Chapter 21: A Surprise for Auburn

After dropping Leila off at the hotel (and specifically charging Valerie and Allie NOT to let something like that happen again), Auburn and Brittany headed back to the gas station, hoping to contact the other kids and let them know the search was off.  As they headed down the quiet side streets of town, Auburn was the first to speak.

“I guess I should be relieved something like this didn’t happen earlier,” she said.  “Six kids, none older than nine, all by themselves most of the time.”

“It’s really a crazy idea, when you think about it,” said Brittany.  “We can’t let it fail, though!  If Richards ever figured out—”

“We need an adult,” said Auburn.  “Someone we can trust who’s not sold on the idea of Richards.”

“Good luck finding that,” said Brittany.  “All the parents in town are crazy over him.  At least, my mom is.  I don’t think my dad really cares one way or the other about Richards; he’s just going along with my mom because she likes him.  I don’t think he’d believe me if I told him what was really going on, though.”

“I know,” said Auburn.  “There were a few adults on that list of his, I noticed.  If we could convince one of them, not only would we have someone to supervise, but we’d free another one of the club members from Richards’s influence.”

“The question is, who?” said Brittany.  “They probably all think Richards is the greatest guy in the world.”

“It is a long shot,” admitted Auburn.  “You’ve lived here longer than I have.  Would you mind taking a look at the list and seeing if there’s anyone on it that might go along with us?”

“Not at all,” said Brittany.  “I just hope there’s a name that’ll work.”

So, less than twenty minutes later, the girls were walking through the front door of the Reynolds’s house.  Brittany looked around.  “This place looks familiar,” she said.  “Who’d you all buy it from?”

Auburn shrugged.  “The first time I saw it was the day we moved,” she said.  “Dad took care of all the transactions.”

“I could have sworn I’d been in this place before,” said Brittany, closing her eyes.  “There’s a bedroom at the end of that hall, and the kitchen’s in there, right?  Does it still have those ugly red marble countertops?”

“You’ve seen them?”

“Yes, now I remember!” exclaimed Brittany, eyes popping open.  “This was Mrs. Grayson’s home!”

“Mrs. Grayson,” said Auburn, eyebrows narrowing.  “Who’s she?”

“One of the sweetest ladies in town,” said Brittany, her face taking on an expression of remembrance.  “She used to make the most delicious sweet potato pie you ever tasted.  Always had some in the fridge if you ever came and visited her.  She had the most fascinating stories, too.  Once, I remember, she told us her version of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, only there was a fourth pig, and he had an underwater fortress equipped with missiles and attack submarines.”

Auburn laughed.  “That’s awesome.”

“It was hilarious!” said Brittany.  “I nearly died laughing when I heard it.”

“So what happened to her?” asked Auburn.  “Did she move?”

Brittany frowned.  “Yes and no,” she said.  “Mrs. Grayson’s husband had passed away several years ago, and her only surviving relative was her granddaughter, Anna, who’s 11 now.  A couple years ago, she—Mrs. Grayson, I mean—fell at one of the grocery stores.  She didn’t hurt herself, but some of the other people there started wondering if she was fit to still live here by herself.  DHS got involved, and the end result was that Mrs. Grayson was sent to go live in a nursing home, and her granddaughter went to live with foster parents.  It was kind of a rough situation.”

“Aw, that’s too bad!” said Auburn.  “Anna must have felt horrible!”

“She got sent to live with the Grahams, who were pretty good friends with Mrs. Grayson.  Still, it wasn’t the same.  I think the Grahams even think Anna should have remained with her grandma.  Mrs. Grayson needs a cane to get around, but she’s not on many medications, and her health’s been excellent.  I don’t know how much longer it will hold up, with Anna no longer around every day…”

Auburn snapped her fingers.  “Grayson!” she exclaimed.  “That name was on the list!”

“It was?” said Brittany.  “Oh, yes, it must be!  Anna’s in the club.”

