Runaways (32 page)

“How could he get here so fast?” Raven wondered. She looked at Crystal.

“He flew from someplace closer,” she said and then added, “the credit card.”

Raven snapped her head around at me.

“That's right. He's been tracking us because of it.”

“It was a good idea in the beginning, Raven,” I said defensively. “We all thought so. And what difference does it make now whether he's here in an hour or four? He's coming. There's nothing we can do about that.”

“Brooke's right, Raven. Please,” Crystal pleaded, “let's stop this bickering.”

“I don't want to go back with him,” Butterfly said, looking from Raven to me. “I don't, Crystal. I don't.” She started to shake her head so vigorously, I thought she would snap her neck.

“Oh no,” Raven said. “If she goes into one of those catatonic states now . . .”

“Let's join,” Crystal cried quickly. She was like someone throwing a pail of water on a smoldering fire.

We all rose and circled Butterfly. Her eyes were already beginning to roll back. We put our arms around each other and lowered our heads to hers.

“We're sisters,” Crystal said. “We'll be all right. We'll always be all right as long as we are together. We're strong.”

“We're sisters,” Raven and I chanted along. “We'll be all right.”

Butterfly clutched our hands and the four of us held on to each other as if we thought the floor was soon going to fall out from under us as we continued our chant.

“What are you girls doing now?” Mr. Glashalter asked. We hadn't heard him enter. We stopped and parted. “What is this, some form of witchcraft?”

We all returned to our seats. Butterfly looked much better. Color had returned to her face and she wasn't breathing as hard.

“It's nothing,” Crystal said. “We're just comforting each other. That's our way.”

He stared at us for a moment and then took a seat across from Raven.

“Okay, I've worked out all the details. The authorities are in agreement. You will be signed over to your foster father, who will once again
assume responsibility for you. The matter of driving without a license, bringing a stolen vehicle into the state will all be put aside here, but the details will be given to your agency back in New York. You're all very lucky to get off this easily,” he added.

“Yeah, I feel like we won the lottery,” Raven muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You better start appreciating favors when people do them for you, young lady,” he snapped. “Nothing's coming to you in this world just because you're here,” he added, his mouth twisting as if his face were made of putty.

Raven's shoulders hoisted as she leaned toward him.

“Raven!” Crystal warned. She could see Raven was about to explode and who knew what would come out of her mouth this time. Instead, she looked at Crystal, retreated, wrapped her arms around herself tightly and bit down on her lower lip.

Mr. Glashalter completed the paper work he was doing and then went out to wait for Gordon. A short while later, Lieutenant Mathews came for us.

“Your foster father has arrived,” she announced. “Let's go, girls.”

Crystal took Butterfly's hand quickly and we all rose and followed Lieutenant Mathews out. Gordon was leaning against the dispatcher's desk, a wide grin on his face. He wore a light brown leather jacket and dungarees. His hair was down over his forehead and he looked tired, unshaven, with shadows under his eyes. I imagined him driving night and day in hot pursuit.

“There they are, my girls,” he cried. “Louise is so worried about you. I should be very mad, girls. I
should be mad,” he said. Then he turned to the dispatcher and shook his head. “I would be, but I keep thinking of all the pranks I pulled when I was their age.”

The dispatcher laughed with him. He glanced at Lieutenant Mathews, who was eying him suspiciously, a look of disgust on her face.

“That's what makes me a good foster father,” he told her. “I understand teenagers. I was one myself.” He laughed again before turning back to the dispatcher. “Is there anything else for me to do?”

“No, you've signed everything. They're all yours, Mr. Tooey.”

“Yes,” he said nodding at us, “they're all mine. Lucky me. Come on, girls. We've got a long ride home and lots of explaining to do on the way.”

He stepped forward and we started toward the front door. Butterfly had her head down and clutched Crystal's hand so tightly, I could see her fingers turn white.

I glanced back at Lieutenant Mathews. For a moment I thought she was going to say something or ask something and stop us from going with Gordon, but she hesitated and he stepped between us.

