“Now what Happened?”
“I don’t know. It felt like there was a step down to the floor but we missed it and took a tumble.”
Gary voiced the obvious,
“This is a really weird place.”
Sam agreed and said,
“Let’s keep going and hope nothing stupid like that happens again.”
Unfortunately, hope was not on their side.
Chapter 34
Sheriff Walter Cornwall walked into the precinct holding a brown envelope. He looked happy for a change. Edith looked up and while he was moving his peg over to ‘in’, she said
“That didn’t take long. Did everything go okay?”
With the type of smirk that she hated, for it implied that he was proud of himself but tried not to show it, he flipped the envelope on the counter and said,
“There you go Mrs. Cornwall, all signed sealed, and copies sent to the union and government. It is now official. I will be retiring and getting a great little pension in exactly three months.”
Walter was pleased and Edith was greatly relieved. They fell in love and married while he was in the academy. After forty years of service in what she considered a very dangerous occupation she was glad that soon she would not have to worry any more if he was coming home for supper or not. There were many situations, too many to count when he was on a dangerous assignment and she hated it. How many times had she laid awake wondering, fearing if something had gone wrong. Her eyes lit up and she smiled back at him.
He looked at the board and saw that Deputy Grant Lloyd was booked out. Turning back to Edith, he asked,
“Where the hell did he go now? I told him to stay in until he was caught up with all his daily reports.”
With an apologetic look she said,
“Oh, I didn’t know that. A Disturbance Complaint came in and I sent him on it.”
Then with a very relaxed tease she smiled and added,
“I usually try to save those little things for you, you know, the oldest one on the force gets the easier duties.”
At that tease, his anger toward Grant flittered away. He just grinned, turned toward the precinct office and said,
“Thank you very much Mrs. Cornwall. Please remember that I am a very revengeful husband.”
He had only gotten a few steps when she suddenly said,
“Wait a minute. I’m getting an Officer Assistance request from the hospital.”
He stopped and waited for the report to be finished. She looked up at him and said,
“Apparently they are asking for somebody to come over and control an obnoxious patient, something about an old lady going postal on them. Shall I give it to Isaac?”
He sucked in a deep breath and said,
“No, I know who it is. I’ll respond to it.”
Walter parked his car in the hospital’s ‘police car only’ spot and walked up to the front desk. Apparently, the patient in room 211 was yelling and threatening to sue the hospital and city if she was not released immediately. The receptionist then added,
“Wait a second. I’ll get you her name.”
Walter slapped the desk, turned and said,
“Don’t bother. I already know who it is.”
The elevator was already on the second floor so Walter decided it would be faster to use the stairs. What the heck, it was only on the second floor. The same security guard looked up and saw the Sherriff walking toward the stairs. He put his crossword puzzle down and called out to him.
“Would you like some backup Sheriff?”
This time Walter turned and said,
“That might not be a bad idea Ivan. There is a pretty insufferable patient in 211 that I might need help with.”
Ivan said,
“No kidding, I can sometimes hear her yelling from here.”
Jumping onto the stairs, Walter called back,
“I’ll get you to stand by just in case I can’t handle her.”
Glad to be of assistance, mostly just glad to be doing something else besides crossword puzzles, he patted the handcuffs on his belt and stood tall and straight.
The nurse on the second floor station was very glad to see Walter approaching. She jumped up and said,
“It’s that cantankerous Ruth Albright again. She has been constantly complaining about the food and that I have been ignoring her repeated calls for the smallest things.”
Walking side by side to room 211, Walter asked,
“Have you been ignoring her?”
The nurse chuckled and admitted,
“You bet I have. I’m not going near that old hag unless it’s to give her a huge needle in the ass.”
Walter smiled and said,
“Below that rough exterior she is actually a very nice woman.”
The Nurse was not about to accept the comment.
“Not to me she isn’t.”
As Walter opened the door, the nurse hurried back to the safety of her desk.
Ruth was sitting up in her bed with her sprained ankle wrapped and stretched out on top of the sheets. She did not look happy. To Walter, she looked downright ornery. As he approached her stern glare, he said,
“I hear you have been a very naughty girl.”
She barked,
“Never mind what I have been. Where in tarnation have you been? I called for you at least a hundred times.”
“Sorry, I came as fast as I could.”
“Did you have trouble with the sonic boom?”
Standing beside her bed, he reciprocated,
“I’ll have to spank my receptionist again.”
Ruth snapped,
“You leave that dear woman alone. She is the best thing that ever happened to you.”
Knowing that was the gospel truth, he said,
“Yes ma’am.”
