Chapter 5: Levayah

Recruiting Mommy

“Panza residence, this is Marian,” the bright voice on the phone said.

“Marian, this is Gee. How are you?”

“Oh, Gee! How nice to hear from you. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Things here are bright. We just announced to the family that we’re expecting another child. I planned to call you today,” she answered. Marian and Nathan Panza had been the first friends Gee made in Rosebud Falls when he saved their son, Devon, from the Rose River. They had given him a home and a job, and through no real fault of their own had also told him he had to leave. Nonetheless, their friendship had survived and Gee saw Devon each Wednesday evening at the library reading time.

“That’s wonderful Marian! I’m so happy for you.”

They celebrated on the phone, Karen adding her congratulations as well.

“Did you want to talk to Nathan?” Marian asked.

“Not just at the moment,” Gee answered. “Actually, I need some advice and perhaps some help.”

“Of course! Whatever we can do.”

“Did you read about the children recovered in the woods?”

“Yes. How awful. I’m so glad they were found. Have you met...” Marian broke off suddenly. “Oh! Did you find them, Gee? The story was a little short on details. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, though a little tired,” Gee said. “I wasn’t the one who discovered them but I’ve been helping them. I spend a lot of time each day reading and trying to understand them. Marian,” Gee struggled to keep his voice calm even though tears welled in his eyes whenever he spoke of the children, “they are five to eight years old physically. Mentally, they’re babies. They’ve never known a mother. I hate to ask so much of you, but would it be possible for you and Devon to have a play date with them? I’m not sure they’ve ever known another child.”

“At the hospital, Gee? I’ll be there at ten.”

“A bold move, Gee,” Dr. Salinger said as they watched Marian and the children through the observation window. I wholly agree with bringing in the mother but I wouldn’t have thought of bringing her son with her. It might have been risky to introduce the children to another child.”

“Devon is a pretty capable three-year-old,” Gee said. “Here’s what I was thinking: As far as we know, the children have never known or don’t remember knowing a mother. So how would they distinguish Marian from just another nurse or woman who brings food? By having Devon with her, they get the concept of mother and an example of how a child acts with a mother.”

“I can’t argue with that. And Devon seems relaxed with them even though they aren’t speaking.”

“He has a joy in life that is hard to match.”

“I understand he was your introduction to Rosebud Falls.”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Does it anger you that he caused the loss of your memory?” Dr. Salinger often asked Gee questions about his own life and seemed devoted to helping him come to terms with his role in the lives of the children. But Gee was puzzled by this question.

“He what?”

“You dove into a river to save him and came out with a little boy and no memory. Doesn’t that bother you?” she asked.

“Oh, I see. No, not particularly,” Gee answered. He had learned to respond to the psychologist’s questions as honestly as possible. He’d struggled with feelings of doubt in the past weeks. She helped him see what kind of man he was. “I don’t know if I had any memory before that. I do remember back as far as walking into town that day. Perhaps it was crossing the city limits that erased my memory and if I just left town it would return. Dr. Poltanys says there was no physical trauma that would cause my memory loss. It’s just another of life’s mysteries.”

“You are so calm about having a piece of your life missing.”

“Karen has commented about what she sees as a lack of concern for my past. I do question it sometimes. First, whether I am suffering from this loss as a way of coping with some terrible thing I did in my past.”

“Fundamentally, a loss of memory would not change the kind of person you are,” Dr. Salinger assured him.

“I guess the only other thing I’m concerned with is whether I have hurt someone by disappearing from their life. The book I carried into town was inscribed, ‘Love, Rae’. I’m sad that someone out there cared for me and I can’t let her or him know I’m okay.”

They watched Devon take Sister’s hand and guide it to the stuffed bear Marian held. Sister smiled at Devon and brought Littlest to the bear.

“Look at him,” Gee said. “Even if foolishly diving into an unknown river to rescue him caused my memory loss, wouldn’t you give up your life to save him?”

Forest Management

The long-awaited snowstorm struck late Friday night and snow continued to fall in fat wet blobs Saturday morning. It was more like having snowballs thrown at the windshield than flakes. Karen calmly held her Lincoln firm on the narrow road to the foresters’ office. They had stopped briefly at the hospital to tell the children Gee would be back to have dinner with them. Before they settled into their quiet waiting mode, as Julia called it, Marian and Devon had arrived with a new batch of books and toys.

