Chapter Fifty - Beware - Possible Slippery Sections
As I walked toward the telephones, I felt the urge to cross my fingers. I was hoping that my first call turned out well. If it did, there was a good chance that I could manage to hide the twins for a few days, and if John Coulter's lawyer was on the bit, Sandy could become their guardian. Of course it all depended on the reaction of various people toward the idea of parent enforced plural marriages for young women.
My hand was steady, but my palms were a bit moist as I dropped the coin in the slot and dialled the phone. Then I waited. I had to admit that I was worried. I needed help, but I wasn't positive of getting it right away.
The phone rang five times before it was picked up.
"Hello?" A sleepy woman's voice answered tentatively.
"Hi, Lucille. It's Chris, sorry to wake you, but I have a problem and I think you could help."
"Chris?"
"Yes, your cousin, Chris. We talked last night, remember?"
"Oh. Oops, sorry." She yawned. "I didn't sleep much last night. I was thinking about what you said and I'm surprised that you'd call me for help."
"Well, to start with, I apologise for some of what I said last night. I walked in there with a chip on my shoulder and begged you to knock it off. Then I took out years of frustration about all of our dealings with what we call the city side of the family on you and you didn't deserve that." I really did feel bad too and I think it must have come across in my voice. "I'm sorry I chewed you out for things that older members of your side of the family did and that wasn't fair to you."
"Wow, are you sure you're the same guy I talked to last night?" She chuckled sleepily. "But, I'm glad you called, even if it is early. I'd like to talk to you some more. I've got some questions and I'd like some answers."
"Well, the reason I called is because I'd like to talk to you too. Could we meet somewhere or something?"
"Umm, I just woke up, but I could talk. Are you doing anything special right now and where are you? It'll take me a while to get going well enough to go out, but if you can put up with a woman with wild morning hair and in a housecoat, you could drop over here."
"That would be great, but I don't know where 'here' is." I chuckled. "Don't forget that I'm a country boy, if your apartment isn't on a main drag, I'm going to have trouble finding it."
So she laughed, then told me how to get to her apartment. I think she must have questioned herself about why I warned her that I was bringing the two girls with me, but she didn't ask over the phone. Having found that she lived alone, I stopped at a bakery we passed along the way and picked up some freshly baked sticky-buns to take with us. At least that way everyone could have something for breakfast.
Lucille was still in her pyjamas and a robe when we got to her apartment, but she had the coffee made and was surprisingly friendly. Actually, she astounded me by giving me a hug, then turned to the twins and virtually gaped at them for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry to be rude, but I think I'm seeing double," She said quietly.
"No, you aren't seeing double. We're twins, but yesterday, to be certain that someone from our family could be there for Jackie, we dressed differently and each of us wore different makeup." Jess smiled.
"Unh huh, Jess told you she was Jackie's sister, but I told you I was Sandy's." Jean nodded. "Both Sandy and Jackie have the same sort of family troubles. Well, we do too, but that's another story."
"I'm completely confused." Lucille looked at me questioningly. "Since they're with you, did you think I was going to be a help for them in some way?"
"Yeah, I was hoping you could act as our go between at the hospital for information, but let's sit down, and have a coffee with a sticky-bun while I explain." I said as I offered her the bag from the bakery.
"Oh, I like these." She smiled as she peeked inside. "You can bribe me with these any time."
She led us to her living room, but when she moved on to the kitchen to get coffee, Jean went with her, offering to help. They were back in only a couple of moments with the sticky-buns on plates and a cup of coffee for each of us. Lucille insisted Jess, Jean and I sat on the couch so we could reach the coffee table easily, meanwhile she pulled an oversized stool close to sit facing us.
As soon as she sat down, she sighed deeply. "Are you two girls neighbours of Chris and his family, or what?"
"Nope, we live in town. We started out as Beth's friends, but since we've been staying on the farm and helping out all summer, we've kinda become closer to Jasmine and Tom. I suppose that's cause Tom is so cute and Jasmine is just as friendly as Beth is." Jean grinned.
