Nancy Screw and the Coming of Age (18+) Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Stakeout

Morning came sooner than the three had expected. The sunlight woke them up at around 10 a.m. and brought a burst of energy within the three. The night before they had decided that they would hang out for a bit and wait for church to be out. People would be heading out to do some chores then and the three would have to be patient until mid-afternoon, when they decided it would be best to go out in search of the locket’s owner. But for now the three decided that it was too beautiful to be cooped up inside and that their hunger was pressing them to go out for the Sunday Special at Valley Pharmacy and Malts.

“I’m getting my eggs over easy,” Beth proclaimed with a bounce in her step.

“Mine will be sunny-side up,” Nancy added.

“Scrambled sounds good to me,” Janet concluded.

“C’mon,” Beth insisted. “The malt shop shouldn’t be too crowded. If we leave right now we’ll have the best spot in the whole place.”

The three went to their respective places to change out of their nightgowns and into their Sunday casuals. After all were dressed and their faces were put on, they embarked on the short walk to the malt shop. A slight breeze came up occasionally as the three walked, teasing their carefully placed hair.

“Quite the beautiful day,” Nancy commented.

“Yea, just look at it,” Beth replied.

Along the sidewalk others passed and each party paid the other their respects. Mrs, Johnson was one that the girls were very familiar with. As was the routine, they would find her walking her dog, Kody, an excitable Labrador, along the route to the malt shop.

“Hey Mrs. Johnson,” the three girls initiated.

“Hello girls,” Mrs. Johnson acknowledged back. “Fine Sunday, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes, how’s Kody today?” Nancy leaned forward to pet the Lab and the other two joined in. Kody’s tail picked up uncanny speed and hands from all over massaged his forehead, ears, scruff, and back.

“He’s especially happy to see you three today,” Mrs. Johnson added.

“Oh, he’s wonderful,” Nancy complimented.

“Thank you, girls.”

Mrs. Johnson started walking again and Kody reluctantly broke free of his pampering.

“Have a good day. Stay safe.”

“You too, Mrs. Johnson.”

The girls waved goodbye and continued on their way. Five minutes’ walk down the street and along an adjacent one, they arrived at Valley.

Inside their assumptions were right. Only a few customers sat sparsely within the malt shop, eating their eggs, hash browns and sipping their morning coffee. The three girls took a seat right at the window where Venture Park was viewable. Also viewable was the tree that they had found the locket hanging from the night before. The three leaned to the window and stared at the tree, perhaps expecting to see something else.

“Who do you think that was?”

Before anyone could answer Nancy’s inquiry, they were startled by the clanging of silverware not two feet from them.

“Hey girls, you ready to order?”

They three quickly looked in the direction of the man’s voice to find Mr. Jenkins with a pen and paper and a great big smile on his face.

“Oh Mr. Jenkins, you startled us,” Beth replied.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Lovely day out, isn’t it? I don’t blame you for being distracted by it. Wish I was out there myself.” The girls smiled in reply.

“Sure, we’re ready to order.”

“That’s great. What’ll you have?”

The three girls took the orders they had decided on at Beth’s and Mr. Jenkins left to go place it. The three girls’ attentions went back to the tree, occasionally sipping the water Mr. Jenkins had placed on the table for them. Within ten minutes their orders had arrived.

“Okay,” Nancy began, taking the sheet of paper with the address markings and maps out of her jeans pocket.

“We want to start with the closest address. 417 Monte View Way. It’s about fifteen minutes from here by car.” The other two agreed with her, as they had done the night before. Nancy continued.

“We can go along this road through where Jacoby Way meets. At this section of the road here.” She pointed to the part on the map.

“The other address, if we find nothing here, is 8559 E. 32nd St. It is a bit on the other side of town, but relatively easy to find.”

“We do have a bit of time, until then, Nanc,” Beth commented, looking at the clock on the wall. It was still early. By the mark, they had around three hours to get everything ready and to waste a little time on the side.

“Of course, there’s no rush,” Janet added. “Let’s enjoy the morning a while longer and then we’ll head back to our place and pack a few things.”

The morning had come to a close at Valley Pharmacy and Malts and the three walked along the same path back to Beth’s house. When they arrived they had worn away a total of an hour and a half. Nancy called her parents once more to let them know that she would be hanging out with the other two. When Nancy hung up the phone Beth was waiting to ask for her advice.

“So, what do you think we should bring?”

“Well,” Nancy thought for a moment. “We need a map, even though we made one, a notepad and a pen, and we should bring some water and a few snacks. Also, we need to bring some binoculars.”

“Why binoculars,” Beth asked, a bit off-put by the suggestion.

