CHAPTER 43


   Scott Crossfield shoveled out the scrambled eggs from the frying pan and directly onto the plates. Then he went to the sink and cooled the pan off with running water as he scrubbed at it. He also called out to the back of the house, "Betsy!"
The frizzy headed little blonde girl came walking into the kitchenette rubbing her eyes but she had changed out of her work uniform. She sounded as if she was complaining when she told Scott, "I didn't go to sleep, okay?" As she cleared her eyes she looked around and seemed surprised when she complained further, "no coffee? I really need some coffee today."
Scott limped over to the small table and told Betsy, "I'm sorry, you normally don't drink it when you get home from work. Now go get our guest please."
Before Betsy could do anything, Sarah came walking up to the table. Despite being this early in the morning she was fully dressed and seemed wide-awake. Scott had to wonder if the young girl had gotten any sleep, at all. No matter how attentive she seemed, being attentive was not being chipper. The young girl was still moping like she had since Didi had dropped her off. Sarah was quite distant and sullen but, given the story that Scott had been told, he could understand. He also understood that it had not affected Sarah's appetite in anyway. The one thing she definitely had enthusiasm for was eating and breakfast was no exception.
Scott could not help but like the little girl. In some ways she did remind him of Betsy. She also did little things that endeared her to Scott, like what she did right now. She took time from her eating and said, "I really don't know how to thank you guys for this. I didn't know what I was going to do."
"It's perfectly fine young lady,” replied the elderly looking Scott. He nodded to the girl and continued, "it's the right thing to do. We'll help you get on your feet. If Betsy were out there in the world, I would hope somebody would come and help her."
That drew a nasty expression from Betsy who then proclaimed to Scott, "well thanks a lot. You know, I can take care of myself."
Scott practically ignored the rebuke but, as a side matter, he did tell Betsy, "never refuse help when it's for real. Even if you think you don't need it."
In between bites of an egg, Betsy replied as she rolled her eyes, "thanks for that pearl of wisdom, Buddha. I'll make sure I say it seven times before I go to sleep, every night."
Scott had gone into fully ignoring the little girl at this point and got back to the other one when he asked, "I don't mean to pry Sarah. I was just wondering if...”
Sarah knew the question that was coming and she held up her hand for Scott to stop. She then took a moment to collect herself and said, "I'm not quite ready for that yet. I know I need to talk to mom but, I still can't."
"I'm not trying to push you dear," said Scott as he got back to his breakfast. After a few bites he didn't think he needed to explain himself further, "I'm only interested in your well-being. Whatever you decide, me and Betsy will be there for you." Scott held his tongue and remained diplomatic. He really wanted to tell Sarah that she did need to call her mother. Scott knew that if he were in Dana Thompson's shoes then he would be worried sick. Still, Scott knew that saying as much would be a bad idea just right now. He learned, ages ago, about the dangers of getting in between two women in a cat fight. That was most certainly what this was.
Fortunately, Betsy changed the subject without really knowing that she had, "I'm taking Sarah shopping this morning. She doesn't have nearly enough clothes with her and I think my stuff would be too small."
This caused a nervous reaction from Sarah who began to squirm as she pointed out, "I told you last night Betsy, I don't have any money right now. I guess... I really... I guess I need to find a job before I do anything else."
"Not dressed like that you won't," Betsy said in a way that made it seem almost as if she enjoyed it.
Scott waived off Betsy and told Sarah, "don't you worry about that just right now." He saw Sarah about to protest but, he put his hand up and told her, "if you want, just consider it a loan. You can pay us back when you can afford it but, for the time being though, I think that Betsy is at least partly right. You do need a few more things to wear, particularly if you want to look for a job."
Betsy's eyes got wide and she looked up from her plate, "you said I was right?"
"Which doesn't mean you're not looking for an excuse to go shopping and spend your brother's money,” Scott said as he looked her right in the eyes.