“Do you think anyone will show up to volunteer this morning?” Karen asked.

“We are,” Gee chuckled. “I just want to see what the forest looks like in the snow. I’m sure someone will want to go for a walk with us. If not, we’ll go. I’ve something amazing to show you that I discovered Thursday.”

Three other vehicles were parked at the office. Karen and Gee stomped the snow off their boots in the entry. Jessie and Jonathan were in the office along with much of Gee’s normal crew. Drake Oliver talked to Alyson and Shannon. JD and Jeanie were glaring at each other from opposite sides of the room. In a corner of the office, Gabe leaned his chair back against the wall as he sipped coffee and watched the kids’ interactions.

“I don’t think we’re going to get much cutting done today,” Jonathan said as Gee and Karen shook off the snow. “Your crew here has more enthusiasm than sense.”

“I’m proud of my crew,” Gee said, smiling at the kids. “I’ve never been in the Forest during snowfall. I’d like to see how the canopy affects the ground coverage. If you and Jessie are willing to teach us today, we’ll try not to throw snowballs at you.” The teens let out a disappointed groan.

“Snowballs are half the fun,” Jeanie said.

“Just remember who’s carrying the GPS and can get you out of the Wild Woods,” Jessie joked at her. “I think Gee’s got a great idea but you all need to gear up with essentials. Let’s get your equipment and check to make sure everyone is ready for wet and cold.”

As the kids got ready, Gee talked quietly to Gabe.

“I found something out there Thursday,” he said. “It’s so incredible to me, I’m still having trouble believing it was real.” Gabe brought all four feet of his chair to the floor and looked at Gee. His silence was all the encouragement Gee needed to continue. “Off in the southeast section where we’ve been pushing with small paths, there’s a stand of straight young hickory that grow four to seven feet apart. You can walk between them but you can’t see past the next tree. They open up on a clearing—a single tree with a canopy so dense that even without leaves, the sunlight barely makes it through. One Tree. It’s huge.” Gee’s eyes unfocused as he saw the old tree in his mind’s eye. Gabe stood and went to the map table.

“Where?” he demanded. Gee checked the coordinates he’d entered on his phone’s GPS and pointed at the map.

“We’ve been cutting paths all around it but never getting to it,” he said.

“I think I’ll take a walk in the snow with you all this morning,” Gabe said as he reached for his coat.

Without commenting on where they were headed, Gabe gently guided the nature walk into the Wild Woods. Jessie and Jonathan explained a bit about how the terrain affected the growth patterns of the trees and could also be used to estimate productivity of a region under cultivation. Gabe occasionally pointed at an invasive plant and had one of the kids cut it back. By noon, the snow had stopped falling and the sky was clearing. Sunlight on the snow was blinding, but the farther into the Wild Woods they went, the less snow was on the ground.

“Gosh. It didn’t snow as much back here,” Drake said. Jessie laughed.

“I think just as much snow fell here as in the Forest,” she said.

“Did it melt faster?”

“No, but if it’s not on the ground, where would it be?” Jonathan asked. Drake looked up into the branches just in time to catch a face full of snow sliding off the upper limbs.

“One of the dangers we have out here is that the canopy is so dense that snow and ice will stay on top. This is the first storm of the winter, so the amount of snow caught on the branches weighs considerably less than leaves and nuts would in the summer,” Gabe instructed. “Let’s stop at this cabin to warm up and have our lunch.” The foresters had hauled propane tanks and heaters to each of the cabins, preparing for continued work in cold weather. They no longer had any intention of stopping the exploration and mapping of the Wild Woods because of cold weather.

“I suppose that face full of snow I caught was just a warning,” Drake said. “If we get a lot of snow and if it freezes, that could have hurt.”

“One of the reasons we always wear hard hats when we’re working out here,” Jonathan said.

“Snow and ice are dangerous not only because it falls, but branches will break under the weight” Jessie added. “Even if they don’t make it to the ground during the winter, they create a hazard in the summer when a good wind could knock them out of the trees. That’s one of the reasons we patrol the Forest all winter, watching for danger signs.”

