Just Intuition (27 page)

He turned to Erin. "You fished me out, didn't you?"

She nodded.

"Well then, thank you for savin
' an old fart like me. I appreciate bein' able to take a few more breaths in this lifetime. I wasn't sure if I dreamed that or not."

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

"'Course I do. Lily came and told me she'd made a mistake and the store caught on fire. I was worried she'd got herself in too deep this time so we were just bidin' our time until the coast was clear. I drank a bad beer, or two. That last one was a doozy. I remember upchuckin' and wakin' up in here. My angel has been fussin' over me pretty much ever since." He raised a corner of his mouth in a half smile and Gina wiped her eye. "I'm real sorry about sayin' mean stuff to ya, girl. I got no idea what came over me."

"It
's okay. It wasn't your fault." Gina retrieved a tissue and daintily blew her nose.

"They said Derek Peterson confessed to givin
' me the poison. I'm tryin' to wrap my noggin' around that," Gunther said. "I've known that boy since he was a teenager and he don't always make the best decisions, but I didn't figure him for tryin' to kill me."

"He confessed, but I don
't think he did it." Erin sat forward in her seat.

"Well, you don
't think I tried to off myself, do ya?"

"I think Lily poured the poison in your beer." Erin waited for his reaction. His body stiffened but he didn
't immediately respond. He glanced at Gina, then back to Erin. He breathed a plaintive moan.

"Gottverdammt
!" He whistled the curse through his teeth and sank his head onto the pillow. "She's been havin' a hard time but I didn't wanna believe she'd try somethin' like this." He looked over to Gina. "She's not the one who hurt you, is she?"

Gina couldn
't meet his eyes.

His shoulders sagged. "S
ie verloren ist."

"She is lost," Gina translated.

"Will you tell me what you know?" Erin's eyes flitted around the room, searching for pen and paper. She had not come prepared.

"She
's my granddaughter! My blood. I can't speak out against her! She's only a girl, and so much like her mother, my sweet Tiffany. I miss her every day."

"Where is she?" With nothing to write on, Erin tapped notes into her iPhone. It was like having a mini computer in her pocket.

"Last time I seen her, she showed me a big ol' ring on her finger. Said she was goin' to marry Derek. Said he would leave his wife and be a father to Lily. She looked so happy." His gravelly voice wavered. "The next day she was gone and I never understood why. She didn't take a thing, 'cept her purse." Eyes closed in private agony, he bunched his hands into fists. "Maybe it was the drugs. She tried so hard…"

"Did Derek tell you what happened to her?"

"No, he was heartbroken. Said he searched every town within a thousand miles. Lily was eight by then and he tried to help out with her. She treated him more like a slave but he'd do pret'near anythin' for that child. Had so much guilt over leavin' Tiffany after he got her pregnant. They were just kids themselves." Gunther coughed and Gina sat up, alarmed. She rubbed his shoulder. "That boy used to hang around the house 'til I sent him home. It was no use sittin' around waitin' for her. She never called. I know how I felt when I lost my wife to the cancer so I felt bad for him."

"Will you give me an official statement?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. I can't. She's all I have left. I swore to help her." He coughed again, phlegm rattling in his throat. Gina leaned him forward and rubbed his back until he caught his breath. She focused pained eyes on Erin.

"Thank you for what you were able to tell me, Mr. Schmidt." She stood.

"Please, she's all I got. She's just havin' a bad time. She don't mean it. Ihr helfen."

Erin remembered that last word. She certainly wanted to help the girl. Help her face justice. She turned her back so he didn
't see her anger.
You're wrong. Lily knows exactly what she's doing
. She quietly closed the door on her way out.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

This house is like a sugar coated fairy tale for toddlers. The people are idiots, but aren
't they all? It takes forever for the introductions and dopey questions, which I ignore of course. I'm too upset to talk about it, right? They buy it like stupid sheep, with their stupid sheep faces.

All through dinner I make my eyebrows do the sad thing but I really can
't complain about the food. Pork chops and mashed potatoes. I even ate my carrots like a good little girl. I have to admit that it was way better than any dinner I've had since my mom left, well, since she went and drowned herself in the bog. It wasn't my fault. Her cooking is about the only thing I miss, and I can't remember the last time I ate a vegetable.