“Go on, Brooke,” he said, his eyes fixed coldly on me. “You know the way.”

I caught up with the others and we left the sheriff's office. Gordon's station wagon was parked right in front.

“You three in the back,” he said to Raven, Crystal and Butterfly. “You ride up front with me,” he ordered.

We all got in and Gordon quickly started the engine and pulled away. He said nothing until we were well on the road.

“Well now,” he began, “I guess you all had quite a time of it, quite a time.” He glanced at me. “I know you had to be the driver, right, Brooke?”

Instead of answering, I turned and looked out the window.

“You could have all ended up in jail, you know. I did you all a big favor and I expect a big favor in return,” he said. He poked me in the shoulder with his long, right forefinger and I jumped. He looked back at the others. “You made up a phony map too, and sent me on a wild goose chase. Very smart, girls. I can see I have some real geniuses on my hands.”

He drove in silence for a while before lighting a cigarette and leaning back.

“Okay, girls, we're pretty far away from that sheriff's office now. I had to go to the pound to claim my car. I signed it out and drove away. Then I stopped to look for something I had left in the car and guess what?” He turned to me and smiled. “Go on, guess, Brooke.”

“You're not scaring me, Gordon,” I said, filling my face with as much defiance as I could muster.

“I'm not scaring you? Oh. Okay,” he said and then he slammed his hand down on the dashboard so hard, I thought he had cracked it. After that he hammered it with his fist, not once, but three quick times. The whole car shook. Something in the glove compartment rattled. I half expected the windows to shatter. It was an impressive display of physical violence. Everyone screamed, including me, only mine was inside. My heart was thumping and my throat felt like I had swallowed a lump of coal. Butterfly was crying and Raven, brave, defiant Raven had her head down. Only Crystal looked like
she had regained her composure the moment Gordon stopped.

Gordon sat back again, calmly, looking so relaxed, it made me feel what had just happened was in my imagination. He was a madman, I thought, which made him even more dangerous.

“You want me to scare you?” Gordon asked me. “Is that what you want, Brooke?”

“No, Gordon,” I said.

“Good. Because if I have to scare you, I'll get even angrier than I am now and I just don't know how I can be any angrier and not tear you all into little pieces,” he said in a voice so controlled, his teeth were locked together as he spoke.

“What do you want from us?” Crystal asked in her composed demeanor.

“What do I want? I want what's mine, Crystal. I want what you found under that seat. Where is it?” he asked.

“We didn't find anything under the seat,” Raven cried.

He pointed at her in the rearview mirror.

“Don't treat me like a fool, Raven, or I'll start on you first. Or,” he said with a cold smile, “do you want me to stop the car and pull the little one out and ask her? I know she'll tell me everything, won't you, little one?”

Butterfly's face turned a shade redder than rose. Crystal put her arm around her quickly.

“We discovered it by accident,” Crystal declared. “We were looking for loose change and we didn't even know what it was at first.”

“Loose change?” He smiled and shook his head. “Okay. I'll buy that. Then what?”

“Once we realized what it was, we got scared and we stopped along the way and buried it,” she said.

“You buried it?”

“We didn't want any children finding it and we didn't want to be stopped with it on us,” she continued.

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then he slowed down and turned off the road onto the shoulder and stopped. After he took a puff on his cigarette, he spun around. “Where did you bury it?” he asked. “Or are you going to tell me you forgot?”

“No, I remember where,” Crystal said firmly. She barely blinked.

I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. How could she say that? What would happen if we took Gordon to the actual place and he saw we had dumped the bag?

“Okay, okay. You'll show me then,” he said.

“I won't be able to find it in the dark,” she said. Night had begun to fall rapidly now. The cloud cover kept any moonlight from illuminating the highway.

