“You’re right. This isn’t a safe place for you. Natchitoches still operates like a small town and people talk. And even if you stay inside this house for the next few months, someone will come to the door and see you. Plus your grandfather told me there might be an All Points Bulletin out on you from the New Orleans Police. Some lawyer in New York City is talking to the FBI to try to get that quashed, but for now, I don’t think any of you should be seen anywhere there might be a policeman,” said Miss Gaby.
“The lawyer in New York is our Dad, Benedicte Trudeau. He has been up all night making phone calls, trying to find a place we can stay until the trial,” said Michael.
“Well, you are in luck. I knew you could not stay here after your grandfather called me and told me about how much danger you are in, so I called some of my friends to try to find a place for you to stay. One of the people I called was one of our club members, Lafayette Loomis. It was only 11 p.m. in Los Angeles, where he lives. Lafayette is a screenwriter and he told me that he just bought an old house close to the University of Southern California where he guest lectures. The house had only one owner for the last fifty years and she just died at the age of ninety so it probably needs as much work as this place, but he said we could stay there until the trial. He bought the house furnished because the only heir lives in London now and it was impractical to ship or dispose of the furniture and household goods. Unfortunately, Lafayette is leaving town to work on a film in New Zealand so he won’t be with us. So now we just need to figure out how to get to Los Angeles without being picked up by some local yokel cops.” said Miss Gaby.
“What?” asked Michael. “Is this guy trustworthy?”
“Lafayette has been my friend since we were students at Yale. Once I told him why we needed help, he wanted to do anything he could,” said Miss Gaby.
“But if he talks about this…,” said Michael.
“I told him that if he talks to anyone, some really sweet kids could be killed,” said Miss Gaby.
Amanda gasped.
“Honey, no one is going to let anything happen to you,” said Grandpa Wally.
“But shouldn’t we wait for my Dad to figure this out? He has been working on it all night,” asked DJ.
“If he comes up with a better plan, we’ll go with it. But right now we need to concentrate on figuring out how to go to LA. We will have to drive, because with all the security at airports and bus stations, we don’t dare risk flying or riding on a bus. But we are in luck, since I took this semester off from teaching to finish my book, I can go and stay with you in LA. Unfortunately, your grandfather needs to get back home as quickly as he can. If the thieves knew about Thibodeaux’s relatives, they know about Wally,” said Miss Gaby. “And if they know Wally is missing, they will start looking for his friends and acquaintances.”
“Gaby is a very good crime writer. She thinks about all the angles,” said Grandpa Wally. “Just look what she figured out since last night.”
“Yes, that is quite something,” said Amanda. She was dazed, listening to this stranger who seemed to have taken over and planned out their lives. But she wondered why she was surprised. All sorts of kindhearted strangers had helped then since the bombing and they all seemed to be full of ideas.
“Well, we can’t travel in the Escalade. We need to assume that all law enforcement has the make, model, and license plate of that car,” said DJ.
“You’re right about that. I closed the barn doors on your car last night and that is where it needs to stay,” said Miss Gaby.
“But will it be safe to be in LA?” asked Amanda.
“Lafayette’s house is next to a university with over thirty-five thousand students, so a few more young people won’t attract any attention. Plus it is pilot season in Los Angeles and the city is swarming with actors from all over who have moved to LA to make the rounds. If anyone asks, we will just say that you are in town for pilot season and that I am your acting coach and manager,” said Miss Gaby.
“Oh no, this stops right now. Solange is not going on any auditions,” said Amanda.
“I did not mean to imply that any of you would actually audition for a TV show, after all, you are going home after the trial. But why are you worried about Solange in particular?” asked Miss Gaby looking around the room to see that Michael and DJ were laughing.
“Because whatever Solange does, she is amazing. The only thing she can’t do very well is swim and I’m sure that is because she never tried. But if she auditions for a pilot, they will cast her and then her photograph will be in magazines and we will have to leave Los Angeles just like we had to leave New Orleans. So, no, she doesn’t get to audition. Solange was born under a lucky star or she has a fairy godmother or something, but that girl has to stay away from auditions, talent scouts…,” Amanda’s voice trailed off as she saw Michael and DJ convulsed with laughter.
