My Soul to Keep

by Melanie Wells

  I sighed impatiently. “Honestly, Gail, I couldn’t care less if you take it personally. I’m not an attorney, and I’m not a cop. I’m not bound by the same rules you are.” I scooted up to the edge of my chair. “Nicholas Chavez is one of my favorite people in the entire world. And as I’m sure you understand, his mother is anxious to have him back where he belongs. As far as I’m concerned, that trumps your client’s rights every time. And if you had a shred of common decency, you’d agree.”

  Her mouth tightened. “Given what I do for a living, I’m sure you understand that I can’t share your point of view.”

  I was working up a good head of steam here. I needed to be careful to not blow my stack and make things even worse for myself than they already were. “I didn’t violate anyone’s rights. Your client voluntarily talked to me. He wasn’t coerced. He knew exactly who I was and why I was there.”

  “He doesn’t know where the child is.”

  “I’m aware of that. Is that what you wanted to tell me?”

  She handed me a plain brown envelope—the big kind with the metal fastener on the back. “I’ve been asked to give you this.”

  “By whom?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say.”

  “You’re keeping a lot of secrets on behalf of a very sick man,” I said.

  “You do the same every day,” she said. “You of all people should understand.”

  “Do you want me to open it now?”

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” she said.

  “What’s in it?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” She sat back down.

  I studied the envelope. It felt empty. Someone had penned my name on the front in black marker.

  “I’ve been asked to convey to you that the material in the envelope is for your eyes only. You are requested to keep the information to yourself.”

  “Or what?”

  “It’s a request, Dr. Foster, not a threat.” She stood and extended her hand. “Thank you for coming.”

  I shot her my best look of disdain. “I’m being dismissed?”

  She walked to the desk, picked up one of the framed photos propped amid the stacks of papers and files, and handed it to me.

  It was a picture of a beaming young man, his face covered with ice cream, sitting on a swing on a bright, sunny day. He looked to be about twenty.

  “As I said, I have to go pick up my son at ten.”

  I could tell she was waiting for me to notice something. I looked more closely at the photo. “Your son has Down’s?”

  “All three of them do, Dr. Foster.” She took the picture back and held it up proudly. “Alex is in seventh grade in a public school. Ben lives at a home for the developmentally disabled in Terrell. And this is Steve, who works at the movie theater. He’s a ticket taker. It took him six months to learn to count change, but he did it, and he’s got a job”—her voice cracked—”and I’m so proud of him.”

  She composed herself and set the photo carefully on the desk. “There might be more to people than meets the eye, Dr. Foster. You might want to keep that in mind before you make your judgments.”

  Once again I prayed to the Lord Jesus to open up a hole in the ground for me to hide in. And once again He declined, preferring instead to leave me there to face yet another of my Top Ten Terrible Traits.

  I trotted behind her again as she escorted me out. She stopped at the door and extended her hand. “Thank you for coming.”

  I shook her hand. “I’m sorry I was so harsh earlier. It’s just that. we’re all so anxious to find him. Any little scrap of information—”

  She put up a hand to stop me. “I understand completely. Please give Dr. Chavez my best. I hope she finds her son very soon.”

  After I’d recovered from my near-crippling shame attack at my abominable behavior toward G. Perry Eschenbrenner, attorney at law and apparently quite a decent human being, I sat on the bench seat of my truck, engine running and dome light on, and ripped open the envelope. Inside was one sheet of paper.

  It was an arrest record. From 1973. A shoplifting offense adjudicated in juvenile court in Montgomery County. The offender was sixteen years old, and his name was Gordon Weldon Pryne.

  I squinted at the blurred copy. It was the old kind with purple letters, common before Xerox machines were cheap and plentiful. The words were smudged, the county seal wrinkled from a coffee-cup stain.

  Gordon Pryne had been arrested for stealing a transistor radio from TG&Y. His height and weight were listed, and his prints ran along the bottom of the page. There was no photo—that probably would have been on a separate page. I wondered if it was his first arrest.

