Evil Heights, Book III: Lost and Found

by Michael Swanson

  Lee looked outside. He could see the Riley's house framed between the trunks of the two last oaks before the street. The place looked dead, not a sign of life; even the front door didn't appear to be open. After a few minutes of this and no Phoebe, Lee sighed and went back to the chair, falling into it, and causing it to creak from the impact.

  "You break the chair, and I'm tellin'!” Patty was still cross. She squeezed Lucky Pup, crushing it under her arm. “I will, I'll tell!"

  "Cut it out, Patty!” Lee shot back, his anger suddenly growing. “At least you're not stuck babysitting your stupid baby sister."

  "I am!” she screamed. “I'm tellin'!"

  Lee shook his head incredulously. “Tellin’ what?"

  She responded instantly, “You called me a bad name!"

  Lee grimaced. “I did not."

  "Did too!"

  "Did not."

  "Did too!"

  "What then? What did I call you?” Lee knew enough to break off the did nots and did toos, lest they go on forever. Patty would die before giving up. She lived for that kind of thing.

  "You said I'm a stupid!"

  "You are,” he replied calmly, knowing this would infuriate her to no end.

  "Well, you're a jerk! A big, fat, stupid jerk-face!"

  Lee shrugged.

  Patty's face went blister red, and she screamed pealing out a shriek and covering her own ears until her breath gave out.

  "Jesus, Patty,” Lee groaned when she stopped. “You'll break all the glass in the house. Did you ever think about sitting on top of a fire truck and letting them use you as a siren?"

  Patty prepared for another blast, inhaling mightily and swelling up her cheeks like a stuffed blowfish at a beach tourist shop. Suddenly, she stopped and deflated her lungs letting out a great gust. “I'm not going to tell you what I heard today.” She crossed her arms and glared at Lee imperiously.

  Lee knew he could just tell her he wasn't interested and not pay her any attention, which would get her goat for sure. Or, he could play along and cajole her into telling him whatever it was she wanted to tell him anyway, and then they'd both probably be happy for the rest of the evening.

  "What'd you hear?"

  "I'm not tellin'."

  "Aw come on, Patty?” Lee leaned in. “Was it while I was napping?"

  "You were in there snoring.” She snorted, imitating her idea of Lee snoring, sounding more like a pig with nasal drip than anything else.

  "I'll get you a Popsicle,” he coaxed.

  "There aren't any more. I ate the last one while you were snoring.” She did her pig impression again.

  "Maggie, must have bought a new box on her way home from the beauty parlor. There's a whole box of Bullets in the freezer.” Lee knew he had her now.

  "How come Momma didn't tell me?"

  "She told me.” Lee punched his thumb into his chest. “She said you'd had too many, and I wasn't supposed to say anything. But since I'm such a nice brother..."

  "Okay, get me one,” she ordered, “and maybe I'll tell you."

  Lee got to his feet and bowed sweeping his hand across the floor. “Your wish is my command, oh exalted one.” He'd seen that in a movie, and had thought about doing it to Maggie some time, but was happy to have had an opportunity to try it out on Patty.

  He came back from the kitchen and handed Patty the frosty red treat, peeling off the wrapper of his own and sitting back down. Just for good measure, since the parents weren't around he put his feet up on the coffee table.

  Watching T.V., they both sat quietly slurking away. Lee especially enjoyed the sweet, sharp taste of the bullet Popsicles, cherry was his favorite, but orange was good, too. Sometimes he would go for a while preferring the Drumsticks, and for a while he found himself buying the ice cream sandwiches whenever the ice cream truck would come around. But on a hot day it was tough to beat a Popsicle. The only trick was to eat it fast enough. Once they started to melt they were about the stickiest and runniest things in the world.

  Patty finished first, her hands and face a sticky mess. Leaving Lucky Pup behind she got up and went into the kitchen to splash some water around. Lee continued to suckle at the last chunk of his, which still clung to the stick.

  "Don't you want to know what I heard?” Patty asked, sitting back in front of the T.V. and snatching up Lucky Pup.

  Lee had gotten so into the Popsicle, he'd actually forgotten. Acting as though he didn't care, he nodded.

