby? No, no, nooo, you’re not mine, you cute little thing, you.”

She carried on, “
Goochie-goo
, I’m smarter than that. You know why? I know what you will do when you grow up, yes. You’re going to hate stepmommy. Then you know what? Oh, my gosh, tickle-tickle….you’re going to become a bigger problem, until you find out who or where your real mommy and daddy are…
goochie-goo
…good luck, little cutie. How do I know? I was one of those little stinkers myself,
goochie-goo
… yes, we got something in common…except I had only one parent gone…you have two, so there. What do you think about that, you poor little cutie?”

Eddie was so excited, he rushed back onto the porch and poked his head inside the door once more. “What, honey? I thought I heard you talking. I mean, you look like you two were having fun.”

Chantain jumped and patted her chest. “You scared me…don’t do that.”

“I was outside…I can see you two having fun through the window.”

“Oh yes, the blinds are open, aren’t they…say, don’t get this wrong but—we still need to call an authority. I mean, we have to make it right so…so nobody can take him away from us.”

“Do you really think so? I mean, we can do it if you think it’s right. I mean, nobody’ll give us trouble, I’m sure.”

Chantain strained to smile as Eddie gave in. “Okay, I’ll call the constable as soon as I finish up out here.”

As Eddie closed the front door and stood on the porch. His neighbor Al, was watching him from his living room window. Quickly, he pulled his face away from between the curtains and put on his jacket. As he headed for the front door, he spoke over his shoulder, “Julie, dear. Eddie’s out gettin’ ready to clean up that fallen tree-a-theirs…I’m goin’ in.”

Julie peeked out from the kitchen. “Don’t forget about that bundle-a-rags you thought was a baby.”

He muttered as he closed the door behind him, “Holy cow. How could I forget that?”

Eddie was well into the job of cutting and piling up limbs in his front yard when he thought he heard someone panting in a full sprint. He turned around just in time to catch Al practically falling on his face to look normal while strolling with his hands in his pockets.

Eddie shook his head then continued with his work. “Wonder what
—
Chop
.—the nosey neighbor wants this time.”

Seconds later Al came from behind. “Hello, neighb’r. Was that storm a wild one last night ’r what?”

Eddie kept chopping: “Oh, hi, Al. I thought that was you running, or walking, whichever.”
Chop
. “Yes, it was a bad one. Haven’t had a storm like that in quite some time. Blew my favorite tree down here.”
Chop
. “Nearly hit my Pribil.”

Al adjusted his glasses as he looked through two dirty lenses at Eddie’s silvery-looking car. “Too bad.”

“What? What do you mean, ‘too bad’?”

Al just shrugged one shoulder, then put his hands back in his pockets. “Oh, nothin’…too bad you lost your tree. Sure was a nice one. I got up early this morn and cleaned my mess up before ya. Took me time. Saw Chantain runnin’ the dickens off ’n your Pr-uh, Pri-uh…I mean that car over yonder. Do y’ need some help by the way?”

Eddie paused right in the middle of his axe swing. “Sure, Al, I could use some help. Here, take this axe, I’ve got another one right over here. I was expecting you.”

And so, the two teamed up with axes and handsaws like busy beavers, until Al started in again between his chops. “This morn when y’r wife rounded th’ corner, I thought she was goin’ to rollover with ‘at three-wheel bus-a-your’s.”

“It’s not a three-wheel bus, Al. How many times do I have to tell you?” Eddie seemed to be running thin on patience, so he put down his axe and hobbled over to his Pribil to take a break. Then he tapped the insides of both rear tires with his cane as if he wanted to teach about something. “See here? Two tires in the rear, about fourteen inches apart. It’s designed this way for more efficiency…precludes the necessity of having a differential. No differential means less weight; less weight means less waste; less waste means more cost savings.”