“Our purpose in the Forest is not only to guarantee the health and productivity of the trees but to assure a safe working environment for the volunteers. If we hadn’t felt such urgency to find the cabins and rescue any remaining children, we would not have risked so many volunteers in the Wild Woods,” Jonathan said.

“Do you think there are still people ... children living out here, Gee?” Alyson asked. Gee shook his head.

“Why are we pushing so hard to investigate and cut paths?” Drake asked.

“Gee had a feeling it was important,” Gabe interrupted before Gee could respond. “In the Forest, we trust feelings.” They turned off the heater and packed their garbage. “Lead on, Gee,” Gabe said. Gee found the path he had followed two days before and set off. Soon it ended and Gee searched for signs of where he had worked his way between the saplings. The Tree was like a magnet to him. He heard the others gasp as he broke into the clearing under its canopy. Even Jonathan and Jessie clung to each other. Gee saw tears in Gabe’s eyes.

“I dreamed of this,” Karen whispered. “I thought it was a dream. I tried to tell you about it but we were working crazy hours and then we found the children. The vision started to fade and I couldn’t remember what I needed to tell you.”

“It’s the Patriarch,” Gabe whispered. “We all assumed it had been cut or died more than a century ago. Instead, it was hidden.”

“What’s a patriarch?” Shannon asked.

“The origin tree,” Gabe said. “It’s where the Rose Hickory started.”

“You mean the whole Forest started here?” JD asked. “Cool!”

After the initial awe passed, the kids wanted to explore and put what they’d learned to use. They hadn’t brought calipers and the equipment wouldn’t have been large enough to measure the DBH of the massive tree. Alyson and Drake stood on opposite sides of the trunk with arms outstretched. Jeanie and Shannon measured the distance between them. JD entered the measurement on the geocaching software. Five feet, seven inches. He captured the coordinates more precisely than Gee had been able to on his cellphone.

“We need to cut about two-thirds of these surrounding trees,” Jonathan said. “They’ll make great lumber as straight as they are but they’re too close together to ever bear nuts in any quantity.”

“No,” Gee said flatly. “None of them get cut.”

“Gee, good forest management requires that we not leave these so densely packed together. We’ll preserve as much as possible and harvest the rest,” Jessie said. Gabe was shaking his head but it was Gee who responded.

“No,” he repeated firmly. “This is not the Forest, managed for maximum output. This...” he touched one of the straight trees surrounding the Patriarch. It had no limbs les than ten feet from the ground. “ ... These trees are not Forest plantings. They are the direct children of the Patriarch. They are older than they look because to some extent their growth has been stunted. But they are not fourth or fifth generation trees. These are first generation.”

“Transplanting,” Gabe said. “I agree with Gee. These trees are far more valuable than the board feet of lumber they represent. I agree the area needs to be thinned, though probably not to the extent you estimate, Jonathan. But we can’t lose these trees. They could completely revitalize the Forest.”

“And expand it,” Alyson agreed. “We’ve been talking at school about how to expand the Forest. We even have a group that spends study hall with plat maps of the entire county to see where we can plant more trees.”

“Attempting to remove these trees could significantly damage the roots of others nearby,” Jonathan said. It was clear he was unconvinced. Usually the roots of cut trees were left in the ground to compost without disturbing the soil. With large trees cut in the Forest, they often hollowed out the stump and planted a seedling right in the same root ball.

“Air compressor,” Gabe said. “I read an article not long ago about a tree doctor in Minnesota who was concerned about damaging roots when attempting to vaccinate trees against invasive pests. The treatment had to be delivered deep in the root system but digging with shovels was prone to leave nicks in the epidermis and make the tree even more vulnerable to infection. He developed an air blade using a compressor. He moves the dirt with forced air. It has some problems to be worked out, but we could feasibly dig deep enough around a tree’s root ball to lift it out of the ground with little or no damage to surrounding trees.”

“It sounds like it’s going to take some time,” Karen said.

“Years,” Gabe responded.

“Wedding,” Karen said as she lay next to Gee in the aftermath of their loving late that night.

“I’m all for it,” Gee laughed. “Do you want to set the date?”

“We can work that out with the foresters and weathermen,” she said. “I want to set the location.”

