RESOLVED AND UNSOLVED

(The direct continuation of Forty-eight Hours With Jack)

By Atonia Walpole

(Picture creations also by Atonia)

Part 1

La Siroque was as peaceful and serene as it had ever been.  Toni walked out in the back garden and noticed the leaves. Somebody was going to have to get out a rake or a blower. She wrapped her sweater around her a little tighter. Finding a seat where she could see the back of the house, she sighed. How much life had it seen in its five hundred years. Had it ever been so complicated?

Since her return from Jack’s cottage two days ago she had enjoyed the peace and quiet Max and Terry were trying to create for her. Terry was still there. she'd asked him to stay until the weekend. When she left with Jack she and Terry had verbally bloodied each other. All seemed calm now but she wanted to talk to him alone. Evidently Max and Terry had sorted themselves out and were best friends again. They shared the kids and had taken all of them into Bonnieux.

Max hadn’t said anything to Toni about the real reason Terry wanted to spend some time with them, but he had an errand to run in Bonnieux and while he was there he took Terry to the school Toni had investigated for Jacky. It was a primary school for infants and they taught in English and French.

Terry raised a brow when Max parked in front of the school. Max carried Rose while Terry held onto the boys. The matron was happy to show them around. Later they took the kids for an ice cream and while sitting enjoying a coffee themselves, Max explained himself.

“I thought it a good idea for you to see the school. You can’t automatically reject something without investigating a little, AND in view of what you have in mind when he’s older, you might think about compromise now.”

“I suppose you’re right, mate, but it still bothers me. I won’t see him every day and he won’t be there when I come home.”

“You can come on weekends. I know there are commuters that make that trek every Friday  and Sunday evenings.  Also you can take him home with you on school holidays or weekends. We can help there getting him back and forth.”

Terry sipped his coffee and watched the boys over playing in the fountain, leaving their ice cream melting on the table. He and Max were pretty much on the same plane as far as discipline. Neither did anything unless the boys were in danger of hurting themselves or someone else. Rose was feeding herself ice cream…by the fistfuls.

Duflot had a bag full of bulbs for Toni. She never knew where he came up with things but she was happy to get them. She walked around with them, looking for a place to dig. She thought of Jack’s cottage and how the garden begged for plants. The thought actually crossed her mind to pop over and plant them in his garden, however Ludivine’s shrill French from the house and the sound of children home and full of themselves put a stop to those thoughts.

Later Max took the boys on the tractor over to Duflot’s and Tuppy put Rose down for her nap. Toni had the opportunity to talk to Terry. They walked down to the lake.

“Toni, Max took me by the school you’d investigated for Jacky. I looked it over and couldn’t find a thing wrong with it. I’ve been thinking about his school. He’ll start in the fall and although I’ve looked at a couple in London, day schools, I think, um, that the one in Bonnieux will work for him and like Max said, Maxi will be there the next year.”

Toni looked at him. This wasn’t like Terry. “Well, I have investigated the school. I spent some time there with the teachers and I found it satisfactory. It’s not the be all and end all but for a young child it’s a beginning. Max seems to think the regular schools will be fine for the kids but I’m not so sure. There is an International school not far from here that I might prefer. Their studies follow the English curriculum. The local here in Bonnieux is basically French with a little English thrown in. Since we live here, I realize French is important and so is French history but our children are not French, they are English hybrids.”

Terry smiled, “Hybrids. You really have looked into it. Since we’re talking about the future of their education I may as well tell you I’ve put Jacky down for St. Albans. It's an excellent school, Toni, and it prepares them for Cambridge.”

Now it came out. She found a place to sit down on a stone bench. “You want another Henry, do you? ‘Hello, sir, have you sent the monthly check, sir?’. I thought we decided a long time ago that we would not make the same mistakes you did with Henry.”

“I don’t intend to, Toni.” He sat down with her. “You and I are both involved with him and I want it to continue that way. His younger years will be spent here with you but as he gets older, say around nine or ten, then he’ll be ready for something else. St. Albans will give him the confidence he’ll need to rely on himself, to mature and…”

“It’s a shirking of responsibility. That’s my opinion. That’s what you did with Henry. Instead of instilling confidence in him yourself you’ll be expecting some moron who doesn’t even know him or anything about him to teach him some of the most important lessons he’ll ever need. You didn’t go away to school when you were a boy. You let your former father-in-law convince you that was the way to go. Max did go away to school from necessity and if it hadn’t been for his Uncle Henry he might not have amounted to anything. So it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“It's a fair thing for him. By then the constant back and forth between us is going to be a burden on him. It’s going to place guilt on him for enjoying one place over another, for wanting what he doesn’t have. It’s a way to  establish some structure to his life. This is where I do my school work. This is my father’s house and this is my mother’s house. We can share his holidays. I don’t mean to take him away from you permanently anymore than I think you want to do that to me.”

“No, we cannot punish each other with Jacky. We can’t.”

“I don’t want to punish you, Toni.”

“I know. I wanted to talk to you about some of the things we said the other night. I don’t want to go back over it. I want to say that we hurt each other and I’m sorry. I don’t take anything back that I said but I love you, Terry. Jack kind of put something into perspective for me. Here I blew the whole thing out of the water and he said you’d just used your magic on me, nothing sinister behind it. I realized how true that was. I was maybe naïve.”

“I was maybe an ass.” He put his arm around her and hugged her. "We’re friends again?”

Toni smiled, “Of course we are. You and I are a part of each other and we have Jacky to prove it. I’ll always love you, Terry, always.”

He looked into her eyes and then kissed her. “I’ll always love you, too.”

Toni leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’ve never hated you. That was a lie. I loved you from that first day when I knew what you needed and knew I could provide it. You were all walled up and protected and it took me a while to break down what you’d built up.”

“It think maybe I should have left the barriers up. I opened myself up to you, let you get inside of me.” He looked down at her and smiled a little. “You found a home there in my heart.”

She smiled up at him. “You are very subtle but when you strike, there is no help for the victim, no cure for the disease. I thought I was the one pulling you in.”

“Honey, I was already in. I kept trying to figure you out, trying to work out how or why you were even there at the House to begin with. I never knew what an innocent you were, at least not for a long time. I was sexually attracted to you from the beginning but the heart, oh, that took a little longer. I had to learn to trust you.”

“I trusted you from the beginning. I realize now just how smart you were. That day you used your fire on me by the gazebo. I didn’t know, of course, what it was but all you had to do after that was say the words and I melted for you.”

“ Drown me - I can take it.” He grinned and held her close to his side. “Ah, those were the days, luv.”

“You used to do some extraordinary things to me. We had a lot of fun, Terry. Jack reminded me of something else, too, just how deeply in love with you I was. You’d gotten to me like no other. I thought I couldn’t live without you.”

“You know, Toni, when I look back now I think we should have stayed in Virginia. When Max bought the company for me I should have done then what I’m basically doing now, let somebody else do the dirty work and sit back and count the money. I was so determined to prove that I could cut it in real life, that I wasn’t just playing a role on screen.”

“Well, we can’t go back and change a darn thing. We are who we have become. I don’t want to look back anymore. We all have our memoriesl some good and some not so good. It’s all about today and tomorrow now.”

