Just a Memory (11 page)

"The new Chief seems to be on top of things," he agreed.

Carolyn had to bite her lip to prevent a smile at the intimate picture his comment suddenly presented in her mind. She almost groaned aloud.

Hazel, who owned the hardware store with her husband, couldn't resist adding her spicy two cents' worth. "I saw him downtown and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. He's a hunk." Hazel was very married but never hesitated to comment on the attractive males in her vicinity. Apparently all she did was look and joke about it. Her husband, who was there at the meeting with her, didn't seem to mind. He must have been used to her personal evaluations of other men.

"I could stare into those gray eyes for hours. And his strong arms." Hazel sighed dramatically. "To have those around me…" She suddenly giggled and leaned over and kissed her husband loudly on the cheek. Everyone laughed, which had certainly been her aim.

She easily diverted attention from Carolyn's discomfort. Carolyn still couldn't believe she'd struck Mac as hard as she could when he appeared behind her, and ended up in his arms. Hazel was right. Mac was handsome and definitely a hunk.

"Carolyn, are you sure they didn't take anything?"

"What?" she asked, her mind busy with memories. She came back to the present and realized what they were asking. "Oh, no, they didn't; they didn't take anything," she admitted. "But the smashed glass from the case front got into a lot of the makeup. I couldn't take any chances, so I threw it out. The loss didn't add up to my insurance deductible so I can't collect anything, but you all know how that is."

The dress shop owner added, "Let's hope there aren't any more break-ins. I liked it better when nothing happened around here. We get a new Chief and some guy on the police force from
Albany
, and right away we get crime. Maybe we could have kept crime out of Lakehaven if they'd stayed where they were."

That was too much for Carolyn. "You can't blame Chief Macdonald or Officer Hines for the break-in. It's certainly
not
related to their being here. I'm sure they're doing whatever they can to find out who did it, but they said that in any town, more often than not, they never do catch the ones responsible."

"Really?" Susan asked.

Carolyn nodded. "A merchant's best protection is being prepared so it doesn't happen in the first place. I'll call the Chief today for an appointment to ask if he'll speak to us about what we can all do."

All eyes were on her. Though she had the confidence of conviction, she wasn't at all comfortable with all the attention. Everyone seemed more than satisfied with her handling of the matter, so they went on to other new business. During the rest of the meeting, though, Carolyn found it hard to take her mind off her upcoming visit to see Mac. She had to keep reminding herself that the visit wasn't for herself.

After returning to her shop and opening for business, she called the police department. "I'd like to make an appointment with Chief Macdonald on behalf of the Merchants Association," she said to Ellie. She wanted to make sure it was clear as to why she was calling. She didn't want anyone there to think she would call for any reason other than business. "I'd like the meeting to be at a time other than during store hours, if that's possible."

"The Chief is out for a late lunch, but he could see you this evening. But he has a realtor's appointment just after that, so he wouldn't have much time to spend with you," Ellie told her.

Carolyn agreed to be brief. She found herself wiping her palms against her smock after she hung up. What was she so nervous about? The other merchants wanted her to ask him to speak at their meeting. She was in charge of programs. It wasn't as if she wanted to see him for herself.

Yeah. Right.

Carolyn continued to try to kid herself along those lines until a customer came in and she turned her thoughts to work. The afternoon flew by and before she had a chance to even think about what she would say to Mac, Terri was climbing down from the school bus at the curb and running toward the shop.

"Hi, Button," Carolyn called as she held the door open for her.

"Look at the neat book I got from the library, Mom!"

Carolyn dutifully commented about how wonderful the juvenile mystery was and helped Terri find her snack in the little refrigerator in her office.

Seated in her mother's chair to eat, she looked around the desktop. "Where's my picture, Mom?"

Carolyn had walked toward the door, planning to leave her daughter to eat while she read her book. She turned back and surveyed the desktop. Not seeing the framed photo of Terri, she strode to the desk and lifted the folder on the corner. Nothing.

Feeling suddenly panicked, her heart rate sped up with worry. It struck her that whoever broke into the office could have taken her daughter's picture and might intend to do her harm. Carolyn looked almost frantically around the office.

Her gaze rested on a stack of doll patterns on the shelf behind her chair. She hurried around the desk and picked them up. From the bottom of the pile, she withdrew the photo. "Here it is," she said, a little breathless with relief, but trying to sound cheerful as she placed it back on her desk facing her daughter.

"Why was it over there?"

"I moved it when I cleared my desk to make room for the doll patterns I had to go through last week. When I picked all the patterns up again, I just forgot to put it back," she added with a smile. "Am I forgiven?" She leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead.

Terri nodded and opened her book.

"Come on out front when you finish your snack, okay?"

The child nodded again and Carolyn went back to work. For some time, she thought about the gut-wrenching possibility of her daughter being in jeopardy. Carolyn would do anything to keep her safe. Anything. That was what you did for people you loved. She shook her head, hoping she would never be in that position. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to put her life on the line for someone she loved. She even wondered if she would be strong enough.