Betsy held her ground and protested, "hey Scott, I do have a job you know. I do have my own money now."
It was quite obvious that Scott was ready for that because he did not hesitate when he replied, "and when you use some of that money to help us pay bills around this place, I'll stop saying the rest."
Betsy slapped her forehead an decided she was no longer hungry. She stood up from the table and told Sarah as she walked back towards her room, "have to get my purse and keys, Sarah are you ready?"
Sarah could not think of anything else she could do to get ready. It was a depressing thought because it reminded her of exactly how little she had right now. She really had no idea where to go from here or what was going to happen. It scared her. Maybe that was why she paid it so little thought? Ever since she walked out of that motel room, back up in Washington, what Sarah mostly felt was rage. She was still angry at her mother. She still had the same pretend conversation with her mother every five minutes. It was what she wanted to tell her mom but, never had the guts. At this point, Sarah doubted that she ever would.
It seemed as if Scott were reading her very thoughts, "don't worry little lady. It will come to you in time. Something my daddy once told me and I will never forget. This too shall pass. I think I tell myself that every time life seems to be pushing me around."
Betsy obviously knocked something over in her room. When she stopped cussing, Scott looked back to Sarah and told her, "you'll have to give her a little slack. Her brother is over there with all them elves, right now, and Betsy is worried sick.”
Of course Sarah already knew this but, being reminded of it only made her more sullen, "I know. Feyland took my sister too.”
Scott became diplomatic again and he chose his words carefully as he replied, "yes, Didi mentioned something about that to me. She said something about your sister being on the news? I'm afraid I don't remember much about that. What I do know, from what I was told, is that your sister might still be alive."
Uncharacteristically, at least since she had been here in North Carolina, Sarah said resolutely, "she is alive. I know she is. I just don't know why she didn't come home. My mom doesn't believe it. That's half the problem we're having right now."
The conversation was cut short as Betsy came walking back, flipping a key ring on her finger, that she used to point at Sarah and say, "sure you got everything.? We need to get going."
Sarah thanked Scott for the breakfast, one more time, as she stood up. She was sure she was forgetting something but, the way things were right now, it didn't really seem to matter anyway. What seemed more relevant was what she asked Betsy, "where are we going to shop at this time of the morning? The sun is barely up."
Betsy could see the evil eye she was getting from Scott and she knew what he was thinking. Unfortunately, he was probably right, so, Betsy said, "you know I have to work again tonight. I have to sleep sometime, huh? I need to get this over with.”
That left Sarah feeling a tad nervous again as she told the other girl, "you know I can just order some stuff from online if...”
That caused Betsy to snap very quickly at Sarah, "oh hell no girl. That would take days to get here and you need something now." Betsy's eyes became very stern as she locked them with those of Sarah. "Right?"
None of this was lost on Scott as he said, "Betsy, I'm serious here. You know what your brother would say if he were here and...”
Betsy grabbed Sarah by the arm and pulled her towards the front door as she told Scott, "Big Box. Okay? Were going to fucking Big Box. They're always open." The door slammed two seconds after that and Scott could hear the car driving away not long after that.
What could Scott do? He just dropped his head and shook it as he mumbled to himself, "it's Mike's problem. Let him handle it and just go watch your TV."
Unfortunately, peace did not return to the house. Scott was hobbling towards the back sliding glass doors, and his personal space of the screened in back pad, when he heard a strange sound coming from the bedrooms. He was sure it was the ring tone of a phone but, he knew everyone that was made in this house. He limped into the hallway and, sure enough, the sound was coming from Betsy's room. The only thing that Scott could think of was that it belonged to Sarah and this was the item she was so unsure of before leaving. Scott decided it was none of his business and since he was in the back of the house he might as well go to the bathroom. When he came back out the phone started ringing again. It stopped and started before he could reach the sliding glass door.