“Amanda’s actually right. If we do end up in LA, we need to keep Solange in a closet,” said Michael. Michael saw the look on Amanda’s face. “That was a euphemism. No one is putting Solange anywhere she doesn’t want to be.”
“I know what a euphemism is,” said Amanda. She actually didn’t, but she was tired of everyone considering her to be such a clueless nerd.
“Well, none of you will actually audition and Lafayette told me the house has an old heated swimming pool, so maybe Solange can learn how to swim,” said Miss Gaby.
“Yes, that is what she needs to do. Solange needs to practice swimming and stay away from clubs, music stages, auditions…” Amanda just gave up. Michael and DJ kept looking at her and cracking up. She did not think she was being funny at all. Going anywhere with Solange was like attending Sunday School with Lady Gaga.
“Well, right now I need to go to the grocery store and since no one knows I have company, I better go alone. Please make sure your friends get something to eat when they wake up,” said Miss Gaby.
Amanda’s grandfather pulled out his wallet and handed Gaby a couple hundred dollar bills. “Here, use this and don’t argue with me. Let me do my bit.”
Miss Gaby took the money and gave Amanda’s grandfather a quick kiss on the cheek. Amanda thought that she would watch them closely so she could figure out just what was going on with them.
Grandpa Wally walked back to the table and said, “Amanda, let’s go wake everyone else up. Michael told me that Peter and Thibodeaux are the only ones who have any clothes with them. I will go into town and buy a couple of changes for everyone, but I need to know the sizes.”
“I’ll make more coffee, toast, and eggs,” said Michael.
Amanda walked upstairs with her grandfather. First she stopped at the room where she slept last night and woke up Solange who was very surprised to meet Amanda’s grandfather. Then she walked down the hall and peeped into the rooms until she found the one where Thibodeaux and Peter were sound asleep. Amanda walked into the room and shook both of them.
Peter was thrilled to see his grandfather; he hugged him and said, “Please take us home with you.”
“I would love to, but I can’t. We know those hoodlums found out about Thibodeaux’s relatives and we should just assume that they know about your family,” said Wally. “So you need to go somewhere else and I need to go back home and act like I have not heard from any of you. But just look at you. I haven’t seen you since last summer and you must have grown two inches just like Amanda. ”
“If it’s not safe for us to go with you, will you be okay if you go back to the ranch?” asked Peter.
“Hey! I’ve been taking care of myself for a very long time and no one can get anywhere near my ranch without my knowing about it a mile before they arrive,” said Wally. “I’ve warned everyone who works for me; they think they are looking for a gang of horse thieves who want to steal a race horse I just purchased. Plus we are high tech these days—there are security cameras hidden all over the ranch.”
“Hi, I’m Thibodeaux.”
“I’m sorry. Granddaddy, this is my f
riend Thibodeaux. He is a member of Peter’s and my posse,” said Amanda.
“Pleased to meet you young man. Hmm, so you call yourself a posse. You know, my grandfather and his brothers used to ride with a posse every time someone stole a horse or broke out of jail. The sheriff would come bang on the door in the middle of the night and they would load their guns, saddle their horses, and ride out with him. It was a rougher time in Texas back then and everyone had to pitch in and do their part to keep the place safe. But I’ll tell you my tales some other time. Why don’t you three (Solange was leaning against the doorway) get cleaned up and come downstairs and eat some breakfast. I am going to town to shop for some more clothes for everyone so you will need to give me your sizes,” said Wally.
“We’ll go with you,” said Solange.
“We can’t, Solange. Everyone thinks the police are looking for us so we need to stay inside the house. But Granddaddy, if you go shopping, don’t you think the bad guys can track you here by your credit cards?” asked Amanda. She was getting really good about thinking of all the angles. Michael and DJ weren’t the only ones who had been watching Law & Order.
“I’m old fashioned and don’t use credit cards much. But I do have a wad of cash in my wallet and I will buy the clothes at several different stores so no one will remember some old guy buying clothes for six different people,” said Wally. “There are two bathrooms upstairs and a half bath off the hallway downstairs. Gaby’s room is downstairs in the new addition and she has her own bathroom so you can use any of the other ones. I will see you in a few minutes.”
