The Christmas Dog (14 page)

A rush of panic jolted through Betty. What if Avery, after a short conversation, had trusted Jack? And what if he’d turned out to be just the sort of person that Betty and everyone else in the neighborhood had feared? What if he had somehow tricked Avery? What if she was in trouble now?

“So, is everything okay? I mean with your granddaughter?”

“Actually . . . she’s missing.”

Katie’s eyes grew wide. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, Betty. I knew I should’ve said something sooner.”

“I’m sure everything is fine.” But Betty could hear the tremor in her voice.

“Where do you think she is?”

Betty considered this. “I don’t really know. But I know who I’m going to ask.”

“Jack?” Katie looked slightly horrified.

“Yes.”

“Oh, Betty, don’t go over there alone. Not at night.”

“I need to speak to him.”

“Why don’t you wait for Martin to get home? I’m sure he’d go over there with you.”

“No, this can’t wait.” Betty’s hand was on the door now.

“You can’t go alone.” Katie reached for her jacket. “I’m coming too.”

“No, Katie.” Betty shook her head. “You stay here.”

“I can’t. But wait and let me get my cell phone. I’ll be ready to call 911 if it’s necessary.”

Betty decided not to argue, and they walked over to Jack’s house. His pickup was there, and the lights were on inside the house.

“I’ll knock on the door,” Betty said.

“What if he doesn’t answer?”

“I’ll make him answer.”

“I’m scared.”

“You stay back,” Betty said. “If anything goes awry, you make a run for it and call the police.”

Katie just nodded. Her face looked pale in the streetlight.

Betty turned, took a deep breath, and marched up to Jack’s door. First she rang the doorbell several times, then she pounded loudly with her fist. Suddenly the door opened, and she nearly struck Jack in the chest with her final blow.

“What’s going on?” he said.

Betty stepped back, then remembered her mission. “I’m looking for my granddaughter,” she said.

“She’s not here.”

“But you were seen with her. You took her somewhere in your truck this morning.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I gave her a ride.”

“But she’s missing.” Betty stared at him, trying to see if there was evil in his countenance.

“Missing?” He looked slightly confused now.

“Yes. She never came home.”

He nodded as if he knew something. “Of course not.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She didn’t come home because I took her to the bus station.”

“The bus station?”

“Look.” He rubbed his hands on his bare arms. “It’s cold out here. Why don’t you come inside and we can discuss this calmly?”

Betty glanced over her shoulder to Katie, who was now standing directly behind her on the porch.

“You can both come in,” he said.

“Fine,” Katie said. “But first I’m calling Martin to let him know where I’m at.”

They waited for Katie to make her call, and then the two women followed Jack into his house. He took them past the foyer and into what had once been a formal living room, but because some walls had been removed, it now seemed to be part of the kitchen, and it was also connected to the small family room and dining room. Instead of four rooms, it was now simply one. Did he plan to knock out all the walls and turn the house into a big barn?

“You’ve made some changes,” Betty said.

“Wow,” Katie said as she looked around. “This is exactly what I’ve been telling Martin that I want to do with our house. Have a great room.”

“A great room?” Betty was confused. “It looks like a great big mess to me.”

“No,” Katie said. “It’s opened up so that a family can be together in one space.”

“That’s right.” Jack nodded toward a couple of folding lawn chairs. “I don’t have much furniture, but you’re welcome to sit down if you like.”

“No thank you.” Betty turned her attention back to Jack. “Let’s cut right to the chase, Jack. What have you done with my granddaughter?”

“Like I said, I dropped her at the bus station. Well, that was after I took her by a church.”

“A church?”

“She needed to leave a note with somebody.”

Betty nodded. “And after that you took her to the bus station?”

“That’s what I just told you.”

“What time was it then?”

His brow creased. “I’m not sure. But it wasn’t noon yet.

Maybe not even eleven. Avery had come over to my place fairly early.”

“She came to your house?” Katie asked.

“Yeah. We’d arranged to meet here in the morning.”

“You
arranged
to meet her?” Betty frowned. “Why?”

“She wanted my help.”

“Why?” Katie asked.

