~ A Shortcut Through The Shadows ~

by

Dorothy Bodoin

Still, I was prepared to dislike Matt Maynard. I didn’t expect him to be so likable and uncertain. Dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt under a brown jacket, he walked slowly around Winter, looking at him carefully from every angle, without responding to his friendly overtures.

"Well, I don’t know," he said. "He looks like Jester, but I don’t think Jester was this pretty and fluffy. He was smaller, too." Matt shrugged and smiled as if to apologize for everything he didn’t know. "I only saw him twice."

He thrust his hands into the pockets of his brown jacket and stepped back saying, "Jester" softly.

Winter’s only response was an inquisitive little whine that, in my view, indicated nothing.

Matt sat down again. Still looking at Winter, he pushed a strand of light brown hair away from the frame of his glasses. "He might be Jester. I wish I knew."

"Shouldn’t his owner have come to identify him herself?" I asked.

"She couldn’t. My sister has been missing since around Thanksgiving. I’m not sure of the date. Isn’t that when you found him?"

"No, it was after that, before Christmas. The details are in the Banner story."

Matt was quiet for a moment, no doubt trying to hide his disappointment but failing completely. "So Alexandra wasn’t with him when you found him?" he asked.

"Winter was alone. I assumed he was abandoned."

I laid my hand on the black side of Winter’s head. He wagged his tail, as if he understood the significance of my gesture and knew this visit concerned him.

The meeting wasn’t going as I had anticipated. I’d been prepared to give Winter back to Matt Maynard. Now it looked as if that wasn’t going to happen. Matt couldn’t swear that Winter was the collie he’d known as Jester. He didn’t even know where his sister was.

All the same, our reprieve was temporary. Alexandra could still be Winter’s owner. I might lose him yet.

"Do you have any clues to your sister’s whereabouts?" I asked.

"Your dog was the first one. Zan used to take Jester with her wherever she went. When I saw his picture in the paper and read that you found him around the time she dropped out of sight, I got my hopes up. I guess this is another dead end."

As he rose to leave, he looked so disheartened that I longed to offer him some comfort. Also I wanted to hear more about Alexandra.

"It’s so warm," I said. "Before you go, would you like something to drink?"

I glanced doubtfully at the pitcher of tea that had been brewing in the sun all day. That wouldn’t do for a young man somewhere in his twenties or, I hoped, over twenty-one.

"I have lemonade, ginger ale, and beer."

"A beer would taste good right now," he said.

"That’s what it’ll be then."

As I went through the door, I heard him say, "Jester?" softly.

Winter didn’t respond, not even with a whine.

I brought out a can of beer and a ginger ale for myself and settled down, hoping to hear the rest of Matt’s story.

He practically drained the can in one gulp. "That’s good. Thanks, Ms. Greenway. It’s hot for May, but it’s nice and cool here." He sat back, looking more relaxed than he had earlier, even though his mission had failed.

"Call me Jennet," I said. "In the summer, this porch is my favorite place."

Noting that refreshments were being served, Halley walked over to her water pail, where she lay drinking noisily and slopping water on the floor. Winter’s dark eyes were fixed on Matt. It was uncanny, but he seemed to be waiting to hear Matt’s story, too.

"Will you tell me more about your sister’s disappearance?" I asked.

"I’m not sure exactly when it happened. We didn’t see each other often. I’m up in Kalamazoo at college, and she’s in graduate school at Oakland, but she was taking the winter off. She couldn’t decide what she wanted to do next. She’s like that, always with a lot of interests, never settling on one."

"Didn’t anyone report her missing?"

"I did, as soon as I realized she was gone. She lived in an apartment near the university. I had a spare key. We used to meet every now and then for breakfast or lunch or when one of us needed a ride.

"Alexandra is the only family I have left. We planned to have Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant, but she didn’t show up. I tried to call her but couldn’t get an answer, so I drove down to her place. When I opened the door, everything was weird."

"In what way?"

"It looked as if she’d just stepped out for a few minutes in the middle of the day. Her papers and books were scattered all over the place." He shook his head at the memory. "The plants were dry, and the flowers on the coffee table were dead. I found a newspaper dated November fifteenth opened to the Entertainment section. That’s probably the last time she was in the apartment. The milk carton in the refrigerator had a November twentieth Sell-by date."

I set the Vernors can down and leaned forward, eager to hear more. Although this was a personal tragedy for Matt, it was also an intriguing mystery. Unexplained disappearances fascinated me, both in literature and life.

"Her car and purse were gone," he said. "It looked as if she’d left on purpose, but not for a trip because her suitcases were where she always kept them in the living room closet. They were empty."

"Would Alexandra have been likely to go away without telling you?" I asked.

"Yes, she would. It was like her. She never felt she had to let other people know where she was going. But I think she would have told me if she couldn’t make our Thanksgiving dinner."

"I agree. Anyone would do that."

"I found her address book and called everyone I could reach. She didn’t have many names in it, about twenty-five. She hadn’t been in contact with anyone for a month. The other people in the house and the landlady kept pretty much to themselves.

"Her money is still in the accounts, and her credit cards haven’t been used since November, but I’m not ready to believe my sister is dead. The police didn’t find any evidence of foul play."

"Maybe your sister had a good reason to vanish," I said.

"When I saw Jester’s picture, I thought you might know something about Zan. Maybe you saw her or her car. She has a dark red Saturn."

"I’m sorry. The night I found Winter, we were alone on Silver Oak Road. I’m sure of it. On a snowy night, a red car would be hard to miss."

"Then I read about the body found in Foxglove Corners last Sunday. I thought it might be her."

"It’s someone else," I said quickly.

"I know. I saw her in the morgue."

He set the empty beer can down on the small wicker table and rose once again.

"I’m sorry about your sister," I said. "But I’m glad you’re not going to take Winter away with you."

"I can’t keep a dog in my place, even if he is Jester. If my sister ever comes back, though, she’ll know if this is her dog."

I gave him the only answer I could. "And he will know her. Do you know where your sister bought her collie, Matt?"