  "When I was out playin’ with Flapjack I heard a siren. You reminded me about it when you said I should sit on a fire truck. But this was a real one. It came up the road. So I ran over to the fence and saw it was an ambulance.” She looked at Lee, expecting something.

  "Yeah, so?” Lee had the last piece of the Popsicle off the stick and was attempting to keep it in his mouth without freezing his teeth or getting an ice cream headache.

  "It turned in at the Ballard house. I could even see its red light go up their road and then stop. A little while later it started up again and went away, real fast."

  Lee could only nod. He couldn't speak right now while sucking on the frozen chunk on his tongue.

  "I think something happened,” Patty pressed on. “Maybe that old lady who was so mean to mamma had a stroke, like grandma did."

  This was something Patty had picked up after their grandmother had died. Now whenever anything happened, Patty was sure someone had suffered a stroke.

  "Could be.” Lee was finally able to talk. He had to hold his forehead as the Popsicle had won, and he was suffering from a blinding headache over his right eye.

  "Ha. Ha. Lee's got a headache!” Patty recognized the symptoms. “You froze your brain.” She held up the stuffed dog so it could see. “Look, Lucky Pup, Lee's got a brain freeze.” Then she added, “Serves you right for bein’ so mean to me and callin’ me names."

  Lee leaned back, ignoring Patty and closing his eyes while the pressure built. It was such a relief when the pressure began to drain away. “Whew,” Lee exhaled. “That was a bad one."

  Needing to get up and walk around he went over to the window.

  Phoebe and Evie were outside!

  "Hey, squirt.” Lee made a beeline to the door. “I'm going across the street."

  Patty glared at him. “Mamma said, no goin’ out!"

  Lee already had the door open. “Maggie's not here.” He stopped and looked back at Patty. “Besides, she said you can come along if you want to. So come if you're comin'. Other than that you can just keep watching T.V. all by yourself.” Lee let the screen door slam behind him.

  It was difficult not to hurry. Actually Lee wanted to run, but he had to hold himself back. It wouldn't be cool to come running. Like Ronnie had said, he needed to play at least somewhat hard to get. And before he was to the street he heard the door slam and looking back over his shoulder he saw Patty come running, hot on his heels.

  Phoebe had Evie by the hands and was swinging her back and forth having stretched her arms up to their fullest.

  "Hi,” Lee was unable to suppress his grin.

  "Hi,” Phoebe replied. “Who's this?"

  Lee looked around. “Oh. This is Patty. She's my little sister. I'm sure I told you about her, didn't I?"

  Patty surely must have been waiting for this opportunity. She'd been looking curiously at the silent Evie, but now blurted out, “You're Lee's girlfriend!"

  Lee was mortified, but was instantly rewarded.

  "And so what if I am?” Phoebe replied, with a matter-of-fact tone only girls competing with other girls can affect.

  Patty's mouth fell open, obviously stumped as to what to reply to this admission.

  Phoebe looked back at Lee. “Sorry I've been missing you. I know you've come by.” She held out her left hand, and starting with her little finger ticked off one finger after the other as she counted off the days. “Let's see. You came by Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.” She stopped and tried to look confused. “This is Thursday ain't it?"

 
Lee looked at her fingers instead of her eyes. “I guess so."

  Patty pointed. “She said ain't!"

  Phoebe appeared really taken aback. Questioningly, she looked to Patty, then to Lee, and then again back to Patty. “So?"

  Patty stood her ground. “You're not s'posed to say ain't."

  "Why's that?"

  Patty shrugged and then giggled as an idea hit her. With a deadpan face, quite an achievement for a six-year-old, she grinned and said, “You just ain't."

  This even caught Lee off guard; he couldn't help joining in with Phoebe in a sincere chuckle, then added, “Good one, Squirt."

  Patty preened, as cutely prideful as she could be.

  Just then, Evie pulled away from Phoebe, obviously deciding this was just the time to become an airplane. She took off running, her arms spread out behind her and a sputtering buzz coming from her mouth. This was too alluring for Patty who had to join right in. With a jet-like swoosh Patty, and her arms spread as well, Patty took off in fast pursuit.

  "You've got a cute little sister,” Phoebe said.

  Lee took a step closer. “Yeah, we fight sometimes, but really she's not so bad."