He ran a hand up and down her arm. “Yes, it is and you know Max and I came to the same conclusion after you left. We sat up and talked until two in the morning. The boys were up at seven.”

Toni smiled.

“We also decided John was the smartest out of the bunch. We’re going to try and be more like him.”

Toni laughed. “You’re going to become an officer of the law and buy a fishing boat?”

“Um, not quite that much like him.”

“Buy up all the plaid shirts in the mall?”

“Uh, no, no…plaid?”

“I cannot imagine you with a beard and long hair, former military man that you are.”

He grinned, “I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Don’t change, don’t even try. I fell in love with you just as you are.”

“I don’t want to fight with you anymore, not ever again.”

“Well, Terry, being who we are, I’m sure we will from time to time but we know what the bottom line is.”

“Yeah, we do. This is good, you know? It’s good that we can talk now.”

Toni played with his hand. “It’s good, good that I didn’t kill you the other night,” she looked up and grinned. “No, don’t say anything. We’re okay, Terry.”

“We have semi settled the question of Jacky’s school.”

Max considered this a moment. “Semi?”

“Well,” Toni began, “he’s agreed to the school in Bonnieux until Jacky is at least ten. After that he wants him to go to St. Albans.”

“And you said..?”

“I objected, of course. I don’t like the idea of sending a little boy away to school. Look at Henry. I know we’re not going to let it get that bad but still…it’s…not natural.”

“But it is, darling, trust me, it is.” Max punched up the pillows behind his back.

Toni slipped beneath the covers. “We aren’t sending ours away?”

“Umm.”

“We aren’t…”

“No, as a matter of fact, we are not. I approve of the international school but I will tell you this, if such a school was not available here Maxi would be boarding in England.”

“I hope it doesn’t burn down or some other catastrophe attacks it.”

“You and Terry  talked then?”

“Yes, we talked, Max. We aren’t going back and revisiting the past anymore. It’s made us who we are. We all lived it and there is no reason to revisit. He says you want to be more like John…plaid shirts and let your hair grow.”

“Not likely, love. No, what we talked about was how normal his life is and how smoothly it seems to run. There is none of the drama we have over here, no life threatening, cliff hanging adventures for our Yank.”

“The truth is, none of us really know what his life is about. He doesn’t tell us or ask for help.” Toni switched off the lamp.

Part 2

“What do you mean? What kind of questions?” John asked Donna.

“Questions about your past. The town in Alaska, how long you were in office there. How we ended up here.”

“What did you tell them?”

“They would have to talk with you.”

John ran a hand through his hair. “I knew something like this would come up.”

“Then why did you do it? Why put us all at risk just so you can hold a public office?”

John walked over to the back door and looked out onto the leaf-covered back yard. “I thought Mike was going to rake the back yard.”

“I sent him in the house when the reporters showed up.” Donna was angry and afraid. “They won’t stop, John. They will keep digging until they find out the truth.”

“Oh, yeah? What newspaper would print that story? I’m not going to worry about it. I am who I am and I can’t change it. Let ‘em dig.”

“I don’t want them digging. There are too many unanswered questions about us. I want you to drop out, John.”

John turned around and looked at her. “I can win the election. I’ve been acting sheriff here on and off for two years. Some people don’t even know there was another elected sheriff.  I hate it that he…became disabled, but it gave me an opportunity to do what I knew I could do. Things are different here now in Belfast. I’ve made a difference, Donna.”

Donna opened the oven door to check the casserole and closed it with a bang. “I thought when we came here it was to lead a quiet life. We could slip in under the radar and just live like everyone else does. I wanted to come here and get out of Alaska. It wasn’t the same place we knew once we were out in the real world. Our kids are in school here. How could you subject them to this sideshow called an election?"

“I’m not subjecting anyone to anything. You just ignore the reporters that come around. Tell them to leave and make an appointment with Jason Tremain if they want to talk to me. He’s doing a good job of managing my campaign and keeping the wolves at bay.”

“No, he isn’t. The wolves were here at our door!” Donna threw the oven mitt on the counter. “You know as well as I do what our past holds…nothing. Nothing…we don’t exist. There aren’t any school records or military service records, birth certificates for our children except for Claire. We all sprung full blown from a movie. It’s wrong, John, it’s just wrong!”

“What the fuck do you want me to do about all that? I can’t manufacture records that don’t exist. God forbid we ever let our passports run out because we couldn’t get new ones. I’m using records my office obtained when I first came here. Yes, we were from Alaska but it wasn’t Mystery. They let a lot of things ride on my say-so because I’m liked. I’m not going to hide under a rock for the rest of my life. Being deputy sheriff was fine until I learned the ropes. I was satisfied with that when we first came here. Then the sheriff got sick and it fell to me. I’ve done a damn fine job of it and I’d like to continue.”

“I’m sure you will because it doesn’t matter what I want or what I think. It’s all about you.”

“Ah, Donna, don’t.” But she was already out of the kitchen and down the hall, yelling at the boys to turn the TV down.

She didn’t understand. John reached for the coffee pot to fill it. He’d already proved to himself that he could do the job. He just wanted a chance to continue what he’d started in the community. He’d turned it around and made friends in the process. He couldn’t walk away from it. He’d built the same kind of inner circle he had in Mystery. The mayor and town council members, they were all friends. They had urged him to run for sheriff and were backing him for the job.

She came back in, tossed the newspaper on the table and glared at him. “There is a letter to the editor in there you might find interesting.”

John sighed and sat down at the table. He read the letter she was talking about. The writer had mentioned ‘mystery’ several times, not calling him out but using it in conjunction with points he or she was making about him. He looked across the table at nothing in particular and then tossed the paper aside. “Somebody thinks they know something,” he finally said.

“Right, T.R. Robbins. Can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman. Obviously TR has seen the movie or wouldn’t have been making references like that. TR knows who you are.”

“Maybe I should find out who TR is and settle it.”

“How are you going to settle it, John?” she laughed and poured out his coffee for him. “Hold the DVD case up to to your face and say what? That is not me. I am but I’m not John Biebe? That’s the kind of thing that scares me to death. It only takes one person to reveal the truth and it will catch like wildfire. We’ll have to move to some remote part of the country or even out of the country. Maybe that’s why it’s worked for Terry and Max.”

“It works for Terry. He loses himself in the populace but I’m not so sure Max could do that. He’s just been lucky so far. He doesn’t get out in the community and make friends. He sticks pretty close to home and family.” He took a drink from his cup. “I’m going to track this writer down and find out what’s going on.”

John knew the writer lived in Belfast and it didn’t take long for him to find an address for TR Robbins. He rode out on Saturday morning. It was a week before the election and he pretty much had it in the bag. He did not need any last minute surprises and if this letter writer was in cahoots with his opponent then he knew how to handle it. He was out of uniform, in jeans and a sweater for the cool autumn morning.

The house was a gray weathered clapboard saltbox like so many in the area.  The wooden fenced garden was alive with seasonal flowers planted in every conceivable container from an old boot to a handleless teapot. A round iron knocker was fastened on the blue painted door. A dog barked and then the door was opened.

