“The chickens?” asked Cindy, but then when no one seemed to be paying attention, she trudged down the hall toward the bathroom.
“Thanks, Auntie. Do you have any clean clothes my friends can wear and can they sleep here? We are all very tired,” said Thibodeaux.
“Of course, you go into the second bedroom and get me your uncles’ old uniforms and give them to those two old people. Also, in the drawer there are some of your uncles old white tee shirts people can sleep in. I should have given away Thomas’s clothes when he died but I never could make myself do it and now, they can be put to good use.”
Thibodeaux went into the closet in the second bedroom and came back out with two very large men’s transit worker’s uniforms and five large men’s tee shirts. “Mr. Garvain and Miss Virginia, you can wear my uncle Thomas’s uniforms. You can all sleep in his tee shirts and I will let you kids borrow some of my clothes tomorrow.”
Everyone went down the hallway and took off the dusty wet clothes they had been wearing all day. They then took turns in the bathroom until everyone was finally clean.
Auntie Tina was cooking spaghetti in the kitchen. Soon she had a huge platter of spaghetti covered with store bought spaghetti sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Auntie Tina handed everyone a paper plate and some silverware and paper cups of water.
Everyone was starved and they ate quickly.
“I have four bedrooms in this place, so there is plenty of room for everyone,” said Auntie Tina.
“How did you get such a large apartment? This is lovely,” said Miss Virginia.
“I own the building. And when I go, Thibodeaux and his Mamma can move into this apartment. You hear me Thibodeaux?” asked Auntie Tina.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Thibodeaux.
“I don’t want to hear about you going back to New Orleans. That place is simply not safe. All those hurricanes,” said Auntie Tina.
Amanda wanted to say something about how New York was not safe either, but she was simply too tired. Amanda took Cindy and Peter by the hand and walked down the hall to one of the spare bedrooms. There was a double bed in the room. Amanda looked at it and said, “Don’t complain. Just go to sleep.”
And so they did.
Chapter XIII
Amanda woke up the next day. She looked out the window of the bedroom and saw the sun was high in the sky. She looked at her watch and it was 11AM. Cindy was still sound sleep in the middle of the bed but Peter was gone. Amanda walked out into the hallway and could hear voices from the kitchen. She walked into the bathroom and thought to herself what a luxury it was to have indoor plumbing. It had been no fun having to walk into the dark part of the subway tunnel every time she had to go to the bathroom.
Amanda followed the voices down the hall to the kitchen where she found everyone except the still sleeping Cindy. They were sitting around the kitchen table eating waffles and drinking cold coffee.
“Hey Amanda, do you want some coffee. My aunt put a pound of Cafe Bustelo into a sun tea jar and lets it sit all night and then she filtered it with cheese cloth. It is really good,” said Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux poured Amanda a cup of cold coffee.
Amanda took it and simply said, “Thank you.” A few days ago, she never would have drank cold coffee without ice and milk, but then a few days ago, she would not have ever run through subway tunnels to get away from horrible men who were trying to hurt her.
“Here, missy, eat some of these waffles.” Auntie Tina was making waffles in an old fashioned waffle iron on the top of her gas stove.
Miss Virginia passed her some butter and some strawberry syrup and Amanda sat down and ate.
Peter was eating waffles while he worked on his computer. “I get internet access and then it goes away.”
“After breakfast, maybe we can go up on the roof and try from there,” said Thibodeaux.
“You do that. Now would someone please tell me what is going on?” said Auntie Tina. “And I don’t want to just hear you were chased by bad guys. There are bad guys all over New York, but looking at you, I can tell something more happened than just the usual ugly stuff.”
So Thibodeaux sat down and told her everything. And then Amanda told Auntie Tina about how the theater collapsed on them and they had to go down an old passage to the subway and how they hid in Grand Central and then the hotel and then at Mr. Garvain and Miss Virginia’s home. Mr. Garvain told them about how foolish they had been to allow the children to go make a film of the bad guys. And they all talked and talked and when they were done they all felt better except for Auntie Tina who looked like she was about to explode.
