Arlynn James & The Sycamore Secret (Pt.3)

The following day from Arlynn’s conversation with Sam, a new determination swept over her like a wave. She knew time was of the essence, as the years since Amelia’s disappearance had already made so many valuable details fall into forgotten memories among those who may have witnessed something integral. As Arlynn made her way downstairs towards the kitchen, she wondered what kind of a rabbit hole she had gotten herself into.

Her aunt smiled brightly, “Good morning, dear! How was your dinner with Sam?”

“It was lovely. It feels like no time has passed at all.”

Lettie chuckled at the prying eyes of her husband as he glanced over his newspaper.

“I approve of a good man, who brings a young lady home at a reasonable hour. And has a good handshake,” Byron nodded.

Laughing at her uncle’s gentle teasing, Arlynn took a sip from her cup and turned her attention to the serious matter at hand.

“Uncle Byron, I learned something about Amelia last night. I told Sam that I wanted to look into her disappearance and he said he’d like to help me.”

Setting his paper on the table, Byron listened closely to his niece.

“Something seems very strange though…he said it should have been him. Evidently, he was supposed to go outside to find the dog but Amelia took his coat and did it instead.”

With his brow furrowed in thought, Byron replied, “So maybe some accident took place? Maybe she wondered off in the woods?”

“I thought so too, but Sam said he found the dog locked upstairs. Like someone had purposely made it look like the dog had wondered off to get him outside the house.”

Lettie covered her mouth in horror, “What a terrible thought.”

Byron looked grimly at his niece.

“Arlynn, if that’s true, you could make a very dangerous enemy by investigating.”

She nodded seriously, “I know. But something is very wrong. Sam said there were some people staying with them that night, he’s going to help me look into what motives, if any, they may have had. I promise I’ll be careful.”

Lettie reached across the table and took hold of Arlynn’s hand, “Please do, dear.”

They watched out the window later when Sam pulled in the drive to pick up Arlynn. Lettie looked up at her husband in worry.

“Byron, don’t you think you should call him? She may need his help. I’m very worried about her.”

Placing his arm around his wife, he answered, “Not yet. I’ll keep a close eye on her myself and call him only if absolutely necessary.”

When Sam pulled the car in front of his sprawling family estate, Arlynn took a deep breath as the memories of playing hide-and-seek within its historic walls filled her mind. She could still see the smiling faces of Sam and Amelia as they chased each other throughout the numerous rooms before getting caught by Mrs. Harington.

“My parents are visiting friends for tea, so I can take you through what I remember seeing that night. But we will be pressed for time to investigate,” Sam stated, as he ushered her in the great doors.

“What do you mean?”

“My mother informed me this morning that my cousin, Scarlett, will be visiting. She’s very….difficult,” he answered carefully.

Arlynn vividly remembered his cousin and the trouble they would find themselves in when she was around. Though Scarlett was a couple years older than the rest of them, she would occasionally play with them until her parents sent her to boarding school.

“Some things never change,” she joked.

Racing upstairs to first show Arlynn the room where he’d found their dog locked inside, Sam began walking her through the events of that night.

Inspecting the layout of where the room was located in comparison to the guest rooms of the estate, Arlynn asked, “This is one of the back rooms, Sam. Do many people go back to this part of the house?”

“No. Mostly just family members or staff would know how to get here easily. But unfortunately, we wouldn’t really know if someone wandered back here on their own.”

“What about Amelia’s room? Would it be alright if I looked in it?”

“Yes, of course.”

Though she was trying to remain sensitive in asking, Arlynn could see the sadness in Sam’s face when they walked inside Amelia’s room. It looked as if nothing had been touched since the moment Amelia had last entered the room, almost frozen in time. Arlynn still remembered everything about this room like it was yesterday, even the familiar scent of her childhood friend with a love for peppermint candy. Her eyes scanned every detail as she made a mental note of anything that seemed different. When she came to the small dressing table, she looked at every item carefully placed in order and smiled at the memories.

“She was very particular,” she chuckled.

