Chasing Amanda (39 page)

Tracey’s mother told her that they’d have to see the police officers again sometime soon to answer their questions about where she had been kept and how she had gotten there. She said that they’d had loads of people looking for her and everything! Tracey wondered why all those people couldn’t find them; they always did in the police shows. She told her mother that Mummy had never hurt her, but she didn’t tell her about the bad spot. She didn’t want Mummy to get in trouble. When her parents asked her why she went with Mummy into the tunnels, Tracey couldn’t tell them. All she could remember was that she’d wanted her necklace. Her mother cried, then, and told Tracey that she needed to understand why she went and that she was sorry that she wasn’t a good mother. Tracey felt horrible! She told her mother that she was a good mother, and that even if she didn’t know about the toxins, that wasn’t really her fault, but her mother just threw her hands up in the air and walked over to Tracey’s father and cried. Tracey was trying so hard to be good that she couldn’t understand why her mother was so sad. Maybe she was worried about the toxins.

Emma had crawled into Tracey’s bed the night before. She came right in when she thought Tracey was asleep and curled up in front of her. Tracey didn’t mind. She had missed Emma a lot and grew sad when she’d heard her sniffling, like she was crying. Tracey had reached her arms around Emma and had held her like she was a giant doll. Then Tracey had cried, too.

She and Emma were playing now, but whenever Emma took one of Tracey’s toys, their mother yelled at Emma. Tracey didn’t need her mother to yell at her. She didn’t mind that Emma took her toys except for the dolly that Mummy had given her. That one was not for sharing. It was special.

Tracey wanted to see Molly again, too. Her mother told her that she could, as soon as the people with the big cameras left their front yard. Tracey peeked out of the curtains when her mother wasn’t looking—she didn’t understand why their house was suddenly so special, but she liked knowing it was on television, even if she wasn’t allowed to watch it. She wanted to go outside and let them take her picture, but her mother wouldn’t allow it. She called them sharks, but they didn’t look like sharks to Tracey.

Who knew this house could feel so warm?
Pastor Lett thought to herself as she scrubbed the shelves in the library of the Perkinson House. It was just after four o’clock in the afternoon, and she, Hannah, and Newton had been cleaning the home for most of the day. They cleaned and dusted each room, polishing the floors and scrubbing away years of idle dirt. She was pleased to be making the home livable once again. Pastor Lett refrained from going into the upstairs bedroom, the images of Mrs. Perkinson and her daughter, coupled with her current anxiety, were just too much for her to fathom. Thank goodness for Hannah, who was more than happy to take over the cleaning of the bedrooms, and she had yet to mention seeing anything out of the ordinary. Newton had been busy repairing the outside of the house, rebuilding the steps, replacing rotten wood, and unsheathing the windows. Hannah had brought a few old throw rugs, and Newton and Betty had purchased several pieces of used furniture.

Pastor Lett was once again thankful for the loyalty of her friends. She knew she would not have been able to go through this
coming out
on her own. She stepped outside and the brisk afternoon air refreshed her. The gloom she had felt for so many years around the house began to lift, and it seemed that even the air itself had become lighter and less burdened. She walked off the wide porch and into the yard, astonished at how welcoming the house looked without the windows boarded up—or perhaps it was the relief of knowing the ominous lies that had been tied to the house were soon to be lifted.

Twenty Eight

Molly held Cole’s hand as he drove past the Boyds Presbyterian Church, following Pastor Lett’s car, on the way to visit Rodney. Molly looked beyond the church to the spider’s web of yellow police tape. A chill ran through her
.
Molly was thankful to Pastor Lett for allowing her to meet Rodney, at the same time, she felt apprehensive about visiting him. She was glad Cole was going with her. She glanced behind her at Erik who was busy texting in the back seat. After so many days of bedlam and confusion, she almost felt a sense of calm.

They drove up to the familiar Victorian home. The front porch had three colorful rocking chairs and a sign that read:
Everyone Is A Friend, And All Friends Are Welcome
. There were green pastures with outcroppings of rocks peppering the ground. An enormous willow reached its long slim branches over a running creek just to the right of the house, with an iron bench under the umbrella of its limbs. Molly was astonished that Newton and Betty had been able to successfully hide Rodney for all those years.

Rodney shuffled out of the front door and into the outstretched arms of Pastor Lett, her eyes aglow with love and delight, her quick pace one that Molly could not have envisioned had she not seen it with her own eyes. She was dwarfed by Rodney, who effortlessly wrapped his arms around his older sister’s body and spun in a circle, gleefully yelling, “Carla, come back! Carla, come back!”

Eventually, Rodney released her, and Pastor Lett landed with a thud. Rodney moved like an excited child, his hands wriggling at his sides, his feet marching quickly up and down. The jeans he wore were baggy at the knees and bunched around his ankles, as if he were wearing someone else’s clothes, though his shirt was tightly stretched across his enormous chest and fleshy stomach.

