The Wayward Gifted - Broken Point

by Mike Hopper

  Dotsie insisted. “Like I said, I’m responsible for myself. I feel well and I can help. I’m helpful, and I’m smart.”

  “You’re also stubborn,” Ed said softly.

  Toriah folded his arms and looked sternly at Dotsie, “That is the understatement of the day. Are you up to this Miss Caples?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I understand. You mean well. It’s okay,” Sam said.

  “Thank you for understanding. We appreciate your understanding.” Ed walked towards Toriah, “We’ll be back with Toriah as quickly as possible.”

  “Who are we?”

  “Sam, Toriah and myself.”

  Dotsie folded her arms and shook her head, “Absolutely not—I need to be with TT. If I don’t go, he stays here with me.”

  “Look kid,” Ed insisted, “If anything happened to you, we would never forgive ourselves. Sam would never get over it. The kid has a huge heart and even though you’ve only known her for a short time, you’ve found a place inside. Sam would never be able to handle it if anything happened to you. Do you understand?”

  “I understand much more than you realize. I can take care of myself.”

  “Then there’s no problem. You’ll be fine for a short while if Toriah takes off with us.”

  “No! Absolutely not.”

  “She should go,” Sam looked at Ed. “Dotsie should go.”

  “What?” Ed turned to Sam, “I thought you said...”

  Sam looked at Ed and then turned to Dotsie. “You should go,”

  Dotsie smiled.

  “Traveling is an adventure. It’s different from anything you’ve done before. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen. We have no way of knowing.” Sam shook her head, “but I think you should come along. We need your help. I’d like for you to join us on our journey. Will you help us find Steuart?”

  Dotsie hugged Sam, “You bet I will.”

  “We can’t lose much more time. It’s getting late. We can’t go today. We can go early tomorrow morning. How early can you meet us at the tree house?” Sam looked at Dotsie and Toriah.

  “I have breakfast at eight. I can get out of the house anytime after that and not look suspicious.”

  “Ed and I will wait for you and Toriah until nine. We’ll all go as soon as you arrive.” Sam drew a map showing Dotsie the location of the tree house. “It’s not hard to find. Wear simple looking clothes. You’ll want to blend in when we get to Bellamy. The temperature is similar to what we have here.”

  Ed looked at Sam, “We need to go now.”

  Dotsie smiled, “Thank you Sam.”

  The two girls walked downstairs together. Sam turned to Dotsie, “I’m glad you’re going. I just want to know you’re safe. If you change your mind, I’ll understand.”

  “I won’t change my mind.”

  “Thanks for helping.”

  Snow continued to fall at a steady pace as Sam walked towards the road with Ed inside of her backpack.

  Dotsie waved to Sam from the lobby, “Be careful going home.”

  Anita joined Dotsie waving good-bye, “Did you have a nice afternoon? How nice that you have a new friend.”

  “Yes.”

  Anita reached for Dotsie’s hand, “Let’s go inside. It’s time for your medication.”

  NINETEEN

  Sam woke early on Saturday morning. She heard Olivia and Ida in the living room. Olivia was crying, “Mother, where can he be? It’s been almost three days—no notes, no calls, nothing. This is a bad sign. Why do these things have to happen?”

  “Keep your faith,” Ida said. “I believe Steuart will be home soon.”

  “Do you know something I don’t know? How did Samantha Leigh end up at your house? I am so confused by all of this. Has she mentioned anything you haven’t told me?”

  Ida shook her head, “I don’t have any answers. I do believe that Steuart’s okay and I believe that he’ll be home soon. I can’t believe anything else.”

  “I want to know that my child is safe. I want my baby to come home. Where is he Mother? I’ve repeatedly told those two to be responsible. They never listen to me. I’m so tired. I can’t sleep. I can’t think. I’m fried.”

  “Let’s keep thinking positive thoughts. We’re all worried.”