  "I'm sorry,” Phoebe said, moving in a step as well. “I wanted to come out and say hi, really I did. But Uncle Boyd's been such a jerk. He got real drunk last Saturday night after we got back. Right off, he started in hollering about me being gone all day. He made me so angry. I almost felt like just lighten’ out and headin’ home all on my own. But then he switched over and started raggin’ on Aunt Darlene. She and him, they had themselves quite a fight, a real doozey.” Phoebe covered her mouth and moved up near Lee's ear. “He punched her around pretty good.” With a finger she drew a circle around her left eye. “You should see the shiner she's wearin'."

  "Yeah, I thought I noticed it,” Lee replied. “When I stopped by she wouldn't come all the way up to the door. She kind of hung back. And I thought it was kind of weird for her to be wearing a scarf in the house."

  Phoebe kept right up close to Lee. “Kind of serves her right,” she confided. “I ain't sayin’ a man has a right to hit a woman, but she's been such a B-I-T-C-H, I felt like belting her one myself."

  The airplanes, now with streams of laughter breaking out amongst their revving motors, buzzed through, forcing Lee and Phoebe to separate to allow them to pass between.

  Lee didn't really know what to say. He'd seen Maggie when she was in her B-I-T-C-H mood, too. All he could do was shrug and offer a commiserative, “Sounds pretty bad."

  Phoebe shrugged. “I'm just happy Uncle Boyd switched over to fightin’ with Darlene and left me alone. He'd gotten right up in my face and was just screamin’ and screamin'. For a little bit, I thought he was maybe gonna start punchin’ me around some."

  The shock expression on Lee's face must have been quite plain as Phoebe, shoved him on the shoulder with her limp-wristed, palm first push. “Don't worry, silly. I can take care of myself. If Uncle Boyd ever punched me you'd have to scrape him of the floor with a spatula.” She stepped back and put out her fists. “You wanna try me?"

  Lee looked at her fists and then back into her determined face. All he could think of was how incredibly cute she was with her lower lip stuck out like that.

  "Come on!” she taunted. “Put ‘em up."

  Lee just stepped back, put his hands on his hips and said, “You've got to be kidding?"

  Seeing she wouldn't get any action this way, she dropped her hands and leaned in grabbing Lee by the shoulders. She pulled her face right up to his. “If you won't fight, maybe we could just wrassle around some time?"

  It took Lee a moment to sort out what she was proposing. The thought of wrestling with a girl caught him off guard. By the time he realized this could be quite an opportunity it was too late. Phoebe let him go and suddenly joined in at the head of the little girl-airplane squadron as it passed by. Lee, still dumbfounded, could only watch, as in short order Phoebe was leading the flight across the yard heading for the oil drum filled with water by the driveway.

  Lee actually took a step, thinking about it, but couldn't bring himself to join in. He had this vision of some of the boys coming through the shortcut and seeing him. That'd be a difficult one to live down if he was buzzing with his mouth and soaring around with his arms spread out with some girls. But even though it was beneath his dignity it was fun to watch. Phoebe had on those red shorts and the same white blouse from last Saturday. With her hair up in pigtails and leaning forward, her arms splayed to her sides, and buzzing and burbling, she was about the cutest thing he thought he'd ever seen.

  Once by the barrel, Phoebe retracted her wings. She came about menacingly to face the two young airplanes with her fingers formed into claws. “Ahhhrrrwww!” she roared, stopping both girls in their tracks. For a second it looked as though Evie was going to cry. But distracting her, like a shot, Phoebe reached out and tagged Patty on the chest. “You're it!"

  This had been entirely unexpected. Both little girls were stunned. Phoebe used this to her advantage, jumping behind the barrel and splashing out a little water. She yelled, “This is home base. Y'all tag me if you can.” She then took off for Lee, running in slow motion so Patty could keep up. Before she was twenty feet from the barrel, Patty, laughing as though she was going to choke, slapped her on the butt.

  Patty screamed in pure delight. “You're it!"

  Phoebe faced Lee, spreading her feet apart and leaning down low. With a threatening voice she said, “You ... you better run, boy."

  Lee was standing about fifteen feet away. He touched his finger to his chest. “Me?"

  Phoebe didn't answer. She came right for him. Lee waited ‘til she was almost on him, and then dropped his right shoulder and rolled down on the ground. He came back up on his feet in one easy motion, just as he and his dad had practiced. Phoebe had her arms out, but grabbed nothing but empty air.

