There was a small utility room just inside the back door of St. Zita\u2019s, full of things things like cleaning supplies and extra candles. Ari noticed right away that Arden had, in fact, thrown their trash in the plastic waste can to the right of the door. But since she was not in the supply room he went through the open doorway on the other side, which led into the main sanctuary.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe small sanctuary was dark and cool, like a cave, and the light through the windows shimmered, in stained-glass colors, on the oak pews and floor.<\/p>\n
\n\tArden was behaving very strangely. Each time she took a tiny step down the center aisle, she stopped to look right and left at the pews as if she expected something in a seat to jump out at her.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAri,\u201d she said, \u201cdo you see anyone in here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBesides you?\u201d he answered. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd did you see anyone leave the building?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNot through the back door anyway,\u201d he replied. \u201cWas there someone here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell…,\u201d began Arden hesitantly, \u201cyeah…I mean, maybe….I mean…I think so…you really didn\u2019t see anyone leave?…Like a man?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI did not see a man,\u201d said Ari.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOr…,\u201d said Arden, as if she didn\u2019t really want to say what she was going to say, \u201cor, a dog?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tA tingly feeling ran from Ari\u2019s spine to his ears.
\n\t\u201cWas it a little dog?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cVery little,\u201d she replied. \u201cAnd it was seriously tearing pages out of hymnals, but…now they\u2019re not torn…it\u2019s like he never did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cArden,\u201d said Ari, \u201cDid he say anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe man?\u201d said Arden.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDewey,\u201d repeated Ari, \u201cthe man with frizzy hair and a compass. Did he say anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat was Dewey?\u201d demanded Arden. \u201cThat was the old guy who told you about the note in the dog statue? He was in your deli?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d said Ari. \u201cIn the middle of the night. With Kipper. That\u2019s the dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tArden looked justifiably irritated.
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m not sure a detail about a weird old guy who may or may not be a figment of your imagination is a detail you should have left out!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSorry,\u201d said Ari. \u201cI was afraid you\u2019d think I was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m afraid I might think I\u2019m crazy,\u201d replied Arden. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell,\u201d said Ari. \u201cyou\u2019re not. Because both our imaginations are having the same figment. What did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhen I first came in here, he was pacing up and down the aisle, like this.\u201d Arden demonstrated exactly the same head-shaking, compass-checking, distracted posture Ari had seen when Dewey was in the deli. \u201cAnd then, he looked up at me and said \u2018Glad to see you\u2019re helping the young fella\u2019…there\u2019s something I forgot to mention.\u2019 Then he stopped, right in the middle of the church and started looking at his fancy compass. He says \u2018North, northeast…yeah that\u2019s it.\u2019 Then he says \u2018Don\u2019t forget about the columbarium.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIs that all?\u201d asked Ari. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell,\u201d replied Arden, \u201cI felt kind of bad about the books, so I said \u2018your dog is ripping up the hymnals.\u2019 And he sort of chuckled and said \u2018Get over here varmint,\u2019 and then…he was just kind of gone. That freaked me out a little, because I didn\u2019t see where he went, and that\u2019s when I called you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAri smiled and sat down on a pew with a shrug. It felt good to know that even if he was nuts, he wasn\u2019t the only one.
\n\t\u201cYep,\u201d he replied, \u201cthat\u2019s pretty much how he disappeared on me too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tArden nodded uncertainly.
\n\t\u201cSo, I guess I don\u2019t need to keep looking for him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019ll find him,\u201d replied Ari. \u201cWhat\u2019s a colum…what was that word?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s lucky for you that I read a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cWhich way\u2019s north northeast?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe Harbor\u2019s exactly west,\u201d said Ari. He got up and began walking toward the back of the sanctuary exactly opposite to the church\u2019s main entrance. \u201cWhich makes this corner somewhere between north and east. What\u2019s the columb..the thing we\u2019re looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tArden joined Ari in the back corner of the church and pulled open the wooden door of what looked like a large cabinet built into the wall.