I don
't miss the old man either but I realize now that I underestimated how tough he was. He taught me my favorite swear words, and tried to teach me about the woods but I outgrew him long ago. When he started interfering in my life, that was the end. 'Don't steal. Do your homework. Don't drink my beer. Sie verloren.'

I am not lost,
I told him
. I know exactly what I want.
The nagging never ended. He was just like my mom and I didn't need him any more. Who knew he would be so damn hard to get rid of? I should have stuck around to make certain.

On the other hand, the man who called himself my father turned out to be a useful minion, but it pissed me off that he never gave me money when I asked. What was an extra ten or twenty
dollars to him? He had lots, just look at that flashy car he drove. 'I already gave it to your grandfather,' he always said. 'Go ask him.'

He was apologetic about everything and when it came down to it, all I had to do was just point my finger at him. That pussy was on his way to jail and didn
't even defend himself. I'm glad he's gone. Now I can find someone new.

At the dinner table there are two kids gawking at me. They don
't dare come close because they know what's good for them. Badass panthers eat little kids. When their mom is not looking, I show my teeth and make monster faces until the youngest one cries. The older one, who is about kindergarten age, picks up her fork like she's gonna fight me if I come close. That cracks me up. She's no match for me. I make sure I'm smiling like a kind big sister when their mom looks over and she shushes the little one.

After dinner, the lady shows me to my room. I
'm pissed that the cop lied to me. There is no TV, and definitely no computer. I was so sure I had her but she didn't buy my act and I don't understand where I went wrong. Did the old man say something? Did her zombie girlfriend figure it out? How?

Finally I
'm alone and I sit on a little bed with a little kid comforter and stare at the little kid toys in the corner. I've checked the closet and all the drawers and there is not a damn thing in here that interests me. I'll get up after everyone goes to bed and see what I can find. Maybe I'll get lucky and there will be a Budweiser in the fridge. The picture of the guy with a beard that says Jesus is Lord makes me think my luck is not that good.

I poke my finger through a tiny flaw in the comforter and pull back until I
've made a hole. I keep at it until it's big enough to put my fist in. From my pack I take out the wad of bills I stole from the old man's room and cram it deep inside. The lady here has already tried to take my pack, to clean it she said, but I know she's just gonna snoop. I can't let her take my money. I fold the edge of the comforter over so she can't see the hole and cover it with a pillow, just to make sure.

I had smiled a lot at the Child Services lady and acted like a freakin
' five-year-old. She'd lapped it up like a starving dog. Tomorrow they are coming, she'd told me. Good, because I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up this game without that little kid stabbing me with her fork! I can't stop laughing. That kid doesn't know who she's dealing with. She doesn't know what I have in my pocket. Then I remember. My so-called dad took my knife. Minion took my knife!

If I had it all to do over, I wouldn
't make the same mistakes. I'd do it better. There is a calendar on the wall and I suddenly realize that today was my birthday. Twelve years ago today, I was born. Well, happy birthday to me. I sleep like a baby because tomorrow they are coming. I'm going to be free.

* * *

A full night's sleep had worked its restorative powers on Erin and she awoke clear headed. The adhesive plastic stitches holding together the knife wound on her arm still held, a testament to Allie's first aid skills.

Allie was already eating toast when she sat at the table
, phone in hand. She punched in the number and listened to the ring at the other end. Once, twice, would it simply go to voice mail? Erin leapt to her feet when the call was answered and patiently waited while she was transferred through to the supervisor. She calmly asked her first question and listened for a moment before her face turned crimson.

"Winnipeg?" Erin exploded, pounding a fist on the countertop. "That
's all the way up in Canada! Do they even have a f— do they understand what they are doing?" She hit the disconnect button with such ferocity that the phone tumbled from her hand and crashed to the floor. Allie placed a calming hand on her shoulder and Erin sank to the kitchen chair. A sob escaped her throat and she wiped a frustrated tear before it had a chance to spill.

"What did they say?"

"They said I can't talk to Lily because she's gone. She's probably crossing the Canadian border right now." Erin's voice cracked and she sucked air through her teeth. "They contacted a relative up there, Gunther's nephew or something. He and his wife drove all night to get here. They left with Lily early this morning."

"So that
's it, then. There's nothing you can do." Allie said the words but there was no finality in her tone.

