En route to The Oakhill Estates
Thursday. July 1, 1982
Sometime after Lunch
The old brown pickup truck headed out of the trailer park and onto the main road towards the north end of town. The trailer park from which the old Chevy had just come was in the older part of Teal Cove. This was the stomping grounds of the students of Reneir High School, the original high school in the town. To its residents, it was the real school. Many of the families in this part of town were generational and still remember just over a decade earlier when the newer part of Teal Cove was all still fields and farmland. That was before the newer and nicer Teal Cove High School and the wealthier transplants.
Erica Farmer stared out the window of the truck. The air conditioning didn't work and her grandparents couldn't afford to fix it. Her Mamaw drove with the windows down since she smoked in the truck. She had no idea that Erica had taken up smoking a year ago but thought she was doing her a favor so the dark brown clouds didn't blow into the girl's face. The girl could really use her nicotine fix right about now.
The pair didn't say much as they drove along. The old woman had the AM radio tuned to a religious station that kept cutting in and out. Erica just watched the scenery change as they edged their way closer to The Oakhill Estates. The buildings gradually got a little bit newer and nicer as the old truck rumbled down the road.
They passed the local Kmart and Chuck E. Cheese on the way. Erica had only been to the restaurant once as a customer. Her grandparents had little money and they couldn't afford such luxuries. It was just as well, she was going to be starting the 9th grade next year and was too old for kiddy places, anyway.
She thought about the rich girl they'd recently jumped in the park and deposited in the dumpster. The story had made the newspaper. Apparently, a group of rich kids from the area had found her taped up out back. One of them was a reporter for the paper apparently. Erica worried that the story in the paper would lead the police to her grandparents' trailer, but so far, evidently, the cops had no leads. She wondered if the family whose house they were on their way to clean knew her.
Erica didn't know a lot about Marie Evans other than she was on the cheerleading squad at the rival school and her family had lots of money. She wondered what the older girl's life was like. Since school let out, Erica had been helping her Mamaw clean houses. This was only her second or third time coming to the house. Marie hadn't been home, but she'd seen her bedroom while dusting.
"Get your gloves and kerchief." the old woman said as the truck drove past the brick sign announcing they were entering The Oakhill Estates subdivision. Erica nodded and tied a bandana over her hair. Today, her hair was pulled back into a single slightly crooked ponytail. She'd worn old clothes since she would be down on the floor scrubbing the tile and cleaning the bathrooms.
As they made their way down the street, the houses got bigger and more magnificent. Erica's mamaw checked the scrap of paper she'd scribbled the address on and looked up at the house. This appeared to be the right one. She took a final drag of her Pall Mall and extinguished it in the ashtray.
"Fetch the mop bucket," The old woman told her granddaughter. "I'll get them cleaning supplies." She hopped out, reached over the side of the truck and began grabbing several bottles of different cleaners, all store brands.
Erica sat there a moment but finally got out of the other side of the truck and grabbed a broom, mop, and a faded plastic bucket with cleaning rags in it and followed her Mammaw up the walkway toward the house.
Thursday. July 1, 1982
Sometime after Lunch
The old brown pickup truck headed out of the trailer park and onto the main road towards the north end of town. The trailer park from which the old Chevy had just come was in the older part of Teal Cove. This was the stomping grounds of the students of Reneir High School, the original high school in the town. To its residents, it was the real school. Many of the families in this part of town were generational and still remember just over a decade earlier when the newer part of Teal Cove was all still fields and farmland. That was before the newer and nicer Teal Cove High School and the wealthier transplants.
Erica Farmer stared out the window of the truck. The air conditioning didn't work and her grandparents couldn't afford to fix it. Her Mamaw drove with the windows down since she smoked in the truck. She had no idea that Erica had taken up smoking a year ago but thought she was doing her a favor so the dark brown clouds didn't blow into the girl's face. The girl could really use her nicotine fix right about now.
The pair didn't say much as they drove along. The old woman had the AM radio tuned to a religious station that kept cutting in and out. Erica just watched the scenery change as they edged their way closer to The Oakhill Estates. The buildings gradually got a little bit newer and nicer as the old truck rumbled down the road.
They passed the local Kmart and Chuck E. Cheese on the way. Erica had only been to the restaurant once as a customer. Her grandparents had little money and they couldn't afford such luxuries. It was just as well, she was going to be starting the 9th grade next year and was too old for kiddy places, anyway.
She thought about the rich girl they'd recently jumped in the park and deposited in the dumpster. The story had made the newspaper. Apparently, a group of rich kids from the area had found her taped up out back. One of them was a reporter for the paper apparently. Erica worried that the story in the paper would lead the police to her grandparents' trailer, but so far, evidently, the cops had no leads. She wondered if the family whose house they were on their way to clean knew her.
Erica didn't know a lot about Marie Evans other than she was on the cheerleading squad at the rival school and her family had lots of money. She wondered what the older girl's life was like. Since school let out, Erica had been helping her Mamaw clean houses. This was only her second or third time coming to the house. Marie hadn't been home, but she'd seen her bedroom while dusting.
"Get your gloves and kerchief." the old woman said as the truck drove past the brick sign announcing they were entering The Oakhill Estates subdivision. Erica nodded and tied a bandana over her hair. Today, her hair was pulled back into a single slightly crooked ponytail. She'd worn old clothes since she would be down on the floor scrubbing the tile and cleaning the bathrooms.
As they made their way down the street, the houses got bigger and more magnificent. Erica's mamaw checked the scrap of paper she'd scribbled the address on and looked up at the house. This appeared to be the right one. She took a final drag of her Pall Mall and extinguished it in the ashtray.
"Fetch the mop bucket," The old woman told her granddaughter. "I'll get them cleaning supplies." She hopped out, reached over the side of the truck and began grabbing several bottles of different cleaners, all store brands.
Erica sat there a moment but finally got out of the other side of the truck and grabbed a broom, mop, and a faded plastic bucket with cleaning rags in it and followed her Mammaw up the walkway toward the house.
Evans Home
Thursday. July 1, 1982
Shortly before the cleaners arrive
Adam had decided to take a half day from the office. Usually, he preferred to use Fridays to go out to the country club for a round of golf, but he was meeting some customers out there in the late afternoon. Since he would be buying them dinner at the club, he decided to stop by the house, change clothes and make himself a sandwich. Carol was out for the afternoon shopping with friends but Marie was stretched out on the couch as he came down the stairs. He'd just changed out of his suit and made his way to the refrigerator.
After piling some cold cuts on sandwich bread and pouring himself a glass of wine, he made his way into the living room. Without a word, Marie retracted her legs so her father could take a seat on the couch. She pulled herself upright. Her eyes were fixed on the television screen. A soap opera was showing the previews for the next episode before the credits rolled.
"You don't actually watch this rubbish, do you," her father asked, glancing at Marie before turning his head again to take a bite of his sandwich.
"Sometimes," She replied with a shrug. "I just happened to catch the tale end. The mid-day news is about to come on..."
"I didn't know you were so interested in current events," Adam remarked raising an eyebrow.
"I am when it is local news, specifically concerning two of the girls on my team," Marie explained.
"Oh, that's right. The ones that you were concerned about," Adam answered with semi-interest as he took a sip of his wine. "You stayed home from the country club specifically to watch the news?"
"That... but also the help is coming to clean the house," Marie said flatly. "I thought someone should be home to... supervise. I don't trust them to be alone in the house since mommy is out."
"Oh? Have we a reason to be suspicious," Adam asked, a tad bit of concern in his voice. He was now looking directly at Marie. Adam wondered if Marie knew something he didn't. Had the house cleaners taken something of value?
"Let's start with the fact they are townie trailer trash," Marie retort. She made no attempt to hide the snobby tone in her voice. "Let's face it, Daddy...Those people don't have a pot or a window. You don't think those types would help themselves to whatever they don't think we'd miss? At the very least, I don't want them rifling through my personal belongings."
Adam took another bite of his sandwich. It looked like he was about to ask some follow up questions, when a preview of the News at Noon came on.
"A group of local teens held hostage by a car theft ring. Their story coming up next..." the reporter said before showing several seconds of Tabby, Starla, and the two dweebs they hung out with. The teaser cut away to a dish detergent commercial.
"Oh this is it," Marie said suddenly pointing. "This is why I need you to talk to Tabitha's father. She's the new girl... the redhead. You need to see this."
Before Adam could respond, the station ID popped up and the reporter welcomed the viewers to the 12 o'clock news. After a quick recap of what had happened, they cut straight to the news story. It was a rerun from the 6 PM news. Marie had been out and missed it, but heard all about it. The cheerleading team members and their moms were on the phone with each other within minutes following the story which had been repeated on the 10 o'clock news. It was the previous interview that had been shot live in Matt Hunter's front yard the evening before.
As soon as the segment ended and they cut to the next story Marie turned to her father. "Daddy, I'm really worried about Starla and Tabitha. Tabitha in particular. Starla is a terrible big sis to her! I'll deal with her on my own... but like I asked the other day, can you please speak to Mr. Blackwell? They are associating with the wrong crowd," Marie pleaded.
"Yes, I'll look him up and see if maybe we can schedule a round of golf this weekend. That would be the best time. That's how men... conduct their business," Adam replied, trying to sound as reassuring as he could to his daughter.
"That girl they hang out with wasn't with them," Marie continued. "She's the real source of the problem. Not much older than us but she came from up north literally out of nowhere. She's living with this older man and they aren't married. I mean Starla and Tabitha were already apparently hanging out at this man's house, so you can probably figure out what that means, but they hang out with these two guys from school who are pretty seedy and they are in a band and into Satanic music and they play this game known to be associated with witchcraft... I am not sure about Starla but I'm almost positive Tabitha is using drugs..."
Adam took another big swig of wine from his glass as his daughter once again unloaded on him all the trouble these two girls on the cheerleading team were getting themselves into. None of it was new information. Marie had brought it up at least two or three times now, but it was interesting to see the news story about the alleged abduction.
Thursday. July 1, 1982
Shortly before the cleaners arrive
Adam had decided to take a half day from the office. Usually, he preferred to use Fridays to go out to the country club for a round of golf, but he was meeting some customers out there in the late afternoon. Since he would be buying them dinner at the club, he decided to stop by the house, change clothes and make himself a sandwich. Carol was out for the afternoon shopping with friends but Marie was stretched out on the couch as he came down the stairs. He'd just changed out of his suit and made his way to the refrigerator.
After piling some cold cuts on sandwich bread and pouring himself a glass of wine, he made his way into the living room. Without a word, Marie retracted her legs so her father could take a seat on the couch. She pulled herself upright. Her eyes were fixed on the television screen. A soap opera was showing the previews for the next episode before the credits rolled.
"You don't actually watch this rubbish, do you," her father asked, glancing at Marie before turning his head again to take a bite of his sandwich.
"Sometimes," She replied with a shrug. "I just happened to catch the tale end. The mid-day news is about to come on..."
"I didn't know you were so interested in current events," Adam remarked raising an eyebrow.
"I am when it is local news, specifically concerning two of the girls on my team," Marie explained.
"Oh, that's right. The ones that you were concerned about," Adam answered with semi-interest as he took a sip of his wine. "You stayed home from the country club specifically to watch the news?"
"That... but also the help is coming to clean the house," Marie said flatly. "I thought someone should be home to... supervise. I don't trust them to be alone in the house since mommy is out."
"Oh? Have we a reason to be suspicious," Adam asked, a tad bit of concern in his voice. He was now looking directly at Marie. Adam wondered if Marie knew something he didn't. Had the house cleaners taken something of value?
"Let's start with the fact they are townie trailer trash," Marie retort. She made no attempt to hide the snobby tone in her voice. "Let's face it, Daddy...Those people don't have a pot or a window. You don't think those types would help themselves to whatever they don't think we'd miss? At the very least, I don't want them rifling through my personal belongings."
Adam took another bite of his sandwich. It looked like he was about to ask some follow up questions, when a preview of the News at Noon came on.
"A group of local teens held hostage by a car theft ring. Their story coming up next..." the reporter said before showing several seconds of Tabby, Starla, and the two dweebs they hung out with. The teaser cut away to a dish detergent commercial.
"Oh this is it," Marie said suddenly pointing. "This is why I need you to talk to Tabitha's father. She's the new girl... the redhead. You need to see this."
Before Adam could respond, the station ID popped up and the reporter welcomed the viewers to the 12 o'clock news. After a quick recap of what had happened, they cut straight to the news story. It was a rerun from the 6 PM news. Marie had been out and missed it, but heard all about it. The cheerleading team members and their moms were on the phone with each other within minutes following the story which had been repeated on the 10 o'clock news. It was the previous interview that had been shot live in Matt Hunter's front yard the evening before.
As soon as the segment ended and they cut to the next story Marie turned to her father. "Daddy, I'm really worried about Starla and Tabitha. Tabitha in particular. Starla is a terrible big sis to her! I'll deal with her on my own... but like I asked the other day, can you please speak to Mr. Blackwell? They are associating with the wrong crowd," Marie pleaded.
"Yes, I'll look him up and see if maybe we can schedule a round of golf this weekend. That would be the best time. That's how men... conduct their business," Adam replied, trying to sound as reassuring as he could to his daughter.
"That girl they hang out with wasn't with them," Marie continued. "She's the real source of the problem. Not much older than us but she came from up north literally out of nowhere. She's living with this older man and they aren't married. I mean Starla and Tabitha were already apparently hanging out at this man's house, so you can probably figure out what that means, but they hang out with these two guys from school who are pretty seedy and they are in a band and into Satanic music and they play this game known to be associated with witchcraft... I am not sure about Starla but I'm almost positive Tabitha is using drugs..."
Adam took another big swig of wine from his glass as his daughter once again unloaded on him all the trouble these two girls on the cheerleading team were getting themselves into. None of it was new information. Marie had brought it up at least two or three times now, but it was interesting to see the news story about the alleged abduction.
Evans Home
Thursday. July 1, 1982
Mid-afternoon
Marie's father headed off to the golf course. It wasn't long after that there was a knock on the door. Marie opened it to find an older woman and a girl just few years younger than herself.
"Evans house," The old lady asked.
"Uh, yeah," Marie replied rolling her eyes as if that should be obvious.
"We're here to clean," She quickly added.
"Really? I would have never guessed given the fact you're dressed like hobos and have a mop bucket," Marie shot back in a condescending tone.
She opened the door wide enough to let the pair enter. Marie glanced down and snatched a bottle from the bucket the older woman carried and eyed it. She held it up in front of her face and pointed at it.
"What's this," Marie demanded.
"Floor cleaner," the woman answered, seemingly surprised the girl didn't know what the product was for.
"I can read thank you. I meant this is a store brand. We don't use store brands in this house," Marie snapped.
"Well, does your mother have what you normally use dear," she asked, seemingly unphased by the teen's rude tone.
"Probably, but she'll take it out of your pay," Marie informed her.
"Well, she didn't say anything about that," the maid responded. "Is she here?"
"No, she's out for the day," Marie countered. "I'm here and I'm telling you we use brand name products."
"Well, we don't have any of those and it wasn't an issue last time we cleaned," the old woman tried to explain. "Should we come back another time?"
"No, you were scheduled to clean today. If you don't want to get fired, I suggest you get to it. However, if you have to redo the work at your own expense, don't blame me. I can't help it that you didn't bring appropriate supplies."