"I think we should tell her the whole story." Jess said instantly, then sighed. "But, we should warn you, Lucille; it's complicated, okay?"
Lucille looked at me strangely as her eyebrows lifted in a question.
"I'd like you to listen to what they have to say." I nodded.
So Jess and Jean spent the next while explaining about their family, their religion and how they had been raised. When they spoke about their mother believing that my family were closet Mormons, Lucille just smiled and shook her head in astonishment. However, when Jess was finally explaining about the possibility of being sent to a polygamous Mormon settlement and being forced to marry an old man, she frowned and turned to me.
"Their parents can't do that, can they?" She stared at me.
"Unfortunately as dependent children, the girls can be told to live wherever their parents decide. Then they can be encouraged to marry, but no, they can't be forced into marriage. However, what we fear is that once they're in the conclave, they might be prevented from leaving. Unfortunately, while they're there, we expect they'll be bombarded with relatively reasonable sounding inducements of why they should marry one of the older men. I understand the process is almost like being brainwashed." I sighed. "These two are fifteen and for their whole life they've been taught to obey their elders. I like them a lot and I think they're quite tough, but after three years of constant pressure, I'm not sure that they could hold out against a whole community of people."
"Oh migawd. You two don't want to do that do you?" Lucille asked the twins.
"No." Both of them said vehemently and shook their heads.
"Then we need to do something." Lucille turned back to me.
"I was hoping you'd see things that way." I smiled at her. "You see since Jackie and Sandy are in the hospital, they'll be safe for a while since they can't be moved until they're fully recovered. Sandy turns eighteen on Sunday, so she'll be fine because she'll be old enough to legally say no to her folks' demands. However, Jess and Jean's parents are looking for them now and that could be really bad, because they could be sent off to that Mormon colony in a minute. We've got a lawyer who is trying to get Sandy listed as the custodian for the twins, but that's going to take a while and it won't be effective until after Sandy turns eighteen anyway."
"We wanted to talk to you, because you can keep us posted on how Sandy and Jackie are doing." Jean reached out a hand to Lucille. "We can phone you and ask, can't we?"
"Oh, sure. No problem, but what about you? Are you running away from home? Do you have somewhere to go?" Lucille grabbed Jean's hand, then a second later grabbed Jess's too.
Suddenly she turned to look at me. "What are you going to do, Chris? Can you think of somewhere they could go to hide out while the lawyer is trying to do this legal thing? Could they stay with you at your ranch?"
"Easy, one question at a time." I held up my hands and grinned. "You're as bad as Beth for getting excited."
"Sorry. It's just that I really want to help." She rolled her eyes. "I think that the idea of making young girls marry old men is sick. In fact, when I think about old men having a big bunch of young wives, I get angry."
"Yeah, well, I don't feel much better about it." I nodded. "However, hiding them at the ranch is out. Since Sandy was staying with me for a while, their parents have already thought of that and Mom thinks they'll be headed out there this morning. However, if they don't find the girls in twenty-four hours, they can go to the police and list them as missing persons. I do know of one place that they might be able to go for a while, but it's really too close to home and that could be dangerous. It would really be better if I could look the cops in the eye and tell them truthfully that I have no idea where they are."
"Well, I can help some. As far as the girls in the hospital, I know the doctor who is in charge of their recovery and I know that neither Jackie nor Sandy will be released from the hospital for several days. Actually, in Jackie's case it might be weeks or even months." Lucille frowned, then smiled. "I know someone who could help these two as well. So, do you mind if I jump into this with both feet?"
"I was hoping you might be able to help, at least by keeping us updated on the girls' condition, but this is even better than I'd hoped." I smiled at her. "Thank you."
"No problem." Lucille waved a hand as if waving off my thanks. "First off, I feel I owe you for being a silly bitch for years, but even more than that, I want to help. The very idea of parents doing something like that to their own kids just frosts me."
"Well, it doesn't agree with me either."
"So what do we do then?" Jess asked.
"Well, since Chris doesn't want to know where you two are, do you two trust me?"
"Unh, yeah. We do." Jean spoke, but both of them nodded.
