The B Girls

Have Your Cake





"I don't see a car," Jane said.

"The carport is around back," Lucy said. "Belle has a BMW sedan and a Jeep Cherokee. One of them has to be here."

"Does she leave the house unlocked when she's away?" Mae wanted to know.

"Belle's not exactly the paranoid type. She usually only locks up when she's out of town. But I'm sure she didn't leave the door wide open."

"The housekeeper?" Jane said.

Lucy shook her head. "Not on Sunday."

This was not a good thing.

Lucy told the others to wait while she made a quick check of the carport.

The Cherokee was gone.

"Burglar?" Mae said when she learned Belle was likely gone in her car.

"Maybe," Lucy said.

"We should call for help," Mae said.

They all checked their cell phones. They had service.

"Are you sure we should bother the police?" Jane said. "What if it was just the wind?"

"What if it's a criminal?" Mae said.

"I think we should check it out before we call the police," Lucy said. "Even if someone broke in they probably took off when they heard us drive up."

"I'm going to find a big stick and go inside," Jane said. "I'm too grouchy and tired to take any crap off anyone."

So saying, she stomped off to comb the perimeter of the clearing for a suitable weapon.

Lucy followed suit and found a stout three foot length of pine. God help the burglar if he was still here.

The three of them trooped up onto the porch.

"If anyone's in there you better run out the back door if you don't want your ass kicked!" Jane shouted.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to antagonize the criminal?" Mae said.

"I think it's a good idea not to sneak up on the criminal," Jane said. "He probably doesn't want to get caught any more than we want to catch him."

They all peeked in the door.

The great room was empty of living things.

They went in and Jane repeated the yelling thing.

Still no response.

"Split up or stick together?" Jane asked.

"Stick together," Mae and Lucy chorused.

"Let's check upstairs first. That way, if he's still here and downstairs, he'll have another chance to leave," Lucy said.

Jane and Mae thought this was a fine idea and they headed up the stairs making lot's of noise like they were trying to scare off a small animal.

They went through the upstairs room by room, stick weapons at the ready and found no one.

There were a few open drawers, pillows tossed off beds and lights on that probably should have been off. But nothing seemed to be missing--at least nothing large or valuable.

Once they cleared the upstairs they went back down feeling confident that they'd scared off the criminal.

The sound of a plate hitting the floor in the kitchen dashed Lucy's hopes they'd get out of this without a confrontation. Maybe the criminal hadn't found them so scary after all.

Or maybe he'd knocked a plate on the floor in his headlong flight to escape three suburban badasses.

Yeah, right.

The girls spent several seconds pointing to each other in a silent argument about who was going first.

Lucy had no idea why they were suddenly being quiet after all the noise they'd made to this point. She started to suggest they go back outside, lock themselves in the van and call the police, when Jane rolled her eyes, raised her stick and stepped into the kitchen doorway.

Mae and Lucy stepped up close behind and bumped into her back when she stopped dead on the threshold.

Mae peeked around her shoulder, squealed and jumped back.

Dark eyes peered out from behind a black mask and a hiss came from between bared teeth.

A large raccoon stood on the kitchen floor, the remains of a cake spread at its furry feet, nose covered with white icing, striped tail twitching in agitation.

Lucy rolled her eyes and wondered what else could go wrong, then immediately sent up a prayer telling God she really didn't want an answer to that question.

Jane went after the creature with her stick.

"Hold on! Let me get the back door open," Lucy said. The last thing she wanted was to chase the damn thing all over the house.

Jane managed to restrain herself long enough for Lucy to get the door open and take up a spot blocking the way back into the great room.

"Scat! Shoo! Go on!" Jane hollered while she poked the stick in the raccoon's direction.

"What if it has rabies?" Mae asked from behind Lucy.

Lucy looked at the animal. He looked healthy and well fed. "Doubtful. I don't think cake is the food of choice for rabid animals."

The raccoon hissed at Jane but it backed up toward the open door to the outside.

"Ha!" Jane shouted. She advanced on the poor creature like a fencer trying to force her opponent back at the point of a sword.

The raccoon hissed again and stopped backing up.

"You're scaring him," Lucy said.

Jane let out an exasperated sigh and waved the stick at the raccoon again. "It's supposed to be scared."

"Maybe you should back off a little so he can run out the door instead of feeling he needs to protect himself," Lucy suggested.

Jane shrugged, lowered the stick and backed up a few feet.

With the immediate threat relieved, the raccoon decided escape was better than further confrontation. He skedaddled.

Jane hurried to close the door behind him just in case he changed his mind and decided cake was worth the risk.

Mae came back into the kitchen and looked at the remains of the cake.

"I guess Belle must have left the front door ajar," Mae said.

"She can be a little scatterbrained," Lucy said.

Jane wasn't so sure. "What about the lights and the open drawers and the pillows on the floor?"

Lucy shrugged. "Raccoons have been known to do an awful lot of damage."

