Chapter 4

Tuesday December 9, 2014 – Wednesday December 10, 2014

Kate’s schedule was much the same as the previous mornings — awake by five and breakfast in the apartment by six. She had awakened vaguely disappointed that she had been unable to return to the apartment yesterday afternoon, but the lady who picked up the mail didn’t arrive until after four-thirty. By the time the visitor had fed Sam and departed, it was almost dark and Kate feared showing a light in the apartment if she returned to try to solve the riddle of Jessica’s whereabouts.

Instead, she had taken her sleeping bag and foam pad into the little windowless bathroom off the kitchen of the house, and settled in with her books. It wasn’t the most comfortable spot to sit and read, but as she reminded herself, at least she was warm and fed and out of the elements. She made herself a tuna sandwich for dinner, which she, of course, shared with Sam.

She stroked the big cat as he covered her lap with his warm, purring cat body.

“Sam, you’re going to become a very prosperous cat if you keep on eating like you have the last few days.” He favored her with one of those cat looks that reinforced the idea that cats had once been revered as gods, and they had never forgotten that fact.

Kate frowned, suddenly reminded that Sam must have been Jacob’s cat. What was to become of him? Would Jessica be able to adopt him? She vowed that if Jessica didn’t put in an appearance she would take Sam along once she had found her own place. He was an orphan like herself and she just couldn’t leave him to an uncertain fate, plus he was her only friend.

Pretty sad when your only friend is a big, orange tiger-striped cat named Sam.

Dawn once again saw Kate in the apartment above the garage, sipping tea and sitting at Jacob’s roll top desk. This time she turned to his email. There were many recent messages, obviously from people and business organizations who hadn’t heard about his death. There were very few older messages.

It appeared that Jacob was conscientious about using folders. There was a folder labeled ‘Janet’ and the last message from her was several weeks before Jacob’s death. Kate felt embarrassed as she read the messages, feeling like a voyeur into Jacob’s personal life. What had happened in the interim that had caused the messages to be stop or be deleted?

It was clear she cared for Jacob and that they’d had a long-term relationship. As she glanced through the numerous emails that preceded the abrupt end, many were far from subtle, some bordered on pornography, with their graphic descriptions of their love life. Kate blushed as she scanned the messages and it appeared from her quick read that for the last two years they had carried on a mutually satisfying affair. It was also plain that they were good friends. The woman had a great way with words plus a quirky sense of humor that was a little kinky. It was obvious that Jacob, even at seventy, had a robust sex life! Why had he distanced himself from her in the last few weeks of his life? Was his illness beginning to assert itself?

She then retrieved the article about the memorial service and a ‘Janet Ferguson’ was listed as ‘a friend’ who gave the eulogy. She examined the newspaper photo and in the front row was a woman who Kate could only describe as gorgeous. She was dressed in black and her outfit looked like a designer skirt and jacket. It was topped with a perfect large-brimmed black hat.

That had to be Janet. She looked to be in her forties, although her age was hard to tell and she had a model’s figure. One thing about it, Jacob had good taste in women, or Janet and Jessica had good taste in men. Kate made a mental note to ‘Google’ Janet after looking at Jacob’s emails.

She did wonder though, as close as Janet had been with Jacob, wouldn’t she have known where to find Jessica?

Kate went back to Jacob’s emails and there wasn’t anything from Jessica for many months. She looked in a folder entitled, ‘Jessica.’ Her messages usually consisted of sending a folder containing pictures she had taken on one of their trips and thanking him for showing her all the wonderful places they had been. But (of course) as a college student, Jessica probably sent text messages. Jacob appeared to be the kind of tech-savvy person who would communicate with his granddaughter in the vernacular of text also.

Just out of curiosity Kate looked in a folder labeled ‘travel.’ It was full of airline, car and hotel confirmations for trips across the globe, but most curious was that since early in 2014, Jacob had made several trips to Washington, D.C., where he always rented a car. Was that the nearest big airport to Williamsburg? Starting in the spring. he flew to Washington every month and stayed about three weeks. She found reservations at a hotel in Williamsburg near the campus. Why was he spending so much time there? Was Jessica having problems?

His last trip to Washington was in May and he’d booked an extended stay hotel in Baltimore, where he apparently stayed for several months. During that time, he made monthly trips back to California, but according to the flight reservations, he wouldn’t stay longer than a couple of days at a time.

What had happened?

“Facebook!” She suddenly remembered that half the world was on Facebook. Jessica certainly had an account. It would be a way for her to share all her travels and college experiences with her friends and her grandfather. Her postings would provide the answers.

But when she went to the site, there was no account. How could that be?

Kate felt very uneasy about the whole situation. What had happened over the past year? Had Jessica become involved with something that required her grandfather’s constant attention and intervention?

She sat back in the desk chair and petted the big cat for several minutes as she tried to sort out all the facts. About the time the ‘Jessica on the tropical beach’ screensaver, popped up Kate suddenly realized that perhaps Jessica had been sick.

