The Devil's Puzzle (37 page)

I ran into Jesse and Allie at Jitters. Allie had dressed herself in pink, white, and blue. The American flag, she told me, but she liked pink better than red. Jesse had his full force out for the day, and he was on duty himself, except for a half hour he had promised to Ed.

“How did I talk myself into the dunking booth?” he laughed.

“I don’t know, but I’ve been warming up my pitching arm all morning.”

“You’re in a good mood.”

“You put me in a good mood,” I said.

“Even with an unsolved case on our hands?”

I frowned. “I think this is the one we don’t solve, Jesse. Too many clues but too few real ones. And a decades-old skeleton of a man no one seemed to like. Maggie said to me a while back that we should just let this one go. Maybe she was right.”

“Maybe. We’ll have to let it go for today anyway. Too much else going on.” He took Allie’s hand and kissed my cheek. “See you tonight at the fireworks display?”

“Are you kidding me? I’ll be at the dunking booth at noon sharp.”

The parade went off without a hitch. The high school marching band and bands from several towns over all played beautifully. The fire department, complete with fire truck and Dalmatians, was followed by twirlers and kids waving small American flags. Barney led a pack of dogs that seemed to have joined the parade of their own accord. At one point Barney wandered into the marching band, nearly tripping a trombone player, but it just made the whole event all the more endearing to the crowds that had come for the celebration.

And there was a crowd. News of the skeleton had reached major papers, with side articles about our anniversary celebration. It had brought people from New York, New England, and even a few states just to the west of us. It was exactly the kind of day that all of us had worked so hard to bring about. I got myself a hotdog and a glass of lemonade and joined Ed as he walked toward the park, where the parade was scheduled to end right in time for the unveiling of the statue.

“The quilts look great, Nell,” he said. “You must be proud of your hard work.”

“And you must be, too. This is one amazing parade.”

“Thanks, but I probably should go back and check to make sure the parade route gets cleaned up.”

“Don’t you want to see the statue?”

“And get accosted by Glad again?”

I grabbed his arm. “I’ll protect you.”

We got to the park just as Glad, the mayor, and several of the town council members were positioning themselves on a small temporary platform next to the still-covered statue. Ed and I stood next to Eleanor and Oliver. Carrie was there with her husband and kids, Natalie with her husband and son, and Maggie with a pile of children I assumed to be her grandkids. Much of the town, it seemed, had turned out. In the distance I even saw Mary, standing by Glad’s lemon yellow Mercedes watching the proceedings, as riveted as we were.

“I thought she never left her house,” I whispered to Ed. “And yet I keep seeing her in town.”

“Shh. I want to hear this.” But even as he ignored me, I saw him watching Mary and smiling.

The mayor made a speech about the beauty of our town and its long and vaguely interesting history, but no one was listening. We were all waiting for the main event. Finally, Glad stepped to the microphone.

“This is for all the citizens of Archers Rest, past, present, and future,” she said as we waited to see the installation. “We are a small town, and maybe we haven’t been a major part of American historical events. But we care about each other and we love Archers Rest, and this sculpture, I hope, will be a simple acknowledgment of that.”

With that, she pulled a rope that released the canvas and revealed . . .

“It looks like a potato chip,” Eleanor said quietly.

“I think it’s a wave, dear,” Oliver told her.

“Or a cloud,” I said.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t a statue of John Archer or Glad’s father. After the initial shock had worn off, I realized it was a cool abstract sculpture that somehow fit our little town. It was what you made of it.

“I like it, Glad,” I said once she had come down off the platform. “This was a lovely donation.”

“Thank you, Nell. I realized that since none of us really know what John Archer looked like, it might be better to have something that represents the freedom he came here looking for.”

“It does.”

“It’s missing the plaque, of course. That’s still being engraved with my name. And the flowers. There must be red flowers all around the base. I absolutely insist on it.”

After she finished she walked off toward her sister, who stood waiting for her. The two women talked for a minute and then got into Glad’s car and drove off in the direction of Main Street.

“I wonder where she’s going,” I said to Carrie.

“I don’t know. But just in case something else happens, where’s Jesse?”

I looked across the park to where the carnival was starting. “Encased in a glass booth filled with water.”

CHAPTER 60

“G
lad’s probably just going to sit out the carnival and come back for the fireworks,” Carrie offered. “I can’t see her taking a ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl.”