“She is,” remembered Auburn, “and I’m pretty sure her grandmother—”  Auburn ran down the hall to her room, Brittany close behind.  She went straight to her desk, opened it, yanked out an envelope marked “Tickets,” pulled out a program from a Kansas City Chiefs game, and opened it to page 24.  There, tucked inside, was Auburn’s copy of the list.  She pulled it out and went over it eagerly.

“Anna Grayson.  Grandmother Ellen in Parkview Nursing Home.”  She looked up, eager expression on her face.  “If only we weren’t sending her to a hotel with three flights of stairs—”

“Actually,” said Brittany, “she probably wouldn’t have much trouble getting around it.  She was telling us once about the time she was a maid there—”

“Maid!” exclaimed Auburn.  “Then she’ll know that place like the back of her hand!”  Her brain was running a mile a minute.  “If we convince her to come watch the kids, then maybe, just maybe, when this is all cleared up, they’ll let her live by herself again—”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even the smallest towns in the United States still seem to have new buildings when it comes to things like hospitals, doctor’s offices, or nursing homes.  Just because a town’s small doesn’t mean it remains rooted in the past.  There’d be something quite unnerving about walking into a doctor’s office set up like it was from the 1920s and being offered treatment by an electro-metabograph, or some other quack device.

On the contrary, the Parkview Nursing Home was a quite modern facility.  It was built in a retro style, with stone walls and a wooden roof causing it to resemble an oversized hunting lodge.  However, the building’s newness was betrayed by the perfect cleanliness on the outer walls.

Brittany rolled the Camry into a parking space and glanced at the dashboard clock.  “It’ll be a stretch, but we can have you back before 5:00.  Just make sure we don’t stay too long—Mrs. Grayson has a tendency to go on and on and on…if we’re still in there at 5:35, tell me you’re not feeling well.”

“I’ll just pretend to pass out,” quipped Auburn.  “No, I won’t do anything extreme enough to attract the nurses.”

“I come and visit Mrs. Grayson every so often,” Brittany said, “so they won’t be surprised I’m here.  Although, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve been since Richards started his club…”  She stopped midsentence, not interested in finishing whatever she’d been about to say.

Though the entrance the girls used was on the front building, it must not have been the main entrance.  No counter or anything stood inside, and no one bothered to say anything when they went in.  Brittany knew where she was going, and she headed left down a hallway, Auburn tagging along behind.

When they reached Room 37, Brittany grinned.  “See that sign?  No roommates.”

“And it’s on front of the building,” said Auburn.  “This is looking good.”

“Yep!” said Brittany.  “Well, guess I’d better knock!”  She rapped on the door, and, hearing a murmur from inside, decided to head in.

Mrs. Grayson sat in a chair facing the window, cane tracing circles on the floor.  She didn’t bother to look up, just said, “You can set it on the counter, doctor.  I’ll take it later—”

“This isn’t the doctor,” Brittany said loudly.

Her voice sent a jolt of electricity through the old woman’s body, and she whirled the chair around, huge smile across her face.  “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” she asked.  “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“I’ve been…uh…busy,” said Brittany, “working at the gas station, but it has been too long, hasn’t it?”  She still couldn’t figure out how to tell Mrs. Grayson the purpose of her visit.  “Oh, this here’s my friend Auburn.  Auburn Reynolds.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Grayson,” Auburn said.  “Brittany says my family bought your old house—942 N. 8^th Street—”

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence?!” exclaimed Mrs. Grayson.  “That was my home for nigh over forty years.  Clem and I put a lot of work into that place.  Tell me, are the birdfeeders still in the backyard?”

Brittany looked at Auburn, who shrugged.  “I’m not sure,” she said.  “Come to think of it, I can’t even remember what the backyard looks like right now.  I’ve only been there for three months.”

“I see,” said Mrs. Grayson.  “Well, do check when you go home.  We had such nice goldfinches that used to fly in and visit us.”

Before she could get started on a bird story, Brittany attempted to cut to the chase.  “How’s Anna doing?”

