Something Borrowed, Something Bleu Part 8

aThat you were a teenaged runaway and stayed at Rancho Sueo for a while, and now youare trying to track down someone you knew there.a aWow. Youare good at this stuff.a Still, it felt like such a, well, a lie. Which, of course, it was. A lie Iad use if I had to.

The newspaper had no idea who I was talking about when I asked to speak to Carrie Romain, the reporter who had written the article about Gwen Miller. I was shuttled back and forth for a while, until it became obvious she didnat work there anymore. I hung up and frowned at Barr, sitting at the kitchen table across from me.

aNow why would I think a reporter would still be at the same job after all this time?a I stifled the urge to thump the heel of my hand against my forehead.

He took a bite of spicy zucchini bread spread with cream cheese and washed it down with a long swallow of iced tea. Cold droplets ran down the gla.s.s where his fingers had disturbed the condensation.

aYou think sheas still in town?a aWho knows?a I grumped. aProbably not, the way people move around any more.a aCheck the phone book, crankypants. Romain isnat that common a name.a He was right. There was only one Romain listed. Grant Romain.

aSheas moved,a I said. aShe could be anywhere.a I picked up the phone and dialed the number, though. Perhaps Grant was a relative and could tell me where to find Carrie.

The man who answered confirmed that his name was Grant. When I told him I was looking for Carrie, there was long pause, and I wondered whether Iad happened into a family feud.

aUm, were you a friend of hers?a I closed my eyes and covered them with my hand. Were. Iad done it again. Carrie Romain was deceased.

aMy name is Sophie Mae Reynolds. I, uh, was trying to track down some information from one of her newspaper stories from several years ago, some information that wasnat included but that I thought she might have in her notes.a I stopped and waited for him to tell me.

aIam afraid Carrie pa.s.sed away fourteen years ago. Cancer.a aIam so very sorry. Are you were you her husband?a aThank you. Yes, she was my wife. Um, perhaps if you tell me a little more about which story you were interested in, I could check her notes and get back to you? I still have all of them, and she was religious about keeping them in order.a Hope flickered on the edge of my awareness, but I kept my voice even as I said, aThatas very generous of you, Mr. Romain. The story was about a girl who fell in the river east of town. She was rescued but then died on the way to the hospital. Hypothermia.a I told him the date the story had appeared in the Courier.

A sharp intake of breath, and then its slow release. aGwen Miller,a he said.

The hope flared bright. aYes.a aWhy are you inquiring into her death?a Lying was all well and good, but I usually had better luck with the truth. Besides, I wasnat on the defensive with a reporter or anyone in law enforcement here, merely talking to a widower. aMy brother was involved with Rancho Sueo. He killed himself, and Iam trying to figure out why.a Barras head jerked up at my bald words.

Grant Romain said, aUm, Sophie Mae?a Something in his voice.

Now trepidation bordering on dread swirled into my emotional mix. The hand holding the phone trembled, and the handset knocked gently against my ear. Barras eyebrows furrowed and concern sharpened his gaze.

aYes?a aI think youad better come to my house and see those notes for yourself.a _____.

Questions poured out of Barr as we drove to Romainas home.

aYes, he seemed to know exactly what I was talking about,a I said. aAnd I certainly got the feeling he had more information that heas willing to share, but other than that we just have to wait until we get there. Turn left at Cheyenne Avenue. Weare almost there,a I said, peering at the directions Iad scribbled down.

We pulled up in front of an older ranch-style home in the neighborhood known locally as Indian Hills. The lawn was neatly mowed, the landscape tidy, and flowerbeds along the front of the house shone forth in a flurry of brilliant color. Zinnias hovered behind delicate moss roses, and above them towered flirty hollyhocks. Roses were interspersed with freeform evergreen topiaries along the sides of the curving cement pathway leading from the public sidewalk in front. The beds on each side of the driveway boasted hardy perennials, among them wild geraniums, purple larkspur, yellow potentilla, brilliant California poppies and clumps of ornamental gra.s.s. An apple tree shaded the open garage. The air smelled green.

