Kindergarten Baby: A Novel Read online

  “As long as you can live with the robbing the cradle aspect and being the older woman, how could I object? I’ve got Emmett now,” Lindsey tried to say with conviction. It bothered her that something in her gut was uncomfortable with this arrangement. “Go for it!”

  ***

  “Emmett, I’m home,” called Lindsey. “Are you here?” She found Emmett in the spare room, packing his clothes.

  “Lindsey! You’re home a little earlier than I’d expected. I, uh…‌guess we should talk,” he said sheepishly.

  “Okay, but me first. Close your eyes. No peeking,” she ordered, though her words sounded almost like a song. “I have a surprise for you, but I think you’d better sit down.”

  He sat, eyes closed.

  “Open your eyes,” she commanded with glee.

  He blinked and stared, open-mouthed. “Oh my God, Lindsey. What is this? Where did you get it? How did you get it? What is it for?”

  Lindsey held up a check for $8,000 and smiled at him like she’d just won the lottery. Emmett beamed at her, looking incredulous.

  “Well, when you explained the timing glitch for all the pre-payments, I knew I wanted to help out. After all, if it wasn’t for you, I would never have the opportunity to go on this dream vacation. On a teacher’s salary, I pretty much live month to month, and don’t have a nest egg or a golden goose. But I did have some equity in my home, so I got a Home Equity line of credit. It was far easier to get than I thought it would be.”

  “Oh Lindsey, you shouldn’t have. You are an angel. You truly are.”

  “Everything is going to work out, Emmett. And this whole process will even help me. That’s what the banker said. She said that I will be able to demonstrate that I can pay back the loan, and my good credit rating will get even better. I didn’t tell her that I’d be paying the loan back very, very soon, but that shouldn’t matter because there is no penalty for that with this loan. As soon as your advance and expense money arrives, I will pay the whole thing off. See? It’s perfect. And we get the vacation of a lifetime together!”

  Gathering her into his arms, Emmett held her close and brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead. Her body tingled from the sensual contact. He’s the one, she thought. He might really be that knight in shining armor I’ve wanted all my life. He might be everything Anthony could not, or would not be.

  “Oh,” he said, smiling down at her. “I have good news, too. My apartment is finally fixed and ready for occupancy, hence the duffle bag and the packing. Give me twenty-four hours to get it set up and finalize our travel arrangements, then we will have a celebration like never before. Just you and me, really getting to know each other. I’ll call you with the address.” He hesitated, frowning slightly. “On second thought, let’s make it forty-eight hours. That will be Saturday, and you won’t be distracted by celebrating on a school night. We can even sleep in…‌if you know what I mean.”

  A warm flush rolled through her chest, and she grinned. “You are so thoughtful, Emmett. I’m counting the hours.”

  He stepped back, and she felt briefly abandoned. “I’d better go,” he said. “Lots to do before Saturday night.”

  “Oh, Emmett? Before I forget, I got the strangest phone call at work today. A stranger said that Wendell had been hit by Anthony’s car, then he hung up. He also said he’d spoken to you. Did anyone call here?”

  “Oh, um, yeah. Some rude guy called, but it wasn’t today. He didn’t really say anything. I think his name was Sam‌—‌no, maybe Sean. Said you were acquaintances and hung up. Don’t know if that’s the same guy or not. Did seem odd, though.”

  “Okay,” she said, no closer to the truth.

  “I’ll see you later, okay?” he said.

  He gave Lindsey a peck on the cheek then hurried out the door with the duffle bag over his shoulder and the check in his hand.

  Waiting for Saturday was like waiting for Christmas. She had thought she’d hear from Emmett before then, along with the promised address and directions to his new place, but the phone never rang. Saturday eventually arrived, and she settled in, waiting for his call. She distracted herself by cleaning her kitchen, including scrubbing the grout in the countertop tile with a toothbrush and pouring boiling water and some citrus peels down her disposal. Oh, and she also took everything out of her refrigerator and washed every rack, tray, and container, including those sticky with old ketchup and jelly.