The old woman thought for a moment. Confident that she could reason with the teen's mother, she shrugged. "Where do you want us to start?"
"I don't know. You said you cleaned here before, where do you usually start," Marie asked.
"Well, I guess that would be the bathrooms," she replied. "Erica, why don't you start with the one upstairs and I'll do the downstairs one."
"Yes, Mammaw," the girl said with a nod and headed up the stairs.
Mammaw? Marie thought to herself. These people weren't just Townie trash, they were fucking hillbillies, too. She decided she best keep an eye on them, particularly the girl. The little country bumpkin was likely to break something or pocket some of her belongings. Marie decided to head upstairs and check the bathroom to make sure she didn't have any jewelry or expensive perfume lying around that the girl might help herself to.
Thursday. July 1, 1982
Mid-afternoon
Marie's father headed off to the golf course. It wasn't long after that there was a knock on the door. Marie opened it to find an older woman and a girl just few years younger than herself.
"Evans house," The old lady asked.
"Uh, yeah," Marie replied rolling her eyes as if that should be obvious.
"We're here to clean," She quickly added.
"Really? I would have never guessed given the fact you're dressed like hobos and have a mop bucket," Marie shot back in a condescending tone.
She opened the door wide enough to let the pair enter. Marie glanced down and snatched a bottle from the bucket the older woman carried and eyed it. She held it up in front of her face and pointed at it.
"What's this," Marie demanded.
"Floor cleaner," the woman answered, seemingly surprised the girl didn't know what the product was for.
"I can read thank you. I meant this is a store brand. We don't use store brands in this house," Marie snapped.
"Well, does your mother have what you normally use dear," she asked, seemingly unphased by the teen's rude tone.
"Probably, but she'll take it out of your pay," Marie informed her.
"Well, she didn't say anything about that," the maid responded. "Is she here?"
"No, she's out for the day," Marie countered. "I'm here and I'm telling you we use brand name products."
"Well, we don't have any of those and it wasn't an issue last time we cleaned," the old woman tried to explain. "Should we come back another time?"
"No, you were scheduled to clean today. If you don't want to get fired, I suggest you get to it. However, if you have to redo the work at your own expense, don't blame me. I can't help it that you didn't bring appropriate supplies."
The old woman thought for a moment. Confident that she could reason with the teen's mother, she shrugged. "Where do you want us to start?"
"I don't know. You said you cleaned here before, where do you usually start," Marie asked.
"Well, I guess that would be the bathrooms," she replied. "Erica, why don't you start with the one upstairs and I'll do the downstairs one."
"Yes, Mammaw," the girl said with a nod and headed up the stairs.
Mammaw? Marie thought to herself. These people weren't just Townie trash, they were fucking hillbillies, too. She decided she best keep an eye on them, particularly the girl. The little country bumpkin was likely to break something or pocket some of her belongings. Marie decided to head upstairs and check the bathroom to make sure she didn't have any jewelry or expensive perfume lying around that the girl might help herself to.
As Erica headed upstairs and down the hall Marie bumped into her. "Watch it," the older girls snapped as she rushed passed her and bolted to the bathroom. Erica assumed Marie needed to go really bad before she started cleaning so she paused.
Marie flipped the lights on and scanned the counter around the sink. She snatched up a few necklaces and earrings she'd left lying there. Marie also grabbed an expensive bottle of perfume.
"Oh don't worry about picking up I'll...," Erica started to say when she saw the older girl gathering items from around the sink.
"Oh, I'm plenty worried," Marie answered coldly. "I don't want anything to come up missing after you and 'Mammaw' clean."
Erica suddenly realized that Marie was worried about her stealing. It only justified in her head what she'd done to the other preppy from her school. Maybe Marie needed to be taught a lesson, too.
Marie hurried into her bedroom. She re-emerged a moment later and shut the door. "Do NOT go into my bedroom until I get back and can keep an eye on you," She warned.
With that, she headed downstairs to check on the towny's grandmother. She was busy scrubbing the toilet in the master bathroom. To get there, she had to pass through the master bedroom. Marie quickly scanned the room to see if anything had been disturbed. She wished her mom or Doreen were here to help her keep an eye on the help. You couldn't trust poor people.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Erica spit in the floor and rubbed it in. She also took a wash cloth from under the sink and spit on it. She was careful not to unfold it but did rub the saliva in. She didn't want Marie to be able to tell she'd looked under the cabinet beneath the sink or disturbed anything.
Marie flipped the lights on and scanned the counter around the sink. She snatched up a few necklaces and earrings she'd left lying there. Marie also grabbed an expensive bottle of perfume.
"Oh don't worry about picking up I'll...," Erica started to say when she saw the older girl gathering items from around the sink.
"Oh, I'm plenty worried," Marie answered coldly. "I don't want anything to come up missing after you and 'Mammaw' clean."
Erica suddenly realized that Marie was worried about her stealing. It only justified in her head what she'd done to the other preppy from her school. Maybe Marie needed to be taught a lesson, too.
Marie hurried into her bedroom. She re-emerged a moment later and shut the door. "Do NOT go into my bedroom until I get back and can keep an eye on you," She warned.
With that, she headed downstairs to check on the towny's grandmother. She was busy scrubbing the toilet in the master bathroom. To get there, she had to pass through the master bedroom. Marie quickly scanned the room to see if anything had been disturbed. She wished her mom or Doreen were here to help her keep an eye on the help. You couldn't trust poor people.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Erica spit in the floor and rubbed it in. She also took a wash cloth from under the sink and spit on it. She was careful not to unfold it but did rub the saliva in. She didn't want Marie to be able to tell she'd looked under the cabinet beneath the sink or disturbed anything.
Marie spent the better part of the next 2 hours following Erica around, often standing literally right over the girl. When Erica attempted to make idle conversation with the older girl, she was abruptly cut off and told not to speak to her directly unless spoken to.
Finally, the ordeal ended. Without a word, Erica began gathering the supplies. "Alright, that will be $20 for today's service," The older woman informed Marie.
"What," Marie asked staring at the maid dumbly.
"That's what your mother usually pays us for the service," she explained calmly.
"You mean, cash? Now? You don't give us an invoice," Marie challenged.
"That's not the way we normally do it, hon...," the woman explained.
"Hon? Don't call me 'hon'. Mommy didn't say anything about that. You'll either have to call her or come back later then," Marie informed her.
Realizing that there was no point in trying to reason with Marie, the older woman helped her granddaughter gather the rest of the supplies. "Yes, ma'am. We'll do that. You have yourself a nice day," she replied.
Marie slammed the door behind the pair and watched them out the window and continued to do so until the old pickup truck pulled away. Marie rolled her eyes and made her way back to the kitchen. She fished the bottle of wine her father had opened during lunch and proceeded to pour herself a glass.
She ran her finger along the counter to see if there was any dirt on it. It was then Marie noticed a note from her mother with some money lying on top of it. Scanning it, the note instructed her to pay the cleaning people $20. "Oops," She muttered to herself before snatching the receiver of the telephone from the wall and stretching its long cord around the corner of the wall into the living room where she'd been watching TV after dialing Doreen's number.
She felt the need to give her best friend a complete play-by-play on the townie trash that had just "cleaned" the house.
Finally, the ordeal ended. Without a word, Erica began gathering the supplies. "Alright, that will be $20 for today's service," The older woman informed Marie.
"What," Marie asked staring at the maid dumbly.
"That's what your mother usually pays us for the service," she explained calmly.
"You mean, cash? Now? You don't give us an invoice," Marie challenged.
"That's not the way we normally do it, hon...," the woman explained.
"Hon? Don't call me 'hon'. Mommy didn't say anything about that. You'll either have to call her or come back later then," Marie informed her.
Realizing that there was no point in trying to reason with Marie, the older woman helped her granddaughter gather the rest of the supplies. "Yes, ma'am. We'll do that. You have yourself a nice day," she replied.
Marie slammed the door behind the pair and watched them out the window and continued to do so until the old pickup truck pulled away. Marie rolled her eyes and made her way back to the kitchen. She fished the bottle of wine her father had opened during lunch and proceeded to pour herself a glass.
She ran her finger along the counter to see if there was any dirt on it. It was then Marie noticed a note from her mother with some money lying on top of it. Scanning it, the note instructed her to pay the cleaning people $20. "Oops," She muttered to herself before snatching the receiver of the telephone from the wall and stretching its long cord around the corner of the wall into the living room where she'd been watching TV after dialing Doreen's number.
She felt the need to give her best friend a complete play-by-play on the townie trash that had just "cleaned" the house.
Later that evening...
Erica had a long day of scrubbing toilets and floors. She and her Mammaw had two other homes to do and it was supper time when they returned home. They had not discussed the rudeness of the rich girl after leaving her house. Erica wondered if her Mammaw would try to sue if the girl's family didn't pay up or if she could have her arrested. She hoped so and spent the rest of the day fantasizing about the cops hauling her to jail in handcuffs and her family having to give them their house after they took them to court. The whole thing was unrealistic, but Erica was naive and not well educated. She didn't really grasp how things like that worked.
Once inside, the old woman took out a pot and began boiling some water on top of the stove. Dinner would be hotdogs on white bread with ketchup and store-brand potato chips. They couldn't afford the good stuff and usually got the store brand from Winn-Dixie or whatever was cheapest.
Erica thought more about the rich girl making a fuss over the fact they didn't bring expensive brand-name cleaners. What did it matter? Soap was soap.
Erica's Pappaw had just come in and flipped on the TV. The 6 o'clock news had just started. Erica wondered if there was going to be any more updates about the teenagers that had been kidnapped the day before. They were from the other high school, the same school that Marie went to. She wondered if they were friends with her. Last night, they were on the evening news. Apparently, they were wandering the backroads outside town the night before and stumbled onto some kind of criminal operation. They had broken down on the side of the road and a trucker gave some of them a lift. He was somehow involved and the entire group ended up kidnapped and tied up on a farm overnight.
Erica didn't know any of the kids in the story and her grandparents didn't take the newspaper. She also didn't realize the group of teenagers on the news last night were the same ones that had found the girl taped up in the dumpster behind the kiddy pizza place.
Even though they were using paper plates, Erica still had to "set the table". She thought it was silly, but her grandparents were old-fashioned. After saying grace, they ate their hotdogs and chips. Erica wondered what they really had to thank the Lord for. Her mama was in prison and her daddy died when she was a baby. Her grandparents barely got by and didn't own much.
Her Pappaw did most of the talking during dinner about what was going on at the factory where he worked. It was nothing interesting and Erica was completely bored. Her Mammaw made idle chit-chat. She didn't bring up the rude rich girl they'd dealt with. She talked about her quilt, the weather and that some lady had won the grand prize on Wheel of Fortune the other night and what a nice trip she had won.
They then got busy talking about some neighbor's garden for the remainder of dinner and the fact he was going to go sell his vegetables at the farmer's market this weekend and how they wished they had grown more in their own garden so they could make some extra cash and her Pappaw was going to help someone named Earl work his fireworks stand this weekend since July 4th was coming up. Erica mostly sat quietly and nodded and through in a few "uh huhs" and "yeps" where appropriate.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Erica's Pappaw announced he was going to go meet up with the boys at the bar for a while. Last night, Erica had to help with chores around the house after dinner including the laundry so she hadn't been able to go out. Her mamaw decided to watch TV for a while and work on her quilt some more. Fortunately, since tonight's dinner was on paper plates, there weren't really any dishes to do aside from the glasses they'd used for sweet tea. It didn't take her long to rinse them out and set them on the drying rack.
Erica was anxious to hear what her older friend Susan had to say about the teens that got kidnapped. The whole town was likely talking about it. She thought about how they had described being tied up on the news last night by the criminals before being left on the farm. It had Erica thinking about the girl they jumped in the park and threw in the trash behind that restaurant. She had Marie Evans on her mind. That was probably more important than the rich kids that got kidnapped by the trucker. More than anything, Erica wanted to tell Susan about how Marie had treated her and hoped it would pique her interest. Perhaps, Susan would help Erica take revenge...
The trailer had only one phone in the kitchen on the counter that divided it and the living room. It was a rotary dial phone. It was an older one, unlike the nicer and newer push button type on the wall at Marie's house. Most of the families at the north end of town had them. The telephone connection was always staticky, particularly after a storm and it had rained hard the night before. After dialing Susan's number, she got as far around the corner from her Mammaw as the phone cord would allow. She hoped the older girl was home and didn't want her grandmother overhearing the conversation. Maybe Susan would pick her up and they could drive around or something.
*Tag Susan*
Erica had a long day of scrubbing toilets and floors. She and her Mammaw had two other homes to do and it was supper time when they returned home. They had not discussed the rudeness of the rich girl after leaving her house. Erica wondered if her Mammaw would try to sue if the girl's family didn't pay up or if she could have her arrested. She hoped so and spent the rest of the day fantasizing about the cops hauling her to jail in handcuffs and her family having to give them their house after they took them to court. The whole thing was unrealistic, but Erica was naive and not well educated. She didn't really grasp how things like that worked.
Once inside, the old woman took out a pot and began boiling some water on top of the stove. Dinner would be hotdogs on white bread with ketchup and store-brand potato chips. They couldn't afford the good stuff and usually got the store brand from Winn-Dixie or whatever was cheapest.
Erica thought more about the rich girl making a fuss over the fact they didn't bring expensive brand-name cleaners. What did it matter? Soap was soap.
Erica's Pappaw had just come in and flipped on the TV. The 6 o'clock news had just started. Erica wondered if there was going to be any more updates about the teenagers that had been kidnapped the day before. They were from the other high school, the same school that Marie went to. She wondered if they were friends with her. Last night, they were on the evening news. Apparently, they were wandering the backroads outside town the night before and stumbled onto some kind of criminal operation. They had broken down on the side of the road and a trucker gave some of them a lift. He was somehow involved and the entire group ended up kidnapped and tied up on a farm overnight.
Erica didn't know any of the kids in the story and her grandparents didn't take the newspaper. She also didn't realize the group of teenagers on the news last night were the same ones that had found the girl taped up in the dumpster behind the kiddy pizza place.
Even though they were using paper plates, Erica still had to "set the table". She thought it was silly, but her grandparents were old-fashioned. After saying grace, they ate their hotdogs and chips. Erica wondered what they really had to thank the Lord for. Her mama was in prison and her daddy died when she was a baby. Her grandparents barely got by and didn't own much.
Her Pappaw did most of the talking during dinner about what was going on at the factory where he worked. It was nothing interesting and Erica was completely bored. Her Mammaw made idle chit-chat. She didn't bring up the rude rich girl they'd dealt with. She talked about her quilt, the weather and that some lady had won the grand prize on Wheel of Fortune the other night and what a nice trip she had won.
They then got busy talking about some neighbor's garden for the remainder of dinner and the fact he was going to go sell his vegetables at the farmer's market this weekend and how they wished they had grown more in their own garden so they could make some extra cash and her Pappaw was going to help someone named Earl work his fireworks stand this weekend since July 4th was coming up. Erica mostly sat quietly and nodded and through in a few "uh huhs" and "yeps" where appropriate.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Erica's Pappaw announced he was going to go meet up with the boys at the bar for a while. Last night, Erica had to help with chores around the house after dinner including the laundry so she hadn't been able to go out. Her mamaw decided to watch TV for a while and work on her quilt some more. Fortunately, since tonight's dinner was on paper plates, there weren't really any dishes to do aside from the glasses they'd used for sweet tea. It didn't take her long to rinse them out and set them on the drying rack.