“I suppose we need to reserve a space if the wedding has to accommodate all the Families, foresters, crews, and friends. Where is big enough? Do we have to get married in the football stadium?”

“Silly man,” Karen said, poking at his ribs. “I want to be married under the Patriarch’s canopy.”

Gee held her close and kissed her.

Dead End

“Sheriff, we found that boy y’all was a-huntin’,” drawled the deputy from Georgia over the phone. “Ain’t much left of him.”

“What’s the story?” Sheriff Johnson asked. Finding Dr. Jones had been their hope of untangling the drug and child trafficking cases.

“Once we found that flatbed full of stone you put us onto, we started canvasing outward from there. I know this took a while but we gotta be careful when we’re searching the hills out near the state line. ‘Bama moonshiners get tetchy. Well, we heard ‘bout a Yankee buying up a bunch of supplies in Centralhatchee and got on his trail. He was hid out in a shack up in the hills near Yellowdirt.”

“You were able to apprehend him?”

“Oh, no, sir. He was already apprehended. Dead for a few days according to Doc Wilson. Sittin’ in a chair with his computer open and his pants down with a plastic bag over his head. I heard of that stuff before. Googled it. Sexual asphyxiation. ‘Fraid the weather down here’s been hotter’n hell this fall. Don’t remember anything like it. Oh. Anyways, Doc says decomposition is pretty bad. Wants to know what you want done with the body.”

“Thank you, Deputy. I hope I can do something for you one day. How about we send a couple guys down with a box to put him in and haul his ass back up here so you don’t have to deal with it? I can get a guy down there by tomorrow night.” Johnson relaxed into a friendly tone with the deputy, drawing on his own country upbringing. Inside he was seething. Jones was their only lead. “We’ve got a list of stolen property that the owners want back real bad. Mind if our guy goes through the shack to collect it? We’ve determined there are no other relatives.”

“Sure ‘nough. If you can empty the place, our volunteer fire department could burn it for practice. We don’t need no feds getting’ involved. Maybe you can load it all on that stone truck and haul it back.”

“I’ll send a tractor. You a coffee drinker, Deputy?”

“When I can’t get whiskey. Course, that’s whenever I’m on duty, Sheriff.”

“I’m gonna send along a few pounds of the best coffee you’ll ever taste. Just a little thank you.”

“Much obliged, Sheriff.”

Johnson stared at the phone in disgust. If Larry Syres wasn’t forbidden to leave the state while he was out on bail, he’d send the guy down to haul the load back. Just maybe there would be a clue in the containers or in the shack.

“Deputy Carlisle!”

“Yes, Sheriff.”

“I’ve got an assignment for you.”

Nanny

“Marian, I just want to thank you again for spending time with the children,” Gee said when she and Devon showed up on Thursday. “I’ve felt better about spending some time working in the woods and leaving them here. They’ve been playing with some of the toys after you and Devon leave instead of going into their waiting mode. It means a lot to all of us.”

“I wish we could spend more time here. I just ... with a son and husband and one on the way ... Well, I just wish,” his friend said.

“The time you spend is precious to all of us. I wanted to tell you we’ve run an ad here and in Palmyra searching for a nanny. None of us can spend all our time up here and we don’t have an option for where they can live and get the attention they need.”

“I wish I could apply,” Marian said. Devon bolted and went into the room to greet his playmates.

“I thought that I’d let you know that we’re searching in case you think of someone. It won’t lessen the need for volunteers but it will give the kids some stability if someone is here regularly, at least overnight. The nurses have been great but they have other patients on this floor.”

“I saw that poor girl, Rena, is just down the hall. We don’t have a separate long-term care facility here. It bothers me that most of the others on this floor are just waiting to die,” Marian said. “I’d better get in there before Devon teaches them about the call button. It’s his new favorite thing. He wants one in his room at home.”

“I won’t delay you any longer. I just ... Thank you, again, Marian.”

“Gee!”

“Oh, hi, Laura. I don’t often see you about. How are you and Jude doing?” Gee tried to sit in Jitterz early at least one morning a week just to greet the high school kids who stopped on their way to school. It was the first time he’d seen Laura Lazorack in the morning.

