Roses for Sophia Cooper
Part 2
The Story of a Disappearance
The shotgun wielding
stranger approached slowly, adjusting his grip on the gun as he walked. For a
moment Thomas considered slamming the car into reverse and gunning the engine,
but by the time the though fully germinated a stout, balding man had taken a
position blocking the drive.
“Who are you and
what are you doing trespassing here?” the moustached man demanded once he’d
gotten within a few paces.
“I’m Thomas
Brooks,“ Thomas answered, keeping a hand on the gear shift and his right foot
ready to stomp the accelerator in case he had to rethink his aversion to
running one of the strangers over. “This house belongs to my uncle, so by rights
I should be the one asking who you
are and why you are trespassing.”
“Tom?” The voice
hailed from the vicinity of the house and when Thomas diverted his attention
from his inquisitor he could see an elderly man braced against the porch
railing.
“That’s right.”
Thomas shut the car engine off, stepping out. The man on the porch could have
stood in for any of the bell ringers who populated every street corner in
Boston during the holidays. He had a neatly trimmed white beard, round glasses,
and a paunch. Thomas recognized the face from the framed photos his mother kept
on the mantel back home. “I’m your nephew. Mother wrote to tell you I’d be
coming.”
“Why come in my
boy!” The elderly man smiled broadly, making his way along the banister toward
the steps to greet his visitor.
“Aren’t you
supposed to be taking it easy?” Thomas asked, making his way passed the crowd
and wagons and climbing the steps to where his uncle stood balanced on a cane.
“If I knew you were well enough to throw parties I might have reconsidered
making the long trip.”
“It is a bit of a
circus at the moment.” He clapped Thomas on the shoulder. “But look at you! You
were barely a tadpole the last time I saw you and now you’ve turned into a
man!”
“Time will do
that, Uncle Daniel.” Thomas shook his uncle’s hand and stepped onto the porch.
“Time, don’t talk
to an old man about time.” His uncle shook his head, smiling. “Next I know
you’ll be telling me all there is to know about arthritis and pensions.”
“Maybe.” Thomas
surveyed the collection of wagons and animals on his uncle’s lawn. “So, what’s
going on?”
“Help me back
inside, I want to introduce you to some acquaintances.”
Thomas took his
uncle’s arm and they left the cacophony behind for the staid confines of the
parlor just off the house’s foyer. A pair of men and a teen waited in the small
room and all three stood as Thomas escorted his uncle into the room.
“Dukker, Lash this
is my nephew Tom. He’s been good enough to come all the way out here to look in
on his feeble old uncle…”
“Uncle Daniel,”
Thomas protested, but his uncle had already moved on.”
“The young fellow
is Dukker’s son, Hanzi, whose about to leap into marriage,” Thomas’ uncle
continued.
Thomas looked the
boy over. His doughy features and fawn-ish attempt at a moustache only
succeeded in making it hard to believe anyone so young could get married. He
gave Hanzi a nod and managed a stunted congratulation before his uncle came to
the rescue.
“Lash was relaying
some troubling news. It seems that, the bride, his daughter has disappeared.”
“It’s Kolb, it has
to be,” Lash proclaimed vehemently, the anger in his face showing off a deep
scar that ran from his left jaw to the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know why
we’re wasting time with this gadjo when we should be out there saving Sophia!”
“Watch your
tongue, Lash,” the second man growled. “Dr. Daniel has always been a friend to
my family. I brought you here to hear his council, not to insult him in his own
house!”
“Insult him? I’m
the one who should be insulted. Look at you sitting here defending your friend
while my daughter, the girl who would be your daughter-in-law is missing.”
Lash’s tone grew sinister. “It’s almost as if you don’t want her to be found…”
“What are you
saying about my father?” Hanzi took a step toward Lash, his chest pushed out
and his hands balled into fists.
“Gentlemen!”
Thomas’ uncle raised his voice, banging his cane on the floor to draw
attention. “I know I’m an outsider here, but I promise I’ll do anything I can
to help. Lash, I know your daughter. I remember when she was just a little girl
chasing butterflies in my back meadow. She’s a sweet girl and I want nothing
more than to see her returned home safely. Just give me the chance.”
“He’s a good man,”
Dukker repeated, pushing his son back. “If he says he’ll help you, it’s the
truth.”
“I don’t know why
I should trust you,” Lash turned his attention to Thomas’ uncle, “Or you, but
I’ll give you your chance.”
“Good,” Thomas’ uncle said, gesturing to be
taken to the chair near the fireplace. Once he’d settled, the he began his
questions. “Tell me, when did you last see Sophia?”
