Fated Memories (5 page)

“It’s Kitty, Grandma, you remember her. I told you she’d be coming to visit from New York again.” 

“Of course, Kitty, I remember now.”

On the ride over Maggie had filled Kitty in on the doctors’ prognosis. It wasn’t optimistic, and they wanted to lift her spirits in the time she had left. Kitty told Grandma the story of her encounter with Pete, the moron tow-truck driver who had rescued her when her old Chevy left her stranded, and the scandalous No Tell Motel she’d wound up staying in, both of which made Grandma smile with wicked delight. Unfortunately, the excitement caused the monitors to alarm, and the nurse rushed in to check on her. The nurse took Maggie aside, reminding her of Grandma’s precarious health and the need to keep her calm.

Grandma’s voice sounded weak, but she insisted on speaking. “And what about those papers and things I sent you to get from the old house Maggie? Did you find them? Have you brought them with you?”

Maggie shot Kitty a guarded look and shrugged. “Uh, no Grandma not yet, I’ve been waiting for Kitty to arrive so she could help me.” 

“Oh, sure, I’ll be glad to help with anything you need,” Kitty said earnestly. “If you want, we can go tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” With Maggie’s gaze drawn to the floor, and her hand rubbing the back of her neck, Kitty sensed she wasn’t getting the whole story. Kitty knew in her heart, though, that she owed her one, maybe even two, so she’d made a firm decision to help, without argument, no matter what she needed. 

“
I
t’s what? You’re not seriously telling me that the papers are in an abandoned building in a God-awful neighborhood and you want to go there at night to get them. Why can’t we at least go during the day? It’ll be creepy at night.” Kitty had never told Maggie that she was jealous she’d found a new man, so she doesn’t have a clue that she owes her. There may still be a chance of getting out of this.

They’d only been back at the house for an hour when Maggie hit her with the plan. “We have to go at night because we can’t let anyone see us. When Grandma fell and broke her hip that time, I had to sell off her antiques to pay for her medical care. Then the State repossessed her house for taxes and boarded up the doors and windows.” She shuffled on her feet inspecting the rug for a piece of imaginary lint. “Grandma just told me a few weeks ago about the secret room otherwise I would’ve gotten the stuff out years ago.” Her eyes were pleading now. “I know I’m asking a lot, but it would mean so much to Grandma to have the pictures and things again. Remember how eager she sounded when she asked for them?”

Christ, she was like a wounded puppy, and she’d played the Grandma card, damn it, how could Kitty get out of this now? “Okay,” Kitty sighed. “If you promise me we won’t die there, I’ll go.”

Maggie hugged her all excited and bubbly again. “Oh, thank you, it’ll be such a great adventure!” Kitty wondered just how far eyes can be rolled back before they come around the other way. They were planning on trespassing? Burglarizing? Grandma Margaret’s old house tonight, so they scarfed down an early dinner of simple pasta and left the dishes for later. Kitty still got the willies just rehashing the plan in her mind.  

After three wardrobe changes, the ladies were ready for their little crime spree. They had decided upon black yoga pants for freedom of movement, black long sleeve tee shirts and black knit hats. Kitty had to borrow the pants from Maggie so they didn’t reach her ankles.

“We’re dressed like two spies or cat burglars,” Kitty judged as they checked themselves out in the long mirror by the door.

“Well, if the name fits…”

“Oh huh, I get it; cat, you’re funny. I’m almost laughing.”

Maggie scrunched up her shoulders for a tee-hee giggle, but stopped when she noticed Kitty’s shoes. The only running shoes she’d brought were neon orange. It had to be those or her rhinestone sandals.

“You can’t wear those; your feet will glow in the dark. I think I have another pair of black ones you can borrow.”

Kitty reminded Maggie of her big clodhopper feet. “Are they a size ten?”

“Hmm no, we’ll just have to stop and buy you a new pair.”

“But you said no one would be around to see us. What difference does it make what color my shoes are?”

Maggie wasn’t happy with it, but she resigned herself to the situation. Kitty was right, and she should be happy enough Kitty even agreed to go with her.

“So, how did you come up with this plan anyway? Did you get it from an old I Love Lucy rerun?”

“No silly, of course not.”

“Then why do I feel like I’m Ethel Mertz and you’re Lucy in this scenario?”

