Questions in Vermont

Part 2

From the file compiled by Rangeman Boston, Stephanie worked only a half day on Wednesday afternoon. Not wanting Stephanie to recognize anyone from Trenton, I had two employees come up to this tundra to observe her once they found her. Stephanie is a warm weather person, so why is she living in this way up north winter wonderland land? More like hiding I think. It was a gamble but Stephanie had sent Lula an e-mail from a computer terminal in a library south of Smuggler's Notch that Hector was able to trace its path and the bus's last stop was here. So one worker started here and the other south of here to locate Stephanie. Peter found My Babe working at the front desk of 'The Snow Top Resort' and a little boy was with her.

I flew straight up from the warm temperatures of Miami after I visited Julie and held my end-of-the-year review for that office to this this cold Currier and Ives postcard. Now, I have to find the best opportunity to approach Stephanie.

After breakfast, I began watching the big white painted brick building for any sign of her. The apartment building was owned by the resort where she worked so some of the workers must live in it. The old green Blazer Stephanie drove was in the parking lot. Shortly before 9:30, Stephanie and Adam, the skips little boy, came out and got in the SUV while it warmed up for a few moments. The business area of the town consisted of some small and specialty stores catering to the skiers, a larger grocery store, a public library, two inns, a town hall, and small white church with its tall New England steeple. Their first stop was the library. I watched them walk in wearing bulky parkas and boots. The little boy carrying books in his mittened hands. About twenty minutes later, they drove down to the grocery store. Watching the checkout through the binoculars, Stephanie purchased mostly staples like bread, milk, soup, cereal, spaghetti, sauce, and macaroni and cheese. I could make out a bag of cookies, some bananas, and laundry detergent but nothing I would consider a high priced food product.

The groceries were loaded in the back of the Blazer and taking Stephanie's hand, they walked to a small shop called 'Twice As Nice', a resale shop. Watching them browse around the store from my vantage point on a side street, it hit me, Stephanie was more than likely earning minimum wage or a little above. When I glanced at a bank record and did a mental calculation in my head quickly, I was pretty sure I was right. Adam ran over with something in his hands while Stephanie was holding up two heavy sweaters for herself. One was blue and the other striped I saw through the binoculars. After glancing at what was in his hands, she put one of the sweaters back on the rack. She purchased some small sized clothes, the blue sweater, and a train for Adam with some other small items. One thing I noticed about both, there was a smile always on their faces.

I was sitting in a fully loaded rental Jeep wearing an expensive down coat and heavy warm hiking boots. All the best money could buy and My Babe was buying second hand clothes to make ends meet. My stomach was clenched in a ball; the last few hours were a real eye opener.

Pulling back into her parking lot, they began unloading the groceries and purchases. I was going to pull in so I could help, but the man I saw earlier cleaning the snow off the sidewalk grabbed a couple of the bags and held the door of Stephanie and Adam. I went back to my expensive hotel suite for awhile, it didn't seem worth it.

Shortly before noon, I watched Stephanie and Adam drive to 'The Snow Top Resort' to take her position behind the reservation desk and the little boy not far from her. I let myself in the front door of the white building and up the steps to apartment 2B which was noted in the report as hers.

This lock was at least better that the one on her old door. It was more of a challenge. Once I had the door open, I found myself standing in a modest sized kitchen, living and dining room combination. I saw an old friend on the counter. Slipping off my boots so I left no tracks to scare Stephanie. The furniture had seen better days and I'm assuming came with the apartment when I looked under the blue throws covering the sofa and chair. A small portable television and radio on a small stand. There were the library books from earlier stacked on a small square dining table. Mismatched dishes drying in the rack on the countertop. What made me stop in my tracks was a small, spindly Christmas tree in the corner decorated with cut-out paper stars and a red and green paper garland and a small manger underneath. There was a worn angel on the top holding in her arms the word 'HOPE'.

I went down a small hallway past a coat rack to a bedroom with a plain scratched wooden double bed layered with blankets topped with a multi-colored striped comforter. A few of Stephanie's jeans, sweaters, and shirts hanging in the closest. When she left Trenton, she packed Rex and little else. Everything else from her apartment was in boxes stacked in the Rangeman garage and the clothes she left on 7 were still hanging there. Those gave me hope she would be back. There were two small photographs on top of the night stand, one of us Tank snapped as Rangeman and another of a smiling little boy sitting on Santa's lap. I chuckled to myself when I opened a small drawer filled with her Victoria's Secret panties and bras. A second one had a box, opening it I was surprised by the papers. It was Adam's birth certificate, Social Security number, and some baby pictures.

Dialing my cell phone, "Tank, find out everything you can on Adam Robert Prentice born May 12, 2005 and his mother, Stephanie Marie Prentice. Yeah, she is Stephanie's skip that was killed. OK, send it to my e-mail."

I checked the small bathroom and another room with a single bed covered by a bedspread with trains. Cars and Trucks lined up in a corner. A small closet with folded pants and shirts on a shelf and a small pair of sneakers on the floor.

Despite the worn furnishings, it seemed much like a home, more than her apartment or even my expensive one. A coloring book and crayons on the coffee table, a teddy bear sitting in the living room chair. The small dining room table was covered in a table cloth with cherries. Sitting on it, a plate with a train and matching cup waiting for Adam and a plate with polka dots and blue glass for Stephanie to come back to eat their dinner. There was a divider between the kitchen and dining area with open shelves. White paper snowflakes cut out were hanging in the spaces with small snowmen figurines. One had a chip in his black hat. I looked around once more, then slipped on my boots and let myself out.

Shortly after 4, Stephanie and Adam came back. Both were laughing, running in the snow across the parking lot, she was carrying a bag which looked like their dinner.

"What did you do, Manoso?" I silently yelled at myself sitting in my rental SUV watching the two figures throw handfuls of snow at each other before slipping into the white building.

I watched a college aged girl snowboarder walk down the sidewalk coming towards my location. She had on a heavy winter sweatshirt I was reading 'God's greatest gift was giving men two heads to use' and the back read, 'a back up for when the first failed'. Someone was trying to tell me something as I glanced out the window to see a mass of stars on this cold, clear night. I wonder which was doing my thinking when I hurt Stephanie.

The entrance door opened, the little boy came running out in his heavy coat, snow pants, boots, mittens, and scarf. The fleece hat on his head made me laugh with its red, blue, and yellow floppy spikes. Stephanie followed dressed for the winter night wearing a headband covering her ears with small yellow spikes poking through her curls. She was carrying an inflatable inner tube. They must be going to the park down the street to go snow tubing.

I watched from the cover of the pine tree grove as they laughed coming down the hill in the inner tube. Laughing, shrieking enjoying the winter night. They appeared no different from the other families out having fun. It just added to the questions I had and only Stephanie could provide the answers. The two of them had one final long run screaming the entire way down to the bottom. While Stephanie was gathering up the tube to head back to the small apartment I took my chance, I stepped out of the tree shadows.

"Babe."

Stephanie stopped and I saw Adam clutch her coat, "Mommy, is he going to take me away?"

"No, Adam," squeezing him to her. "He's someone I knew." She looked at me with no emotion in her blue eyes, "Ranger, go back to Trenton." She steered them around me and when they were out of the park, I watched Stephanie run away from me.