Both Mary and Grumpy broke out laughing and Grumpy said, “Sam, our pastor will be glad to answer your questions. I’ll set up a meeting to introduce you to him. He is better at explaining how faith and religion work than I am. Before I forget, I’m not that old and my 1911 and I are more than a match for Jack. Sammy is just my helper.”
“Bill, do you believe in God?”
“Yes Sam, I do, but don’t use me as an example of perfection. I am a sinner and doing the best that I can.”
“Okay.”
***
Grumpy had been out in the garage for about an hour when Sam joined him.
“I thought that you wanted to learn about tools."
“I do, but Mary reminded me that homework was more important.”
“Oops, way to go Mary. Yes, your homework is more important than working on dirty old trucks. Now, go over to the workbench, get that small red toolbox, bring it over to this table and spread the tools out. Put all of the same type of tools together.”
Sam walked over to the toolbox and started to pick it up when she saw a label with her name on it on the top of the box.
She took the toolbox over to Grumpy, placed it on the table and asked, “Is this for me?”
“Well it doesn’t have my name on it. I thought that if you are serious about working on cars, that you should have your own tools.”
She hugged him and thanked him several times. She had never had anyone do anything this nice for her. Sammy begged Grumpy to pick him up and licked Grumpy’s face.
“Sammy must like the tools as much as you do! Now pick up the red-handled screwdriver. It is a flat bladed screwdriver and it fits this type screw. Do you see the clear handled screwdriver with the cross for its head? It is a Philips head and you use it for this type screw.”
Grumpy had Sam use the screwdrivers on a couple of old carburetors to demonstrate how to use them. He then moved on to pliers and wrenches. He was careful to make sure that she used the correct tool for the correct job. He also taught her how to use all of the tools in a safe manner.
They were working away when they heard Mary say, “It’s a school night and it’s half an hour past your bedtime. Well, have you two learned anything?”
Sam gave Grumpy and Mary a hug ran into the house with Sammy in her arms, cleaned up and went to bed.
“Mary, tell me what Sam told you about that scumbag, Jack.”
“Bill, she won’t directly answer what Jack did to her other than touching her, but when I press, she starts crying and changes the conversation. I am afraid for the worse. He probably forced himself on her and that may be part of the reason that she is hateful towards men in general. It has taken her a month to warm up to you Bill.”
“I am very pleased with the progress that she has shown just in the last week. She has a real interest in auto mechanics and is behaving much better.”
“Bill, she eats like a horse. I never thought that she would fill out Ann’s clothes, but they are getting close to being a good fit for her. She must have been starving trying to feed Sammy and herself from the meager meals that her mother fixed for her.”
“She is very smart. I get mad when I don’t have a ready answer and must realize that one doesn’t have to have the answer. Our job as parents is to point them in the right direction and help them find the right answer.
***
They never noticed the dark figure watching them from the woods or following them on the way to school each day.
***
They had just finished breakfast on Saturday when Sam jumped up and ran to the bathroom. They could hear her throwing up her breakfast. She came out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened, started clearing the plates and washing the dishes without even being asked.
Mary said, “Sam, are you okay? Did something disagree with you?”
“No, I'm fine.”
“Mary, is it me or is Sam being extra special good today?”
Before Mary could answer, Sam spoke up, “You know that I can hear you, don’t you?”
Mary responded, “Yes, I have noticed. We are either very good at this foster parenting or Sam wants something is my guess.”
This made Sam furious, “So every time that I behave y’all think that I want something? I bet you only take care of me for the check each month. I was being good because y’all promised to take care of me and yes, I do want the car and the gun lessons. Is that so bad?”
She ran out of the kitchen and ran to her room.
“Come back! We were just teasing you!”
She was already in her room and didn’t hear them. Sammy jumped on the bed with her and was licking her hand and trying to get to her face. She was so mad that she shoved him off the bed. He sat on the floor staring at her with big brown eyes that looked so hurt. His look told her that he was innocent and that she shouldn’t be mad at him. She took him in her arms and rubbed his ears, which he liked. She then scratched his back and he started licking her again.
Sammy licked her face, then jumped off the bed and barked.
“What do you want?”
Sammy ran down the hall and stood on the stairs. He barked and ran down a couple of steps. When she didn’t follow, he did it again several times.
“I guess you want me to go downstairs.”
She followed Sammy back into the kitchen where Mary and Grumpy were still seated.
Grumpy saw her and said, “We’re sorry that we hurt your feelings. We were only teasing you. We are very proud of you and love you so much. Yes, we take the $900 per month, but we place it in the bank for your college. We aren’t rich, but we don’t need the money. We are sorry and won’t tease you again.”
She ran over to Grumpy, gave him a bear hug and then went to Mary and hugged her.
“I’m sorry that I blew up. I’ve never had anybody care for me before. I just did what I wanted to and kept out of the way. I had to steal food to feed Sammy and me. I will try to do better. Just give me a chance. Don’t make me leave.”