"Okay, then the first thing we have to do is get our stories straight." Lucille smiled. "If anyone asks me, I met you two at the front desk yesterday, but haven't seen you since then. I talked to Chris then too, but in his case, we met again last night in a café and had an argument about family matters. I'll tell everyone the truth about that and explain that he grew annoyed with me and finally stomped off angrily, then I can fib and say I haven't seen him since."
"Okay, then you're going to look after the girls and find them a place to stay for a few days?" I grinned.
"Yeah, that's what I said." She frowned slightly.
"Hey, just so I know that they're safe." I sighed. "I don't really know you all that well and I'm being forced to trust you."
"Well, my father keeps telling me that I'm a soft-hearted fool who is going to waste her life caring for the underdog." She sighed. "The reason I'm living here is because I moved away from home as soon as I could afford my own place. I got tired of his constant criticism of what I said or did."
"That's about the best recommendation you could give me." I grinned.
"Well, daddy is a hard hearted soul who lives by counting pennies." She sighed. "But if you and these girls trust me, let's get back to a cover story so that we're all on the same page."
"Then I'll admit that I brought them to Calgary, and talked to you last night, but when I woke up this morning they'd run off. We'll have to clue Wil and the Coulters in on that idea though, since I already talked to them this morning and left them with a different idea."
"So, use my phone and call them." Lucille pointed to it, then turned back to the twins. "While Chris is doing that, do you girls have any clothes with you?"
"Oh, their clothes are in the trunk of my car, but I can get them later." I answered.
"Gimme the keys, I'll help the girls get them. Meanwhile, you phone your brother and your friends. I think you should have something that you can give to the cops if they ask about the girls running off though, a note or something."
"Unh, let me think about that note for a second, but while I'm thinking about it, I'll call Wil and the Coulters." I reached for the phone.
As I dialled the phone, Lucille held out her hand for the keys and when she had them, she ran out of the apartment with Jess and Jean following her. Mr. Coulter answered the phone at the motel. After I explained what had happened, he agreed that they'd get their story straight about the girls, and that he'd get Wil to sign us out of the motel that morning instead of later in the day. He agreed with Lucille's idea about a note, which I could tell the cops the twins left behind. Mr. Coulter thought they might make it sound like they were planning to go see their uncle or that they wanted to go home on the first bus. That's when he suggested that I drive straight home and talk to the police as soon as I got to town, telling them that the girls had run away. He thought that by doing that, I'd forestall anything the McAdams might do about getting me into problems.
As we talked, I realized that like me, he didn't really want to know where Lucille was taking the girls. However, I did give him Lucille's phone number so he could stay in contact with her. That way that he could help out if needed and I got his permission to give her his phone number. After that he told me that he'd already talked to the lawyer, but that while the lawyer had sounded encouraging, he hadn't sounded totally positive about a happy outcome. That was one thing I wasn't about to pass on to the girls.
By the time I was off the phone, Lucille and the girls were back with their clothes, so I asked them to write a note suggesting the things that John Coulter had suggested. They preferred using the idea of saying that they were going to catch a bus and go home. Neither of them liked the idea of writing about going to their uncle's, insisting that everyone knew that they felt their uncle and aunt were creepy.
Then Jean suggested that instead they write that they were going to go look after the duplex for Sandy and Jackie, and I told her that I didn't even know the address of that darn place.
She grinned at that, telling me that was perfect, because I could admit that I hadn't had any idea where they had gone. She wrote a note saying that they were going to the duplex first. Then they were going to go home once they were certain that the duplex was locked up tight and all of Sandy's possessions were safe. As Jean explained it that would give me an excuse to drive home right away; it would look like I tried to catch them if they were on the early bus.
I wasn't feeling completely comfortable about leaving the girls in Lucille's care, especially not without asking them how they felt about the idea. So when Lucille went to change into street clothes, I got the chance to ask them what they thought of her.
"I like her a lot. She reminds me of your Mom." Jean smiled.
"Yeah, and I trust her too. I think she's really nice."
"So, if I leave you with her, you think you'll be okay?"
"Unh huh." They both nodded. "We'll be fine."
