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  SHADOWS ON THE SEA

  Joan Hiatt Harlow

  Margaret K. McElderry Books

  New York London Toronto Sydney Singapore

  Star in the Storm

  Joshua’s Song

  Margaret K. McElderry Books

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster

  Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2003 by Joan Hiatt Harlow

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Book design by Ann Sullivan

  The text for this book is set in Electra LH.

  Printed in the United States of America

  4 6 8 10 9 7 5

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Harlow, Joan Hiatt.

  Shadows on the sea / Joan Hiatt Harlow.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: In 1942, fourteen-year-old Jill goes to stay with her grandmother on the coast of Maine, where she is introduced to the often gossipy nature of small-town life, and discovers that the war is closer than she thought.

  ISBN 0-689-84926-5 (hardcover)

  eISBN-13: 978-1-439-10817-8

  ISBN 978-0-689-84926-8

  1. World War, 1939-1945—Maine—Juvenile fiction. [1. World War, 1939-1945—United States—Fiction. 2. Grandmothers—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction. 4. Maine—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H22666Sj 2003

  [Fic]—dc21

  2002151077

  In loving memory of my dad, Albert E. Hiatt, who filled my life with song!

  CONTENTS

  1. Jill’s Transformation

  2. Scarlett

  3. Embarrassing Moments

  4. The Widow’s Walk

  5. The Bird Man

  6. Adrie

  7. Shadows

  8. Truth, Dare, Consequences, Promise, or Repeat

  9. Sonnabend IV

  10. The Three Wise Monkeys

  11. Made in Germany

  12. Invitations

  13. Supper at the Tearoom Inn

  14. The Kelpie

  15. Keep in the Sunlight

  16. Tea with the Crystals

  17. Dark Secrets

  18. The Pigeon Flies Home

  19. Bad News from Europe

  20. The Ring

  21. The Clambake

  22. Monster from the Sea

  23. Trapped

  24. When You Wish upon a Star

  25. Tweed

  Afterword

  SHADOWS ON THE SEA

  Jill’s Transformation

  Don’t worry so much! Don’t worry so much!

  Jill Winters leaned her forehead against the train window and peered out through the raindrops at the early summer landscape. It was bleak—more like April than June. At another time the sound of the wheels clicking over the tracks might have lulled her to sleep. But today it mingled with the thoughts and regrets that pounded in her head.

  Don’t worry so much! Don’t worry so much!

  Earlier this month, her father, a popular singer, flew out to California to do some concerts and radio shows. It was nice to have a famous father, but Jill missed him when he traveled. Even though the country was at war, Dad’s popularity had snow-balled—not only because of his beautiful voice and good looks, but because he touched the hearts of his audiences with his stage presence and down-to-earth charm. His agent was booking him for appearances here, there, and just about everywhere.

  Less than a week after Dad left, Mom had gotten the news that her brother, Jill’s uncle Cliff, was critically ill with cancer. Mom was determined to go to the British colony of Newfoundland to take care of him. “I’ll be all right, Jill,” her mother assured her. “I’ll be taking the Caribou across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It’s just a merchant ship. It won’t be a target for German submarines.” But everyone knew Newfoundland was an important military base for American and Canadian troops. U-boats—German submarines—patrolled the waters around the great rocky island like circling sharks waiting … waiting.

  Jill’s mother’s amber eyes filled with tears when Jill had begged, “Let me go with you!”

  “I can’t take you, darling. The only reason they’re letting me go is that I’m next of kin to Cliff—and a registered nurse. They won’t let me take a child along. It may be dangerous.”

  “I’m not a child. I’m fourteen. Besides, if it’s too dangerous for me, it’s too dangerous for you!” Jill argued.

  “Jill, I’ve got to go,” Mom explained. “Cliff is in a far-off port and he’s all alone. He needs me.”

  “I need you!”

  “Jill, he’s my brother!” Mom had said impatiently. “You can’t understand, because you don’t have brothers or sisters.”

  “You care more about Uncle Cliff than me! I’ll bet Daddy will let me join him in California, if I ask him!” Jill stomped off to her room, threw herself on her bed, and hugged her pillow.

  Her father had called that night but spoke to Mom first. When Jill took the telephone in her room, she waited until her mother hung up the extension, then pleaded, “Can I come out to California, Daddy?”

  But Dad said, “No, Jill. It’s not safe for you to be traveling all over the country on a crazy schedule like mine.” There was a long silence, then he said, “You know, Nana would love to have you spend some time with her in Maine this summer.”

  Her father hung up and, within a few minutes, called back. “It’s all set. Nana is tickled to pieces to have you stay with her.”

  Summer in Maine? It sounded awful. Even though she loved Nana, Jill didn’t want to go. She didn’t have any friends up there—she’d be bored and lonely all summer.

  When Mom left a few days later, she tried to give Jill a hug, but Jill pulled away. Before getting into the taxi, her mother threw a kiss to Jill, who watched from the window. Jill grudgingly nodded good-bye but didn’t send a kiss.

