Lucky to be loving you

Chapter 8

Page 22

When Bill and Christopher returned to the RCMP office, Christopher poured a cup of coffee for both of them. As they sat across from each other they pondered all the clues they had discovered; the glove, the blood, the footprint, and the lamp.

"We're still missing the knife," Christopher sighed.

"That's exactly what I'm concerned about. Where is it? Or worse, who has it?" Bill nodded.

"So, putting the pieces of this puzzle together, it seems that Melanie let her dog, Sugar, outside. Then she went into the kitchen where she was slicing up vegetables apparently to add to the broth in the pot on the stovetop," Christopher added.

Bill took a sip of coffee, then suggested, "From what I surmise, she then went upstairs to take a bath being that there was dried residue from bubble bath. She must have finished bathing and went into her bedroom where we found the rug was disheveled, and one slipper was under her bed indicating a struggle."

"Perhaps the ripped-out lamp cord was used to tie her up." Christopher leaned forward, looking straight into Bill's eyes, "With that blood you spotted, I'm hoping we're not dealing with more than a kidnapping."

Bill shook his head, "Let's pray this isn't turning into a homicide case. With no body, we aren't even going to think that way!"

"Let's go to the bank and see if Melanie's account was closed yet. Then, I want to follow up with the postal service where I posted a reward for the dog, Sugar," Christopher announced, "But finish your coffee first."

Back in Hope Valley, Elsa gave a sad farewell to her dad, sister, and in-laws. William was taking them back to the train station for their long ride back home.

Both she and Lily cried and held hands for as long as they could.

"It's going to be so lonely without you, Lily," Elsa sighed. "I miss our sister talks."

"I know, there's no one I want to talk to about Erik except you. You know all about him and why I am anxious to date him. He makes me feel so happy inside," Lily giggled.

"You told me all about the dance and that he held you but not too close," Elsa smiled.

"Oh, but he was such a good dancer," Lily grinned, "he truly swept me off my feet!"

Elsa hugged her sister tight. "You tell him he better take good care of you, or I'll give him the what for!"

Lars was calling his daughter, "Lily, we have to go or we'll miss our train!"

Lily rushed downstairs after a quick kiss on her nieces' chubby little cheeks, "Love you all," she said as she blew kisses. Elsa sat in the rocker and cried.

"I'll miss you, Mom," Lily smiled through tears as she hugged Ingrid.

"Ya, me too, sweetheart. I'll be home soon enough, but I know I can count on you to take care of Papa. Now go, don't make your father have to call you again."

Ingrid watched and waved as she saw Lars and Lily leave. As she turned around, she grabbed her handkerchief out of her apron pocket and wiped her tears. She took a deep breath and then went in the kitchen to wash the breakfast dishes.

Elsa was watching from her bedroom window too and was so happy that Lily spotted her up there before she was out of sight.

Moving to Hope Valley with William was exciting and adventurous when he found out he had employment. The two of them were so happy to be married and Elsa pregnant that all they could think of was their new life together.

Then the bigger she got further in her pregnancy the more she stayed home uncomfortable and missing her family. William was working such long hours, and she didn't have much to do or people to talk to. Or so she thought.

Recently, she had made good friends with Violet being her midwife, and Dr. Faith. Even Mayor Fiona treated her to a spa treatment and there she met Christy. The ladies had surprised her with gifts for the babies and now she felt more like part of the town.

Everyone too was so nice and sweet when they came with their family to have the girls baptized, so now she just had to remember she wasn't alone.

Page 23

After lunch at the Buxton Cafe, Bill went with Christopher to the bank to see about Melanie's account. Christopher had put a hold on any banking activity on her account so now he was checking to see if there had been any attempts to withdraw any funds.

"Ralph, do you have any new information for me regarding the Forester account?"

Christopher asked the banker.

"Nothing. The money is still there," Ralph shrugged.

"All right then, I'll be by to check later in the week, but let me know if anyone tries," Christopher reminded Ralph.

"That didn't provide any clues," Christopher sighed, "so let's check with the postmaster."