Sam smiled back, “Always. Nothing out of place, not Amelia. She would run and tell my parents if anything was touched. They call that OCD in some places…”

Shaking her head in fondness, Arlynn hands touched each item on the table.

“Brush always face down, mirror always face up, and necklace always hanging from the hook-,”

Arlynn’s hand stopped in mid-air as she saw there was no necklace there.

Sam walked over to glance at the missing item.

“That’s odd. She didn’t wear it that night, I would remember. When she wore it, she always showed everyone and told them how my Great Grandmother left it to her. It should be here.”

Nodding her head thought, Arlynn said, “Right. Well let’s take a look on the grounds. Can you take me to where you think Amelia might have looked for the dog?”

“Yes, it would’ve been the stables first.”

Smiling as they passed by the groundskeepers, they made their way out to the stables.

“This is usually where we would look first. The police did look everywhere here afterwards, but they found nothing,” Sam said while following Arlynn out of the stables to look at the beautiful property behind.

“Who exactly was staying with your family during that time?”

Turning to face her, he replied, “There was a Mr. Stapleford, Mr. Wesson, my aunt, uncle, and cousin….and Mr. Sires.”

“Do you have any idea why they were visiting?”

“My parents have never been open with me about anything. But I will say, they had many closed door meetings over the course of a month before Amelia disappeared and I always thought there was something going on. Not necessarily about Amelia, I don’t think, but something I can’t put my finger on.”

Gently pulling her arm to make her face him, he said sincerely, “I know they all work for the government in some capacity. I don’t know in what capacity that is exactly, but there was something very serious going on to make them look nervous. Obviously my parents would never say, but I knew they were afraid.”

Arlynn’s mind raced with everything Sam was telling her, trying to unlock a motive from the entire puzzle before her.

“I can see you thinking about something. What is it?”

She looked past him to the large wooded area beyond the open field of the property.

“How far did the police go into the woods to look for her?”

Glancing behind him to see where she was looking, he replied, “Um, well I think they did a sweep of the entire property. But again, there had been a storm so there wasn’t much to find with all the rain.”

As they were speaking, they heard the sound of car doors being closed in the distance.

“That’ll be them. Are you sure you’re up for this? I don’t know how they’ll react,” Sam stated bluntly.

Nodding her head in determination, Arlynn smiled, “I can handle it. But I think it might be best to leave out what we’re doing for now. Having me here might be shock enough at the moment.”

“I think you’re right.”

When the two of them emerged from the stables to walk towards the car, a look of complete disbelief was noticeable on Mrs. Harington’s face. Mr. Harington walked slowly up to the two young people in concern but before he could speak, the loud voice of a woman could be heard from the back of the car complaining about the lack of shops in the area.

“Mum and Dad, you remember Arlynn James?”

Arlynn smiled as she looked at their worried faces, “Lovely to see you both.”

The loud woman slammed the last of the car doors in a huff and marched over with many bags on her arms.

“Did anyone hear what I said? It’s a miracle I found anything in this horrid place,” she grumbled before setting her sights directly on Arlynn.

“Hello Scarlett, how wonderful to have your smiling face here again,” Sam said dryly.

Shooting him a look of piercing rage, she ignored his insult.

“What on earth can you be thinking, Sam? Why would you bring his daughter here? Have you lost your mind??”

“That’s enough, Scarlett. Go inside,” Mr. Harington said firmly.

With a sour face and roll of the eyes, Scarlett went inside the house in anger.

“Arlynn, it’s been a very long time. Are you visiting family,” Mrs. Harington said carefully.

“Yes, I’m staying with my aunt and uncle right now. I ran into Sam on a walk and we’ve been catching up.”

Gathering that she was here unaccompanied by her father, the tension seemed to ease from the parents.

“I’m sure they’re very happy to have you. You must come for dinner tonight, I’m sure Sam would appreciate the company. Our niece has decided she wants a dinner party for her birthday,” Mrs. Harington offered kindly.

Surprised at the invitation, Arlynn replied warmly, “That’s very kind, thank you.”

“Well, 7:30 sharp! We will see you then,” Mr. Harington stated as he ushered his wife towards the door.