  Jill’s best friend, Patty, and her mother, Mrs. Hayden, had come to stay with Jill until she left for Maine the following week. “You should have been kinder to your mother, Jill. She’s going on a sad mission.” Mrs. Hayden frowned her disapproval. “Besides, we’re at war and everyone has to make sacrifices. Your mother had to make a hard choice and you didn’t make it any easier for her.”

  Jill slumped on the couch, guilty and scared. What if something happened to Mom? Jill wished she had thrown that good-bye kiss. She got up and ran to the window but the taxi was gone. Jill’s eyes brimmed and she reached for one of her mother’s lace-trimmed handkerchiefs that was left crumpled on the coffee table. As Jill wiped her eyes she could smell the scent of Tweed, her mother’s favorite perfume. She choked back a sob.

  After her mother left, Jill began paying more attention to radio news. She heard Walter Winchell report that from January to June this very year—1942—more than 170 ships had been sunk in American waters. Innocent American, Canadian, and Newfoundland merchant vessels—like the Caribou—silhouetted against brightly lit East Coast cities, were easy targets for the German U-boats.

  Today Patty and her mother had driven Jill to Boston to take the train to Maine. “Lucky you, traveling all the way to Winter Haven alone! It’s so … mature.” Patty kissed her good-bye, then whispered, “Have fun! Once the train starts, get into those glamorous slacks and pretend you’
re sixteen.”

  Patty was right, Jill decided. Taking a train by herself really was mature. Her folks felt she was mature enough to travel all the way up the coast by herself. She’d get along just fine without her parents. She didn’t need them one single bit. Yet, she couldn’t forget how sad Mom had looked when she said good-bye.

  Jill looked at her reflection in the train window. There she was. Jill Elizabeth Winters. Her brown hair hung to her shoulders in natural curls. Her eyes were large, wide-set, and the color of honey. In the reflection, her face stood out rather pale against the white Peter Pan collar on her dress. I hate Peter Pan collars, she thought. They are so childish!

  Patty had said, “Have fun.” Well, if she had to be on this miserable trip, she’d make the most of it. After all, she was on her own for the first time. She’d try to stop worrying so much and do whatever she felt like doing. And right now she felt like getting rid of that Peter Pan collar!

  Jill pulled out the smaller of her two suitcases from under the seat, then headed for the lavatory at the far end of the passenger car. Once inside, she locked the door and put her bag on the floor. She peered into the toilet and could see the train tracks and crossties zooming by. That’s awful! she thought. The toilets don’t flush—they just empty out onto the ground!

  She slammed the cover down, sat on the seat, opened her bag, and took out her new slacks. Grinning, she held them up. A nice shade of blue cotton sateen. Her parents would die if they knew how she’d spent her clothing money. Slacks had become more acceptable since the war had started, especially for women working in factories where skirts could be dangerous. Movie stars were beginning to wear them everywhere. However, girls were not allowed to wear slacks to school. When Jill begged for a pair, Mom had said, “Overalls are okay for a hike in the woods, but slacks for everyday use are just not ladylike.”

  Patty’s mom let the girls have a special day together after Jill’s mother had left. Jill secretly bought the slacks suit. Patty giggled and swore she’d never tell. Jill wasn’t sure what Nana’s reaction would be. I can handle Nana, she told herself confidently.

  Jill removed her dress and scowled at it. So prissy and juvenile! After taking off her slip, she pulled on the slacks, donned a flowered blue-and-tan shirt, and peered into the small mirror over the sink. She braided her hair, weaving a blue grosgrain ribbon into the thick braid. That looks glamorous, she thought, just like Dorothy Lamour in the movie Road to Singapore. Finally she slipped into the matching jacket. It had huge shoulder pads in the newest military style.

  Jill fumbled through her bag until she found her white bobby socks. Hidden in one was a tube of Tangee lipstick. Her parents had made it clear she couldn’t wear lipstick until she was sixteen. Carefully she applied the Tangee and pressed her lips together. It was such a pale orange it could hardly be noticed, so she applied it again. When she got to Maine, she’d buy some real lipstick.

  Jill jumped up and down, straining to see her whole image in the small mirror. That’s better! I really do look sixteen, she decided with a smug grin. She stuffed her dress and slip into her bag and snapped it shut.

  Satisfied and feeling quite mature, Jill stepped out of the rest room just in time to hear the porter call out, “Supper is being served in the dining car.”

  Scarlett

  Although it was wartime, the dining car maintained a sense of elegance. Little battery-operated lamps flickered on tables, which were covered with starched white tablecloths and linen napkins. Jill was escorted to a table by a smartly dressed waiter who handed her a menu. A small notice on the menu explained how the Boston & Maine Railroad was attempting to keep the selections varied despite war-rationing restrictions. The meal was paid for in the price of her ticket, so Jill could have whatever she chose.

  “I’ll have a hot turkey sandwich and a pot of tea, please,” she told the waiter. Her mother, a Newfoundlander and therefore a British subject, had been brought up with the English custom of having tea every afternoon. There was something about a cup of tea that made Jill feel comfortable and grown-up.

  While she waited for her order, she gazed around the dining car. Two sailors were joking and laughing at a table in the corner. Across the aisle, a dark-haired gentleman sipped wine and studied the menu.

