Under the Leaves

UNDER THE LEAVES

Joyce Peterson

Hank got in the old Ford and turned the key. The rusty truck just grunted its displeasure. Hank turned the key again. "Come on, Arabella. You can do it. I have to get down to that last cabin and I don't feel like walking today." Arabella again grunted her refusal.

Hank and Arabella had both been a lot younger when he and Molly had bought this place. Now, Molly was gone, in body if not in spirit, and it looked like the old ford was headed for Fordville Junkyard.

Hank knew that ,before long, he would have to make some arrangement for "Hunters' Cabins" and move into town, near his daughter so she could do the daughter thing she had been hinting that it was time for her to do. Hank wasn't ready yet.

When he turned the key for the third time and yelled, "Damn you, Arabella, maybe I'll just park you on the dump and see if anybody else wants you," Although Arabella didn't exactly purr when the key was turned again, she did start but coughed a few times.

"I know, old girl," Hank told her, "I don't feel like going either, but two days ago, it looked like the wind had blown those leaves a little high on the other side of that cabin. I thought we'd better take a look."

"Hunter's Cabins" were just a string of cabins down a side road from the little town of Summervile. They were cheap cabins, rented to hunter's during the season , and, any time, to families that couldn't afford the price of the big fancy motels along the highway. Of course, since it was out of the way of most traffic, they occasionally got a couple that wanted the privacy. They tried to keep the last couple of cabins for them. Most of the restaurants in town knew of the place and told anyone who asked about cheaper places to stay. Hank and Molly had made a reasonable living running it so, as long as he was here, staying in the cabin that had been theirs from the time of their purchase, he would feel independent, and the ghost of Molly would be with him.

She had always been the one to plan for the future. Hank figured she had an inkling about her death. He knew that was why, last year, Molly had brought in her younger sister, Lena, and her husband, Jim, to help out. They were both in there early sixties so were not youngsters. Their kids had grown up and moved away and Jim had been thinking about retiring. It had been a good arrangement , since Lena seemed to have Molly's affinity for ordering things for the cabins and Jim took over some of the maintenance that had always been Hank's job. He felt that he and his in-laws could come to some agreement when it came time for him to…go but he wasn't ready, not yet. They had local people who did the cleaning and other jobs that had to be done so "Hunter's Cabins" had gone on when Molly had died. However, Hank was sure her spirit was still there to see that things went well.

Arabella seemed to know her way to the last cabin because, while Hank had been musing about the fate of "Hunter's Cabins", she had brought him to the last cabin on the lot.

"Good Girl," he said as he patted her steering wheel.

"You better be getting her in for a tune up." Hank could hear Molly's voice as clearly as if she had been sitting next to him.

"As soon as I can get around to it," he told her and he heard her "Humpf" as he got out of the truck and closed the door. He reached into the back of the truck and took out a rake.

"You're not going to need that. There's always that old rake you forgot to take with you last time you were down here," Molly told him.

"I wish you would stop that," he told the empty space around him as he put the rake back." He had turned the corner of the cabin and, by golly, she was right, there was that old rake leaning against the side wall. Besides, there was a burn spot down the hill that was far enough away from the cabin to keep it safe from a fire that had burned the leaves. "Jim must have been down here earlier and done that." Come to think of it, there was the smell of burned leaves in the air yesterday.

"He did," he thought he heard Molly again. He remembered how against the idea, of bringing Lena and Jim to help out with their cabins, he had been.. He hadn't known how ill Molly was. She kept it from him until she needed to bring them to help, as she grew weaker.

"Sorry about that, Moll, you should have told me," he apologized, belatedly, again to empty space. He didn't get a reply but he knew what she might have said. It was one of her favorite sayings when she finally got around to telling him something she had done or something she had bought, "You didn't need to know."

"Well, I don't think there's anything for me to do here. Jim's done it all." He had said it to himself but he was sure he heard Molly hum, "Unh, unh". It had always been her way of telling him he hadn't finished whatever project he had started, so he started to look around to see if there was something more he could do.