Mary spoke up, “Child, we care for you and would never run you off. We are a family and families aren’t perfect. All of us will do things that upset others from time to time and we just need to remember that person must be having a bad day or just made a mistake. We all have to support each other and forgive when mistakes are made.”
***
She looked Sammy in the eyes and said, “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t mad at you, but I took my anger out on you. Please forgive me. Sammy we can’t stay here. We have to run away and get as far away from here as possible. Jack will kill Mary and Bill to get to me. ”
Sam took a gym bag from the closet and crammed as many clothes in it as she could and still be able to zip it closed. She then waited until Mary and Bill were asleep and packed some food into a pillowcase. She then went to Mary’s hidden jar with her mad money and took all of it.
She wrote a note that said, “To Mary and Bill. I’m sorry for causing all of this trouble for you. Sammy and me have left and will go so far that Jack will never bother you. I will pay the money back and leave your truck in a safe place. I’ll call and let you know where to find it. Love Sam and Sammy.”
She loaded up the truck, snuck back into the house, got Sammy and drove off. It was just starting to rain and storms were forecasted throughout the night. Her plan was to drive to Birmingham, drop the truck off in a parking garage and catch a bus to Florida. She thought that Pensacola would be nice.
The old Ford had a deep rumble from the exhaust and woke Grumpy up as she drove off.
“Wake up. Someone is stealing my truck.”
Grumpy put his pants and shoes on and grabbed his pistol. He checked Sam’s room and saw that the bed hadn’t been slept in and Sammy and Sam were gone.
“Bill, do you think that Sam is running away? I would die if she gets hurt.”
“That’s my guess. Get dressed; we’ll go get them and bring them back.”
“But, Bill, they will have a ten minute lead on us.”
>
“Mary, they will be waiting for us on Highway 65 and my best guess is that they will be heading south. All of my trucks have a fuel shut off switch set for cutting the fuel off in fifteen minutes. Hurry up and let’s go. I could be wrong and Jack may have taken her and my truck.”
Mary quickly dressed, put on a raincoat and got in Bill’s new truck and they headed to Highway 65, which was only about five miles from their house. Grumpy headed south and just as he predicted there was his truck about four miles south of the on ramp. They pulled in behind the truck and quickly saw that it was empty. Grumpy drove slowly until they saw Sam and Sammy walking on the right shoulder. She had her thumb up trying to flag down a ride.
They pulled even with Sam and Mary said, “Young girl, do you need a ride? It’s a bit wet out here and you look cold. Your poor dog is shivering.”
Mary opened the door and Sammy jumped in the cab of the truck.
“Sam, we love you and want you to come home with us, but we won’t make you come home just to run away again.”
“I’m leaving to protect you. Jack will keep coming back until he gets what he wants. This is better for all of us.”
Bill got out of the truck, walked over to Sam and hugged her.
He said, “Sam, we lost both of our children and couldn’t do a thing to save them. We love you and God loves you. I’ll never let anyone hurt you. They’ll have to kill me first. We want you to come back home and be a part of our family. We need you just as much as you need us. We were dying a slow death grieving for Johnny and Ann. You came along and we have a reason to live again. Please come home.”
Sam started crying and hugged Grumpy. She got in the front seat with Mary and Sammy and they drove home while Grumpy got in the old Ford and followed.
“Sam, we didn’t know you and little Sammy a few months ago and now can’t imagine life without you. We were lost and were mad at God for taking our children. You say that you don’t believe in God and we had lost our faith. Having you and Sammy has brought Bill and me closer together and is helping restore our faith in God. We want our home to be your home. We will get through these trials together like all families do.”
“I like being a part of your family, but I have never been a part of a family. Mom was too busy chasing her boyfriends and drugs to have any time for me. I don’t know how to be a part of a family and I don’t know anything about God or how to worship him or even how to pray.”
“Sam, we will show you these things and by doing this, we will also be helped and given a purpose. You and Sammy were brought to us by God to save us. We were drifting apart and barely getting by day to day before you came into our lives. We need you.”
They drove up to the house and ran in out of the rain. Grumpy arrived a few minutes later and Mary greeted him with a cup of hot cocoa and a change of clothes. Sam came down from her room and they sat on the couch under a blanket talking about how God has blessed them.
Mary said, “Let’s pray together. I will start and then you two add on to my prayer. God, I want to thank you for bringing Sam and Sammy into our lives. I also want to pray for Jack Collin’s soul. He will surely be lost if you don’t help him. Amen.”
Grumpy added, “God, I also want to thank you for bringing Sam and Sammy to us. I want to thank you for providing food, clothing and shelter for us. Amen.”
Sam looked at both of them and said, “God, thank you for Mr. and Mrs. Jones for they have taken good care of me and given me a home. Thanks for giving Sammy to me. He is my best friend. I also pray for Jack’s soul, but if you can’t save him, please find a warm place for him down there.”
Grumpy and Mary broke out laughing and hugged Sam.
Grumpy said, “Sam that was quite a prayer. I think God knows what to do with Jack and I’ll be happy to set up the meeting between the two.”