  “We are not me. I am Steuart’s Mother. I have no doubt you are concerned, however you are not me. Who is worrying about me? Does anyone ever worry about how I feel? My son is missing. Does anyone listen to me?”

  “I worry about you Mother.” Sam walked in the room towards Olivia.

  Olivia turned away from her daughter, “Please, don’t even talk to me unless you can tell me something that will help bring my son home. I can’t bear to look at you unless you can tell me where I can find Steuart James.”

  “Olivia!” Ida looked at her daughter with fiery eyes, “Don’t you dare speak to Sam in that tone. She has done nothing wrong.”

  Olivia sat silently with Right, Good, and Appropriate in her lap. She stared blankly at Sam.

  Sam turned to leave the room. “Come over here, sweetheart.” Ida called out to Sam. “I need a hug.” She looked at Olivia, “Where did this ugliness come from? Shame on you.”

  Olivia shrugged, “Mother, at this moment I don’t care what you say or what you think.”

  “Samantha is every bit as worried about Steuart as I am and every bit as worried about him as you are. You are not alone in this and neither are you the only one suffering. This is an extremely stressful time, for all of us.”

  “That’s an understatement.” Olivia said.

  “A very stressful time for all of us.” Ida continued, “We need to remain calm and show our love for one another.”

  “I’m sorry, Grandmother,” Sam gave Ida another hug and looked at her mother.

  Olivia looked at Sam, “You need to tell us what happened to your brother. Where is he? Who were you with? Where did you leave your brother?”

  Sam felt tears on her face. She shook her head and looked at her grandmother, “I don’t know.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Olivia,” Ida snapped, “stop that this instant.”

  “Grandmother, it’s okay. I understand.”

  “No, it is not okay. Your mother’s worried, but that’s no excuse. Your mother loves you very much. I do too.”

  Sam walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of milk. Back in the living room she approached Olivia, “If there’s nothing I can do here, I’d like permission to visit with my friend Dotsie. She lives in the towers. Is that okay with you?”

  “Go ahead—you might as well go play. There’s nothing you can do here unless you can tell me where to find your little brother.”

  * * *

  Sam had tears in her eyes as she put on her coat. Ed was tucked into her backpack with Trista who remained motionless. Sam walked towards Ida and exchanged a hug. She walked towards her mother who motioned her to leave. “I don’t need a hug now. It’s okay. We can hug another time.”

  Sam left the house crying. Snow was heavy on the path. She decided to walk.

  Ed reached up and patted Sam on the back, “Your mother doesn’t understand. You’re doing all you can to bring Steuart home. We have a big day ahead of us so don’t allow her to get you too upset.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s not an excuse, Sam, but sometimes people say things they shouldn’t say. Your mother’s upset, but I’m certain, in her own way, she loves you very much.”

  “Thank you Ed.”

  “Everything will be okay. We’ll find Steuart today and bring him home.”

  “I hope so.”

  There was a heavy fog as the temperature was rising. The walk to the tree house was wet, slushy and slippery. Ice on the bridge and along the path made the walk difficult. Sam slipped twice. “We’re the only ones out here. I hope Dotsie and Toriah are able to meet us. What if Anita won’t let her leave the condo?”

  “We’ll u
nderstand and proceed on our own. Frankly, I was surprised that you were allowed to leave the house this morning. This weather is terrible.”

  “We need Toriah.”

  “With or without Toriah we’ll work things out. I promise you. We’ll find Steuart and bring him home.”

  Sam climbed the ladder.

  “Hey,” Dotsie said, “I’m happy to see you. We worried that you might not be allowed out of the house.”

  Sam let out a sigh of relief, “We thought the same thing about you.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity. What do we do now?”

  “It’s simple. We named the tree house. We say the name out loud and we’re transported.”

  “That’s it? That’s all?”

  “I told you. It’s almost too simple—we say it three times. I don’t know if it matters, but that’s what we did.”

  “Coming back we have to repeat the anagram.”