  A blast of wind caught Jill’s attention as someone opened the door and entered the car. A girl who appeared to be a little older than Jill sauntered down the aisle.

  She wore a gray dress with a draped bodice and flared skirt, but the wide black diagonal stripes were eye-catching. Her blond hair was smoothly turned into a stylish pageboy and curved prettily at her cheeks. To top it off, this girl was wearing silk stockings! Jill could tell they were silk—so sheer and smooth. Where did she ever get silk stockings with the war going on?

  Jill found herself staring, and as the girl turned, looking for a table, their eyes met. Embarrassed, Jill looked quickly down at her hands.

  The girl stepped over to Jill’s table. “Is anyone sitting with you? Would you like some company?” She smiled, one dimple appearing on her right cheek.

  Jill shrugged and nodded.

  The newcomer slid into the opposite seat. “I’m on my way to the shore for the summer. I’m from New York. I find the heat in the city quite oppressive, don’t you?”

  “I don’t live in the city,” Jill answered. “I live outside Boston.”

  “Oh, you’re a country girl then?” The stranger removed her white gloves and placed them neatly by her plate.

  “No, I’m not a country girl,” Jill blurted. Did she look like a country girl in her slacks and Dorothy Lamour hairdo?

  The girl seemed engrossed in the menu. She then gave her order to the waiter who hovered over her, filling her water glass and adjusting the silverware. Jill peered a little closer. Yes, she was wearing a touch of red lipstick—it was not Tangee.

  After the stranger ordered a cup of tea and a plate of finger sandwiches, she settled back in her seat and looked out the window. “I hate traveling backward.”

  Jill was not about to switch seats.

  “Oh, my name is Scarlett,” the girl continued. “Like in the movie, Gone With the Wind. Everyone comments on my name. Only my name’s Scarlett Jones—not O’Hara.”

  “I’m Jill Winters.”

  “Where are you going, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “To the shore,” Jill answered. “I’m spending the summer at my grandmother’s estate. She owns a gorgeous home by the sea.” Jill had never been to Nana’s house. Nana had purchased it a few years ago, after Grandfather died. From photographs, Nana’s house looked old and comfortable, with a big porch overlooking the ocean. However, it was weather-beaten and certainly not gorgeous. But this girl would never know.

  “How nice. I’ll be managing a tearoom and inn. It’s hard to find help with the war on, you know. I’m doing it as a favor to my aunt. She’s begged me to come and help her out. I know a lot about publicity and things, since my father is a producer in the film industry.”

  “He is? What film company?”

  “Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Twentieth Century Fox—all the big ones.”

  “I’ll watch for his name on the film credits,” Jill said.

  “Maybe you’ll see it. Maybe not. They scroll the names very quickly.” Scarlett smoothed her hair. “Daddy has promised to get me an ingenue lead in one of his movies very soon. I study drama at school.”

  Ingenue? Some theatrical term, I suppose, Jill thought, feeling stupid.

  “Daddy thinks I need a little change away from the theater, so he decided I should come to Maine for the summer. It will also give me a taste of seaside living, since that will be the background of his new movie.”

  The waiter served their dinners together and both girls were quiet as they ate.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jill watched Scarlett admiringly. She poured tea from the silver-plated teapot with her little finger pointed straight out. Using tongs, she delicately dropped tiny squares
of sugar into her cup. “Sugar?” she asked Jill. “Cream?”

  “No, thank you.” Jill tried cutting her turkey sandwich into smaller pieces, holding her little finger out in the same elegant manner, but it felt awkward and she couldn’t get a good grip on her knife.

  When they were finished, Scarlett patted her lips, then set the napkin on the table. “Now, Jill, tell me about your family.”

  “My father is a singer. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Drew Winters?”

  Scarlett’s blue eyes widened. “Drew Winters is your father?”

  “Yes. He’s performing in California right now. My mother is traveling … overseas.”

  “Overseas? With the war going on?”

  “I’m awfully worried about her,” Jill said truthfully.

  Scarlett looked skeptical.

  She doesn’t believe me, Jill thought. Well, I can make this more interesting. “Actually, my mother works for intelligence. She’s a spy.”

  Scarlett looked suspiciously at Jill. “If your mother was really a spy, you wouldn’t be telling anyone.”

  Jill cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “You’re right. Of course, I shouldn’t be talking about my mother. I have to be careful. The war, you know.” She glanced quickly around and gestured to a poster on the wall that showed the figure of Uncle Sam with a finger to his lips and the words Loose lips sink ships.

  For a while neither girl spoke. Then Scarlett said, “So your father is Drew Winters and your mother is a spy.”

  Suddenly Jill had no idea what she could possibly say next. Her problem was solved as the conductor walked through the dining car. “We will be arriving in Bangor in five minutes,” he announced.

  Jill got up. “Nice meeting you, Scarlett. Have a good summer.” She didn’t linger for Scarlett to say good-bye but raced back the length of two cars to her own seat. Then, gathering her luggage together, she waited for the train to stop.

  “Bangor! Bangor!” came the singsong chant of the conductor as the engines hissed and the brakes squealed.