Page 43 of That Last Carolina Summer

On the way back to the kitchen, I peered into the dining room where I’d been keeping the scrapbooks in neat stacks along with the loose photographs to make them accessible to Elizabeth.

Except now they were all strewn across the polished wood surface, books left open with photographs ripped off the pages and left in small heaps.

It almost seemed as if she’d been looking for something.

I stepped closer, wondering if somewhere in the mess I might find an answer to her whereabouts.

I sighed with dismay at the photographs of Charles she had once lovingly placed within the album but had now been brutally removed, some with tears and folds from being yanked from the page.

There didn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason for the destruction.

But there was also little logic behind the actions of a mind with dementia.

While listening to the children in the kitchen and keeping an ear out for the arrival of a car or bike outside, I began to loosely sort the photographs into categories to assist me later when it was time to reconstruct the albums.

An album with a pink quilted cover had been pulled to the edge of the table. According to Phoebe, it was a chronicle of the girls’ yearly school photos from kindergarten through high school graduation.

Two large photos had been removed from the album, one placed on top of it and the other on the edge of the table.

A breeze blew in from the open door, sliding the second photo onto a chair.

I picked up the photo on the table, smiling at the serious and younger face of Phoebe.

She wore the white dress and red sash from her Ashley Hall graduation, clutching a long-stem red rose.

I brought it closer to my face to get a better look at the necklace she wore.

It was the enamel bluebird of happiness that Ophelia now wore that Phoebe said had been a gift to her from her aunt Sassy.

I picked up the photo from the chair, recognizing Addie’s face immediately.

This would have been her yearbook photo, and she wore a black drape around her shoulders and sat in front of a blue background.

It was clear that she knew how to smile for a picture, how to angle her face and lift her lips for the perfect expression.

I had kept both the formal and informal senior portraits of Julie along with her yearbook, which had been distributed to the students long after she disappeared.

The pictures had been taken at the beginning of senior year, which Julie had been excited about because she still had her summer tan.

I kept it all, including the dress she’d worn in the informal photographs.

I’d framed the portraits and hung them on her bedroom wall and placed her yearbook in a box in her closet for safekeeping.

I’d moved it all when I’d left South Carolina, then returned with it when I came back to the same house, placing everything back in her room because I didn’t know what else to do with it.

My eyes were drawn to the necklace around Addie’s neck, noticing deep scratches in the photograph’s matte finish. I held up the photograph. A small hole had been scratched through where the diamond had been, allowing a pinprick of light to shine through.

I recalled something Phoebe had told me, how the necklace had been a gift from their parents on Addie’s sixteenth birthday and then replaced soon afterward when Addie had lost it.

But they’d been unable to get a complete replica of the original so the one she wore now was without the small diamond.

I smoothed my finger over the scratches.

They could have been made by a single fingernail, digging into the picture over and over.

Just like someone trying to pluck the necklace from the photograph.

The crunching of tires announced Liam’s arrival. I met him at the front door. “Anything?” I asked, although his grim expression had answered my question.

Liam shook his head. “I talked with Dale. He hasn’t seen Addie, although they’re supposed to have dinner tonight. So we’re back at square one.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “How did Elizabeth find the car keys?”

“Since Addie uses the car, she leaves them on the kitchen counter. Phoebe and I are constantly putting them out of sight in the drawer, but Addie doesn’t seem to appreciate the importance of hiding them.”

He shook his head. “I think we should call the police.”

“Hang on,” I said, looking toward the street behind him. “Phoebe’s here.”

I watched as she jumped off her bike and dropped it in the grass beside the driveway before running up the steps to the porch. She stopped in surprise when she spotted Liam through the screen door. I opened it while they stared awkwardly at each other.

“Ophelia told us that Elizabeth took the car,” I said. “Liam just drove around looking, but no luck.”

Phoebe’s face was red with exertion, her hair, face, and body wet with perspiration, her eyes fierce. I’d never seen her look more beautiful.

Liam’s voice was calm when he spoke. “I was just saying that it might be time to call the police.”

“Not yet,” I said, turning to Phoebe. “I don’t know if this means anything, but when I was up in your mother’s room, I noticed that the framed photograph of your father was missing. Is there a place where she might go that reminds her of him?”

Phoebe clenched her eyes and squeezed her head between her hands. “I can hardly think...”

“You need water,” Liam said with his doctor’s voice. “You’ll be able to think better once you’re no longer dehydrated.” He gently took her arm and led her back to the kitchen.

He pulled out a chair at the table where Ophelia and Will were playing their game. They looked at Phoebe with worried expressions, but she waved them away, assuring them that she was fine. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet then filled it with ice water.

“Drink it slowly,” Liam said as I handed it to her.

Phoebe did as instructed, sipping slowly as I took a cookie from the container and handed it to her. “This might help, too.”

Phoebe took a nibble then leaned back in her chair, her eyes closed.

After taking another sip of water, her eyes sprung open.

