“I did say that.” Melody leans back, “But Will, this is all too confusing. I don’t make it a habit to get involved with my employer.”
“Neither do I.” He admits. “I make it a point to keep things professional. Max is the one who usually crosses the line, not me. I’m usually telling him to back off. With the previous teacher, I didn’t have to worry because well... he was a man.”
“Who, Mr. Sanders?” Melody finds her opening to find out more.
“Yes.” Will answers more cautiously this time. He is a little taken aback by her question. Melody can tell this is a touchy subject for him to discuss, but she can’t skirt around it any longer.
Melody leans in with a confident assertion, “Can you tell me more about him?”
“What? I don’t understand what you mean.” Will’s voice is nervous now.
“I mean. No one seems to talk about this mystery teacher. As his successor, don’t you think I need to know something about him? I just want to know, Will. What happened?”
“Well, it’s like I told you. He left in a hurry and we haven’t heard from him since.” Will clears his throat in an attempt to compose himself. It does not work. He has sweat forming on his brow now.
“But Will,” Now Melody is leaning in and feeling more like the cat. “Isn’t it strange to you that he left no trace of himself? If everything was fine and he was happy working here, why would he just disappear?”
Will’s hands fly in the air as his shoulders rise anxiously, “I don’t know. Melody, people vanish all the time. I just don’t have the time to research every disappearance story.” As though his seat just became hot all of a sudden, he gets up and starts walking back towards the door.
She is still not satisfied with his response. Melody also stands up and inches closer to him, “Did he leave a note, a gift, a keepsake, anything to say thank maybe? People don’t just leave without a trace, Will.” Melody’s firmness rattles him, but she is just getting warmed up.
In a moment of nervousness, he pulls out a handkerchief to wipe his brow with one hand and her father’s pocket watch with the other to check the time, “I think I need to...” He is still stepping back. He backs into something, which abruptly stops him. It’s the door frame.
Will is standing at the door and Melody is right in front of him. “Like that watch, where did you get that from?” Melody points directly at the pocket watch. Then she glares at him with a cold stare and she does not take her eyes off him.
“This? It… it was a gift.” Will gulps. More sweat drips down his face and he is breaking.
“A gift?” Melody knows her father would not part from his pocket watch. It is one of his prized possessions, much like a family heirloom. “From who? Tell me about him.”
Looking around for a way to exit, Will finally blunders, “I know nothing about that man.” He escapes hastily through the door and leaps down the stairs, skipping steps. Melody stands there rather stunned at his sudden undertaking. When she looks outside the door, she catches a brief glimpse of him as his head disappears under the stairwell, through the back hallway and outside the door.
An echo of the door slamming shut ricochets through the hollow walls of the house.
And Melody is left standing at the doorway of the study. A fearful thought enters her mind, Something has gone terribly wrong with her father and Will knows it.
Chapter 4
One night, after work, Melody goes to see Officer Higgins. He left a note at the inn for her to come see him.
He must have news about the barn. Melody has been anxious to know what exactly is going on in that barn and she is hoping whatever he reveals will give her something useful for her investigation.
She knows she could use a new lead after Will ran off without divulging what he knew about her father. Now, ironically, he is the one avoiding her. What he doesn’t know and just like Morrison said, she is not one to give up easily. One way or another, Melody will get her answers.
When she arrives at the “Police Station,” Officer Higgins is waiting for her. “Miss Winter. Please, come on in.”
Melody walks into the studio apartment, “Officer Higgins, I got your message. You wanted to see me?”
“I did. It’s regarding the barn.” Officer Higgins has a much more serious tone to his voice than last time. He brushes his satiny smooth dirty blond fringe out of his face and sits at the desk. He still has his dark blue uniform on. Melody cannot tell if he is coming or going. Either way, she imagines that this visit will be much shorter than the first.
“Okay, go ahead. I’m ready to hear. What is it?”
“That’s the thing. Nothing. The barn is completely clear except for a few bottles of whiskey, otherwise it’s clean. The barn is deserted, so either there was nothing going on there or it was abandoned.”
Melody ponders the scenario, then she says, “Do you think Tam cleaned it out before you got there?”