About then I was trying to think of anything else that I might have forgotten and suddenly I snapped my fingers.
"I forgot about money." I grinned at the girls "I need to go to a bank before I leave you to stay anywhere with anyone."
"Unh uh, I heard that." Lucille said as she came back into the room. "If the cops check on you closely and you've made a big withdrawal, they'll guess what it was for. They won't know enough to check on my account though, and I can afford to help the girls out for a couple of weeks. I'll collect from you later, but if this goes on for long, I may need to ask you for some help, okay?"
"Yep." I grinned. "You're thinking. Thank you."
Then she astounded me by walking up and giving me another hug before stepping back.
"You girls had better say goodbye, because I'm chasing him out. He needs to get going and we do too."
Suddenly, I had both Jess and Jean hugging me. Then Lucille was as good as her word and sent me on my way.
During my drive back home, I began to wonder just why I'd suddenly decided to trust Lucille with the twins' care. After a lot of thought, I realized that my trust began to build toward the end of our discussion the night before; when she'd said, she still wanted to talk to me at another time. Somehow, even after I'd spent all that time putting her and her family down, it had seemed she had still wanted to be friendly. On top of that, she'd told me that she left home rather than put up with her father's pushy ways.
I think part of my trust stemmed from the simple fact that she'd had the drive to become a nurse and had worked hard to become one. Although I'd met some tough nurses, I had yet to meet one who hated young women or one who wouldn't help someone else who was in trouble.
That's when I sighed deeply, realizing that more that anything, I'd been following a hunch that was based on some weak arguments, but I was hoping Lucille wasn't like her father.
I was a bit worried about leaving the girls with her, but I didn't think I could do much else. When I'd suggested to Mom that I might take the girls to hide out with Leila MacArthur, the dog breeder, I really hadn't been thinking too well. I certainly didn't know Miss MacArthur well enough to judge her reaction to a request like that and I certainly didn't know her well enough to trust her to hide the twins. Having the girls that close to home would have been another problem because it would have been too easy for someone to make a slip and expose where they were.
More than anything else though, my biggest worry was the fact that what I was doing was actually illegal, even if I did feel that it was the right thing to do. I was worried about saying or doing the wrong thing and getting everyone into trouble. The worst part was going to be walking into the police station and talking to them, but I thought that was essential. I had to tell them that the girls had told me about being afraid that they'd be shipped off to become part of some older guy's harem. As I thought about it, I thought that Mom might even have to tell the police about the call she'd gotten from Mrs. McAdam about sending the girls away before they were 'ruined' in some way.
Just in case, I thought I should call Mom and warn her about that and at the same time I could find out if she'd heard anything more about the McAdams. With that in mind, I pulled off at the next service station on the highway even though it wasn't that far from our town. I tried calling Mom and got no answer although I let the phone ring several times. Then I tried calling Aunt Alice, but got no answer there either. That didn't sit right with me. Something had to be wrong when no one answered the phone on either farm. It worried me.
I hopped into my car and drove toward home as quickly as I could, but decided that I'd make one last call from town before driving out to the farm. I pulled up to the pumps at Frank Dolens' service station and asked Jerry if I could use their phone to call home.
"Don't even bother trying." He advised me instantly. "There was an accident out there just a while ago. The police, the fire truck and the ambulance went out that way not ten minutes ago, and Billy just left with the tow truck too, so it's a traffic accident of some sort. Dad might have a clue what's going on, but since there's no phone service out that way now, I guess someone drove a car into a phone pole or something. How come you didn't see it on your way into town?"
"Probably because I just drove home from Calgary." I shrugged. "Your cousin, Carissa, Sandy McAdam and Jackie McAdam, Sandy's cousin, are in the hospital. They were in Carissa's jeep and got hit by a truck at an intersection. They're in the hospital, but it sounds like they'll all be okay."
"Oh, I heard about Carissa, but I didn't know Sandy was in the accident too. I guess that's where Sam and his wife were headed then. They came in a bit more than half an hour ago, screaming at me to fill their car with gas in a hurry. While I was gassing up the car, Sam went rushing in to see Dad, then came back out, jumped in the car and left here like his tail was on fire."