“Well, just in case we can’t get close enough and need to get a positive identification. Nothing too fancy. We aren’t spies.” Nancy chuckled in an effort to convey a mutual understanding between the two.

“Well, we could always do a little bird watching too,” Beth lied to herself. “You never know, Monte View Way has a great view.”

Nancy patted Beth and applauded her suggestion. Janet soon joined in the conversation and the other two updated her on the list, then all called dibs on supplies and went off to retrieve them. In about ten minutes all three gathered in Beth and Janet’s living room.

“Okay,” Nancy informed. “The time is about one-thirty. We have plenty of time to check out the first place and the second.”

The three looked at each other.

“We ready?”

Beth and Janet nodded and the three broke eye contact and followed the other outside to Beth’s car to take off down the road towards 417 Monte View Way.

At around twenty-five minutes the three arrived at their destination. 417 Monte View Way was located at the upper-most part of the crest that the road laid upon. The view to the right was spectacular. And to the left, dense woods and the two story house in question. The property boasted an immense amount of flowers, herbs and vegetable gardens. With a great patio in the front reaching towards the road from two tall windows, it was easy to see how anyone would feel welcomed here. And it was a pleasant surprise to Beth, who was expecting a cold, unnerving place, like in the movies. She rolled down the driver’s side window. The day was warming up.

“Just a crack, Beth,” Nancy advised.

Though they were well hidden, Nancy was right in taking precaution They were parked under the shade of a fir tree that bordered the view from the hillside. Below there was the view of Riverside. The sun shined down on the streets and building, causing reflections from the steel buildings of their industrial district to the shimmering water of the ponds and streams that wove in and out of various points in the town. Nancy, from the passenger’s side, leaned slightly forward towards the house.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s home. I don’t see a car in the driveway.”

“Could be that they have it in the garage,” Janet added.

“Could be,” Nancy agreed. “But let’s wait here for a bit longer and see.”

“Why don’t we go up and see if the woman actually lives there?” Beth presented a reasonable argument. “We have nothing to lose. We could even say that we were lost.”

The other two looked at each other and considered the suggestion.

“That’s genius,” Nancy replied. “I can’t believe I suggested we sit in this car until it became an oven! Any volunteers?”

“Oh, oh I don’t know about me,” Beth replied. Nancy looked at Janet.

“You have better people skills than I,” Janet replied. “I don’t like to interact with a lot of other people. Besides, this is your idea.”

“Well, I guess that’s fair,” Nancy replied. “I do enjoy these sort of things.”

Nancy pat the pocket were the locket was safely secured and opened the door on her side. She waved to the other two and mouthed to Beth, I’ll just be a minute before crossing the road. Beth and Janet looked on as they saw their daring friend walk up the path that winded alongside the driveway and to the front door. When Nancy reached it, a kernel of anxious excitement grew inside of them.

Nancy knocked on the front door and waited. She looked in through an adjacent window and saw no one. The place almost looked deserted. Maybe no one was home. Nancy knocked again; this time more forceful than before. Again, she waited. It seemed to take forever before Nancy reached the conclusion that no one was, in fact, home. She turned around and started walking down the steps towards the path that led to the road.

“Yes?” A voice behind Nancy caused her to meekly cry out in surprise and whirl around to see a slender woman in her mid-thirties standing at the threshold of the doorway.

“You knocked on my door. Can I help you?”

Nancy froze. Her lips moved but nothing came out. The woman stood there impatient.

“Well?”

“Oh, I, well, I,” Nancy said, as she found her words but gracefully stumbled over them. “Well, you see, my friends and I are a bit lost. We’re trying to get to Riverside High and we heard this way was a shortcut,” she lied. “And now we can’t seem to find our way back.”

The woman stood there silent. Her eyes seemed to penetrate Nancy’s and her black hair hung in curls that hugged the delicate contours of her face. Inside the car, Beth squinted to make out the woman that Nancy was conversing with. She remembered the binoculars inside the backpack behind her seat and twisted to reach them. She pulled them out and pressed them against her face. She adjusted their position to avoid the sun’s glare, which hurt her eyes and blurred their vision.

“You need to go back to town,” the woman advised curtly. “Go back the way you came.”

“Wait, but—.” Nancy could only get out two words before the woman had disappeared back into her house, closing the door abruptly behind her. Nancy just stood there stunned. To avoid making matters worse, she hastily walked down the path and returned to the passenger’s side of Beth’s car.

“I think we should get going now, Beth,” Nancy advised, with concern taking over the tone of her voice.

“Did you see who that was,” Beth stated in disbelief. Nancy’s hands were inside her pockets, frantically pulling out its contents.

“There it is,” she held out the locket and opened it up.

“Margaret. Margaret Turner.”

The car cruised along Monte View Way, heading back to town. They had found the owner of the locket.