Walking past the bakery, Bill smiled, "Is your wife working today?"

"Why, you got a sweet tooth?" Christopher grinned as he and Bill stopped and turned around. Walking inside, he called out, "Hi, honey! I have this pest with me who has a sweet tooth, so what's the special today?"

"Hello again Bill!"

"That turtle cake looks delicious," Bill pointed at the dessert special.

"We'll take two slices but wrap them up for later." Christopher winked at his wife.

Bill looked surprised, "Later?"

"Yes, sir, we need to stay focused," Christopher nodded as he nudged his good friend.

Over at the Buxton Mercantile, Christopher scanned for the postmaster and indicating with a wave of his hand that he wanted to talk to him.

Bill whispered, "Well, how nice that Buxton has a postmaster. I thought you were joking, but I guess you weren't."

"Mr. Fisher has just recently been hired. He even has his own counter in an area by the switchboard. Hey there Dave, it's good to see you. Any response to our lost dog posters yet?"

"No, but a few people seemed to think they may have spotted Sugar, but no one has been able to catch her. She runs when they get too close."

"Who are the people?"

"I don't remember," Dave scratched his head, "except for the Campbells."

"That's good, they live close to where Sugar does, let's go" Christopher said as he tapped Bill on the shoulder.

Back in the neighborhood, they kept their eyes peeled for Sugar since they were just at the end of the block from Melanie's house.

The two men walked up the steps to the front porch of the Campbell's home and knocked. A little girl answered the door, "Yes Constable?" she asked.

Christopher asked, "Hi Margie, is your mommy or daddy home?"

Margie nodded yes then moved aside so her mom could greet the Constable.

"Hello Constable, why are you here?"

"It's good to see you, Mrs. Campbell. This here with me is Judge Bill Avery. We are here to ask about the dog that has been missing. Mr. Fisher said you mentioned to him that you saw Sugar but couldn't catch him."

"Yes, that's right. Please call me Laura. We know it was Sugar, so we did try to coax her over, but she seemed scared and ran away. When we didn't see her again, we figured Melanie had her home. Is she still missing?"

"Yes, I'm afraid she is."

"May I ask why you are so concerned about a missing dog?"

"Well, it has come to our attention that Melanie is not home, and the dog was left out." Christopher answered.

"That doesn't sound like Melanie."

Bill was listening and interjected, "Do you know Melanie?"

Laura nodded, "Yes, she's a sweetheart."

Bill continued, "That's what we thought, but do you know if she has any family here?"

"I don't know her that well. She always worked hard so we didn't see each other very often."

"So, you wouldn't know if she had any enemies either?" Bill pushed.

Laura put her hand up to her face, "Oh no, are you suspecting something happened to her?"

Christopher stepped in front of Bill and said, "We don't know her whereabouts that's all. Or why her dog is loose."

After Laura took a deep breath and relaxed, she did open up a bit. "Let's step outside, I don't want to frighten my children."

At the bottom of the stairs, Laura spoke softly, "I'm not sure, but there was an automobile parked in front of my house about a week ago with two men who were watching the neighborhood for about an hour."

"Did they do anything suspicious?" Bill asked.

"It looked like they were using binoculars and they sat in the automobile for at least an hour," Laura swallowed hard.

"Can you describe the automobile?"

"It was nice. Big, black, and fancy."

Bill looked at Christopher, "Seems we have a little more to go on."

"Thank you, Mrs. Campbell, if you have anything else to add, please let me know," Christopher said as he turned to leave.

Bill waved as they left. "Let's walk down the street, I just want to look around."

Page 24

Brook made Carl a hearty soup for dinner with her corn bread and beans. She hoped Carl found the dinner delicious. It was her plan to butter up Carl so she could talk to him about her idea. As they sat around the table enjoying chit chat about how the day had gone for each of them, Brook was relieved that Carl had a easy day at the bank and was in a good mood.

Clearing off the table, she put the dinner dishes in the hot, soapy water in the sink. Now, she grabbed a dessert plate and placed a slice of her apple crumble, that was still warm from the oven, and served it with a cup of coffee to her husband.