There seemed to be some kind of bright glitter coming from the grass near him. He raked it with his foot, then, leaned down to push the grass aside. His fingers closed on a fairly large green jewel. He picked it up and examined it more closely. "Probably just something that fell out of someone's cheap necklace," he told himself as he stuck it in his pocket. He listened to see if Molly might have more to say but he could hear only the sound of the cool, fall breeze whispering through the trees.

"OK, Arabella," he said to the truck as he got in and turned the key. "You ready to go home?" She answered him by turning over on the first try.

After he drove into the space beside his cabin and parked, he pulled the green stone out of his pocket. "I think I'll show this to Lena and Jim. See if they have any thoughts on it," he told himself as he went to the office next door.

When they had come to live here, Lena and Jim had taken the rooms behind it as their living space. Hank and Molly had used that space for storage, but Lena and Jim had done a good job of fixing it up so they could be available for any new customers.

"Anybody up?" Hank yelled.

Lena came from the back, wiping her hands on her apron. She was tall and thin and, with her graying hair, green eyes and that smile on her face, she looked so much like Molly that Hank always looked twice to be sure it was Lena.

"Jim," she called out. "It's our landlord." Lena had always made it easy for him by teasing him about owning the place. She knew they were more than employees. In fact, he had hinted about selling them the place sooner or later.

Jim came from the back, wiping his face on a napkin. He was a big man with salt and pepper hair. His blue twinkling blue eyes seemed to match his face that always carried a smile. His broad shoulders stretched the flannel work shirt he wore. "What're you doing up so early, Hank?"

"I went down to rake that pile of leaves away from that last cabin. I was afraid that if it caught fire everything would go. Should have done it yesterday but it slipped my mind." Hank explained.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you. I went down yesterday and did that. Thought I'd save you the trouble. You've been looking tired lately." Jim sounded like he was apologizing.

"I appreciate that, Jimbo. I haven't been feeling like doing as much as I used to." Hank had used the name he always used for his brother-in-law unless he felt that what he had to say was important.

"Hey, wait a minute," Jim said as he went to the back of the house then came back with something in his hand. "Look what I found in those leaves yesterday." He opened his hand to reveal a lovely green necklace that was missing a big stone from the center. "I looked all over but I couldn't find the stone that's missing."

"Well, I'll be darned," Hank said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out the stone . "We found it," he bragged as he opened his hand.

Lena and Jim smiled at each other. They had heard Hank use "We or Us" when he meant himself and Molly. They never brought it to his attention. They thought it best to humor him at his age, after all, he was a lot older than they were.

Lena took the necklace and squinted her eyes to look at it. "I don't know. It might be worth a lot. Maybe you should ask the sheriff if anyone has lost a green necklace or, maybe had it stolen. If I owned it, I'd sure be glad to get it back." She handed it to Jim who gave it to Hank, along with the stone.

"They go together so you better have both of them if you're going to see the sheriff," he told him

Hank wasn't sure. "I don't know…"

Molly seemed to be telling him to listen to Lena. Lena had Molly's good, common sense about everything.

"OK," he told both of them. "I'll go down to the see him after breakfast." He started out to go to his cabin to get his usual breakfast of cereal, juice, and coffee, the instant kind. He never cooked unless he had company which was seldom. Molly still nagged him about it, so he did fix himself eggs and bacon, if he felt up to it.

Lena called him back. "Why don't you eat with us? We're having pancakes and there's plenty of batter."

"Thanks, Lena. I can't remember the last time…" He knew that the last time he had pancakes was when Molly was alive but Molly stopped him from telling Lena when she "Sh'd" him and whispered, "She doesn't need to know that."

Lena saw his discomfort and told him, "Come on back. It will only take a minute to get things ready. It will be good to have a nice talk."

Hank told her, "That would be nice," as he followed her.

After breakfast, Hank took his dishes to the sink, as Molly reminded him. "I think I'll take that necklace and the stone and go down to the sheriff's. Want to come along, Jim?" He hoped Jim would say "yes" because doing something, like talking to an important person like a sheriff, was not easy for him to do without backup. "You don't need Jim, I'll be there." Molly told him.