“I guess.” I looked around. “Good crowd, though.”

“Amazing crowd. The press is really bringing people up here.”

“I guess the mayor knew what he was doing,” I admitted.

“You did, too,” Carrie said. “People have been coming into Jitters talking about the quilts. They love that they’re all over town. It brings a lot of color to the place.”

“Well, I have to get back to work,” Eleanor said. “I can’t leave the shop closed with this many people in town.”

“Do you want me to help?” I asked.

“No, thanks. Enjoy the carnival. Natalie is on the schedule for today.”

We both looked toward Natalie, who seemed about to fall over. “I don’t think she’s coming into work.” I rushed over, with Maggie, Eleanor, and Carrie right behind me.

Natalie was bent over, breathing heavily. “Baby,” she said. “The baby is early.”

“Call us from the hospital,” I said to her. “We’ll be thinking about you.”

She sighed. “With all the work for the quilt show, I didn’t finish the baby quilt I was making.”

Maggie took her hand. “That one and a dozen more will be waiting for you when you get out of the hospital. Now go.”

We stood and watched Natalie, her husband, and their son drive away.

“We’re off to the carnival,” Carrie said, as her kids pulled at her shorts. “It looks like Ed did a spectacular job putting it together.”

“He did,” Maggie said. “He’s very giving. And speaking of giving,” she said as she turned to Oliver, “so far we’ve sold three thousand raffle tickets at five dollars apiece. I’m getting people calling from as far away as Montreal, wanting to have a chance at your painting.”

Eleanor leaned into him. “No surprise there.”

Oliver put one arm on Maggie’s shoulders and the other around Eleanor’s waist. “The town raises a little money, and I get the gratitude of two beautiful women,” he said. “Seems like a win-win.”

“Nell,” Maggie said, “come with us for the drawing. We’ll have Oliver take his picture with the winner if the winner is around. It should be the highlight of this whole event.”

“Sounds great,” I said, “but I think I want to head over to the carnival.”

They left, but for some reason I didn’t move. I couldn’t place my finger on it. I just wanted to stay in that spot and stare at the statue. And I wasn’t alone. Some tourists were taking pictures of it, and the mayor and several of the town’s other leaders were standing nearby talking.

The statue was beautiful. It glistened in the sunlight, its silver color standing out against the blue sky and the Hudson River in the distance. I could picture it years from now as something people talked about—the Archers Rest ripple statue.

But in my daydream something occurred to me. Something that had been there all along but I’d never seen because I hadn’t put the pieces together. And now, suddenly, Glad’s statue had made it all clear.

I ran through the park to the other side, where Jesse was sitting in the dunking booth in a Yankees T-shirt and denim shorts. I yelled to him, but he didn’t hear me. I tried to run back, but the carnival worker wouldn’t let me.

“How much for a dunk?” I asked him.

“Two dollars for four chances,” he said.

I grabbed two dollars out of my pocket and laid them on the table. I grabbed the first ball. I missed. Jesse laughed and stuck out his tongue at me.

I threw another ball. It didn’t even come close to the target. The third ball was closer but still a miss. On the fourth I threw so wild I nearly hit the carnie.

“It’s going to be two more bucks if you want to try again,” he said.

“Oh, to heck with it.” I climbed over his table and ran to Jesse. “Get out,” I yelled.

“What?”

“Get out.”

As I was yelling the carnie came up behind me. Before he could pull me away, I jumped up to the target and hit it with my hand. The bench collapsed beneath Jesse and he plunged into the water.

“That’s cheating, Miss,” the carnie said.

“That’s the chief of police. He can arrest me.”

Jesse pulled himself out of the water and got out of the booth. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Winston,” I said. “I know what happened.”

CHAPTER 61

B
ack at the police station, I waited in the entryway while Jesse dried off and changed. I paced the floor, listening to the music and laughter coming from the streets. Finally Jesse emerged from his office.

“You’re sure,” he said. “Because you have to be sure.”

“I’m sure.”

We walked out of the police station and toward Ed’s theater, where the quilt reception was scheduled to begin at one o’clock.

“At least I hope I’m sure,” I said.

Everyone was there. Along with dozens of townspeople and tourists, Maggie and Molly were looking at the quilts. Glad was talking to the mayor. Oliver sipped ginger ale and talked with Eleanor. Mary sat in the ticket booth watching, and Ed walked around beaming.