The Fiddler's Secret (23 page)

“My adoption?” Peter asked, his voice filled with awe. “I'm really your boy?”

Pa signed the words. “You're really my boy.”

Peter looked at Libby. “And you're really my sister.”

In the second week of November, Peter was well enough to leave the hospital. As the
Christina
headed upriver again, Pa's face was eager, his eyes lit with the hope of seeing Annika.

On this trip to St. Paul, Jordan's family went along. Jordan took all of them up to Pa's cabin and proudly showed them everything. “This is where I started learnin' to read and write!”

Jordan's momma and daddy looked around the room as if it was filled with glory.

After they left, Jordan's sister Serena and his brother Zack sat on the top deck with Libby, Caleb, and Jordan. Leaning back against the wall of the texas, they let the sun beat down
on them and watched the shoreline slide past.

Listening to them talk, Libby wondered if the others felt the way she did.
I don't want to say goodbye
.

During Peter's time in the hospital, Serena had become the friend Libby hoped for. More than once they had giggled together, sharing their secrets. In the most frightening moments of Peter's illness, Serena had offered encouragement. Libby hoped that she, too, had been a good friend to Serena.

At first the sun felt warm in spite of the lateness of the year. Peter still looked pale. But he sat with them, and his smile was stronger than ever. These days he always held Wellington in his arms. Usually the dog was content to stay there.

The farther north they traveled, the colder it became. All of them needed to take refuge in Pa's cabin. Serena wanted to see everything and spent most of her time at the windows. During their second night, the
Christina
passed through Lake Pepin, the widening in the Mississippi River.

Shortly after sunrise on their last morning together, Caleb called them to the railing. “Pan ice,” he said, pointing at the river.

The ice looked like giant lily pads floating downstream. Roughly circular, each piece had a lacy fringe around the edge. The ice had a fragile look, as if it had just formed.

“It's beautiful!” Libby exclaimed.

Caleb didn't think so. “It's a bad sign. A sign of things to come. So far the ice isn't dangerous. See how the
Christina
plows through?”

From where she stood, Libby could see the thin ice breaking along the side of the bow. The fast-moving current swept away whatever pieces remained.

Libby didn't need Caleb to tell her that the ice would get
worse. Instead he said, “Your pa wants to stay in St. Paul until he finds Annika. I don't think he'll get the chance.”

“Oh, Caleb, don't say that.”

Caleb was serious. “We better think of everything we can do to find Annika fast. If we don't, your pa isn't going to see her.”

In spite of their warm coats, they soon needed to go back inside Pa's cabin. There Jordan looked around again, as if for the last time. His glance took in Libby and Caleb. “Remember how you started teachin' me to read?”

“Let's not say goodbye yet,” Caleb said quickly. He, too, seemed to dread the farewell with Jordan. Over the months the boys had become best friends.

“We'll see Annika soon,” Libby said in the silence that followed. The rest of the way to St. Paul, that thought held her. But then Jordan and his family, Libby, Caleb, Pa, and Peter gathered on the main deck.

“If you go somewhere else, be sure to leave word at the Winslow House in St. Anthony,” Pa told Jordan's father as he clapped him on the shoulder. “When we're back in town, we'll look you up.”

As Jordan reached out for a handshake, Pa put an arm around his shoulder instead. Then Caleb and Peter said goodbye, and Jordan turned to say, “Thanks for everything, Libby.”

Libby's goodbye to Serena was hardest of all. Her shining eyes and quiet smile reminded Libby how much she was losing.

“Thanks for being my friend,” Libby told Serena. “See you next spring.” She didn't want to admit this could be a final goodbye.

Then Micah Parker and his wife, Hattie, their sons, Jordan and Zack, and their daughters, Serena and Rose, walked down
the gangplank into their new life.

“I'll miss Jordan and his family,” Peter said. “I wonder how they'll get along.”

“They'll be all right,” Caleb signed, then wrote on the slate. “They'll find work and the church at St. Anthony.” But Caleb looked even more upset than Peter to see Jordan leave.

When Peter and Pa left, Libby stayed near the gangplank, watching the Parker family start up Jackson Street. “It hurts to love people, doesn't it?”

“Sometimes,” Caleb said.

“Like now?” Libby asked, thinking about how much Jordan meant to Caleb.