“Peter and I have our clothes with us. We had about an hour after Michael called us before they picked us up, so we were able to pack. You will only need to get some clothes for the girls and Michael and DJ,” said Thibodeaux.
“That’s right. I actually did hear that,” said Grandpa Wally.
Amanda looked at Solange, “How are you this morning?”
“I’m going to go to the bathroom and look at my bruises. How do you feel?” asked Solange.
“Sore but I’m okay,” replied Amanda.
“I guess we are lucky, but the next class I take is going to be karate,” said Solange.
Amanda and her grandfather went downstairs. Wally went back into the kitchen to get Michael and DJ’s sizes. Amanda wandered around the house. In the living room she found an old VCR player and a bunch of VCR movies. Well, it wasn’t a blue-ray player or an Xbox, but they would have something to do with their time while they were figuring out where to go next.
Amanda walked back into the kitchen as DJ was saying, “Thanks for going for some clothes, but I don’t need more than a shirt. I have to get back to New York City because I have a television show every day at five. I got a substitute, but that can’t go on forever; my viewers expect to see and hear me spinning the tracks. I need to figure out a way to get to Atlanta without anyone seeing me. If I make it to the Atlanta airport, and the Feds stop me when I am boarding the plane, I can probably talk my way out of it and not let them know where you are. But I bet by the time I make it to Atlanta, my father will have figured out a way to quash that APB.”
“You are leaving us?” asked Amanda.
“Michael is going to stay with you,” said DJ. “When I get back to New York, I will have my crew. They will pick me up from the airport, and I won’t go anywhere without them until after the trial.”
“You are staying and not going back home with DJ?” Amanda asked Michael.
“Of course. You need someone to take care of you,” said Michael.
Amanda looked at Michael and thought about how much he was giving up to stay with them—his career, his girlfriend. She thought about hugging him, changed her mind and tentatively touched his arm, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” replied Michael.
Thibodeaux and Peter came downstairs. Thibodeaux immediately poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. Amanda looked at him and poured herself a second cup of coffee and sat down beside him. Hey, after what they went through last night, she deserved a second cup.
Thibodeaux looked at Amanda’s face in the sunlight, “Oh man, look what they did to you. If I had been there…”
“I know. If you had been there, you would have helped. But I am glad you weren’t there to get beat up too,” said Amanda.
“From now on, we all need to stick together,” said Thibodeaux.
Amanda looked at Thibodeaux and nodded.
“Where’s Solange?” asked Michael.
“I’m sure she’s in the shower. I could not wait to wash that dirty water out of my hair,” said Amanda. “Grandpa, don’t buy a coat for me. I have a Tommy Hilfiger coat and I would rather wear it. It’s just wet and dirty. I’ll wash my coat and Solange’s. I saw a washing machine in the mud room. Do you think Miss Gaby has three tennis balls?”
“Why do you want three tennis balls?” asked Grandpa Wally.
“You use them when you dry down coats. It keeps them in shape,” said Amanda.
“How do you know something like that?” asked DJ.
“Because I’ve heard them. The balls thump around in the dryer. You’ll hear them too if we can find some tennis balls,” said Amanda wondering why every time she opened her mouth, DJ and Michael looked like they were about to burst out laughing.
“I doubt she has tennis balls. Gaby has never been much for sports, just yoga and running. But I will bring some back from town,” said Grandpa Wally.
Peter looked at Amanda and Thibodeaux drinking coffee and poured himself a cup with a lot of sugar and milk and sat down on the other side of Amanda who wrapped her arm around his shoulder to hug him. Strangely enough, he did not squirm out of the way.
“When did you start drinking coffee?” asked Grandpa Wally.
“Right now,” said Peter.
“Oh,” said Grandpa Wally.
“Well, I guess everyone is going to be short,” said DJ.
Amanda gave him a stern look. She was definitely not going to laugh at his jokes if he insisted on laughing at everything she said. But the stern look did not work. DJ just looked back at her and burst out laughing again.