"Oh shit. I wonder if they might have been the ones who had the accident?" I frowned at Jerry.
"The way he was driving when he left here, they might have if they went out that way. Want me to call Billy on the CB and find out?"
"No, he'll be busy at the accident. Don't disturb him on my account."
"You want a fill up while you're here?" Jerry asked.
"Yeah, I'll leave the keys in the car so you can move it if you need to. I think I'll go talk to your dad for a minute."
"Oh, I'm sure I'll need to move your car." Jerry snorted almost sarcastically. "We're due for the ten thirty in the morning rush any minute now."
I just grinned at him and headed for the sales office. Frank was at his desk and on the phone when I came in, so I waited patiently for him to finish his call.
"Hello Chris. Have you heard anything new about Carissa?" He said as he set the receiver down.
"Yeah, I was there late last night. She was out of the operating room and in recovery. She's messed up, but they say she'll be okay. Corinna and her folks are there with her."
"Oh, you went down to Calgary?"
"Yeah."
"I thought maybe you and Carissa were ... Well, I heard she'd found a girlfriend." He said quietly, glancing around to be certain no one could hear him. "How are the other girls doing?"
"Well, Sandy isn't bad condition, minor bones busted as well as cuts and bruises. Jackie, her cousin, got thrown out of the back of the jeep and across the road or something. I think she's the most injured of all three." I told him. "By the way, what's with the telephones?"
"An accident, out at Graham's curve. A car went off the road at high speed and took out two telephone poles as well as screwing up all the phone lines. Billy just called in and said it was the Sam McAdam. I was just calling their next door neighbour because no one is answering their phone. The strange thing is that Sam was just in here asking about you."
"Well, that might be because he thought his twins were with me. I took them to Calgary, but they took off this morning before I woke up. They left a note saying that they might be coming home, so I came back in a hurry. If they're still in Calgary, I don't know how to find them." I dissembled, trying to establish an alibi for both the girls and myself. "I guess if that was Sam in the accident I'd better take the note to the cops, huh?"
"Probably, either that or else take it to Ann. She should know what's going on too."
"Umm, from what Jerry said, Ann was with Sam in the car."
"Oh damn. That might not be good." He looked at me wide eyed. "Do you know if the twins were in the car too? They might have been I guess, because the early bus from Calgary came through a while ago. We'd better ask Jerry."
"Well, from what he said, there were only Sam and his wife."
"I'll check with Jerry." He said, grabbing the phone. "But, if the girls weren't with their folks, you'd better go check with the cops. They're going to want to find those kids."
"Yeah. See ya later and thanks." I headed for the door, wondering just how much more complicated my life could get.
The next few hours were an absolute nightmare. I had to play it the way the girls and I had set it up, but it made me feel like a real bastard and I had to think on my feet every second. The first thing I did was sign for the gas and pretend that I was checking with Jerry that the girls weren't with the McAdams when they left. Then I had to go to the RCMP station and talk to them. The Constable had me phone the Coulters at the motel so they could keep an eye out for the girls because the accident had definitely been the McAdams. From the way the officer spoke to me, I knew that the news wasn't good. Luckily, I got Mr. Coulter on the phone and told him that if he happened to see the girls, to call back and let me know right away because their folks had been in an accident. I had to hope that he'd read between the lines and he did, telling me where a key to their house was hidden and asking me to check it out for him, then to wait there for a phone call. That suited the cops because they'd know where to find me, yet I wouldn't be hanging around at the police station waiting for news.
John Coulter phoned me back inside of half an hour, letting me know that he'd phoned Lucille and that she wanted me to call her. It seemed she didn't trust him, thinking that he might be either Sam or his brother. That made me wonder a bit about Lucille, but when I called her, I realized that she'd done the right thing. She knew my voice, but not John's because he hadn't spoken to her before. Luckily, the girls were still with her and after we talked, she agreed to drive them over to the motel to stay with the Coulters. It took an additional hour, but once John had phoned back to tell me the girls were with them. I was able to phone the RCMP and tell them the girls had been found and that they were still in Calgary, but now they were with the Coulters.
