Granny decided she had to check all doors on the side streets off of Main Street. She hadn’t had the time to map out who lived where and who matched up to the hidden doors behind the panels in the underground street. Perhaps there were more doors but they were bricked up and she hadn’t noticed them.
Granny slowly started walking toward the underground Main Street, being vigilant about running into the crooks. She had only made it about a block when she noticed an indentation of a panel in the bricks. Granny took her umbrella end and wedged it between the panel and the wall. Surprisingly enough, it moved easily as if it had been used recently. Could it be this easy, Granny thought.
Granny slid the panel sideways to reveal the metal door. Granny’s hand was shaking as she put the key in the lock. Granny looked around to see if anyone was watching. It appeared she was alone on the street. Granny quietly, but quickly, unlocked the door. Granny held her breath as she slowly turned the knob. The door opened. Granny caught a whiff of perfume. Granny had a moment to recognize the smell. It was the smell of the flowers that she had in her hands the day they found her sleeping in her back yard. As Granny fell to the floor the look of surprise was still frozen on her face.
“Granny, Granny, wake up!”
Granny felt something cool and wet on her forehead. She felt again as if she was trying to wake up again from a long winter’s nap. As Granny tried to open her eyes, she heard whispering.
“Do you think she’s going to be ok? She is kind of old. Maybe her heart gave out.”
“At least she doesn’t have that surprised look still frozen on her face.”
Granny gradually opened her eyes. “Am I dead?” she asked as she gazed into the faces of Estelle, Hermione, Ella and Maizie. “Are you dead?”
“No, Granny, we’re not dead,” Maizie replied as she helped Granny sit up.
Granny reached out her hand to touch each one of them to make sure they were not a figment of her imagination or that she wasn’t really dead.
“You’ve all been missing. Now you’re here. Where is here?” Granny asked in confusion.
“We don’t know, Granny,” Estelle said as she and Maizie helped Granny to her feet.
Granny dusted herself off and looked around. It was a small room similar to the hidden room in her house. This room was furnished with beds, a refrigerator, and a bookshelf in the corner filled with books.
“How did you get here?” Granny asked in a quiet voice, still a little foggy from her sleep
All four women answered as a chorus singing a woeful tune. “Love.”
“Love?” Granny asked in consternation.
The four women burst into tears and started sobbing. Granny couldn’t understand a word they were blubbering.
“Calm down, one at a time. This isn’t a time for blubbering.” Granny reprimanded the women, all the while holding back the inclination to join them in their blubbering. “First, are any of you hurt? I have a note with blood on it.”
In between sniffs, Ella explained, “We managed to sneak the note out with the little white poodle. I was biting my fingernails so bad, they started bleeding while I was writing the note. We decided to leave it; if anyone saw the blood they might take the note seriously.”
“Seriously! Seriously! You about gave this old girl a heart attack when I found it. Now back to the love.”
“It started with me,” Estelle explained. “I fell in love with this young, good looking, man who kept popping up at AbStract. He told me his name was Sonny. I never knew when he would show up. He seemed to appear out of nowhere. I never saw him enter through the front door, but all of a sudden he was always there; it was like magic. This was going to be my magical romance that I have always dreamed of. Sonny asked me out. He loved the earrings I wore. He took an interest in my job. When was the last time someone I dated cared about anyone but himself? He was so easy to fall in love with.” Estelle let out a big sigh and burst into tears.
The other women rushed to her side to comfort her. After a brief moment, she was able to take a breath and continue. “One night I was closing up. I was supposed to meet Sonny later. I went to the front of the store to lock the door and when I got back to the jewelry counter, I found him taking the jewelry. He must have thought I’d left. All of a sudden, I smelled this perfume and I didn’t remember anything more until I woke up in this room alone.”
When Estelle finished, Ella continued the story. “Hermione met him next. She’s been so traumatized that she hasn’t been able to speak since she’s been here. I must have met him after he sweet talked Hermione. He was always around a corner in the store surprising me. I kept Sonny a secret from my mother because I didn’t think she’d approve. We started dating. He told me I was enchanting like the forest in my mother’s store. No one had ever told me that before. It was so much fun to drive around in his 57 red Corvette convertible. It made me feel daring and alive.”
