had decided to treat herself to a dinner out. She didn’t mind eating alone; in fact, she rather enjoyed it. She talked to people all day in the store, and it was a relief to spend a few hours by herself, alone with her thoughts. She heard the phone ringing as she put her key in the door, just before eight, and a feeling came over her that something had gone wrong, that she was about to be alone with some thoughts she wouldn’t enjoy.
“Marilyn?”
She recognized Norma Norton’s voice immediately, and the feeling of unease intensified.
“Yes?” she said. “Something’s happened, hasn’t it?”
There was a short pause before Norma spoke again. “Well, I don’t know,” she said uncertainly. “That’s why I’m calling you. I’ve been calling you all afternoon.”
“Why didn’t you call me at the store?”
“I did, but the line’s out of order.”
Marilyn frowned, then realized that she hadn’t had any calls all afternoon. Nor had she had any reason to call out. The sound of her daughter’s name brought her mind back to Norma Norton.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I was drifting. What about Kathy?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Norma said, her exasperation coming clearly over the line. “What about Kathy? She never showed up after school.”
“She didn’t?” Mrs. Burton said blankly. “That’s strange.”
“It’s damned inconsiderate is what it is,” Norma fumed. “I thought she might have gotten sick, but she could at least have called.”
“Just a minute,” Marilyn said. “I’ll check here. I just got in.” She set the phone down, but even as she walked toward Kathy’s room she knew it would be empty. She was doing the same thing she had done when they’d called her to tell her that Bob was dead. Postponing the inevitable. Even knowing what she was doing, she still walked through the entire house before she returned to the telephone.
“She’s not here,” she said. She stood dumbly, waiting for the woman at the other end to pick up the conversation. There was a long, awkward silence as the memory of Anne Forager’s strange story went through both their minds. Neither of them wanted to mention it.
“Maybe she went over to see a friend,” Norma Norton said gently. “Maybe she forgot all about babysitting for me today.”
“Yes,” said Marilyn numbly. “I’ll tell you what. Let me make a couple of calls, and I’ll call you back when I find her. She certainly owes you an apology.”
“Do you want me to call Ray?”
“Of course not,” Marilyn replied, too quickly. “I’m sure everything is fine.” But she knew it wasn’t. She dropped the receiver back in its cradle and sat silently for a few minutes. Postponing the inevitable. Then she picked up the phone and dialed.
“Mrs. Conger?” she said. “This is Marilyn Burton.”
“Hello,” Rose said warmly. “Don’t tell me you’ve finally decided to sell that store of yours?”
No, Marilyn said. “That’s not why I’m calling. I was just wondering if Kathy’s out there.”
“Kathy?” Rose said blankly. “No. Isn’t she home?” She reproved herself for asking a dumb question. “I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “Of course she isn’t home, is she?”
“No,” Marilyn said reluctantly. “I wish she were. Is Elizabeth there?”
“Yes, of course,” Rose said. “Just a minute, I’ll call her.”
Jack looked at her curiously as she went to the door of the study. “Kathy Burton hasn’t gotten home from school yet,” she said. “Mrs. Burton is wondering if Elizabeth knows where she might have gone.” She stepped into the hall and called Elizabeth’s name, then waited until her daughter came down the stairs.
“It’s Kathy’s mother,” she explained. “She’s wondering if you know what Kathy was doing this afternoon.”
Elizabeth walked to the phone, and picked it up.
“Mrs. Burton? This is Elizabeth.”
“Hello, dear, how are you?” Marilyn Burton plunged ahead without waiting for an answer. “Did you see Kathy this afternoon?”
“Sure,” Elizabeth said. “She walked most of the way home with me. She was baby-sitting for the Nortons today.”
“And she walked with you all the way to the Nortons’?”
“Farther,” Elizabeth said. “We were talking about something, and she walked with me all the way past the Stevenses’ house.”
“Stevenses?” Marilyn Burton said blankly. “Who are they?”
“Oh, they’re the people who bought the Barnes place,” Elizabeth said. “They just moved in.”
“I see,” Marilyn said. “And Kathy was going to go right back to the Nortons’?”
“That’s what she said,” Elizabeth replied. “I tried to talk her into coming here for a little while, but she said she didn’t have time.”
“I see,” Marilyn Burton repeated, though she had barely heard what