Arlynn looked at Sam quizzically from the odd exchange.

“I genuinely think my parents would like to know more of why you’re here, while also driving my cousin absolutely batty,” he laughed.

When Arlynn returned later that evening for the dinner party, she was unsure of what she would face inside the intimidating walls. Thankful for her dear aunt, who never threw away her beautiful vintage gowns, Arlynn entered the doors feeling as though she would at least blend in with the upper class guests in attendance.

“You look beautiful,” Sam smiled brightly as he greeted her.

Arlynn could feel her cheeks get warm in embarrassment.

“Thank you. My aunt let me borrow something so I wouldn’t be too noticeable.”

“Impossible. You are the most noticeable woman in the room,” he laughed.

Smiling as she took his arm, Arlynn could feel the stares of Sam’s parents as they walked into a great room filled with people.

“Be prepared. My cousin did not react well when she was told you would be coming. The knives will be out.”

“Understood.”

Since the number of guests was larger than normal, Sam’s cousin and parents were occupied with entertaining more than prying into Arlynn’s life. But as the guests slowly dwindled off during the course of the night, it became apparent they were trying to find out more from her.

Scarlett lit a cigarette and looked casually across the room, “Arlynn, you must tell us what you’ve been doing all these years. Did you go to university?”

“I did. I’ve been working in D.C. as an investigative consultant for cold cases. It’s very rewarding,” she answered before taking a sip of tea.

As Arlynn observed the people around her in interest, her eyes noticed the sparkling earrings that Scarlett wore.

“Your earrings are lovely, Scarlett,” Arlynn smiled.

The flash from Scarlett’s eyes caused Arlynn to remain quiet in thought while Sam jumped in to pull the conversation to a different topic. Uncertain of whether she had said the wrong thing, she looked to Sam for an indication of what was wrong. His protective stance in guiding her out of the house as everyone left made her concerned.

“Did I say something offensive?”

Shaking his head in apology, Sam answered, “Not at all, you did nothing wrong. But I’ve seen that look of anger from my cousin and there’s never any reason for it, she’s just looking for a fight. To leave on bad terms now would make it almost impossible to talk to my parents later.”

“You’re right. Thank you for that.”

Walking her to the car, he kissed her on the cheek and smiled as she drove off.

So many things were swirling in Arlynn’s mind as she drove the long, country roads back to her aunt and uncle. She had pieces, but not a clear direction of where they led. Right now she couldn’t even establish a motive from anyone in the home that night, certainly not enough to make a reasonable guess as to why a child disappeared. Aside from Sam’s unpleasant cousin, his parents did not hide their shock at seeing her or in learning she did investigative work. The whispering between them was not unnoticed by Arlynn, or how quickly Mr. Harington had left to make a phone call after Arlynn’s remark to Scarlett over her earrings.

“And who’s been in Amelia’s room,” she wondered aloud.

Before she could think, she saw a flash of headlights come from a car behind as it raced up to hit her. Slamming the car forward, Arlynn struggled to keep the steering wheel straight. Instead of slowing down though, the car looked as if it was speeding up again! Seeing a sharp right come up, Arlynn took it and saw the car behind her miss it to stay straight. Grabbing her phone quickly, she dialed her uncle as she raced through the dirt lane.

He answered, “Arlynn, dear. Are you on your way home?”

“Yes! Uncle Byron, I’ve been hit, a car hit me on the road,” she began to say until she saw headlights once again come into view of her mirror.

“What! Where are you? Stay where you are, I’ll be right there,”

“No, it’s back. It’s chasing me, someone’s trying to hit me. I’m on the service road almost to town now,” she said before getting slammed by the car from behind. This time, her car spun and hit a tree while the car behind her sped off.

Looking at their niece from outside the hospital room, Lettie and Byron stood with worry.

“They said she would be fine, just serious bruising,” Lettie said thoughtfully.

Byron sighed deeply and hugged his wife.

“I called him. He knows,” Byron said grimly.

Nodding her head in approval, Lettie replied, “Good.”