Dislodging the cat, she moved to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of tepid tea from the pot which she then reheated in the microwave. Once she resumed her seat, she pulled the second computer from the corner of the desk. When she turned it over, she saw taped to the back a business card which simply said, ‘Jessica Brandt, 223 Oak Street, Williamsburg, VA’ with a telephone number.

First her clutch wallet then her computer — illness made sense. Kate stood and began going through the other pigeonholes in the desk. In the one next to the one that contained the clutch wallet, she discovered an iPhone. Its plastic outer case was green, gold and silver and had the word ‘Tribe’ printed on it beneath the figure of a mythical animal that she thought was a Griffin.

Kate quickly Googled ‘Tribe’ and her heart sank as she saw it was the mascot for The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. She had little doubt that something had happened to Jessica. Her phone, computer and wallet were in her grandfather’s desk. She feared there was no benign reason for them all to be there.

If Jessica had been sick or injured, why hadn’t Jacob told anyone? There was nothing in Janet’s emails that would indicate he had shared any of this with Janet. Puzzling.

Kate went back into Jacob’s travel file and wrote down the address of the hotel in Baltimore. She went to the hotel website and discovered to her dismay that it was located near the campus of the Johns Hopkins Medical Center. She toyed with the idea that Jacob had gone there for some unspecified treatment because he didn’t want anyone in Lodi to know he had a health problem, and he had been accompanied by Jessica, but how would that explain Jessica’s items in the desk?

Both the electronic devices showed not a flicker of life when she tried to boot them up. Fortunately, their charging cords were there and she plugged them into a power strip on the floor near the desk. When the iPhone came to life it showed Jessica had thirty-three missed calls. When she pressed the telephone icon it showed twenty voice mails. What was even stranger was that the phone had service. Service for Jessica’s phone had never been discontinued. Why?

Kate had an idea. She turned over the computer and called the number on Jessica’s card which was taped to the back. She fully expected the number to have been disconnected, and was surprised when she heard someone pick up and say, “Johnson residence.” Stunned, Kate was silent. She hadn’t prepared anything to say if someone had answered. The young woman on the other end said, “Hello?”

Finally, Kate said, “I’m trying to get hold of Jessica Brandt. Is she there?”

The woman on the other end sighed and said, “I’m sorry, we were hoping that the word would have gotten around by now considering the calls we’ve received for Jessica, but she doesn’t live here any longer.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s very important I get hold of her.”

“Is this still about her grandfather?” the voice asked.

“Yes ... do you have any idea where she might be?”

“I am sorry, like I’ve told the other folks who called, Jessica graduated in May ... her grandfather came and got her and they left. We thought they were going to California.”

“I’m sorry to have disturbed you...”

Just then Kate had an idea and asked, “Was Jessica sick?”

The other person paused before answering, “Yes ... yes, she was ... some kind of cancer...”

Kate felt like she been punched in the stomach and could feel the tears coming when the voice continued, “But maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this. How do you know Jessica anyway?”

Her throat constricted as she said tearfully, “I’m a longtime friend and couldn’t understand why she didn’t make it to her grandfather’s funeral.”

“Oh, I am sorry, but I really don’t know what happened to her after they left here.”

“You’ve been very helpful ... thank you.” Kate replied.

There was a silence for a few moments then the young woman in Williamsburg said, “I hope you find her ... she lived in our downstairs apartment for two years and she’s a wonderful person. Her grandfather doted on her too, always taking her places and caring for her. I’m sorry to hear he’s gone. He seemed pretty special seeing she had no other family.”

Kate thanked her and ended the call. She thought about contacting Johns Hopkins, but it was unlikely they’d tell her anything. Of course, if Jessica was still a patient there they might tell her that, but somehow Kate decided it was not worth the effort. The reason Jacob had been in the hotel near Johns Hopkins was that Jessica was being treated there, and if she had still been alive, Jacob would not have left her.

Had the grief over her loss caused his sudden illness? They had been very close, each with the other apparently their only living relative.

She pulled a tissue from the box on the desk and wiped her tears.

Why hadn’t Jacob told anyone? Was he so distraught that he just couldn’t? Or had he planned to eventually, but his own death had prevented it?

Now Kate was in Jacob’s house certain that Jessica was never going to come to read those sympathy cards on the table.

She heated soup in the microwave and sat in Jacob’s chair while she thought about the situation. She should probably tell someone, but whom? And how would she explain how she came to know these things?

She could see how people could make this mistake if Jacob had not told anyone and his long absences from home might have been explained by telling others that he was traveling with Jessica, or that he was helping her get moved to somewhere. Nobody discovered what had happened because no one was looking.

As she finished her soup, she saw the mail truck stop at the mailbox at the end of the long driveway. His presence reminded her that she should move back to the other house for the afternoon. She figured the woman who collected the mail wouldn’t arrive for hours yet, but that was no guarantee against an early appearance on this particular day.