“Because she’d been over the night before. She was upset about losing the dog. We spent a long time talking things out. She decided that it was time for her to move on with her life, so she asked me to help her.”

“To help her?” Betty said.

Jack shoved his hands in his jeans pockets but didn’t answer.

“How exactly did you plan to help her?” Betty persisted.

“She was broke. She wanted to get away from here.” He scowled at Betty. “And she wanted to get away from you too. She wasn’t too pleased with what you did to her dog.”

Betty felt her cheeks flush. “Yes, I know.”

He shook his finger at her. “She really loved that dog.”

Katie looked at Betty with an alarmed expression. “What did you do to the dog?”

“I took him to the animal shelter.”

“Oh, well . . .” Katie shrugged. “That was probably for the best.”

“Unless you’re attached to the animal and want to keep it,” Jack shot back at her. “Avery didn’t even have a say in the matter. That wasn’t fair.”

“I know.” Betty nodded again. “Jack’s right about that. I regret what I did.”

“You do?” Jack looked surprised.

“Yes, I do. But back to Avery. You say you took her to the bus station. Do you know where she was going?”

He shook his head. “I assumed she was going home, to her family.”

Betty felt a small wave of relief. And yet she wasn’t sure. How could she trust Jack? What if he’d concocted this whole story, and in the meantime, Avery was tied and gagged back there in one of the bedrooms?

Betty frowned. “Do you mind if I use your restroom?”

He gave her a funny look. “Seriously?”

“If it’s okay with you.”

“Well, the powder room is torn out right now.”

“I know.” Betty nodded toward the backyard. “I’ve been privileged to enjoy the pink commode with my morning coffee.”

He kind of chuckled. “Sorry about that. I guess it’s time to make a run to the dump again.”

“I know where the other bathroom is,” she told him as she headed down the hallway. Fortunately, the doors to the first two bedrooms were open. Except for some random boxes and building things, the rooms appeared to be empty. Betty paused by the master bedroom and was relieved to see that, except for a mattress topped with a sleeping bag in the center of the floor, it too appeared vacant. And since all the closet doors had been removed, there was no place else to hide a captive.

She went into the bathroom, which was surprisingly neat considering the state of the rest of the house, and after a few seconds, she flushed the toilet. Then, satisfied that Avery was not in the house, she returned to find Jack and Katie discussing, of all things, remodeling.

“The trick is not to change the plumbing and electrical,” he was explaining to Katie. “That helps to keep costs down.” He eyed Betty. “Did you have a good look around?”

Betty just cleared her throat. “Did you stay at the bus station to make sure Avery got onto the bus safely?”

He frowned. “She’s not a baby. I’m pretty sure she knows how to take care of herself.”

“But did she have enough money for the fare?” Betty frowned. “Atlanta is a long way.”

“She had enough fare money as well as money for food.”

Betty felt her shoulders relax. “I really should thank you, Jack.”

“No problem.”

“And I’d like to pay you back.”

“Avery promised to pay me back.”

“Well, okay. Then I suppose we should go. I need to let her parents know that she’s on her way.”

“Don’t you think Avery would have done that by now?” he asked.

“Perhaps, but they’ve been quite worried.”

He nodded. “I guess you’d know best, Mrs. Kowalski.”

Betty was suddenly seeing this young man in a new light. Why had she been so hard on him before? So suspicious?

She stuck out her hand. “Just call me Betty, please.” As they shook, it occurred to her that, like her, Jack had some challenges. She also knew, better than some, how challenges sometimes led to grumpiness. Maybe everyone just needed to be a little more patient, a little more understanding. After all, wasn’t it almost Christmas?

He released her hand and smiled. “Just call me Jack.” His face was transformed by that smile. And for the first time, she realized that he was fairly attractive in a rugged sort of way. “Oh, yeah.” He chuckled. “You already do call me Jack.”

“Sorry to have bothered you,” she said.

“It’s okay.”

“Thanks for the remodeling tips,” Katie said as they went to the door.

“And thanks for the cookies, Betty,” Jack called out. “They were great.”

She turned and smiled at him. “I have more, if you’d like some.”

