Saving Medesha

by DK Land

  Grinning, Mabel asked, “Tell us, Tandy. What did he say?”

  “Well!” she said. “The guy said, ‘What does the guy look like, so if I see him, I can let you know?’ Do you believe that?”

  Still smiling, Mabel said, “What did Larry say to him?”

  Tandy began to laugh. “He said, ‘He’s about five feet eight, with long dark greasy hair and a scraggly little goatee, and he always wears black clothes.’ Then, Larry stopped and said to the guy, ‘Hey, wait a minute! We usually don’t have a lot of drowned people floating out here in the lake, so if you see someone floating face down, don’t stop to identify them. Just pull them out of the water and give the Sheriff’s Office a call.” Then, Tandy added, “I know it sounds gross, but doesn’t that sorta put some weird pictures in your mind? I mean, here’s this guy, trolling around the lake, bumping into floating bodies and just letting them float away because none of them have long greasy hair and a goatee.”

  Harold couldn’t help but laugh. “Tandy,” he said. “You are definitely one of a kind!”

  She crossed her arms as she replied, “Besides, I don’t even think that Lester is out there in the lake anyhow. I think that he’s just a drifter that decided he’d been in one place too long, and the guy just hit the road.”

  Harold became serious as he answered, “That’s what I’ve been thinking all along. I guess that’s why I didn’t get too excited when I heard that he was missing.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Sheriff Wheaton!” exclaimed Tandy. “Here, you came to talk to Ollie, and I’ve been rattling on like a tin cup with two marbles in it.”

  Harold smiled. “That’s fine, Tandy,” he said. “Actually, we came to talk to both of you. I suppose we could talk to you and then you could talk to Ollie by yourself.”

  Tandy nodded her head. “Okay. Was it something serious?” she asked.

  Harold replied, “It’s extremely serious, Tandy. Before we go any farther, I need you to give me your solemn promise that you won’t ever tell anybody what we’ve discussed here today.” Then he added, “That is, unless you have to be a witness in a federal trial.”

  Tandy gulped, and said, “Gosh, Sheriff Wheaton! I promise I can keep a secret. Honest, I won’t tell a soul.”

  Harold went on to explain how he and Mabel, along with Shauni and Jefferson, were trying to conduct an official, but private investigation into the cause of the strange illness. He mentioned their suspicions about the ‘Tin Lizzie’ theory, and even the unusual phone calls made by Judy Gladden. He said that they had decided that Tandy and Ollie would be the best people to suggest a reliable person that worked at the factory that they could get to sneak into the Records Room to get the missing medical records. Tandy’s answer was one that neither of them expected.

  “I am so sorry, Sheriff Wheaton,” she replied. “You’ve got to understand why the people that work at the factory think the way they do. For most of us, Vander-Wear has been here in Medesha for all of our lives. From my point of view, I grew up thinking of Medesha as a company town. The vast majority of the people that live here make the kind of living that they do because they work at the factory. I don’t remember ever hearing anybody that works there mention a single complaint against the factory or the Vandervorks.”

  With a look of concern on his face, Harold asked, “So, what are you getting at, Tandy?”

  “Well,” she replied. “I really can’t think of a single person that I know that wouldn’t go directly back to Mr. Vandervork, or maybe their shift manager, and tell them exactly what you were trying to do. I honestly feel that everybody that works there is completely dedicated to the company.”

  Harold removed his cap and scratched his head. “I was afraid that’s what you would say.” He looked at Mabel. “So, what do you think, Mabel? Do you feel the same way?”

  “Harold,” she replied. “You’re always telling me that I’m too trusting of people. How can you expect me to be able to tell you the name of a person that I feel would be dishonest enough to their employer that they would do something as sneaky as what we’re wanting them to do? No. I’m sorry. I guess I’m like Tandy. I can’t think of anybody that could be trusted to do that without telling their boss.”

