by Marja McGraw
“Pastor Findlay, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you preach about the Good Samaritan this morning? Any special reason?” I glanced at the Church Ladies who looked everywhere except at me.
“Jasmine happened to mention a friend of hers who’s been trying to help someone that she doesn’t even know. It inspired me because we should all do more for our fellow man.”
“Did Jasmine happen to mention what her friend has been doing to help this person?” I asked.
“No, just that it was a selfless act. Is there something I should know?”
He waited patiently for an answer, which wasn’t forthcoming.
“Well, Pastor, we’ve got things to do. We’d better go.” Jasmine grabbed Lila’s hand and began pulling her away from the group. May followed.
“What did I say?” Pastor Findlay asked.
“Nothing. They’ll tell you what they’ve been up to when they’re ready, I’m sure.” I didn’t want to be the one to blab about Addie’s great adventure. Besides, I didn’t think he even knew Addie.
Chris and I excused ourselves and took out after the women. Silly of me, but I didn’t trust them. I had a feeling that even though their friend was back and safe, and it was time to let go of the situation, they weren’t going to stop trying to help Vic.
Jasmine looked over her shoulder and saw us following, and stopped abruptly, causing Lila to trip.
“So what’s today’s plan?” Jasmine asked. “Are you going to follow up on finding Victor?”
“What would you suggest we do?” Chris asked.
“Why, look for him. He needs to be warned,” May said.
“He’s in danger,” Lila added.
“And didn’t you say you have an address for him?” Jasmine asked.
“We have what could be his address,” I said.
“So you’re going to drive over there and talk to him. Right?” Jasmine was pushing.
I had a feeling that I knew what was coming next.
“And you’re going to take us with you, right?”
Did I know my Church Ladies or what?
“No!” Chris said. “We’re going alone.”
I almost laughed because I could tell by the look of chagrin on his face that he hadn’t meant to confirm our agenda for the day.
“Well, no you’re not,” Jasmine said. “We’re going with you. We started this whole thing, and we want to be in on it when it’s finished. I guess Addie actually started it, but she’s exhausted. She won’t be going with us, but I know she’ll want us to go.”
“What about Mikey? We can’t take him with us. Who knows what we’ll be walking into? We simply can’t go today.” I figured that would put things into perspective. We actually couldn’t go until Monday when Mikey would be in school. Problem solved.
All heads turned to me. Chris appeared to be relieved. The ladies had other ideas, and turned their backs on us while they whispered amongst themselves.
Turning back, May said, “Addie can keep Mikey while we’re gone.”
“I thought you said Addie was exhausted,” I reminded them.
“She’s never too tired for children. She has ten grandchildren and she says they’re what keeps her young at heart.” Jasmine appeared to think that would settle the matter.
“We have to go home and take care of the dogs, too,” I said.
“You can do that while we go home and change clothes,” Jasmine said.
“And then we’ll all meet at Jasmine’s house,” May added.
“After lunch would be best,” Lila suggested.
Chris tucked his upper lip under and pulled on his earlobe before placing his hands on his hips. “You dames ain’t goin’ with us on this caper. Not today and not tomorrow. See? I know you think I’m being a heel, but that’s the way it is. You’re makin’ me goosy, and I ain’t at the top of my game when I’m feelin’ goosy. If I was in a jam, and we could end up in a jam here, I don’t want you church ladies for back-up. See? End of story.”
~ ~ ~
You know what they say about the best laid plans…
After we dropped Mikey off with Addie, I pulled the address out of my purse and gave Chris directions while the Church Ladies sat in the backseat of the Chevy and buzzed like little elderly bees.
“I was a mailman, Pamela. I know this area like the back of my hand.” Chris was not in a good mood, and I decided not to push.
He found the street we wanted after taking a shortcut that took us out of our way, and turned right. Things were quiet in the backseat while the ladies took in our surroundings. I watched the street numbers, but I soon realized there was something wrong.
“Is this what they mean when they talk about the other side of the tracks?” Lila was staring at a prostitute standing on a street corner. The hooker stared back and Lila looked away first. The woman on the corner laughed as we passed by, knowing she’d won the war of the wills. “Right about now those big dogs of yours are sounding pretty good. Maybe we should have brought them along.”
We were definitely in a seedier part of town.
“This can’t be right,” Chris said, pulling into a parking lot. “The address on that piece of paper is a sleazy motel, not a house. I thought we were looking for a house.”
Chapter Ten
“Well, maybe we’d better go in and see if there’s a Victor staying at that sleazy motel. This is the address those two men at the diner were interested in. There has to be a reason that they were discussing it,” I said.
After some lengthy discussions, we finally talked the ladies into staying in the car while we walked to the office to ask about Victor.
The office was empty, but there was a bell on the desk. Chris rang it, but no one appeared from the back room. He rang it again. Nothing. He rang it twice in rapid succession .
“Hold your horses,” yelled a gruff and gravelly female voice from the other room. “I’ll be there in a second.”
We waited patiently and finally a scrawny woman of indeterminate age poked her head around the door frame. Her greasy blonde hair had turned to yellow, and she was as thin as a rail.