"That kid probably lifted her middle finger to her dad in jail, and then waved cheerfully to everyone from her getaway car." Erin
's acid tone was unfamiliar.

Worry worked its way into the creases at the corners of Allie
's eyes.

"Children
's Services is frigging expediting the paperwork because of the circumstances."

"They can
't possibly believe that Derek is responsible for everything! Why aren't they keeping Lily until they are done investigating?"

"There wasn
't any direct evidence to implicate her. It's all circumstantial. Even if a charge could be substantiated, it would be dealt with by the juvenile court system." Erin pinched the skin at the bridge of her nose. "Their emphasis is on rehabilitation and protection. She and her lawyer would chew them up and spit them out. At the very least, she would laugh in their faces. It was most likely an easy out to send her off with the first family that would claim her."

"It upsets me too, but you can
't change this."

"I
'm afraid of what she will do to Gunther's family. You know what she's capable of! You know what she is!"

"You need to leave this alone now," Allie said. "She is gone. It
's not good for you to keep this kind of hate."

"I
'll feel better when I fucking feel better," Erin retorted. "I'm going to put in a call to Winnipeg PD and they can at least keep an eye out."

"I
'm not sure that will go over very well."

Erin pulled away from her, stalked across the room and wrenched open the coffee cupboard. Allie stared at the empty dog dish on the floor, and a wounded silence echoed in the room until the coffee machine hissed.

EPILOGUE: ONE YEAR LATER

Erin eased the throttle back and stood at the center console, navigating around a floating log. A powerful four-stroke Yamaha motor rumbled at the stern of her father's brand new fishing boat. The sleek black hull split the water, spraying out either side. Erin wore a tank top, not concerned about exposing the thin pink knife cut. Her bicep had healed but the scar would forever remain untanned.

Jimmy and the twins had begged to come with them on this important day and the serious-faced five year old shuffled his feet around the large cooler bag with which he had been entrusted. Grandma Ericsson had packed their picnic lunch and he was proud to be in charge. The girls sat right up front, eyes peeled for water hazards, and their mouths never stopped talking.

Erin detached the canopy so the wind could ruffle her hair. She knew Allie liked that windswept carefree look and she bent down to kiss her on the sweet spot behind her ear. They intertwined their fingers, making the girls giggle.

"Rock a-starboard!" Sophie called out.

"Rock a-starboard!" Erin confirmed and veered left to avoid it.

"Deadhead a-port!" Victoria and Sophie yelled in unison. That one was fun to say and neither girl wanted to miss out.

"Deadhead a-port!" Erin repeated. She lowered her speed and steered past the half sunk log and then cracked open the throttle. Zooming around the next bend in the river, the kids screamed with delight when water spattered high up onto the bank. She grinned at her girlfriend, who gave her a small smile in return, clutching a package tighter to her chest.

Erin recognized their destination first and noticed Allie
's body tense when she idled slowly through the weeds. Their momentum took the boat to shore. Sophie hopped like a squirrel over the bow, taking the rope with her. She wrapped it around the nearest tree trunk and waited for her auntie to come and help her secure it. The kids were already exploring onshore when Erin held out a hand to Allie, who had not moved from her seat.

"Come on, baby. It
's time." Erin said tenderly and Allie stood. The wolf's bite marks had healed to ragged pink furrows on her calf but the emotional scar would persist much longer. Since the attack, Erin had been back with her father to check the site. Scavengers had long since dragged off the wolf's carcass. The only reminder of that horrific night was the cairn of rocks that marked the place where Fiona was buried.

Once onshore, Allie walked directly to that spot and sat down cross-legged on the moist ground. Last fall, Erin had scattered a handful of wildflower seeds into the broken ground and a cluster of Smooth Blue Asters now bloomed at the head of the rock cairn they
'd built.

"The flowers are beautiful, honey," Allie whispered. "Thank you." In the distance, one of the girls squealed and Allie leapt to her feet.

"It's okay," Erin reassured her. "That's not an upset noise. The kids are just exploring or something."

Allie brushed a few stray hairs from her face and squatted to open the brown paper wrapped package she
'd been holding close. She carefully unwrapped a handmade wooden grave marker with an intricate border of flowers and leaves painted around the name. Fuzzy Fiona, it read. She pushed the stake deep into the earth and stood to contemplate it. Erin circled her waist with her arm and they stood in quiet reflection. It was perfect. Tears freely ran down Allie's face but she made no move to wipe them away.