"I'm going to regret this, I know it," mumbled Scott to himself as he walked back to Betsy's bedroom. He easily found the phone on the nightstand, next to the unmade bed, and reached for it just as it went silent, yet again. The screen was locked and he could not see who was calling but, he decided to wait and see if he could actually answer it when it went off the next time. Given how many times it already had, he was sure that it would. Scott had to figure there would only be one person on the other end of that phone and if he could give Sarah's mother just a little bit of peace then, maybe, it would be worth the potential trouble.
Scott was practically staring into space as he waited for the next call. Where he was really staring was through the door that led to Mike's empty room. It had been open since the day that Mike had left and the blinds were up in the far window as well. Scott had started daydreaming as he looked at the bushes outside the window and was thinking about planting something else there when Mike got home.
Scott thought he was seeing things at first. It looked like the shape of someone's head moving past the window, and even inside the bushes. Scott had almost convinced himself it was not real until he saw a second and third moving past. At first he thought he had a problem with some kids but, then he saw the barrel of a gun going past. Scott put down the phone.
It seemed almost comical when someone took great care at being silent as they opened the back sliding glass door. Scott supposed that it was a wasted effort considering whoever kicked in the front door had no such qualms. There was also, obviously, more than one person coming in the front door as well. Someone, and Scott was pretty sure it was a female someone, was yelling at others. He could not understand a word that this person was saying and it had nothing to do with the excitability in her tone. Even so, oddly enough, the woman did yell out one word that he understood perfectly well. He was not sure why but, at the moment, he had other concerns.
The first of those concerns entered the hallway, to the bedrooms, only seconds after trampling into the living room. Scott got his very first good look at one of his intruders and this one, at least, was wearing a ski mask even if, otherwise this small framed individual was wearing plain old street clothes. All of it clashed with what was in this person's hand and that was a rifle with a very large magazine. Scott was not sure what kind of weapon it was, or if it was an automatic or not, but he was not going to wait around and find out. He really did not want to do this but, he knew the score. He stepped out of the bedroom doorway and fired the 12 gauge, pump action, shotgun that was in his hand. He hesitated for a minute when he saw what the deer slug had done to the person he shot in the chest. He mumbled to himself, "Lord God have mercy."
If his intruders had any reservations, about shooting anyone, they did not show it. A hail of gunfire came tearing through the walls, and flimsy closet doors, not a second after Scott had taken down his intruder. There did not seem to be anything in the house that could stop the bullets that were filling the air with a virtual cloud of debris. The firing stopped almost as quickly as it began and Scott had to figure that they were reloading. After how much they had fired at him, he decided it just figured. He also decided that he was outgunned, so, Scott went for Betsy's bedroom window. He had gotten it up and was sliding out, head first, into the front yard shrubbery, when the shooting started back.
Scott found himself between the shrubs and the outer brick wall while he screamed in pain and grabbed for his leg. He saw blood on his pants and a tear in the cloth that he had to figure was over a tear in his flesh. It only served to make him even more jumpy and he almost shot Misses Nguyen when he found her standing over him and shaking a finger, while exclaiming, "I told Mike about having party here! You tell them people go home. I want no drugs next to house."
Only then did Scott see the car parked out on the curb and, more important, the two heavily armed women who were standing next to it and obviously keeping a lookout. They were not making any effort to hide their heavy duty looking hardware. That was why Scott grabbed Misses Nguyen and pulled her down into the bushes with him. It seemed like a good idea at the time but her screaming and protests only drew the attention of the lookouts who began porting their weapons in Scott's direction. He had no illusion about the shrubs ability to stop bullets.
The expected hail of bullets did not come. The intruders from inside of the house came running out and yelling at the lookouts who wasted no time jumping back in the car. They left in the blink of an eye. That was when Scott let go of Misses Nguyen. She was quite angry as she got up and brushed off her housecoat. She then went back to shaking a finger at Scott and telling him, "I call police now."
Scott breathed a sigh of relief and told her as he pointed to his leg, "could you ask for an ambulance while you're at it?"