“You mean all this mess was caused by some no good jewel thieves who were trying to steal diamonds?”
“Yes, that is about it,” said Amanda.
“The whole city is evacuated. I get stuck up here on the fourth floor with no electricity and someone tries to cut my nephew all because someone wanted some diamonds?” Auntie Tina was really getting riled up.
“Yes, and some horrible man attacked me and knocked me down,” said Amanda as she pulled up her pants leg to show Auntie Tina her bandaged leg.
“Here, let me see that leg. You get over here and let me fix that leg.” Auntie Tina pulled Amanda over and gestured for her to sit on the stool next to the sink where she removed the bandage and started cleaning her leg.
“Now I am really mad. Those no good thieves better look out if I get near them,” said Auntie Tina.
Peter suddenly shouted, “I have access.”
“Great. Email Mom and tell her where we are. Maybe she can come get us,” said Amanda.
Peter wrote a quick email to his mom. “Here Thibodeaux, tell my mother where we are.”
Thibodeaux quickly typed the address and directions and then Peter hit send and the email left.
“Now, we need to decide what you can wear today,” said Auntie Tina as she looked around the room at Peter and Amanda who were wearing men’s size extra large white tee shirts with their coats on top because it was cold in the apartment.
Mr. Garvain and Miss Virginia were wearing transit worker uniforms.
“Thibodeaux, you lend these kids some of your clothes and I am going to take Miss Virginia to look in my closet.
Just then a very sleepy Cindy walked into the kitchen wrapped up in a bedspread. She was completely swallowed by the men’s extra large tee shirt she had worn to sleep.
“Here sweetie, you just sit down and eat some waffles. Do you drink coffee too?” asked Auntie Tina.
Cindy shook her head. Miss Virginia handed Cindy a glass of water and then she followed Auntie Tina down the hall to find some clothes.
“Come on kids, I’ll get you decked out to do some rappin’,” said Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux took Amanda and Peter down the hall to his room to find some clothes.
“I will look for something that will fit you,” Amanda told Cindy.
Cindy sat at the table eating. Mr. Garvain was sitting with her, drinking coffee. He tried to talk to Cindy, but Cindy was simply too tired to try.
“Perhaps you should try to drink some coffee, dear. It might perk you up,” said Mr. Garvain.
“I’m nine years old,” said Cindy. “Nine year old kids should not be drinking coffee.”
“But of course not. Whatever was I thinking,” said Mr. Garvain.
“They shouldn’t be drinking or smoking cigarettes, either,” said Cindy.
“Please don’t think that I….” Mr. Garvain decided to quit talking.
Down the hall, Aunt Tina found a pair of pants and a shirt that she gave to Miss Virginia. Thibodeaux decked out Amanda and Peter to look like rappers and then he told Amanda, “Here, take these clothes to Cindy.”
“Thanks, I will have my mother send your clothes to the cleaners and then mail them back to you. It will be so nice to think about things like how to get clothes cleaned,” said Amanda.
Amanda walked into the kitchen and handed the clothes to Cindy
and told her to get dressed.
As soon as everyone was dressed, they all moved into the living room to talk.
“I think Cindy, Peter, and I need to try to get home to Connecticut,” said Amanda. “The roads up here are not as blocked with empty cars. People must have been able to drive out of here.”
“Well, I would take you but I don’t have a car and I don’t drive,” said Auntie Tina.
“Miss Virginia and I never learned to drive. We have lived in the city our entire lives,” said Mr. Garvain.
“I drive,” said Amanda.
“You what?” said Cindy. “You don’t drive, you are twelve years old. Just because you drink coffee, that doesn’t mean you can drive.”
“My grandfather taught me. He lives on a ranch in West Texas and there are a lot of roads on his ranch so he always lets Peter and me drive when we stay with him in the summer. He even let me drive to town with him in the front seat, but don’t you dare tell Mom,” said Amanda.
“Your mom does not know you drive?” asked Cindy.
