Carol Sister O'Marie - The Missing Madonna

Erma’s suitcase… That’s strange, Mary Helen thought, turning toward Mr. Finn.

Before she had a chance to say anything, Caroline bent over and picked up the paper tag still attached to the handle. “Look at this! She didn’t even remove the luggage tag. And none of her clothing seems to be missing. Although, Lucy, you’d know that better than I.”

Lucy! Mary Helen realized with a start that the woman had not uttered one word since they’d entered the room. Caroline and Mary Helen turned toward her.

Lucy’s small, peaked face was white. Behind her horn-rimmed glasses, her eyes brimmed with tears. “Oh, God,” she said, “I was hoping-”

“Hey, ladies!” By now, Finn was fully awake and frowning. “I ain’t so sure about you coming in here. People got rights, you know.” He stopped, nervously pulled at his loose suspenders. “What if Erma don’t want people knowing her business?”

Mary Helen tried to look hurt “We are not trying to pry into anyone’s business, Mr. Finn. We are just concerned about why she went away without notifying anyone.”

Finn began to blink nervously. With every blink, the yellow specks in his hazel eyes seemed to jump back and forth. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that much-”

“But the suitcase,” Caroline interrupted. “It seems inconceivable to me that one would-or could-travel without luggage.”

“I wish she’d left a forwarding address or a phone number,” Mary Helen said. “Then we could call Erma, find out what was wrong, and settle this matter-whatever it is-once and for all.”

“I told you yesterday-she said she’d call.” Finn looked at Mary Helen uncomfortably. So he had recognized her!

“I shouldn’t have said that much. And I never should have mentioned St. Louis to that other one who called. She don’t want her kids to know.”

“Know what?” Mary Helen asked, hoping it didn’t sound like prying.

“Where she went, Sister. She was trying to get away from them as fast as she could. They were bugging her. She said she’d call when she got settled.” Finn swallowed. “To tell you the truth,” he said, “I guess the reason I let the cat out of the bag is because I’m getting kinda worried myself.”

Lucy wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “It’s worse than I thought.” She tried to keep her voice from quivering. “Erma was very upset in New York,” she said. “I don’t know whether or not you noticed.”

Mary Helen nodded. She didn’t want Lucy to realize just how much she had noticed.

“Someone had been taking money from her apartment She was afraid that whoever it was might even have taken her social-security check from her mailbox.” Lucy sniffled, feeling her jogging pants for a pocket but found none. “The check was over a week late. She had asked her daughter to pick up the mail for her, bank the check, and give her a ring in New York. But the check never arrived. Or at least, Ree-that’s her daughter-never called.”

No wonder Erma had been so upset. Mary Helen dug in her pocket for a Kleenex and handed it to Lucy. “Did she suspect it was one of her children?”

Lucy shook her head. “She just couldn’t imagine that one of them would do such a thing.” Mary Helen looked over at the three tiny handprints on the wall. It did seem unnatural that any one of those sweet, tiny hands would grow up to steal from his or her own mother. “In fact, she couldn’t imagine who would. Do such a thing, I mean.

“I told her I’d help her out. It was only money. But it really upset her. You know Erma. She’s a stickler for paying her bills on time. I couldn’t convince her that the PG and E wouldn’t shut off her gas.” Lucy dabbed at her eyes. “I had this funny feeling that something else was bothering her too. I asked, but you know Erma. Never complains, never really lets you in. I just had the feeling that something more than money was wrong. It was almost as if she was afraid of something or somebody.” Lucy raised the Kleenex to her eyes and wept.

Putting her arm around the other woman, Caroline patted her shoulder with a gloved hand. “Do you suppose we should call her children? One of them might have an idea where we can begin to look.”

“I know Ree’s number.” Lucy hiccuped. “She’s already worried. She may be the best place to start.” Wiping her eyes, she wrote the number on a pad of paper Caroline had extracted from her purse.

“And I think I’ll give Noelle a buzz first,” Caroline said, picking up the pad. “I want to bring her up-to-date.”

Finn closed the closet door as if to preserve Erma’s privacy. In the background they could hear Caroline dial the phone. From her crisp, businesslike tone and the long pauses, Mary Helen guessed she was talking to Noelle and that the two of them were “organizing, not agonizing.”

Caroline reappeared at the bedroom door. “Noelle suggests we set up a meeting with Erma’s daughter as soon as possible. Is that all right?”

Lucy and Mary Helen nodded. Only Finn shook his head. “I don’t know what you’ll be able to get out of Ree. Or out of those two knuckle-headed brothers of hers, either. Nope”-he agreed with himself-“I don’t know what you’ll be able to get out of any of them. Sure as hell not an honest day’s work.”

“We’ll see, Mr. Finn. We’ll see.” Mary Helen smiled at the man. “At least it’s worth a try.” What she really wanted to add was, Never, never, Mr. Finn, not on your longest day, underestimate the “get-out-of-them” power of this group of OWLs! But she thought better of it. Mr. Finn, she was confident, would find that out soon enough.

Right after breakfast on Thursday morning, Sister Mary Helen nabbed Eileen. “We’ve got to talk,” she said.

Sister Eileen turned and perked up, ready to listen.

“Not here.” Mary Helen glanced down the long tiled hallway linking the Sisters’ dining room with the kitchen and the students’ cafeteria. In the background she heard water running and the clang of metal pots. “Someplace private, where we won’t be overheard.”

“Glory be to God, Mary Helen.” Eileen’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “What have you been reading? We are on the ground floor of the college building. At this hour, there is no one around but kitchen help.”

Despite her objections, Mary Helen motioned Eileen into a storage room across from the kitchen and closed the door. Quickly she brought her friend up-to-date on Erma, her hasty departure, and the fact that the OWLs were going to set up a meeting with the woman’s daughter.

Eileen’s wrinkled face puckered with empathy. Perfect! Mary Helen thought as she put a little extra drama into the fact that the New York baggage tag was still attached to the woman’s suitcase. If the truth were known, her luggage was still tagged too.

“What do you think we should do?” Eileen frowned.

Mary Helen paused, adjusting her bifocals slowly as though she hadn’t really thought about it. “Well, if you’re not afraid to get involved again…”

Eileen pulled herself up to her full five feet, two inches. “An Irish coward is an uncommon character!” she said.

“Is that an old saying from back home?” Mary Helen was suspicious.

“No, Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria,” her friend admitted, rather reluctantly, Mary Helen thought.

Before the two nuns parted, they agreed to attend the meeting with Erma’s daughter whenever and wherever the OWLs could arrange it.

The moment she got back to the convent, Mary Helen called the alumnae office. “I’ll be in a little later this morning,” she told Lynda, her new secretary.