Hush Little Babies

Chapter Seven

I picked up the phone.

“Hi Gina, how are you,” I said. “I was worried about you, since you rushed home the other day.”

“Enough with the formalities, have you heard about Sheriff Grangers’ granddaughter?” asked Gina.

“I was in Sheriff Granger's office when he got the phone call.” He acted like, that was the straw that broke the camels back!” I said.

“How horrible, what could be happening, to our innocent little town?” exclaimed Gina.

I know, I spoke with a few of the people in town, about their children, and did some more exploring, on my own. There’s something odd about the abductions, but I can’t quite, put my finger on it,” I said.

“What do you mean?” asked Gina.

“I don’t know, just women’s intuition, I guess. It’s nothing,” I said.

“Would you do me a favor, Gina?”

“Of course, anything to help,” she said.

“Would you help me make out my invitations? I don’t know very many people, in the neighborhood. I specifically need to invite the families, that fell victim to these tragic disappearances,” I said.

“That would be impossible,” she exclaimed.

“Why?” I asked.

“Two of the families, have moved away, and the only other family, of one, had passed away, last year,” said Gina.

“Okay, please tell me the names, of the ones, you can’t invite, and I’ll have to investigate further,” I said.

“Jeffrey’s home, Gina; gotta go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Jeffrey, enjoyed his chicken Parmesan. We talked for a long time about his goings on at his company. Then we talked for along time about what I had done and learned in the last forty-eight hours.

“Susan, you know you are butting into things that are better left for the Sheriff and his detectives. You should watch your P’s and Q’s,” said Jeffrey. I shook my head, and dropped the subject.

We watched, Jack and Jill, What, lies beneath, and the evening news on the boob tube, and then retired for the evening. I was exhausted. “Too much info assimilated, in one day, for this old sleuth. Tomorrows another day, I murmured,” drifting off to sleep.

I didn’t sleep well; I kept waking up, to children screaming, the freezing cold depth of Round Lake and voices in my head.

“Good morning, Jeffrey,” I said, walking into the kitchen. I sat down at the folding card table, where real furniture would be some day.

“When are you going to get, around to decorating, this old house?” asked Jeffrey.

“I have to work, at the library today, but maybe tomorrow, I’ll will stop at that big antique barn, and try some decorating,” I said. Jeffrey calls me the Queen of Procrastination, when I have other things on my mind. I do have a tendency to forget everything, except what fascinates, me at the moment.

“I’ll do my best to concentrate on decorating, the house,” I said. I handed Jeffrey his lunch, kissed him goodbye, and wished for him, a good day.

I walked into the bathroom, and glanced at the mirror. “Whoa, morning hair.” I jumped into the shower, and in the middle of washing my hair, I heard a door slam. I hurriedly rinsed off, threw my bathrobe on and walked, into the living room.

“Is anyone there?” I yelled. I looked around, checked the bedroom, the kitchen, the entryway, and again, the living room. “Nothing,” I mumbled.

I finished drying off, brushed and blow dried my mop, and dressed. I was ready for day two, as a librarian.

I walked to the door and reached for the key hook, but my keys, weren’t there. “I always put them there. Where could they have gotten to,” I mumbled.

I found them, lying underneath, the table in the entryway. “That’s odd. I could’ve sworn, I hung them on the hook.” I picked up, my keys, and headed for work, feeling, ridiculous for talking to myself.

I arrived in town, early, so I stopped in to see how Sheriff, Johnny was handling things. He was in a tizzy! “I can’t concentrate on anything,” he remarked. "I’m not functioning very well these days.”

I was sympathetic and told him, “I understood. If you need anything, or I can help, in any way, please, let me know.” With no reply from him, I turned and walked out the door. “Good Lord,” I muttered, “If the Sheriff can’t hold this town, together, nobody, can.”