As she joined him with her own slice he smiled and asked, "Are you trying to spoil me tonight dear?"

"Why do you ask?" Brook returned the smile.

"Just the way you're making some of my favorite soup and dessert," Carl tipped his head to the side grinning at his beautiful wife.

"Can't a wife just want to treat her husband special?" Brook questioned.

"Yes, of course! I'm not complaining. I just want to know, what do you want?" he put his fork down and sat back in his chair studying his wife's face.

"All right, Carl. I just want to go visit my mother and father. You know that we won't be able to visit during the winter when the snow comes, and I really miss them," Brook explained.

"Why didn't you just say something? You don't need to go out of your way for me."

"Oh, I don't mind. Actually, I love cooking special for you. But I miss my family, Carl."

"I know honey, but I don't know if I can take time off of work. We've been quite busy at the bank so let me check tomorrow and see."

"You don't have to come with me. I can handle myself alone. I've learned to speak English much better now," Brook smiled.

"Dear, it's not that," Carl looked tenderly at Brook, "it's just that I don't want you traveling that far by yourself. I'd worry about you and besides I'd miss you!"

"So, you'll see if we can take a train ride east together?" Brook asked excitedly.

Carl reached over and squeezed Brook's hand, "It would be really good for us to take a trip. We need some time together."

Brook looked lovingly at her husband, "Carl, you are my world. I really do love you."

Carl's heart melted. Brook had been cool towards him for so long, ever since she lost their baby. Not knowing why or what to do, he had confidentially confided with Dr. Carson about their lack of intimacy. He was worried that something physically was wrong with Brook. Carson explained to him, that Brook would have not only hormonal upset, but emotional and spiritual distress too. Carson suggested that he be patient and as understanding as possible but telling him that it hopefully would be temporary and would pass. Now, tonight he sensed a shift in Brook's behavior, and it felt promising.

"Brook, I love you so much. You don't know how much I've missed being with you."

Carl pushed his chair away and stood up. Walking over to Brook, she stood up too and when Carl reached her, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. When she released him, he cupped her face in his hand and brought it up to his to gently kiss her. The tenseness in his body relaxed as he felt Brook respond to his kiss.

Over at the Moretti's home, Alicia had brought Ruth Taylor over for dinner as she had asked permission to earlier. Having all the children there staring at her at first made Ruth uncomfortable, but then she couldn't help but laugh as they giggled and whispered.

"Children!" Gino Moretti said sternly, "mind your manners. It's not nice to stare."

Ruth looked over at Gino, "Mr. Moretti, it is very kind of you to invite me here tonight."

"It's our pleasure, dear. We don't have guests that often, so please excuse my children. They know better," Gino nodded, "Now, let's all say grace so we can enjoy Mama's cooking, while it's still hot."

As they bowed their heads Ruth watched them make the sign of the cross. This was her first time in a Catholic home, and she was fascinated. There were pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Family, a little font by the door filled with holy water, a crucifix in every room, and a family Bible near the chair where Gino sat with a rosary on top.

She quickly closed her eyes but felt like someone was staring at her. She peeked with one eye and spotted the spy. It was Giuseppe watching her. When he saw that she saw him, he immediately closed both eyes. After grace was over, they crossed themselves again.

The next thing Ruth saw were arms moving across the table, passing their plates to Mama to fill up while Papa was pouring milk for the children and wine for Carlotta and Gino.

"Would you care for a glass of wine, Ruth?" Gino asked.

"Oh, that would be lovely, thank you," Ruth smiled.

Knowing Lucia would want to be included, he asked her too, so she answered, "Of course, Papa," as if she always had a glass at every dinner meal.

A deep voice then spoke, "Papa, I'd like a glass too, please," Giuseppe asked confidently.

Gino looked at Carlotta, then cleared his throat, "All right, son," then handed him a glass of wine.

Ruth truly enjoyed Carlotta's cooking and the constant babble of voices around the table. It was something she remembered growing up when she was little. That was so long ago, before she had been attacked, but it brought back fond, heartwarming memories, and she felt right at home.