LITMIR.BIZ

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take away the air of neglect that clung to the place.

      The lawn needed a good mowing and the house itself screamed for a fresh coat of paint. Weeds had choked the last of the fall flowers in the beds that lined the walkway to the front porch.

      She got out of her car and tried to ignore the sense of being overwhelmed. Was he ill? Poppy was seventy-one years old. Was he too old to be living on his own? How was she going to help him when she could barely help herself?

      She knocked on the door, hoping he was at least well enough to open it. “Who is there?” The deep voice resounded with energy from the other side of the door.

      “Poppy, it’s me, Edie.”

      The door flung open and Edie breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her grandfather, looking older, but robust and healthy. “What a surprise! If it isn’t my favorite girl in the whole wide world.” He pulled her into the foyer and into the loving embrace of his arms.

      He smelled of cheap cologne and menthol rub, of early autumn air and sweet childhood memories, and as she hugged him back she wondered why she had stayed away for so long.

      He finally released her and motioned her to follow him inside. “Come on, then. I need to check on my dinner.”

      As she followed behind him toward the kitchen she noticed that the inside of the house was neat and tidy and the scent of a roast cooking emanated from the kitchen.

      Maybe it had been a cranky neighbor who had called her because of the condition of the exterior of the house and the yard. She couldn’t remember the caller giving his name but it was obvious that he had overreacted. Thank God her grandfather seemed fine.

      She’d take the next couple of days and mow the lawn, weed the flower beds and maybe get a couple gallons of paint to spruce up the place. She made a commitment to come visit every two months and resume her weekly phone calls.

      “Got roast and potatoes for supper,” he said as he went to oven and opened the door. “And green beans from the garden. Go on, sit down while I stir these beans and add a little bacon grease.”

      “Are you expecting company?” she asked, noticing that the table held two place settings. Unless Poppy had suddenly become a psychic, the extra plate hadn’t been set for her.

      “Benjamin is coming over. He stops by two or three times a week for dinner and some chess.” Walt smiled at her. “It will feel like a regular party with you here.” He finished stirring the beans and then grabbed a plate from the cabinet and added it to the table.

      “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten all about your Poppy,” he said with a touch of censure in his voice.

      “You know the phone lines go both ways,” she replied.

      “I know, but I figured if a young girl like you wanted to talk to an old coot like me, you’d call.” He eased down in the chair next to her at the table. “What are you now, twenty-three or twenty-four? “

      “Twenty-nine, Poppy.” Although the past year of her life, she’d made the mistakes of a teenager and suffered a woman’s grief.

      One of his grizzly gray eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Twenty-nine!” He swiped a hand down his weatherworn face and shook his head. “Seems the past couple of years have plum gotten away from me. That means it’s been almost ten years since I lost my Delores and over two years since we lost your mama.” For a moment he looked ancient, with sadness darkening his blue eyes and his paper-thin lips turned downward.

      The sadness lasted only a moment and then his eyes regained their usual twinkle. “I hope you’re going to be here long enough for me to teach you a lesson or two in chess.”

      She laughed. “I’m not leaving here until I win at least one game.”

      “Good,” he said, obviously delighted. “That means it’s going to be a nice long visit.”

      Although Edie was glad she was here, again she was struck by the thought that he seemed just fine and whoever had called her saying he needed help had definitely overreacted.

      He jumped out of his chair and walked over to the oven and opened the door. “Benjamin should be here soon and we’ll eat. Are you hungry?”

      “Starving,” she replied. Her lunch had been a bag of chips she’d eaten in the car. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

      “There are a couple of nice tomatoes in the refrigerator. If you want to, you can slice them up and put them on the table.”

      As she sliced the tomatoes, they chatted mostly about the past, playing a game of remember when that created warm fuzzies in Edie’s heart.

      She shouldn’t have stayed away for so long. Poppy was the only family she had left in the world. Her home in Topeka was just a three-hour drive to Black Rock but somehow her personal drama and heartbreak had taken over and the last thing on her mind had been her Poppy.

      “You’ll like Benjamin,” Poppy said as he took the roaster out of the oven and set it on hot pads in the center of the table. “He’s a good guy and a mean chess player.”

      And probably eighty years old, Edie mentally thought, although she was grateful her grandfather had a friend for company. Maybe this big house was just too much for Poppy. Maybe it was time for him to think about an apartment or someplace where he didn’t have to worry about maintenance and upkeep. Time to talk about that later, she thought as the doorbell rang.

      “That should be Benjamin,” Walt said and left the kitchen to get the door.

      Edie wiped off the countertop and then pasted a smile on her face as Walt came back into the kitchen. The smile fell as she saw who followed at his heels, not an old, gray-haired man with stooped shoulders and rheumy eyes, but rather the very hot deputy who had pulled her over and witnessed her mini-breakdown.

      “Edie, this here is my friend, Benjamin Grayson. Benjamin, this is my granddaughter who surprised me this evening with a visit,” Walt said.

      “Hello, Edie, it’s nice to meet you.” He stepped forward and held out a hand, obviously deciding to play it as if he’d never seen her before.

      He’d looked great earlier in his khaki uniform but now with worn tight jeans hugging his long lean legs and a blue cotton shirt clinging to his broad shoulders, he was pure sin walking.

      “Nice to meet you, too,” she replied as she gave his hand a short, curt shake.

      “Go on, sit down,” Walt said. “Let’s eat before the roast gets cold.”

      Edie slid into a chair at the table and tried not to notice the clean, male scent mingling with a woodsy cologne that wafted from Benjamin.

      He might have smelled good and he might have looked great and in another place and time she might have been interested in him. But Edie had sworn off relationships and men and sex for the rest of her life. Besides, her intention was to be in Black Rock for only two or three days.

      As the men joined her at the table and filled their plates, Walt and Benjamin made small talk about the weather and the forecast for a harsh winter to come.

      Although Edie was glad she’d gotten the phone call that had prompted her to come for a visit, she still didn’t see any real issue where her Poppy was concerned.

      “Any word on that missing girl?” Walt asked.

      Benjamin shook his head. “Nothing. It’s like she vanished into midair.”

      “Missing girl?” Edie looked at Benjamin curiously.

      “Her name is Jennifer Hightower, a twenty-two-year-old who went missing three weeks ago,” Benjamin replied.

      “And she’s not the only missing girl in town,” Walt said. “Benjamin’s own sister went missing over two months ago.”

      Edie saw the darkness that crawled into Benjamin’s eyes as he

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