They were still standing there when the kids emerged from the trees, pursued closely by a small gray and black bird. The bird swooped and playfully dove over the kids
' little heads and then perched nearby, tittering with delight.

"This is sure a pesky whiskey
jack!" Jimmy exclaimed. "It just won't leave us alone." He surveyed the bird with hands on hips, like a curmudgeonly old farmer.

Erin shrugged sheepishly at Allie. "I come out here sometimes and I like to feed the little gaffer. It
's sort of grown on me."

Allie managed a smile. "I think we know this gray jay."

"You know a wild whiskey jack?" Jimmy's face said that this was an absolutely preposterous idea.

"She
's right." Erin backed up her girlfriend. "We are friends." The bird hopped onto the grave marker and trilled a long sweet note. "I'm sure she and Fiona would have been good friends too."

"This is where you buried Fuzzy Fiona, isn
't it?" Jimmy asked somberly. He surveyed the rock cairn, nodded his approval and then reached inside his pocket for a half chewed stick. "This was her favorite and I brought it so she could have it." The little boy leaned over to place it on the top of the rock pile. Sophie and Victoria nestled onto the ground beside Allie.

"Mama said you fought the wolves and they hurt your leg." She laid her head against Allie. "We miss Fuzzy Fiona too." The tears running down Allie
's face multiplied.

"This is a really nice place for her to be. I think she would like it." Sophie pointed to the wooden marker.

"Yes, our friend Gina did a nice job, didn't she?" Allie said. The bird tweeted its agreement and fluffed up its chest feathers. "If you are going to stick around, I think you need a name. Sassy Sarah?" The bird squawked and fluttered to a branch above them. "You're right. What was I thinking? That is so not you. How about Pesky Priya?" The gray jay dove back down and resumed its spot on the marker. "Priya it is!" Allie announced.

"She named a wild bird," Sophie whispered loudly to her sister, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't care," Victoria retorted a little too loudly. "When I grow up, I'm going to name my daughter Allie, just like her."

Erin smothered a laugh. Her family was her family, and she could just imagine how this story would be told in twenty years
' time. A tiny smirk tugged at the corner of Allie's lips. "Where did you come up with that name?"

"I knew a girl named Priya once." Allie shrugged and the smirk stayed put.

"You named the whiskey jack after your ex-girlfriend?"

Allie shrugged again. "Yes, I sure did."

"Let me guess. Wrong-Way Rachel?"

"Yup, her too. Rachel had a terrible sense of direction and a plastic knee."

"Even Fuzzy Fiona?"

"She had a little tuft of blonde hair on her—"

"I get it." Erin glanced at the kids to ensure they were not listening. "How many girlfriends have you had?" A jealous tone crept insidiously into her question.

"Let me just say, I have a few more pets to name." Allie smiled sadly and put her hand out to touch the rocks. "None will ever be as good as this one."

They ate their lunch on a fallen log and talked about what a great dog Fuzzy Fiona was. Pesky Priya's little belly full, the gray jay began to vanish into the trees to stash what it could not consume. Bread crusts, broken crackers, sausage ends, it all disappeared and by the time they were ready to leave there was not a crumb on the ground.

"Goodbye Pesky Priya," Sophie called and the kids waved from the front of the boat when they departed. The bird followed them through the trees, dark wings flitting from branch to branch before they disappeared.

"See you next time, Priya!" Victoria called. She cuddled up to Allie on the trip back. "Are you ever going to get another dog?"

"I
'm not sure. I think I will wait until the right one finds me." Allie pulled a blanket from the storage bin under the seat and all three kids snuggled in with her for the ride back. Both girls were fast asleep when Erin cut the motor and eased back up to the dock. She skipped easily over the side and secured the rope while Allie woke the girls. Hearing the motor approach, their mother met them at the dock.

Liz winked at Erin. "Thanks for taking the kids. They really wanted to go and I sure enjoyed my alone time." She led the drowsy girls up to the house.

Jimmy followed Erin and Allie to the driveway and slid his fingers around the door handle of a shiny red Jeep YJ. He opened it for Allie like a well-trained valet. "I like your new car, Auntie Allie. Your old one was nice, but not good for a Minnesota winter, mom said."

