'I never had a set bedtime.'
'And just look how you turned out,' Nick said dolefully.
'You are a laugh riot, Sheriff. Anyway, I promised Paige a guitar lesson. Since I'm alone and she's probably bored, how about my giving a lesson tonight?'
'She'd love it. And I'd love knowing you were with her. With everything that's going on…'
'There's safety in numbers,' Natalie finished for him.
After they hung up she called the Meredith house and got a busy signal. Ten minutes later she tried again. Still busy. Probably Mrs. Collins. She decided to simply get her guitar and go.
Blaine watched her rummage in a storage closet for the first guitar she'd ever owned-a Yamaha compact classic. Kira had given it to her for her sixth birthday. She'd been thrilled, so thrilled she not only practiced constantly but actually tried to sleep with the guitar. Her talent and devotion to the instrument pleased Kira. 'Yeah, it pleased her so much she took off five months later,' Natalie muttered, then forced her thoughts away from her mother. She scribbled a note for her father and grabbed her coat. Blaine drooped behind her to the door, gazing at her with tragic eyes. 'Okay, Sarah Heartburn,' Natalie laughed. 'I have no idea how you and Ripley the cat will get along, but I guess we'll find out. Besides, I don't like the idea of leaving you alone in this house again.'
Blaine immediately perked up at the sight of her leash and trotted happily to the car. Natalie felt as if she'd always owned the dog, and Blaine acted as if Natalie had always been her mistress. But she had placed the lost dog ad less than a week ago. Someone could call tomorrow and reclaim Blaine, Natalie reminded herself. Could she bear to give her up? If this were a beloved dog that had gotten lost, she would have no choice. But if she sensed the dog had been dumped…
'If you were dumped, the person who dumped you won't call,' Natalie said as they drove toward the Meredith house. Blaine cocked her head as if she understood every word. 'And if you merely got lost from a loving home, I don't think you would have bonded to me so quickly.' She sighed. 'You're a mystery, Blaine, one of many lately, and I've found out they're more fun to read about than to live.'
Lights glowed in the picture window and one upstairs window of the two-story Meredith house. Natalie knew the place had been vacant for nearly three years before Nick Meredith bought it. The former owner had demanded an unreasonable price and refused to negotiate until his business hit a giant snag and he needed the money. Nick had made a few repairs to the place and added a fresh coat of white paint, but the shrubbery and flowerbeds needed work. That might be a project for her and Paige as the summer wore on.
Natalie stopped abruptly on the sidewalk leading to the porch. A summer project? She had a job in Columbus she'd return to in a week. She also had a relationship to work out. After all, in spite of what had happened between her and Kenny, he was more important to her than a precocious kid, or the precocious kid's attractive, dominating, funny, workaholic father. Wasn't he?
Enough of this ridiculous thinking of summer projects, she told herself sternly. She walked determinedly forward, rang the bell, and looked around the porch. Two green plastic lawn chairs and a pot of bedraggled geraniums. In a town where people took pride in creating lovely porches, Nick Meredith wouldn't win any awards. The house had the air of a stopping-over place, as if no one meant to stay. Or maybe it simply lacked the touch of someone who thought of it as a true home.
Natalie was raising her hand to ring the bell again when Mrs. Collins's broad face peeped through the sheer curtains. She looked blankly at Natalie. Natalie smiled encouragingly.
'I come in peace,' she felt like yelling. Mrs. Collins blinked a couple of times then pulled away from the window. At last the door opened slowly.
'Hello. Remember me? Natalie St. John. I stayed with Paige the other evening.'
'I remember you.' The woman flushed. She probably also remembered Nick chewing her out for discussing the murders of Charlotte and Warren in front of Paige. She looked at Blaine, then at the guitar case. 'Did you want something?'
'I promised Paige a guitar lesson. Sheriff Meredith said tonight would be fine.' She paused. 'He also said I could bring my dog.' A lie, but she didn't think the woman was going to let them both in.