  The report noted that his mother had brought him down to the station and made him turn himself in. She couldn’t possibly have known at the time that her son would doom himself to a lifetime of drugs and crime. It made me feel better somehow, that she’d tried to do the right thing. That someone sometime had once tried to help Gordon Pryne.

  I couldn’t imagine why he’d wanted me to have the arrest report. I pored over it again and again but came up dead empty every time. There was nothing on it that had anything to do with Nicholas.

  I slipped it into my bag and started back to my house. I got halfway there before I pulled over and yanked the paper out of my bag.

  There it was, on the bottom of the page in smudged lavender ink. An address. And a name.

  41

  IN 1973, MARY A. PRYNE had lived on Cooper Lane in a little town called—you could measure the irony in tons—Cut and Shoot, Texas. A quick call to my cell phone’s handy information service indicated there was no such town. The first dead end. I drove home in a rush, running perhaps a light or two but feeling sure the Good Lord would excuse me for such a worthy cause. I pulled into my driveway in record time.

  I parked the truck under the sycamore tree and shot to the front door, flipping on lights (which stayed on, thank you very much) as I made my way through my house and plopped down at my computer once again.

  A little research revealed that at some point, Cut and Shoot had been absorbed into Conroe, Texas. There was no current listing for a Mary A. Pryne on a Cooper Lane in Conroe. Four more phone calls to the surrounding municipalities yielded a big fat nothing. I did a people search online and quickly discovered there were exactly zero Mary A. Prynes out there. Not a development I’d anticipated.

  I fumbled about for a while until, in a stroke of genius—or perhaps in a generous gift of inspiration from the Lord Jesus Himself—I began calling hospitals and nursing homes in the Dallas area. Twelve phone calls, and I got a hit. A Mary A. Pryne was registered at a place called Golden Acres in Mesquite—a shabby suburb on the far eastern edge of the city.

  “But she’s not in residence right now,” the receptionist said when I called.

  “What does that mean? Did she leave on a pass or something?”

  “I’m afraid Ms. Pryne has been transferred to hospice.”

  I felt a shot of electricity run up my spine. The blog had said Gordon’s mother was dying of cancer.

  “Do you know which hospice? I’m a friend of the family, and I want to be sure and get by there and say good-bye. You know, while there’s still time.”

  “Hold a second, sugar.”

  I tapped the table nervously while I waited for her return, praying mightily that just this once God would overlook those ridiculous HIPAA regulations and tell me what I needed to know.

  The nurse clicked back on. “Got a pen, honey?”

  She gave me the address, which I wrote down in a near-illegible scrawl. I ripped the paper off the pad, checked the map on my computer, and stuffed the address in my bag, grabbing my keys and slamming the door behind me.

  The hospice was also in Mesquite, all the way on the other side of LBJ Freeway. This would normally seem like a laborious and unpleasant drive to a city girl like me who had the good fortune to live about thirty seconds from her place of employment. But tonight the miles flew as
I drove, my mind racing around wildly like a helicopter missing a rotor. What was I doing? Should I have called the cops? Was I screwing things up by going alone? Why did Gordon Pryne lead me to his mother, and why had he insisted I keep her location to myself? Was he setting me up? Was Gordon’s mom a gangster or something? Maybe she packed a .45 underneath her bathrobe.

  By the time I squinted at the address on my crumpled paper and matched it to the house in front of me, I was haggard and weary from the mental activity alone.

  I parked my truck and stared out my window. I’d expected some sort of hospitalish building with double doors and fluorescent lights. Instead, I found myself parked in front of a rundown house in a rundown neighborhood. Apparently Mrs. Pryne was getting home hospice care instead. I hadn’t counted on this arrangement at all.

  The house was dark, of course. It was late. But as I crept around the perimeter, I saw a light on in the rear of the house. I made my way back to the front door and knocked quietly.

  To my surprise, the porch light snapped on, and the door swung open. The woman standing there wore green scrubs with bunnies on her shirt. I took this as an encouraging sign.

  “I’m here to see Mary Pryne,” I said.

  “She’s sleeping right now,” the nurse said. “You want to come back tomorrow morning? She does a lot better in the morning.”