A tall woman with hair more salt than pepper answered the door. Her smile crinkled the skin around clear blue eyes, and her colorful East Indian print sundress set off a deep tan.

aUm, hi. Iam Sophie Reynolds,a I said, stumbling over the words. aThis is my fiance, Barr Ambrose.a I made a vague gesture to where he stood behind me.

aAnd youare here to see Grant,a she finished for me. aIam Lorrie Romain. Come on in.a I crossed the threshold, glancing down at the ring on her left hand. Well, people did get remarried, didnat they? I was, after all. My first husband, Mike Reynolds, had been gone six years now, and he wouldnat have wanted it any other way.

aHeas down in the bas.e.m.e.nt, going through Carrieas old files. Seemed pretty excited after you called. Follow me.a We did, down a short hallway painted red-orange and decorated floor to ceiling with funky African art and masks. At the bottom of the stairs we discovered an unfinished bas.e.m.e.nt, surprisingly clean and dust free. Shelves all along the walls held boxes and bins with lids, each displaying a neat label marking the contents. Toward the back of the s.p.a.ce a man stood hunched over a card table strewn with file folders.

aGrant, theyare here,a his wife said.

He looked up and waved us farther into the room. The impatient gesture was at odds with a man who looked like a cross between Jerry Garcia and Santa Claus. Cherub cheeks smiled under twinkling eyes and a thick, heavy ma.s.s of white hair. He wore denim shorts and a tie-dyed T-s.h.i.+rt with leather sandals.

aSo youare Sophie Mae,a he said. aWelcome to the archives.a aThanks for being so willing to show me your, er, Carrieas notes. This is Barr Ambrose.a He shook Barras hand vigorously, and then my own. aPleasure to meet both of you.a His arm stretched out over the table, encompa.s.sing all the paperwork. aThese are all of Carrieas notes from the Miller girlas death and what she could find out about Rancho Sueo. I was just looking over them again to familiarize myself with the story.a aGrant was very interested in Carrieas work,a Lorrie said. aShe often discussed what she was writing and bounced ideas off him.a I looked at her, curious.

aOh, Carrie and I were good friends. I miss her dearly. And her work fascinated me as well.a aThis story was special, though,a Grant said. aAs soon as you mentioned Rancho Sueo and your brother, I knew I had to pa.s.s on the information shead gathered. Carrie became ill shortly after she wrote it, and she had to leave the paper. But this story bothered her until she pa.s.sed away.a In a careful tone, I asked, aWhy was that?a aBecause enough things about it were fishy that she suspected there was a cover-up of some kind. She could never prove anything, though.a My pulse quickened. aDo you remember what she found a'fishya?a aThere was a discrepancy between when the Miller girl went in the river and when she went to the hospital. Then two of the witnesses just up and left before talking to anyone, managing to disappear into thin air, despite the fact that they were teens on the run.a aThe authorities tried to find them, figured they must have given Dunner false names.a aTrue, even believable. But it was still a aFishy.a aExactly.a aIam interested in the time discrepancy you mention, between the accident and the hospital. That does sound suspicious. Is it possible it wasnat an accident at all? Why wouldnat the sheriffas department have pursued the investigation further?a Romainas lips twisted ironically. aThe problem kind of took care of itself.a I looked the question at him.

aWithout the kids who took off before anyone could talk to them, the only witnesses were Ray Dunner, Ogden Dunner and another girl who was there.a aThe mystery girl,a I breathed.

He nodded. aHer story changed within an hour of getting to the hospital.a Intriguing. I plunged on. aHer name wasnat in any of your wifeas articles. Did she know who she was?a Grant Romainas head inclined a fraction. His next words seemed chosen with care. aAccording to Carrieas notes, the girlas name was Krista Jaikes.a It took a moment for that to sink in.

aSheriff Jaikesa daughter.a I glanced over at Barr.

aHe wasnat sheriff then,a Romain said. aHe was a deputy. A deputy with ambition, but still a deputy.a My hand crept over my mouth. aOh, my G.o.d. The sheriff covered something up, and a My eyes welled. a Bobby Leeaa Romain held his hand up as Barr put his arm around my shoulder. aNo, no, no. Thereas no proof of that at all. If there had been, Carrie would have gone with it. Krista was seventeen, so Carrie agreed to keep her name out of the article. And the sheriffas investigators believed her. It wasnat only her father.a aBut itas still fishy.a He hesitated. aYes. It was.a I leaned against Barr, reeling from this new information. It could be the key, the absolute key to everything.

Grant handed us a stack of paper, saying, aI had time to copy the file notes, but not the two notebooks. Take those with you, if youall promise to bring them back when youare done with them.a I was speechless in the face of his generosity.

aThank you,a Barr said with feeling. aThis means a lot to us.a aItas what Carrie would have wanted,a Lorrie said.