'Well, I guess it's all right if the sheriff said so. I try to take very good care of Paige. I treat her like my own daughter, but my girl was more manageable. Less sassy. Paige was born in New York City, you know.'
Apparently Mrs. Collins thought being born in New York City explained any undesirable personality traits Paige might exhibit. Natalie and Blaine stepped past her. The woman continued to stare inhospitably. 'Paige is here, isn't she?' Natalie asked.
'Of course she's here!' Mrs. Collins burst out. 'Where else would she be? It's night!'
'I just thought she might be sleeping over with a friend.'
'With a murderer on the loose?' Mrs. Collins demanded. 'Besides, she doesn't have any proper friends. Just that young Jenkins hooligan. His mother should keep a closer eye on him and the sheriff should forbid Paige to see him. If she were my girl-'
'Is she upstairs?' Natalie interrupted to stem the flow of unwanted opinions.
'Yes. In her room.'
'I'll just go up then. Second room on the left, right?'
She dashed up the steps, Blaine trotting behind her. She really shouldn't have come here, she thought. Clearly her visit annoyed Mrs. Collins, and even though Paige didn't have a set bedtime, she was probably getting sleepy by now.
A guitar lesson might simply be disruptive. She'd been thinking of herself when she came, not what was best for Paige. Maybe she wouldn't be any better at mothering than Kira had been. She'd make the guitar lesson short.
Natalie tapped lightly on the closed bedroom door. Her knock went unanswered. She tapped again. Nothing. Could the child already be asleep?
She turned the knob slowly and swung open the door. A small lamp glowed on the nightstand providing the light Natalie had seen from outside. A flowered quilt stretched over a small form whose auburn hair spread across a pillow. A pair of luminous green eyes stared from atop the chest of drawers. Ripley.
Something didn't feel right. Didn't Nick say Paige didn't go to bed early? And hadn't Paige told her that Ripley always slept on the bed with her? Maybe the cat left the bed after Paige went to sleep and she never knew it. Or maybe he was spooked by Blaine and had jumped to the safety of a high place. But he didn't look scared. And the auburn hair on the pillow had the metallic sheen of artificial hair. She walked over and pulled down the quilt.
Mrs. Collins had followed her up the stairs. 'A doll!' she screeched as if saying, 'A body!' Ripley stiffened, his tail snapping around to firmly cover his paws. Natalie walked to the window, which was raised. An arm's length away hung the sturdy limb of an oak tree. 'Looks like Paige has escaped.'
'Oh, my! Oh, Lord! Oh, gracious! Heaven help me!' Mrs. Collins bleated. 'This is not my fault! It's not my fault! It is not my fault!'
'You were supposed to be watching her,' Natalie said harshly, galled by the woman's concern for herself rather than the missing child. 'How long has she been gone?'
'I have no idea.' She met Natalie's incensed stare. 'Well, I can't keep my eyes on her every minute!'
'Especially when you're spending all your time on the phone.'
'I wasn't on the phone!'
'I tried to call twice before I came by. The line was busy and clearly Paige wasn't tying it up because she wasn't here. Now when was the last time you saw her?'
Mrs. Collins threw her a venomous look before her eyes filled with tears. 'You're right. I was on the phone much too long. I just never thought she'd do anything like this.'
'I understand,' Natalie said in a milder tone. Soothing the woman was necessary to make her concentrate on what was important. 'Calm down and try to remember when you saw her.'
Mrs. Collins took a deep breath. 'All right. Let's see. We ate dinner at six. She went up to her room for a while, then she came back down and watched something on television. I don't remember what. Then she went back up. That must have been around seven-thirty.'
Natalie glanced at her watch. 'It's 8:48. Over an hour unaccounted for, but I'll bet she didn't scoot out that window until nearly dark. It's been dreary all day, darker than usual…' Mrs. Collins nodded in vigorous agreement. 'Do you have any idea where she might have gone?'
'The Jenkins house?'