  Harold looked at Tandy and Mabel. “I know, girls,” he said. “This is something that I’m not comfortable with either. I absolutely abhor the thought of doing something like this. But, the one thing we’ve got to keep in mind is the terrible things that have been taking place here in Medesha. We can’t just let some unknown person come in here and play with those kids lives like that. I mean. We don’t even have a clue if those medical files at the factory would provide any kind of help at all. I’d like to say that we should just forget about trying to get them, and see if we can solve this thing with the information that we’ve got, but Jefferson and Shauni both believe that we need those files.”

  “One thing that I don’t understand,” said Mabel, “is why files that are so old would have any bearing on something that has taken place just this week.”

  Harold moaned, “Oh, darn it, Mabel. You’re a cook, and I’m a sheriff. For me, if somebody drives too fast, or gets too drunk, I know what to do about it. For you, if you forget an ingredient in something that you’re making, you know what to do about it. When it comes to something as complicated as this thing has become, all we can do about it, is take the advice of those that know more then we do. I guess if Jefferson and Shauni feel that we need those files, then we’re just going to have to figure out a way to get them.” He turned to Tandy and said, “Thanks, Tandy, for your opinion. Why don’t you discuss this with Ollie and see if he can come up with any suggestions. Just keep in mind that all of this has to be kept completely secret. Be sure and tell him that absolutely no one can be told about this.”

  “Of course, Sheriff,” she replied. “We won’t tell a soul. And, we’ll get in touch with you if we can think of any other ideas.”

  Harold and Mabel left the station, and walked down to the Marina to check on the preparations for the Boat Parade. The Marina, on parade day was the busiest place in town. The local people, as well as the out of towners were working hand in hand trying to create order out of chaos as they were busy launching boats for the parade. Every person who owned a boat was invited to participate. Even the smallest fishing boat would be decorated with painted cardboard and crepe paper in an attempt to win the grand prize of a trophy, three hundred dollars, and four life vests which were donated by Vander-Wear. As a second prize, Mayor Paul Sorenson had donated a ski rope and a pair of water skis from his hardware store.

  At the start of the parade, the boats would be lined up in single file as they slowly motored past the Marina, and continued in a large circle which would take them around Vander Island and back past the reviewing stands at the Marina and the campground. The Sheriff’s Lake Patrol Boat was always the lead boat and was driven by Deputy Larry Walsh, with Irene, the Sheriff’s secretary, sitting in the passenger’s seat. In the years since Harold had become Sheriff, he had only seen the parade a couple of times. With his deputy and secretary taking part in the parade, Harold was the only one left to sit in his office and wait for any emergency calls that might come in.

  As Harold and Mabel stood watching the confusion at the docks, he commented, “I hope that Larry and Ollie get in off the lake pretty soon. From the looks of things here, I think Ollie’s tow truck is going to be needed to help sort this mess out.”

  Mabel laughed. “Every year, it’s the same thing. You’ve got people backing their boats down the ramp before the other guy has a chance to get his truck and trailer out of the way. Then, everybody starts barking instructions to everybody else, and pretty soon it looks like a Chinese fire drill.”

  “Yeah!” chuckled Harold. “It makes you wonder why they even put themselves through all that frustration just for a chance to drive their boat around the island.” As he turned away from the pandemonium, he said, “Well, I’m sure that Irene is about to have a hiss
y fit, waiting for me to get to the office so she can go get herself ready for the parade. I just hope that she took her motion sickness pills. Last year, she threw up all over the inside of the boat.” Laughing, he added, “Boy, Larry sure enjoyed cleaning up that mess.”

  * * *

  Out on the south end of the lake, Larry Walsh and Ollie Torgerson were slowly trolling near the shoreline. Larry was becoming frustrated. “I don’t know, Ollie,” he said. “I really don’t think that Lester ever got into that little boat. I think that the darn thing just drifted away from the dock, and Lester headed for parts unknown. We’ll probably never set eyes on the guy again.”

