Chapter Thirty-Six Mini
THIRTY-SIX MINI
Mini walked through the woods, wondering if she’d been wrong to share so much with Ashley.
To tell her about the white horse, to show her the watch.
It made her feel strange to think she was carrying the watch that once belonged to Dr. Endicott but had been given as a gift to some person named Frankie she’d never even heard of.
But why did the knackerman have Frankie’s watch?
The questions lined up like a row of dominoes in her head, running into each other, knocking each other down, not giving her any answers.
She thought about Sad Willy losing his wife in the fire in the town hall and what it must have been like to be trapped in there, surrounded by flames, smoke so thick you couldn’t see, probably couldn’t even find your way out if you tried.
The trees thinned and she came to the meadow by the Millers’ pond.
But in her mind, she was trapped in her own house, waking up in the middle of the night to find it on fire, the smoke and flames turning her familiar home into a nightmare landscape that she knew she would never escape from.
She could almost feel the smoke choking her, hear the screams of her mother, father, and brother.
And it was all her fault.
She’d brought this on.
Danger, danger, danger, chattered a crow off in the distance, and Mini looked up to see a figure there at the edge of the meadow, hiding in the shade of the trees, watching her.
Mini squinted, looked closer.
The figure was wearing a pink floppy hat.
Mini dared to move closer and soon saw it was Lorelei Prentice with her easel set up. She was so focused on her painting that she didn’t seem to see Mini approaching. Not wanting to sneak up on her, Mini waved, called out, “Hi, Miss Prentice.”
Still, the woman jumped.
“Mini! What on earth are you doing here?” She held a paintbrush in her left hand. She used the right to push her glasses up to the bridge of her nose, squinting through their dirty lenses like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Just out walking, ma’am.”
“You should be at home. You shouldn’t be out. You—”
Lorelei had always been so kind to Mini, helping her with drawing, teaching her to do some of the more difficult crochet knots her mama didn’t have the patience to show her. But now it was like poor Miss Prentice was scared to death of her. Like Mini was a ghost she couldn’t believe she was seeing.
“I know, I’m on way my home, I just… I had to do something. Maybe you can help?”
Lorelei put a hand to her chest, shook her head slowly, her eyes full of pity, all of it saying there was no help for Mini.
Mini pulled the gold watch from the pocket of her jeans and held it out, stepping a little closer so Lorelei could see. “I found this the other day in the woods. I was hoping to get it back to its owner, you know, before—” She hesitated.
Before the knackerman comes to get me.
Lorelei’s pitying look intensified.
Mini cleared her throat. “Do you know who it belongs to, Miss Prentice?”
Lorelei peered at the watch, frowning. “Why, that watch belongs to Jack St. James, of course, his greatest treasure.”
Mini tried to keep her voice casual, though she was thrumming with excitement—a clue! “It’s so fancy and old-fashioned, I could tell whoever it belonged to must be missing it. That’s why I came out today.”
Lorelei put the end of the paintbrush in her mouth, gave it a thoughtful little nibble. “I suppose I could bring it to him,” she said, eyeing the watch in Mini’s hand with apprehension, as if maybe touching something Mini had just held would spread the curse to her somehow.
“That’s okay, Miss Prentice.” Mini tucked the watch back into her pocket. “I’ll just go drop it off at the motel, then I’ll head straight home.”
“You do that, Mini. You really shouldn’t be out and about. That’s not… well, it’s not the way things work.”
“I know.” Mini smiled and nodded. “Thank you for your help. For everything, Miss Prentice. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye, little Mini,” Lorelei said, taking off her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes.
A BELL JINGLED when Mini pushed open the door to the Deer Run Motel front office. Jack St. James was sitting behind the desk, and when he glanced up, he looked just as shocked as Lorelei Prentice had. Like a ghost had just walked in.
“Mr. St. James, sir,” she began, walking up to the desk. Her voice was too quiet, too shaky—she cleared her throat, spoke louder. “Um, I’m sorry to bother you, but I think I have something that’s yours.” She pulled the watch out, held it up. “Something you must have dropped?”
She watched him, this man she’d known all her life, the man who played poker with Papa on Friday nights at the pub, the man who sat in the row in front of her at church each Sunday.
His face darkened and he stood, reaching across the desk so fast Mini was sure he was going to strike her. She flinched and let out a gasp as he ripped the watch from her hand, held it tight in his palm.
“Get out!” he barked, teeth gritted, a vein on his forehead pulsing. “And you keep your mouth shut, little girl.”
Mini fled.