The Lost Women of Lost Lake (13 page)

“Do you have to tell your mom where you're going?” he asked, running his fingertips up and down her bare arms.

“It'll just take a second. I don't want her to worry. ”

“I'll wait in the car.” He had a bottle of Jagermeister in the trunk, compliments of Kenny, and a bunch of joints inside a small metal box taped inside one of the wheel wells.

Before he took off, Emily put a hand on his arm. “Do you still love me, Jonah? For real?”

He brushed her honey-gold hair away from her face. “Far as I'm concerned, it's you and me forever.”

14

Lying on her stomach with a pillow over her head, Jane groaned when the phone on the nightstand gave a piercing ring, waking her from a sound sleep. For an instant, she thought she was back home, that someone from one of her restaurants was calling with a problem only she could fix.

“Hello?” she said, picking up the receiver and holding it to her ear, her head still partially covered by the pillow.

“Who's this?” came a worried voice.

“Jill? Is that you? It's Jane.”

“I thought I was calling Cordelia's room.”

“You were. She had a crisis of comfort, so we switched. Long story. What's up?”

“Lyndie LaVasser's missing. Her fiancé stopped by the cottage a few minutes ago hoping we could join the search party. I guess he didn't remember about Tessa's ankle. I'd like to help, but I don't want to leave her alone. She's pretty upset.”

“What about Jonah?”

“He's not home yet. Tessa let him take her car earlier in the day. She told him to be back by midnight.”

Jane checked her watch. It was going on two.

“I figured Cordelia would still be awake, which is why I called her number first.”

“It's fine,” said Jane, swinging her legs off the bed and sitting up. “One or both of us will be down in a few minutes.”

“Thanks. Sorry I woke you.”

“No worries.” Jane wrapped herself in her robe and went to knock on the door that connected the two rooms. Opening it a crack, she saw that Cordelia was sitting on the couch, dressed in a black-and-white-striped hoodie, jeans, and red socks, with the script notebook propped against her knees. She was talking on the the hotel's landline.

“I'm sorry, Hatts. I can't hear you very well. Why are you up so early? It must be five in the morning there. What?” She listened. “Yes, I'm glad you're finding lots of bugs in Argentina. They have bugs pretty much everywhere. Say that again?” She waited, chewing on her lower lip. “Honey, I think a dead bug collection is macabre, even for you. Macabre? It means dreadful. Morbid. What? Morbid means, well, grotesque. Have Radley explain it to you. No, no, I'm not saying you can't have a dead bug collection. It is, one would suppose, preferable to a live bug collection. But, honey, all around you they're shooting a movie. Isn't there anything about the movie business you find interesting?” Eyes rising to the ceiling, she said, “The horses. I should have expected that.” She listened a moment more. “I know we have cats and Melissa has a dog and that we all get along famously, but a horse is a big animal. No, he couldn't sleep with you. What did you say?” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “A giant
termite
nest? How did we jump from a horse to a giant termite nest? No, honey, you can't bring it home. Have Radley take a picture of it so you can remember what it looks like.” Cordelia held the cordless away from her ear and made a strangling sound. “What? No, Hatts, that was just me clearing my throat. Yes, I love you, too. Call me tomorrow. I miss you, baby. You're listening to Radley, right?” She waited, smiled. “Good girl. What?” She listened again, this time with apparent teeth grinding. “The giant termite nest conversation is over. I will not change my mind. Bye now, Hattie. I love you.”

Seeing Jane standing in the doorway, Cordelia asked, “Are you interested in providing a good home for a giant termite nest or a horse?”

“Maybe in my next life.”

“I heard your phone ring. Who called?”

“Jill. Remember Lyndie LaVasser?”

“Miss flirt and wiggle? She owns one of the gift shops on Main.”

“She's missing.” Jane explained that one or both of them was needed down at the cottage right away. “Jill wants to join the search party, but doesn't feel like she can leave Tessa alone.”

“I'll go,” said Cordelia, closing the notebook with a tired sigh. “I need to talk to her about the play anyway. Might as well do it now.”