“Lucy! That’s what Simon called me that first day at the diner.” With a sly smile, Maggie checked out her back view again. “Hmm, maybe he hit on something.”

“Yeah, he hit on you! Let’s get out of here before I rethink this and change my mind.”

***

At twilight they entered the target neighborhood. The neglected environment spread like a virus to surround the simple row houses and highlight the obvious decline of the community. Overgrown yards, downed fences, trash in the streets; all stood in sharp contrast to Maggie’s neat little section. They parked the car on an empty street and Maggie pointed out the house. 

“There, not the brick house on the corner, but the white wood frame next to it. That used to be Grandma Margaret’s house. It was somewhat run-down before, but since it’s been vacant for so long, it’s really gone to pot.”

White was being generous. It might have been white at one time, but not now. The boarded up front windows and door, and the broken or missing upstairs windows, convinced Kitty it was vacant though. Two large trees along the narrow sidewalk obscured the front of the houses so no one should be able to watch their amateur raid.
God, I can’t believe I’m doing this
. At first Kitty thought the two houses were attached until Maggie pointed out a gate leading to a pathway between them. Still the houses were so close the residents could’ve spit at each other from their windows.

“I scoped out the place last week and that path leads around back where there’s another door covered with loose boards. We should be able to get them off without a problem and enter that way. It seems Grandpa Joe built a secret room upstairs for the things dearest to them when the neighborhood began to change. The things Grandma’s been asking for should be in there.”

Kitty had to admit it. Although scared stiff, her whole body tingled with excitement about doing something so contrary to her boring everyday life.
This is freakin' illegal, and my dad will be so pissed if I get arrested. Well, Sonia told me to bust out of my comfort zone, and this is as far out as it gets.

Still sitting in the car, they waited and watched until they were satisfied no one else was in the area. “Okay, it's dark enough,” Maggie announced. “Let's go.”

She led Kitty along the narrow path and around the back of the house while the theme from Mission Impossible played in her head. The boards on the back door were half off and easy to remove just as Maggie said. Had someone else broken in here lately? They each put on the black neoprene gloves they'd bought at the sporting goods store last night and the dust masks that Maggie was smart enough to remember. “The place has been vacant a long time and God knows what kinds of creepy stuff is growing in there.”

Inside, their little Maglites shone on a small old-fashioned kitchen strewn with empty fast-food containers and bags. The sudden influx of light made a thousand cockroaches scramble back into the dark recesses of the filthy room, sending shudders of disgust up their spines. The masks helped with the dust particles, but the smell of wood rot, mildew and old food still viciously attacked their nostrils.

“I guess we're not the only ones who’ve trespassed here.” Even Maggie shivered at this sight.

“I don't hear anything,” Kitty whispered. “Do you think anyone is still here?”

“No, I think we're okay.”

In the next room, they found an old, dirty mattress on the floor littered with more fast food bags.

“Whoever's been camping here is a hungry little bugger,” Maggie chuckled.

“Let's just get what we came here for and get out. I'm getting the creeps.” Kitty’s skin itched as if cockroaches were crawling all over her and her nerves were making her as giggly as Maggie.

The staircase to the second floor was just to the left, and the trespassers started up with caution. So much for being quiet. The dry, old, wood stairs made loud creaking noises they were sure could be heard on the next block. They held their breath, cringing with each step.

They opened each door on the second floor and found what were once bedrooms, but were now only furnished with leaves and debris let in from the broken windows.

“Grandma said we could access the room from this hall.” Maggie jiggled the wall sconces trying to activate a door.

As they scanned the walls, their Maglites showed nothing but cobwebs and dust. A huge spider web that spanned the width of the hall reflected in Kitty’s light with the biggest spider she’d ever seen scurrying across it. Her over-developed imagination warned her of a mutant spider attack, and she freaked. In her anxiety to escape, she tripped over her own foot and crashed into Maggie sending them both flying up against the wall. Heaven knows what happened on their way down, but, as they hit the floor, a door slid open and they fell headlong into the room.

A quick scan with their lights showed them in more of a big closet than a room. Stuffed inside they found a rack of vintage clothes, shelves of gorgeous antique clocks and figurines, piles of old boxes and books, several lamps, and two ancient steamer trunks. A tarp, crusted with dust, hung halfway off an ornate mirror.