That's when the RCMP officer asked me to come back to the station. When I got there, Constable Davis looked at me very seriously and sighed deeply.
"Chris, I've got a problem. You don't happen to know how to contact any of Sam McAdam's family, do you? By that, I mean anyone other than Sandy and the twins."
"No. I know Sam has a brother in Calgary, but I don't know how to contact him. Why are you asking?"
"Well ..." He hesitated, then sighed and looked at me very seriously. "We understand from talking to Frank Dolens that you and Sandy were very close. Is that true?"
"Yeah, she stayed with me at the ranch for a while, but what's going on?" I was now extremely hesitant about answering.
"Oh boy." He sighed again. "Right now, you are the closest that we have in the way of next of kin to notify about the condition of Sam and Ann McAdam."
I just stared at him as he explained, but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to remember what he said for the next few moments. I know he said that Ann McAdam was killed instantly in the crash and that while Sam had survived, they weren't certain that he'd live long. I also got the idea that since I and my family had been involved with the McAdam family, they wondered if I would go to Calgary and bring the twins back to the farm, at least for now. In the meantime, they'd try to find some of the girls' family.
"I know it's a lot to ask of you, Chris, and if you want, we'll have an officer drive you out to your father's and ask him, but we'd rather you decided how to handle it. However, whether you go, or your parents do, since the twins are still so young, we feel it would be best if it was someone close to them who tells them the news about their parents." Constable Davis said quietly. "If they were adults, we'd have the local police in Calgary do it, but we've seen how close you are to them, so we thought you might prefer to be the person to tell them. I wish there was some way we could contact one of their relatives and have them handle the task, but we have no way of contacting anyone at this time. We have contacted the hospital and they let us know that the McAdam's older daughter refuses to cooperate with our request for any information on relatives. You're certain that you don't know how to get in contact with anyone?"
"No, I don't." I shook my head. "I'm not sure I'd tell you if I did. From what I've heard Sam's brother is a real son of a bitch. I don't even want to know how to contact him."
"Oh? Is it something we should know about?"
"Well, maybe, I guess it might be your business. He's a Mormon and he was trying to arrange to send his daughter off to some Mormon place in BC in order to involve her in some sort of multiple marriage thing. To be honest, I think he just wanted to get rid of her." I told him as calmly as I could. "That's probably why Sandy won't tell you anything. She's probably afraid that if she does, he'll force her and the twins to go out there. Then all of the girls will end up being sent away from everything they know and into that mess, having to marry some middle aged polygamist."
"Legally, that might still happen and there wouldn't be much we could do." He sighed. "You see what they do isn't really legal polygamy."
"Yeah, I know. Sandy explained it to me." I growled.
"If she explained it to you, you probably know more about it than I do." He frowned. "I wish there was a way to prevent it from happening, but I don't know how. Even if a parent or guardian goes against the girls' wishes, there's no way we can interfere, not unless we can prove abuse of some kind."
"Well, Sandy is going to turn eighteen in a few days. Won't that make a difference?"
"It certainly will." He smiled. "If she can prove in some way that she can support the girls, then she can assume custody of the twins."
"I'll provide that support, if it becomes necessary." I said flatly. "While it's not public knowledge yet, tomorrow morning my grandfather is legally turning over control of Mile High Ranch to me. With that as backing, I can certainly support them."
"Oh, I thought you were just looking after the ranch while Old Man Bender was in the hospital."
"I was, but his health is so bad that the doctor doesn't think he'll ever be able to look after the place again. Since I'm the only one in the family that loves the solitude of the upper ranch, Grampa Bender is putting me in charge. His only condition is that I have to take some Ag. School courses and I've already registered to start there in January."
"Chris, the first time I saw you, you were standing up and protecting the Coulter twins, then there was that stupidity at the café and again at the service station. After that, I'll never forget you sitting on the porch of your cabin, grinning and sipping a coffee while you let your dogs keep those two juvies on the roof of your pig pen." He shook his head. "Now you're in here doing your best to protect some more kids. You have never failed to impress me and from the sounds of it, I'm not alone. Old Toby isn't one to do something like that for anyone he didn't trust fully."