“This might not be the best time.”

“Because?”

“Jill said Tessa was upset. I doubt many people go missing in a town this size.”

Ten minutes later, Jane and Cordelia were inside the cottage with an obviously agitated though silent Tessa. The strain in her eyes betrayed how seriously she took the situation.

Jill busied herself in the bedroom getting dressed, shouting for Tessa to relax, that Lyndie had probably had one too many and stopped her car somewhere to sleep it off.

“Is Lyndie a drinker?” asked Jane.

“Not like that,” mumbled Tessa.

“She live alone?”

“She has a house a couple blocks from the emporium. Her fiancé, George, usually comes over when she's done working. She calls him when she's home. He got worried when she didn't call, so he drove over. She wasn't there. And she wasn't at the emporium.”

“You two have been friends a long time,” said Cordelia, standing in the kitchen filling the coffeemaker with water. “She ever do anything like this before?”

Tessa gave her head a stiff shake.

“Maybe her car broke down,” called Jill. “Depending on where she was when it happened, cell phone towers are few and far between up here.”

“Maybe,” said Tessa. She didn't sound convinced.

As Jill emerged from the bedroom, Jonah came through the back door.

“You're late, young man,” said Jill, giving him an angry look. “I doubt your aunt will be letting you use her car again anytime soon.”

Jonah examined his fingernails and said nothing.

“Where were you all day?” asked Jill, grabbing a leather jacket from off the back of a chair.

“With friends.”

“It's after two,” said Tessa.

“I know. I'm sorry. The time got away from me.”

“We'll talk later.”

“Where you going?” asked Jonah, stepping back as Jill rushed past him.

“Lyndie LaVasser is missing. I'm going to help George look for her.”

“Mrs. LaVasser?” repeated Jonah.

“I'll call if I learn anything,” said Jill.

“Come in here,” called Tessa.

Jonah dragged himself into the living room, still mostly looking down at his nails.

“Did you find Emily?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that where you were tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Bend down.”

“Why?”

“I want to smell your breath.”

“No.”

“You've been drinking?”

“No. Well … maybe a little.”

“You drank and drove my car?”

“I'm not drunk.”

“Go to bed. You can find clean linens and blankets in the closet next to the room downstairs. I don't want to see or hear from you until tomorrow morning.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“What do you think?”

Jonah's shoulders sank. He slunk out of the room.

Rubbing her eyes, Tessa let out a sigh. “You start thinking that maybe he's grown up a little and then he goes and pulls something like this. He's such a smart kid. I don't get it. He's been back one day and he's already in the dog house.
This
at a time when he wants a favor from us. He's going to be eighteen in November, old enough to be sent off to fight a war, and yet he can't even look around and discern what's in his best interests. I mean, you'd think even your standard issue narcissistic teenager would be able to do that much.”

When Jonah had passed by her, Jane had smelled more than booze on his breathe. Both Jonah and his clothing smelled as if they'd been marinating in marijuana.

Tessa walked with some difficulty into the kitchen. She tried the doorknob on the back door to make sure it was locked.

“You're getting around well in that walking boot,” said Cordelia, waiting for the coffeemaker to disgorge enough coffee to fill her mug.

“Better than I thought.”

“It's great to see you up and around again,” said Jane. She felt uneasy in Tessa's presence after the conversation they'd had earlier in the day. She wanted to say something to clear the air. Nothing came to mind.

“What do we do now?” asked Cordelia, resting her elbows on the island.

“We wait,” said Tessa, getting down a box of crackers from the cupboard and a slice of her homemade chicken liver and brandy pâté from the refrigerator.

Patience had never been one of Jane's virtues. “Listen,” she said, moving to the edge of her chair. “I can't sit here and do nothing. Cordelia, can I borrow your car? The more people who join the search, the quicker we'll find out what's happened to Lyndie.” Jane noticed Tessa's disapproving look. Not that it mattered. Lyndie's disappearance had nothing to do with Tessa's problems. Or, thought Jane, sensing the tension behind the disapproval, did it?