"I've heard people with cabins up here say they have to keep their doors locked even when they're home because the raccoons learned to open doors," Mae said.

In spite of her words, Lucy had the feeling the raccoon in this case was more of an opportunist taking advantage of a door left open by a human criminal but she didn't see the need in dwelling on it since the person was clearly gone now.

"Well it doesn't really matter. Nothing seems missing and other than the cake nothing's destroyed," she said.

"So? Now what?" Jane said.

"We make ourselves comfortable and wait for Belle," Lucy said. "I'm sure that cake wasn't the only treat in the house."

So they chose bedrooms, put together a snack tray of cheese, crackers and fruit, and settled in on the main deck with big glasses of sweet tea. None of them were ready to venture back into the world of alcoholic beverages after dancing on the bar and getting tattooed.

Jane rattled the ice around in her glass and looked over at Lucy. "So what do you think this big mystery of Belle's is all about?"

Lucy shrugged. "There's no telling. I'm more worried about what I'm going to do for the next forty years than the next two days."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be just fine. Think of this as a chance to figure out what makes you happy, all on your own," Mae said.

"And what about you?" Jane said. "I'd say you're in need of a little overhaul yourself. Or maybe Chip needs one."

"Maybe both of us could use a little shaking up," Mae said. "I feel like I don't have a self of my own anymore. Know what I mean?"

"Of course I do," Lucy said. "Let's make a pact that we'll really use this time away. To evaluate where we've been and where we're going."

When Jane rolled her eyes Lucy turned her best Mom look on her. "You too. Obviously you weren't deliriously happy with your job or you wouldn't have self-destructed yesterday."

"Fine," Jane said. "But could we wait at least a couple of hours? I'm still fighting the last of my hangover."

"Sure, but first we swear by our sacred tattoos that we'll each leave here with a positive plan for change," Lucy said.

"Let's make a ritual promise," Mae said. "Right hands on your tattoos ladies. Left hands in." She put her left hand out.

Lucy put her right hand on her ass and solemnly put her left hand on top of Mae's.

With a put upon sigh, Jane joined in.

"Okay, repeat after me," Mae said. "I swear on the sacred mark of the B Girls to leave this mountain retreat with a concrete, measurable plan to live my best life."

Lucy and Jane repeated the oath and they all threw their left hands into the air.

"Now, let's snack," Lucy said. "I wish Belle would hurry up and get back, I'm curious about the mystery but I'm more anxious to get her input on our plans."

Mid-afternoon wore on into late afternoon.

And still Belle didn't appear.

Talk turned back to their pact and they tossed out wild possibilities for their futures.

"No idea is too crazy at this point," Jane said after Mae let out an appalled gasp at her suggestion that Lucy consider opening a strip club. "There's good money to be made from randy men."

"I don't think supervising naked women is in my future," Lucy said. "But maybe I'll shave my head and join a Buddhist monastery for a while."

"I'd be happy with finding the nerve to tell Chip he has to cook once a week so I can go out with you two without having to worry over supper first."

"You have to want more than that," Lucy said.

"Yes but that would do for a start. If I could find the courage to demand more of Chip, I think the rest would fall into place."

Lucy turned to Jane "What about you? You've been quick to make suggestions for me but I haven't heard you come up with any wild plans for yourself."

"I'm thinking of becoming a starving artist. I was once told I had the potential to be a successful painter."

"Really?" Mae said. "I don't have an artistic bone in my body. Do you still paint? Have we seen anything you did?"

"No, I haven't picked up a brush in years. My lovely ex ruined it for me with his snide comments and criticisms. All my old paintings are boxed up in a rented storage building."

"Well, just as soon as we get back to town we're going to get them. Even if you decide to do something else with the rest of your life, I want to check them out for myself," Lucy said.

"Believe me, they're competent but not all that fascinating," Jane said.

"All the same, I think you should let us be the judge of that," Mae said.

"Fine. What do you suppose is keeping Belle?"

"I don't know but I'm starting to get a little worried. I'm going to try her cell again." Lucy had already tried two or three times and been routed to Belle's voice mail. She left brief messages that she didn't expect to have answered. Belle rarely answered her cell, she considered it a convenience in case of emergency rather than a means of making herself available to her friends and relatives.

"And I'd better check in with my family," Mae said.

Jane shrugged. "Go ahead, I think I can manage to entertain myself for a few minutes since my fish don't currently have phone skills. Maybe I should look into a hands free model for them."

The clock ticked its way to dinner time and Belle was still gone. And she hadn't called.

Lucy went through Belle's address book. There were only four local numbers among the hundred or so entries. The housekeeper and the yard man hadn't seen Belle since their own respective work days at the house. Louisa Dent didn't even know Belle was in town and Vernon Taper hadn't spoken with her in two days. No one was alarmed that Belle was a few hours overdue and they all promised to call if they heard anything.