\n\t\u201cThis,\u201d she said. \u201cThe columbarium.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBehind the wooden door were many smaller doors. Maybe one-hundred. Maybe two-hundred.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThey look like post-office boxes,\u201d said Ari.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBut there\u2019s no mail in there,\u201d Arden replied. \u201cThey\u2019re full of ashes. Of people who were cremated instead of buried. See the names?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd indeed, Ari did see the names. Each small door, except for a chunk of blank ones at the bottom, was engraved with the name of the person whose remains were behind it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOk, then,\u201d said Ari. \u201cLet\u2019s find Charlie and Effie.\u201d He began to scan names from the top down. \u201cJiggins, Notch, Caleb…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEuphemia Luckinbill Pack,\u201d<\/em> said Arden, who was reading from the bottom up. \u201cThat sounds familiar. Didn\u2019t Miss Samms say something about somebody Luckinbill?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEffie,\u201d answered Ari. \u201cEffie Luckinbill was the reason Miss Samms didn\u2019t marry Charlie Krew.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBecause,\u201d said Arden grabbing the note out of Ari\u2019s hand and reading aloud, \u201cEffie had her choice of men!<\/em> And one of them must\u2019ve been Charlie Krew! Look! Half the guys in this row say \u2018beloved husband of Effie!\u2019 She outlived seven husbands!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEffie had her choice of men,\u201d<\/em> read Ari, \u201cuntil that June of sixty-when?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJune 7th,\u201d read Arden, \u201c1962. Sixty-two. The missing word is \u2018two.\u2019\u201d She made a quick entry in her notebook.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOne of the missing words,\u201d replied Ari. \u201cThe other one goes with Charlie. \u2018Now make a rhyme for Charlie Krew. It\u2019s something pretty. Most wear two.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWell,\u201d said Arden, \u201cwe know he\u2019s here with Effie…yeah, here…husband number two out of seven. Charlie Geering Krew, beloved husband of Effie.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOk,\u201d said Ari. \u201cWhat rhymes with Krew, and most people wear two…SHOE!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cShoes might not be pretty,\u201d said Arden. \u201cYou should see my Aunt Becky\u2019s. Some of them are pretty ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI guess you\u2019re right,\u201d replied Ari. \u201cBesides, I\u2019m pretty sure we shouldn\u2019t be able to guess the answer without finding his name on the ash box first…which means, maybe we\u2019re supposed to rhyme with Geering.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEarring!\u201d shouted Arden.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat works,\u201d said Ari. \u201cThey\u2019re pretty, you wear two…put it with the other words. Does it make any sense?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLet\u2019s see,\u201d said Arden. She went back to the pews, and sat where the stained-glass light could shine on the page of her notebook. Ari sat down next to her.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEyes, guide, black, orient…two, and earring,\u201d Arden read. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s probably scrambled,\u201d said Ari. \u201cBlack earring eyes two orient guide.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tArden squinted at the page. \u201cHow about, Guide to<\/em>, not two<\/em>, earrings…guide to black earrings. Oriental earrings.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBlack oriental earrings,\u201d repeated Ari. \u201cToo weird. How about black eyes?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOk,\u201d said Arden, \u201cThe oriental earring guide to black eyes. But it\u2019s orient, you know, not oriental.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOrient earring,\u201d said Ari. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSay that again,\u201d said Arden. \u201cFaster.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOrientearring,\u201d repeated Ari. \u201cOrient…\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOrienteering!\u201d said Arden. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s called when you find your way with a map and compass!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cA compass?\u201d said Ari. \u201cThen that\u2019s gotta be right. What about the other words?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBlack, guide, eyes, two. Or to,\u201d read Arden. \u201cGuide to orienteering…with black eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou can\u2019t add extra words,\u201d said Ari. He felt quite sure about this. \u201cIt has to make sense just the way they are, like…Black eyes guide…Blackeye\u2019s…Blackeye could be, like a pirate or something! Blackeye\u2019s guide…to orienteering!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMaybe!\u201d said Arden. \u201cThis has to be enough for Miss Samms.\u201d She glanced at her watch. \u201cToo bad the library closed twenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThen it won\u2019t be open again until Monday,\u201d added Ari.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMeet me after school on Monday?\u201d said Arden.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d he agreed. \u201cMonday. After school.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was a small utility room just inside the back door of St. Zita\u2019s, full of things things like cleaning supplies and extra candles. Ari noticed right away that Arden had, in fact, thrown their trash in the plastic waste can to the right of the door. But since she was not in the supply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}