Kate took a few things out of the pantry for her dinner, knowing it was unlikely that anyone would take any notice, since the owners would never return. She went into the bedroom closet and took out a couple of pillows which would make her afternoon reading more comfortable. As she began to close the roll-top desk, she decided to take Jessica’s laptop. There might be more answers there and she could put her afternoon to good use.

She closed the curtains and wandered back to the bedroom.

“Jacob, I hope you won’t mind if I sleep in your bed tonight. I’m so sorry about Jessica. I know you must have loved her very much.”

Tears in her eyes, she walked out and down the stairs, followed closely by her only friend, Sam.

Suddenly overwhelmed by weariness which seemed to reach her soul, Kate moved to the back bedroom, retreated into her sleeping bag, curled up and collapsed into a restless sleep. Her dreams were a kaleidoscope of fear and longing. In one, her uncle had Jessica’s cell phone and was telling someone to go to California and bring Kate back. In another, she was flying in the twin-engine plane that Jacob flew in Vietnam. He was at the controls as they flew first over vineyards and then into the dark clouds of a storm. As they were buffeted he reassured her it was only temporary and the storm would pass soon.

She awoke feeling less than rested wondering if the vivid dream was Jacob’s way of reassuring her that things would turn out okay. She just couldn’t imagine how.

As she walked to the bathroom she noticed the light was almost gone. Just then Sam, who had been her companion while she slept, made his way out the cat door. He had heard the car approach which meant dinner. Kate frowned, wondering how long it would be that the lady would continue to come when no one appeared. Sooner or later someone with authority would come to Jacob’s home and decide something had to be done.

The lady was alone this time and was gone in about five minutes; most of the time was spent fussing over Sam. Kate waited for about half an hour to make sure no one would be returning before making her way back to the apartment upstairs.

Having finished his meal, Sam followed her and joined her on Jacob’s bed. It was too early to eat and she really didn’t have an appetite, still digesting her discoveries from earlier and reflecting on her unsettling dreams. She propped herself against the headboard and opened Jessica’s laptop and turned to her diary – a small lamp affixed to the headboard was the only illumination.

Kate’s heart ached as she read the entries. Jessica was a witty chronicler of college life and foibles which included her own. She had begun the diary when she arrived in Williamsburg and for the most part her entries were made about two or three times per week. It settled into a pattern where she would summarize the week on Sunday. Jessica was so full of life and it was like reading an engaging novel with a smart and funny heroine, already knowing the tragic ending.

One thing that was certain, Jessica adored Jacob. It appeared that she rarely dated, frequently telling her diary that ‘college boys were no match for her grandfather.’ She saw him often and they would travel on her school breaks to places on the east coast. One year, they spent a long Thanksgiving break in a very upscale hotel in New York City. Summers were always in Europe. Those were very happy times for both of them and increasingly Jessica fantasized about spending all her time with Jacob, moving to California and settling down to help him run his home and vineyard.

From the computer diary, Kate saw the signs probably before Jessica did that Jessica not only loved Jacob, but was in love with him. There was no indication that Jacob’s feelings were anything but paternal.

According to the diary, it was sometime after the third summer they spent in Europe – the one between her junior and senior year — that Jessica realized how her attachment to Jacob had changed and confessed her feelings to her diary. Large tears streaked Kate’s cheeks as she read the words and looked at the photos of the smiling couple in the Tuscan sunshine.

“I can’t believe that I’m back at school already and I feel so alone. I know, I know, I’ve been remiss in keeping up with these postings but I gave myself the summer off to just experience the time and the place with Jacob. For three months, we spent every day together exploring central and southern Italy. Especially the three weeks we spent at Castello Montalto in Tuscany were magical – what a trite phrase – but exploring the hill towns and tasting wines in the sun-splashed countryside, holding Jacob’s arm as we walked the cobblestone streets, could only be described as magical. By the end of the summer we were holding hands as we strolled – me pretending we were lovers and enjoying the stares we got from the young men who seemed to hang out in the squares. Jacob seemed amused especially when many of the shop-keepers would complement him on the beauty of his ‘wife!’

Jessica’s entries from that point on returned to her wry observations of college life among the rich and pampered at the school. Her descriptions of the mating rituals of jocks and debutants and daddy’s girls made Kate laugh. And she described her twenty-second birthday in October, this way:

“I went to class as usual that day but hardly was in any shape to concentrate since I knew Jacob was arriving sometime in the afternoon – and what can I say but the dear man tracked me down on campus and presented me with a silver BMW convertible identical to the one we had rented in Italy!!! I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak – poor Jacob, he just stood there looking puzzled and unhappy until I flung myself in his arms and smeared my lipstick all over his face! His plan is for us to drive it cross country after I graduate. I can’t wait! What a birthday!”