The nurse filled out the dismiss papers as fast as she could. Then and finally with a promise that she would be looked after at home, she was released from the hospital. If the truth were known, all the nurses would have released her to a pit of snapping alligators just to get her out of here. The nurse handed Walter a cane and said,
“Her ankle is not too bad. She will only need this for balance.”
She then seemed pleased to add,
“It’s hospital policy to discharge people in a wheelchair.”
Walter pushed the wheelchair to his police car and helped Ruth into the front seat. Although she had difficulty and needed help, she snapped,
“Get your filthy hands off me. I don’t need your help.”
After turning out of the hospital parking lot, he drove along Maple Street toward Jasper Street. While stopped for a light, Walter knew better than to start a conversation and wisely sat in silence. Ruth did not. She looked at him and said,
“Couldn’t you just have called me a cab? There is no need to drive me home in this contraption. I feel like a common criminal.”
Walter couldn’t resist. He looked at her and said,
“Really? I remember in your rambunctious younger years that you were quite the rebel. I guess you forgot the things you and I did way back then, huh? Remember all those misdemeanor charges?”
Her icy glare could have frozen water. He smiled at her and in all sincerity said,
“I’m glad you are all right Ruth.”
Her only retort was,
“Don’t you ever clean this bucket of bolts? It smells worse than a jackass coming at me backwards.”
As Walter stepped on the gas, he laughed.
As he turned onto Jasper Street, Walter was surprised to see a convoy of three black Cadillac Escalades coming at him. When they passed, he saw in his rear view mirror that they turned onto Maple Street and disappeared. A bad feeling soaked into him. As they approached her house, it was easy to see that something was very wrong. One of his patrol cars was parked at the front and a few people were standing across the street looking at the house. When Walter pulled into the driveway, Ruth saw the gaping hole up in the attic wall.
For once she was stunned to silence. As Walter got out of the car, he said to her,
“Stay in the car until I find out what’s going on.”
Just then, Deputy Grant Lloyd came from around the corner of the house and approached him. Walter asked,
“What happened here Grant?”
When the Factory began its illegal operation deep in the copper mine, they knew they would need ears and eyes in all government departments across the country. Spending close to a million dollars a year on bribes and information was a drop in the bucket for a billion dollar operation. What they were paying Grant to protect their interests in Twin Rivers was a mere nickel of that expense. Grant was living two lies. One was in an honourable profession pretending to care about the honest folks of Twin Rivers. The other was as an agent for the people at the Factory. When living on a tightrope balanced between lies and truths, deceitfulness must come easily. Grant never faltered when saying,
“Edith radioed and told me you were on the way. You only missed them by a few minutes.”
Walter asked,
“Missed who Grant?”
Grant continued to earn his ill-gotten money.
“I responded to a Domestic Disturbance complaint and when I got here I saw all these men in black going through the house.”
Surprisingly the rest of his report to Walter was accurate, relating exactly what happened and cutting away of the attic wall, including the helicopter. Again, Walter repeated the question,
“Who were they Grant?”
That was where the truth of the matter ended. Grant looked him straight in the eye and said,
“The lead man showed me papers and a badge identifying them as National Security agents. He explained what was happening here was a matter of top secrecy.”
Walter looked up at the gaping hole in the wall and then back down to Grant. He asked,
“How do you know they were from National Security?”
“Like I said, they showed me badges and official government papers. When I told them that I needed to report to you, they told me to stand down and be quiet. They said they have jurisdiction over this sort of thing. They said that whatever they were taking was deemed classified and a danger to National Security. There were at least a dozen of them so I couldn’t have stopped them anyway. All I could do was keep the crowd on the other side of the street from coming over.”
“You did just fine Grant. What did they take?”
“Just some junk up in the attic.”
Walter looked at the small crowd across the street and went to them.
“Did anybody take pictures of this?”
Mr. Crow spoke up,
“Yes Sheriff, I got it all on this here cell phone thing.”
“Good. Email it to my office for me.”
Mr. Crow very timidly said,
“I’m sorry Sheriff but we don’t know how to do that.”
A nine year old girl standing off to the side heard it all. She said,
“I know how. I’ll help them.”
Nobody was surprised to hear that an elderly couple could not send a picture or that a nine year old could.
Walking back to the house, Walter saw Ruth struggling to get out of the patrol car. Before she could fall and cause damage to her other foot, he hurried over to help. As much as he tried, he could not stop her dogged determination to get into her house. As he walked beside her ready to catch her if necessary, he was amazed at her strength and grit. Although she struggled and wrenched in pain she was loaded with determination to inspect her house.
Entering the back door and into the kitchen, both Walter and Ruth were surprised to see the extent of the damage. Grant followed them into the house. While Ruth hobbled over to the kitchen counter, Walter looked to Grant and asked,
“Why would National Security vandalize the house like this?”
