Strangers in the Lane Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Strangers in the Lane

  ***

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Strangers in the Lane

  By Virginia Rose Richter

  Copyright 2012 by Virginia Rose Richter

  Cover Copyright 2012 by Virginia Rose Richter and Untreed Reads Publishing

  The author is hereby established as the sole holder of the copyright. Either the publisher (Untreed Reads) or author may enforce copyrights to the fullest extent.

  Previously published in print, 2012.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold, reproduced or transmitted by any means in any form or given away to other people without specific permission from the author and/or publisher. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to the living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Also by Virginia Rose Richter and Untreed Reads Publishing

  The Secret of Willow Lane

  http://www.untreedreads.com

  Strangers in the Lane

  A Willow Lane Mystery

  Virginia Rose Richter

  The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,

  And all the sweet serenity of books.

  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  To my children: Mark, Bruce, David and Susanna

  Who support me and make me laugh.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The last thing twelve-year-old Jessie Hanson wanted to do that day was babysit Phillip. All her friends were going sledding after school. But her mom insisted because she had an appointment and Mrs. Winter was sick. Mrs. Winter was a neighbor who babysat Jessie’s little brother and thought Phillip was a perfect child. As it turned out, Jessie’s babysitting probably saved two lives.

  It was the end of March and cold—even for Nebraska. Slate gray clouds hung low in the sky and threatened snow. After school, Tina Adams, Jessie’s best friend since first grade, decided against sledding. Instead, she walked home with Jessie.

  “I’ll help out with Phillip.” Tina pulled her stocking cap down over her dark hair. “I need all the babysitting duty I can get.” Tina’s mom was expecting a baby within a month.

  Jessie was grateful for the company. By the time they got to her house on Willow Lane, the girls were hungry and half-frozen. Phillip was still asleep.

  They said goodbye to Jessie’s mom and fixed popcorn to eat while they did their homework. In the living room, Jessie plugged in the baby monitor and settled next to Tina on the floor. The baby monitor transmitted any sound from Phillip’s bedroom. Jessie heard him sigh and turn over in his sleep.

  Tina sat up and scooped a handful of popcorn from the bowl. “My science project is going nowhere.” She nibbled on a puffy kernel.

  “I’d like to know why Mrs. Carlson never lets us choose our own subject.” Jessie tossed her blonde braid over her shoulder. “I’d do something on lightning. Maybe if I understood it better, I wouldn’t be scared of it.”

  Tina laughed. “I cannot believe you’re actually afraid of something.”

  Jessie smiled and pulled a pencil from her backpack.

  “You have a weird sense of humor. Get to work.”

  Tina reset a silver clip to corral a loose strand of hair.

  “I hate to admit it, but I have zero interest in the tides.”

  “Don’t talk so loud,” whispered a gruff male voice. “You’ll wake up the kid!”

  “Ya, ya. You too can be quiet,” said a woman with an accent.

  Jessie and Tina jumped to their feet. Tina’s brown eyes were huge. “Who was that?”

  Jessie shook her head slowly. She tiptoed to the hallway and peeked around the corner. No one was there.

  The gruff man spoke again. “A week from today. Thursday is the only day she works alone. I’ll be in and out in ten minutes.”

  Tina pointed to the baby monitor as the Accent Woman said, “The stuff? You can fence quick?”

  “No problem,” said the man. “It’s a good stash for this little burg. I’ll take it to Lincoln and sell it.”

  Jessie raced up the stairway and opened Phillip’s bedroom door. He was still asleep. She looked under his crib. No one. She jerked open his closet door and shoved the clothes on the rod to one side. No one. She hurried back to Tina.

  “Mama.” Phillip was awake. The strange voices were gone.

  “What happened?” Jessie’s voice trembled.