  The dinner hour was fast approaching, and Lindsey’s impatience turned to worry. What could she do? She knew nothing more than his apartment was someplace on the north side of Tucson with a view of the city’s lights. Not much to go on. She never knew his cell number, since she’d always called him at her own house. She considered calling hospitals and police stations then decided to wait a little longer. It was only six o’clock. Maybe he’d had a family emergency. Trying to be optimistic, Lindsey decided to prepare for their date. She wanted to look great, because tonight would finally be the night. Tonight would be the beginning of the rest of her life.

  Once she was dressed and ready to go, Lindsey turned on some Pachelbel to help her relax, but she shot out of her chair like a rocket when the phone rang. She nearly tripped over the coffee table as she ran to reach it.

  “Hello?” she said, using her most cheerful voice.

  “Lindsey? You’re home? I thought you’d be at Emmett’s by now,” said a confused Laura. “I was going to leave you a message saying to call me as soon as you got home, no matter what time or day it was.”

  “No, I’m still here. The evening has been delayed.”

  “What the heck does that mean?”

  “I…‌I don’t know.”

  Laura hesitated. “What do you mean, you don’t know? What is going on? You must know something.”

  Lindsey had no idea how to answer.

  “I’m coming over,” Laura said.

  “No, don’t do that,” Lindsey insisted. “I figure he had a family emergency, or maybe I misunderstood the details of the plans. I’ll be fine. I’ll give him a few more days to call. Everything will be fine. I’m sure. In fact, I am so tired right now, I think I will just go to bed.”

  “All right, if you’re sure that’s what you want to do. But promise to call me tomorrow.”

  ***

  Lindsey overloaded herself with schoolwork the following week, creating several new integrated Art Journal Lessons and aligning them with the Writing and Language Arts Core Standards while also keeping with Tucson’s current rodeo festivities, making cows, horses, and cowboys part of the learning fun. She also managed to set up a Child Study meeting with Bobby’s mother and grandmother. The goal of the meeting was to share with his family their concerns about Bobby’s social and emotional difficulties at school, learn more about his behavior at home, and obtain permission to test the child. The team suspected the tests would show that he was emotionally disabled or ED; they had reams of observational data pointing in that direction. While no one wished the child to be ED, they hoped he would qualify for additional special services.

  This time, his mother and grandmother not only agreed to attend, they actually showed up. The meeting took place at the end of the school day on Friday, and it went well, though both Lindsey and Laura were confused by Bobby’s mother’s total lack of reaction. Fortunately, his grandmother had been open and willing to sign the permission form. They decided to check Bobby’s guardianship later on, after they got started on the testing.

  Laura paused at the doorway. “What’s going on with Emmett? It’s been six days since the night of all nights was to take place, and you haven’t mentioned him this entire week.”

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “Yeah, Linds. I know that. You’ve had a long and busy week. So here’s the deal. You go home tonight and relax with your bird, or your cleaning, or your music, or whatever. I am coming over tomorrow, and I’m not taking no for an answer. I will see you around ten o’clock. Be there, my friend.”

  Laura was right o
n schedule the next morning, smiling. She held a hot mocha in one hand, a latte in the other. “Let’s get to work and figure this thing out,” she said.

  Lindsey stepped aside, welcoming Laura in. “All we need to figure out is what happened to Emmett. We’ve got to find him. He could be sick or hurt…‌or worse!”

  They settled in at the kitchen table and Laura dug into her voluminous purse and pulled out a notebook and pen. She nodded. “Well, I’ve given your situation a lot of thought, and I’ve made a list of questions just for that purpose. Did he ever use your landline?”

  “Of course he did. He had to contact his publishers and make other business arrangements. He was on my house phone a lot‌—‌at least when I was home. I don’t know what he did when I was at school.”