Mrs. Grayson frowned.  “I haven’t seen her in a week,” she said.  “There’s been such a change in her lately, ever since last spring.”

“Change?” said Brittany.  “I mean, I see her a lot, but she doesn’t look like she’s grown much—”

“Not that kind of change.  Something in here,” Mrs. Grayson remarked, tapping her chest.  “You know Anna.  She’s always been so cheerful, had that little sister personality—getting excited about everything?”  Mrs. Grayson smiled fondly.  “When I moved in here, any time I started acting upset, she’d always be right there to reassure me.  ‘Don’t worry Grandma, it’ll all work out!  I’ll come and visit you every day!’  She did too, for a while.”

Mrs. Grayson paused, and the smile left her face.  “Now, I hardly ever see her any more.  When she does come around, she’s always brooding about something, and she won’t tell me what.  I’ve tried everything I can to get her to talk—coaxing, cajoling, threats—I’m joking about the last part.”  Mrs. Grayson smiled at the girls.  “She seems to want to tell me what’s wrong,” the lady said, “but she can’t.”

“Uh, Mrs. Grayson,” began Auburn.  “We know the reason.”

“Oh, that’s obvious,” said Mrs. Grayson.  “I know it myself, and I—”

The door interrupted Mrs. Grayson, as it swung open admitting a man in a white coat with a stethoscope around his next.  Embroidered under his pocket were the words Dr. Reginald Brown, M.D.

“I’m Dr. Brown,” he said, confirming the nametag.  “I’ve come to give Mrs. Grayson her medicine.”

“Set it over there on the table, doctor,” the lady said.  “I’ll have it tonight.”

“Oh, no!’  You’re not getting out of it that easily!”  The doctor smiled at the girls.  “This one’s a tough one—you can’t trust her.”

“I’m not taking it now, and you can’t make me,” Mrs. Grayson said.

“Oh, yes I can!”

“Oh, no, you can’t!”

“And why ever not, Mrs. Grayson?”

“Because I just used mouthwash five minutes ago, and the label says not to have anything to eat or drink for the next thirty minutes.  You see what I mean?”

The doctor sighed.

“I know you’re no dentist, but surely you know enough about Listerine to know that—”

“Alright, Mrs. Grayson, you win. But I’ll be back in 25 minutes, and when I return, you’re taking that medication, mouthwash or no mouthwash.  In fact,” the doctor started, wandering into the bathroom and returning with a green bottle, “No mouthwash.  I’ll bring this back after you have your medication.”

Mrs. Grayson smiled.  “You have a nice afternoon, doctor.”

“Bah!” he said, in mock anger.  “Why did they give me patients like you?” and he hurried out of the room to find a more willing victim—er, I mean patient.

Mrs. Grayson watched him leave, pleasant expression on her face.  “Close that door, please,” she told Auburn.  “We don’t want him to hear what we have to say next.”

“No, we don’t,” said Auburn.  “Mrs. Grayson, I—”

“Shh!” said Mrs. Grayson, leaning forward in her chair.  “Come here!”

Curiously, Auburn and Brittany wandered closer.  Mrs. Grayson motioned for them to put their heads down, then whispered softly, “You two are going to help me break out of here.  Tonight!”

If you’re trying to convince someone to do something important, and you doubt that they’ll want to go along with it, nothing is more unnerving thing than hearing them bring up the idea on their own.  Auburn and Brittany were shocked out of their wits.  Otherwise, Auburn would never have said—

“You can’t be serious!”

“Oh, but I am, child.”  Mrs. Grayson got up from her chair and started pacing, as best she could with a cane.  “I was forced into here two years ago against my will, and I’m sick and tired of it.  The other residents bore me to death, all I ever see is this room and the hallway, and Dr. Brown’s always coming in and bugging me.  I am still quite capable of living on my own, and I’ll do it again.  It’s not myself I’m most worried about, though—it’s Anna.  She’s starting to miss me greatly—that’s why she’s been acting so strange lately.  The Grahams are wonderful people, but she needs to be living with family again—me.”

