The Hollow Tree at Dead Mule Swamp by Joan H. Young Read Free Book Online Page A

theft. Lets
make sure we do it right."
    I looked at Tracy and nodded in
full agreement.
    Tracy continued. "It's going
to take at least a half-hour for the ambulance to arrive. They said it was
still out on an emergency."
    Dee added quietly, "Bert said
he'll be gone till tomorrow sometime, so I guess a few more minutes won't
matter."
     "How about if Ana and
Jimmie walk over to the Pine Tree and get you three some lunch? We'll
buy," Tracy said. This was the second time I'd known Tracy to buy a meal
for a witness. It was an interesting police tactic, but I was sure Jimmie would
be happy. For all I knew, Tracy was buying the food with her own money.
"Just tell them to put it on my tab," she added.
    Dee said she wanted a tuna sandwich
and some kind of fruit, with a diet cola to drink. I was surprised she didn't
order a hamburger and French fries, based on her size. I have to admit I don't
always feel very compassionate toward heavy people.
     
    Jimmie and I walked east on Lincoln to Balsam, and then south to Main and to the Pine Tree Diner. It was only a couple
of blocks. The small restaurant is Cherry Hill's one surviving eatery. It won't
win any awards for décor, but the food is always excellent. We were soon on our
way back toward the police station with two bags filled with food and several
cans of pop. We each carried one bag. I'd ordered the same as Dee, but Jimmie
went for the burger and fries. However, he wasn't in any danger of getting fat
soon.
    Because it's a prettier walk, and
because it's also slightly shorter, instead of taking the same way back, we cut
through the village park. The park pretty much fills the block bounded by Main and Mill Streets to the south and west. The Petite Sauble River, the same river that
creates Dead Mule Swamp near my house, runs on through town, and forms the
north border of the park. To reach the park we only had to walk west on Main, about a half block. However, this took us past Volger's Grocery. 
    Adele's radar must have been
working overtime. I have no idea how she knew we were there, but she was
standing on the broad stone stoop, under her big maple tree, waiting for us as
we passed the store.
    "Hello, Ana. I see you've made
a friend." she said.
    "We only have a minute, Adele.
Someone is waiting for us." I was trying to be circumspect. "This is
Jimmie Mosher. Jimmie, Mrs. Volger."
    "We know each other,"
Adele said. "Jimmie shops here." I suddenly realized he probably
bought most of his food with the spare change he kept from the envelope.
    "We have lunch for my
mom," Jimmie said proudly.
    "Oh? Where is your
mother?" Adele was clearly fishing for news.
    "She's at the police station.
We're not going to live with Bert any more." I was surprised the secretive
Jimmie would give out so much information, but Adele has that effect on people.
    "Good for you!" Adele's
ample bosom jiggled as she nodded her pleasure.
    "We should be going," I
said. "The food, you know."
    "Sure, sure. Come see me
later."
    "I will," I assured her.
    "Nice to see you," she
added, to Jimmie.
    "Things will be better now, I know
they will," Jimmie said to her over his shoulder as we walked on.
"She's nice to me too," he added to me. "I know she usually
gives me more food than I pay for, but she doesn't like me to say anything
about it."
    We crossed the street and entered
the park. A sidewalk followed the east side of the park, behind a row of
stores, until it reached the river, and then angled northwest to follow it
until reaching Mill Street. Mill is aptly named, as a shingle mill was once
located where the river passed beneath the bridge. The water along this section
was channeled into a mill race, and although the mill is long gone, the
concrete walls of the race still forced the water into a speedway, where it
moved quickly, even in summer. Now, in the spring, when the water was high, the
liquid churned and boiled through the deep, narrow space. A fence separated
pedestrians in the park from the dangerous