Lucy wouldn't have been alarmed either if Belle hadn't been aware of the crisis in her marriage. That one fact changed everything.

Lucy made another futile call to Belle's cell phone and paced around the kitchen while Mae performed some magic with red leaf lettuce, radicchio, baby spinach, button mushrooms, pomegranate, fresh shrimp and a loaf of crusty French bread.

They went out to the deck to take advantage of the view.

The sun dipped lower on the horizon.

Lucy stirred her lettuce around, picked at the shrimp and watched Mae and Jane crunch through their salads.

"You're not eating," Mae said.

"I'm not hungry." Lucy put her fork down and stood. She knew better than anyone that Belle wasn't a woman to be ruled by clocks and calendars but she was a woman concerned with the feelings of others.

She wouldn't leave Lucy to worry and wonder if she could help it.

Something was wrong. Lucy felt it in her bones.

"I'm going to see if Belle left any hint about where she went."

"Want some help?" Mae asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No. I'm not even sure what I'm looking for."

In the kitchen, she found a notepad, a Sharpie and a few computer printouts. Her first thought was to do the trick of rubbing the top sheet of the notepad with a pencil to find out what was written on the last page to be torn off but the Sharpie probably hadn't left any impressions to be raised.

The printouts were more promising. They were all relating to a nearby wilderness area--Cohutta Wildlife Refuge. It was managed by the National Park Service. Belle had circled some of the information about parking and hiking trails.

Lucy called the number for the Ranger Office but didn't get any answer. She didn't bother to leave a message. Chances of anyone checking messages on a Sunday night were probably slim and none.

"Now what?" she muttered to herself glancing at the clock surprised to see it was going on nine-thirty.

She looked up the non-emergency number for the county police. They didn't have any accident reports for a vehicle matching Belle's Cherokee and wouldn't take a report on an adult who'd only been gone a few hours.

She called the only hospital within fifty miles. No Belle Morris and no unidentified patient matching her description. Where the hell was she?

Mae and Jane drifted in from the deck to see what she was up to.

"Find anything?" Jane asked.

"Just these printouts about the Cohutta wilderness area."

"I've heard of that place," Mae said. "I think Chip and Gary went bear hunting up there."

Lucy nodded. "I think you're right. But what would Belle be doing up there? She doesn't hunt and even if she did it's the wrong time of year."

"We could drive up there and see if her car is there," Jane suggested.

"These printouts show several different parking areas, no one's answering at the Ranger station and we're not even sure that's where she went," Lucy said.

"But you're worried," Mae said.

Lucy nodded. "She would've made a point of letting me know if she was going to be gone this long."

"Well, we're all sober. I say we at least check out the parking lots at the wilderness area," Jane said.

"I think it's most likely she went to one of these two," Lucy said pointing to two circled spots on a sketchy map of the area.

"Let's go," Mae said.

Lucy left a note for Belle in case she returned while they were gone and they piled into the van.



###



"I wouldn't want to make this drive if I was in a hurry or with even one drink in my system," Mae said.

The winding mountain roads were a little unnerving in the dark. The girls were used to large, well-lit suburban avenues.

"Just take your time," Lucy said. "We don't want to wind up on the missing list too."

The first circled parking area on the map was empty.

"Of course we couldn't have been that lucky," Jane said.

"It looks like we have to drive past the Ranger station to get to the next spot. Maybe there'll be someone there," Lucy said.

"Just tell me the way," Mae said.

The Ranger station was dark and there weren't any vehicles in the parking lot--official or otherwise.

They drove on to the second parking area on the printout.

There was no one parked in the gravel area.

Mae circled once and put the van in park. "Now what?"

"I guess we go back to Belle's and wait until morning to call the Ranger office," Lucy said.

Headlights appeared coming up the road from the direction of the Ranger station.

Lucy watched the lights approaching not at all sure whether she expected a serial killer, a ranger, or just someone out for an evening drive. Then again, the way her stars were apparently aligned right now it was probably a serial killer.

A pickup truck with US Forest Service painted on the door pulled into the parking area and stopped driver's door to driver's door with the minivan.

Both sides rolled down their windows.

The driver of the truck touched the brim of his hat, an old fashioned gesture that Lucy found oddly reassuring. "Bill Leonard, I'm the resident ranger here in Cohutta. Everything okay ladies?"

Mae looked to Lucy for a response.

Lucy held up a finger indicating he should hold on and climbed out of the van.

He didn't wait but got out of his truck and met her halfway.

"I'm not sure if everything's okay," Lucy said. "My aunt is missing and we think she may have been headed up here. We were checking the lot for her car."

Mae and Jane joined the party.

"I don't suppose you've seen a seventy-odd year old woman wandering around in your park?" Jane said.

Lucy took note of the fact that Jane was giving the Ranger the once-over while she talked.

He smiled and chuckled to himself. "You wouldn't be talking about Belle Morris?"