Romain nodded. aSheas right. Carrie would have wanted you to have this information if thereas any way it can bring you peace.a I managed to stammer out a thank you, and we took our leave loaded with more information from this one meeting than Iad managed to glean the whole time Iad been in Spring Creek.

In the pa.s.senger seat I rifled through the paper the Romains had given us. aLetas get this stuff home and spread it out, see what else is here.a aOf course,a Barr said, driving just as sedately as ever.

I was about to tell him to hurry, but when I looked over, the expression on his face stifled any thought Iad had about commenting on his old lady driving.

aWhatas wrong?a I asked.

He didnat say anything for a while. I waited, knowing he would eventually.

aCorrupt law enforcement p.i.s.ses me off.a aWell, of course it does. But we donat know yet if that happened.a aIf it didaa aThen weall deal with it when the time comes.a It wasnat his jurisdiction, and he didnat even live in the same state, but I knew if there was something awry in the local sheriffas department Barr would dive right in to fix it. I had to admit, the thought didnat exactly thrill me.

Maybe Iad change my mind if it turned out Sheriff Jaikes had jeopardized my brother.

_____.

When Dad walked into the living room, he found us sitting on the floor surrounded by the copies of Carrie Romainas notes. A lot of the information was repet.i.tive; shead kept her written notes even after shead typed them up. It looked like she had actually used a typewriter for some of them. Others were dot matrix or laser printoutsapresumably from a printer at home and another at work.

Dad spied the two reporteras notebooks and folded himself to the floor in front of them. aWhat do we have here?a aThese are the notes the reporter took who covered Gwen Milleras death.a His jaw slackened. aHow on earth did you manage that?a I explained about Grant and Lorrie Romain wanting to help us.

aTrust you to go with your instinct and have it turn out right, Kiddo.a Barr smiled. I looked at the floor, pleased with the compliment but unwilling to say so.

aSo letas see what we have here.a For the next forty-five minutes we sifted and sorted and read and commented. I told Dad about Krista Jaikes, but he didnat know what to make of that information any more than we did.

aWe need more.a He flipped a page in Carrie Romainas notebook.

aWhat about the time discrepancy that Grant Romain mentioned?a The three of us scooted together on the carpet, comparing notes. The official story was that the girl had fallen in the water, and Ray had rescued her. Everyone immediately hustled her back to Rancho Sueo. Tom and Jane Smith slipped away, but Ogden Dunner didnat have time to go after them. Head loaded Gwen Miller into his truck and rushed to Spring Creek General.

But when Carrie Romain had talked to Krista Jaikes, the girl told her everyone had tried to get Miller warm at the house first. It hadnat worked. Krista had been sent to draw a warm bath for the girl, but when she came back the only ones left were Ray Dunner and his father. Mrs. Dunner was visiting her sister. Theyad wrapped the girl up in blankets and were getting ready to take her into town.

Then Ray Dunner had pulled the Jaikes girl away, and the next thing the reporter knew the story was that Ogden Dunner had immediately bundled Miller up and driven her into town.

Other than that, most of the information wasnat new, or didnat seem important. We did get a fuller picture of Rancho Sueo, and a more well-rounded construction of the character of the man who owned it began to form in my mind.

Ogden Dunner was married to Constance Dunner, and they had one son, Ray. Head been a pastor in a small church in Spring Creek for decades when he inherited a sizeable chunk of land east of Spring Creek. By selling off part of the land he was able to build Rancho Sueo, a home head dreamed of for years. It was big enough to host homeless teenagers, whether runaways, addicted, or abused. He wanted them to feel safe and to find a sense of community. Dunner also wanted them to come to Jesus, but even though he prayed with them before mealtimes, he didnat insist they convert. I found this last interesting, especially given what Anna Belle had said about him. It turned out the evangelist was more open-minded than Iad originally given him credit for. Before Gwen Miller died, head owned Rancho Sueo for three years without any kind of run-in with the law.

After shead gathered so much information, it was too bad the Courier didnat have Carrie Romain write all the articles about Ogden Dunner. Of course, her husband said shead fallen ill and left her job, so she hadnat had the chance.

aWhoa. This might be something,a Dad said.

I dropped an interview with one of the Dunnersa neighbors on the floor. aWhat?a aAccording to this, Krista didnat only change her mind about what time Gwen Miller fell in the river. She also changed her mind about the relations.h.i.+p between Gwen and Ray Dunner.a I leaned back on my elbows on the carpet. Beside me Kitty Wampus erupted into a purr and stretched to his full length in a splash of afternoon sun.

aDo tell,a I said.