Erica was anxious to hear what her older friend Susan had to say about the teens that got kidnapped. The whole town was likely talking about it. She thought about how they had described being tied up on the news last night by the criminals before being left on the farm. It had Erica thinking about the girl they jumped in the park and threw in the trash behind that restaurant. She had Marie Evans on her mind. That was probably more important than the rich kids that got kidnapped by the trucker. More than anything, Erica wanted to tell Susan about how Marie had treated her and hoped it would pique her interest. Perhaps, Susan would help Erica take revenge...
The trailer had only one phone in the kitchen on the counter that divided it and the living room. It was a rotary dial phone. It was an older one, unlike the nicer and newer push button type on the wall at Marie's house. Most of the families at the north end of town had them. The telephone connection was always staticky, particularly after a storm and it had rained hard the night before. After dialing Susan's number, she got as far around the corner from her Mammaw as the phone cord would allow. She hoped the older girl was home and didn't want her grandmother overhearing the conversation. Maybe Susan would pick her up and they could drive around or something.
*Tag Susan*
Susan was flipping through the TV guide trying to decide what to watch when she heard the phone ring and her mom answer it. A few seconds later, her mom was calling for her; “Susan! It’s for you!”
“I’ll be right there!” she replied. She tossed the TV guide on the coffee table; it didn’t look like there was anything worth watching anyway. She got up and headed into the kitchen, where her mom was holding the phone receiver.
Her mom looked at her shirt and frowned. “I don’t remember seeing that t-shirt before,” she said.
“Oh, this? I bought it at a yard sale one of the neighbors was having a couple of weeks ago,” she replied as she accepted the receiver. She took a couple of steps back to get out of her mother’s way, and said “Hello?” into the receiver. “Oh, hi Erica. What’s up?” After a brief pause, she said, “Hold on, let me ask my mom.” Taking the phone from her face and covering the mouthpiece with mouthpiece with one hand, she said, “Hey Mom, mind if I take the car and go riding with Erica for a while?”
“Alright; just be home by ten,” her mother replied. “And be careful; seems like there’s a lot of bad stuff going on in this town lately.”
“Thanks!” she said, and returned the receiver to her head. “Alright, I’ll pick you up in a few minutes.”
A short time later, Susan pulled the dark brown 1975 Ford Grenada into the trailer park where Erica lived. She wondered briefly if Erica would notice she was wearing the t-shirt and sandals they’d taken from that Sharon girl. Fortunately her mother had seemed to accept without question the yard-sale answer she’d given when asked about the shirt. It wasn’t unusual for them to buy second-hand clothing at yard sales; sometimes you could get some pretty good deals that way. Of course, stealing clothes was even cheaper; you could strip the clothes off a number of girls for the cost of a single roll of duct tape.
She pulled into the lot where Erica’s trailer was located and parked next to her grandmother’s pickup truck. She hopped out of the car and went up the steps to the mobile home’s front door. She rang the doorbell and waited for Erica or her grandmother to answer.
“I’ll be right there!” she replied. She tossed the TV guide on the coffee table; it didn’t look like there was anything worth watching anyway. She got up and headed into the kitchen, where her mom was holding the phone receiver.
Her mom looked at her shirt and frowned. “I don’t remember seeing that t-shirt before,” she said.
“Oh, this? I bought it at a yard sale one of the neighbors was having a couple of weeks ago,” she replied as she accepted the receiver. She took a couple of steps back to get out of her mother’s way, and said “Hello?” into the receiver. “Oh, hi Erica. What’s up?” After a brief pause, she said, “Hold on, let me ask my mom.” Taking the phone from her face and covering the mouthpiece with mouthpiece with one hand, she said, “Hey Mom, mind if I take the car and go riding with Erica for a while?”
“Alright; just be home by ten,” her mother replied. “And be careful; seems like there’s a lot of bad stuff going on in this town lately.”
“Thanks!” she said, and returned the receiver to her head. “Alright, I’ll pick you up in a few minutes.”
A short time later, Susan pulled the dark brown 1975 Ford Grenada into the trailer park where Erica lived. She wondered briefly if Erica would notice she was wearing the t-shirt and sandals they’d taken from that Sharon girl. Fortunately her mother had seemed to accept without question the yard-sale answer she’d given when asked about the shirt. It wasn’t unusual for them to buy second-hand clothing at yard sales; sometimes you could get some pretty good deals that way. Of course, stealing clothes was even cheaper; you could strip the clothes off a number of girls for the cost of a single roll of duct tape.
She pulled into the lot where Erica’s trailer was located and parked next to her grandmother’s pickup truck. She hopped out of the car and went up the steps to the mobile home’s front door. She rang the doorbell and waited for Erica or her grandmother to answer.
There was some unintelligible yelling back and forth through the door when Susan pressed the doorbell button. The ringing mechanism was broken and the second chime didn't work, rendering a single slightly out-of-tune staccato "dong". The moment that Susan took her finger off the button the bell ceased to make noise, but it had done its job.
"I don't know Mamaw, I'll be back later," Erica yelled as she opened the door and slipped through before immediately slamming it before her grandmother could respond.
"Shit" Erica mumbled under her breath. The younger girl was clearly annoyed. "Let's get out of here before she asks more questions."
Without another word, Erica headed down the cinder block steps toward Susan's car. She was eager to talk about the rich kids that had gotten abducted that she'd seen on the news and all about her encounter with Marie Evans. She noted Susan was wearing the sandals and shirt they'd taken off from the TC high girl they stripped and thrown in the dumpster.
OOC: I did a little retcon to an earlier post. I forgot Erica hadn't seen Susan last night and hadn't discussed anything with her and wouldn't have seen the newspaper article Shelley wrote since her family doesn't get the newspaper. Her first exposure to the story would have been the 10 PM news last night and therefore would have no way of knowing that the girl who wrote the newspaper article was involved in finding Sharon McLeod.
"I don't know Mamaw, I'll be back later," Erica yelled as she opened the door and slipped through before immediately slamming it before her grandmother could respond.
"Shit" Erica mumbled under her breath. The younger girl was clearly annoyed. "Let's get out of here before she asks more questions."
Without another word, Erica headed down the cinder block steps toward Susan's car. She was eager to talk about the rich kids that had gotten abducted that she'd seen on the news and all about her encounter with Marie Evans. She noted Susan was wearing the sandals and shirt they'd taken off from the TC high girl they stripped and thrown in the dumpster.
OOC: I did a little retcon to an earlier post. I forgot Erica hadn't seen Susan last night and hadn't discussed anything with her and wouldn't have seen the newspaper article Shelley wrote since her family doesn't get the newspaper. Her first exposure to the story would have been the 10 PM news last night and therefore would have no way of knowing that the girl who wrote the newspaper article was involved in finding Sharon McLeod.
When she pressed the button, Susan could hear the doorbell well enough to tell that is sounded funny. Some people had fancy doorbells that practically played a song, or at least a few notes of one. This doorbell wasn’t one of those; it just made a single tone that she suspected wasn’t the sound it was supposed to make. Oh well, not her problem. She heard the sound of Erica yelling, and then stepped back away from the door when the doorknob started turning to make room for Erica, who looked like she was coming out in a hurry.
"Shit" Erica mumbled under her breath. The younger girl was clearly annoyed. "Let's get out of here before she asks more questions."
Susan wasn’t sure whether Erica had been arguing with her grandmother about something or if her grandmother had just been pestering her with questions she didn’t want to answer, but she picked up on the fact that Erica wanted to get out of here in a hurry. Sounded good to Susan; she didn’t want to answer any questions from Erica’s grandmother either. She hurried to the driver’s-side door and got in. She didn’t know where they were going, but she immediately started the car and drove away from the trailer park. It wasn’t until Erica’s trailer was in the rearview mirror when Susan asked, “So what’s up? You and your Granny having a fight?”
"Shit" Erica mumbled under her breath. The younger girl was clearly annoyed. "Let's get out of here before she asks more questions."
Susan wasn’t sure whether Erica had been arguing with her grandmother about something or if her grandmother had just been pestering her with questions she didn’t want to answer, but she picked up on the fact that Erica wanted to get out of here in a hurry. Sounded good to Susan; she didn’t want to answer any questions from Erica’s grandmother either. She hurried to the driver’s-side door and got in. She didn’t know where they were going, but she immediately started the car and drove away from the trailer park. It wasn’t until Erica’s trailer was in the rearview mirror when Susan asked, “So what’s up? You and your Granny having a fight?”
Susan wasn’t sure whether Erica had been arguing with her grandmother about something or if her grandmother had just been pestering her with questions she didn’t want to answer, but she picked up on the fact that Erica wanted to get out of here in a hurry. Sounded good to Susan; she didn’t want to answer any questions from Erica’s grandmother either. She hurried to the driver’s-side door and got in. She didn’t know where they were going, but she immediately started the car and drove away from the trailer park. It wasn’t until Erica’s trailer was in the rearview mirror when Susan asked, “So what’s up? You and your Granny having a fight?”
“You know how my Mamaw is,” Erica grumbled. “Always wanting to know my business. I put in my day’s work. I have a right to go out and do what I want.” She looked Susan’s clothes over again.
“Nice outfit, you get them at Kmart,” She asked bursting into laughter. “I seen the news about them rich kids last night. They got themselves in a bit of a pickle. You hear the law was involved with that? I mean they was kidnapped by a cop!”
Erica sounded like a country bumpkin when she spoke. Her grandparents were blue-collar workers and neither had been able to finish school growing up and were not well educated. Erica took after them in the words she used and how she phrased things.
*Tag Susan*
“I heard two of ‘em was cheerleaders. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evan’s residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie Evans into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
*Tag Susan*
“You know how my Mamaw is,” Erica grumbled. “Always wanting to know my business. I put in my day’s work. I have a right to go out and do what I want.” She looked Susan’s clothes over again.
“Nice outfit, you get them at Kmart,” She asked bursting into laughter. “I seen the news about them rich kids last night. They got themselves in a bit of a pickle. You hear the law was involved with that? I mean they was kidnapped by a cop!”
Erica sounded like a country bumpkin when she spoke. Her grandparents were blue-collar workers and neither had been able to finish school growing up and were not well educated. Erica took after them in the words she used and how she phrased things.
*Tag Susan*
“I heard two of ‘em was cheerleaders. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evan’s residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie Evans into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
*Tag Susan*
“Nice outfit, you get them at Kmart,” Erica asked bursting into laughter.
“So you recognize it,” Susan said with a grin. “Don’t laugh; you can get a lot from wearing somebody else’s clothes. They absorb the essence of their owner, and when you wear somebody else’s clothes, some of it rubs off on you. See this bracelet?” She held her right arm out towards Erica, showing her a simple gold hoop around her wrist. “A few years ago when the movie people were in town shooting Logan’s Run, I managed to sneak into the lead actress’s trailer and steal this from her while she was filming. I think some of her acting ability rubbed off on me, which is why I was able to get an important role in the school play last year. I plan to be the leading lady in the senior play this year.”
*Tag Erica*
“I seen the news about them rich kids last night. They got themselves in a bit of a pickle. You hear the law was involved with that? I mean they was kidnapped by a cop!”
“Oh, you mean those Teal Cove kids that got taken hostage or something? I heard about that, but I thought it was some car thieves who kidnapped ‘em.” Susan’s mother had had the news on when they broadcast the interview with those kids, but Susan hadn’t really been paying much attention to it since she didn’t know any of them personally. She suspected the incident was part of the “bad stuff going on in this town” her mother had warned her about just before she’d left to head over to Erica’s trailer.
Susan may not have been paying close attention to the news report, but she’d heard a few things about the incident just from gossip going around. Apparently she hadn’t heard everything, though, and she had just clumsily revealed that she didn’t know about the police involvement. Susan didn’t like for other people to know that she might not know as much about a subject as they did, but at this point there was nothing to do but run with it. “I’m not surprised the police were in on it, but I missed the latest news report. How were cops involved?”
*Tag Erica*
“I heard two of ‘em was cheerleaders. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evan’s residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie Evans into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
“Seriously? Well, I’m not surprised. I’ve met that bitch a few times, mostly when we play them at football or basketball or something. She thinks she’s so much better than us, just because she’s rich. They all do, her and her whole squad. The squads are supposed to interact with each other before the start of the game, and the coaches all tell us we’re supposed to be cordial to each other and display good sportsmanship and all that jazz, but you can always tell that the Teal Cove squad is looking down their noses at us.”
*Tag Erica*
“By the way, I’ve been driving towards town, but I don’t really know where we’re going,” Susan said. “Is there anyplace in particular you’d like to go?”
*Tag Erica*
“So you recognize it,” Susan said with a grin. “Don’t laugh; you can get a lot from wearing somebody else’s clothes. They absorb the essence of their owner, and when you wear somebody else’s clothes, some of it rubs off on you. See this bracelet?” She held her right arm out towards Erica, showing her a simple gold hoop around her wrist. “A few years ago when the movie people were in town shooting Logan’s Run, I managed to sneak into the lead actress’s trailer and steal this from her while she was filming. I think some of her acting ability rubbed off on me, which is why I was able to get an important role in the school play last year. I plan to be the leading lady in the senior play this year.”
*Tag Erica*
“I seen the news about them rich kids last night. They got themselves in a bit of a pickle. You hear the law was involved with that? I mean they was kidnapped by a cop!”
“Oh, you mean those Teal Cove kids that got taken hostage or something? I heard about that, but I thought it was some car thieves who kidnapped ‘em.” Susan’s mother had had the news on when they broadcast the interview with those kids, but Susan hadn’t really been paying much attention to it since she didn’t know any of them personally. She suspected the incident was part of the “bad stuff going on in this town” her mother had warned her about just before she’d left to head over to Erica’s trailer.
Susan may not have been paying close attention to the news report, but she’d heard a few things about the incident just from gossip going around. Apparently she hadn’t heard everything, though, and she had just clumsily revealed that she didn’t know about the police involvement. Susan didn’t like for other people to know that she might not know as much about a subject as they did, but at this point there was nothing to do but run with it. “I’m not surprised the police were in on it, but I missed the latest news report. How were cops involved?”
*Tag Erica*
“I heard two of ‘em was cheerleaders. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evan’s residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie Evans into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
“Seriously? Well, I’m not surprised. I’ve met that bitch a few times, mostly when we play them at football or basketball or something. She thinks she’s so much better than us, just because she’s rich. They all do, her and her whole squad. The squads are supposed to interact with each other before the start of the game, and the coaches all tell us we’re supposed to be cordial to each other and display good sportsmanship and all that jazz, but you can always tell that the Teal Cove squad is looking down their noses at us.”
*Tag Erica*
“By the way, I’ve been driving towards town, but I don’t really know where we’re going,” Susan said. “Is there anyplace in particular you’d like to go?”
*Tag Erica*
“So you recognize it,” Susan said with a grin. “Don’t laugh; you can get a lot from wearing somebody else’s clothes. They absorb the essence of their owner, and when you wear somebody else’s clothes, some of it rubs off on you. See this bracelet?” She held her right arm out towards Erica, showing her a simple gold hoop around her wrist. “A few years ago when the movie people were in town shooting Logan’s Run, I managed to sneak into the lead actress’s trailer and steal this from her while she was filming. I think some of her acting ability rubbed off on me, which is why I was able to get an important role in the school play last year. I plan to be the leading lady in the senior play this year.”