  “Okay. Let’s look at your most recent phone bill. Almost two of the weeks he lived here should show up.”

  Lindsey shrugged, then reluctantly went into the office where she kept her financial files. “I don’t see how this will help.”

  “Well, we should be able to see some phone numbers that he called often. Maybe someone has heard from him. It’s worth a try.”

  Lindsey walked slowly back into the kitchen, eyes on her paperwork. She shook her head. “Nothing here. Just long distance calls I know that I made myself. All of his calls must have been local calls. See, Laura? He’s so considerate he didn’t want any charges to go on my phone.”

  Something in Laura’s expression changed. “Sure,” she said. “Maybe. Did he have a cell phone?”

  “Of course,” Lindsey said defensively.

  “Did you ever see him use it?”

  “Maybe a time or two when he first got here, but I’m not really sure. I don’t think it worked very well. One afternoon my landline wasn’t working for a while, and I’d left my cell in the car, so I used Emmett’s, but it didn’t work. It was completely dead. I guess it served me right, using his cell without asking permission.”

  Laura scribbled a few words, then tapped her pen against her chin, thinking. “Let’s move on. Did he ever get any mail delivered here? He was here for a whole month.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” she replied, slightly annoyed. “What are you getting at, Laura?”

  Laura exhaled a frustrated breath. “Lindsey, do you remember when we‌—‌well, okay, mostly I‌—‌saw red flags waving all around Anthony? I’m sorry, but there are infinitely more flags flying over Emmett. Don’t you get that?”

  Blood surged into Lindsey’s cheeks at her friend’s suggestion. Laura had just crossed the line, and she seemed to sense that, because she raised her hands defensively.

  “Okay, okay. I’m leaving.” Laura grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Just before she stepped outside, she turned back. “Come on, Lindsey. Be smart. The man conned you out of $8,000, and now he has a ten day head start on anyone who tries to track him down.”

  Lindsey slowly closed the front door, her pulse hammering in her head. How could her friend have even suggested that kind of thing? Emmett, she knew very well, was a perfect gentleman. He never could have masterminded an evil plot to hurt her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Jake planned to devote the next twelve hours to his “Woman Alone” research. He was behind schedule and desperately needed some catch-up time. He gathered together all the materials he needed: subject files, related research files, notes to be transcribed, and his laptop, determined to work.

  He stared at all five subject files, and he knew he was in trouble in more ways than one. Technically, the big issue was the fact that only three of the five were aware that they were his research subjects. The other two had no idea.

  Subject A, Carla, was a never married, young mother of eight-year-old twins, a result of a brief college romance. She had responded to Jake’s ad in the campus newspaper. Subject B, Marjorie, was a forty-five-year-old widow Jake had met in the Whole Foods Market in the produce section when they’d struck up a conversation about foods and herbs with cancer preventing or fighting qualities. Her husband of twenty-four years had died of cancer two years earlier.

  Jake had met Subject C, Shawna, in May of last year. She’d agreed to be one of his subjects and signed the permission form provided by the U of A. She loved the idea of being “written up” in a university student’s thesis‌—‌it was all about the attention for her. But the woman grew stranger every time they were together, and she wasn’t exactly a “Woman Alone” ever since Anthony had entered her life. In retrospect, Jake guessed she’d been having a relationship with Anthony right from the start, but he didn’t know for sure.

  Fortunately, Subjects A and B fell into and remained in what he considered the “typical” category for women who conducted their lives without the partnership of a man. His intension had been to avoid any extremes in lifestyles or personalities, since his research would include only five women.

  Jake glanced first at Subject D’s file, then to Subject E’s. Neither woman had any idea about the existence of the files or the specifics of his research.

  Where to begin? he wondered, looking at Lindsey’s file. Visions of the birthday party took over his brain, and he tried desperately to push them away. Something nagged at him, and he knew it was Emmett. Something was amiss with that guy. Could Lindsey be in danger? His intuition kept yelling at him, warning him that Emmett was dangerous. Or was Jake just jealous?