Misses Nguyen was not so sympathetic as she stomped off screaming, "you no like it when they get here Scott!"
Scott supposed that her call was a waste of time when he heard sirens going off in the distance. He did not know why he did it but he could only laugh before it trailed off in a moment of pain. Otherwise, he figured he was better off right where he was and this proved to be the case. He threw out his shotgun and waved over the shrubs at the first police to arrive. As Scott expected, they kept their guns pointed at him and he kept his hands in the air. Scott had been smart enough to pull his wallet from his back pocket and he kept it in one of his hands as he put them up. He tossed the wallet to the police who could then see that he lived at this address.
Then it was a matter of waiting for an ambulance and Scott was on a stretcher in the back of it when Betsy finally got home. An officer had managed to get a call to her on Scott's phone and she and Sarah came directly back to the house. Betsy was in a near panic and sobbing tears as she crashed her way into the back of the ambulance where she threw her arms around Scott. He assured the girl that he was all right and then he asked the paramedic to excuse them for a moment.
When Scott was sure that no one else was listening he gripped Betsy's arms and looked her in the eye and said, "now, now Betsy. You need to listen to me and you need to listen to me good. I want you and Sarah to go in the house and pack up some things that you might need. Then I want you to get back in the car and go to your brothers hunting cabin. Don't stop nowhere don't go nowhere else. Do you understand that?"
Betsy looked to the house, where the police were still coming and going but, one of them had already offered to escort her in so that she could get what she needed. She figured she could handle that part of it. What she was not handling so well was the shock and the realization of the only question on her mind. She just looked Scott in the eye and with trembling fear she asked, "why? Scott, why did this happen?"
Scott took a certain bank card out of his wallet and handed it over as he told Betsy, "stop at an ATM and drain this one. That should be enough money to get you by. Just cut the card when you get the cash. After you get to the cabin I want you to call Didi and tell her what happened. She'll know what to do next. If I'm lucky, I should be able to join you in a few days."
Betsy began stumbling over words so Scott shook her and said, "this morning at breakfast, you said you could take care of yourself, Betsy. Now it's time to prove it girl. I know you can, I got faith in you. Don't you worry about me," he gestured to his leg, "this is nothing. We'll get this straightened out in no time."
"Scott, I just don't get it. I mean....”
Scott pulled her closer and lowered his voice as he said, "Betsy they was after that girl. They were speaking some kind of gibberish but, I heard them say her name more than once."
What did you say to something like that? Betsy bit her bottom lip and looked out the back of the ambulance where Sarah was squirming next to her car. Betsy felt like doing a little squirming herself. The two girls had spent most of last night talking in between Betsy waiting on her tables at the Waffle Shack. Betsy thought she had a good handle on Sarah but, now? They shot Scott!
As indecision began to consume Betsy, Scott shook her head again and said, "you're not wrong girl. Sarah's a good person and this is not her fault." Betsy almost wanted to snap at that but, Scott interrupted and told her in no uncertain terms, "the girl just needs more help than we first figured. Do what I said and call Didi."
That only drew a nod, and then a hug, from the crying teenager. Betsy stepped out of the ambulance and took a good look at her house. It almost made her sick to her stomach and it did nothing for the fear. Still, she took a deep breath and waved for Sarah to join her. When Sarah did she asked her new friend, "this doesn't happen a lot around here does it?"
"Um," Betsy licked her lips and then said, "I think I'm going to take off tonight Sarah. I'm going to show you the lake."
Sarah was a tad bit suspicious and was not sure what Betsy's motivation was here. Sarah could understand her wanting to take off but, what lake? That led to the question, "Betsy, that boyfriend of yours isn't coming is he? I really did think we were going shopping."
Betsy huffed and then snapped, "he's not my boyfriend." Then almost as an afterthought she said, "and we really were going shopping.
“Now come on, let's go pack."