"Sorry, Hank," Jim apologized, " I've got a lot to do today. One of our cabin workers isn't coming in today and Lena is going to help out so I should stay in the office."

"That's OK. We'll be all right. He seemed like a nice guy the few times I've had to call him to come here." Hank didn't sound sure since he hadn't had to call him very often.

As he started for the car, Molly told him to get the license plate number from the car that had been at the last cabin two nights ago. He asked Jim to look it up and write down. He put the note in his pocket as he reluctantly went out and climbed in the truck.

Arabella must have thought it was the right thing to do because she started right up, "Guess that makes it unanimous." Hank told her.

The Sheriff's office was on the way to town so he was pulling into the parking lot in less than ten minutes. When he walked into the office, he recognized the young officer who, about once a month, rented one of those last two cabins. He was about to greet him more heartily than he might have done, when he heard Molly whisper, "Don't do it!"

"Hi," he told the young man, "I'd like to see Sheriff Daley." He was sure he saw the relief on the officer's face.

"Somebody to see you, Sheriff," the young man told the intercom.

"Tell'm to come on in," the box answered.

Hank opened the door to the only office in the building. Sheriff finished signing a paper as he motioned to a chair. "What's your trouble today, Mr. Harris?" He asked.

Hank was so surprised that anyone knew his last name that he almost missed the chair as he sat down. "You can call me Hank. Everybody else does. And I don't have any trouble except for this green necklace." He put the item on the desk. "I was wondering if anyone reported something like this, lost or stolen."

The Sheriff picked it up then reached to a corner of his desk and picked up a paper that seemed to be a list. After looking it over, he handed the paper to Hank. "I don't see anything like it on the list. See?"

Giving it a quick look, Hank told him, "You're right. But, if someone happens to call it in later, could you let me know? I think it might have been someone in one of my cabins a couple of nights ago."

"Do you have the name and address of the person in the cabin that night?" The Sheriff asked.

Hank shook his head. "We have a couple of John Smith cabins down there so I don't think a name would help but maybe a name from the license number of his car will help. We always double check those." He handed the Sheriff the slip of paper that had a license written down on it.

The Sheriff took out the slip of paper that Hank gave him. "People don't have any privacy any more. They should realize that," he grumbled.

"Nice officer you have out there." Hank told him.

The Sheriff had a proud look on his face as he said, "My son," he said. "They don't come any better. He joined the force a month ago. He's a whiz on the computer and a good policeman. We're glad he decided to join up."

Hank smiled to himself as Molly whispered, "He doesn't need to know about the boy renting that cabin."

"I know that, "he told her, then, realizing that he had said it aloud, added, "He must be a big help."

When the young man came in, the Sheriff handed him the necklace and the slip of paper. "Here, Dan, see if you can find out if this necklace is worth anything. Then, get a name to go with this license number."

Hank smiled at the officer as he congratulated him for joining the Sheriff's department.

The officer was back before Hank had finished explaining to the Sheriff how they had found both parts of the necklace. "As far as I can tell, it's an expensive necklace. The computer said that, if there was a flaw in the gem, it was probably a genuine emerald. There was a flaw in the loose one. We could always take it down to the jewelery store and ask Mr. Worthington."

"Later, maybe," his father told him. "How about that license number? Did you get a name?"

The boy looked at something he had written on the paper. "Belongs to "Arthur Ashley.The address is 365 Maple Dr. That's a pretty exclusive part of Summerville. " he answered as he handed the necklace and the paper to the Sheriff.

Hank held out his hand for the necklace and the paper, but the Sheriff said. "We'd better find an evidence box for these until we find out what's going on," he told Hank, then turned to his son. "Get a phone number for me. I'll make the call,"

Hank wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. "Guess I can go now?" He asked

The Sheriff held out his hand. "I'll let you know what happens. We can take it from here."

Hank felt he had been dismissed as he shook the man's hand and turned to go.

"Thanks for coming in," the Sheriff told him.

When Hank left the office, the young man followed him out. "Hope you got the problem all straightened out, Mr.Harris."

"I did," Hank answered as the officer followed him to his car.