“Okay, Amanda, Michael, and DJ, give me your sizes,” said Grandpa Wally. “I will get everyone two changes of clothes, pajamas, and toiletries. Once that APB is quashed, we will figure out a way for you to shop for more clothes by yourselves so you can get what you really want. ”
Amanda rummaged through one of the kitchen drawers and found a pad and a pen, “I’ll go upstairs and ask Solange what she needs. Why don’t you tell Thibodeaux and Peter about Los Angeles?”
“Los Angeles? What’s going on in Los Angeles?” asked Thibodeaux.
Amanda left the kitchen and climbed back up the stairs. The shower had stopped so she banged on the bathroom door and asked Solange if she could come inside.
Solange opened the door. She was wrapped in a towel and combing out her hair with one of the hair brushes Miss Gaby had laid out with the toothbrushes.
“We need to make a list of two days worth of clothes and drug store stuff that we need,” said Amanda.
Solange wrote out her list while Amanda told her about the plans Miss Gaby had made.
After Amanda was through telling her everything that had been “settled” this morning, Solange asked, “Do you think going to LA is a good idea?”
“How do I know? Ever since the bombing there have been all these nice strangers helping us. Well at least this time, one of them is my grandfather and I trust him,” replied Amanda.
Amanda looked at Solange for a moment and then asked, “Are you going to be okay about leaving Armand in New Orleans? You were really upset last night.”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I? Armand and I have not been apart since grade school. The only time I did not see him was when I went to New York City to visit Auntie Tina and Thibodeaux,” said Solange. “And when we were both sixteen, he went to New York with me.”
“
I guess we are just going to have to miss everyone until after the trial,” said Amanda. “But what about Michael? Now that Armand is not around…”
“Hey, men have been interested in me ever since I turned twelve, old men, young men, little boys. But that has not changed how I feel about Armand; he’s my best friend. Besides, even if I did not love Armand, Michael lives in New York City, he is twenty-three years old, and we have nothing in common. I am not about to be some fling for a guy in the hip-hop business. Besides, Michael thinks I’m an idiot.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” said Amanda.
“Which part? Me being a fling or Michael thinking I’m an idiot?” asked Solange.
“Both,” replied Amanda.
“Yeah, I was really smart to get us both kidnapped. But hey…now that you are growing up, all kinds of men will want you and you need to be sure not to fall for one of them like my Cousin Marie—having Thibodeaux at such a young age ruined her life. She never did grow up. That’s why it’s Armand for me. He respects me and who I am,” said Solange.
“I told you. I am going to Harvard and I am not interested in boys,” said Amanda.
“Well, they sure will be interested in you,” said Solange.
“Well, I will think about that when I get back to my life. Right now the only men who are really interested in me want to kill me,” said Amanda.
“Except Thibodeaux,” said Solange.
“Thibodeaux and I are just friends,” said Amanda.
“Right, just friends,” said Solange. “You could do worse than Thibodeaux, a lot worse. He was the best little kid. I took care of him full time starting when I was nine years old until Auntie Tina came and got him after the flood.”
“Why did she do that? Your house was not flooded,” asked Amanda.
“No, not ours. But after the flood Auntie Tina came to stay with us and see about all of our relatives and friends. She wanted to be sure everyone had a place to stay and were not sick or anything. When she got there, my Mom was working at this makeshift hospital. They were shorthanded, a lot of people were hurt and injured, and she is a nurse so she was never at home. And the schools were closed so I had Thibodeaux all day long. Auntie Tina could tell that Thibodeaux thought I was his mother, so she started asking questions and found out that I had been taking care of him for the last three years, picking him up from school, making his dinner, making sure he did his homework. Well she got really mad and said that had to stop. She enrolled me in the best Catholic school in New Orleans, paid for my ballet lessons, and then she took Thibodeaux to New York City and put him in that fancy school in the Bronx. I missed him so much at first, I thought I would die. But Auntie Tina said she was doing the right thing, that I did not need to be a grownup at twelve just because my Cousin Marie was irresponsible and my Mom was too busy to help,” said Solange.
The Big Apple Posse Trilogy Page 29