At that confession, Granny’s ears perked up. “He has a 57 red Corvette convertible?”
“Yes. I’d sneak out of the store and meet him in the alley and we would cruise the country roads. Then he would say that his time was up with the car and he had to get it back to the garage as it was a limited edition and he didn’t like to keep it out after dark.”
“Dark, schmark,” Granny huffed, “He stole my car and made me think I was losing my marbles.”
Ella continued, “Then one day, I was closing the Enchanted Forest for my mom. He’d made sure I would meet him at 8:00 p.m. at the lake so we wouldn’t be found out. I locked the door and started for the lake, but I realized I’d left my car keys in the Enchanted Forest, so I walked back for them. When I entered the store, the entire forest was disappearing though the floor in the store. I thought I was hallucinating. Just as I was ready to call my mother, I smelled a whiff of perfume and that’s the last thing I remember before I woke up in this room. Estelle and Hermione were already here.”
Granny walked over to Hermione and patted her cheek. “Hermione, Hermione, you need to snap out of this. You weren’t named after me for nothing. Don’t tell anyone but my first name is Hermiony too and your mama named you after me because you were such a spitfire of a little baby. Your momma was my best friend in school. Don’t let me down. We Hermionys don’t give up. We don’t give in and we aren’t quiet.”
Hermione gave a little sniff and looked up at Granny. “Was I really named after you? Mama died when I was so young. I feel so stupid. He promised me jewels and a puppy. I’ve never had a puppy.” Hermione started wailing loudly.
“Hermione, we Hermionys don’t wail; we don’t fail; we send guys like him to jail.”
“Well, that’s not what happened to me,” Maizie piped in. “Sonny was going to marry me. I was going to finish my shift at Rack’s; we were going to climb into his semi- (he told me he drove a truck for a living) and ride happily off into the sunset, only somehow I apparently rode happily ever after into this room. All I remember is my shift being over. I was going to throw my suitcase into the back of his truck. When I opened the back doors, it was already full with wine and money. I remember smelling a whiff of perfume and the next thing I knew, I woke up in this room with someone throwing a glass of water in my face.” She turned and glared at Ella, Hermione and Estelle.
“We had to wake you up somehow. You kept trying to kiss us when you were coming out of whatever,” Ella smirked.
Granny walked around the room with an eagle eye. She noticed a door exactly opposite to the door in the underground street. “This is the door that’s the clue to where we are.” Granny started pulling on the door. It was locked.
Granny remembered she still had her key in her hand. She started to put the key in the lock when the door to the underground street opened. Standing in the doorway was the good looking young man. He pointed a big gun right at Granny.
“Hold it right there, Granny. Drop that key. You’re not going anywhere.”
Granny decided this was not a time for the faint of heart
but it was a time for a faint. Instead of dropping the key, she dropped in the best Granny faint she could muster. It got everyone’s attention. The women rushed over and caught her right before she was going to hit the hard ground. Granny kept her eyes closed but winked quickly at Maizie. She needed a little time to come up with a plan.
“Granny! Granny! Look what you’ve done, you’ve killed Granny,” Estelle shouted.
You’ve given her a heart attack,” Ella chimed in.
Hermione cried louder.
Maizie just kept patting her face.
“She’s fine. Granny, get up. I know you’re faking. I’ve been watching you for months.”
“Sonny, how can you be so cold and heartless?” Maizie asked.
“She’s a fraud. She’s a fake. She works for the Big Guy. Get up, Granny,” Sonny advised, as he pointed the gun directly at Granny.
“Since you put it that way,” Granny raised herself up, letting the women lift her to her feet, and stomping her feet and her umbrella, “You won’t get away with this.”
Just then, the inside door opened. Gram Gramstead, in all her redheaded glory, rushed into the room.