“Great, thank you. Lots to do, getting ready for the wedding. It’s not like we’re heirs, but Family weddings tend to draw a crowd. I trust you plan to join us New Year’s Day.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. I’m very happy for you.”

“How are the children?” she asked.

“They’re doing better, I think,” he answered. He motioned Laura to a seat at his favorite table at Jitterz. “Bringing Marian and Devon in on a regular basis has helped with their socialization. They’re beginning to learn how a mother and child interact. We’ve advertised for a nanny or two. Interested?” he laughed.

“That’s actually why I’m here,” she said. “I hoped I’d catch you. “I have some experience with children. Not lately, but before I took over caring for the cemetery.”

“Isn’t that a full-time job?”

“Hardly anything to do in winter except plow the road unless someone dies. Someone who isn’t Jewish,” she amended. “I wondered if you would object to me applying for the job.”

“Laura, if you can do the job without disrupting your plans and time with Jude, I think you’d be great for it,” Gee said. “This might sound a little weird but spending time with them has been strangely peaceful for me and for Karen when she can join me. I sometimes wish I could just take them home.”

“I’m looking forward to that. I think I’ve spent too much time among the dead for the past few years. Children might be just what I need.”

Too Tidy

“Your Honor. District Attorney Mazzenga. This appears to wrap up the case,” Mead said. Sheriff Johnson sat next to him, facing the judge and DA Wednesday morning. He shook his head.

“Appears?” Judge Warren asked. “Brad? What’s your assessment?”

“It appears,” Johnson said. “I don’t like it but we don’t have any reason to keep the kidnapping or drug cases open other than continuing our search for parents. It’s as hard a task as searching for Gee’s identity and just as fruitless.”

“But... ?” Mazzenga asked.

“I hate it when everything is wrapped up with all the suspects dead.”

“It saves the state time.” She looked over the packet presented by the policemen. “Did we have anyone in Georgia when Jones was found and examined?”

“Deputy Carlisle and Dr. Gaston went down to collect the body and empty the shack. Gaston completed an autopsy Monday night. Everything checks out with the coroner’s report from Georgia. We recovered the research notes for LaRue Labs, including nearly twenty years’ worth of personal notes on drug distillation from Rose Hickory nuts on his computer. Apparently, Lustre wasn’t his first try at creating a drug. We also found a bottle of the poison used to kill the Alexanders. We’ve recovered the flatbed of stone, in which the lab equipment and children were being shipped. Everything points to Jones.”

“Jones masterminded the whole project?” Warren said.

“Yes. It even seems likely that he was the assailant who kidnapped and attempted to poison Karen Weisman. He was six-two and we brought back a coat that matches the description Ms. Weisman and the kids gave,” Mead said. “Not a chance they could identify the body, though.”

“All tied up in a neat little package with a bow on top,” Johnson sighed. “That’s what has me upset. We’ve got the kids and drug paraphernalia shipped to him. We’ve got drugs in his apartment here. We’ve got research notes on his computer. We’ve got a poison match with the Alexanders. If we get a DNA match with specimens taken form the buried child, we’ll have tied that murder to him as well. It’s all so neat and tidy. That’s what I don’t like. Nothing gets wrapped up that neatly. We have everything except a clue about where children were sent after they were drugged and conditioned.”

“I don’t see a choice other than to close the open files and keep an ear out for anything that could lead to reopening it,” Judge Warren said. “Especially regarding the trafficking.”

“Officially, I agree,” Mazzenga said. “Unofficially, I think we have too many conveniently closed or uninvestigated oddities in this town lately. I know you don’t want to hear this, but that includes the mysterious George Evars. It takes serious money and influence to make a person disappear from all public records. Something on the level of a witness protection program. Since he arrived in town, we’ve had four unexplained deaths. The man known only as Reef, who also appears to have no known identity. The Alexanders. Dr. Jones. We have a woman still in a coma from an attack during the alleged kidnapping of Karen Weisman. Add to that, three unidentified children in the hospital. I like cases with concrete evidence that we can take to trial. Even Larry Syre is likely to plea bargain down to resisting arrest and his lawyer is arguing that was the fault of the arresting officers who had no evidence against him in the first place. I doubt the case will ever make it before Judge Warren. That’s too much, gentlemen. We need some real answers and as of now we don’t even have an open case.”