“We ain’t got any rooms right now,” she said, turning to go back to whatever she’d been doing.
“We’re not looking for a room,” Chris said. “We’re looking for a person.”
She popped her head around the door frame again, got a better look at Chris, and ambled over to the counter. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Ain’t you the one? Anybody ever tell you that you look like – ”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it before, cupcake.”
I could tell by his tone of voice that Chris was in Bogey mode. He was going to play it up with this woman for all it was worth – and she’d eat it up. There was no doubt in my mind, because I’d seen him use this act before, and it always seemed to get results.
“What can I do for ya, sweetcakes?” She moved forward and leaned on the counter, smiling. She was missing a few very prominent teeth, and those she had left were spotted with dark red lipstick. Her face was drawn and it looked like she was at the tail end of recovering from a black eye.
I got a very strong whiff of cigarette smoke and backed up a step. I don’t generally have a problem with people who smoke, but this woman reeked. I noticed her fingers were stained a nicotine yellow, much like the part of her teeth that showed through the lipstick.
Chris rolled his upper lip under and pulled on his earlobe. “We’re lookin’ for a Joe. You got a sap named Vic stayin’ in this flophouse?” He rolled back on his heels and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“Whaddaya want him for?” Ms. Nicotine asked, suddenly sounding suspicious.
“Nothin’ you’d care about. We got some personal business to take up with him. You got anyone by that name or not?”
“Nah. I gotta a Dick, and I had a Nick, but no Vic. Say, why don’tcha lose Red and come on in back with me?” She was pointing at me when she suggested he lose Red, but she never actually looked at me.
<
br /> Chris made a clicking sound out of the side of his mouth. “No can do. This here is my Gal Friday. She goes where I go.”
The woman thought about it for a moment. “Nah, I ain’t into threesomes. I like a one-woman man.”
“That’s exactly what I am,” Chris said, taking my arm and leading me out of the office.
We walked toward the car and never looked back, although I was sorely tempted.
“I feel like I need a shower,” I said. “Did you notice how dirty that place was? I’ll bet they haven’t vacuumed or dusted in years.”
Chris started to laugh, but stopped abruptly. “Hey, who’s that standing by the car? Is that the hooker we saw standing on the corner?”
I took a closer look and began walking faster. “It sure is. And those screwball Church Ladies are out of the car and talking to her. I know we told them to stay in the car, no matter what.”
I noticed Chris’s step picking up, too.
We reached the car and Chris stopped next to Jasmine in a protective stance. “What’s going on here?”
The tall blonde hooker wore an extremely short skirt with a skin tight blouse. She had on enough make-up to choke a horse, but when I looked closer I could see that she was very young. I wondered if she might be one of the runaway teens you hear about from time to time. She hadn’t developed a legitimate hard look yet, although the make-up helped.
“Oh, lighten up,” she said. “These ladies remind me of my grandma. We were just having a little chat.”
Lila smiled angelically. “We were just telling her about Jesus and how much He loves her.”
“And how she needs to get herself out of this environment,” May said.
“I think she was listening until you came back,” Jasmine said, her words almost sounding like an accusation.
“Well, it’s time for us to leave,” Chris said, trying to herd the women back into the car.
Jasmine pulled away from him and handed the girl a piece of paper. “Here, young lady. This is my home phone number. If you want to talk more, you can call me any time. If I’m not home, leave me a message and I’ll call you back. I wrote the number of the church on there, too. And you know that your grandma would probably agree with us.”
“I’m sure she would.” Before I could grab the paper, the hooker stuck it in her bra. “You ladies take care,” she said, walking away. “I enjoyed talking to you.”
Lila was beaming. Jasmine and May were looking pretty happy, too.
“Such a nice young woman,” Jasmine said.
“Do you understand what she does for a living?” Chris asked.
“Love the sinner, hate the sin,” May said. “Yes, we know. And she’s still one of God’s children. She’s just lost her way for now.”
He sighed, helping May into the car.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said. I’d noticed what looked like a young gangbanger watching our vintage Chevy with longing in his eyes. Not today, kid, I thought.
Chris stopped the car at the parking lot exit and waited to turn left, out into traffic.
I had a sudden epiphany. “Hey! What if Vic is at this same address, only at the west end of the street instead of the east end? This is a major boulevard, so I’ll bet the numbers repeat to the west.”
I didn’t think Chris had heard me until he turned right and headed west. I sat back and relaxed as the scenery began to perk up, which included more houses and better businesses. We found the right address, and it was a nice, older home, white with green trim. Chris pulled up to the curb.
He turned and pinned the three women in the backseat with a no-nonsense look. “Ladies, do not speak to women of the night, bums or anyone who looks like a gang member. Do not try to convert anyone while we’re here. In general, do not speak to strangers. And above all, do not get out of this car!”
“Yes, sir,” Jasmine said, looking at Chris with big, innocent eyes.
“Okay,” May responded.
“Not on your life,” Lila added.
Chris and I left the car, and I glanced at the house across the street where I saw a sweet little old lady in her front yard watering her flowers. She waved at me before wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her gloved hand.
“You probably should have given the Church Ladies that speech at our last stop,” I said.