The surprise in her eyes was quickly veiled over. TR Robbins was nearly as tall as John in her thick gray socks and long corduroy skirt. Her little dog was barking at her side, a rescue from the pound…salt and pepper hair like its owner. She looked through her glasses at him and then removed them.

“Sheriff Biebe, have you come to arrest me?”

“Are you TR Robbins?”

“Depends.”

He grinned a little and looked to the side. “I’m not here to arrest you.”

“Then I’m TR Robbins.” Her expression did not change and she narrowed her dark gray eyes, looking at him closely. She made the decision. “Come in.” She stood aside and held her dog by the collar. “This is Tweed. He doesn’t see that many people here. Give him a minute and he’ll shut up.”

John moved cautiously into the small living room. The walls were covered with fabric pictures and he moved to get a better look at one depicting the harbor in Belfast.

“I’m a quilter, Sheriff Biebe.”

“I see that. An artist.”

“Yes, well, would you like some tea?”

“Ah, no thanks. Not a tea drinker.”

“Coffee? It’ll be instant.”

“That’s fine”. She went into her kitchen and he moved around the room with Tweed on his heels. He stopped and petted the dog, who gave his hand a lick. He at least had one friend in the place.

“Here we are.” She set a tray down on the well-worn coffee table. John noticed corners had been chewed, probably by Tweed, who was beside him, looking longingly at the plate of gingerbread.

After the cups were filled she sat back in her chair and looked him over. “I suppose this is about the letter I wrote.”

“I suppose it is.” He gave her a direct look.

“I’m not mistaken, am I? You are the fella from the movie Mystery, Alaska?”

“I am.”

“Then you’re not real. I don’t know what you are, Sheriff Biebe, but you’re not real.”

“Yes, I am real, Ms Robbins. I’m sitting here drinking your coffee and I’m as real as you are. Why did you write that letter? What was it you were trying to do?”

“I’ve lived here all my life and I know just about everyone in Belfast. You were someone new, an outsider. You seemed to ingratiate yourself with the townspeople and they were buying into your charisma. It was by accident that I connected you with the movie. I picked it up a while back and only just watched it a week ago. I studied your pictures in the paper and, of course, the name. It’s an unusual name.

“What I am trying to do is to make sure some hoax is not visited upon our town. I don’t quite understand what is going on. You are obviously not who you say you are. You’re an actor and a good one but an actor all the same. I’d hate to see this show up on some reality TV show next season.”

“I can assure you Belfast will not end up on some reality show on TV. I am who I say I am, not an actor.”

“You’re Russell Crowe.”

“I am John Biebe. Russell Crowe brought the character to life on screen. I am a continuation of that life and if you want to know how that is possible I can’t really explain it. It’s called magic, Ms. Robbins.”

“You must take me for a fool.”

“No, Ma’am, I don’t. I’m telling you the truth. Truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction and I believe that’s true. I try and tell the truth always. That’s just the kind of guy I am. There are some things that are no one’s business and instead of lying I don’t offer explanations. I believe the work I’ve done here in the past two years speaks for itself. Wherever I was prior to moving here or what feats I’ve accomplished in my past life have no bearing on what happens here in Belfast.”

She sat back in her chair and drummed her fingers on the arms for a minute. “You’re honest, I’ll give you that. Your wife and two boys also came from Mystery, Alaska?”

“Yes, Ma’am, and we have a daughter, Claire, who was born here in Maine. I guess, ah, you could write another letter to the editor and blow my whole existence out in the open. It’s not against the law.”

She took a drink from her cup. “I could…but then I have to wonder what such a move would do to our community. There are just enough superstitious people around here to believe what you told me. They might be coming to your door in droves for some magical powers you might possess.”

“They’d be mighty disappointed,” he smiled.

She studied him over her cup. "I like you, Biebe. I liked you in the movie and I like you now here in the flesh.”

“Thank you, Ms. Robbins.”

“You have made a friend today. I don’t take friendship lightly and if you ask around about me, you’ll hear that I’m a recluse. I don’t mix well but I’m always here. I pay attention to what goes on around me. You may hear other things as well. I never married but I’ve taken a great interest in my niece who lives in Portland now, going to school. My brother was an unwed father and surprisingly he ended up with the child. He married again but no children . You know him. He’s the mayor.”

John blinked. “I’m happy to be a friend of yours. You say you’re a recluse but I’d like for you to meet my wife, Donna. She’s a little wary of people, not quite as confident as I am about our origins. It would be good for her to know you.”

“I’d be happy to meet her. I have something you can take to her.” She rose and disappeared into a closed door room off the living room. She came back with a rolled wall hanging and shook it for John.

“It’s a glimpse of Bar Harbor in winter. I took a photograph of this and that’s what I worked from.”

“Wow! I don’t know nothing but I know this is a work of art. She’ll love it, Ms. Robbins.”

“Why don’t you call me Tess? Ms Robbins sounds so formal and you’re older than I am.”

He hadn’t thought about age. Her long dark hair was salt and pepper but her face was unlined except for some fine lines around her eyes. The glasses she wore hung around her neck on a chain. She was a handsome woman.

“All right, Tess.” He smiled and took the wall hanging from her hands. “I appreciate the subtle way you went about questioning my qualifications. Donna picked up on the references to Mystery and pointed it out to me. I hadn’t read the paper that day. I’ve told you the truth but I’d hate to have to call a town meeting and fess up to the rest of the population. It’s just too fantastic a story to go public with.”

“If you’re asking me not to tell anyone, you don’t have anything to worry about. There may be others that come to the same conclusion after viewing the movie. Winter is coming on and snow movies are popular, especially anything to do with hockey. I appreciate your coming to me and telling me the truth.”

“Yeah, and, uh, thanks for the quilt for Donna.” It was an awkward moment. Should he shake her hand or…?

Tess held onto the door and did not offer her hand. Tweed sat at her feet and smiled.

“Good Day, Sheriff."

“You, too…have a good day.” He walked to his vehicle and got in, started the motor and wondered what the hell he was going to do about Tess Robbins.  She made him uncomfortable and he recognized the reason for it. Ah…Biebe, grow up.

Part 3

On November  4, John Biebe was elected Sheriff of Belfast County, Maine. There was a little celebration down at the Town Hall and Donna and the children attended. It was there that she met Tess Robbins and was able to thank her in person for the lovely gift. She’d done a little research on Tess and found she was an artist of some renown. Her work hung in the state museum.

Someone pinned a badge on John’s lapel and Tess applauded with the rest of the people in the room. There would be a swearing in later on but for now they all knew who their sheriff was.

John was ecstatic. He made his little acceptance speech and Donna noticed he was glowing. He’d done it on his own. From nothing when they moved into Belfast, he’d gotten himself elected sheriff. He smiled and shook hands and worked his way around to the table where his wife and children sat.

“You should get up and mingle,” he said as he sat down and reached for a glass of champagne.

“I suppose I should.” She looked around the room. “Kind of hard with three children, though.”

“Ah, give me one of them.” He took Claire in his lap.

“I met Tess Robbins. She’s not at all what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“Someone older.”

“I never said she was old.” He took a sip of his drink.

“No…no, you didn’t. I just thought…grandmotherly type for some reason.”