Barr put down the file he was looking at, too, and watched my father with interest.

aAt first she said Gwen was Rayas girlfriend,a my dad said. aThen Ray denied that, and Krista changed her story. Said they were all just friends.a aAny other notes about that?a aOnly that no one wanted to talk to any reportersanot the family, and not Krista Jaikes. Romain was already at the hospital, following up on that story about the woman who beat up an intruder.a Right. The panty raider.

aWhen they brought in the Miller girl, Romain started asking questions about what happened. Thatas how she got the chance to talk to the Jaikes girl in the first place.a aHmm.a I smiled. aI wonder whether Krista would talk to us now?a My dad looked skeptical. aWouldnat count on it. But you never know. I never would have thought youad get all this information, either.a aI might not have if the reporter had still been alive.a aThe point is that you did. Is Krista Jaikes still in Spring Creek?a Dad asked.

Barr already had the phone book out and answered him. aNot unless she has an unlisted number.a aCheck the web,a Dad said.

I dutifully retrieved Barras computer. Soon he was typing away. aAt least itas a fairly rare name. I only show two of them when I do a search in the U.S. One is 54 years old, though. Ah, here we go: Krista Jaikes, thirty-two years old, listed both in Spring Creek and inaa He flourished with his left hand.

aYouare killing me, here,a I said.

aYoungstown, Ohio.a More typing, and then he looked puzzled. aBut sheas not listed in the white pages there, either.a aTry a general search on her name. Use quotation marks around it,a Dad said.

Clickety clack, clickety clack. Then, aBingo. Hereas an engagement announcement in the Youngstown Vindicator.a His face glowed with the pleasure of the hunt. aShe married Logan Madden five years ago.a Dad looked pretty happy, too. My two favorite guys had a lot in common. I, however, was more than a little creeped out by how easy it was to find people. But I didnat have anything to hide, and it sure made life easier when you were trying to track down someone from the past.

aLet me check the phone number yep, here you go.a He read off the digits.

Hurriedly, I copied it down.

Barr closed his laptop and looked over at me. aOkay. Now what do you want to do?a I looked at my watch, surprised to find it was nearly five oaclock. aWhatas the time difference?a aIf Iam not mistaken, theyare two hours ahead of us,a Dad said.

Meghan, Kelly, and Erin trooped through the front door. Everyone was getting a tan by now, after spending all that time in the Colorado sun, and Kelly and Meghan were breathless with praise for the bike-friendly community of Spring Creek.

aWe spent all day riding the different trails, stopping by the river, having lunch. You can get anywhere you want to on a bike here,a Meghan said.

Kelly nodded his agreement. aIf one of the trails doesnat go where you want to be, all those wide streets and bike lanes sure make it easy.a My dad grinned. aItas pretty great, isnat it? Did you have fun, Erin?a aSure.a She stomped up the stairway without another word. Her exit left a pall on the room.

aWhat happened?a Dad asked.

Kelly shook his head in bewilderment. aNo idea. It seems to come and go with her. Say, whatas all this?a aReporteras notes about Rancho Sueo and the girl who fell in the river there,a I said.

He started to ask another question, then saw the look on Meghanas face. She was still upset about Erin. He gestured to her, and they excused themselves to go out to the backyard. Barr and I exchanged looks, and he grimaced. Erin wasnat making things easy on her mother and her new beau.

Iad check in with her later. Check in with Erin, too, for that matter.

Wead finished organizing all of Carrie Romainas notes when Anna Belle breezed in from an afternoon at the university terrorizing new students during orientation. We gathered in the kitchen, and I updated her while Dad and Barr began dinner preparations. When I was done, my mother went up to her room to change out of her skirt.

I grabbed the cordless telephone handset and held it behind my back. Barr nodded at me, and I slipped around the corner and ran lightly up the stairs to the bedroom, the slip of paper with Krista Maddenas phone number clutched in my hand.

aHi!a The little girl who answered had a voice so soft and high I had to strain to hear it.

ah.e.l.lo there. Is your mommy home?a aEmily, give me that.a The adultas voice was kind. I waited until it came on the line. ah.e.l.lo?a aHi. Krista?a She laughed. aYeah, itas me. Sorry about that. Emilyas new thing is to talk on the phone all the timeawhether thereas anyone on the other end or not. She called Australia last week. How are you?a aUm, Iam fine, thank you.a Sudden silence, and then, aWho is this?a Shead obviously mistaken me for someone else.

