Carol Sister O'Marie - The Missing Madonna

Finn fidgeted uncomfortably but didn’t move. It was obvious that he had something to say but wasn’t too sure how to say it. “Look, ladies…” he began finally, his jaw, Mary Helen thought, set a little like that of a not-too-friendly bulldog. “Erma’s my friend. Besides that, she works for me and this here is my apartment house. I want to be in on whatever happens.”

Short, sweet, and very much to the point. Mary Helen watched the look of surprise freeze on Noelle’s face.

“I see,” their leader responded crisply. “I suppose that’s reasonable.” Her bright blue eyes jumped from woman to woman, waiting for a comment.

“It would seem to me-” Eileen cleared her throat Mary Helen had seen her friend look calmer addressing a crowd of five hundred-“that under the circumstances, Mr. Finn might be a great help.”

One look at the man’s beaming face and no one had the heart to ask, What circumstances?

“Very well.” Noelle’s voice brought down the imaginary gavel, and Finn became one of the group.

Mary Helen smiled over at the man. Poor fellow had no idea what he was getting into. She wondered for a moment how he would fit in.

“How shall we proceed?” Noelle was all business.

“This may seem a bit superficial,” Eileen said. Mary Helen knew that would never stop her. “But before she gets here, I’d like to know Erma’s daughter’s real name. It can’t be Ree, surely.”

The group looked toward Lucy. After all, it was Lucy who knew Erma best and Lucy who had called her “Ree.”

Surprisingly, it was Finn who spoke up. “It’s Marie. Everyone calls her Ree for short And the brothers are Junior and Buddy. Thomas and Richard, actually.”

Noelle looked a little annoyed. Being part of the group is one thing, her expression said, but taking over, Mr. Finn, is something else again!

Finn must have caught the look. He began to blink nervously, then studied the scuffed toes of his shoes.

Funny fellow, Mary Helen thought, trying not to stare at the man. On the one hand, he was nervous and seemingly shy; on the other, he was tough enough to get his own way. And, although his overall appearance was a bit seedy, he did own a building and operate a successful-looking restaurant. Yes, indeed, he was a hard one to peg! The only thing she felt certain of was that he did care for Erma Duran.

Before she could give the man any more thought, a bang of the front door and a stumbling sound from the bottom of the stairs announced the arrival of Erma’s daughter, Ree.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I wasn’t feeling too well this morning.”

The high, breathless voice floating up the staircase set Mary Helen’s nerves on edge. God help us, she thought A whiner!

“If it isn’t her ass, it’s her elbow,” Mary Helen was almost sure she heard Caroline whisper to Lucy. The astonished look on Finn’s face convinced her she had heard correctly.

Lucy rose and went to the banister. The rest of the group turned to watch.

“Come on up, Ree, honey. We just got here.” Holding out her short arms, Lucy waited for the young woman to come to the top of the stairs. As soon as she did, she reached up to hug her and kiss both of Ree’s dimpled cheeks.

“Aren’t you feeling well, honey?” Lucy asked.

Ree shook her head and pulled her full mouth into a pout “I’m so worried about Mommy.”

“Don’t worry, honey.” Lucy soothed her almost as if she were a small child. “We’re all here to help.”

Even though Ree wore no makeup and, girllike, had pulled her blond-streaked hair into a ponytail, Mary Helen judged her to be at least thirty-five.

Lucy looked confidently around at the assembled group. “We’ll find your mother and bring her home where she belongs.”

Mary Helen wished she felt as confident as Lucy sounded. They hadn’t even considered the possibility that Erma might not want to be found.

For a moment, Ree, her chubby face still flushed, stood at the edge of the room. She tugged self-consciously at the back of the flowered blouse that hung well over her snug navy pants. The more she tugged, the more the buttonholes down its front pulled away from the tiny buttons.

“Come over, dear. Sit down.” Lucy patted the chair next to her. “You’ve met everyone here, I’m sure, except the nuns.”

The look on Noelle’s face said, Make the introductions brief. And Lucy did.

“Now, then,” Noelle began. “Our job is to locate Erma.”

Ree wrinkled her short nose and sniffled. Good night, nurse! Mary Helen squirmed, exasperated. Not only does the woman whine, she sniffles.

“Ree”-Noelle directed her gaze toward Erma’s daughter-“Mr. Finn tells us that your mother mentioned going to St. Louis.”

“She never said that to me.” Ree tugged again at her blouse and focused her large eyes accusingly at Finn. “Why would she tell him if she didn’t tell me?”

Finn leaned forward in his chair. For a moment he looked as if he might tell her why.

“That’s beside the point,” Mary Helen interjected, remembering only too well Finn’s opinion of Erma’s children. She didn’t want to appear rude, but this meeting was too important to let personal animosities disrupt it.

“What we want to know is, have you any idea whom we can phone to get in touch with your mother?”

“I can’t imagine who she’d go to see in St. Louis.” Ree sniffled again.

“Are there no relatives there, dear?” Caroline’s straw skimmer bobbed impatiently.

Her dark eyes filling, Ree shook her head.

“Friends, perhaps?” Caroline probed.

“Poor Mommy. You know her social-security check still hasn’t come.” Ree, ignoring the question, stared at Finn.

“Friends?” Caroline insisted, despite the growing feeling of tension in the room.

“Only Auntie Barbara.”

“Auntie Barbara?” the group repeated in unison.

“Not our real aunt. Just a friend of Mommy’s from college way back. But I’m not really sure exactly where in St. Louis she lives.”

“Now we’re beginning to get someplace.” Beside her, Eileen beamed. Mary Helen did not feel quite so optimistic. Something was bothering her. She must have been frowning because Noelle nodded her blue-rinsed head toward the old nun. “What’s wrong, Sister?”

“Well… I was just wondering about the money. Erma’s social-security check hadn’t come, and Lucy mentioned to Caroline and me that Erma was worried about money while we were in New York. How could she afford the fare to St. Louis?”

She was just about ready to answer her own question-Visa or MasterCard, of course-when Finn spoke up.

“I lent it to her.” He shrugged.

Ree glared at the little man. “You lent it to Mommy? You? Why, you can hardly pay her salary on time.”

“I got lucky.”

“At the track, I suppose.” This time Ree sniffed rather than sniffled. “Just like my father. He-”

All eyes shifted to Finn. Face flushed, he raised his broad hand, as if to stop stones instead of words. “Whoa!” he shouted. “Your father was a good man and a good friend of mine.”

The words echoed in the small dining room. Mary Helen could hear the others twisting uncomfortably in their chairs, the way people do who have inadvertently stumbled into a family fight. Several cleared their throats. Eileen, she noticed, was studying a cobweb on the chandelier.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Noelle interrupted quickly.

Mary Helen could sense the relief.

“We are straying from the point. How are we going to proceed with finding our friend Erma?”

Caroline, eager to help her neutralize the situation, raised her index finger. “Let’s divide the duties,” she suggested, with a nod toward Noelle, “then schedule another meeting.”