“Nothing grandmother about her.” He leaned back and thanked one of his staff as they walked by.

Donna looked at him closely then picked up her glass of champagne. She never interfered in his work, didn’t socialize with his people. In fact, she didn’t socialize with anyone except a couple of the mothers at Claire’s day care center. She’d been asked to pick up one of the little girls because her mother couldn’t drive due to a broken foot and she met her. She’d had to ask a favor, too, of one of the mothers so they had a little group that from time to time would get together. She’d always been a little shy and more so since their life had changed so drastically. John never met a stranger and she often envied him that ability to communicate.

She couldn’t put a name to it or put a finger on it yet but Tess Robbins bothered her. She’d been nice enough and certainly the gift was something special, but still…there was something about her.

John gathered up his family and bid everyone goodnight. The champagne was going down too easily and he had sense enough to know when to go home. Donna had been ready to leave for some time. The boys had eaten too many sweets and were hyped up now for the rest of the evening.

“They’re yours when we get home. I’m going to try and get Claire to eat something and put her to bed.”

“She ate already,” John said, glancing back at his daughter in her car seat.

“No, she didn’t. A few carrot sticks does not make dinner.”

“Did the boys eat?”

“Junk food.”

“Let’s stop for a pizza on the way home.”

“Oh, that’s healthy.”

“Ah, quit worrying. It won’t hurt for them to eat pizza now and again. I could eat a couple of slices myself.”

The boys heard the word pizza and there was no use arguing any longer. Donna gave up. John pulled into the parking lot of the pizza shop. Donna stayed in the car with the children while he went into the shop. He came back out after a few minutes.

“It’s going to be about fifteen minutes.”

“Okay.” She ran hand over her forehead.

“Want to let the boys come inside and play a game?”

“Sure.” Donna turned and told them how to behave. Claire was sagging in her car seat. Riding in a car always put her to sleep.” She lay her head back on the seat and tried to  figure out Tess Robbins. She didn’t see the car that pulled right up to the door of the pizza shop, or the two guys who rolled out of the back seat and into the shop.

John pumped some dollar bills into a couple of games and stood back to watch them while he waited. There were only two other customers in the pizza shop, one at a table and another waiting as he was for a to-go. Loud voices caught his attention and he leaned out of the game room. A shot was fired and he launched toward the counter bringing one of the two men down. He was wrestling the gun away from him when the other man fired and the shot burned through John’s right shoulder. His boys were screaming, the girl behind the counter was screaming, the patron at the table quietly left and the other was attempting to tackle the gunman but was clubbed upside of his head and he fell back. The two young men making pizzas stared wide eyed at the whole show.

Donna didn’t hear or if she did, she didn’t remember hearing the first shot. The second got her attention and she locked the car doors and tried to determine where it came from. She did see the blue 4X4 tear out of the parking lot. She was afraid to leave Claire in the car and afraid to take her with her. John had the keys and her set was at home. She saw Mike running for the car, his face red and streaming tears and she unlocked the car.

She called 911 but they were already on their way. Mike stayed with Claire until she could go inside and get Josh and fall on her knees by John. He was awake and sitting up against the counter, blood flowing from his shoulder. Someone gave him a towel and he was trying to press it to his wound.

“Get him out of here.” John looked at Donna, who was sobbing over him.

“John…”

“Get Josh out of here, now. He don’t need to see this.”

Somehow she got herself together and took Josh outside to the car. The ambulance and police arrived at the same time. The Sheriff was down. Now it was a big deal and orders were being given and it was all moving along. All this time Donna sat in the car with her children and sobbed.

Someone came over and knocked on the window and opened the door.

“Mrs. Biebe, Sheriff says to give you these. Says he’s okay and to take the kids home.” He handed her the keys to the car. It was one of his deputies.

“He’s going to be all right?”

“Of course he is. Looks like it went straight through. You need somebody to drive you?”

“No, no.” She tried to get herself together. “I can drive.” She moved over to the driver’s side and adjusted the seat. “You hear that, boys? Dad’s gonna be just fine, just fine.” She started the motor and headed for their house on the other side of the river. It was a long and lonely drive without John. He was on the way to the hospital. There had been so much blood. She caught herself in a sob.

Tess Robbins was on her way home and, seeing all the lights flashing down the street, she turned to see what was going on. Ambulances and police cars. She pulled into the parking lot. They were bringing him out and she jumped from her car and ran over.

“That’s the sheriff!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, ma’am. He’s been shot.”

She looked down at him. He was going pale and weak at the moment but he was still conscious. Already in the back of the ambulance was the other patron who’d been clubbed in the head. Tess decided to follow. He couldn’t go alone to the hospital. She asked about his wife and heard she’d gone home with the children.

John’s wound wasn’t as clean as they thought, and the bullet had caused some internal damage. He was going into surgery. Because of who she was, Tess was allowed back to see him.

He was drowsy from the IV. “Tess, what are you…what?”

“Don’t worry about a thing. I’m here,” she purred over him, touching his face. “Stay strong, John.” It was the first time she’d used his first name and she liked how it sounded in her mouth. She had to leave for them to take him down to surgery. She still held her fingers together where she’d touched him. She held them that way until she was down the hall and into the waiting area and then she touched them to her lips.

Instead of stopping at their house, Donna drove straight to the Pringle’s cottage. They were an elderly couple that lived in a house on their property. Mr. Pringle was disabled but helped John out on the fishing boat. He was in bed but Mrs. Pringle was still up watching TV. She listened to Donna's recount of the shooting and of course offered to take the children so she could go to the hospital and be with John.

By the time she got to the hospital, John was in surgery. She was taken to the waiting area where she encountered Tess.

“Hello, Donna. They’ve taken him down to surgery. He’s been down there for about thirty minutes.”

“Oh,oh, okay. What are you doing here?”

“I was an ambulance chaser,” she smiled a little. “I saw all the commotion when I was going home and stopped to see what the problem was.”

Donna found a chair and sat down. “Have they said anything at all about him?”

“No, not to me and I’ve been here from the beginning when they let me in to see him before he went down.”

“What did he say?”

“I think he wondered why I was here instead of you.”

“I had to take the children home. Oh, God, what a horrible end to the evening! Mike and Josh were inside the shop when he was shot. It took a while to calm them down.”

“And you, dear, how are you holding up?”

“I’m doing the best I can.” Donna wiped her eyes and looked up at Tess. She was a tall slim woman with a heavy mane of black and white hair. “He’s never been shot before. I just…oh.”

“He’ll be fine, Donna. Don’t worry.”

But she did worry. She didn’t have all the details about what had happened. Mike had given her his side of it. His Dad had jumped on a man with a gun and another man shot him. They were trying to rob the pizza store. Josh was more concerned about not getting a pizza. He was young, just six, and didn’t understand.

She pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Max. It was the middle of the night for them and she didn’t want to call. It wasn’t a life or death situation  for John but she wanted them to be aware of it.

She remembered as she texted that she hadn’t sent Maxi’s birthday present. It was still sitting in the dining room on the table. She would have to take it to the post office the next day for it to get there in time. For a while all three of the kids would be three until February when Jacky would turn four. Thanksgiving was coming up and she hoped John would be able to go to Virginia. Of all the rotten luck.