“It was yesterday,
her cousins were helping get ready for the wedding. She didn’t like the flowers
that had been gathered for her. Her cousins left her alone while they tried to
find me so that I could drive them to a flower shop in Whitley, but when we
returned she was gone.”
“She’s hard
headed,” Hanzi said. “If she didn’t like her cousins’ ideas she would have
taken things into her own hands.”
“I see.” Thomas’
uncle stared thoughtfully at the youth for a moment. “Please don’t take this
the wrong way, but is there any chance she had misgivings about getting
married?”
“What are you
trying to say?” Hanzi said, his voice nearly breaking under the excitement the
question elicited.
“You’re both very
young. Maybe as the day got closer she began to have doubts?”
“No,” Lash
answered. “Over the last month she’s practically never stopped talking about
her love for young Hanzi and the life they would build together. She didn’t run
away, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Very well, we can
eliminate that possibility.” Thomas’ uncle thought for another moment. “Tell
me, why do you suspect John Kolb has something to do with this?”
“Lash’s camp is
less than a mile from Kolb’s property and that man hates our people,” Dukker answered.
“Who is this Kolb,
anyway?” Thomas asked.
“A power-hungry gadjo
who thinks he owns the world,” Lash responded. “He’s the devil’s own kin and he
wouldn’t hesitate to kill any of us if it suited him!”
“That’s a big
accusation,” Thomas’ uncle protested.
“You don’t
understand what it’s like being one of us, my friend,” Dukker replied. “Just
last summer Kolb shot at one of my brothers for picking blackberries near a
fence line he claimed to be on his property. Five years ago a young gypsy girl
from the Gorman clan disappeared from a campsite near where Lash is camped now.
Stefan Gorman even reported the disappearance to the police, but all he got
were insults and suggestions that she’d gotten pregnant out of wedlock and ran
away to hide her shame. Two days later the authorities ran his family out of
the county and his girl never was seen again.”
“We’ve wasted
enough time.” Lash stood, addressing Dukker and his son. “My daughter is
betrothed to your boy and that means your family is equally responsible for her
protection. I’ve given you an opportunity to live up to this commitment, now
you have to decide whether you’re going to honor our traditions or turn gadjo.”
Lash stormed out
of the room, slamming the screen door as he left the house. Thomas heard the
man ranting as he rejoined his kin on the lawn and he didn’t need a translator
to catch the gist of what was being said.
“He’ll kill Kolb,”
Dukker said, slowly rising from his seat and collecting his hat.
“And what will you
do?” Thomas’ uncle asked.
“Help him if it
comes to it. As he said, Sophia and Hanzi are betrothed, that means the fates
of our families are joined.”
“You’re kidding,
right?” Thomas asked. “You’re not really telling me you’d take part in a murder
based on nothing more than the suspicion he might
have something to do with the girl’s disappearance.”
“I don’t expect
you to understand our ways.” Dukker said something in his native language and
his son left. “I’ve told you what will happen.”
“Dukker, do you
think you can hold Lash off for a while?” Thomas’ uncle asked.
“It won’t be
easy.”
“I only need a
day. Just let me see if I can find Sophia before you turn to violence.”
“You’ve never steered
me wrong, Dr. Daniel. I’ll talk to him.” Dukker turned his dark eyes on Thomas.
“I’m glad you’ve come to look after the doctor. He’s the only good gadjo I’ve
ever met; it’d be a shame to lose him.”
Thomas helped his
uncle from the chair, holding his arm as they followed Dukker out to the porch.
They watched as the wagons departed and when the sound of harnesses and hooves
died away Thomas reached into his pocket to retrieve his keys.
“Where’s the
nearest police station?” he asked.
“In Rochester,
about an hour’s drive,” his uncle answered.
“Hopefully they
can get someone out here before it’s too late.” Thomas took a step toward the
house. “Let me get you settled, then I’ll get going.”
“We’re not going
to the police yet.”
“You’re not
actually thinking of letting those men kill this Kolb fellow, are you?”
“Dukker will keep
Lash in check for twenty four hours. That’s plenty of time for us to try to
sort things out without involving the law.” Thomas’ uncle freed himself, and
began hobbling toward the front door. “Now, help me get my hat and we’ll get
going.”
“This has got to
be a joke.”
“Murder’s never a joke, Tom. Neither is a
missing child.” Thomas’ uncle gave a slight smile. “Now where’s that big city
hurry of yours when it’s needed?”
Stay tuned for part 3, coming July 1, 2013!
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