In no time at all she was turning the OPEN sign to CLOSED, locking the door, and hurriedly packing her briefcase.

"Honey, we're going to stop at the police station on the way home. I have to ask Mr. Macdonald if he would speak at one of my Merchants Association meetings. Remember the ones I told you about that I have to find programs for?"

"I remember. Can I talk to Mr. Macdonald, too? He was nice."

"Well, I'm sure he's a very busy man," Carolyn said as they put on their coats. "You can certainly say hello and then you sit quietly and read your new book while I talk to him about the program, okay?" Carolyn led her to the back door.

"I already finished the book, Mom. But I can read it again," Terri allowed.

"That was sure fast."

"It was a good book. You can read it too if you want, Mom."

Carolyn smiled. "You all set? If Mr. Macdonald is going to see me before an appointment he has with someone else this evening, we have to get a move on. We don't want him to be late on our account."

After being married for nearly five years to Richard, who was married to his work, Carolyn was used to making the way smooth for someone else without any thought to the self-sacrifice on her part. She quickened her steps and opened the car door for Terri to climb in.

"There are doers and there are those who make life easier for them," her husband had always said.

Of course, he always referred to himself as the doer. She was supposed to make life easy for him. So Carolyn had made sure his breakfast was ready on time and the way he liked it every morning. She kept the house and clothes clean and orderly, and she entertained beautifully when his job required it. They rarely had friends over, other than for work-related events.

In anything around the house, he never helped her much. She finally learned not to expect it. Now, looking back, she wondered if Richard ever had any inkling that she would have liked his help or her own turn at being a doer. During his life she was certain he never thought she was capable of being one. Strange that it was his death that forced Carolyn into being a 'doer'.

He'd told her often enough that one in the family was enough. Even after she opened the shop, he never took her business seriously. Though he did seem relieved she'd found something to do. His only concession to the fact that the shop had any worth, beyond keeping her busy and not bothering him, had been to admit that the extra money she made came in handy.

Now the shop's income wasn't just handy, it was necessary–all that she and Terri had to live on. Though she would forever be thankful his life insurance had paid off the house.

She tamped down her thoughts of Richard as she climbed behind the wheel of her car. Thinking of him always upset her. She didn't want to think about him now–not just before she was going to see Mac again.

"Gosh, a real lady policeman," Terri said with a wide-eyed expression after Carolyn had introduced them to Ellie at the police station minutes later. "I told everyone at school I met the Chief of all the policemen, and now I can tell them I met you, too," she added proudly.

Ellie laughed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too," she said, leaning over and extending her hand for Terri to shake in adult fashion. She straightened and looked at Carolyn. "The Chief is expecting you, Mrs. Blake," she said with a wave of her hand toward the closed door at the end of the room.

"Call me Carolyn," she urged.

"Thanks. You can call me Ellie."

Carolyn nodded and hunkered down to Terri. "Honey, you wait for Mommy here on this bench. I won't be long."

"Hey, Terri. How would you like a tour of the police station while your mommy talks to Chief Macdonald?" Ellie asked.

"Oh, yes! Can I, Mommy? Can I?"

"Sure," Carolyn said, stroking the child's head as she rose. "You be good and do as Officer Cordoba says. Mommy will be back before you know it."

Terri didn't even look back at her mom as she skipped toward the communication center with her small hand safely enclosed in Ellie's. Walking toward Mac's office, Carolyn hoped Terri kept her little fingers off all the buttons.

Carolyn knocked on the closed door and waited for Mac's "Come in" before opening the door. "Hi. It's just me."

Mac stood immediately. "Is it that late already?" He shuffled papers on his desk into a pile and shoved them to one side.

Carolyn walked into his small office, leaving the door open. She was aware he watched her, but without another word, she looked all around at the sparse furniture and empty walls except for a few maps. Her stomach did flip flops. She swallowed hard and clutched her purse so tightly her fingers were white.

"How are you, Carolyn?"

She took a deep breath and turned to Mac. "Good," she said, trying to smile, but her lower lip was trembling. She pressed them together briefly in an attempt to stop it and then began her spiel. The faster she asked him, the faster she could get Terri and go home and not feel so nervous. "Thank you for seeing me at this late hour. It's difficult to keep earlier appointments without closing the shop. I hated to do that today after being closed yesterday. And I had to be closed for a while today, too, because I had a Merchants Association meeting. That meeting in fact, is why–"

"Won't you sit down?" he asked softly.

His question startled her. She halted the speech she'd been working on mentally all afternoon and stepped to the chair in front of the desk. She sat on the edge of the cushion, holding her purse in a death grip on her lap with both her hands. Actually, she was glad to sit down. Her legs didn't feel all that strong at the moment. "Thank you. As I was saying, I'm here–"

"Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you." Her voice cracked so she cleared her throat to achieve a firmer sound.