Erica nodded. She got a bit wide-eyed as her friend casually mentioned robbing one of the actors in Logan Run. The movie people had been in town a few years ago to film some scenes in the downtown area. "You was there," She asked amazed. Erica was impressed by Susan's feat. She seemed really smart and knew a lot about everything and didn't question the older girl. Erica didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't quite sure what the word 'essence' meant. The fact that she used big words probably meant she was going to college. Erica secretly wished she could be as smart as Susan. She always seemed to know what to say, using impressive words, and seemed to be able to outsmart just about everyone around her.
“I seen the news about them rich kids last night. They got themselves in a bit of a pickle. You hear the law was involved with that? I mean they was kidnapped by a cop!”
“Oh, you mean those Teal Cove kids that got taken hostage or something? I heard about that, but I thought it was some car thieves who kidnapped ‘em.” Susan’s mother had had the news on when they broadcast the interview with those kids, but Susan hadn’t really been paying much attention to it since she didn’t know any of them personally. She suspected the incident was part of the “bad stuff going on in this town” her mother had warned her about just before she’d left to head over to Erica’s trailer.
Erica nodded enthusiastically. "Mmmm hmmm," She answered. Erica was excited to know something the older girl didn't. That didn't happen often.
Susan may not have been paying close attention to the news report, but she’d heard a few things about the incident just from gossip going around. Apparently, she hadn’t heard everything, though, and she had just clumsily revealed that she didn’t know about the police involvement. Susan didn’t like for other people to know that she might not know as much about a subject as they did, but at this point there was nothing to do but run with it. “I’m not surprised the police were in on it, but I missed the latest news report. How were cops involved?”
"Well, it turns out this crooked cop was the ring leader. Sounds like he tricked 'em and they ended up at their hideout and the gang tied 'em up and left 'em there," Erica explained. "I bet all of them is on it. Mammaw said something one time about the mayor 'n the county commissioner n'em are all crooked. Pappaw knows people that know about all that." Erica felt she was impressing Susan and was on a roll, so she continued.
“I heard two of ‘em that got themselves kidnapped was cheerleaders, too. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evans' residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
“Seriously? Well, I’m not surprised. I’ve met that bitch a few times, mostly when we play them at football or basketball or something. She thinks she’s so much better than us, just because she’s rich. They all do, her and her whole squad. The squads are supposed to interact with each other before the start of the game, and the coaches all tell us we’re supposed to be cordial to each other and display good sportsmanship and all that jazz, but you can always tell that the Teal Cove squad is looking down their noses at us.”
"I just wanna beat the snot outta that little rich girl. I could take her," Erica stated rather confidently. "We should do her the way we done that other girl and leave her in a trash bin like we did behind that kiddy place."
“By the way, I’ve been driving towards town, but I don’t really know where we’re going,” Susan said. “Is there any place in particular you’d like to go?”
Erica thought for a moment. Where did she want to go? Suddenly, it came to her. "Let's go by that cheerleader's place," Erica continued. She was hoping Susan would want to jump the rich girl. "I wanna show you how big her house is! You won't believe the size of it and it's just her and her momma and daddy. Can you imagine livin' in a big ol' house like that just the three of you?"
While the other girl had been a target of opportunity, the attack was not spontaneous. The pair had been planning it for a while. Erica was eager for revenge after Marie had cheated her and her mamaw and been so awful to them earlier that day. There would be no way Susan would go after her even if they did see her alone tonight, but perhaps, she'd get her talking about it. Erica really wanted a set of her clothes now and some jewelry. Maybe Susan would let her keep stuff this time.
"I spit on her wash clothes. All of 'em while I was cleaning her bathroom," Erica added, continuing to talk. She'd only spit on a single towel in reality, but she was in a bragging mood now and desperately wanted to impress Susan. "I folded 'em up real nice, she'll never know."
Erica nodded. She got a bit wide-eyed as her friend casually mentioned robbing one of the actors in Logan Run. The movie people had been in town a few years ago to film some scenes in the downtown area. "You was there," She asked amazed. Erica was impressed by Susan's feat. She seemed really smart and knew a lot about everything and didn't question the older girl. Erica didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't quite sure what the word 'essence' meant. The fact that she used big words probably meant she was going to college. Erica secretly wished she could be as smart as Susan. She always seemed to know what to say, using impressive words, and seemed to be able to outsmart just about everyone around her.
“I seen the news about them rich kids last night. They got themselves in a bit of a pickle. You hear the law was involved with that? I mean they was kidnapped by a cop!”
“Oh, you mean those Teal Cove kids that got taken hostage or something? I heard about that, but I thought it was some car thieves who kidnapped ‘em.” Susan’s mother had had the news on when they broadcast the interview with those kids, but Susan hadn’t really been paying much attention to it since she didn’t know any of them personally. She suspected the incident was part of the “bad stuff going on in this town” her mother had warned her about just before she’d left to head over to Erica’s trailer.
Erica nodded enthusiastically. "Mmmm hmmm," She answered. Erica was excited to know something the older girl didn't. That didn't happen often.
Susan may not have been paying close attention to the news report, but she’d heard a few things about the incident just from gossip going around. Apparently, she hadn’t heard everything, though, and she had just clumsily revealed that she didn’t know about the police involvement. Susan didn’t like for other people to know that she might not know as much about a subject as they did, but at this point there was nothing to do but run with it. “I’m not surprised the police were in on it, but I missed the latest news report. How were cops involved?”
"Well, it turns out this crooked cop was the ring leader. Sounds like he tricked 'em and they ended up at their hideout and the gang tied 'em up and left 'em there," Erica explained. "I bet all of them is on it. Mammaw said something one time about the mayor 'n the county commissioner n'em are all crooked. Pappaw knows people that know about all that." Erica felt she was impressing Susan and was on a roll, so she continued.
“I heard two of ‘em that got themselves kidnapped was cheerleaders, too. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evans' residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
“Seriously? Well, I’m not surprised. I’ve met that bitch a few times, mostly when we play them at football or basketball or something. She thinks she’s so much better than us, just because she’s rich. They all do, her and her whole squad. The squads are supposed to interact with each other before the start of the game, and the coaches all tell us we’re supposed to be cordial to each other and display good sportsmanship and all that jazz, but you can always tell that the Teal Cove squad is looking down their noses at us.”
"I just wanna beat the snot outta that little rich girl. I could take her," Erica stated rather confidently. "We should do her the way we done that other girl and leave her in a trash bin like we did behind that kiddy place."
“By the way, I’ve been driving towards town, but I don’t really know where we’re going,” Susan said. “Is there any place in particular you’d like to go?”
Erica thought for a moment. Where did she want to go? Suddenly, it came to her. "Let's go by that cheerleader's place," Erica continued. She was hoping Susan would want to jump the rich girl. "I wanna show you how big her house is! You won't believe the size of it and it's just her and her momma and daddy. Can you imagine livin' in a big ol' house like that just the three of you?"
While the other girl had been a target of opportunity, the attack was not spontaneous. The pair had been planning it for a while. Erica was eager for revenge after Marie had cheated her and her mamaw and been so awful to them earlier that day. There would be no way Susan would go after her even if they did see her alone tonight, but perhaps, she'd get her talking about it. Erica really wanted a set of her clothes now and some jewelry. Maybe Susan would let her keep stuff this time.
"I spit on her wash clothes. All of 'em while I was cleaning her bathroom," Erica added, continuing to talk. She'd only spit on a single towel in reality, but she was in a bragging mood now and desperately wanted to impress Susan. "I folded 'em up real nice, she'll never know."
“Yeah, I was there,” said Susan, referring to the Logan’s Run set. “Our class went on a field trip to see the shooting location, and I snuck off. It wasn’t too hard; the idiot teachers were so busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the set that they never noticed I was gone for a few minutes.” Ironically, Susan didn’t fully understand what ‘essence’ meant either. From the context she’d heard it used in, it seemed like it referred to a part of a person’s spirit or personality, or something like that. It seemed like a word a smart person would use, and so she’d used it.
The conversation shifted to the kidnapping of the Teal Cove kids. Erica caught Susan off guard with a detail about the cops being somehow involved. Susan was a little embarrassed that she’d not known about that, but she tried not to let it show. “I’m not surprised the police were in on it, but I missed the latest news report. How were cops involved?”
"Well, it turns out this crooked cop was the ring leader. Sounds like he tricked 'em and they ended up at their hideout and the gang tied 'em up and left 'em there," Erica explained. "I bet all of them is on it. Mammaw said something one time about the mayor 'n the county commissioner n'em are all crooked. Pappaw knows people that know about all that." Erica felt she was impressing Susan and was on a roll, so she continued.
“I heard two of ‘em that got themselves kidnapped was cheerleaders, too. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evans' residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
“Seriously? Well, I’m not surprised. I’ve met that bitch a few times, mostly when we play them at football or basketball or something. She thinks she’s so much better than us, just because she’s rich. They all do, her and her whole squad. The squads are supposed to interact with each other before the start of the game, and the coaches all tell us we’re supposed to be cordial to each other and display good sportsmanship and all that jazz, but you can always tell that the Teal Cove squad is looking down their noses at us.”
"I just wanna beat the snot outta that little rich girl. I could take her," Erica stated rather confidently. "We should do her the way we done that other girl and leave her in a trash bin like we did behind that kiddy place."
Susan chuckled at that. She rather like the idea herself.
“By the way, I’ve been driving towards town, but I don’t really know where we’re going,” Susan said. “Is there any place in particular you’d like to go?”
Erica thought for a moment. Where did she want to go? Suddenly, it came to her. "Let's go by that cheerleader's place," Erica continued. She was hoping Susan would want to jump the rich girl. "I wanna show you how big her house is! You won't believe the size of it and it's just her and her momma and daddy. Can you imagine livin' in a big ol' house like that just the three of you?"
“Must be nice,” Susan responded. She didn’t say it to Erica, but she fully intended to have a big house of her own like that one day. She’d go to Hollywood and land a breakout role in a big movie production, and end up being a much bigger star than Jenny Agutter ever was. Then people like Marie wouldn’t be looking down their noses at her; they’d be asking her for her autograph instead. And she wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave her trailer door unlocked at the shooting locations so some punk kid could steal her essence, whatever that was.
"I spit on her wash clothes. All of 'em while I was cleaning her bathroom," Erica added, continuing to talk. She'd only spit on a single towel in reality, but she was in a bragging mood now and desperately wanted to impress Susan. "I folded 'em up real nice, she'll never know."
That brought a smirk to Susan’s face. “We can go take a look at her house, but if you really want to beat the snot out of her, we need to plan it out, and catch her away from her house sometime. I know the general area that her house’s in, but I don’t know specifically where it is. You’ll have to guide me to it.”
*tag Erica*
A few minutes later, Susan was driving slowly toward Marie’s house on the road Erica had directed her to. She was planning to stop by the curb just down the street a little from Marie’s house, but she noticed there was another car parked on the curb directly in front of the Evans residence. “Somebody’s parked in front of Marie’s house; I don’t know whose car that is,” she muttered. But just as she was saying that, a girl exited the house and headed to the car. It took Susan a moment to recognize Doreen before she climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door again. “Ugh; it’s the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number Two; must have come here to visit the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number One. Looks like she’s leaving, though.”
As if to confirm Susan’s assessment, the Dodge Challenger’s taillights came on, and the car drove off down the street, leaving the curb in front of Marie’s house unoccupied. Susan took her foot off the brake to allow her brown Granada to creep forward, stopping when they were in front of Marie’s next-door neighbor’s house, a location that gave her and Erica a good view of the Evans residence without putting them right in front of it.
“Do you think she’s home? I don’t see that red Camaro of hers in the driveway…but that got stolen, didn’t it? How is she getting around now? I bet her parents are having to drive her, and I bet she hates that. I guess there’s no way to tell if she’s home, unless we happen to see her through one of the windows or something. You’re right, by the way; it is a very big house, especially for just three people. I knew that it would be, though.”
*tag Erica*
The conversation shifted to the kidnapping of the Teal Cove kids. Erica caught Susan off guard with a detail about the cops being somehow involved. Susan was a little embarrassed that she’d not known about that, but she tried not to let it show. “I’m not surprised the police were in on it, but I missed the latest news report. How were cops involved?”
"Well, it turns out this crooked cop was the ring leader. Sounds like he tricked 'em and they ended up at their hideout and the gang tied 'em up and left 'em there," Erica explained. "I bet all of them is on it. Mammaw said something one time about the mayor 'n the county commissioner n'em are all crooked. Pappaw knows people that know about all that." Erica felt she was impressing Susan and was on a roll, so she continued.
“I heard two of ‘em that got themselves kidnapped was cheerleaders, too. Speaking of, me and Mamaw cleaned their captain’s house earlier. She was a real bitch. She had some really pretty clothes and some expensive jewelry,” Erica said, transitioning into the episode at the Evans' residence. She looked at Susan’s outfit again, obviously admiring it. She was eager to put the idea of jumping Marie into her friend’s head. “You know she refused to pay Mamaw after we cleaned her place?”
“Seriously? Well, I’m not surprised. I’ve met that bitch a few times, mostly when we play them at football or basketball or something. She thinks she’s so much better than us, just because she’s rich. They all do, her and her whole squad. The squads are supposed to interact with each other before the start of the game, and the coaches all tell us we’re supposed to be cordial to each other and display good sportsmanship and all that jazz, but you can always tell that the Teal Cove squad is looking down their noses at us.”
"I just wanna beat the snot outta that little rich girl. I could take her," Erica stated rather confidently. "We should do her the way we done that other girl and leave her in a trash bin like we did behind that kiddy place."
Susan chuckled at that. She rather like the idea herself.
“By the way, I’ve been driving towards town, but I don’t really know where we’re going,” Susan said. “Is there any place in particular you’d like to go?”
Erica thought for a moment. Where did she want to go? Suddenly, it came to her. "Let's go by that cheerleader's place," Erica continued. She was hoping Susan would want to jump the rich girl. "I wanna show you how big her house is! You won't believe the size of it and it's just her and her momma and daddy. Can you imagine livin' in a big ol' house like that just the three of you?"
“Must be nice,” Susan responded. She didn’t say it to Erica, but she fully intended to have a big house of her own like that one day. She’d go to Hollywood and land a breakout role in a big movie production, and end up being a much bigger star than Jenny Agutter ever was. Then people like Marie wouldn’t be looking down their noses at her; they’d be asking her for her autograph instead. And she wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave her trailer door unlocked at the shooting locations so some punk kid could steal her essence, whatever that was.
"I spit on her wash clothes. All of 'em while I was cleaning her bathroom," Erica added, continuing to talk. She'd only spit on a single towel in reality, but she was in a bragging mood now and desperately wanted to impress Susan. "I folded 'em up real nice, she'll never know."
That brought a smirk to Susan’s face. “We can go take a look at her house, but if you really want to beat the snot out of her, we need to plan it out, and catch her away from her house sometime. I know the general area that her house’s in, but I don’t know specifically where it is. You’ll have to guide me to it.”
