Lucy grabbed the leash, just in case they encountered a porcupine or other wild creature, and they headed across the backyard to the trail leading to Blueberry Pond. Lucy sniffed the piney air and scanned the blue sky for clouds; not a one. It hardly seemed fair that the kids had to go back to school when the weather was so fine. Libby agreed, running ahead with her tail held high as she followed scents left by various forest dwellers.
Lucy’s mind wandered as she walked, thinking over her conversation with Frankie. She’d never imagined Willie’s husband Scratch was less than a model husband; she’d never thought of Mimi as anything but a nuisance. It made her wonder what else was happening on Prudence Path, what passions were simmering below the surface. Or maybe not so far below the surface. Willie had certainly changed lately, becoming much crankier and nervier. Did she have a guilty conscience? She hadn’t been assigned to work at the bake sale until the afternoon; she would have had time to stab Mimi before dashing off to the stable.
Suddenly, she panicked, realizing she’d lost track of Libby. Lucy began calling the dog’s name, hoping she hadn’t followed some deer trail into unfamiliar territory and gotten herself lost. When she caught sight of the dog trotting towards her after calling her name only a few times, Lucy was relieved—until she realized the dog had something in her mouth.
“Give it!” she ordered, fearing the worst. She knew from experience that Labs were equal-opportunity diners, and would eat anything ranging from a dead bird’s wing to horse apples to rocks and sticks.
Libby squirmed away just as Lucy grabbed her collar and attached the leash. “Open!” she said, using her most authoritative voice. The dog hunkered down, clamping her teeth on the object.
Lucy put her foot on the leash and placing one hand on top of her snout and the other on the bottom attempted to pry the dog’s mouth open. Libby struggled but eventually gave up and allowed Lucy to extract a soggy black wallet. From all appearances, the dog had been chewing on the wallet for quite a while and all that was left was a couple of strips of leather loosely held together at the narrow end by a few stitches. There was no money or ID. Lucy held the dog firmly and tossed the ragged fragments into the bushes, thinking no more about them as she and Libby headed for home.
CHAPTER 14
Thursday evening, Lucy ignored Sara and Zoe’s protests that they had too much homework and were too tired besides and left them in charge of cleaning up the supper dishes while she went to the parent meeting. When she approached the high school, however, she couldn’t help noticing that the people filing into the lobby hardly seemed concerned or anxious—they seemed to be in pretty high spirits.
She felt uneasy when she spotted Matt Engelhardt and Justin Crane, recalling her unpleasant experience with them in the weight room, but other people were greeting them like heroes. The two were surrounded by enthusiastic fans who slapped them on their backs and punched their arms. She even overheard Jake telling them to drop by the Donut Shack anytime for a free meal and Stan Beard, who owned a used car lot, promising them a “really good price” on a nearly new automobile.
Disgusted, she headed over to the bake sale table.
“How are sales?” she asked Pam, who was standing behind a table of baked goods along with Rachel.
“Pretty slow. I’m hoping they decide they want to pick up a snack on their way out of the meeting,” said Pam. “Did you see Bonnie?”
“Uh, no,” said Lucy. “Why?”
“Well, she volunteered to help but there’s no sign of her,” said Rachel, sounding worried.
For an awful moment Lucy’s heart squeezed into a tight little ball. Not again. But then they saw her standing by the doorway, with a twin held fast in each hand.
“Over here,” called Pam. Under her breath she added, “How’s she going to work the table with the twins in tow?”
“Something’s wrong,” whispered Rachel. “The twins aren’t matching.”
It was true. For the first time since she’d known them, the twins weren’t wearing matching ensembles. In fact, little Belle, or maybe it was Belinda, was wearing a sneaker on one foot and a sandal on the other.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” said Bonnie, who was out of breath. “The sitter never showed.”
“Not Sara, I hope,” said Lucy.
“No. She couldn’t do it. She said she had too much homework. A new girl.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Rachel. “We can manage. You take care of the girls.”
“Are you sure?” asked Bonnie, attempting to hold on to the girls who were twisting and pulling at her arms. “They could just sit behind the table. They promised to be good.”
“It’s getting close to bedtime and tomorrow’s a school day,” said Rachel. “They’d probably be happier having their baths and listening to a story.”
Bonnie’s face relaxed. “If you’re sure it’s okay…”
“It’s okay. Go home,” said Pam.
“I’ll make it up to you,” promised Bonnie, heading for the door.
When she’d left, Pam turned to Lucy. “What’s going on? She seemed awfully distracted, didn’t she?”
Lucy shrugged. “Maybe she’s nervous about the coach keeping his job. Or maybe she’s thinking that moving to Prudence Path wasn’t such a good idea,” she said. “I was talking to Frankie today and it’s quite the hotbed of intrigue.”
“Oh, you two!” exclaimed Rachel. “Always looking for secrets and motives! Maybe she just had a hard time getting the twins organized. You know what it’s like with kids and it must be even harder with twins.”
“Twice as hard,” admitted Lucy.
They had a brief flurry of business when a group of JV players arrived for the meeting. They were fresh from practice and needed to refuel. The cheerleaders, on the other hand, avoided the table like the plague. From inside the auditorium there was a sudden hush and Lucy left her friends and took a seat in the back row, next to Willie.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” she sniffed, shifting in her seat.
Lucy wasn’t quite sure what to say. She didn’t know if Sassie had told her mother about the incident on the team bus or not. “Of course I’m interested—especially since Sara’s a cheerleader,” she said, hopefully opening the way for more discussion if Willie wanted it. She didn’t.
“I noticed you’ve been spending an awful lot of time at Frankie’s place,” she said, glaring at Lucy.
“I was only there once,” began Lucy, aware of the absurdity of defending her social life to a neighbor. She was used to small town life, where secrets have a very short shelf life, but this was ridiculous. She turned away and turned her attention to the meeting.