Pye Runs Away

When Ivy and I got on the bus, Jess acted strangely. He seemed nervous and distracted and he didn’t make his usual wisecracks. Ivy hurried to our usual seat in the back, but I stayed behind, momentarily distracted by the scratches on the right side of his face.

He jerked the bus forward. I had to grab the bar to keep from falling down. “What are you staring at?”

“What happened to your face? It looks like you had a fight with a wildcat.”

Jess brought his right hand to his face and continued steering with his left. He was driving fast. The bus was swerving from one side of the dirt road to the other. “Sit down before you get hurt. You know what they say about curiosity killing cats – and nosey cousins.”

I made my way the back of the bus. I managed to stay on my feet by gripping seatbacks as I went along. I made it safely to the seat next to Ivy who looked terrified.

“Are we going to wreck, Clara?”

“No, we’re not going to wreck. Just hold on until he settles down. Did you notice the scratches on his face? I wonder what happened to him?” I kept my voice low so Jess couldn’t hear me.

“Maybe Kate knows what happened.”

I looked for Kate at recess. I couldn’t find her but I recognized one of the girls from her class. “She didn’t come to school today. I think she might be sick again because I saw her father whispering to the teacher and he looked real upset.”

I didn’t think about Kate again until I got on the school bus that afternoon and saw that one of the teachers was behind the wheel.

“Where is Jess, Mrs. Poole?”

“Didn’t you hear? His sister is missing. He’s helping his father look for her.”

“Missing? What happened?”

“That’s all I know. Probably said more than I should. Take your seat, Clara.”

When Ivy got on the bus, I motioned her to hurry.

“What’s the rush?” As usual, she was breathless from the effort of lugging her book bag.

“Ivy! Mrs. Poole just told me that Kate is missing! I saw Lorraine at recess and she told me that Uncle Benjamin was here talking to her teacher this morning and he looked worried. What could have happened to her? Did she say anything to you about running away or anything?” I was as breathless as my sister.

“She wouldn’t run away, Clara. Something must have happened to her.”

The ride home never seemed longer. When the bus finally stopped at the end of our road we jumped off and ran all the way home. When Ivy lagged behind, I took her bag. “Hurry up, Ivy!”
I dropped our bags on the kitchen table and ran into the living room. “Mama! Aunt Sarah! Where are you?” I went from room to room. The house was empty.

I got back to the kitchen just as Ivy was struggling up the back steps. She sat down at the table.
“Nobody’s here, Ivy. They must be over at Uncle Benjamin’s. Come on.”

Ivy gave me an exasperated look but she got up and followed me.

When we got to Uncle Benjamin’s house we found everyone in the kitchen. I was surprised to see Madeline there. Everyone was standing in a circle around Tina who was sitting at the table crying. “Honest, Mr. Benjamin, I don’t know where Pye is.”

“Tina, my daughter is missing. No one has seen your son since supper last night.”

Jess moved closer to the table. “Looks mighty suspicious to me. If that boy has hurt my sister…”

Aunt Sarah stepped between Jess and Tina. “Everyone settle down. We should be using what daylight we have left to be looking for Kate. Clara, you and Ivy can help. You know the places that Kate might have gone.”

Ivy and I searched the playhouse and the boathouse. We even ventured into the branch, ignoring the mud that squished over the top of our school shoes. Ivy saw Sputnik first. He was hiding in the cattails trembling. “Come here, Sputnik. Come here boy.” The little dog belly crawled toward Ivy.

“She bent over to comfort Sputnik. “Look, Clara. His face is all covered with mud.”
“That isn’t mud, Ivy. It’s blood. Sputnik! Go find Kate.” At the sound of Kate’s name, his ears came up. “Sputnik! Find Kate.”

Sputnik ran deeper into the branch. Ivy and I followed. Sputnik led us to Kate’s skiff almost hidden by the reeds and cattails. I waded over to the boat, fearing what I would find.

Kate was lying in the bottom of the skiff with her dress up around her waist. Her underpants were pulled down to her knees. There was blood on her thighs. Her eyes where closed. Her hair was matted with blood and there was an oarlock next to her head.

I don’t know how long I had been standing there when Ivy’s screams stirred me into action.

"Ivy. Go get Uncle Benjamin.”

“No. You go.”

“Then you stay here with Kate.”

“No. I don’t want to.”

“Ivy. One of us has to stay here.”

“Is she dead? She took a step backwards.

“I think she is. Go get Uncle Benjamin. Just tell him that we found Kate. Don’t say anything else. Take Sputnik with you, but don’t let him go into the house.”

I couldn’t bring myself to touch Kate. I just stood there looking at her. I couldn’t believe that Pye would hurt Kate. He had seemed mad at her that day she dropped the oarlock overboard on purpose, but we were just playing. Kate and Pye had been raised together. Pye couldn’t have hurt Kate. But there was the oarlock lying right next to her and Pye was missing.