*tag Erica*
A few minutes later, Susan was driving slowly toward Marie’s house on the road Erica had directed her to. She was planning to stop by the curb just down the street a little from Marie’s house, but she noticed there was another car parked on the curb directly in front of the Evans residence. “Somebody’s parked in front of Marie’s house; I don’t know whose car that is,” she muttered. But just as she was saying that, a girl exited the house and headed to the car. It took Susan a moment to recognize Doreen before she climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door again. “Ugh; it’s the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number Two; must have come here to visit the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number One. Looks like she’s leaving, though.”
As if to confirm Susan’s assessment, the Dodge Challenger’s taillights came on, and the car drove off down the street, leaving the curb in front of Marie’s house unoccupied. Susan took her foot off the brake to allow her brown Granada to creep forward, stopping when they were in front of Marie’s next-door neighbor’s house, a location that gave her and Erica a good view of the Evans residence without putting them right in front of it.
“Do you think she’s home? I don’t see that red Camaro of hers in the driveway…but that got stolen, didn’t it? How is she getting around now? I bet her parents are having to drive her, and I bet she hates that. I guess there’s no way to tell if she’s home, unless we happen to see her through one of the windows or something. You’re right, by the way; it is a very big house, especially for just three people. I knew that it would be, though.”
*tag Erica*
Earlier in the day...
Marie had wasted no time in calling Dori to relay the entire episode regarding the house keepers after they were gone. Of course, her account of the events was extremely edited and she left out the part about not paying them after not seeing her mother’s note. The truth was, her mom had probably told her about the money before leaving for the afternoon to go shopping. Marie would never admit to that, however.
Marie asked Dori to come and get her so they could go to the country club and lounge at the pool. Having gotten the housekeeper episode out of her system, Marie could now get back to obsessing over Starla and Tabitha and the recent events in their life. Her father had promised to set up a round of golf with Tabitha’s father so he could talk to him about his daughter’s behavior and who she associated with.
Of course, once Dori arrived, the rest of the day was spent rehashing the situation with Jerry breaking into her house and Tabitha, Starla and their friends getting themselves kidnapped. Perhaps the only new concerns to come out of the conversation was that Jerry might bring up that they had put him up to spying on the two other girls from the cheerleading squad in exchange for a date with Dori.
Marie concluded that Jerry being a criminal gave him no credibility and that anyone who asked, including the police, would take her word over his. They would simply deny any allegations he made against them and swear they didn’t know what he was talking about. Marie also pointed out that neither had broken any laws and they shouldn’t feel bad. Besides, how were they supposed to know ‘Scary Jerry’ was a creep and total spaz? If Marie had realized that, she would have never used Dori as bait. She felt like the blame fell on the shoulders of her boyfriend who should have known better and she planned to have a few words with him the first chance she got. Hopefully, Pete was going to be up there at the club so she could berate him in front of Dori to drive that point home.
Fortunately for Pete, he was not at the country club, but they did run into some of the other cheerleaders. After going over the same details multiple times and some wild speculations about what all Tabitha and Starla were doing with their weird friends and how deep they were into witchcraft and Satanism for the rest of the day, the group decided to have dinner upstairs.
Marie spotted her father having dinner with some work colleagues. He offered to give Marie a ride home if she wanted. Of course, Marie declined and decided that she and Dori and a few other seniors should have a round of croquette only to find all the courts full. Instead, she decided that she and Dori should go back to Marie’s house.
The other girls were not invited so Marie could scheme behind closed doors as to which of the other junior members- Aimee, Jan, Dani or Tanya would be best suited to pick up where Jerry had left off. While Marie had no doubt her father’s conversation would make huge strides in getting Tabitha away from her little cult, they needed an insider to start hanging out with both of them, particularly Starla to find out how serious things really were.
Marie and Dori were in the middle of a one-sided conversation with Marie speculating on if Starla and Tabitha would end up having to have a full exorcism done by a priest when they were confronted by a very upset Carol Evans as they entered the house and headed toward the stairs leading to Marie's room.
“Marie! Did you not pay the help today when they were over,” her mother demanded.
“Oh sorry, mommy! I must have forgotten,” Marie answered with a shrug.
“Marie Elizabeth! I told you that you needed to pay them and even left you a note! How irresponsible of you,” Carol scolded.
Marie turned to Doreen. “Sorry, mommy is spazzing over some bull shit,” She said in a low voice. “Maybe I’ll call you later. I need to deal with this.”
Marie had wasted no time in calling Dori to relay the entire episode regarding the house keepers after they were gone. Of course, her account of the events was extremely edited and she left out the part about not paying them after not seeing her mother’s note. The truth was, her mom had probably told her about the money before leaving for the afternoon to go shopping. Marie would never admit to that, however.
Marie asked Dori to come and get her so they could go to the country club and lounge at the pool. Having gotten the housekeeper episode out of her system, Marie could now get back to obsessing over Starla and Tabitha and the recent events in their life. Her father had promised to set up a round of golf with Tabitha’s father so he could talk to him about his daughter’s behavior and who she associated with.
Of course, once Dori arrived, the rest of the day was spent rehashing the situation with Jerry breaking into her house and Tabitha, Starla and their friends getting themselves kidnapped. Perhaps the only new concerns to come out of the conversation was that Jerry might bring up that they had put him up to spying on the two other girls from the cheerleading squad in exchange for a date with Dori.
Marie concluded that Jerry being a criminal gave him no credibility and that anyone who asked, including the police, would take her word over his. They would simply deny any allegations he made against them and swear they didn’t know what he was talking about. Marie also pointed out that neither had broken any laws and they shouldn’t feel bad. Besides, how were they supposed to know ‘Scary Jerry’ was a creep and total spaz? If Marie had realized that, she would have never used Dori as bait. She felt like the blame fell on the shoulders of her boyfriend who should have known better and she planned to have a few words with him the first chance she got. Hopefully, Pete was going to be up there at the club so she could berate him in front of Dori to drive that point home.
Fortunately for Pete, he was not at the country club, but they did run into some of the other cheerleaders. After going over the same details multiple times and some wild speculations about what all Tabitha and Starla were doing with their weird friends and how deep they were into witchcraft and Satanism for the rest of the day, the group decided to have dinner upstairs.
Marie spotted her father having dinner with some work colleagues. He offered to give Marie a ride home if she wanted. Of course, Marie declined and decided that she and Dori and a few other seniors should have a round of croquette only to find all the courts full. Instead, she decided that she and Dori should go back to Marie’s house.
The other girls were not invited so Marie could scheme behind closed doors as to which of the other junior members- Aimee, Jan, Dani or Tanya would be best suited to pick up where Jerry had left off. While Marie had no doubt her father’s conversation would make huge strides in getting Tabitha away from her little cult, they needed an insider to start hanging out with both of them, particularly Starla to find out how serious things really were.
Marie and Dori were in the middle of a one-sided conversation with Marie speculating on if Starla and Tabitha would end up having to have a full exorcism done by a priest when they were confronted by a very upset Carol Evans as they entered the house and headed toward the stairs leading to Marie's room.
“Marie! Did you not pay the help today when they were over,” her mother demanded.
“Oh sorry, mommy! I must have forgotten,” Marie answered with a shrug.
“Marie Elizabeth! I told you that you needed to pay them and even left you a note! How irresponsible of you,” Carol scolded.
Marie turned to Doreen. “Sorry, mommy is spazzing over some bull shit,” She said in a low voice. “Maybe I’ll call you later. I need to deal with this.”
As Adam pulled into the garage, he could hear his daughter and wife Carol in a heated argument through the kitchen door. He’d seen Marie over at the country club and offered to give her a ride home, but she’d declined. It was a little surprising that she had beaten him home, especially since it sounded like she and her friends were going to stay at River Oaks for a while longer.
The shouting match between Marie and Carol was still going strong when Adam entered the kitchen. “What’s all the yelling about,” he asked calmly as he made his way further into the kitchen. Both paused and turned to face him. He took notice of the note and picked it up and read it, not making eye contact with either. Instead he raised the paper and pointed to it.
Adam then glanced to his daughter for an explanation. Instead, her mother answered on her behalf. Adam moved his gaze to her. “I gave Marie a simple task today; please give this money to our cleaning ladies. She could do it when they arrived or after they finished. I didn’t care as long as they got their money,” Carol explained.
“Oh,” he said in a questioning tone, waiting for his teen daughter to explain herself.
“I forgot, okay,” Marie responded, rolling her eyes.
Without a word, Adam moved to the wine cabinet and looked through the selection. He selected a bottle and read the label before opening a drawer and grabbing a corkscrew and popped the top. After taking in the aroma from the cork for a moment and pulling out a glass from the cupboard, Adam poured himself some. There was awkward silence as he did so and raised the glass to examine the color and swirl it around in the light.
“No, it’s not okay,” he finally answered evenly, still calm and not taking his eyes from the glass. He took a sip before meeting her gaze. “Those women work hard. They need that money.”
It wasn’t that Adam sympathized with the maids and the fact that they had not been paid. The reality was he detested them as much as his teenage daughter. It was more the fact that Marie’s childish whining was getting on his nerves and it was a chance for him to re-enforce his authority in front of his wife. One thing Adam liked was to remind everyone around him who was in charge and this was an opportunity to knock his ungrateful offspring off of her high horse.
“Well, they can get it next time they…,” Marie started to say before Adam cut her off.
“No. No they cannot,” Adam snapped. His tone was less calm and there was clearly a hint of annoyance in his voice now. “Marie Elizabeth, I want to make some things very clear to you.”
There was a long hard gaze. Marie looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She was seldom corrected like this and it was obvious she was caught off guard.
“I ask very little of you,” her father continued. “You wanted a brand new car for your birthday. You got it. The very one you picked out in the color of your choice was waiting in the driveway for you the morning of your birthday. I’m sorry that it got stolen. I promised you that the moment we got settled up with insurance that I would take you back to the car lot to pick out another. You want one just like it? Done! Another color? Done! A different brand or model? Also done! You need only be patient a few more days...”
Adam paused, but it was clear Marie was too stunned to reply. Carol was cutting her eyes between the pair. It was obvious, she was letting her husband take over at this point. Adam took another sip of wine before continuing.
“On that same note, I do not require you to work. If you want a job, you may take one at any point but at no time have I ever demanded that you must be employed. I’m starting to regret that decision. It seems that you think you are above the ‘commoners’ as you apparently see them. You, young lady, have had a silver spoon in your mouth since the moment you were born. You spend all day at the country club that I pay for, you charge whatever you want to my account. Steak dinner? Lobster tail? Crab legs, whatever your heart desires is yours and all you have to do is give my account number and sign the bill. Horseback riding lessons, your own horse, a stable space for it in which to live at the club, stable services to make sure the horse is fed, cleaned and cared for so you don’t have to… All taken care of! By the way, I left a message inviting Mr. Blackwell to play a round of golf with me to discuss your concerns regarding his daughter, Tabitha. He’ll get it next time he goes up to the club. I’ve done everything I promised you that I would. So, what have you to say for yourself?”
Again, it was not that Adam so much agreed with the position he appeared to be taking, it was more a matter of he worked for what he had and therefore earned the right to judge the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Marie had not accomplished anything in life. Nothing meaningful as far as he was concerned, anyway. She was a child and had not earned that right. At least, not yet.
Marie lowered her eyes to the floor. She answered in a soft voice. “Sorry, daddy, I guess I…”
“Didn’t want to be bothered,” Adam finished for her. He paused again to take another sip of his wine. “So, here is what you are going to do. Carol, do we have the address of where our housekeepers live?”
“Um, I’m not sure, honestly…,” Carol replied. Adam made his way to the refrigerator.
His eyes scanned the surface and landed on a piece of paper. “Here we are! Housekeepers,” he announced, removing the slip of paper from under the magnet that held it to the door. He read the number aloud. “Is this up to date?”
Carol nodded. Adam picked up the $20 bill from the counter on top of the note and extended it to Marie along with the phone number. “I have a feeling ‘Housekeepers’ is not their last name. Am I correct in that assumption,” Adam asked, turning to Carol who shook her head.
“Um, Wilbur. Irene Wilbur. Her daughter, um granddaughter I think, helps her. I don’t recall her name but I think she has a different last name from her,” Carol offered.
“Ah, no matter,” Adam responded. “Mrs. Wilbur will be whom you ask for. I know, based on the phone bill which I pay, you are quite familiar with the operation of the telephone, Marie.”
Marie seemed a bit tongue-tied and simply nodded.
“Good,” Adam replied, gesturing to the telephone on the wall. “I want you to call Mrs. Wilbur, apologize for not getting her the payment today and then I want you to offer to drive it over to her this evening.”
Marie’s jaw dropped open. When her father frowned and looked as though he was going to lose his temper, Marie quickly composed herself and lifted the receiver from the wall. She glanced at the note, and punched in the number. After a moment, it appeared someone answered.
“Uh, hello Mrs…,” Marie blanked for a moment on the woman’s name. “Wilbur?”
There was a pause. “Uh no… um, ma’am. It’s Marie Evans. You cleaned our house today… no uh, ma’am… No problem with the service… look, I’m uh really sorry about earlier. Uh, I missed a note from my mother in the kitchen about the payment. Would you like me to run it over to you this evening? Um, sure… uh, can I get the address?”
Marie looked up and cut her eyes to her parents. She motioned that she needed a pen. Adam pulled one from a jar on the counter and handed it to Marie who scribbled something down on the scrap of paper with the phone number.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll bring it over shortly. You have a good night, too,” Marie said and hung up quickly.
“See, that wasn’t so hard was it,” Adam asked rhetorically. He reached for his billfold and pulled a $10 bill from it. “Add that to the total as a tip and apology for the inconvenience you caused these people.”
Marie glanced down at her father’s extended hand and back to his eyes before taking the money. He then pulled another $20 out. “And take this. Fill my car on the way home,” he instructed.
Marie quickly snatched the twenty and nodded. Adam fished out the keys from his pocket. “Now go,” he added as Marie took the car keys. Without a word, she headed toward the garage, money and address in hand.
The shouting match between Marie and Carol was still going strong when Adam entered the kitchen. “What’s all the yelling about,” he asked calmly as he made his way further into the kitchen. Both paused and turned to face him. He took notice of the note and picked it up and read it, not making eye contact with either. Instead he raised the paper and pointed to it.
Adam then glanced to his daughter for an explanation. Instead, her mother answered on her behalf. Adam moved his gaze to her. “I gave Marie a simple task today; please give this money to our cleaning ladies. She could do it when they arrived or after they finished. I didn’t care as long as they got their money,” Carol explained.
“Oh,” he said in a questioning tone, waiting for his teen daughter to explain herself.
“I forgot, okay,” Marie responded, rolling her eyes.
Without a word, Adam moved to the wine cabinet and looked through the selection. He selected a bottle and read the label before opening a drawer and grabbing a corkscrew and popped the top. After taking in the aroma from the cork for a moment and pulling out a glass from the cupboard, Adam poured himself some. There was awkward silence as he did so and raised the glass to examine the color and swirl it around in the light.
“No, it’s not okay,” he finally answered evenly, still calm and not taking his eyes from the glass. He took a sip before meeting her gaze. “Those women work hard. They need that money.”