  She whirled, her pigtails flying, only to get a dose of Lee's grin.

  "So it's like that is it?” she growled. “Tricky, huh?” From the wild look in her eyes and the flush on her cheeks there was no mistaking how much she was enjoying herself.

  Lee put one thumb to his nose and spreading his fingers out, stuck his other thumb to the back of the first hand. Waggling his fingers he blew her an enormous raspberry.

  Patty, who was hanging around the safety of the home base oil drum, jumped out and did the same.

  "I'll get all y'all!” Phoebe roared and came straight at Lee again.

  Lee took off for the barrel. He was fully aware that Phoebe was no slouch after their run in the train yard. But, he also knew that if that was as fast as she could run there was no way she could catch him if he really didn't want her to. Still, it was within only a foot or two of the safety of the barrel that he'd let her catch him, slapping him on the back.

  Lee jolted to a stop and planted his feet and growled. Forming his fingers into claws, as Phoebe had done moment before, he faced the two little girls. “Now I'm it! Ya'll better run!"

  Instantly, Patty screamed, causing Evie to do the same. Evie was standing away from the barrel, obviously so excited she couldn't think to do anything except stand and scream.

  Lee whirled, grabbing the edge of the barrel to steady himself and cut around the other way. Little Evie was there staring up at him, so he jumped out for her, missing her on purpose, by at least a foot, and landing on his stomach in the grass and weeds.

  Coming back to life, Patty grabbed Evie, pulling her back and putting her hand on the barrel. “You touch this,” she said in earnest, instructing the little girl. “If you don't they'll get you and then you'll be it."

  It was hard to tell if Evie understood. She had her other dirty fist thrust into her mouth and was staring at Patty in total wonder.

  Lee peeled himself off the ground rising up on all fours and growling like a bear.

  Patty seized upon this moment to jump out from the barrel and push her brother over, and then she took off for the othe
r side of the yard as fast as her legs could carry her.

  Evie too, had let go of the barrel and was looking at Lee, her mouth open. Gently, Lee reached out and touched the tip of her nose. “You're it."

  In a surprise, the three-year-old screamed in delight and immediately made a lunge towards Lee, who only just barely scrambled out of the way. Getting to his feet, it was his turn to run. But he ran in an ultra slow motion, a pantomime of swinging his arms back and forth like a locomotive chugging along in a pool of glue. Evie, almost entirely hysterical, and jolting and weaving like a drunken sailor, was hot on his heels.

  Phoebe came racing in from one side, and Patty came running in to try to distract the little girl who was screaming as she ran, the impacts of her little feet making the laughs sound like hiccups. Too late though, Lee stopped and let Evie tag him. Reaching around and grabbing her by the waist, he swung Evie out, then tucked her up under his arm like a football.

  Patty was too close to Lee and too far from the barrel. All she could do was scream when Lee reached out, guiding Evie's little arm, and helped her tag his sister.

  Putting Evie down, Lee stood behind her, helping to hold her up, and at the same time using her as a shield and taunting Patty. “Evie got you. You're it now!"

  Patty lunged for him. Lee turned to run. Phoebe though, had snuck up behind him and was crouched down on her knees. Lee went tumbling over her backwards. Reflexively, he rolled up on his feet, but it was too late. Patty tagged him before he could get a good first step.

  "Oh you'll pay for that!” he called to Phoebe, who had just gotten up from her crouched position. “Ganging up on me, huh?"

  The two little girls, screaming as one, ran hand in hand straight for the safety of the barrel.

  Phoebe got low and swung her shoulders from side to side, an enormous grin plastered across her face, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright. “Catch me if you can."

  There was no mistaking this look; Lee had seen it in the train yard.

  Thinking quickly, Lee figured she'd go left, but Phoebe went right, making him miss. She had a good three step lead when she rounded the barrel. Lee, right behind, skidded in a patch of wet grass, slippery from water Phoebe had splashed out earlier. Now, Phoebe had an even greater lead on him as she headed back out into the open yard. For a brief moment, Lee caught a glimpse of Patty's enthralled face as she let go of the safety of the home base barrel and stepped away. It didn't matter; there was only one player on the field he was going to tag.