“It just comes out of nowhere sometimes,” she said.

“What’s that ?” Tess asked.

“Things like this. On the night he is elected sheriff, he gets shot. I’m afraid that’s a bad sign.”

“What do you know about signs?”

“What? I…I don’t know anything. I was just saying,” Donna replied.

Tess slid into a chair beside Donna. “I know all about you. Did he tell you that he told me about the magic?”

“Yes, he did but I’m not sure you can say you know all about me because you don’t.”

“What was it like when you first knew you were a real person?”

“I’m sorry I…I can’t answer that.”

“Why not? Was it…frightening or exciting?”

“Frustrating. It was frustrating for me because I didn’t understand what was happening. John was in South America when I realized something was wrong. Things and places I knew were no longer there. People I knew didn’t exist anymore. I thought I was going crazy. Even the name of the town was different.” She looked down at her hands, working over a long scarf she had around her neck. “John tried to explain when he came home but none of it made any sense. At least not until he took me to the House.”

“House?” Tess’s ears perked up. “What house?”

“He didn’t tell you…well, I can’t either, then. It was just a place. Nothing.”

“Oh, but it was…it was something, wasn’t it? It made everything clear to you. You must tell me all about it.”

“No, I don’t think so, Tess.

“But you must. It sounds very intriguing .”

“I’m sorry but there are other people involved and I cannot talk about it.”

Tess leaned back with a bright look in her eyes.

Part 3

“Toni, I’m in here. Come and look…John’s been shot.”

“What?” That brought her in from the hall where she was wandering around with a cup of coffee.

Max had just checked his messages and got Donna’s from the night before.

“He won the election. Oh, bless him. Have you called?”

“No, I just opened it up. I’ll call now.” Max punched the speed dial number for Donna.

Donna was sitting by his bedside. He’d had a few sips of water but was still groggy and mostly asleep from the surgery and following pain killers. “Oh, hello, Max. Thanks for calling me back. I’m here at the hospital now and he’s been through surgery to clean up the wound. He was shot through the shoulder. It entered just under his collar bone and came out the chest muscle. He’s pretty doped up right now. It was his right shoulder.”

“Bloody hell, Donna!” He had it on speaker.

“What happened, Donna?” Toni asked.

She relayed the incident at the pizza shop per Mike and Josh. “I’ve been here since he came out of surgery. The kids are at the Pringles. I know there is not a good time for something like this to happen but he’d just won the election and we were on the way home from the afterparty.  Stopped for a pizza and …I’m just…I hate it for him.”

“We do too, love. Is there anything we can do?”

“No, thank you, Max. I hope we can make it to Virginia.”

“Oh, I do too, and if you can’t we’ll come up there and visit. I’m so sorry, Donna. Give him our love and keep us in the picture, okay?” Toni asked.

“I sure will. Let Terry know. I know he’d want everybody to know what happened.”

“Will do, love.” Max wasn’t so sure John would want everyone knowing he’d been shot in a pizza joint.

“Well, we were wondering what went on in his life.” Max began e-mailing Terry.

“A little more exciting than you thought, eh, Max?”

“But he won, Toni. He ran for office and won and as far as we know, no expose in the news. I am impressed with him.”

“That is secondary. You should be worrying about his being shot. We don’t know who these criminals were. They might want to come back and finish the job.”

“Really, Toni. According to Donna they were common garden-variety pizza shop robbers.”

“I didn’t know there was such a thing as common variety robbers.” She sat down next to his desk and he took her coffee for a drink. “Now John is going to be marked. He didn’t have scars except one on his knee.”

“You would know.” He punched send.

“Yes, I would. I would also know that you have one on your left shoulder. It’s a very fine line but you’ve been cut.”

“Hm, I don’t think it was me. It was him, you know, the other guy.” He smiled. “I’ve also got scars on my knuckles.”

“Jack is the winner of scars.”

“I, ah, know you know them intimately, Toni, but…”

“Sorry,” she smiled and took a drink. “I’m going into Bonnieux today and maybe beyond, depends.”

“On what? What are you looking for?”

“Thomas the Train Engine and Percy, plus track. I know what he wants. It’s all over the TV.”

“We shouldn’t let them watch TV. I don’t like what it does to them.”

“Neither do I but there are some educational shows.”

“Educational, my eye! They are a means to sell something. I’ll bet you every show has a toy on the shelf at Toys R Us”.

“You may be right, Max, but since we’ve slipped up and turned them on to it we can’t very well turn it off now. They know too much. You’ve been smoking in here.” She looked him in the eye.

“Guilty,” he grinned. "This is my study. You can control the rest of the house but this is my space and if you come in here then you can expect it to smell of smoke, dirty athletic shoes,  booze and cigars.”

“Ugh! How do you stand it? She got up, went over and opened the window.

Max smiled and closed his eyes a moment. He remembered her doing that at the House of Four Seasons. “You’re not going to bring a candle in, are you?”

Toni looked at him. “No, it would take more than a candle.” Then she remembered and went over and kissed him. “Maybe some room spray.” She grinned and left him alone in his odorous abode.

Terry read his e-mail from Max and had pretty much the same reaction. He called Donna and heard the story from her.

“If he needs anything at all, you let me know, Donna. I can be over there in about 6 hours. Tell him to call me when he comes around and is talking sense.”

“I will, Terry. Thanks so much. I means a lot knowing you and Max and Toni are all out there for us.”

“We’re always here, Donna, for anything you need. Don’t forget us.”

Terry leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Imagine John running for public office. He smiled a little. Of course getting shot was pretty bad. He hoped everything turned out okay with that. At least they’d all be together in a few weeks and if he wasn’t, then a quick trip to the healing House could be accomplished.

It was quiet in his house with Jacky in France. He thought again about Jacky going to school over there. This is what he’d have to get used to. A month was bad enough but a month without end…that was taking it over the top. Still he’d agreed for Toni’s sake. He left his home office and walked down the hallway. He’d been home for three days, long enough to catch up at the office and take some time to catch up at home. Anna kept Jacky’s room and his clothes done up.

Terry took care of his own. He sorted through his clothes and called the laundry to come and pick up a bag full. His running clothes he took downstairs to the washer and stuffed them in. He’d had to hide his things from Ludivine. She did laundry daily and would have thrown his things in with Max’s. He didn’t want to put extra work on her.

Once he had things in order he called his cleaning service and told them to come have at it. He left his flat and took the tube into London for the day. He’d go by his office and at least put in an appearance and then off for a meal somewhere with Tammy and whatever might follow.

“You did what?” John took another sip of water. He was so thirsty.

“I let everybody know, Max and Terry.”

“Aw, what did you go and do that for”

“Because they needed to know something had happened to you. You don’t ever want them to know anything and I think for something like this it was the thing to do.”

“This is embarrassing. I was sheriff for about four hours before getting hit.”

“Not officially. You haven't been sworn in yet.”

“How’s the kids? You know Mike saw it happen.”

“I know he did but he was very articulate when he was questioned this morning by the deputy. He was upset last night. They stayed at Pringles.”

“Poor kids. There’s no need for you to hang around here. I think I’m going to be released in the morning.”