I smiled and waved back at the woman.
I saw Chris’s eye twitch and his jaw clench, and decided to let it go.
We climbed the front steps and Chris pushed the button for the doorbell. We waited, but no one responded. He pushed it again. Still nothing. There was a window by the front door.
Chris leaned over and tried to see inside. “The curtains are too heavy to see anything.”
“I have an idea. Wait here for a minute,” I said. I walked over to see the woman who was watering her plants.
“Good afternoon,” she said, looking at me. “Can I help you?” She fanned herself with her hand. It was warm out.
“Yes, ma’am. I wondered if you can tell me if a man named Victor lives in that house.” I pointed at the white house where Chris waited for me.
“Oh, yes. That’s Victor’s house alright. Are you looking for him? Because if you are, he left about an hour ago. He’s retired, you know, so he comes and goes when he wants to. He got to retire young, at fifty-five. He’s been a nice neighbor and he’s always helping me out with little things. Why, he fixed my faucet for me just this morning. Nice man, nice man. I don’t have any family, at least that I care to talk about, so I guess I’m pretty lucky to have him for a neighbor.”
I held out my hand. “I’m Pamela Cross. That’s my husband, Chris, waiting for me over on Victor’s porch.”
The woman set down her watering can. “I’m Florence Nash. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I can tell Victor that you were here,” she offered.
“Oh, that’s okay. Do you have any idea when he might be home?”
“In the evening. He’s always home in the evening. He doesn’t like to go out after dark, from what he tells me. He always chats with me while he fixes things around here. You know, these old houses always have something going wrong with them. Yes, he really is a good neighbor. I always offer to pay him for his help, but he won’t take my money.” She wiped her brow again.
“Well, thank you for your help, Florence. I don’t think we can come back tonight, but maybe we’ll stop by tomorrow.”
“Oh, I’ll look forward to seeing you,” she said. “I so seldom have company. I’ll make some cookies for you, and tea. You will come back to see me, won’t you?”
“I’ll make a point of coming to see you tomorrow.” I glanced at her face and noticed that her cheeks were turning pink. “It’s awfully warm out here. Maybe it’s time to go inside?”
“I think you’re right. I should have started watering earlier. It does seem warmer than it should be for this time of year.” Florence picked up her watering can and headed for the front door of her house.
I walked back to the car and motioned for Chris to meet me. Looking in the back window of the car, I could see three faces watching me expectantly. I didn’t have much news for them, except that we’d found Victor’s house, and I knew that would be a disappointment since he wasn’t home.
Chris and I stood by the car and talked for a moment. “Florence, Victor’s neighbor, said he won’t be back until this evening. From the way she described him, he sounds like a genuinely nice guy. I can’t imagine why someone would want to bump him off. Anyway, I can’t keep leaving Mikey with friends. Do you think Victor will be safe until tomorrow?”
Chris looked at me like I was out of my mind. “How would I know?”
“Well, I guess you wouldn’t.” I grinned at Chris. “I’ll ask the ladies to pray for his safety tonight.”
Chris made a noise that sounded similar to a growl. I chose to ignore it and climbed into the car.
“Chris and I will have to come back tomorrow,” I explained, “so please say a pr
ayer for Victor’s safety tonight. You ladies, I’m sure, have other things to do tomorrow. And we can handle this by ourselves.”
“We have nothing to do tomorrow,” Jasmine said. “What time do you want us to be at your house?”
The noise that Chris made this time sounded a lot more than just similar to a growl. I hadn’t rolled my eyes in a long time, so I decided now was as good a time as any. I threw in a sigh, too, for good measure.
“I think we can handle things by ourselves tomorrow,” Chris said. “You ladies sleep in and enjoy your day.”
I hoped the ladies would pay attention to Chris and take his advice.
And I hoped we’d be in time to save Victor.
Chapter Eleven
“Maybe we should have left a note on Victor’s door asking him to call us right away,” I said over dinner.
“Who’s Victor?” Mikey asked.
“Just a guy,” Chris replied.
“What if that hit man comes after him tonight?” I asked.
“Hit man?” Mikey said. “A real hit man? Like in the movies?”
“No, Ace, your mother’s just joking.”
I looked from Chris to Mikey and back again. What was I thinking, talking in front of Mikey? I’d become too blasé about everything. “Yeah, I really am joking, Mikey.”
“Uh huh.” My son is so smart, and he didn’t believe me for a minute.
We finished eating and I began cleaning up the dishes. “Mikey, don’t you have homework for tomorrow?”
“I did it on Friday.”
“Well, then, you’d better go straighten up your room and take your shower.”
“I can tell when I’m getting the bum’s rush,” he replied. “I’ll be in my room if you want me.” He really did listen to Chris’s slang too much, and I noticed he was using the terms more often.
“Oh, Mikey. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. Come back and we’ll have some dessert. I have some leftover peach/apricot cobbler in the refrigerator. But then you really do have to go take your shower.”
Over dessert we talked about how things were going at school, leaving Victor and the hit man behind. Mikey had a new teacher this year, and he really liked her. “Miss All makes learning kind of fun,” Mikey said. “She tells stories to go along with what she’s teaching us.”