Erin snorted. Her siblings talked way too much.

"Thank you Jimmy." Allie picked him off the ground and hugged him. She whispered in his ear before she set him down. "And thank you for the tip on the blueberry patch. I appreciate it." Red-faced, he fastidiously smoothed his shirt but could not hold in a toothy smile.

"My family loves you," Erin told her when Allie backed her new Jeep down the driveway. "After everything that happened, they were afraid you wouldn
't stick around and they are so happy you did."

"I am too." Allie shifted into second gear and dodged a pothole, causing Erin to lunge for a handgrip. She shot her a sideways glance. "We need to do a little something on the way home." Two miles down the
road, Allie pulled into a turnout and reached behind the seat for a plastic bucket before getting out. "Come on."

Erin followed her along a short trail lined with low brush and scrabbly weeds until they arrived at a mossy clearing. "Blueberries," she said and helped her girlfriend fill the pail.
Two berries in the pail and one in the mouth. Allie shot her a look. A handful of berries in the pail and two in the mouth when Allie wasn't looking, until the pail was full.

The sun was low in the sky by the time Allie turned down the gravel driveway to Gina
's house. mud tires crunched loudly when she pulled her Jeep in and parked behind a recently washed Chevy Crew Cab. Erin did a double take. She knew that truck, didn't she?

The two women had no chance to knock before Gina appeared behind the screen. Erin noticed that Gina
's skin had a particularly rosy glow and her brown hair was swept up into an attractively tousled twist at the nape of her neck. Allie held out the pail of berries and Gina accepted them graciously.

"I wanted to thank you for the beautiful marker you made," Allie said.

Gina's mouth twitched below misted eyes. "I just wanted to do something nice," she said sincerely. Slow jazz music was playing on the radio and her eyes flicked toward the living room. She self-consciously tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "I know how hard it is to suffer such a great loss. Won't you come in?"

Erin
's eyes dropped to the floor where a pair of size fourteen boots stood like sentries at the door. Allie followed her gaze and her eyes widened in understanding. They only knew one man with boots like that.

"I
'm sorry, we can't stay," Allie said politely, and Gina breathed a tiny sigh of relief. "But perhaps you would like to come for coffee sometime?"

"Thank you, that would be nice," Gina said. They backed tactfully
off the porch to the Jeep.

"Chris Zimmerman and Gina!" Allie giggled like a grade schooler. "I am so happy for them. I knew Gina
's garden worms would work!"

"Worms?" Erin grimaced. She
'd been excluded from a private joke.

"Gina has been sending little presents over for Chris
's pets and I guess he finally got interested enough to come knocking."

"Worms!" The mysterious Tupperware containers marked "CZ" that appeared in the fridge at the police station. "I thought she was baking him sexy cinnamon buns or something!" Erin slapped a thigh like an Old Tyme fiddler after his tune is done. "I have to hand it to her, she really knows what a man wants!" She was glad she hadn
't tried to pilfer any of those.

"They both deserve to be happy."

"I never would have figured it, but Z-man is a complex man." Erin segued into the question she really wanted to ask, thumping her heel restlessly on the Jeep's floor. "So, you invited Gina to our house for coffee? Is this a way to overcome your jealousy?"

Allie laughed out loud. "Oh, honey, seriously.
One kiss in elementary school? Unlike you, there is not a jealous bone in this body."

Erin squinted a suspicious eye.

"She and I became acquainted when you were both in the hospital. There is much more to Miss Gina Braun than she lets on."

Erin relaxed.

"We talked at the grocery store after—well, after everything happened. She was so nice and genuine. Then when she came over with the grave marker that she had made by hand, I realized she is a really special person. I'm glad she looked after you in school."

"Yeah, I had no idea," Erin said. They rounded the corner and she pointed out the rebuilt convenience store. "Hey, check it out! The new sign is up!"

Allie slowed when they passed the lot. The illuminated sign still featured a big fish but the wording had been amended. It now read Gina's Stop 'N Go. "Gina told me that the store is twice its original size with a row of fridges and tanks in the back. She can sell live bait so all the tourists and local fishermen coming in will improve sales."

"Wow, she
's hit the big time! Jimmy and the twins will be happy to hear that. They can spend all next summer trapping minnows and catching worms to earn money. It's the best job ever for a kid."