“Gram, get out of here. Now your following me has really got you in trouble, run, get help,” Granny yelled in exasperation.
“I don’t think so, Granny,” said Gram as she raised her umbrella in one hand and pointed a small gun at Granny with her other hand.
“Gram Gramstead, put that gun down,” Granny ordered.
“No, Granny, this has gotten out of hand and it’s your fault.”
Granny straightened herself as tall as she could with her five foot frame and put herself in target’s way.
“My fault! My fault!” Granny yelled in outrage as she got ready to raise her umbrella.
“I wouldn’t try it, Granny, I’m on to your tricks. Remember, I’ve studied you and I know your every move.”
Just at that moment, little white poodle ran in from the underground street door that had been left open.
“Hercules, where have you been?” the good looking young man said to the little white poodle, while still holding the gun on the three women.
Granny turned. “Hercules? That’s little white poodle. Hercules? Please,” Granny said in disdain.
“Sonny boy, don’t let that wimp dog of yours, Hercules, distract you,” Gram reminded him. “We have to change our plans now and get rid of these people, all because of her.” Gram advanced on Granny, not taking her gun off of her target.
“Little white poodle is your dog?” Granny asked in disbelief, trying to ignore the gun pointing straight at her. “And you named him Hercules? What is the matter with all the men in town? They have serious naming ability problems. Don’t you think, Gram?”
“Don’t try to distract me. Sonny boy, tie them all up.” Gram gestured to them all to move into the corner.
Just as Gram was gesturing, there was a loud bang and the door away from the underground street that led into the unknown building crashed open. Baskerville in all his bigness bounded into the room and attacked Gram Gramstead. While Gram was trying to fend off Baskerville, little white poodle started nipping on Sonny Boy’s shins. At that moment, there was a ruckus at the door to the underground street and Furball bounded in and landed on top of Sonny Boy’s head. Tank jumped on Sonny Boy’s chest as Sonny Boy fell to the ground. Tank tussled with Sonny Boy’s hand with his mouth. The gun flew into the corner. At the same time, Fish, coming through the door, gave a loud meow and ran over and dug his claws into Gram Gramstead’s stockings to keep her from getting up from the floor where Baskerville had her pinned. Baskerville, at that moment, knocked the gun out of Gram’s hand. It flew through the door to the unknown building. Then Baskerville opened his mouth wide and pulled Gram’s hat and the bright red wig off of her head revealing……….
Chapter Twenty Two
“I knew you looked familiar, Mrs. Shrill!” Granny exclaimed in triumph. And that red hair isn’t even real!”
The woman on the floor started struggling. Baskerville growled and put a big paw on the woman’s head while Fish dug his claws into her clothes to keep her still. Granny instructed Maizie to pick up the gun in the corner, as she backed out the door to the unknown building to pick up the other gun that had slid through the door. As Granny was picking up the gun, she lifted her head and realized she was in a garage. Parked in the garage was a 1957 red Corvette.
Granny saw red and the red Granny was seeing wasn’t the car. She stomped back into the room with the gun and pointed it at the woman lying on the floor.
“You, you stole my car again! Granny pointed her umbrella at the woman. Then Granny lifted the gun. Maizie, Hermione, Ella and Estelle gave a gasp, thinking Granny had lost it for good this time.
“Granny, perhaps you should put the gun down and we should do something, like call someone and tie these people up?” Maizie suggested hopefully.
“I’m not going to shoot them,” Granny yelled in exasperation. Granny lifted the gun, took out the bullets and put them in her pocket. She told Maizie to do the same with her gun.
Seeing that the shysters had the two firmly in hand, Granny wanted some answers.
“You stole my car,” Granny glared at the woman on the floor, tapping her umbrella near the woman’s head.
“I didn’t steal your car,” moaned Mrs. Shrill. “I bought one just like it. Then I’d have Sonny Boy borrow your car once in awhile just to throw you off.”
“Tut, tut, tut,” Granny exclaimed as she shook her finger at Mrs. Shrill.
