She Waits Part 18

"Maybe I should go out and talk to her," I said.

"I think that would be a good idea," Teri agreed.

I grabbed Maggie's sweater and went out on the deck.

Maggie stood looking out at the woods, shivering.

"You forgot your sweater, Maggie."

She threw the sweater over her shoulders. "Thank you," she said.

"I think Charlie's telling the truth, don't you?"

I didn't know what else to say and I felt awkward. I'd been out of the loop, as it were, for four years, emotional detachment and all. I wasn't always so detached. But regardless, I made an inept attempt to rejoin the world.

"I mean, I can see where he'd be attracted to Allison," I said.

That was definitely the wrong thing to say. I should have stayed in my own detached loop.

"h.e.l.l, is that all that matters? That she's attractive? Christ!" she said and put a hand to her forehead.

"No, no. h.e.l.l, you're much more attractive than Allison and you're much more appealing." I stopped abruptly as I realized what I said.

Maggie shot a surprised look at me, which I avoided completely.

I tried to make conversation but stumbled over every word. She watched me as I continued in agony.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at this Maggie," I said. "Been out of the loop too long. I'm better with my camera and nature." I fought the pang of emptiness.

"Ah, I see," she said softly and looked up at the moon. "It's safe behind the camera lens and nature is always a constant."

I didn't know how to reply to the truth Maggie had spoken. I felt the scar on the back of my neck and remembered the last woman I was involved with. I shook my head.

"What's wrong?" Maggie said, not looking at me.

"Oh, nothing. I was just remembering a past incident. I lost myself in someone, who as it turned out, was not quite all there-if you get my meaning."

"What happened?"

I didn't know why I'd brought it up. "c.r.a.p," I mumbled and Maggie smiled slightly. It seemed my awkwardness amused her. "Some other time. Suffice it to say, I allowed myself to be taken in and I paid for it dearly."

Maggie gave me a curious look, but thankfully let it go.

"So I know how you feel," I said. "I know what it's like to be in love and then betrayed."

"Well, this is a first for me," she said shakily, tears welled up in her eyes.

We heard the doorbell and Maggie quickly dried her eyes.

"I am sorry, Maggie. Truly I am," I said, surprising myself at the tenderness in my voice. I pulled out a hanky and handed it to her.

She gave it a surprised look, and then took it from me.

"Well, you don't see these much anymore. Thank you," she said, wiping her eyes.

"My mother taught us well. Never leave the house without a hanky." I put my arm around her small shoulders, fighting a wave of contentment. "C'mon, company's coming."

In moments, people were everywhere. Maggie was telling me who was who as everybody from town came. She and I were pa.s.sing out candy as if we were some kind of a.s.sembly line. I never saw so many children in my whole life. Maggie recruited a youngster to take over.

I leaned against the stair railing and watched in amazement. "Is it like this every year?" I asked.

"Just about. Although, I don't remember this many people," Maggie said.

Hannah appeared from the dining room. "Goodness, I hope I have enough food. Where did all these people come from?"

I looked out the door and saw Doc coming up the walk. He stopped at the door.

"Trick or treat." He smiled wickedly at Hannah and she blushed.

"Walt, get in here before you scare the poor children," Hannah said, smiling. Doc looked down at her and kissed her cheek.

"How's my gal?"

"She's doing fine, now that you're here. Now, let's get this evening started."

This was going to be some evening, in more ways than I cared to think about.

Chapter Sixteen.

By six o'clock, the party was in full swing.

Charlie came in with some beautiful woman on his arm. "Kate, Teri, Mac, I'd like you to meet Shirley," he said with a sly grin.

I gave him a curious look. "Hi, Shirley, nice to meet you," I said and offered my hand.

"A pleasure." She was chewing gum.