“She knows we drive on the ranch, she just does not know about the driving to town part,” said Amanda.
“How can Peter drive?” asked Thibodeaux. “He’s too short.”
“He sits on two phone books,” said Amanda.
Everyone laughed and Peter got mad. “You shouldn’t have told them that.”
“Sorry. But it doesn’t help that I know how to drive, we don’t have a car,” said Amanda.
“We could take one of Uncle Jefferson’s hearses. I have the keys to his funeral parlor cuz I get paid to get all dressed up in a black suit and help load the flowers into the hearse after the service. Everyone says I look great and I get lots of tips,” said Thibodeaux.
“Would he mind if we took a hearse?” asked Amanda.
“Well, if he is there, we can ask him to drive us out of here and if he is not, I know, we’ll just leave another note,” said Thibodeaux.
“Okay. That’s a plan,” said Peter. “Mom still has not emailed us back. I am getting some spam but nothing from her.”
“Here, let me email some of my friends in Connecticut. I will tell them to tell their mothers and maybe they will know how to reach our mother.”
Amanda sat down at Peter’s computer and started to send a group email to her friends, letting them know what happened and where they were. She also sent them the files just for good measure. Amanda was feeling pretty good about what she had just done when suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Auntie Tina started to slowly walk to the door to answer it when Amanda said. “Wait. Can you tell who it is before you open the door?”
“Who is it?” Auntie Tina shouted through the door.
There was no answer.
“Who is it?” Auntie Tina shouted again.
There was still no answer.
Amanda walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. “It’s them. It’s the bad guys who grabbed Thibodeaux and came to Mr. Garvain and Miss Virginia’s house.
“How did they get here? I threw away the flash drive,” said Peter.
“It must have left something on your computer when you downloaded it. Maybe they saw the email with the address,” said Amanda. “I know they did not see us come here.”
“No. No. It’s the I-Phone. Oh man, I let them take my I-Phone and the bill comes here. They must have gone on the internet and figured it out,” said Thibodeaux.
“Thibodeaux, what’s this about your losing your I-Phone. That was a present,” said Auntie Tina.
“What are we going to do?” interrupted Miss Virginia. “We cannot call the cops and there is no back way here.”
“Well, we are the adults and we are going to take care of the situation,” said Auntie Tina. “Boy, I’ll talk to you about that I-Phone later,” Auntie Tina told Thibodeaux. “Miss Virginia, Mr. Garvain, you are with me.”
Mr. Garvain and Miss Virginia looked surprised and scared but then they both said, “Of course.”
“Thibodeaux, you take those kids and all their stuff next door,” said Auntie Tina.
“We can’t go next door. They will grab us in the hall,” said Peter.
“You just get your things and follow Thibodeaux and don’t you come back in here until I tell you to,” said Auntie Tina as she picked up the duct tape Thibodeaux had left on the counter.
Peter picked up his laptop and they all followed Thibodeaux who took them into Auntie Tina’s bedroom. He opened the door to a closet that was filled to the brim with clothes.
“Are we going to hide in a closet?” asked Cindy.
“Just follow me,” said Thibodeaux. He pulled the clothes apart and then reached into the back of the closet and opened a hidden door and walked through it.
The children followed Thibodeaux into another closet on the other side and out into a bedroom. After they were through, Thibodeaux pulled all of Auntie Tina’s clothes back to where they had been and closed the door.
They were in another apartment. But this one was pink, very pink. Pink walls and pink and white upholstery on all the painted white wood furniture. All the curtains were ruffled, pink. Even the rugs were pink.
“Whose apartment is this and why is it so pink?” asked Cindy.
“It’s my cousin Vanessa’s and that woman just loves her pink. Aunt Tina may own the building, but this apartment is rent controlled so Vanessa is supposed to be living here full time, but she went on vacation to Jamaica and met this man and she hasn’t been back since. But Auntie Tina and I are taking care of things, making it look like she still lives here cuz like Auntie Tina says, Vanessa’s done that kind of thing before and she always comes back home. So we come over here and turn on the lights and use the air conditioning and talk on the phone so the other tenants don’t get suspicious. That’s why we put the door in,” said Thibodeaux.