It wasn’t that Adam sympathized with the maids and the fact that they had not been paid. The reality was he detested them as much as his teenage daughter. It was more the fact that Marie’s childish whining was getting on his nerves and it was a chance for him to re-enforce his authority in front of his wife. One thing Adam liked was to remind everyone around him who was in charge and this was an opportunity to knock his ungrateful offspring off of her high horse.
“Well, they can get it next time they…,” Marie started to say before Adam cut her off.
“No. No they cannot,” Adam snapped. His tone was less calm and there was clearly a hint of annoyance in his voice now. “Marie Elizabeth, I want to make some things very clear to you.”
There was a long hard gaze. Marie looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She was seldom corrected like this and it was obvious she was caught off guard.
“I ask very little of you,” her father continued. “You wanted a brand new car for your birthday. You got it. The very one you picked out in the color of your choice was waiting in the driveway for you the morning of your birthday. I’m sorry that it got stolen. I promised you that the moment we got settled up with insurance that I would take you back to the car lot to pick out another. You want one just like it? Done! Another color? Done! A different brand or model? Also done! You need only be patient a few more days...”
Adam paused, but it was clear Marie was too stunned to reply. Carol was cutting her eyes between the pair. It was obvious, she was letting her husband take over at this point. Adam took another sip of wine before continuing.
“On that same note, I do not require you to work. If you want a job, you may take one at any point but at no time have I ever demanded that you must be employed. I’m starting to regret that decision. It seems that you think you are above the ‘commoners’ as you apparently see them. You, young lady, have had a silver spoon in your mouth since the moment you were born. You spend all day at the country club that I pay for, you charge whatever you want to my account. Steak dinner? Lobster tail? Crab legs, whatever your heart desires is yours and all you have to do is give my account number and sign the bill. Horseback riding lessons, your own horse, a stable space for it in which to live at the club, stable services to make sure the horse is fed, cleaned and cared for so you don’t have to… All taken care of! By the way, I left a message inviting Mr. Blackwell to play a round of golf with me to discuss your concerns regarding his daughter, Tabitha. He’ll get it next time he goes up to the club. I’ve done everything I promised you that I would. So, what have you to say for yourself?”
Again, it was not that Adam so much agreed with the position he appeared to be taking, it was more a matter of he worked for what he had and therefore earned the right to judge the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Marie had not accomplished anything in life. Nothing meaningful as far as he was concerned, anyway. She was a child and had not earned that right. At least, not yet.
Marie lowered her eyes to the floor. She answered in a soft voice. “Sorry, daddy, I guess I…”
“Didn’t want to be bothered,” Adam finished for her. He paused again to take another sip of his wine. “So, here is what you are going to do. Carol, do we have the address of where our housekeepers live?”
“Um, I’m not sure, honestly…,” Carol replied. Adam made his way to the refrigerator.
His eyes scanned the surface and landed on a piece of paper. “Here we are! Housekeepers,” he announced, removing the slip of paper from under the magnet that held it to the door. He read the number aloud. “Is this up to date?”
Carol nodded. Adam picked up the $20 bill from the counter on top of the note and extended it to Marie along with the phone number. “I have a feeling ‘Housekeepers’ is not their last name. Am I correct in that assumption,” Adam asked, turning to Carol who shook her head.
“Um, Wilbur. Irene Wilbur. Her daughter, um granddaughter I think, helps her. I don’t recall her name but I think she has a different last name from her,” Carol offered.
“Ah, no matter,” Adam responded. “Mrs. Wilbur will be whom you ask for. I know, based on the phone bill which I pay, you are quite familiar with the operation of the telephone, Marie.”
Marie seemed a bit tongue-tied and simply nodded.
“Good,” Adam replied, gesturing to the telephone on the wall. “I want you to call Mrs. Wilbur, apologize for not getting her the payment today and then I want you to offer to drive it over to her this evening.”
Marie’s jaw dropped open. When her father frowned and looked as though he was going to lose his temper, Marie quickly composed herself and lifted the receiver from the wall. She glanced at the note, and punched in the number. After a moment, it appeared someone answered.
“Uh, hello Mrs…,” Marie blanked for a moment on the woman’s name. “Wilbur?”
There was a pause. “Uh no… um, ma’am. It’s Marie Evans. You cleaned our house today… no uh, ma’am… No problem with the service… look, I’m uh really sorry about earlier. Uh, I missed a note from my mother in the kitchen about the payment. Would you like me to run it over to you this evening? Um, sure… uh, can I get the address?”
Marie looked up and cut her eyes to her parents. She motioned that she needed a pen. Adam pulled one from a jar on the counter and handed it to Marie who scribbled something down on the scrap of paper with the phone number.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll bring it over shortly. You have a good night, too,” Marie said and hung up quickly.
“See, that wasn’t so hard was it,” Adam asked rhetorically. He reached for his billfold and pulled a $10 bill from it. “Add that to the total as a tip and apology for the inconvenience you caused these people.”
Marie glanced down at her father’s extended hand and back to his eyes before taking the money. He then pulled another $20 out. “And take this. Fill my car on the way home,” he instructed.
Marie quickly snatched the twenty and nodded. Adam fished out the keys from his pocket. “Now go,” he added as Marie took the car keys. Without a word, she headed toward the garage, money and address in hand.
Cut back to Susan's car on its way to the Evans' Home...
“We can go take a look at her house, but if you really want to beat the snot out of her, we need to plan it out, and catch her away from her house sometime. I know the general area that her house’s in, but I don’t know specifically where it is. You’ll have to guide me to it.”
Erica’s face lit up. “I was just there today. I can show you exactly where it is,” Erica said enthusiastically. She didn’t know the names of the streets, but she remembered the path they’d taken earlier in the day and where they had turned to get to the Evans’ residence.
A few minutes later, Susan was driving slowly toward Marie’s house on the road Erica had directed her to. She was planning to stop by the curb just down the street a little from Marie’s house, but she noticed there was another car parked on the curb directly in front of the Evans residence. “Somebody’s parked in front of Marie’s house; I don’t know whose car that is,” she muttered. But just as she was saying that, a girl exited the house and headed to the car. It took Susan a moment to recognize Doreen before she climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door again. “Ugh; it’s the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number Two; must have come here to visit the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number One. Looks like she’s leaving, though.”
Erica wasn’t sure what Susan meant when she called the other girl “the Queen Bitch of the Universe #Two.” Erica didn’t know her and had no idea if she’d seen her before or not but didn’t want to admit that out loud. From Susan’s reaction, it sounded like she should know her. Unsure of what to say, Erica just gave an affirmative nod. She must be Marie’s best friend or a fellow cheerleader or something. That seemed to be the most logical explanation.
As if to confirm Susan’s assessment, the Dodge Challenger’s taillights came on, and the car drove off down the street, leaving the curb in front of Marie’s house unoccupied. Susan took her foot off the brake to allow her brown Granada to creep forward, stopping when they were in front of Marie’s next-door neighbor’s house, a location that gave her and Erica a good view of the Evans residence without putting them right in front of it.
Erica was about to tell Susan to follow the Challenger. She was surprised, however, that when the car moved, it only got closer to the Marie’s house. Susan seemed to have no interest in pursuing the other girl. Erica wasn’t sure what Susan was thinking and didn’t want to look stupid, so she didn’t say anything.
“Do you think she’s home? I don’t see that red Camaro of hers in the driveway…but that got stolen, didn’t it? How is she getting around now? I bet her parents are having to drive her, and I bet she hates that. I guess there’s no way to tell if she’s home, unless we happen to see her through one of the windows or something. You’re right, by the way; it is a very big house, especially for just three people. I knew that it would be, though.”
“Uhhh,” Erica stumbled at being asked to speculate about Marie’s whereabouts. She was so caught off guard being asked her opinion she didn't really hear most of the rest of what Susan had asked her. She did catch something about Marie’s car getting stolen.
“Yeah! Remember? Those crooked cops n’ truckers took it. The ones that grabbed them rich kids and tied ‘em up. I bet they’re friends of hers! That girl that we just seen leaving was probably with ‘em, too!”
Erica was too busy rambling in response to the first part of what Susan had said that she missed her remarks about agreeing on the size of the Evans’ massive home. It suddenly dawned on Erica that she might have slipped up with her comment about the other girl maybe being a kidnap victim herself. Susan probably already knew the answer in which case, she’d just given away the fact that she didn’t have a clue as to who she was.
*Tag Susan*
Just then, an immaculate blue 1964 Corvette passed them, slowed and turned into the driveway of the Evans’ home. Erica had been so busy running her mouth that she hadn’t noticed it or the garage door going up. Had they been spotted by whoever was in the car? Was Marie driving? She didn’t get a good enough look. The car pulled into the garage and the door lowered.
“Was that her,” Erica asked Susan, turning to the older girl excitedly before getting a nervous look on her face. “Maybe that's why Queen Bitch Number 2 left! She wasn't home! Think they seen us?”
*Tag Susan*
Erica fully expected Susan to drive off and was surprised when they didn’t. Several minutes later, the garage door raised again and the same C2 backed out of the driveway. It got about halfway down the driveway before stopping.
“Oh shit, she saw us,” Erica panicked aloud. They had no idea who was in the car. Erica only assumed that it was Marie. A moment later the driver side car door opened and the head cheerleader got out, confirming their suspicions.
*Tag Susan*
Erica looked visibly nervous. She was sure the older girl had spotted and recognized them and was going to come up to Susan’s car to confront them. However, Marie never looked in their direction. Instead, she hurried back through the open garage door into the house, leaving the blue sports car idling in the driveway.
“That must be her new car,” Erica gasped in awe. “Holy shit! That’s a StingRay! Papaw likes them! He says he had him one a long time ago. I seen pictures of it in their photo albums. Where you reckon she’s off to? Are we gonna follow her so we can jump her and take her car?"
Erica was eager to attack the rich girl. They were not prepared for such an assault but Erica presumed that Susan would want to get Marie the moment she was away from her house. After all, she had said that they needed to wait until she was somewhere else and it looked like she was about to leave. She had not followed the part about them 'planning it out'. The younger girl had no concept of being patient and waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. Susan had been the mastermind behind jumping the other rich girl. What she didn't realize is Susan had thought it through and fed the idea to Erica in little chunks over the course of several days before they actually attempted it. The attack on Sharon McLeod had felt spontaneous the night they went cruising for a victim. Erica just assumed that Susan would want to go after Marie now and would know exactly how to pull this off on the spur of the moment without them getting caught. That's how the previous assault had appeared to play out to Erica. Susan seemed awfully smart and always knew what they should do and exactly how to do it so it didn't occur to Erica that something like this might take a little while to think through.
*Tag Susan*
“We can go take a look at her house, but if you really want to beat the snot out of her, we need to plan it out, and catch her away from her house sometime. I know the general area that her house’s in, but I don’t know specifically where it is. You’ll have to guide me to it.”
Erica’s face lit up. “I was just there today. I can show you exactly where it is,” Erica said enthusiastically. She didn’t know the names of the streets, but she remembered the path they’d taken earlier in the day and where they had turned to get to the Evans’ residence.
A few minutes later, Susan was driving slowly toward Marie’s house on the road Erica had directed her to. She was planning to stop by the curb just down the street a little from Marie’s house, but she noticed there was another car parked on the curb directly in front of the Evans residence. “Somebody’s parked in front of Marie’s house; I don’t know whose car that is,” she muttered. But just as she was saying that, a girl exited the house and headed to the car. It took Susan a moment to recognize Doreen before she climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door again. “Ugh; it’s the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number Two; must have come here to visit the Queen Bitch of the Universe Number One. Looks like she’s leaving, though.”
Erica wasn’t sure what Susan meant when she called the other girl “the Queen Bitch of the Universe #Two.” Erica didn’t know her and had no idea if she’d seen her before or not but didn’t want to admit that out loud. From Susan’s reaction, it sounded like she should know her. Unsure of what to say, Erica just gave an affirmative nod. She must be Marie’s best friend or a fellow cheerleader or something. That seemed to be the most logical explanation.
As if to confirm Susan’s assessment, the Dodge Challenger’s taillights came on, and the car drove off down the street, leaving the curb in front of Marie’s house unoccupied. Susan took her foot off the brake to allow her brown Granada to creep forward, stopping when they were in front of Marie’s next-door neighbor’s house, a location that gave her and Erica a good view of the Evans residence without putting them right in front of it.
Erica was about to tell Susan to follow the Challenger. She was surprised, however, that when the car moved, it only got closer to the Marie’s house. Susan seemed to have no interest in pursuing the other girl. Erica wasn’t sure what Susan was thinking and didn’t want to look stupid, so she didn’t say anything.
“Do you think she’s home? I don’t see that red Camaro of hers in the driveway…but that got stolen, didn’t it? How is she getting around now? I bet her parents are having to drive her, and I bet she hates that. I guess there’s no way to tell if she’s home, unless we happen to see her through one of the windows or something. You’re right, by the way; it is a very big house, especially for just three people. I knew that it would be, though.”
“Uhhh,” Erica stumbled at being asked to speculate about Marie’s whereabouts. She was so caught off guard being asked her opinion she didn't really hear most of the rest of what Susan had asked her. She did catch something about Marie’s car getting stolen.
“Yeah! Remember? Those crooked cops n’ truckers took it. The ones that grabbed them rich kids and tied ‘em up. I bet they’re friends of hers! That girl that we just seen leaving was probably with ‘em, too!”
Erica was too busy rambling in response to the first part of what Susan had said that she missed her remarks about agreeing on the size of the Evans’ massive home. It suddenly dawned on Erica that she might have slipped up with her comment about the other girl maybe being a kidnap victim herself. Susan probably already knew the answer in which case, she’d just given away the fact that she didn’t have a clue as to who she was.
*Tag Susan*
Just then, an immaculate blue 1964 Corvette passed them, slowed and turned into the driveway of the Evans’ home. Erica had been so busy running her mouth that she hadn’t noticed it or the garage door going up. Had they been spotted by whoever was in the car? Was Marie driving? She didn’t get a good enough look. The car pulled into the garage and the door lowered.
“Was that her,” Erica asked Susan, turning to the older girl excitedly before getting a nervous look on her face. “Maybe that's why Queen Bitch Number 2 left! She wasn't home! Think they seen us?”
*Tag Susan*
Erica fully expected Susan to drive off and was surprised when they didn’t. Several minutes later, the garage door raised again and the same C2 backed out of the driveway. It got about halfway down the driveway before stopping.
“Oh shit, she saw us,” Erica panicked aloud. They had no idea who was in the car. Erica only assumed that it was Marie. A moment later the driver side car door opened and the head cheerleader got out, confirming their suspicions.
*Tag Susan*
Erica looked visibly nervous. She was sure the older girl had spotted and recognized them and was going to come up to Susan’s car to confront them. However, Marie never looked in their direction. Instead, she hurried back through the open garage door into the house, leaving the blue sports car idling in the driveway.
“That must be her new car,” Erica gasped in awe. “Holy shit! That’s a StingRay! Papaw likes them! He says he had him one a long time ago. I seen pictures of it in their photo albums. Where you reckon she’s off to? Are we gonna follow her so we can jump her and take her car?"