"Well, thank you, but all I try to do is what's right."
I was trying not to feel guilty about being deceitful to him before and at the same time I was upset at the idea that Ann was dead and Sam might be dying. His praise wasn't helping me feel a bit better.
"Well, you keep doing what you think is right, and I'll give you what backing I can. Now have you decided what to do about those girls in Calgary? We think they should be home, just in case."
"Yeah, I think I'd better go out to the farm and see if either Mom or Aunt Alice wants to come along to Calgary with me to be there for the girls. I really don't think I want to tackle that job on my own."
"That sounds like a wise decision, and yet, to have you make a wise decision doesn't surprise me at all." He nodded, then smiled. "Call me to keep me posted on what you and your folks have decided to do about the girls. Or call me if there's anything I can do to help in any way after things settle out."
When I left the police station, I felt terrible about the way things had gone. I'd walked into the police station and lied, then Constable Davis had praised me for being such an outstanding citizen. The combination simply didn't sit well with my sense of honour. Then as I was driving home, I had to pass the scene of the accident and saw the stubs of the two broken telephone poles, the torn up fence and the deeply marked field where the car had to have come to a rest. There were two telephone service trucks there with four men who were trying to reestablish phone service to everyone who lived out in that direction.
By the time I got home I was a basket case as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened in the last few days. I found that I blamed myself for most of the things that had happened and I guess it was simply too much to handle.
Once more, I have no memory for a period of time. I know I told Mom and Dad about all that had happened, but I don't recall it in any way. I do remember being in the truck with Dad as he was driving Beth and me up to the ranch. I don't even remember Dad helping me into the cabin. In fact I don't remember much until the next morning.
What woke me in the morning was the smell of coffee and the sound of it perking in the kitchen. As usual, I had to get outside fast, so I grabbed some pants and rushed out, scarcely hearing Beth's 'Good Morning' as I hurried out to the biff. It was while I was sitting there that bits and pieces of what had happened in the last few days came crowding back into my memory. Surprisingly, they didn't upset me nearly as much as I'd somehow feared they might. Instead, I was able to look at what had happen to me and my friends, as well as what I'd done, and was able to decide that I'd done as well as I could at the time. There were many things I'd change if I could live those last few days over, but at that moment, I didn't feel I'd done all that badly. I had even held off mourning for what had gone wrong, and what had happened to those I cared for, until I was safely home with my family.
It seemed that as I'd slept, my mind had processed and compartmentalized everything in a way that it could handle the pressure and pain. By the time I walked back into the cabin, I was ready to face the world again.
"Well, good morning, for the second time." Beth said quietly. "Are you able to talk now?"
"Yes, Beth." I nodded. "Thank you for baby sitting."
"Oh you twit." She snorted, then suddenly she was hugging me and crying.
After a few minutes she got her tears under control and looked up at me bleary-eyed.
"Do you know you slept for almost twenty hours?" She said accusingly. "You must be starved."
"I am." I nodded, then thought about the day before and managed a weak grin. "Do you know what? All I had to eat yesterday was a big sticky-bun. That's it, for the whole day. No wonder my belly thinks my throat's been slit."
"You ass, you're still a growing boy. Why didn't you eat?"
"Lack of time and opportunity to start with, then sheer emotional overload later, I guess." I sighed. "Can I go put some more clothes on? I'm getting chilly."
"You get dressed. I'll make breakfast." She snapped, wiping her eyes with her apron as she turned toward the stove.
As we ate breakfast, Beth helped me get caught up on what had happened while I was zonked out. Mom and Aunt Alice had borrowed my car and gone to Calgary. Once they were there, they'd gone to the motel and told the twins about their parents. Then they'd gone to the hospital, and explained things to Sandy. After that, they'd gotten Sandy released from the hospital in Calgary to the hospital at home and had arranged for an ambulance to take her there.