"Thanks for not giving me away. I'm dating someone my Dad doesn't like. The only way we can see each other is at your place." Hank saw that the boy's face had turned a bright red.

"You don't owe me any explanations son. We rent cabins not gossip." Hank told him.

"I know, but I was listening to what you told my Dad and we were in the cabin next to that last one that same night. Maybe what we heard might help if you can keep us out of it someway." The boy pleaded. Hank nodded. "Well, first the car came. We had seen that same car before. But, later, we saw another car pull up in front of our cabin. A few minutes later, a lady got out and walked into the other cabin. That's when all the screaming started and a man an woman came running out of the cabin, got in the first car and took off. Then the lady came out of the cabin and walked around to the side of the cabin but in few minutes, she came back and drove off. I hope it will help. Please keep us out of it if you can"

"We will," Molly told Hank. Hank told the young man, "We will," and wondered why the officer had a questioning look on his face. "Your Dad promised to let me know what happens. Maybe neither of us will have to do anything."

Hank drove out of the parking lot the parking lot and made the turn to go home but after he had gone a short distance he decided to turn around.

"I'm sorry, Molly, but I need to know what happened in that cabin. I heard the address so I think I'll go out there and see what I can find out. Jim and Lena will want to know." Hank hoped Molly would understand.

However", he was sure he heard her say, "You don't need to know and neither do they," but this time he ignored her.

The home at 365 Maple Dr. was more like a mansion than a house. Hank had to summon up his nerve to go up and ring the bell. His head started to swirl and he held onto the door frame to keep from falling as he rang the bell and waited.

From inside the house, he heard a female voice yell, "Maisie,where the hell are you? Didn't you hear the doorbell?"

When the door opened, he saw a woman who, he guessed was close to his age but one who had tried to push time back with face lifts, makeup, dyed hair and clothes that were 40 or 50 years too young for her.

"Whadda you want?" She bellowed at him.

"Sorry, ma'm. Maybe I have the wrong house. I was looking for a Mr. Arthur Ashley," Hank told her.

"Well, you won't find him here, ever again." She started to close the door, thought better of it as she opened it wider and asked, "This wouldn't be about that green necklace, would it? The sheriff just called to tell me that someone had turned it in."

"I shouldn't have come, but we found the necklace outside a cabin at a resort I own. My wife told me not to come." Hank apologized as he grabbed the door frame a bit harder.

"You should be ashamed to rent cabins to husbands who need a place to take their lovers," she shouted at him.

"I think you're probably right," Hank told her. He breathed in and felt his strength returning.

"Well, I can tell you Mr. Arthur Wiggins won't be renting any cabins from now on. I knew he had been cheating on me. After 3 other husbands, I know when one of them is cheating. I followed them to your place the other night. When I went in, they were on the porch and he was putting MY necklace around HER neck. I was so mad I just grabbed the necklace and threw it over the porch railing." The woman had screamed all of this without taking a breath.

"Why didn't you go get it before you left?" Hank asked.

The woman had calmed down after her out burst. "I tried," she said, "but there were so many leaves piled up there and it was too dark. I went back the next day but someone had scraped up all the leaves. I thought Arthur had gone back to get it. I was going to wait until he gave it to that woman then report it stolen and tell the police where they might find it."

Hank's only thought was that he would be glad to get rid of the resort. "At least you will have the necklace after you talk to the Sheriff."

The woman cupped her chin in her hand. "No. I think I will tell him that Arthur stole it. Maybe he'll have to go to jail." She laughed as she closed the door.

Hank got in the truck and started it. "I sure wouldn't want to get on HER mad side, Arabella. Let's go home."

As they neared "Hunter's Cabins", Arabella coughed, died and ran off the side of the road.

The door opened and Hank saw Molly as she held out her hand to him. He took it and put his arm around her as they started down the road.

"I'll send the mechanic at the garage to pick her up." Hank said.

"Never mind. Look," Molly told him and pointed to a brand new Arabella sitting on the road ahead of them.

When he looked back, he saw himself draped over the steering wheel of the old truck.

"Come on," Molly told him. "Let's go home." #End