“Like now. And if someone you like doesn't pay much attention.” Caleb glanced sideways at Libby as though telling her something he was afraid to say directly.

Libby looked up at him. To her surprise she really was looking up. In the past few months, Caleb had grown at least two inches and she hadn't even noticed.

“I'm sorry, Caleb,” Libby said, then felt at a loss for words.
How can I tell him what he really means to me?
Just trying to think of the words was hard. But it seemed Caleb wanted to know.

“Being friends is helping each other,” Libby said. “You've done that a lot for me.”

And I usually objected
, she told herself.
Most often I've thought Caleb was just doing what Pa asked him to do—watching out for me
.

“When I grow up—” Caleb started, and it sounded funny—as if he were still a little boy.

Caleb grinned, and the awkwardness between them vanished.
“When I'm older, I'll be able to say all the things I think. Especially the things I think about you.”

Libby giggled. As much as she liked Caleb, she felt relieved that it was more comfortable to talk with him again.

Then Caleb turned serious. “Friends talk about things that are important to them,” he said. “Is that scary to you, Libby?”

“It's scary to me, Caleb. But if that's what it means to be a friend, I'll practice.”

The minute that Pa could leave, he was off to find Annika. As Libby watched him hurry down the gangplank, Caleb said, “The music store isn't far from here. Let's see if Franz is still there.”

Though it appeared that the economic panic had robbed the store of business, its doors were still open. Inside they found Franz. They soon learned that he had not recovered his stolen violin.

“I want to write to my family,” Franz said. “I want to tell them my plans. But I need to find my fiddle first.”

Because of the bad weather, Libby and Caleb could not stay long. On the way back to the
Christina
, they talked about the violin.

“Why hasn't someone found it in all this time?” Libby asked. “Does that mean it's gone forever? Taken someplace where Franz will never see it again?”

The idea bothered Libby. If that were true, it would be no use to continue searching. For Libby, doing nothing was the worst choice of all.

A few minutes after she and Caleb reached the
Christina
, Pa came up the gangplank.

“Annika isn't at the place where she was staying. The woman of the house said Annika moved out the end of September.”

The south wind had a bite in it, but Pa stood on the deck with an open coat and no hat. Now he ran his fingers through his hair. “It's like we thought, Libby. Remember how both of us knew that something was wrong?”

Her heart in her throat, Libby nodded.

Pa shook his head as though unable to believe the bad news. “The woman said Annika found a temporary place, but then moved on from there. That's all she knew. I went to the school where Annika taught. She lost her job, and no one can tell me what happened to her. She just dropped out of sight.”

As if suddenly realizing how cold it had become, Pa shivered. “Because of all the speculation, St. Paul was hit especially hard by the panic. There's little work and even less money. People say the city emptied out almost overnight. If Annika isn't teaching, what is she doing? Does she have enough food? Is she staying warm?”

Again Pa shivered and for the first time seemed to realize his coat was open. As he buttoned it, the captain from a nearby steamboat called to him. “Heading out soon?”

“Maybe.”

“Temperature's dropping fast. If Pepin closes, we'll be locked in here all winter.”

Pa nodded, though Libby doubted he heard. Instead, he glanced toward the men loading freight. The return trip would be light, Libby knew. There were also few passengers. Most of the people heading south had left long before.

For a moment Pa's gaze lingered on the nearly empty waterfront. When he looked back to Libby, pain filled his eyes. “I can't leave without knowing what's happened to Annika.”

CHAPTER 18

L
et's give it two hours,” Pa said. “Let's search as much as we can.”

“I'll go to the
Pioneer and Democrat
office,” Caleb offered. “People at a newspaper know what's going on. I'll stop at the police station too.”

“I'll find Miss Bishop,” Libby said just as quickly. As Peter joined them, she signed Annika's name.

“I'll ask at the stores and warehouses closest to the river,” Peter answered.

“And I'll go to every hotel and boardinghouse within walking distance.” Pa's voice was quiet but strong. Libby knew he was forcing himself to stay in control. This time he remembered to put on his captain's hat. But he still wore no gloves, as if nothing mattered but Annika.

Just watching him, Libby grieved.
The pain in Pa's heart matches the pain in his eyes
.

With her hurt for Pa growing by the minute, Libby set out to find Miss Bishop. When Libby reached the house, she knocked several times. Finally the lady next door came out to talk.