While they were doing that the Coulters had gotten their lawyer to press for a judgement against Jackie's parents for some of the actions that she had told Carissa about. It seemed that her father's idea of punishment was tying and blindfolding her, then putting her in a closet for hours at a time. At other times he would have his wife hold Jackie down while he'd take a strap to her bare bottom. It seemed that Jackie bore the scars to prove it. One of the surgeons who had worked on her in the emergency had seen that sort of scarring previously and was willing to testify in court. The Coulters had told the lawyer to pass on the fact that they would be willing to either foster Jackie, or adopt her, anything to get her out of the control of her parents.
Sometime during the day, Wil and Mr. Coulter had found the time to rent a 'U-haul' trailer. They'd gone to the duplex with Carissa's keys, loaded everything belonging to the girls into the trailer and parked it at the motel. Both of them thought the girls' possessions were safer there than in the duplex.
Late yesterday afternoon, Will had driven Mom, Aunt Alice, Jess, Jean and Corinna home. So, Sandy was in our hometown hospital and being fussed over by the people she'd formerly worked with. Jess and Jean were back at Uncle Tom and Aunt Alice's. Wil and Corinna had driven my car back up to the ranch last night and Dad had come to pick them up to take them back home. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Coulter were staying in Calgary for a few days. Mr. Coulter would come home Sunday night pulling the trailer with all the girls' things, but he'd go back to Calgary on Wednesday night so Mrs. Coulter could spend a couple of days at home.
By the time Beth had explained all that, we were sitting out on the porch and enjoying a coffee in the sunshine. Since we had almost an hour before we had to go to town to officially hear about Grampa Bender's new arrangements for the ranch and the lease, Beth carried on explaining things that had happened the day before.
The reason that the McAdams had been in such a hurry when they had been driving out our way was the fact that Sam had needed to work until nine that morning, yet they wanted to catch me. Ann hadn't been able to contact Sam when he was on the road, but they wanted to find the girls and they were on their way out to the ranch to take them, by force if necessary. It appeared that after the accident the RCMP found a loaded hunting rifle and several hanks of stout rope in the back seat of the wrecked car.
From the damage done to the car and the distance it had travelled after leaving the road, the police estimated that they'd been travelling at almost seventy miles an hour when they hit the curve and Sam lost control. Ann had been thrown out of the car as it rolled and the car had rolled over her. From what injuries he had and where he'd been found, Sam must have impacted the steering wheel, then had been thrown up and out through the windshield on the passenger's side. Neither one had survived to reach the hospital. Ann had been declared dead at the scene and Sam had died in the ambulance.
The Calgary Police had found Sam's brother by checking for the address of the owner of the duplex. Mr. Coulter had given the police all three sets of keys and told them the circumstances, explaining that the girls wouldn't be needing it. When the police had told Sam's brother that, he'd screamed that he was going to sue Sam for the rent. That's when they told him that both Sam and Ann were dead. At that point he'd changed his tune and told them that he wanted nothing to do with Sam's brats, or his slut daughter, but instead of suing Sam, he was going to sue Mr Coulter.
"Fat chance he's got there." I snorted.
"Yeah, I agree." She nodded, then glanced at her watch. "Hey, we'd better get going if we're going to be at the hospital by ten."
"Oh shit, I haven't even started the chores." I jumped to my feet.
"Slow down, sleepy head. I did them all before you even woke." She grinned at me. "I aint just a pretty face, you know."
"No, I guess you aint." I laughed. "Thanks for helping out."
So we cleaned up and headed for town. When we came to Graham's curve, Sid Graham was out in the field with a cultivator running over the area that had been chewed up by the accident.
"I'll bet that's so people won't slow dawn and gawk right on the curve." Beth nodded her head toward him.
"Yeah, but the insurance agents might have a fit."
"Why, they've got the wrecked car and the police report, plus two dead bodies. What else could they possibly need?" She sounded bitter.
"Who knows?" I shrugged my shoulders.
Beth spent the rest of the trip to town in silence and I didn't feel like talking either.
At the hospital, we met Mom and Dad in the parking lot, going inside with them. When we got to Grampa Bender's room, we all stopped and stared.
Sitting in a chair near Grampa Bender's bedside was Cousin Lucille.