“I like to be here.” She did want to be with him but also she didn’t want to leave him alone…for Tess to find him. Tess had waited with her until he came out of surgery. She’d come back  before he even had his breakfast that morning and was there when Donna came back to the hospital. She wasn’t pleased to see her sitting there in the bedside chair talking to her husband.

Eventually she had to leave and go  home to her children. John was fully himself now and fretting and fussing around his room. His right arm was strapped to his chest so he wouldn’t move it for 24 hours. He was standing by his bed, trying to open a sugar packet for the awful coffee the hospital had provided when Tess arrived.

“Oh, let me do that! What are you doing out of bed?”

“Hey, nothing wrong with my legs. I need to be up…I need to be out of here.”

“Not until you’re ready.” She looked over his upper body appreciatively. He was wearing pajama pants that Donna had brought him. “Here you are. I thought you took your coffee black.”

“Thanks, I do but there’s black and there’s black. This stuff is awful.”

“You’re a real coffee drinker, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, helps me keep that nervous edge.” He glanced at her. “So what are you doing around here? Sick friend?” He took a sip from his cup.

“Yes, injured is more like it. I came to see you. You see, John, I’m intrigued with you because of who you are.”

“I can’t help where I came from but there’s nothing special about me. I’m just like anyone else.”

She smiled. “Of course you are. I had a long talk with Donna while we waited for your surgery to be over. I’m surprised you told her about me.”

John looked up and met her eyes. “Why not? There really wasn’t anything to tell.”

‘I mean that you told me about you and where you came from…the House.”

John took a drink from his cup. “I never told you about the House.”

“Are you sure you didn’t?” she smiled at him. “Maybe you did and don’t remember.”

“What kind of game are you playing here, Tess?”

“No games. I don’t play games. I’ve never met anyone like you before. I’m curious how you came to be.”

He chuckled, “How do you know you haven’t met anyone like me. Could be hundreds of guys walking around…”

“No, no there aren’t. You are unique, one of a kind. How did it happen, John? Is there a special house?”

He looked at her and said nothing.

Tess smiled a little smile but was stopped from further questioning by a nurse coming in to check his vitals. Tess slipped out of his room.

“What do you mean trouble?” Terry asked. “How much more do you need?”

“Yeah,” John chuckled, “well, you know I thought the best way to stop something like that was to tell the truth. So I did, not all of it, of course, but she had the damn movie there on the TV. I couldn’t deny who I was. She’s, ah, very compelling. Attractive and…well, anyway, I told her I became a real live person. I didn’t say where or how or anything else but she won’t leave it alone. Somehow she knows about the House. Not what it is but the House keeps coming up. I’m kind of in a tight place. She’s the mayor’s sister.”

“Bloody hell, John! Don’t tell her anything else.”

“Oh, I’m not…no.” John realized the damage had already been done. He should never have told her.

Part 4

It bothered Terry that John had come out and told someone he came from magic. They’d never really discussed what to do in a situation like he had but honesty wasn’t always the best policy, especially with someone you don’t know.  He looked at his watch. It was 5:00 in the morning. John was up late but he had timed it right. Terry was up and ready for his run but because of John’s hospitalization he stopped to check messages and John phoned him.

He left his flat and ran lightly down the steps and onto the street, veering right onto the riverwalk. He followed it to the end and then cut through streets he knew. His run always took him by the house he used to own with Toni. It never occurred to him to vary his run so that it never came into view. Maybe he felt he needed that slap in the face each day as a reminder of how important some things were. It left him with a sense of loss as he passed it and ran up the street. This morning he ran all the way to the gym to work out for an hour. Jacky wasn’t at home to worry about and he could do as he pleased. Hair shirts were out but a little punishment was in order.

Someone else was running this morning, too. Max was running. He’d started his routine while Terry was there to provide some encouragement. He used to run when he was in England and a few years younger and always enjoyed it. Terry was right. He needed to do something. Middle age spread would begin soon if he didn’t get a handle on it. Or would it? He wondered about that as he ran. His body hadn’t changed since he came out. Was he still 40 years old? It seemed incredible but as he thought about it, none of the rest of them had changed, either. Not a gray hair in the bunch. The only one who varied was Jack and, depending on where he was in his world, he either had an ear or he didn’t. Must be strange, he thought, to look in the mirror for ears each day.

His footfalls were the only sound except for birds, chickens and an occasional barking dog in the unseen surroundings behind the trees. He ran this morning down the dirt road that ran along the property line of La Siroque to Chambord. As he neared he found out where the barking dog lived. It was the bitch that gave birth to the two puppies now in his scullery. The dog came to the edge of the vineyard but never crossed into the road. She alerted every dog in a five mile radius so the quiet country run was now over.

Max wasn’t as fluid a runner as Terry but with constant work he would find his pace. He felt good, invigorated and ready for the day. Of course the run so far had been down hill and on level ground.

“MAX…Maa- axx?”

He heard his name before he reached the chateau. Toni was standing on a second story balcony. He came jogging up to the front of the house, so out of breath he couldn’t answer her. He bent over and coughed.

Toni stared down at him for a moment. “Max, where in the world have you been?”

‘Ah, running,” he gasped.

She waited a beat. “Something chasing you?”

“Ha, ha, very funny!” He straightened himself up and walked into the house.

Donna was at the hospital to take John home. They were just waiting for the doctor to come by and sign off on the discharge instructions. His two deputies had been by to see him earlier that morning  and bring him up to date on the goings on at the station. Donna’s description of the blue 4X4 helped the Bangor police nab the two suspects. They would be brought back to Belfast.

John was anxious to get back on the job. He wasn’t used to being down and this was wearing on his patience. He snapped at an orderly who’d come to wheel him out to his vehicle, argued with Donna about who was going to drive and now he sat sullenly in the passenger seat with the seat belt pressing onto his sore shoulder.

Donna couldn’t wait to get him home. She stopped by the pharmacy to get his prescriptions filled and picked up a bottle of Tylenol for herself.

“I’m only going to listen to this about this much longer,” she glared at him indicating a fingernail’s width.

He closed his eyes. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be hard on you. It’s me that wants a punch in the mouth.”

She wrote it all off to meds and frustration.

Mrs. Pringle was over looking after the kids. Mike came running to the vehicle to help his Dad inside. John knew he had to sit down and talk to the boy about what had happened to him. Once he was inside in the den and in his recliner he talked to his sons, who’d witnessed his shooting.

Donna went to the kitchen and relieved Mrs. Pringle of the stove and of Claire. Claire ran into the den to listen to her father. Not that she understood it all but she could see him and hear his voice. In her magical consciousness she knew something had happened to him. She practiced her budding mental abilities on her father who wasn’t always receptive to her. Unlike her cousins, Maxi and Jacky, she hadn’t anyone to play mental communications with.

“So that’s what it was all about and I’m on the mend. Just got a big old patch of bandage under my shirt. I go back in a couple of days to get that changed and, hey, I’m gonna be good to go here shortly.”

“What about the robbers?” Josh asked.

“They got ‘em in jail, Josh. They’re not going to come after us again.

Mike played with a remote car in his hand. “Dad, you were a real hero. You stopped them from robbing the pizza store.”