  Tina turned off the monitor. “I’ve heard of this. Conversations from other houses in the neighborhood come through the baby monitor.” She picked up her notebook and the big blue popcorn bowl and set them on the coffee table. “The speakers have to be in the room with a baby monitor turned on. I think it’s about the airwaves. Now that’s the science project we should be doing—something useful.”

  The girls took the hall stairs two at a time, back up to Phillip’s room.

  “Spooky!” Jessie’s blue eyes sparkled. “You know what?”

  “Uh-oh.” Tina frowned. “I’m afraid to ask. What?”

  “We’d better brush up on our detective skills.” Jessie turned the glass knob on Phillip’s door. “Those two sounded like they were planning to steal something.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Tina said. “We should find out who they are before somebody gets hurt.”

  Phillip jumped up and down in his crib, gleeful at the sight of Jessie and Tina. “Jes-sie, Ti-na, Jes-sie, Ti-na,” he chanted.

  He was two now. Tall for two. Jessie loved the way his hair curled and was turning blond like hers.

  He winked at them. A perfect wink.

  Tina laughed. “He winked at me! Babies can’t wink.”

  Jessie lifted Phillip and his teddy bear out of the crib. “I taught him. To make up for teaching him to stick out his tongue.”

  “Did your folks ever find out where he learned that?”

  “No! And don’t you tell, Tina. They’re still hoping it’ll go away. Wink, Phillip.”

  He winked with one eye and then the other.

  Tina kissed his cheek. “You are very cute, Phillip Hanson.”

  “Down,” he said and struggled from Jessie’s grasp.

  Jessie grabbed a fresh diaper from the shelf. “Wait, Phillip. Let’s change your pants.”

  He laughed and ran. “Don’t catch me! Don’t catch me!”

  Jessie giggled. “I’m gonna catch you. Here I come.”

  Gently, the girls tackled him, wrestled him to the carpet and changed him in a hurry. When they released him, he bolted like a calf let out of a pen.

  Tina flung herself onto the floor and feigned exhaustion. “I think I’m too old to have a baby brother.”

  Jessie knew Tina changed her mind daily about being a big sister. Sometimes she hated the idea and sometimes she could see the advantages. She said the big bonus would be her parents having someone else to fuss over besides her.

  Downstairs, the front door closed. “Hi. Where is everyone?” Jessie’s m
om was home.

  “Mama!” Phillip hurried down the steps, careful to hang onto the banister.

  Jessie ran to the top of the stairs. “Mom, are people bringing their little kids to the baby shower tomorrow?”

  Her mother picked up Phillip. “Yes. I figured it would keep Phillip occupied. Why?”

  “Tina and I want to help. We’ll entertain the kids. Okay?”

  Her mom unwound Phillip’s arms from their stranglehold on her neck. “You’re volunteering to babysit? Sure. I could definitely use the help. Be here by five o’clock. Oh, and wear a dress.” She threw Jessie a kiss.

  Back in her bedroom, Jessie rummaged through the closet. “A dress, for gosh sake. I haven’t had one on in months.”

  Tina leaned against the doorway with her arms folded. “Gee, Jessie. Thanks a lot for volunteering my services for a mass babysitting job.”

  “Remain calm,” whispered Jessie. “How else are we going to check out who has kids and whose voices were on the baby monitor?”

  “Ah! Very smart! Oh well, I guess I should help with the baby shower anyway since my mom is the guest of honor.”

  “We’ve got one week to find those thieves,” said Jessie.

  CHAPTER TWO

  When Jessie opened the front door, the Hanson house filled with smiling moms and shouting children.

  Jessie wore a navy velvet dress that showed off her blue eyes and her braid, the color of ripe wheat, which hung down her back. Tina, in a little black suit and tights, looked French with her dark hair cut into a short cap. They piled baby gifts on the hall table and helped the children remove coats and boots.

  An hour later Tina said, “Not a foreign accent in sight.”

  Jessie nodded. “This might be harder than I realized. We could be spending the whole week doing this.”

  Tina clapped her forehead with her hand. “What a horrible thought!”