  As Ollie was peering through a pair of binoculars, he replied, “I think you’re right, Larry. We’ve been over this same area several times. All I’ve seen of any interest so far is that pair of loons over there.” He brought his binoculars down and turned to Larry. “Why don’t we just head back to the Marina? We’re not doing anything but wasting time out here. I’m sure that there’s plenty of confusion going on at the landing, and people are wondering where my tow truck is.”

  As he turned the boat and pressed the throttle forward, Larry said, “Yeah. We’d better get back. I’m sure that I’m gonna need to direct some traffic.”

  With a wide grin, Ollie added, “And besides, I’m sure you’d like to ‘barf proof’ the boat before Irene climbs aboard!”

  Larry scowled. “That’s not funny, Ollie!”

  * * *

  At Jefferson Cordain’s house at the north end of the lake, Shauni and Jefferson had moved to the computer in Jefferson’s basement laboratory. They had decided to enter each patient’s complete file into the computer in hopes of having the computer find any similarities between each file that they might have overlooked. Jefferson had dictated each file, while Shauni typed.

  “I’m really sorry, Honey,” Jefferson apologized. “When it comes to typing, it’s like I was born with ten thumbs.”

  Shauni glanced over at him. “Jeffer,” she said. “I told you that I enjoy typing. I do it all the time at work when I’m entering the doctor’s dictation for the files.” Then, she smiled as she made the last entry, “Anyhow, I figured if I let you do the typing, we’d be here all week. There! Everything is entered. Now it’s your turn to take over.”

  She moved over to an empty chair, as Jefferson sat at the keyboard. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s see if I created the right parameters for the program. I set it up so it would only pull out any information that appears on each and every separate file. In other words, if a certain entry doesn’t appear sixteen times; that’s once in every patient’s file, then the program will ignore it and go on to the next entry.” As he pressed ‘enter’ on the keyboard, he said, “Let’s see what this thing gives us.”

  As the machine began processing the files, Shauni said, “I know you’re not supposed to have drinks near a computer keyboard, but I could sure use a soda.” She stood up and walked over to a small refrigerator sitting on a nearby counter. “Would you like one, Jeffer?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he replied. “Let’s live dangerously.” He paused as he watched the monitor. “Okay, we’re getting some results.”

  Shauni walked back to her chair with two cans of soda. “Here, Jeffer,” she said. “What’s it coming up with?”

  He squinted at the screen. “Well,” he replied. “It says that all the patients are male; they all have at least one parent that works for Vander-Wear; they were all born at the Vander-Wear Clinic; they all have type AB negative blood; they all received the same pre-school shots; they all received the same treatment for the recent illness… and… here, what’s this? Well, I’ll be darn!”

  “What, Jeffer?” Shauni asked. “What is it?”

  “This is rather peculiar,” answered Jefferson.

  “Jeffer!” demanded Shauni. “What’s peculiar?”

  “I don’t know if this is in any way related to this ‘Tin Lizzie’ thing,” he said as he turned and looked at Shauni. “But, every one of these kids was in to see the doctor within the last six weeks complaining of a sudden onset of migraine headaches.”

  Shauni leaned back in her chair. “Could this thing have actually started six weeks ago?” she asked.

  “It sure seems like a possibility,” answered Jefferson. “And, another thing. I’m beginning to wonder if this could actually have been caused by some accidental environmental poisoning, rather than a ‘Tin Lizzie’.”

  Shauni was immediately skeptical. “No,” she said. “I still think that it was a ‘Tin Lizzie’. All those tests you made in the Pathology Lab came out completely inconclusive. I’m sure you would have found some abnormality in their blood or urine if they had inhaled or ingested something recently.”

  Jefferson rested his chin on his hand as he listened to Shauni. “Well,” he replied. “Maybe you’re right. Okay, let’s do this. Let’s continue to investigate this thing with our number one suspicion being the ‘Tin Lizzie’ theory. But, we should also keep in mind the possibility of an environmental poisoning.”

  Shauni smiled. “I knew you’d see it my way.” Then she said, “With all of this work we’ve done, we still haven’t accomplished much. I really wish we had those patient files from the Vander-Wear Clinic.”