“No sir, they said they didn’t do it. Apparently, it was like this before they got here. All they wanted was what was in the attic.”
Walter looked over to see what Ruth was doing at the kitchen counter. He saw her pick up a large plastic container of coffee. After opening it and looking inside she seemed greatly relieved.
Curious, Walter walked over and looked in the jar. He saw what must have been thousands of dollars held together in a neat roll by an elastic band. Knowing that she was a rich recluse, he looked at her and asked,
“Just a little cash for a rainy day is it?”
His only answer was her sneer. When Grant saw all that money in the coffee jar, he silently groaned. Rick was holding the coffee can and about to open it when Warric came and ordered him out of the house. He was seconds away from sharing in the loot.
After inspecting the house, it was clear that she could not stay here. Recognizing that hurtful fact, she struck out at Walter.
“Where were you when all this was happening to my house? I swear this town will be a lot better off when you retire. When will that be Walter? Tomorrow I hope.”
Recognizing her frustration, he let the insult go and while retaining composure responded,
“Just a few more months to go Ruth. Don’t worry about a thing. When that happens I’ll come over every day for a cup of tea.”
It was a snide reply.
“How Delightful. I see too much of you as it is.”
It took a while for her to pack a suitcase and get ready to move out. In the meantime, Walter and Grant walked upstairs to the attic. After looking around, he said to Grant,
“What could possibly have been of interest to National Security up here?”
Although Grant saw what they took, he was just as much in the dark as Walter was. Walter added,
“Ruth told me that Gary would often sneak up here and play with electrical stuff but she was sure that it was all harmless junk.”
Grant added,
“Maybe it wasn’t”
Walter was not buying that and snapped,
“Oh come on Grant, he is a twelve year old boy. What on earth could he possibly have created up here to scare National Security into doing all this?”
Coming back downstairs, they saw that Ruth had thrown whatever she needed into two suitcases. She pointed to them and hobbled to the back door. Walter looked at Grant and said,
“I guess she expects you to pick them both up and follow her to the car.”
Standing on the back porch and looking into her backyard, Ruth aimed her cane at the shed across the yard and said to Walter,
“Go see if Gary’s bike is in there.”
She reasoned that if it wasn’t, it meant that he was out riding somewhere and safe. Walter looked inside and saw the bike. From the porch, Ruth saw part of it and shivers of fear trembled through her. As Walter walked back to the porch she raised her cane in a threatening manner and snapped,
“You promised to look after him while I was in the hospital. Too many children have disappeared in this town. So help me Walter, if anything has happened to my only heir I’ll curse you all the way to hell.”
While Grant took backward protective steps, Walter fearlessly walked up and put his arms around her. Surprisingly she accepted his affection and while still holding onto her cane put both arms around him. Walter tenderly said,
“Don’t worry Ruth. I’ll get the full force of my precinct to search for him.”
As much as she tried to stop the tears, they rolled down her cheek. Between the sobs she whispered,
“He is all I got left.”
Walter always understood that her mean streak was a defense against being seen as what she really was, a helpless and lonely old woman. He had known her long enough to recognize that she had a tender and good side and here it was in his arms. He said,
“We’ll find him.”
Realizing that she had let slip her cold and obnoxious disguise, she pushed away from his affection and sneered,
“You better.”
He looked to Grant and said,
“Put out an APB on a Gary Albright.”
With both suitcases in the trunk, Walter helped her into his car. This time there was no objection to the assistance. Clearly, the pretend harshness had fallen to the wayside. She had faltered and shown Walter what he already knew, that she was emotionally weak and despite her stubborn denial, needed help. Before starting his car, he looked to her and asked,
“Where should I take you Ruth?”
“Take me to the Riverside Hotel.”
He tried to put a degree of hilarity into what he said,
“Why, do you own that one too?”
He was surprised at her response.
“No I own the Wellington but it’s a dump.”
He tried to suppress a chuckle and she tried not to smile.
Chapter 35
Trying to find a way out of the tunnel was like walking through a giant maze with closed eyes. Twice Gary voiced a concern,
“I think we have been here before.”
Twice Sam thought he was right. They finally stopped walking and considered an alternative. If the tunnel was not going to lead them out, maybe they could locate one of those spots that looked like a solid wall but was only a trick of the strange force ruling this supernatural place. As they walked alone, Sam dragged her hand along the stone wall and Gary did the same. Both were feeling for anything that might get them out of here. After a while, both stopped and gave up.
Now exhausted and sitting down with their backs to one of the walls, Gary voiced a deep concern and a very likely scenario.
The Factory Page 20