  Sonja Hegstrom’s toddler ran across the hall and right up Jessie’s feet. She lifted little Owen off her shoes and forced a smile to hide her pain. The Hegstroms owned a manufacturing company and lived in a mansion on the next block. I wonder if the robbers were speaking from Owen’s bedroom, thought Jessie.

  Henry Thomas, age three, shoved two-year-old Kerry Elm to the floor. When Jessie leaned down to help her, a screaming Kerry grabbed Jessie’s braid and pulled herself to her feet.

  “Ow!” cried Jessie. She eased Kerry’s hands from her hair.

  Carol Marshall hurried to Jessie’s aid with her eighteen-month-old, Robyn, trailing behind. “Jessie, you’re getting very good at babysitting. Phillip’s turned you into a real pro.” Carol knelt down and wiped tears from Kerry’s cheeks with a tissue.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Marshall.” Jessie tried to repair her braid. “Maybe I can sit with Robyn sometime.” Jessie knew that Carol worked part-time at Tom and Carol Marshall’s jewelry store.

  Carol hoisted Robyn to her hip. “I might be in the market soon. I’m not happy…”

  A loud crash and a scream came from the hallway. Henry Thomas had knocked over the telephone stand. His mother rushed to the rescue and carried him off.

  Tina limped to the overturned table. “Tell your mom you’ll need a new phone.”

  Jessie picked up the instrument. “What’s wrong with your leg?”

  “I tried to separate Kerry and Bobby Corwin in a fight. Kerry kicked me.” Tina sat on a step and rubbed her ankle. “The zoo is safer.”

  “They’re a wild bunch all right.” Jessie said.

  “No kidding.” Tina made a face. “I dread having a kid like one of these living in my house. I feel like I’m about to be punished.”

  Jessie began gathering up toys littering the floor. “You’re being punished for leading the golden life of an ‘only’ child. Sleeping in, a quiet and tidy home and no one in your stuff. You’re spoiled, Tina. Soon you’ll join me in baby-land.”

  “You don’t have to sound so happy about it,” said Tina.

  Jessie sat down on the step next to Tina. “I wonder how many kids’ deals we’ll have to go to before we figure this out.”

  “What do you mean—kids’ deals?” Tina’s voice was rising.

  Jessie stood up. “We can’t stop now. We have to go where children are—to find the baby monitor people.”

  “And what excuse will we have for showing up at these kiddy events?” asked Tina.

  Jessie smiled. “Phillip will be our excuse.”

  * * *

  When the party was over, Jessie and her mom helped carry shower gifts to the Adams’ car and waved as Tina and her mother drove off. Phillip trailed along behind, dragging his teddy bear.

  Jessie spotted a huge van at the curb. “Whose truck?”

  Her mom shivered in the cold. “That’s the new Swedish Museum curator and his family. They’re moving into Mr. Johnson’s old guest house. The museum opens next month.”

  Just then a big gray-and-white Old English Sheepdog charged over the snow and crossed the street. It brushed past Phillip and knocked him down. He started to wail. A tall boy ran behind the dog.

  “Stop, Farley!” he shouted.

  The dog ran in circles, ears flapping and stubby tail wagging.

  “Hey!” Jessie yelled. “Your dog knocked down my brother!” She saw the boy grab the dog’s collar and then turned to brush snow off Phillip.

  “I’m so sorry,” the boy said. “Farley escaped. Is the baby all right?”

  Furious, Jessie whirled around and looked into the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. Boy, is he ever cute, she thought. She couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  “Phillip’s fine. Not hurt, just frightened,” her mother said. “Are you our new neighbor?”

  “Yes. I’m Bryce Peterson. We moved in today. This isn’t a very good way to start. I’m really sorry about your little boy.”

  Jessie just stared. Who gets lucky enough to have a new neighbor like this? she thought. She was freezing, but glad she hadn’t put her coat on over her velvet dress.