Gordon stared at her, but Crystal still didn't wince. Good old Crystal, I thought, when it came to Gordon doing mind games with her, he was definitely outmatched. He sat back a moment and thought.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay. We pull into the first motel for the night. Tomorrow, we find what's mine and then, I'll tell you what, girls. I'll let you run away again, only this time I won't report you. How's that? Raven? That make you happy?”

“Yes,” Raven said, her eyes glowing with pain and rage. “It does.”

“Fair enough. I get what I want and you get what you want,” he said.

“What about Louise?” I asked. “I thought her heart was broken when we left.”

He glared at me.

“She'll get over it. She always gets over it,” he said.

He put the car in drive again and started away.

“I know you girls aren't fond of me. That's okay. I never asked to be a loving foster parent. That was all Louise's idea. It was never easy running that place when it was a rooming house. Her parents treated me like the hired help, never a son-in-law. When I got out of the navy, I had skills. I was worth something. It wasn't my fault the place fell apart. Customers stopped coming around and there wasn't any money. Then Louise came up with the foster home idea. Sure, I went along with it, but having you creatures around all the time hasn't been a ball, exactly. I don't apologize for taking advantage of an opportunity. That's always been my motto, girls, take advantage of an opportunity.”

He laughed and glanced back at Raven and then at me.

“You girls have guts. I'll say that for you. I think we understand each other now. We're going to get along just fine. There,” he said seeing a neon sign flashing an advertisement for a motel. “We'll rest up and tomorrow, we'll part friends. Okay?”

None of us said a word. He took the exit and headed for the motel. I gazed back at Crystal.

Now what? I wanted to ask, but that would have to wait until later.

Gordon acquired two rooms for us, but when we pulled up to the doors, he turned to us and said, “I know what you girls are like, so here's the deal: one of you stays the night with me.”

“What?” Raven asked, a cold look of terror on her face. “Stay in a room with you?”

“Don't get me wrong. I just want one of you where I can see you. I know the rest of you won't run off on me that way. You girls stick together, right? All right,” he continued looking at the three of them and then at me, “who's it gonna be?”

Crystal looked absolutely terrified, even more so than Butterfly. I was afraid for us all, afraid of what he might make us do.

“I should probably take the little one in with me,” he said. I could almost hear Butterfly's terrified scream.

“I'll stay with you,” I said quickly.

He smiled.

“Fine. Let's get a good night's rest, eh girls? We have a lot to do tomorrow, a lot to do.” He got out and we followed.

He opened one room for Raven, Crystal and Butterfly and the other for himself and me.

“Can I stay with them for a while?” I asked him.

“No,” he said. “I don't feel like having to worry about it. Just get in there and get to bed. The rest of you do the same and no monkey business, hear? Move!” he ordered and everyone jumped.

Raven took my hand.

“I could change places with you, Brooke. I can handle him better,” she said, glaring at him.

“It's all right,” I said. “I'll be fine, Raven. Thanks. Take care of Butterfly,” I told her and then I went into the room.

Gordon took something out of the back of the wagon and followed right after me.

“Go on, use the washroom first,” he commanded when he entered.

I went to the bathroom and when I came out, he
had the television going and was lying on his bed. He was also sipping whiskey from a pint bottle.

“Didn't you bring your nightie along?” he asked when I pulled the blanket back on my bed.

“I don't sleep in a nightie,” I said.

He smiled, his eyes fixed on me in a way that made me very nervous. I tried not to show it. With Gordon, it was always best to appear brave and undaunted. He was the sort who pounced on weakness and took advantage of kindness and innocence.

“Who's idea was this running off, huh? That Crystal come up with the plan?” he asked finally.

“No,” I said. “It was my idea.”

“No kidding? Where the hell did you think you would all go anyway? Who's waiting for you with open arms, huh? Who?” he demanded.

I turned sharply to face him.

“No one's waiting for us, Gordon. We just wanted to get away from you and Louise and that whole scene back there. You complain how it hasn't been a picnic for you. Well, it hasn't been one for us either. We know you and Louise are not going to make it easy for anyone to adopt us. That's a dead-end for us, so we decided it was better to leave.”