“Ah, none of this hero stuff now. I was doin’ my job.”

Mike thought differently and looked at Josh, who nodded. Their Dad was a hero no matter what he said.

Donna fixed lunch for them and afterward made the boys go open their school books. They’d been out of school for two days because John was in the hospital and they had some catching up to do.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him and set another cup of coffee in front of him.

“Tired.” He met her eyes and she could see it.

“You’re going upstairs and get into bed. A nap won’t hurt you at all, Sheriff.”

He grinned. “Fine sheriff I am. Can’t even buy a pizza.”

“I love you, John.” She reached for his hand. “You scare me to death but I still love you.”

John went up to take a nap. The boys were at the long desk in the den with their notebooks and books out and Claire was playing in the kitchen floor with a talking toy. Donna began to clear away the lunch dishes and mess on the counter tops. With the water running and Claire’s toy, she didn’t hear the doorbell ring.

Mike came and told her there was a woman at the door. Donna wiped her hands and went down the hall to the front door. Tess Robbins was there with a basket.

“Hello, Tess.”

“Donna, how are you, dear? I’ve brought a few things for the convalescent. I know how difficult it can be confined to the house. Is he awake?”

“No, as a matter of fact he’s down for a nap. It’s been a busy morning for him.” She didn’t invite her in and felt a little guilty but she really wasn’t up for Tess right now.

“Oh, of course. Well, if you’d give him this for me, please? Are you sure there is nothing I can do for you?”

“Not a thing, Tess. Thank you for thinking of him. I’ll make sure he gets this basket,” Donna smiled.

Tess had the good sense to walk away and for that Donna was glad. She really didn’t want to be rude to her but…Tess wanted something. She could feel it in her bones and it was something she wasn’t going to give up.

In the basket she found a recent bestseller John had mentioned wanting to read, a CD of quiet background music, a package of organic nuts and a package of Colombian coffee. She had to admit it was a nice thought and one John would appreciate. It made her mad. How did this woman know what would make John happy? She placed the basket on the hall table, went back to the kitchen and attacked the mopping up with a vengeance.

“Hey, Max. I wanted to catch you before you turned in.”

“It’s only 10:00.” Max reached for the remote and turned the TV down. “What’s up, Terry?”

“Not sure. Did John tell you he spilt the beans about his origins?”

“No, he didn’t. How did this happen?”

“A woman, sister to the mayor, had the DVD and played it and wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper. John went to see her and told her the truth. He thought it might stop any further talk about him. This is when he was running for office. Anyway, the woman says okay but now she’s bugging him about it. She’s questioning Donna and him, too.”

“What the bloody hell did he think he was about?”

“Ah, you know John, honest and straight up. He said he couldn’t deny who he was. Anyway I thought I might go over a little early for Thanksgiving. There is really nothing to keep me here right now.”

“Hm, how early?”

“A week from now. I’m looking at my schedule and after this week I’m pretty much clear until a couple of days after Thanksgiving. It will give me a little time there in Virginia and if John gets in deep shit I’m only a short hop away.”

“No problem with you going early but I don’t know how you’re going to aid John. Two of you show up for this woman to scrutinize and you are on your own, friend. We really don’t need this right now.”

“I’m aware, Max.

“Yeah, sure. I haven’t made our flight arrangements yet. We were planning on staying for a few weeks. I’ll see when Toni wants to go over. I do know we’re back here for Christmas. It’s at Duncan’s this year. Are you coming back over for Maxi’s birthday?”

“No, I hadn’t planned on it. I was just there. He’s got a gift from me. Ludivine took it home with her.”

“Okay, I just wondered. Let me know when you’re going over. We may do the same.”

“Nite, Max.”

“Ditto.” Max hung up the phone.

Toni waited patiently.

“Ah, well, John again. Seems he told a woman who he really was. She had the DVD and he ‘fessed up.”

“Who is she?”

“The mayor’s sister is all I know.”

Toni let out a breath. “Is this something we need to worry about?”

“Not sure. Terry seems to be interested. It could be, I suppose…depending.”

“Well, is this a good friend of theirs or what?”

“No, he just met her. She figured him out and wrote a letter to the newspaper. He went to her and told her the truth.”

Toni shook her head. “We never really discussed this, how to react if someone puts two and two together. I suppose we should have.”

“What’s to discuss? You deny any knowledge of what they are talking about and walk away. I would never dream of telling anyone. I never even told Aubrey Duncan. Connie knew but no one else in her family has any idea of where we came from.”

“It’s different for John. He’s a public figure.”

“That’s his fault. I was proud of him for winning the election but he’s put himself and his family and tentatively all of us at risk of discovery.”

Toni frowned and looked at the silent TV. Max was right.

Part 5

It was a cloudy overcast morning when Tess Robbins set out for the local library. She was going to do a bit of research on magic. She paused at the intersection and waited for the light to turn green. There had to be reasonable explanation for John Biebe. She didn’t for a moment believe he’d sprung from a movie. Perhaps he was a double or even…a clone.

Tess had a vivid imagination. Her quilt art was proof of that. John didn’t see them but in her quilting room her walls were hung with awards, ribbons and a shelf with trophies. Her imagination had often gotten her in trouble as a young girl. She was the only daughter of a prominent family. Her brother was ten years older and out of her realm when she was growing up. She was eccentric and unpredictable and stayed pretty much to herself. However, she was aware of everything that happened in Belfast.

The sheriff had caught her attention long before he ran for office. It was his unconventional attire and his looks that intrigued her at first. Men didn’t often intrigue her but something about him had caught her imagination. She’d stayed in the background, quietly tracking him and his bothersome family. Now she was in pursuit. After all, he’d come to her, sought her out to deliver his explanation.

“I’ll pick you up at 1:00 and not a moment later,” Donna told John as she dropped him off at the station. He was a week into his recovery from the bullet wound and was back at the office for half days. He always tried to make it longer but Donna purposely arranged to pick him up before she went to pick up Claire from the day care center.  From there she drove over to the boys' school and would wait for them to get out at 2:30. It was her routine and she rarely varied it.

He’d only been at his desk for three and a half hours when he had a visitor.

“Good day, Sheriff. I thought you might like to join me for lunch today.” Tess sat down and arranged her full denim skirt.

“Well, I appreciate that, Tess, but I usually have my lunch at home.”

“It’s so late when you get home, it’s almost tea time. I propose a trip across the street to Blackstone’s. They have the most wonderful sandwiches and soups. Today they are featuring a lobster roll.”

He was tempted. It would be nice to go out to eat. But wait, “How do you know what time I eat dinner? Is nothing sacred around here?” he chuckled.

She laughed a little, too. “I’m sorry. I hope I haven’t overstepped into your life. Won’t you consider it? They also still have that Octoberfest beer on tap. Since you’ll be leaving early anyway what could it matter if you have a beer?”

“Lobster roll and a beer, eh?” He was warming to  the idea. It was just going 12:00 he noted. He would have time to have a bite and get back to the office before Donna came by. He probably needed to talk to her anyway. He’d began to worry about what he’d told her and what she might do with that information. “Okay, you talked me into it.” He went out of his office and informed them where he’d be and waited for Tess to join him.