“Mrs. Grayson—” Brittany began.

“You two are the first people to visit me in a week—a whole week!” Mrs. Grayson said.  “My visitors are getting less and less.  If you all won’t help me, then who will?”

“Actually,” said Auburn, “that’s exactly what we came here for!”

Now, it was Mrs. Grayson’s turn to look surprised.  “You mean I didn’t need to convince you?”

“Not at all; we’d be happy to get you out of here,” said Auburn, “but first, there’s something you’ve got to know.  Tell her, Brittany.”

Brittany’s face flushed, but she told Mrs. Grayson about Richards and the club’s true purpose.  She was painfully honest, even confessing to some of the crimes she’d been forced to commit.  Then, it was Auburn’s turn, and she told Mrs. Grayson about the hotel, the Purple Porcupine, and the reason all the kids were disappearing.  When finished, she and Brittany waited for Mrs. Grayson’s reaction.

“So!” Mrs. Grayson said angrily.  “That’s what that flake Richards is up to, is it?  I knew I didn’t like him the first time I saw him!”

“You’ve met him?” said Brittany.

Auburn nodded as Mrs. Grayson went on, “He came to visit us at the nursing home once.  Treated us like a bunch of spoiled kindergartners.”  Mrs. Grayson sniffed.  “Came across to me as an act.  So he’s been forcing Anna to—”

“Yes, and not by threatening her,” Auburn said soberly.  “By threatening you!”

“The nerve of that man!” Mrs. Grayson exclaimed.  “Yes, I’ll be happy to do what you say.  I know that old hotel like the back of my hand.  I’m glad someone’s finally using it for a good cause!”

“You’ll find it the liveliest it’s been the past few years,” Auburn said.  “Too lively, in fact!  Those kids need someone that can be with them around the clock, and you’d be the perfect choice.  Plus,” she went on, excitedly, “It won’t be too much longer before Richards’s club completely falls apart.  When he’s behind bars and the truth comes out, then you’ll have proven that you can still live on your own, and maybe they won’t make you come back here!”

Brittany glanced up from her watch.  “We’ve got about five minutes before that doctor comes back into the room.”

“Okay,” said Auburn.  She slipped over to the window and unlocked it.  “We’ll smuggle you out through there tonight.  Now, here’s what’s going to happen…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they drove away from the hotel, Brittany remarked, “I guess we’re using my car, then?”

“We kind of have to,” said Auburn.  “I don’t want to try borrowing a police car again.  That trick might not work a second time.”

“All the same,” said Brittany, “I’m sure your Purple Porcupine business has them out in full force.”

“Oh, yes!” said Auburn, nodding her head.  “You wouldn’t believe how many police cars I see when I’m freeing someone from Richards.”

“In that case,” said Brittany, “it would be best if we could use another car.  You know,” she said, thoughtfully, “my uncle—not the doctor, another one—he’s got an old car in Geary that he’s been offering to give my dad a long time.  My dad enjoys restoring cars in his spare time, you see.  Well, he wants to do this one at some point, but Geary’s a couple hours away, and he hasn’t ever gotten around to picking it up.”

“A couple hours,” said Auburn.  “We couldn’t have it here by nightfall—”

“—but I could get it here in time for us to use it later tonight,” said Brittany.  “It still runs, just not as well as it should, but well enough for our purposes.  I can hide it at the old gas station.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Auburn.  “No one could recognize it then.  How are you going to keep your family from finding out how you picked it up?”

“Simple, actually,” said Brittany.  “Dad’s birthday is in two months.  I’ll tell uncle Gene that it’ll be a surprise present for him.”

“Super!” said Auburn.

Brittany glanced down at the dashboard clock.  “4:15,” she muttered.  “I’ll go drop by your place, then swing by U-Haul and pick up a trailer before they close.  I might not be able to pick you up tonight, but can you meet me at the old gas station at midnight?”

“Sure!” said Auburn.  “See you then!”