So much stuff crowded the tiny space that, as Kitty bumped into a hat tree, she knocked it over and spooked a nest of rats. The rats went scurrying across the floor, making her wobble on her feet again, and her Maglite fly out of her hand. Kitty screamed, Maggie screamed, they even heard the rats scream. Kitty’s eyes bulged wide, and she breathed so hard the cup of her dust mask got sucked up against her lips.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” Kitty could only repeat that one word as she scrambled to find what she now considered her most vital possession. For her, the only thing worse than seeing the rats, was not being able to see them. Grateful for the gloves, her hand found the little flashlight under the dress rack and her breathing slowed to a near-normal rate.

Maggie set her hands on her hips and shook her head. “If you think you can stay on your feet for a few minutes, I need you to open that trunk and check what’s in it. I’ll tackle the one over here.”

Maggie picked beautiful, handcrafted linens and embroidered towels out of the trunk she had opened. “Oh my God, Kit, come here, look at these things, they're gorgeous.”

“No Mags, you come here, I found what we're looking for.” Inside her trunk, Kitty found several old framed photographs and loosely bound scrapbooks.

Maggie danced over, doing a Stevie Nicks twirl with the lacy scarf rescued from the trunk she had scoured. She stopped mid-step and knelt again to inspect Kitty’s discovery. The gilded frame held the image of a woman wearing a long, dark-colored satiny dress with a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder short sleeves. She held a small bouquet in front of her. Kitty couldn’t decide if the splotches on the old, faded photo were part of the dress, or a discoloration in the paper. The woman wore her brown hair pinned up high with dangling curls and, at her throat, hung a delicate locket with roses in the center. Even in black and white, the photo was stunning. The name engraved at the bottom said Margaret McGrail.

Kitty stared at Maggie in astonishment. “It's you.”

Maggie touched the photo with reverence. “No, silly, it's Grandma Margaret. I always thought we kind of resembled each other.”

“Kind of? Y’ think?” Kitty’s head jerked up and her ears twitched like a dog on alert. “Maggie, listen, I hear people talking.”

“The living room must be right underneath us. Let’s get this stuff together and get out of here.” Maggie loaded armfuls of linens into the trunk with the pictures.

“Won’t they see us?” Panic crept into Kitty’s voice again.

“Not if we’re super quiet. Grab the handle on the other end and help me get this down the stairs.”

As they stepped out of the room the door slid closed again and vanished.

“Huh, it must be pressure activated,” Maggie decided. “You must have to step on the right spot to open it.”

The overstuffed trunk made their descent somewhat awkward, but they made it to the first floor without incident. Loud voices echoing through the empty house from two men in the living room masked the stairs’ creaking boards.

“I guess we found the campers,” Maggie whispered as they made it to the back door. “There’s still enough distance between us and them so if we run out now I bet we can make it to the car before they can stop us.”

Kitty doubted that, but she feared if they waited and the poachers found them inside, they’d never be seen or heard from again. Damn, this was even worse than getting arrested!

They each gripped a handle of the trunk and bolted out the door, surprising two more men who were less than three yards away. 

“Hey! Who’re you? What’re you doing here?” The men hurried forward.

Now it was Kitty’s turn to even the odds. She turned to Maggie with a stern voice, “Take the trunk; go. I’ve got this.”

Maggie hesitated for a second, then made up her mind and hurried off, dragging the trunk by one handle along the path towards the car.

Kitty turned and faced the men who were now almost in front of her. One of them reached for something behind his back. If he had a weapon, she’d have to act fast. Her neon-orange running shoes flashed in the air as she landed a succession of good roundhouse kicks, surprising the hell out of both of them. Not wanting to wait around for a rematch, or their reinforcements from the living room, Kitty made a mad dash to the street while they were still out of action. She found Maggie struggling to lug the heavy trunk into the back of her CRV. 

“Hurry, they’re right behind me,” she called out as she raced toward her. 

“Help me, this thing weighs a ton!”

Together they got it secured and were screeching away from the curb as their attackers made it to the middle of the street.

They drove for several blocks, checking the mirrors and peering behind them to be sure they hadn’t been followed. Kitty’s heart raced from her brush with the squatters, and her breath came in ragged gasps.

When they were a mile away from the house, they stopped at a traffic light and Maggie glanced over at Kitty. “Are you okay there, Ethel?”