Erica was eager to attack the rich girl. They were not prepared for such an assault but Erica presumed that Susan would want to get Marie the moment she was away from her house. After all, she had said that they needed to wait until she was somewhere else and it looked like she was about to leave. She had not followed the part about them 'planning it out'. The younger girl had no concept of being patient and waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. Susan had been the mastermind behind jumping the other rich girl. What she didn't realize is Susan had thought it through and fed the idea to Erica in little chunks over the course of several days before they actually attempted it. The attack on Sharon McLeod had felt spontaneous the night they went cruising for a victim. Erica just assumed that Susan would want to go after Marie now and would know exactly how to pull this off on the spur of the moment without them getting caught. That's how the previous assault had appeared to play out to Erica. Susan seemed awfully smart and always knew what they should do and exactly how to do it so it didn't occur to Erica that something like this might take a little while to think through.
*Tag Susan*
When Susan mentioned Marie’s car getting stolen, Erica responded with, “Yeah! Remember? Those crooked cops n’ truckers took it. The ones that grabbed them rich kids and tied ‘em up. I bet they’re friends of hers! That girl that we just seen leaving was probably with ‘em, too!”
Erica was too busy rambling in response to the first part of what Susan had said that she missed her remarks about agreeing on the size of the Evans’ massive home. It suddenly dawned on Erica that she might have slipped up with her comment about the other girl maybe being a kidnap victim herself. Susan probably already knew the answer in which case, she’d just given away the fact that she didn’t have a clue as to who she was.
Susan frowned. It had been mentioned earlier that a couple of the kidnapping victims had been cheerleaders, but she didn’t know who. Could Doreen have been one of them? It didn’t seem likely; she thought she would have heard about it if that was the case. Still, it was possible, so she decided to keep her mouth shut about it, at least until she knew more. Clearly she was going to have to get a copy of the Chronicle or something to learn more about what had happened, but it would have to wait until was away from Erica. Maybe she could get one after she took Erica back to her trailer.
Just then, an immaculate blue 1964 Corvette passed them, slowed and turned into the driveway of the Evans’ home. Erica had been so busy running her mouth that she hadn’t noticed it or the garage door going up. Had they been spotted by whoever was in the car? Was Marie driving? She didn’t get a good enough look. The car pulled into the garage and the door lowered.
“Was that her,” Erica asked Susan, turning to the older girl excitedly before getting a nervous look on her face. “Maybe that's why Queen Bitch Number 2 left! She wasn't home! Think they seen us?”
“I couldn’t see who was in that car, which means they probably couldn’t see who was in this one. Plus, I think if they’d noticed us, they wouldn’t have closed the garage door. Let’s just wait a few minutes and see what happens. If somebody comes out of the house, just duck down so they can’t see you, and I’ll drive off.”
Erica fully expected Susan to drive off and was surprised when they didn’t. Several minutes later, the garage door raised again and the same C2 backed out of the driveway. It got about halfway down the driveway before stopping.
“Oh shit, she saw us,” Erica panicked aloud. They had no idea who was in the car. Erica only assumed that it was Marie. A moment later the driver side car door opened and the head cheerleader got out, confirming their suspicions.
When Susan saw the Corvette stop, she said, “Duck down!” and slouched down in her own seat, but not so far down that she couldn’t see over the dashboard. She needed to watch Marie, and she couldn’t do that if she got as low as she could.
Erica looked visibly nervous. She was sure the older girl had spotted and recognized them and was going to come up to Susan’s car to confront them. However, Marie never looked in their direction. Instead, she hurried back through the open garage door into the house, leaving the blue sports car idling in the driveway.
“What the hell is she doing?” Susan uttered, just loud enough for Erica to hear. She didn’t think Marie had seen them, although she kept an eye on the house to see if Mr. Evans was about to emerge and confront them. “She must be a complete idiot! You’d think somebody who’d just had their car stolen would have enough sense not to leave their new car idling unattended with the door wide open,” she said.
“That must be her new car,” Erica gasped in awe. “Holy shit! That’s a StingRay! Papaw likes them! He says he had him one a long time ago. I seen pictures of it in their photo albums. Where you reckon she’s off to? Are we gonna follow her so we can jump her and take her car?"
“I don’t know, maybe off to Doreen’s, or…” Erica’s last sentence suddenly registered on Susan. “Take her car? And do what with it? A car like that kinda stands out, and we don’t exactly have a good place to hide it. We can try following her and see where she goes, but jumping her will have to wait till some other time. We have to plan it out, and besides, I didn’t bring the duct tape and blanket. And we probably ought to wait until we have Lucy with us; three-against-one is better than two-against-one. Oh, there’s Marie again!”
Marie had just emerged from the house, and was climbing back into the Stingray. Susan put a finger to her lips, as if she was worried that Marie might hear what she and Erica were saying to each other. She stayed mostly slumped down in the driver’s seat until Marie had backed the Stingray out of the driveway and had started to drive down the street. Susan sat back up in her seat and put her own car in gear, and followed behind Marie at a distance, hoping the Teal Cove captain wouldn’t notice them behind her.
*Tags*
Erica was too busy rambling in response to the first part of what Susan had said that she missed her remarks about agreeing on the size of the Evans’ massive home. It suddenly dawned on Erica that she might have slipped up with her comment about the other girl maybe being a kidnap victim herself. Susan probably already knew the answer in which case, she’d just given away the fact that she didn’t have a clue as to who she was.
Susan frowned. It had been mentioned earlier that a couple of the kidnapping victims had been cheerleaders, but she didn’t know who. Could Doreen have been one of them? It didn’t seem likely; she thought she would have heard about it if that was the case. Still, it was possible, so she decided to keep her mouth shut about it, at least until she knew more. Clearly she was going to have to get a copy of the Chronicle or something to learn more about what had happened, but it would have to wait until was away from Erica. Maybe she could get one after she took Erica back to her trailer.
Just then, an immaculate blue 1964 Corvette passed them, slowed and turned into the driveway of the Evans’ home. Erica had been so busy running her mouth that she hadn’t noticed it or the garage door going up. Had they been spotted by whoever was in the car? Was Marie driving? She didn’t get a good enough look. The car pulled into the garage and the door lowered.
“Was that her,” Erica asked Susan, turning to the older girl excitedly before getting a nervous look on her face. “Maybe that's why Queen Bitch Number 2 left! She wasn't home! Think they seen us?”
“I couldn’t see who was in that car, which means they probably couldn’t see who was in this one. Plus, I think if they’d noticed us, they wouldn’t have closed the garage door. Let’s just wait a few minutes and see what happens. If somebody comes out of the house, just duck down so they can’t see you, and I’ll drive off.”
Erica fully expected Susan to drive off and was surprised when they didn’t. Several minutes later, the garage door raised again and the same C2 backed out of the driveway. It got about halfway down the driveway before stopping.
“Oh shit, she saw us,” Erica panicked aloud. They had no idea who was in the car. Erica only assumed that it was Marie. A moment later the driver side car door opened and the head cheerleader got out, confirming their suspicions.
When Susan saw the Corvette stop, she said, “Duck down!” and slouched down in her own seat, but not so far down that she couldn’t see over the dashboard. She needed to watch Marie, and she couldn’t do that if she got as low as she could.
Erica looked visibly nervous. She was sure the older girl had spotted and recognized them and was going to come up to Susan’s car to confront them. However, Marie never looked in their direction. Instead, she hurried back through the open garage door into the house, leaving the blue sports car idling in the driveway.
“What the hell is she doing?” Susan uttered, just loud enough for Erica to hear. She didn’t think Marie had seen them, although she kept an eye on the house to see if Mr. Evans was about to emerge and confront them. “She must be a complete idiot! You’d think somebody who’d just had their car stolen would have enough sense not to leave their new car idling unattended with the door wide open,” she said.
“That must be her new car,” Erica gasped in awe. “Holy shit! That’s a StingRay! Papaw likes them! He says he had him one a long time ago. I seen pictures of it in their photo albums. Where you reckon she’s off to? Are we gonna follow her so we can jump her and take her car?"
“I don’t know, maybe off to Doreen’s, or…” Erica’s last sentence suddenly registered on Susan. “Take her car? And do what with it? A car like that kinda stands out, and we don’t exactly have a good place to hide it. We can try following her and see where she goes, but jumping her will have to wait till some other time. We have to plan it out, and besides, I didn’t bring the duct tape and blanket. And we probably ought to wait until we have Lucy with us; three-against-one is better than two-against-one. Oh, there’s Marie again!”
Marie had just emerged from the house, and was climbing back into the Stingray. Susan put a finger to her lips, as if she was worried that Marie might hear what she and Erica were saying to each other. She stayed mostly slumped down in the driver’s seat until Marie had backed the Stingray out of the driveway and had started to drive down the street. Susan sat back up in her seat and put her own car in gear, and followed behind Marie at a distance, hoping the Teal Cove captain wouldn’t notice them behind her.
*Tags*
“That must be her new car,” Erica gasped in awe. “Holy shit! That’s a StingRay! Papaw likes them! He says he had him one a long time ago. I seen pictures of it in their photo albums. Where you reckon she’s off to? Are we gonna follow her so we can jump her and take her car?"
“I don’t know, maybe off to Doreen’s, or…” Erica’s last sentence suddenly registered on Susan. “Take her car? And do what with it? A car like that kinda stands out, and we don’t exactly have a good place to hide it. We can try following her and see where she goes, but jumping her will have to wait till some other time. We have to plan it out, and besides, I didn’t bring the duct tape and blanket. And we probably ought to wait until we have Lucy with us; three-against-one is better than two-against-one. Oh, there’s Marie again!”
Erica was taken aback by her friend's objection. She was a bit surprised that Susan wasn't immediately agreeable to her proposal. It just seemed like Susan was smart enough to have an answer for the problems she'd just pointed out. She knew exactly what to do the last time they'd done this.
As for Lucy, Erica didn't care much for the other girl. She always seemed to speak to her in a condescending tone and treated her like she was stupid. Erica had hoped to exclude her from any more such attempts, although there was safety in numbers, and having at least one additional person made sense in terms of being able to overpower a single victim or serve as the lookout. In the case of Sharon McLeod, the three girls had worked quickly to immobilize her. One person went for her legs, one for her arms, and the other threw the blanket over her head to make sure she didn't see anything and then covered her mouth to prevent her from yelling for help.
Marie had just emerged from the house, and was climbing back into the Stingray. Susan put a finger to her lips, as if she was worried that Marie might hear what she and Erica were saying to each other. She stayed mostly slumped down in the driver’s seat until Marie had backed the Stingray out of the driveway and had started to drive down the street. Susan sat back up in her seat and put her own car in gear, and followed behind Marie at a distance, hoping the Teal Cove captain wouldn’t notice them behind her.
Erica sat there in a trance staring at the older girl. She hadn't processed Susan's instructions to duck down. Fortunately, the pair didn't appear to be noticed. Susan had to quickly turn around to follow the Corvette. It didn't take long to catch up to it, however. Susan was able to hang back a safe distance.
"Where you reckon she's off to," Erica mused aloud. The car was headed south, but there were plenty of destinations before it actually got to their end of town. The rich kids' country club was in the total opposite direction, although the mall was out this way along with most of the restaurants in town. This was the area Trevor and Matt had been to for Tabby's scavenger hunt the weekend Sharon had been jumped by Erica, Susan, and Lucy.
*tag Susan*
"So, if we ain't got no tape and we need one more with us, what are we gonna do then? Just see where she goes," Erica asked. She intentionally didn't bring up Lucy's name, hoping they could find a suitable substitute if Susan insisted they needed another person. Erica was convinced, at least in her mind, that she could easily take someone like Marie down. Details like keeping her from making a lot of noise didn't really occur to her, despite the fact the two older girls had planned who was going to attack which part of Sharon's body and that Susan had very specifically used the towel immediately not only to blind their victim but cut off her air, helping to keep her from screaming until they could wrap tape around her head and over her mouth.
*tag Susan*
In Erica's mind, the rich girl could make all the racket she wanted and no one would help her because everyone probably hated her. There were, of course, many faults in her thinking. It also didn't dawn on her that there didn't need to be an objective to following Marie. Just seeing where the rich girl went in her expensive sportscar might give them an idea of her routine.
As Marie continued on down the main road and got deeper into town, it became obvious that she was headed for the south side. This was getting into their turf.
"Where the heck is she going," Erica mused the closer Marie got to her trailer park. "That girl's up to something, I reckon!"
*Tag Susan*
When Marie passed Beltline Road where Restaurant Row was located and where she would have turned to head toward the mall, Erica became even more suspicious.
"It's almost like she's headed into our area," Erica observed aloud. As they passed the streets with the older houses, it did appear that Marie was indeed headed to the far end of the town. After a few more blocks, she was getting out toward farmland.
*tag Susan*
To Erica's amazement, she realized they were almost back home to her trailer park. She was stunned to see the blue Stingray turn into the entrance.
"She's going to Mammaw's! What's that little bitch up to? I bet she's lookin' to pick a fight with me," Erica fumed. "Maybe I'm gonna get to beat the snot outta her after all!"
*Tag Susan*
“I don’t know, maybe off to Doreen’s, or…” Erica’s last sentence suddenly registered on Susan. “Take her car? And do what with it? A car like that kinda stands out, and we don’t exactly have a good place to hide it. We can try following her and see where she goes, but jumping her will have to wait till some other time. We have to plan it out, and besides, I didn’t bring the duct tape and blanket. And we probably ought to wait until we have Lucy with us; three-against-one is better than two-against-one. Oh, there’s Marie again!”
Erica was taken aback by her friend's objection. She was a bit surprised that Susan wasn't immediately agreeable to her proposal. It just seemed like Susan was smart enough to have an answer for the problems she'd just pointed out. She knew exactly what to do the last time they'd done this.
As for Lucy, Erica didn't care much for the other girl. She always seemed to speak to her in a condescending tone and treated her like she was stupid. Erica had hoped to exclude her from any more such attempts, although there was safety in numbers, and having at least one additional person made sense in terms of being able to overpower a single victim or serve as the lookout. In the case of Sharon McLeod, the three girls had worked quickly to immobilize her. One person went for her legs, one for her arms, and the other threw the blanket over her head to make sure she didn't see anything and then covered her mouth to prevent her from yelling for help.
Marie had just emerged from the house, and was climbing back into the Stingray. Susan put a finger to her lips, as if she was worried that Marie might hear what she and Erica were saying to each other. She stayed mostly slumped down in the driver’s seat until Marie had backed the Stingray out of the driveway and had started to drive down the street. Susan sat back up in her seat and put her own car in gear, and followed behind Marie at a distance, hoping the Teal Cove captain wouldn’t notice them behind her.
Erica sat there in a trance staring at the older girl. She hadn't processed Susan's instructions to duck down. Fortunately, the pair didn't appear to be noticed. Susan had to quickly turn around to follow the Corvette. It didn't take long to catch up to it, however. Susan was able to hang back a safe distance.
"Where you reckon she's off to," Erica mused aloud. The car was headed south, but there were plenty of destinations before it actually got to their end of town. The rich kids' country club was in the total opposite direction, although the mall was out this way along with most of the restaurants in town. This was the area Trevor and Matt had been to for Tabby's scavenger hunt the weekend Sharon had been jumped by Erica, Susan, and Lucy.
*tag Susan*
"So, if we ain't got no tape and we need one more with us, what are we gonna do then? Just see where she goes," Erica asked. She intentionally didn't bring up Lucy's name, hoping they could find a suitable substitute if Susan insisted they needed another person. Erica was convinced, at least in her mind, that she could easily take someone like Marie down. Details like keeping her from making a lot of noise didn't really occur to her, despite the fact the two older girls had planned who was going to attack which part of Sharon's body and that Susan had very specifically used the towel immediately not only to blind their victim but cut off her air, helping to keep her from screaming until they could wrap tape around her head and over her mouth.