aMy nameas Sophie Mae Reynolds. Iam calling you from Spring Creek, Colorado.a aI see. What can I do for you?a aIave just learned that you were present when a girl named Gwen Miller fell into the Cache la Poudre River eighteen years ago.a A sudden intake of breath was her only response.

aI wanted to ask you a few questions about that night, if I could.a aWho are you again?a The friendliness had vanished.

aLike I said, my name is Sophie Mae. Bobby Lee Watson was my brother.a I took a deep breath and plunged on. aHe killed himself not long after that incident, and he left a note that indicates his decision might have had something to do with what happened that night.a aWell, I donat see how thatas possible.a aThat he left a note?a aNo, that Gwenas death had anything to do with your brotheras.a Disappointment settled into my bones. Yet another false trail. Nonetheless, I kept trudging along it.

aCan you tell me if Bobby Lee was there that night?a aListen, I donat know how you found out my nameait wasnat in the papers and my family protected me from the rest of the mediaabut dredging up all that old pain isnat going to do anyone any good.a I sighed. aBelieve it or not, youare not the first person to tell me that. But can you tell me whether Bobby Lee was there that night?a aNo. He wasnat.a aIs that what you told the reporter?a aI didnat talk to any reporters,a she said quickly.

Liar.

aBut you knew him?a aTo talk to, casually. We went to school together, but he was a year ahead of me. He went out to Rancho Sueo for a while, with that girlfriend of his, but then he pretty much stopped showing up.a aCan I ask why you went out there? You werenat exactly a runaway.a aNo, I had a happy home life.a aWas it the drugs?a Her laugh was sharp. aNo.a Lots of negative answers, none of them helpful.

aThen why?a I pushed.

Her answer was almost a whisper. aBecause Gwen Miller was my best friend, and she loved the place.a aIam so sorry.a And I was.

But Iad already come this far. aWhat about Tabby and Joe?a aWhat about them?a Something in her voice. A sharpness. Fear.

Instinct made me ask, aWere they there?a aWhy would you ask that?a I continued to fly through the conversation by the seat of my pants. aJoe was killed a couple of days ago.a Krista Madden hung up on me.

I h.e.l.loed at the phone a couple of times to make sure then stared at it in disbelief. Joeas death had certainly triggered a reaction. Interesting. I hadnat had a chance to ask her why her story about what had happened had changed at the hospital. Or whether shead lied to her dad, the sheriffas deputy, about the death of her best friend.

But Krista hanging up on me extinguished my sympathy. I punched in the numbers again.

No one answered. When the answering machine came on, I hung up and punched them in again.

aWhat?a on the fourth ring, abrupt as all get out.

aYou didnat answer my question.a aAnd Iam not going to. I donat have to answer any of your questions. Stop calling me.a aMaybe I should check with your father. The Sheriff.a Krista barked a laugh in my ear. aGood luck with that.a She had a point. However, I could hear the fear thrumming through the telephone connection. If she wasnat afraid of her father, who was she afraid of?a aDid the Dunners threaten you?a aPlease, stop,a she said.

aI met them today, and neither of them seemed that scary to me.a I was fis.h.i.+ng.

aThen you werenat paying attention, Sophie Mae Reynolds. Because Ray Dunner was scary then, and heas scary now. I have to go. Donat call me back. I mean it.a aWait!a I listened for the click. There wasnat one.

aOkay, listen,a I said. aI understand that youare afraid, and that you donat know me from Eve. But you knew my brother, and heas dead. And so is the girl who you say was your best friend. I think you lied to your dad and everyone else about what happened, even though I donat understand why. All I ask is please, please, isnat there anything you can tell me?a Kristaas silence drew out so long I wondered whether she really had hung up on me again. Then she said, aAsk yourself how Joe and Tabby Bines managed to get the land for that dairy of theirs.a And then she did hang up.

What on earth?

And why was Krista so scared of Ray Dunner? Not just now, but for at least eighteen years.

_____.

My face must have been a picture of pure puzzlement when I walked out to the patio, because everyone immediately asked what was wrong.

aNothing,a I said. aAt least nothing new.a I told them who Iad been talking to and what shead said. That led to having to catch Meghan and Kelly up on what Barr and I had done all day. The one thing I left out was Kristaas parting comment. I wanted to talk to Barr about it first, before involving my parents. After all, it might be nothing, and I found myself oddly protective of them.

aWhereas Erin?a I asked when I had finished.