  “Three times in unison?”

  “That’s how we did it.”

  Dotsie looked at Toriah who nodded, “It’s that simple and you wouldn’t tell me?”

  “You know we’re not allowed to tell you much. You have to learn by yourself.”

  Sam removed the handmade Sam-Steuart sign from her backpack, “On the count of three we need to say it together. Is everyone ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wow,” Dotsie smiled. “I’ve been wanting to do this for over a year.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “She is,” Toriah nodded. “Miss Caples has been ready and trying to work this out for a long while.”

  “Let’s do this,” Dotsie said.

  “Ready?” Sam asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, one, two, three.”

  “Sam-Steuart. Sam-Steuart. Sam-Steuart.” The wind picked up. A chill was felt in the air. Nothing seemed to change. Disappointed, Dotsie looked at Sam and Toriah, “Why didn’t it work? Let’s try again.”

  Sam and Toriah looked at Dotsie.

  Dotsie looked around the tree house. “Where’s Ed?”

  “Down here,” Ed called out.

  Sam looked down and saw a 5-foot 9-inch Ed. “He’s down there,” she pointed out the door. “What are you doing down there?”

  “Not sure.”

  “Whoops,” Toriah looked at Sam, “I forgot something. Sam, may I borrow your sign?”

  Toriah held the sign. He turned it over and quietly repeated the words three times. “Sure-as-Matt. Sure-as-Matt. Sure-as-Matt.” He disappeared and then quickly reappeared, this time at a height of 6-feet and 4-inches.

  Dotsie looked up, “TT, you are very tall. My goodness.”

  “Sometimes Miss Caples, that is true. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m good. I feel wonderful.”

  “You’ll let me know if that changes?”

  “Don’t worry. I feel great. I can’t believe that we’re finally here.”

  Toriah, Dotsie and Sam descended to the bottom of the tree house where Ed waited. Looking up at Toriah, he said, “No matter how many times I do this I never come back any taller than this.”

  “I must be the bigger man,” Toriah chuckled.

  Ed looked at his friend and reached to poke his ample stomach, “Even if we were the same height, you’d still be the bigger man.” Toriah swatted Ed’s hand away with a grumble.

  Sam looked at Ed and removed Trista from her backpack. Trista didn’t move. “I’d hoped traveling might bring her back.”

  Ed put his arm on Sam’s shoulder, “I don’t know what more you can do at the moment.”

  * * *

  As in Maybell, a house stood at the front of the property. Oddly, this house looked more like Point Taken than Ceil’s. Ed walked to the back door and then motioned for the group to join him. “No one’s here,” he whispered.

  “Looks like no one has been here in a while,” Sam said.

  After peeking into the windows, Ed walked around to the side of the house where he found an unlocked door. He went inside and quickly returned, “I was correct. The place is deserted, but it’s not empty.”

  The group walked inside.

  “Sam, you and Ed should settle in,” Toriah suggested. “I think I should go into town and make a few contacts.” He cleared his throat, thrust out his chest, and straightened his shoulders.

  “Good idea,” Ed nodded. “Meanwhile, we need to come up with a plan.”

  “Agreed—I have a few ideas. Just wait until I return.” Toriah looked at Dotsie and extended his hand, “Miss Caples, will you accompany me?”

  “Yes,” Dotsie nodded, “I want to go.” She turned to Ed and Sam, “Will the two of you be okay if I go with TT?”

  “Of course, we’ll be fine. Miss DuBoise and I are going to see what we can figure out from this end.”

  Toriah raised an eyebrow. He opened the door and motioned to Dotsie. He looked at Ed and Sam, “Be careful. Please stay where you are. We all want to find young Steuart, but without having a firm plan, I believe it’s best if you wait. We do not need to end up searching for the two of you.”

  “Don’t worry, Sam and I are not going anywhere.” Ed turned to Sam, “Care to do a little in-house exploration?”