  “Yes,” answered Jefferson. “I hope Tandy and Ollie have come up with the name of somebody that would be willing to get them for us.”

  Chapter 13

  Ollie had arrived back at the Service Station, and Tandy had informed him of her visit with Harold and Mabel. She had also discussed her misgivings about the possibilities of finding a Vander-Wear employee who would be willing to sneak into the Records Room at the factory to retrieve the patient files.

  Ollie had listened intently to her story and responded, “Gee, Tandy. Every one of those people seems to be so content with their jobs and they seem to be so loyal to the Vandervork family. I think that any of them would react to a suggestion like that as if they’d been personally insulted.

  “What would you think of the idea of discussing this with Wallace Crenshaw?” she asked. “He’s a shift foreman, and has access to every part of the factory.”

  Ollie frowned as he answered, “Oh, no. I think that Wally would be about the last person to ask something like that. Think about it. Wally dropped out of high school to go to work at the factory, and the guy has been promoted all the way up to foreman. No. I’d be willing to bet that if the factory started on fire today, good ol’ Wally would run back into the flames to rescue Preston Vandervork’s picture.”

  Tandy was leaning on Ollie’s sales counter with her chin resting in her hands as she said, “Yeah. I guess I thought you’d say that. But, Ollie! What are we gonna do? We’ve gotta try to help out the Sheriff and the others. This is some really serious stuff that’s happened here in our little town.”

  Ollie leaned over on the opposite side of the counter and rested his chin in his hands. His nose was just inches from Tandy’s as he said, “I know that this is serious. Why don’t you give me a little time to think about it? Maybe I can come up with some kind of a plan.”

  Tandy smiled and said, “Okay!”

  Then, in a moment of irresistible compulsion, Tandy pushed herself forward the few remaining inches between them, and kissed Ollie on the lips. He was totally caught off guard, and was completely shocked by Tandy’s sudden exuberance. But, he did not pull away, as Tandy feared that he would. Much to Tandy’s delight, what started as a teasing brush on the lips, quickly turned into a deep passionate kiss.

  As they eventually pulled back, they were both smiling. Tandy was slightly embarrassed as she said, “Oh, Ollie! That was so nice!”

  Ollie’s face was becoming flushed as he replied, “Yeah! It sure was!” Then he added, “It was quite a shock… but, it sure was nice.”

  Just then, they heard a knock on the locked front door. Ollie turned around and saw Deputy Larry Walsh smiling and waving through the glass. Still embarrassed, he walked to the
door and unlocked it. As he opened the door, it was obvious by Larry’s self-conscious demeanor that he had seen more than Ollie would have preferred.

  Larry stammered as he began to speak. “Uh…Ollie.” He leaned inside the door and said, “Hi, Tandy. Beautiful day for a parade, isn’t it?”

  Tandy giggled, and said, “Hi, Deputy Walsh. I think it’s a glorious day!”

  Ollie interrupted, “Larry, it’s a really nice day. Was there something you needed? Tandy and I were taking inventory.”

  Larry couldn’t help himself. “Of what?” he chuckled. Then he put his hand on Ollie’s shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, Ollie. The reason I’m here is to ask you if you could tear yourself away from taking inventory long enough to drive your tow truck down to the boat ramp to help get some guy’s brand new Buick out of the lake. Man, I tell ya! That guy’s gotta have a trunk full of water by now.”

  Ollie turned to Tandy and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Tandy.” Then he turned to Larry and scowled. “That is, unless this guy in the Buick decides to file charges against the Deputy here for rudeness.”

  As Ollie walked out of the Station toward his truck, Larry said with a wink, “See ya later, Tandy. I’m sure he’ll be back to continue taking inventory in just a little bit.”

  Tandy answered with a giggle and a wave, “Bye, Larry.”

  She could hear Ollie in the distance as he said, “Darn it, Larry! Are you coming, or not?”

  When Larry closed the door to follow Ollie to his truck, Tandy punched her tiny fist in the air, and said, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Then she reached for the telephone to call Mabel over at the Sheriff’s Office.