Pastor Lett put her arm around Rodney’s waist. Rodney’s eyes grew wide, spying Molly, and he pushed out of his sister’s grip and approached Molly with an enormous grin. In the flash of a second, he swooped her into his arms and lifted her off the ground, laughing, “Molly find girl!” His jubilant voice boomed, ricocheting off of the clouds.

Rodney stopped, mid-spin, and lowered Molly toward the ground. She stumbled, dizzy, and lowered herself to the safety of the still ground beneath her. Rodney stooped next to her, his brown eyes open wide, concerned. Betty and Pastor Lett had their hands on Molly in seconds, insuring that she remain on the ground.

Molly reached out to Rodney and put her hand on his massive arm. “It’s okay, Rodney,” she said, forcing a smile. “It was fun. I’m okay.” She watched the smile spread across his face.

Betty was flawlessly efficient, serving turkey sandwiches and fruit and ensuring that everyone had a substantial amount of food, drinks, and properly-set silverware. She and Molly had a comfortable conversation about how long she’d been caring for Rodney, which, it turned out, she’d been secretly doing since two months after he’d been beaten. Their secluded property had provided the perfect cover. She was cheerful yet proper, sitting with knees bent and her legs crossed at the ankles and jumping up when Pastor Lett could not reach the salt, passing it to her promptly. It was evident that she was a natural caregiver and seemed to enjoy every aspect of it. Betty excused herself to get something from the kitchen, and Molly watched her hustle into the house.

Rodney ate voraciously, as if he hadn’t eaten all day. Pastor Lett chided him, “Slow down, honey. Your food isn’t going anywhere.”

Rodney immediately slowed his chewing to a waltz as opposed to a samba, watching Molly out of the corner of his eye. Molly whispered, “I eat fast, too,” which made him laugh out loud.

After lunch, Rodney insisted on showing Molly his bedroom which had windows on two sides and dark-colored sheers parted to let the sun shine through. Molly hardly recognized the room from the last visit when it had been shrouded in darkness. She walked in, expecting the Knowing to find her. She felt nothing unusual. “What a beautiful room, Rodney,” she said. Pride filled his eyes.

Suddenly, Rodney darted out of the room as quickly as his large body would allow. He thumped up a flight of stairs, hunching over to avoid hitting his head. Molly, Cole, and Pastor Lett followed him into the quaint, finished attic. There were toys scattered about, and one corner had drawings tacked up on the wall. Molly turned questioning eyes to Pastor Lett.

Pastor Lett walked with Betty, speaking in whispers, just ahead of Molly, Cole, and Erik. Newton and Hannah were already inside the Perkinson House, and she was thankful for their presence.

“You’ve done a lot to this house in a day, Pastor Lett,” Molly said with feigned interest. Erik hurried around her, toward the rear of the house. Pastor Lett nervously followed him, ignoring Molly’s comment.

“Molly,” Pastor Lett said nervously as she neared the rear of the house, “how long has Erik had visions?”

“Why do you—” she turned to follow his gaze and saw Erik kneeling at the cellar doors, his palms flat against the cold metal. “Oh my God!” She ran to his side, leaving Cole a few steps behind.

“Who?” Molly laid her hands on top of his. “My God,” she said under her breath. She looked over her shoulder at Pastor Lett, anger in her eyes. “How could you?”

“Molly, it’s not what you think!” Pastor Lett said quickly. She had hoped that she would have been able to explain before Molly found out on her own.

Newton moved swiftly between Molly and Pastor Lett. “Molly,” he said, “Pastor Lett’s done nothing wrong. Please, let her explain.”

“Let her explain why there’s a man locked in a cellar? Newton, what are you thinking?” she said angrily. Her eyes fell back to her son, who appeared to be unable to move from his kneeling position.

“What the hell is going on?” Cole demanded, seeing the fear in Erik’s eyes, the anger in Molly’s. No one moved or answered. “Erik?” Cole rushed to his side, then looked directly into Molly’s eyes. “Molly?”

“There’s a man in there, locked in.”

Cole’s eyes met Pastor Lett’s, cold and angry, filled with rancor. He lifted Molly to her feet, then took Erik by the shoulders, and with all of his strength, and all of his tenderness, he lifted him back, away from the cellar door. Molly rushed to Erik and wrapped her arms around him. Erik stared straight ahead, as if his mind had somehow been damaged by the scene.

Hannah, hearing the noise, came running onto the back porch. “What is going on out here?” She took in the scene: Erik, shivering and enveloped in his mother’s arms, Cole, angrily confronting Pastor Lett, and Newton, soft and small, standing between them, trying to make peace.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Cole,” Hannah said as she descended the steps. She reached out and placed her hand gently on his arm. He shrugged her off. “Cole!” She said in a motherly tone. “You listen to me, Cole Tanner. Carla did nothing wrong. She merely carried out the family’s wishes. Now calm your britches and come over here and talk to me, would you?” She spun on her heel and walked toward the gazebo.