“She does not mind you having a door to her bedroom?” asked Amanda.
“Probably so, Vanessa is a gal who likes her company, but she will have to come back to complain about that,” said Thibodeaux.
“How long has she been gone?” asked Cindy.
“Just five years.”
“Oh,” said Cindy.
“But what is your Aunt going to do about those bad men?” asked Amanda.
“Well, I wouldn’t mess with Auntie Tina. She may be using a walker, but she is one fierce woman. My mom and Vanessa said they were really scared of her when they were young. But I’m not scared, she is old now and besides, I think she likes boys,” said Thibodeaux.
“I’m not a boy,” said Cindy.
“Well, my Mamma and Vanessa are still alive so you should be okay,” said Thibodeaux. “Hey, when this is over, you kids need to work on your sense of humor.”
“But, what is she going to do?” asked Amanda.
“Oh, she’ll conjure up something. She’ll throw some Voodoo or Santeria on them,” said Thibodeaux.
“She does Voodoo?” Amanda was horrified.
“No, not real voodoo. She was a drama teacher, not some kind of priestess. She puts it together every year for the Halloween carnival at the church. Auntie told me she does not believe in Voodoo, Santeria or black magic, she just does it to scare people. But sometimes I wonder with all those altars and chickens and some of the folks who hang around here…” said Thibodeaux.
“Chickens. Why do you keep talking about chickens?” asked Cindy.
Amanda moved closer to Cindy and Peter.
“Hey, kids. I’m just kidding,” said Thibodeaux, but he did not look like he was kidding.
Amanda sat down on the bed. It seemed crazy not to worry when the three old people next door were supposed to take care of the bad guys, but Thibodeaux wasn’t worried and he did not seem crazy at all. And it was so nice to let someone grown up take care of something.
They sat surrounded by pink ruffles for what seemed like hours, but perhaps wasn’t. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the closet next door and they could hear Aun
tie Tina’s voice. “See that door there. Just open it and go get the kids.” And Miss Virginia walked into the room.
Miss Virginia looked very excited and pleased with herself but she was physically a mess and covered in blood stains. “Come on kids. We took care of it. It is okay for you to come back next door.”
So the posse followed Miss Virginia back through the hidden door in the closet and down the hall through the kitchen into the dining room. There, seated on two dining room chairs where two of the bad guys who had broke into Tiffany’s and followed them to Mr. Garvain’s home. They had duct tape wrapped all around their arms and torso and their legs and upper bodies were duct taped to the chairs and they had duct tape over their mouths. All the shades and curtains were drawn and the apartment was lit with black light from some portable flashlights. There were lit candles with a strange scent on every available surface and an old battery operated tape recorder on the kitchen counter. There were splatters of what looked like blood all over the vinyl floor, but the bad guys did not look like they were bleeding, just messy.
“Good. I’m glad you are duct taped to the chair. You are very bad men to blow up Tiffany’s,” said Cindy to the men who could not reply.
“What happened?” said Amanda.
“Well your aunt conjured up a little black magic and almost scared these two men to death. Well, she actually scared the bedickens out of Miss Virginia and me but we were on her side so, well, we were in favor if what she was doing. Right, Miss Virginia?”
“Right. I have never in my life….”
“Now, remember how you promised to keep everything secret,” said Auntie Tina.
“Well, yes and we will. Not that anyone would believe it if we told them. But our lips are sealed. Not a word will escape our mouths and we want to be on your good side for the rest of our lives,” said Mr. Garvain.
“Both you and your sister were of a lot of help. There is no way I could have handled all those chickens without you,” said Auntie Tina.
“Chickens?” asked Amanda.
“We had to do a little butchering, and Miss Virginia and Mr. Garvain got a little bloody. It is a shame we all have to leave because, I could cook up a nice chicken fry,” said Auntie Tina.
The Big Apple Posse Trilogy Page 12