He looked away and sort of shrugged, and suddenly she wondered if she’d stepped over some kind of invisible line again. “Thanks again,” she said anyway. “I mean for helping Avery like you did.”

Betty and Katie walked down the sidewalk until Katie finally spoke. “He seems kind of nice.”

“Yes . . . perhaps we were wrong about him all along.”

“Unless he’s very good at covering something up.” Katie lowered her voice. “I’ve read about serial killers, Betty, and some of them seem very nice on the surface. But they’re actually coldhearted, psychopath murderers underneath.”

Betty stopped walking and turned to face Katie. “Do you really think that Jack is a psychopath?”

“I honestly don’t know . . . and I’ll admit that sometimes I have an overactive imagination.”

Betty shivered in the cold.

“But that’s the problem with psychopaths, Betty. Most of the time people don’t figure it out until it’s too late.”

Betty just shook her head and continued walking. Maybe it was a mistake to listen to Katie. After all, she was nearly a third Betty’s age. What made her such an expert on anything?

“I’m sorry.” Katie put a hand on Betty’s shoulder as they paused by the Gilmores’ house. “I’m sure Jack’s not a psychopath serial killer. Like Martin says, I should quit reading those horrible books.”

“Perhaps so . . .” Betty told Katie thank you and good night and hurried back to her own house, carefully locking the doors and the deadbolts once she was inside. She shuddered to think that she’d gone to bed with her front door unlocked last night. But that had been for Avery’s sake. Surely there was no chance she’d try to slip in late tonight.

Betty still felt unsettled as she picked up the phone to call her son and daughter-in-law. But she was determined to remain calm and collected. Thankfully, it was Gary who answered, and she quickly told him what she’d just learned about Avery. Hopefully, it was the truth and not a cover-up.

“I can’t tell you exactly when she’ll get there,” she said. “But the neighbor who told me made it sound as if she was heading your way.”

“Well, that’s a relief. That airline ticket didn’t last long online, and I doubt that we’ll find another one in time for Christmas now.”

“So perhaps it’s for the best.”

“Maybe so. Thanks, Mom.”

Betty controlled the urge to apologize. She longed to confess all and to tell her son that this foolish mess was all her fault. She wanted to admit how she’d failed Avery, how she’d betrayed her trust. But she suspected that would only make him feel more concerned for Avery’s welfare. Better to wait until Avery was safely home, and then Betty would gladly take the blame. And hopefully, Avery would forgive her.

“I’ll go online tonight and check the bus schedules from your town so we can have an idea of when to look for her,” Gary said. “And we’ll be sure to let you know when she arrives.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” But after they said good-bye, more doubts began to creep into Betty’s frazzled mind. As much as she wanted to trust Jack, to believe what he had told her, how could she be certain? What if, like Katie had suggested, he really was a psychopath skilled at telling people what he thought they wanted to hear? What if Avery was actually in danger?

Once again, Betty knew her only answer, her only recourse, her only real lifeline, was to pray. And so she would pray and hope for the best.

14

Betty got up early on Sunday. But as she walked through her house, going through the paces of pulling on her old robe, slipping into her worn slippers, and putting on coffee, she felt more alone than ever. She looked at the Christmas decorations Avery had placed around the house. So jolly and festive just days ago, they seemed to be mocking her now. Who was she to expect a merry Christmas?

Betty looked out her kitchen window as she sipped her coffee. A white blanket of snow had turned her otherwise drab backyard into a winter wonderland. Avery’s white Christmas was just two days away. Not that Avery would know or care now.

Betty looked beyond the fence toward Jack’s house and was surprised to see that the pink toilet, as well as a few other things, had been removed from his backyard. Perhaps he had taken her comments to heart and made that trip to the dump after all. But when would he have done that? Last night? It seemed a little odd to make a trip to the dump on a dark, snowy night. Was the dump even open? And why the big rush?

Unless Jack had something else he needed to dispose of . . . something like criminal evidence.

Betty shook her head as if to shake away these horrible thoughts. She was being foolish. Katie’s talk of psychopaths and murderers had poisoned her mind. Jack was a good man. He had befriended Avery when she had no one to turn to. He had helped her out of a crisis. Betty should be very grateful. Not suspicious.