  “Do you mind if I just come in and sit with her for a minute?” I asked. “I know it’s late, but I came a long way.”

  To my delight, she simply opened the screen door and stepped back.

  The living room I stepped into was plain but neat. A gold chenille throw covered a worn sofa flanked by a couple of recliners. The entire arrangement pointed at a massive TV. There was nothing on the coffee table. A round mirror was the only decoration on the wall above the couch. A picture of Jesus hung on the wall by the door.

  We walked on worn shag carpet through the living room and into a lit kitchen, where another nurse sat waiting to finish a card game. My escort showed me to a room behind the kitchen. I knocked gingerly, then stepped into a dimly lit bedroom dominated by a single hospital bed. Beside it sat a single wooden chair.

  The nurse closed the door, leaving me alone with the shriveled figure in the bed—a small raisin of a woman in a nylon gown, socks on her tiny feet, her hair pulled back by a soft headband with flowers on it.

  I sat on the chair and stared at her. Even in her decrepit state, I could see the resemblance. The shape of her face. The thin brows, the sharp chin. And the wild, curly hair. Hers was gray, of course, and was limp and matted, but I’d have recognized that head of hair anywhere. As I looked at her and watched her breathe, it dawned on me that I was sitting with Nicholas’s grandmother. I felt tears spring to my eyes and my throat tighten. This tiny woman would keep Nicholas safe if she had a breath left in her body. I was as sure of that as I was of anything I’d ever known in my life.

  The nurse came in and offered me Kool-Aid, which I declined. I sat with Mrs. Pryne for almost an hour before she stirred. I scooted my chair to her bedside as she opened her eyes.

  “Who’s there?” she asked, her voice weak and mewly like a kitten’s. Her eyes were open, but it was clear she couldn’t see me. Gordon’s mother was blind.

  “I’m a friend of Gordon’s, Mrs. Pryne.”

  “Gordie? My Gordie? Will you tell me where he is? I can’t get anybody to tell me where he went off to. He was in the army …”

  She held out her hand for me. I took it. Her fingers were thin and cold in my hand.

  “I’m not sure, exactly, Mrs. Pryne. What did they tell you?”

  “They tell me this and that. They think I don’t know anything, like I’ve gone and lost my senses or something.”

  She squeezed my hand, the life coming back into her.

  “You haven’t, though, have you?” I said.

  “I most certainly have not. What’s your name, honey?”

  “Dylan Foster.”

  “How do you know my Gordie?”

  I hesitated. “It’s a long story, Mrs. Pryne.”

  “He’s in trouble again, isn’t he? My Gordie was always in trouble. I haven’t seen him in so long.” She sighed wearily. “I’ve prayed and prayed for him.”

  “You have, haven’t you?” I said, tears stinging my eyes again.

  “Didn’t make a lick of difference. My poor Gordie. God love him.”

  I thought I saw a twinkle in her sightless eyes as she motioned for me to lean in. “I think the Good Lord just might’ve given me a lemon.”

  I held back a smile, forgetting momentarily that she was blind.

  “Do you know his little boy too?” she asked.

  I froze. “I think I might have met him once. What’s his name?”

  “He’s the spittin’ image. He’s got my Gordie’s pretty eyes. And his curly hair.” She reached up and patted her head. “Gordie got that from me.” She sighed again, more deeply this time. She was tiring. “Gordie’s eyes are so green in the light. He got that from his father, God rest his soul. They tell me the boy’s eyes are blue, though. Can’t see ’em myself, of course. I’d give my left foot to see those eyes. But Piper told me. He’s not a bad son.”

  “Piper. That’s Gordon’s brother. Is that his given name?”

  “After my father. And I could feel the curls in his hair when he came to see me. Such a sweet little boy. Piper doesn’t have the curls. Gordie got ’em all.”

  “Nicholas, right?”

  “Nothing like his daddy, thank the Lord.” She said it like loward. “Such a sweet child.”

  “When did you see him last?” I asked.

  “Gordie? I think it was in nineteen—”

  “No, Nicholas.”