*tag Susan*
In Erica's mind, the rich girl could make all the racket she wanted and no one would help her because everyone probably hated her. There were, of course, many faults in her thinking. It also didn't dawn on her that there didn't need to be an objective to following Marie. Just seeing where the rich girl went in her expensive sportscar might give them an idea of her routine.
As Marie continued on down the main road and got deeper into town, it became obvious that she was headed for the south side. This was getting into their turf.
"Where the heck is she going," Erica mused the closer Marie got to her trailer park. "That girl's up to something, I reckon!"
*Tag Susan*
When Marie passed Beltline Road where Restaurant Row was located and where she would have turned to head toward the mall, Erica became even more suspicious.
"It's almost like she's headed into our area," Erica observed aloud. As they passed the streets with the older houses, it did appear that Marie was indeed headed to the far end of the town. After a few more blocks, she was getting out toward farmland.
*tag Susan*
To Erica's amazement, she realized they were almost back home to her trailer park. She was stunned to see the blue Stingray turn into the entrance.
"She's going to Mammaw's! What's that little bitch up to? I bet she's lookin' to pick a fight with me," Erica fumed. "Maybe I'm gonna get to beat the snot outta her after all!"
*Tag Susan*
"Where you reckon she's off to," Erica mused aloud.
“Well, that’s what we’re going to find out. Maybe the mall or a restaurant or something; she might be meeting some of the other cheerleaders there, Susan mused. “Or maybe she’s up to no good. I hope that’s what it is, ‘cause then we’d have something to use against her.”
"So, if we ain't got no tape and we need one more with us, what are we gonna do then? Just see where she goes," Erica asked.
“Yeah, for now. If we can figure out where she goes and when, it’ll make our planning easier. We can figure out when and where she’s most vulnerable,” said Susan. “And then we can get the tape and other stuff, and strike at the best time and place.” Susan understood Erica’s eagerness to attack Marie tonight, especially considering what had happened by Marie and Erica earlier. But this wasn’t the right time or the right place, so she was going to have to try to talk Erica into having some patience.
As Marie continued on down the main road and got deeper into town, it became obvious that she was headed for the south side. This was getting into their turf.
"Where the heck is she going," Erica mused the closer Marie got to her trailer park. "That girl's up to something, I reckon!"
“Yeah, you might be right,” Susan commented. She was surprised Marie was heading out this way. She began trying to think of what kinds of mischief Marie might be up to. Depending on what it was, she and Erica might be able to observe it and use the information to blackmail the enemy cheerleader. Or, they might be able to physically intervene, getting the revenge Erica was wanting so badly while making themselves into heroes at the same time. But first, they needed to know for sure that Marie was up to no good.
When Marie passed Beltline Road where Restaurant Row was located and where she would have turned to head toward the mall, Erica became even more suspicious.
"It's almost like she's headed into our area," Erica observed aloud. As they passed the streets with the older houses, it did appear that Marie was indeed headed to the far end of the town. After a few more blocks, she was getting out toward farmland.
“Yeah, this is a little weird. I didn’t think she was going to come out here. I wonder if she saw us, and is trying to lead us on a wild goose chase.”
To Erica's amazement, she realized they were almost back home to her trailer park. She was stunned to see the blue Stingray turn into the entrance.
"She's going to Mammaw's! What's that little bitch up to? I bet she's lookin' to pick a fight with me," Erica fumed. "Maybe I'm gonna get to beat the snot outta her after all!"
“Huh…maybe. You think she knows about you spitting on the wash cloths?” As bad as Marie was, intentionally getting involved in a physical fight didn’t seem like her style. She was more the kind of person who would plot against you and find ways to make your life miserable. But…here she was, and she must be here for some reason. “Okay, I think we should stop down the road from your trailer and watch what she does. I figure she’s either going to go up and ring the doorbell, or hide somewhere and wait for a chance pull an ambush, or try to vandalize something. Once we see what she’s doing, we can roll up behind her car and park, hopefully cutting off her escape route. Then we get out of the car and let her see us. If she knows we’re there ready to stop her and that she’s outnumbered, I figure she’ll back down and want to get away. That would be humiliating for her, and for Marie that would be way worse than any physical beating we could inflict. But if there’s going to be a fight, make sure you let her make the first move. If your Mammaw looks out the window and seeing you throwing the first punch, you’d be getting yourself in trouble.” And maybe me too, by association, Susan thought; she didn’t want to end up in trouble because of Erica’s impulsiveness. “But if Marie attacks first, then it’s self-defense and completely justified. Right? Remember, if there's going to be a fight, Marie has to start it, but we end it.”
*tags*
“Well, that’s what we’re going to find out. Maybe the mall or a restaurant or something; she might be meeting some of the other cheerleaders there, Susan mused. “Or maybe she’s up to no good. I hope that’s what it is, ‘cause then we’d have something to use against her.”
"So, if we ain't got no tape and we need one more with us, what are we gonna do then? Just see where she goes," Erica asked.
“Yeah, for now. If we can figure out where she goes and when, it’ll make our planning easier. We can figure out when and where she’s most vulnerable,” said Susan. “And then we can get the tape and other stuff, and strike at the best time and place.” Susan understood Erica’s eagerness to attack Marie tonight, especially considering what had happened by Marie and Erica earlier. But this wasn’t the right time or the right place, so she was going to have to try to talk Erica into having some patience.
As Marie continued on down the main road and got deeper into town, it became obvious that she was headed for the south side. This was getting into their turf.
"Where the heck is she going," Erica mused the closer Marie got to her trailer park. "That girl's up to something, I reckon!"
“Yeah, you might be right,” Susan commented. She was surprised Marie was heading out this way. She began trying to think of what kinds of mischief Marie might be up to. Depending on what it was, she and Erica might be able to observe it and use the information to blackmail the enemy cheerleader. Or, they might be able to physically intervene, getting the revenge Erica was wanting so badly while making themselves into heroes at the same time. But first, they needed to know for sure that Marie was up to no good.
When Marie passed Beltline Road where Restaurant Row was located and where she would have turned to head toward the mall, Erica became even more suspicious.
"It's almost like she's headed into our area," Erica observed aloud. As they passed the streets with the older houses, it did appear that Marie was indeed headed to the far end of the town. After a few more blocks, she was getting out toward farmland.
“Yeah, this is a little weird. I didn’t think she was going to come out here. I wonder if she saw us, and is trying to lead us on a wild goose chase.”
To Erica's amazement, she realized they were almost back home to her trailer park. She was stunned to see the blue Stingray turn into the entrance.
"She's going to Mammaw's! What's that little bitch up to? I bet she's lookin' to pick a fight with me," Erica fumed. "Maybe I'm gonna get to beat the snot outta her after all!"
“Huh…maybe. You think she knows about you spitting on the wash cloths?” As bad as Marie was, intentionally getting involved in a physical fight didn’t seem like her style. She was more the kind of person who would plot against you and find ways to make your life miserable. But…here she was, and she must be here for some reason. “Okay, I think we should stop down the road from your trailer and watch what she does. I figure she’s either going to go up and ring the doorbell, or hide somewhere and wait for a chance pull an ambush, or try to vandalize something. Once we see what she’s doing, we can roll up behind her car and park, hopefully cutting off her escape route. Then we get out of the car and let her see us. If she knows we’re there ready to stop her and that she’s outnumbered, I figure she’ll back down and want to get away. That would be humiliating for her, and for Marie that would be way worse than any physical beating we could inflict. But if there’s going to be a fight, make sure you let her make the first move. If your Mammaw looks out the window and seeing you throwing the first punch, you’d be getting yourself in trouble.” And maybe me too, by association, Susan thought; she didn’t want to end up in trouble because of Erica’s impulsiveness. “But if Marie attacks first, then it’s self-defense and completely justified. Right? Remember, if there's going to be a fight, Marie has to start it, but we end it.”
*tags*
Marie was still reeling when she got into her father’s car and raised the door. It was seldom that she received any kind of discipline and even rarer for her to get chewed out by her father on that level. Marie was smart enough not to argue or talk back. She had almost been in a trance as she backed the blue Corvette out of the garage. It was only then she realized she had the maid’s address and the money in her right hand as she glanced down at the steering wheel.
Marie reached for her purse to stick the cash in her wallet. Only then did she realize in her haste that her purse had been left in the house. She’d only taken the money, car keys and address with her. Placing the car in park, she hurried back through the open door to retrieve her purse, only briefly pausing to explain she’d left it and her driver license behind. Her father only nodded in acknowledgement.
Not wanting to be berated any further, Marie hurried back outside and got back in the car which she’d left running. The thought that someone could have easily taken the vehicle in that short of time did not cross her mind. Things didn’t happen like that in this neighborhood. Marie was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she never noticed the car in the street or its occupants watching her.
She quickly shoved the bills into her purse and tossed it into the passenger seat but kept the Wilbur’s address handy so she knew what she was looking for. The truth was, she stayed away from the southside of town where the poor kids were. She wasn’t really sure where their house was and had not thought to ask for directions. Worst case, she stopped at a payphone to call the woman if she didn’t find it or she could go inside a gas station and ask the attendant if they were familiar with the area. Her father had told her to get gas while she was out anyway. That could always be done on the way there instead of the trip home.
Marie drove right past Susan and Erica without ever noticing them or their car turning around to follow her as she turned out of the Oakhill Estates subdivision and on to the main road. As Marie got further from her own area and the north side of town, the businesses and homes got noticeably smaller and older. The difference became much more obvious as she approached Beltline Rd.
If she were to turn right, she’d end up in the old downtown area which included the city hall and many of the town’s oldest businesses and the lake area where her car had been stolen a few weekends earlier where the festival was held. Heading left led to most of the restaurants in the town and a lot of smaller businesses including Trevor’s father’s automotive shop. Eventually, as Beltline left Teal Cove it got closer to the mall where many of the teens hung out. Unknown to Marie, that is where Shelley Higgins had parked her car for the evening meeting up with Starla and their dorky guy friends the night of their abduction when they ended up breaking down on the back roads heading out toward the country club.
Marie continued on through the light. The area definitely had an older feel to it now. While it was still well kept, in Marie’s mind the south side of town was dirty and run down. As if to emphasize that point, she saw multiple police cars down a side street she passed just a block from Beltline Rd. At a glance it was impossible to tell what was going on, but it must be major.* “Figures,” Marie muttered aloud. She assumed it must be a drug bust or something. Poor people were known to do and sell drugs. It only seemed logical that the south side of Teal Cove was crime ridden.
Marie picked up the scrap of paper again and checked the address. It was entirely possible that the street she was looking for was not immediately off of the one she was on. Perhaps it was buried in one of these subdivisions. After all, her own street and most of her friends were not on the first street that turned into the neighborhood.
Marie decided that she'd look for something obvious and if she started to get out of town, that she'd stop and ask for directions at a gas station or something. Her father had told her to get gas while she was out anyway. Just as she was about to the point where Teal Cove ended, Marie spotted a trailer park up ahead.
"These people don't even have a house," Marie gasped aloud. "They're god damned hillbillies! They live in a trailer park! Ewww!"
Slowly, Marie turned into the 'neighborhood'. She checked to make sure the car doors were locked. When the trailer trash townie people saw this car, she'd probably get robbed for sure. Marie slowed down so she could figure out which trailer the riff-raff maids lived in. Her hope was to pull up quickly, run up to the door, hand the old woman the check and get out of there as fast as she could. The sun was starting to set and Marie didn't want to get caught in Poor Peopleville after dark.
*The disturbance Marie witnessed was the apprehension of Mouse who broke into a home and took a family hostage. Felicia and Shelley are likely there interviewing the cops on scene and the family.
Marie reached for her purse to stick the cash in her wallet. Only then did she realize in her haste that her purse had been left in the house. She’d only taken the money, car keys and address with her. Placing the car in park, she hurried back through the open door to retrieve her purse, only briefly pausing to explain she’d left it and her driver license behind. Her father only nodded in acknowledgement.
Not wanting to be berated any further, Marie hurried back outside and got back in the car which she’d left running. The thought that someone could have easily taken the vehicle in that short of time did not cross her mind. Things didn’t happen like that in this neighborhood. Marie was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she never noticed the car in the street or its occupants watching her.
She quickly shoved the bills into her purse and tossed it into the passenger seat but kept the Wilbur’s address handy so she knew what she was looking for. The truth was, she stayed away from the southside of town where the poor kids were. She wasn’t really sure where their house was and had not thought to ask for directions. Worst case, she stopped at a payphone to call the woman if she didn’t find it or she could go inside a gas station and ask the attendant if they were familiar with the area. Her father had told her to get gas while she was out anyway. That could always be done on the way there instead of the trip home.
Marie drove right past Susan and Erica without ever noticing them or their car turning around to follow her as she turned out of the Oakhill Estates subdivision and on to the main road. As Marie got further from her own area and the north side of town, the businesses and homes got noticeably smaller and older. The difference became much more obvious as she approached Beltline Rd.
If she were to turn right, she’d end up in the old downtown area which included the city hall and many of the town’s oldest businesses and the lake area where her car had been stolen a few weekends earlier where the festival was held. Heading left led to most of the restaurants in the town and a lot of smaller businesses including Trevor’s father’s automotive shop. Eventually, as Beltline left Teal Cove it got closer to the mall where many of the teens hung out. Unknown to Marie, that is where Shelley Higgins had parked her car for the evening meeting up with Starla and their dorky guy friends the night of their abduction when they ended up breaking down on the back roads heading out toward the country club.
Marie continued on through the light. The area definitely had an older feel to it now. While it was still well kept, in Marie’s mind the south side of town was dirty and run down. As if to emphasize that point, she saw multiple police cars down a side street she passed just a block from Beltline Rd. At a glance it was impossible to tell what was going on, but it must be major.* “Figures,” Marie muttered aloud. She assumed it must be a drug bust or something. Poor people were known to do and sell drugs. It only seemed logical that the south side of Teal Cove was crime ridden.
Marie picked up the scrap of paper again and checked the address. It was entirely possible that the street she was looking for was not immediately off of the one she was on. Perhaps it was buried in one of these subdivisions. After all, her own street and most of her friends were not on the first street that turned into the neighborhood.
Marie decided that she'd look for something obvious and if she started to get out of town, that she'd stop and ask for directions at a gas station or something. Her father had told her to get gas while she was out anyway. Just as she was about to the point where Teal Cove ended, Marie spotted a trailer park up ahead.
"These people don't even have a house," Marie gasped aloud. "They're god damned hillbillies! They live in a trailer park! Ewww!"
Slowly, Marie turned into the 'neighborhood'. She checked to make sure the car doors were locked. When the trailer trash townie people saw this car, she'd probably get robbed for sure. Marie slowed down so she could figure out which trailer the riff-raff maids lived in. Her hope was to pull up quickly, run up to the door, hand the old woman the check and get out of there as fast as she could. The sun was starting to set and Marie didn't want to get caught in Poor Peopleville after dark.
*The disturbance Marie witnessed was the apprehension of Mouse who broke into a home and took a family hostage. Felicia and Shelley are likely there interviewing the cops on scene and the family.
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