“Have at it,” said Cordelia, tossing Jane her car keys. “But be careful. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.”

“That leaves me with a lot of latitude,” said Jane on her way out the door.

*   *   *

Except for a white cat curled on the hood of an old Ford pickup, the early morning streets of Lost Lake were deserted. A small town was worlds away from a big city, where people were out and about at all ours of the day and night. The quiet was almost eerie.

Jane began by driving around, getting the full lay of the town. After a quick tour of the residential neighborhoods, she turned onto Main. Halfway down the block, a Balsam County sheriff's cruiser sat parked in front of the LaVasser Gift Emporium, strobe lights slicing through the darkness.

Jane pulled Cordelia's car up to the curb on the opposite side of the street and got out. She spent a few minutes leaning against the hood, arms crossed, waiting to see what was going on. When nobody came out, she approached cautiously. Noticing that the door was open, she stepped inside. Two Balsam County sheriff's deputies stood about ten feet away, examining a spot in the knotty-pine paneled wall.

“Looks like a thirty-eight slug,” said the woman deputy.

Both were dressed in brown pants, tan and brown shirts, with heavy patrol belts strapped to their waists.

“Should we bag it?” asked the male deputy.

“We'll let Davey take a look first.”

The woman seemed to be in charge. With her back to Jane, she moved around the store, examining the floor, the free-standing shelves, the walls.

“Look at this,” said the man. He was behind the main counter now, just a few feet from the cash register. “I'd say this is LaVasser's purse. Why would she leave it behind?”

The female deputy turned to face him. When she did, she caught sight of Jane standing in the doorway. “Back out, ma'am. You can't come in here.”

Jane held up her hands. “I've been driving around, helping look for Lyndie.”

“You a friend of the family?”

“Friend of a friend.”

The deputy was maybe five-six, trim, not bad looking. Her short sandy hair was partially covered by a brown cap with the word
Sheriff
written in large gold block letters. Jane was savvy enough to know that just because the woman looked like a dyke didn't mean she was one.

“You from around here?” asked the deputy.

“I live in Minneapolis. I'm up here staying at Thunderhook Lodge. Jill and Tessa are old friends.”

The deputy digested that while giving Jane a more thorough examination. “I'm the undersheriff of Balsam County.” She hooked her thumb at the man standing behind the counter. “That's Patrolman Dahl.”

“Nice to meet you both,” said Jane. “Have you found Mrs. LaVasser?”

“Not yet, but we will.” She stepped a little closer.

Jane couldn't help but notice that the undersheriff swaggered. Not an appealing characteristic.

“You're Jane, right? I'm Kelli Christopher.” She stuck out her hand.

“Sorry. Have we met?”

“Jill told me about you.” Lowering her voice, she said, “I thought you'd be younger. I don't much like blind dates, that's why I said no.”

“What blind date?”

“The one we were supposed to go on.”

“Nobody ever told me about a blind date.”

“Wouldn't have worked anyway.” She looked at Jane the way a person might look at a piece of gum stuck to her shoe. When she smiled, she revealed upper teeth that were straight and white, and lower teeth that could have used a few thousand dollars worth of orthodontia. “How's Tessa taking Lyndie's disappearance?”

“Not well.”

“Have you seen her tonight?”

“I came from the cottage.”

“Well,” she said, turning Jane around and walking her out the door, “it's best if you leave this to the professionals.”

Not only did she swagger, but she was patronizing.

“Go back and stay with Tessa. If I learn anything, I'll be sure to let you know.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Kelli cocked her head. “I say something wrong?”

All the way across the street, Jane could feel Kelli's eyes boring a disapproving hole into her back. This was the second time today that someone had called her an amateur. She didn't like it.

15

Waking to the cries of gulls, Jane looked up through the skylight to see a gray day dawning. She and Cordelia had spent what was left of the night at the cottage, Cordelia on the couch in the living room, and Jane on the couch up in the loft.