  * * *

  Sam was surprised by how similar this house was to Point Taken. “I’m going upstairs. I want to see if there’s a room like mine.”

  “I’ll join you,” Ed followed behind.

  Sam found a room that was quite a bit like hers, complete with an antique bed and a dollhouse. There was even a little writing desk in one corner that was almost identical to the one she had at Ida’s. There were other similarities; a room like Steuart’s and another one similar to Ida’s bedroom. The room that would be in the same spot as Olivia’s was also in this house; however, in this house, the room was set up for sewing, complete with equipment, tools and supplies. The sleeping porch was there too, complete with twin beds, much like Point Taken, however, the big difference was that this porch had glass windows and looked out over an icy river. Sam found a notecard on the porch. The name Laurel Ivy Hood was hand printed across the front—the backside of the card was blank.

  “I’ve seen this before,” she told Ed.

  “What is it? Who’s Laurel Ivy Hood? Do you know this person? Is she a friend of yours?”

  “No,” Sam shook her head. “I have no idea who she is, but I’ve seen the card and I know that she visited Atchison Point. She’s been to my grandmother’s house.”

  “How do you know? Did you meet her?”

  “No, I told you, I don’t know who she is. She’s been there, but I didn’t even see her—Steuart did. He had this card. He showed it to me the morning we moved to Maybell. He said Mother had a visitor the night before. Apparently, according to Steuart, Mother and the woman argued. He said that Mother made the woman leave.”

  “That’s interesting. I wonder why the card’s here.”

  “Steuart said that Mother was angry, but as she was leaving the house the woman dropped this card in the foyer. Mother didn’t see it. Steuart picked it up because he was hoping it held a clue.”

  “And? Can Steuart identify the woman?”

  “No, he told me that she had a scarf wrapped around her head. He also said that the lighting was awful. He didn’t see much. He was disappointed that there was nothing other than a name on the card.”

  “Did he hear anything?”

  “That was the strangest part of the meeting—what the woman said to Mother.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “The woman accused Olivia of taking something that didn’t belong to her. She was asking her to return whatever it was.”

  “Do you have any ideas?”

  “No, I don’t believe it. Olivia can be difficult. Sometimes she upsets people without trying. I know that, but I do not believe that she stole anything from anyone. She’s not dishonest.” Sam shook her head, “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Sounds like a mystery to m
e. I’m curious about the fact that the card’s here. What does this mean?”

  “It lets me know that, unless there is more than one of these cards, Steuart was here. He was in this room. This must be the same card. I can’t imagine that another card with the same name magically appeared here. It’s hand printed. This has to be the same one.”

  “It looks like Stew Boy was here. That’s something.”

  “I think he was trying to leave a clue.” Sam looked around the room, “How did Steuart end up at The Minor Protection Agency? How did he get there? What can you tell me about that place? Is my brother safe?”

  “I don’t know very much about it, but I think he’s safe. I don’t think he’s being mistreated if that’s what you’re asking. It’s a government agency. They help homeless children. I believe they have a good reputation.”

  Sam let out a big sigh.

  “It’s hard not to worry, I understand.”

  “That’s an understatement; it’s impossible not to worry. I need to find my brother and go home. This is such a huge mess.”

  “Sam, I feel certain that Steuart’s safe, however, if he’s there, we may have to do a bit of work to get him out.”

  “What do you mean, if he’s there? You told me that you saw Steuart. You said he’s being held at The Minor Protection Agency. Are you telling me that you don’t know?”

  “Calm down, Steuart was there when I checked.”

  “Was there?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, why are you worried?”

  “Part of what gives the agency such a good reputation is their record for placing children quickly. It is possible that Steuart could have been adopted by now.”

  “What? I can’t believe what you are saying.”

  “Don’t worry about this.”

  “Don’t worry?”

  “Don’t worry. No matter what happens today, we’ll find Steuart; but it will be much easier for us if he hasn’t been moved to another location.”