Mrs. Shrill continued, “You thought you were so clever. Everyone loved you. You’d prance around and save the day. You pretended to be this helpless old woman, and you kept spoiling Baskerville. Even he liked you better than me. I decided if you were sent to the wrinkle farm then I, Gram Gramstead, my new persona, could take over. Everyone would love me and you’d just be a crazy, forgetful old lady who no one trusted anymore. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. But Sonny Boy here had other ideas when he volunteered to help me.”
Granny walked over and tapped Sonny Boy in the leg, while still looking at Mrs. Shrill. “Who is he?”
“He’s my hopeless son. He got out of prison a few months ago and decided he and that wimp of a white poodle, Hercules, were going to live with me. I told him if he was going to live with me, he had to work for his keep. He was going to help me make it look like you’d lost it, Granny. He was going to help me put you in the wrinkle farm, so I could take over your job and everyone would love me, not you. But he decided he wanted more.”
Sonny Boy tried to raise his head to speak, but Furball hissed and jumped harder on his head.
“Furball, let him speak,” Granny instructed the large cat.
Sonny Boy again raised his head, this time with Furball watching cautiously for any tricks. “You didn’t think I was going to move a forest and do all this for no payback, did you, Ma? Besides, look at those women. It’s too bad they caught me. I could have had it all, especially with Maizie. Jewels, electronics, money, rare books, the wine, if sold, would have netted me millions. Who would have thought a ratty tat restaurant would have had such an expensive stash of wine in its basement?”
“My grandfather, Phineas Fuchsia, built this town,” shouted Mrs. Shrill in her shrill voice. “It’s my town. People had no clue who I am. I decided I was going to show them. I found my grandfather’s journal and plans for the town hidden in a trunk in the basement. This was his house. I wanted it all.”
Granny thought Mrs. Shrill was aptly named.
“When I found the plans and the underground streets,” Mrs. Shrill continued, “I knew I was meant to do this. My grandfather’s spirit was instructing me to continue his plans. According to his journal, he built the underground streets at the same time as he built the town. He paid his crews to be silent about the underground streets until he was ready to have them revealed. His vision was to have a town that could be accessed from both above and below ground. Du
ring the grueling winters, people could use the underground streets to get to the stores and their homes. He had left his wife and family back in New York. He was planning to bring them out when he was finished. He lived here by himself. Then he got sick, so even though the underground streets were built, he had them boarded up. He leased the buildings one by one, never revealing the other entrances. My father inherited this house from him but never visited. It was always rented out. I rented it out for many years too and then decided I needed some new scenery and so I moved to Fuchsia.”
Gram, or Mrs. Shrill, whatever her name was, continued on, “My plans were not as noble as his. After I found the plans and investigated the streets, Sonny Boy and I cleaned them up. It was Sonny’s idea to make a little money on the side too. It fit perfectly. We could set you up as the forgetful, spacey old lady who was behind it all. You’d go to the wrinkle farm because who would put a sweet, forgetful old lady who was having problems, in jail. We’d be rich from our spoils. The best part is no one would know.”
“Then Sonny Boy started to have an eye for the ladies. They happened to get in the way. We locked them up here until we could deal with them.”
All of a sudden, Maizie spoke up. She, Hermione, Ella and Estelle had been cowering in the corner trying to stay out of harm’s way. Maizie stepped to the side of the girls with something in her hand. It was the gun Granny had told her to empty of its bullets. Maizie raised the gun.
“Sorry, Granny, I do like you, but I love Sonny more. We were going to live happily ever after as soon we tied up loose ends, meaning you and these other three twits who got in the way. You aren’t the only undercover snitch here; I was a plant to keep these silly young girls under control. Let Mrs. Shrill and Sonny Boy go or I’ll shoot each one of you one by one. I’ll start with Ella.” Maizie moved and grabbed Ella and held her close.
“And to think I entrusted my secret food cravings to you, Maizie. I’m crushed. Granny stomped her foot on the ground hoping Ella would get the drift.
Julie Seedorf - Fuschia Minnesota 01 - Granny Hooks A Crook Page 12