When she shook my hand, she reminded me of a blond bombsh.e.l.l from the 1940's. Charming and...una.s.suming I think is the politically correct way to describe her. I glanced at Teri and Mac, who were just staring at her. I nudged Teri; she blinked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Shirley, it's nice to meet you." Teri smiled and introduced Mac, who was still staring.

Charlie took Shirley's coat and she had on a strapless black velvet dress that was very revealing, but she wore it like a glove. I didn't know which way to look. So, like any red-blooded American lesbian, I stared.

"Holy c.r.a.p," I said slowly and Mac nodded in agreement.

Maggie joined us, and her eyes widened for a split second, but she recovered quickly, much better than I did, when Charlie introduced her to Shirley.

Hannah saw us from across the room and waved.

"Aunt Hannah, this is Shirley," Charlie said with an impish grin.

"How very nice to meet you dear," Hannah said, wide-eyed.

"Your nephew told me so much about you. Can I call you Aunt Hannah?" Shirley asked sincerely.

"If you must, but only if you must."

Shirley let out a shrieking laugh that turned every head in the room. "Your aunt is a hoot, I tell you, Chuck, just a hoot." She slapped his back.

He appeared genuinely amused and said to Hannah, "You're a hoot. I mean a hit."

I looked around the room, mostly trying to avoid drooling over Shirley. I saw Nathan and Sarah having a conversation in the corner. He looked ragged and tired, like most doctors did at the end of the day, I suspected.

Sarah looked like she was nagging him about something. I thought of Allison and immediately thought of the intruder the other night. Could it possibly be Allison? I hoped it wasn't. Why would she do such a thing to Maggie? My mind went back to the glove. Whose glove was it?

Then I saw Allison come into the room. I had to admit, she was good looking. She looked elegant in a simple black dress and pearls. She immediately flew to Sarah's side. What was up with those two? Allison talked, and Sarah listened without looking at her. When Allison was done, Sarah patted her on the arm and handed her empty gla.s.s to her. The little toady went and got it refilled. I glanced over to her and she was staring right at me. I smiled, nodded, and she smiled back. At least I think it was a smile.

I looked around the room and saw Tom, Lily and Doc talking. They, too, looked a little worn as they talked seriously. The magnitude of the events of the past few days suddenly dawned on me. I was looking at it like a puzzle, trying to quench my insatiable curiosity. I had forgotten this was a family and a community that loved Miranda, a person who had been brutally murdered. It occurred to me how I'd pushed my emotional side to the background in the last few years and I considered the reason for it. The anxious feeling crept through me once again as it did every time I remembered.

"But I did, Doctor. Don't you see? I made the decision and now one person is dead and my partner nearly lost his life. I did that..." I said, pleading with her to understand.

"And you blame yourself?" she asked in a quiet, calm voice that made me want to leap across the desk and strangle her.

"Yes! I blame myself because I did it!"

She shook her head. "Kate, Kate..."

"Kate?" Mac gave me a wary look. "What's up?" He smiled and put his arm around me.

"N-nothing." I wiped my forehead with a trembling hand.

"C'mon, give. What's wrong?"

"I don't know, Mac, I think I'm in way over my head. Look at all these people, look how tired and worn they look. Christ, Bedford is dead. Someone's trying to kill Maggie by sabotaging her saddle and/or trying to drive her nuts. Sarah and Old Man Winfield probably did the dirty deed, and for all we know Miranda and Nathan had an affair as well. Oh, and let's not forget the woman in the woods. Who the h.e.l.l is she? If my darling psychic sister is correct, it's Miranda! Who, by the way was murdered twenty years ago. So... does that about cover it?"

"Uh, pretty much, yeah," Mac agreed.

"What in the h.e.l.l am I doing? Who do I think I am?" I asked. No one heard me but Mac. Teri and Maggie were talking alone by the bar.