  He realized he couldn’t settle down until the nagging, unexplained negativity he felt for the man had either been uncovered or dismissed. He navigated every search engine he knew of and managed to find several entries for an Emmett Anton, journalist. It seemed a guy with that name had written two short articles for a hunting magazine three years before, but Jake couldn’t find the actual articles anywhere. Certainly, those articles would not sustain even a single guy for more than a few weeks, if that. Nothing else came up. It is as if he didn’t exist.

  Out of curiosity, Jake googled his own name, and dozens of entries appeared. If a nobody like me comes up, he pondered, why is there nothing more for this guy? Emmett had been around longer than Jake had, and according to Lindsey, he was busy with a lot of writing, traveling, and relocating. Who was Emmett Anton?

  “I’ve got to get to work,” he repeated out loud for the umpteenth time.

  It was a relief when the phone rang.

  “She called in sick!” the caller cried. “She never does that. I tried her landline and her cell phone. No answer on either.”

  “Whoa. Slow down, Laura. What’s going on?”

  Laura told him what had happened between Lindsey and Emmett on Saturday, gave him Lindsey’s answers to her questions about Emmett, then admitted the assumptions she’d made so far. Jake, grateful for the information but more worried than ever, agreed to pay Lindsey a visit. If she wasn’t at home, he would find her.

  As Laura had said, Lindsey didn’t answer her phone, but Jake refused to give up that easily. He walked to the door‌—‌leading a limping Wendell and carrying Malcolm’s cage‌—‌and rang the bell. No answer. He peeked in the window and spotted her lying on the sofa, probably sleeping.

  He rapped on the window. “Lindsey, it’s Jake. Let me in.”

  No response.

  Wendell’s pitiful cross between a howl and a moan got her attention. Rubbing her eyes, she rose and slumped toward the door. Jake tried not to show his surprise when he saw her. Her hair was a mess, her smudged make-up was obviously left over from a day or two before, and she was dressed in old sweats. And her expression was…‌immeasurably sad.

  “Hey, girl. Can we come in?”

  Her eyes flew open. “Oh, my God! What’s wrong with Wendell? Why is he limping? Why is he bandaged?”

  Jake wanted to go inside, get her to settle on the couch and talk with him, but she wasn’t moving out of the doorway. “There was an accident,” he told her, “but he’s going to be all right…‌eventually. Can he stay with you for a while? He needs to be somewhere he will be loved and cared for. H
e doesn’t need exercise yet, just rest. He’s on a fairly heavy dose of Rimadyl for the pain, so he’ll be fine all day while you are at school.” He frowned, feigning innocence. “Hey, why aren’t you at school? Was it an early release day?”

  Lindsey held out her hand, welcoming Wendell. “Of course he can stay here,” she said softly. “Come on in, boy.”

  Malcolm tweeted as if to say, what about me? Jake handed the cage to Lindsey; their fingers touched briefly as she took hold of the handle. Then she shut the door, and Jake was left standing there, wondering what had just happened.

  SPRING

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  With less than three months until summer vacation, Lindsey decided to create a desert play her students would perform for the student body as well as for their families and friends. By devoting all her waking hours to creating fun and effective lessons for her students, Lindsey not only met the high expectations she always had for herself as a teacher, she exceeded them. Her talents in the classroom were amazing. Her students, even the tough ones, made huge academic gains. In a twisted sense, the students benefited from her pain. Her personal life, other than her love for Malcolm and Wendell, was on hold. She kept any adult co-workers and friends at a distance, avoiding contact, even with Laura. She couldn’t face anyone that knew of her troubles with Anthony or Emmett, and that was everyone except for strangers or mere acquaintances.

  ***

  “I can get it done, Dr. Barston,” Jake said. “I’ve completed all the research and most of the writing. I just want to revise the document; my original thesis statement needs modification. If I could have about forty-five more days, I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the outcome.”