Sam didn’t get it, but Mary punched him in the ribs. They said goodnight and went on to bed.
***
They got up the next morning, had a large breakfast and got ready for church. Sam didn’t want to wear a dress and Mary gave in, but did make her wear some nice slacks and a blouse. Sam’s Sunday school teacher told Mary that Sam behaved very well and had many questions. The sermon was about how to be a better person and listening when God spoke to you.
They were in line to shake the pastor’s hand when Sam asked him, “Pastor John, why does God let people get away with doing terrible things?”
“Sam, that will require a rather long answer and if Mary will bring you by after school, we will dig into it. The short answer is that everyone has free will and can do what they want, good or bad. They will be judged for how they treated people on judgment day.”
“Mary, can we come back here after school?
“Yes. Pastor John, we will be here on Tuesday.”
They left church and Grumpy took them to Mary’s favorite restaurant for lunch. They all had fried chicken and Sam had two helpings of everything. She remembered to take the scraps home for Sammy. They talked about Sam’s chores for next week with Sam trying to negotiate her way out of the chores that she didn’t like.
They pulled into the driveway and Grumpy said, “Now, let’s work on your education. Meet me behind the garage after you change out of your church clothes."
“Is this where you take me out behind the woodshed, beat me until I’m good and we all live happily ever after? Just teasing! I’ll be right there.”
About a half hour later, Sam walked around to the back of the garage. Grumpy had a small table with several guns and a black bag. She looked away from the table and saw that there was a huge pile of dirt about 50 yards from the back of the garage. It was about 12 feet high and 30 feet long.
“Bill, what is that big pile of dirt? I never saw it before. Can I shoot the guns?"
“I had the dirt delivered last week to make a backstop for our shooting range. There is a hill about a hundred yards further back, but Mary was afraid someone might wander into the woods and we’d shoot them. Are you ready to take lessons in gun safety before you learn to shoot? You must do what I say, when I say or someone could get hurt or even die. Guns are a lot of fun, but we must always remember they are also very dangerous if not used properly.”
“What’s the toy pistol for?”
“We will use this at first to make sure that you know how to handle a gun safely, then we move to the pellet pistol and finally to a real gun. I bought a Ruger 22/45 for you to learn to shoot with. It is just like my Colt .45, but a lot lighter and doesn’t kick as much.”
He then picked up a small rifle that had been hidden behind the table and said, “This was Johnny’s rifle. It is a Ruger 10/22 and is perfect for you to learn how to shoot a rifle. I will keep these locked up in the garage when we aren’t using them. Let’s get started.”
By noon, Sam had learned all Grumpy could teach her about the toy pistol and safety. They had shot the pellet pistol numerous times and Sam could hit a can every time at twenty-five feet.
“Let’s break for lunch and then we will shoot the 22/45 and the 10/22 for about an hour and then we have to do some chores for Mary before we start on the truck.”
Just then, Mary drove up in the ATV with a picnic basket and a jug of sweet tea for lunch. She had made ham and cheese sandwiches, potato salad and chocolate chip cookies for lunch. Sam ate quickly while sneaking Sammy a bite every now and then. They finished eating and Grumpy loaded the pistol.
“Here Sam, keep it aimed down range, take the safety off and shoot at the cans just as we have been doing.”
Sam was slow and deliberate. She moved the safety to fire, aimed at the nearest can and squeezed the trigger. The can exploded up into the air and before it landed, Sam had shot another can. She kept firing until the ten round magazine was empty.
“That was a blast and I hit every can!"
“You did much better than I expected. I must be an excellent teacher and you are a great student."
“When can I shoot your Colt?”
They shot for another hour and then had to clean up and get the chores done for Mary.
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Chapter 14
Mary had to run into town for her Thursday shopping trip, so she decided to take Sam to school. Sammy stayed out in the shop with Grumpy and kept him company. Sammy healed very quickly and was almost as good as before the attack. Sam had been sick again this morning after breakfast. Mary was wondering if she was purging to keep her weight down, but didn’t say anything to her or Bill. She had gained over twenty pounds.
“Mary, please go by Jim’s Auto and pick up the parts that I ordered last week.”
“You do know that you can probably order those parts on the internet and get a better price and have them delivered right to your garage.”
“I’m not sure that I trust the internet yet. I like to see the parts before I pay for them.”
“Bill, that makes no sense. I am paying for the parts and you don’t see them until I deliver them to you. Get with the 21st century or I will stop running errands for you.”
Mary and Sam pulled out of the driveway and headed towards town. They were still laughing about Grumpy’s distrust of the internet. Mary stopped in a line of traffic at the first stop sign as you enter the city. She heard the back door open and felt the car bounce when she felt a gun at the back of her head.
“Don’t turn around and make the next left or I’ll blow your head off.”
Sam had turned and looked the intruder in the eyes, “It’s Jack! Don’t hurt Mary; she is a good person and takes good care of me. Please Jack, don’t hurt her.”
Grumpy, Sam and Sammy: A Murder Mystery and Thriller Page 8