Mac turned me to him. "Look, kiddo, you have your dad's gift, and you know it. Don't be afraid to use it. I know your mom didn't care for you and Teri trading horror stories with your dad, but it rubbed off on you, Kate. You have a knack for this. h.e.l.l, you spent almost ten years proving it." He looked me right in the eyes and continued. "Maggie needs you, Kate. I don't know whom else she can count on. I don't know her very well, but I can tell this is taking its toll. You don't know her that well her either, but can't you feel it? We-you have to solve this, quick. So, quit feeling sorry for yourself and get to work."

Before I could reply, Teri and Maggie walked up to us. As I looked at Teri, I remembered what I had just said about Miranda. "I've been thinking about the woman in the woods. Do you have a photo alb.u.m? I think we need to look at one."

Maggie gave me a curious look. "Well, I know Aunt Hannah has a few she's kept over the years. Why?"

"Well, I'd like to see a picture of your mother, that's all," I said, and couldn't hide the hesitation in my voice.

"All right, I'm beginning to know you. Right now, you're lying to me. Why do you want to see a photo of my mother?" She looked at me, and by the look on her face, I knew it dawned on her. "You think the woman in the woods is my, my mother?" she asked in astonishment.

I winced and looked at Teri, who said calmly, "I think it's your mother, Maggie, not Kate. I just want to make sure. Kate saw her twice and you, once. Wouldn't you like to know for sure?" she finished, looking right into Maggie's eyes.

"Y-yes, I do. I just never thought of this." She gave Teri a curious look. "How can that be?"

"Maggie, there are things that happen all around us that we can't explain-"

"Like the Chicago Cubs," I chimed in then cleared my throat. "Sorry."

"Who knows why they happen? I believe that occasionally, not very often, but occasionally, G.o.d allows those who have pa.s.sed on to hang around to make sure their loved ones are safe. Maybe Miranda won't rest until Kate solves this. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but I'd like to find out." She patted Maggie on the arm.

Tears filled Maggie's eyes as she pulled out the hanky I'd given her.

"I would like to know, too," Maggie replied.

I looked over at Charlie and Shirley. "Boy, where does Charlie find aem? That dress fits like a glove," I said.

"And Charlie seems to love the glove," Maggie agreed as we all laughed.

Then it came to me. I stared at the desk, where the bags of evidence were. I turned to Maggie. "When we were trying to listen to Bedford, what did you think he said?" I asked urgently.

"I thought he said alove.' I know it doesn't make any sense."

"Maggie, he said aglove.' He was trying to tell us about the glove. I will bet during whatever struggle there was, he got the glove and held onto it for dear life. Now, with the jewelry, DNA and fingerprints might prove useless. The jewelry is too old, and left out in the elements far too long. However, this glove may be different. DNA testing may reveal something. Who knows? I've got to tell Doc. Steve should take the bags. I don't like the idea of them in the house."

With that, Allison walked by and said h.e.l.lo on her way to talk to someone. She gave all of us a scathing glance. Yep, she's annoying.

"She gives me the creeps," Teri whispered to Mac.

"Why does she hang around your aunt so much?" I asked curiously.

"She always has," Maggie said. "Her mother died when she was little, even younger than I was. It seemed like she was always around Sarah. I guess I never thought of it before."

Just then, Tom and Doc walked up, each balancing a plate full of food. "This is wonderful grub. Your aunt outdid herself," Tom said. He looked at me. "Well, what have you been up too?"

I explained to them about the glove and my theory. They both looked at the desk.

"I agree Steve should take it, but I'd like to see it first," Tom suggested.

Because it was a beautiful night, most people were outside, which gave me time to retrieve the bags from the desk. We went into the library for privacy.

I saw Allison walk toward us. Maggie, bless her, called her and asked her for help getting wine from the cellar. As they walked away, Maggie gave me quick wink.

Steve had joined his father, Doc and me. Teri and Mac made sure we weren't disturbed. Steve and Tom examined the glove, careful not to handle it too much. I watched all the reactions. When Doc looked at the glove, he frowned. He knew something, I could feel it.