Terry’s plane touched down at 11:10 and he was now through baggage claim and waiting for the car keys at the rental desk. He’d flown into Washington, DC and got a commuter jet to Richmond, VA. Keys in hand, he walked out, pulling his rolling bag behind him. Blue skies and white puffy clouds. So rare in London, they caught his eye and he stopped on the sidewalk to have a look. His memory took over and took him through Richmond and out into the countryside. He was following fenced pastureland now. Baled hay dotted the fields and the last of the fall colors gently blended in with the evergreens. A large roadside stand still had pumpkins and apples. He braked and pulled in. Apples sounded good. He bought a variety.

He was noticing changes in the neighborhood, a house being built where the old Sampson place burned down. He knew this area well. He and Toni had lived here. Farther on down the road he began looking for the two stone pillars and the gate. The gate would be open because he’d called ahead when he landed in DC. Munchie was excited to have them back in the house. The last time they’d all been there he and Toni were still married. He wondered for a moment what bedroom he should take this time. Toni’s room would be for her and Max. A convoluted smash-up. He wondered if Munchie understood the situation. She’d been talking about Jacky. 

He turned in through the drive and down the alley of old trees toward the gleaming white house in the distance. He was remembering the first time he’d driven down that lane with Toni. He’d been impressed with the house and so unsure about life. He embraced it but had no idea what was to come. He stopped in the circular drive. There was a feeling of coming home here and he wondered where it came from. Transplanted Aussie that he was in England, he had no connection here except through Toni.

“What time is the flight?” Toni asked, perching on the arm of Max’s chair.

“Some ungodly hour of the morning.  I am really considering going to Marseilles a day ahead and spending the night there. We can get a taxi to the airport and Duflot can come down later for the car. The thought of pulling three kids out of bed before daylight and dragging them kicking and screaming to their car seats does not appeal to me.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan. We leave on the 20th of November.” She left his chair and went upstairs to get ready to take the boys over to Chambord. Max was working in his study and Aubrey had called for the boys earlier. They weren’t dressed at the time but now they’d had their lunch. Everybody was moving in slow motion today. Tuppy had a cold and was wearing a mask in the nursery. Toni thought she might have breathed a sigh of relief when she came in for the boys. She took Rose, too. She could go along for the ride and Tuppy could indulge her cold.

“I’m off, darling!” she called as she went down to the landing.

Max got up, walked out to the balcony and waved them off. Ah, silence! He went back to his computer. He was trading…quietly so as not to draw attention to himself.

“I’m not sure if I like this or not.” John took another drink from his pint of Octoberfest beer. “I think you have to not think of it as beer but a cold drink.”

“I like it.” Tess took a drink from her glass. “It’s different. That’s why it appeals to me, I guess.”

“You like different things.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes, thank you for noticing. That’s why I like you.” She took another drink and set her glass down. “I’ve been to the library doing a little research.”

“Oh yeah, what are you researching?” John set his glass down and sat back in his chair so the waiter could place his lobster roll and clam chowder in front of him.

“Magic,” she said in a whisper. “I’ve been looking for evidence of it in this area. Not much here but down the coast, down in Salem, there is a lot of information.”

“Salem was witch headquarters. Not much magic there, either.”

“There is something there, though, something in the air or the earth or the water or maybe all three. I might go down there.” She looked across the table at him.

John was eating his lunch and trying to avoid her eyes. They were a little strange when she looked at him. “I doubt you find any real evidence of magic. Other than people pulling a rabbit out of a hat, I don’t know what you hope to find.”

“I hope to find where you came from.”

He looked up, “I came from Alaska. That’s a long ways from here.”

“So many questions that require answers. You purchased a large tract of land. I know the purchase price. That’s  a lot of money for a small town sheriff from Mystery to have at his fingertips. You purchased a fishing boat and paid cash for it. You see, John, even I can do the math and it doesn’t add up. There is more to you than I see across the table. I want you all tidied up. I want to know you.”

John picked up his drink again. “You know all there is to know. I haven’t anything else to tell you, Tess. My records are open to the public. I’m not sure you’re making the best use of your time, investigating me. I can’t think why you want to waste your time.”

“I’ve never met a magic man before. What are you capable of, what can you do? You are a very special person, John, very special.”

“I’m pretty normal, pretty boring.” His phone vibrated and he answered it. It was Terry.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“In Virginia. Just arrived at the house. Looks great here. How’s everything?”

“Oh, it’s good I think. Doc’s talking a little therapy for my shoulder. It’s still a little tender.”

“You know that can be fixed.”

“Yeah, I know but…timing's not right for that.”

“Anything else on the woman?”

“Yeah but, um…later.”

“Gotcha. She’s there?”

“Yeah. When are the rest of ‘em coming over?”

“Next week, Max on the 20^th and who knows about Jack.”

“Yeah, we never know about him. Ok, well, I’ll give you a call later.”

“Be cool, John.”

Be cool. Easy for him to say. “Thanks for talking me into this. I’ve enjoyed my roll and soup. The beer I can honestly say I could do without.” He smiled in a friendly way and signaled for the check.

“You’re a very nice person. I can’t wait to find out what you really are.” She pushed her soup bowl away.

“Nothing more than you see. I need to get back to the station.”

“Oh, go ahead…I’ll just finish up my beer. Thank you for lunch, John.”

Terry was trying his best to stay awake. He had the TV going and a cup of coffee. One of the things he had found over the years of time zone hopping was to jump right in. So he was staying up until eleven o’clock Virginia time which made it 4 am for his body time. Tomorrow his body would right itself and he’d be fine.  Making things worse, he’ d had a large but tasty meal with Munchie and tried to catch her up on the family as it stood today. Plus a slice of pecan pie which he did not need. He felt heavy and dull.

“You up?’ John called him after Donna had gone up with Claire.

“Yeah, I’m up, John. What’s going on with you?”

“I’m not real sure. She’s talking about taking a ride down the coast to Salem. Now I’m not known in Salem but Gloucester is another matter. I played hockey there for a few years.”

“I don’t understand…?”

“She’s investigating  me and for what reason I can’t figure out. Says she can’t wait to find out who I really am. I had lunch with her today. I’m gonna say this, I ain’t sure she’s all there. You know what I mean? There’s something odd about her. She’s a good looking woman but she looks at you strange. Makes me uncomfortable.”

“Didn’t you say her brother was the mayor? Is he somebody you can talk to?”

“Uh, yeah. He’s her older brother. I hate to go to him with this. For all I know he’s in cahoots with her.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“Yeah. He backed me in the election, though. I can’t believe he’d be going behind my back trying to discredit me already. I’ll talk to him and see what I can find out.”

“John, don’t volunteer anything else.”

“Oh no, that’s not going to happen. I’ve already said too much and I know it now.”

After he got off the phone with Terry, John wondered why he had confessed to Tess. He hadn’t a clue who she was when he told her he came from a movie. It was a dumb, stupid thing to do. He plunged a hand into the bag of organic nuts and tossed a few in his mouth. It was her manner toward him. She was mature and sincere…honest. At least that’s what he'd thought. Now he wasn’t so sure.

ON TO A THANKFUL GATHERING

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