“Wait.” She sat up. “I think I might know where she went. Christ Church Cemetery on Highway 17 where Daddy is buried. She used to visit him every week. She hasn’t gone since I’ve been back, but maybe she remembered that’s what she used to do. ”

Liam pulled out his keys. “I’ll drive. Gran, could you keep an eye on Will and Ophelia?”

“Of course. Call Will’s phone if you have any updates.”

To Phoebe, he asked, “Do you have your phone?”

She didn’t look at him but responded, “Yes. And I keep checking it in case I’ve missed a call from Addie or Ophelia.”

To me, he said, “Call me if either one of them returns. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

Liam motioned for Phoebe to go ahead of him then held the door for her as they exited. I stood in the doorway and watched as the truck pulled out into the street before walking back inside, returning to the dining room.

I slid the quilted scrapbook closer to me and flipped through the pages that chronicled Phoebe’s and Addie’s school history to see if any of their other photos had been disturbed. They hadn’t. Except the senior photos of each sister that had been removed and placed on the table.

I held up Addie’s photograph, my eyes drawn to the marred area around the necklace.

I’d ask Phoebe and Addie if either one of them had done something to the picture, but I already knew they hadn’t.

What I didn’t know was why Elizabeth might have felt compelled to damage the photo.

Maybe in her confusion she thought she could remove the necklace from the picture.

The sound of music thumping from a car stereo approached the house.

I walked to the front door in time to see Addie leaning into the open window of an old Camaro, the hem of her shorts rising so indecently high that I had to look away.

I was grateful that Ophelia was in the back of the house and couldn’t see it.

A hand reached out and grabbed her arm as she pulled away, yanking her back through the window before abruptly letting her go. She stumbled backward, rubbing her arm as she watched the car back up and pull away with a squeal of the tires.

Addie seemed surprised to see me standing in the doorway to the dining room.

“You again,” she said as she headed straight for the stairs, leaving behind the scent of stale beer and cigarette smoke and the sickly sweet smell of cheap cologne.

“Why do you let that guy treat you like that?” I asked.

“Please mind your own business. I thought today was your day off.”

“It is. But someone needed to be here to watch Ophelia while Liam and your sister went looking for your missing mother and her car. You must have left the car keys on the counter again when you came back from work last night.” I didn’t bother to hide my disappointment.

I’d stopped trying when it became clear that most of Addie’s problems stemmed from the fact that no matter what she did, no one ever claimed to be disappointed by her actions.

Her eyes widened like a remorseful child before quickly switching to belligerent innocence as she glanced behind me toward the dining room table. Her mouth tightened. “She was taking a nap when I left. Phoebe was supposed to be watching her.”

I didn’t argue with her skewed timing of the events, knowing my words would fall on deaf ears. “They’ve gone to the cemetery where your father is buried, in case you’re interested. Phoebe thinks your mother may have gone there.”

Her face hardened at the mention of her father.

Lifting one shoulder in a half shrug, she said, “Yeah. That would be my guess, too.” She pulled her phone out of her tote bag and turned on the ringer before reading something on her screen.

“They found mother’s car parked at the chapel five minutes ago, and she’ll let me know once she’s found her.

See? Phoebe saves the day again. And it’s not like I could do anything to help without a car, anyway. ”

I struggled to keep my voice low and even. “Regardless of what happened today with your mother, you need to keep in mind that you have a daughter, Addie. That means you should always have your phone on when she isn’t with you. What if she were hurt and there was an emergency?”

“But she isn’t, and St. Phoebe is here to make sure Mother gets home. So, see? It’s all good.” She brushed past me, but not before I’d seen her mask crack, her wounded eyes like that of a caged bird.

“It’s not, though,” I said, and she stopped.

My training as a nurse meant that when I saw pain, I was meant to fix it, or at least try.

“I know you care. Just as much as I know you love your daughter and your sister and your mother. But there’s something going on inside your head.

I might be able to help you if you’d let me. ”

Her eyes were empty. “You can’t help me. No one can. Least of all you.”

Her gaze slid past my face, taking in the mess on top of the table before settling on the two senior portraits. She approached the table and picked up hers, brushing the bare space on her neck where the pendant usually hung.

Addie stared at the hole in the photo. “What happened to my picture?”

“I was going to ask you or Phoebe. This picture wasn’t like this yesterday.”

“Did my mother do this?” Her pale green eyes met mine.

“That would be my guess. But I have no idea why. Could she still be angry that you lost the original necklace?”

Addie tucked the picture into the back of the album. “Anything’s possible, isn’t it? With her mind the way it is, who knows? I wonder how long it will be before she starts walking outside naked.”

Her tone was flippant, but her pain oozed behind the words.

“While we wait to hear from Phoebe, I can whip up something for the kids to eat. Would you like to join us?”

She shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m going to go shower before Dale comes over.” She headed toward the stairs, teetering on her platform sandals, then paused on the bottom step. “If you’re still here when he arrives, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention where I’ve been.”

She didn’t wait for a reply before continuing up the steps.

I returned to the kitchen to see what was in the refrigerator that I could turn into a nice meal for Ophelia and Liam. But my mind remained on the damaged photograph and the unspoken question of why.