  Bryce looked at her and smiled. “Well, I’d better get home. See you soon.”

  Jessie followed her mom and Phillip back into the house. Funny—she couldn’t feel her feet touch the ground.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The next morning, Jessie woke with the sun in her eyes. It was time to set the plan in action. Mom usually took Phillip to story-time at the library on Saturday, but today she and Tina would take him. They needed to spot that foreign accent.

  She sat on her window bench and braided her long hair. Fresh snow twinkled and blinked in the sun. She looked for any activity at the house across Willow Lane. But there was no sign of the new boy or even the silly sheepdog.

  In the next room, Phillip jabbered at his teddy bear. “See, Teddy. Here’s a cookie. Mmmm. All gone. None for you.”

  Jessie tied a red ribbon at the end of her braid. A year ago he couldn’t do anything, she thought. Now he was a real person. He was finally becoming interesting. She peeked into his room. “Want to go to story-time at the library, Phillip?”

  “NO!” Phillip turned his back on her and patted Teddy.

  “Come on, Phillip,” Jessie begged. “I’ll pull you on your sled!”

  He stood up. “Okay.”

  “Mom!” she called. “Is it okay if I take Phillip to story-time today?”

  Her mother came into the downstairs hallway and looked up at Jessie leaning on the railing. “What’s with you, Jessie?” She ran her hand through her curly brown hair. “How come you’re giving Phillip all this attention?”

  Jessie’s dad stepped into the hall from the living room. He was tall and confident with brown hair and blue eyes. Jessie thought he was the best-looking dad in town.

  He took a sip of steaming coffee from his mug and put his other arm around her mother’s waist. “You’re always encouraging Jessie to spend more time with Phillip, Trudy.”

  Her mom nodded. “Right. But it’s so sudden. I usually have to bribe her. I’m suspicious.”

&
nbsp; Her dad gave her mom a squeeze. “Enjoy the break. Maybe we can read the paper and have a quiet cup of coffee for a change.” He walked her mother toward the living room and called over his shoulder, “Go, Jess. Take the boy!”

  By now, Phillip had his arms wrapped around Jessie’s legs. She unwound him and helped him get dressed.

  In her parents’ bedroom, she dialed Tina’s number. “Tina, we’re off to story-time. I’ll be at your house in twenty minutes.”

  Tina groaned. “Well, there goes my nice, quiet Saturday.”

  Jessie laughed. “It’s the baby monitor deal. We have to get busy.”

  “I just can’t wait to be around all those squealing kids,” Tina groused. “Okay. I’ll be out in front.”

  While Jessie tugged on her boots and fastened her coat, her mom bundled Phillip into his blue snowsuit. They watched through the oval glass in the door as her dad lifted the red wooden baby sled off the porch and set it on the front sidewalk.

  Jessie brought Phillip outside and helped him down the steps. She tucked him into the sled with Teddy and then took the pull rope. They waved goodbye to their parents and set off.

  Tina and Jessie took turns pulling the sled to the Town Square at the center of Fairfield. They left the sled at the bottom of the library steps and trudged up with Phillip between them. He laughed and pointed at the peaceful concrete lions which kept a vigil on the parapets that lined the stairs. Each had a peak of snow on its nose.

  Jessie looked over Phillip’s head at Tina. “I hope he can keep quiet. You know how grumpy Miss Tyler can be.” Miss Tyler, the librarian, discouraged talking in the library. And everyone knew she wasn’t fond of small children who couldn’t read and might actually chew on the books.

  When Tina pulled open the big door, a rush of warm air greeted them. Miss Tyler, seated at her tall desk, looked up, her eyes sharp as they entered. Jessie knew she hated to let heat escape.

  “Hi!” Phillip called. He waved at Miss Tyler and ran to her desk.

  Miss Tyler peered over the edge of her perch and down at Phillip. “Why, hello, Phillip,” she said in a low kindly voice. “Are you here for story-time?”