Page 17 of More than a Memory

Grabbing two beers from the fridge, he exited quickly. Soon, Casey could hear her two favorite men joking and laughing from the living room. She loved her life. She thought of all the love she had and knew she was truly blessed.

9

It was Monday morning and Darcy was climbing the walls. She felt so unsettled that her nerves were jangling. Damn that cowboy! He had really gotten under her skin, and she was not at all happy about it. She liked her life just the way it was. She didn’t want the added complications of feelings and vulnerability. She was considering whether to even go on a second date. He was way too appealing for her peace of mind. She was either going to have to see if she could successfully compartmentalize these feelings or call the whole thing off. Those were her choices. It was just too frightening to open herself up to the kind of loss she had experienced before. She knew she could never survive another. Better to keep things light and superficial, that way nobody got hurt. Now that she had that settled, for the thousandth time, she could concentrate on her work.

Her plan for the day was to pay a little visit to Jared’s girlfriend, Rachel, and then check in on his best friend, Ray. She also had in hand an address for a second lakefront home property under the Wards’ name that was about a two-hour drive north. She decided to bring Mac with her and, of course, that pleased him immensely. She loaded up her VW Golf. She really didn’t need the van, which held most of her equipment, because she wasn’t planning on any extended stakeouts that day. She had packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a thermos of hot coffee with cream and sugar, and doggie treats.

Mac liked to ride up front with her. He made quite the impression at stop lights or when passing other vehicles, looking almost human as he intently studied anyone who was within staring distance. He often got surprised smiles and laughter, with people pointing at him and even giving an occasional wave. He was the most expressive of the three dogs. He had a white coat and only a brown patch of fur over his left eye and brown freckles across his nose. He was also a talker and more extroverted than Fannie and Freddie, though they were no slouches in the charisma department. Each of them had distinct personalities. All were highly intelligent and loving, and were comedians who seemed to compete for the most laughs when they were showing off. She couldn’t imagine her life without them.

Pulling up to Rachel’s residence, it appeared that no one was home. There was no garage, only a carport, and there were no cars parked in the drive or the street. The house appeared neglected and in desperate need of TLC. Darcy decided to knock on the door anyway. As she did, she noticed the curtains move in the front picture window, which clued her in that someone was there. After several moments, the door opened and a young disheveled woman answered with a baby resting on her hip.

“Can I help you?” she said listlessly, looking extremely weary.

“Hi, I’m Darcy Morgan and I would like to talk to you a moment if I may about Jared Ward. Is he here by any chance?” she asked.

“No, and I haven’t seen or talked to him for a week,” Rachel said resentfully.

“Do you happen to know where he might be?” Darcy continued.

“No and I don’t care neither,” she said. “He really did me wrong.”

“Could I come in? I won’t take up much of your time.”

“My house is a mess, but yeah you can come in, as long as you don’t mind. I can’t get nothing done with these two babies hangin’ onto their mama.”

Darcy entered and looked around at the depressing surroundings. Poor girl, she thought, reminding herself to never take for granted her many blessings and how fortunate she really was.

Rachel was attempting to hang on to the baby while clearing the couch of clothing and toys to make room for Darcy to sit down.

“Don’t go to any trouble. I can just sit on the edge here,” Darcy said while finishing what Rachel started by shoving things to the side to sit on the very edge.

A moment later, a toddler of around two came out from the dining room calling, “Mama.”

“I’m here little man,” Rachel said.

“Your children are adorable!” Darcy said.

“Thank you. What did you say your name was?” she questioned.

“Darcy, Darcy Morgan. Listen, full disclosure here. I’m working for Jessica in trying to locate her missing children. I know you were already questioned about this, but I am following up to see if there is anything new you might be able to add.”

“I told ‘em I haven’t seen or heard from him. He took money out of my wallet before he left and put me in a terrible situation.”

“Did you report that to the police?” Darcy asked.

“No, they won’t believe me anyway. What are they going to do anyhow?” she asked logically.

“At least there will be a record,” Darcy responded. “Did Jared speak with you or mention anything about his plan to take off with the children?”

“He was acting all nervous and jittery last time he was here. I wondered if he was up to no good. When he left, I noticed my wallet had been emptied, he is the only one who could have done it,” she said bitterly.

The toddler had sidled up to Darcy and was looking at her with a big grin on his face that could have benefited from a washcloth. “What are your babies names?” Darcy asked.

“This is Shelby and the one hangin’ on ya is Caleb,” she said with affection.

“Hello, Caleb.”

Reaching for a toy that was laying on the couch next to her, she grabbed it and held it out to him. He just continued to grin, so Darcy began to use the stuffed rabbit like a puppet to communicate with Caleb, causing him to erupt with laughter.