  “What time is it now?”

  I tried to keep my voice calm, natural. “You mean you saw him tonight?”

  “Well, sure, honey.”

  “He came by to say hi?”

  “He came in here and kissed me good night. Such a sweet little—”

  “Where is he now?” I interrupted. “Do you know?”

  “He’s in Gordie’s room with Jeremy. ’Course, this is Piper’s house now, and it don’t look the same …”

  I scooted my chair back and stood. “Mrs. Pryne, I need to run to the restroom a minute. Can I get you anything?”

  “I’d love some water, honey. Or maybe some ice chips. Those nurses love to give me ice chips. Like it’s the Lord’s cure for every little thing.”

  I stuck my head into the kitchen and beckoned the nurse. “Mrs. Pryne would love some ice chips. Could you just point me to the restroom?”

  “Second door on the right, honey.”

  I walked into the darkened hallway, my heart pounding all the way through my clothes. Behind one of these closed doors, Nicholas Chavez was sleeping, safe and sound in his grandmother’s care. And behind another one was at least one person who knew he had no business being there.

  I waited, heart pounding, for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Then I realized, of course, which door was Nicholas’s. The one with the light coming from underneath. I walked over and opened it, and there he was, curled up on the bottom bunk of a set of twin bunk beds. Another little boy slept soundly in the top bunk.

  I crouched down beside Nicholas, out of sight of the top bunk, and tried to figure out what to do. Like a fool, I had left my bag—and my cell phone—in Mrs. Pryne’s bedroom, so I had no way to call the cops. And I was standing in a lit room—dimly lit, but lit nonetheless—with two sleeping children in a house full of people who didn’t want me there.

  I thought briefly about going back for my phone. But I wasn’t about to let Nicholas out of my sight, so I crept over and touched him gently on the shoulder.

  “Nicholas,” I whispered, “it’s Miss Dylan. Wake up, doodlebug.”

  Nicholas stirred but didn’t open his eyes. I had a second to look at him and see what sort of shape he was in. He looked good, actually. His face was clean, and he was wearing a pair
of Superman jammies that fit him—a good sign of at least decent care. He seemed thin to me, though. Christine was right. He hadn’t been eating.

  I touched him again on the shoulder. This time he opened his eyes. I held a finger to my lips, cautioning him to be quiet.

  His huge blues eyes looked up at me, and it was clear he didn’t realize who I was for a second. Then he lunged for me and grabbed me around the neck, latching on and pulling me down toward him.

  “Where’s my—,” he said in full voice.

  I shushed him again and pried him away from me. I whispered into his ear. “We have to be real, real quiet, Nicholas. We don’t want to wake anyone up. Okay?”

  He nodded and whispered loudly, “Where’s my mommy?”

  I put my mouth next to his ear again. “We’re going to go find her right now, but not another word, okay? We have to be real quiet. Like little mice, okay?”

  He nodded solemnly. I stood up with him wrapped around me, his head resting on my shoulder, and thought I might pass out from the alternating waves of ecstasy and abject panic which were crashing in on me. I didn’t know which feeling was more likely to knock me over, but it was a close contest.

  We tiptoed from the bedroom and into the hallway. I closed the door quietly behind me just as another door opened at the other end of the hall. I put my hand over Nicholas’s mouth and ducked quickly into the bathroom next door, pulling the shower curtain back carefully and stepping into the tub. I crouched down in the dark, still clutching Nicholas, who had realized by now what was happening and was beginning to hyperventilate. I pulled away from him again and held my finger to my lips, then pressed my lips to his ear. “You need to calm down now, Nicholas. Breathe real slow and quiet, and calm down. You’re safe. I’ll take care of you.”

  I felt his breaths deepen and his neck relax, his head dropping limp on my shoulder.

  The light clicked on. We both held our breath as someone shuffled into the bathroom, used the toilet, flushed, and then left.

  “He didn’t wash his hands,” Nicholas whispered to me when the room was quiet.

  I couldn’t help but smile in the darkness. “You’re right, sweetie, he didn’t.”