CHAPTER IV

As Damon was led back down the hall toward the firm’s reception area, Gail hung behind and conferred anxiously with Connie.

“What do you think? Has Charlie lost it completely? What in the world has happened?”

The words tumbled out of her mouth all at once, uncharacteristically jumbled.

Connie stood still a moment, gazing at the departing police brigade jostling their unwilling captive along.

“Obviously something has happened. We’ll know more once they file their warrant and begin to interrogate Damon. One of us needs to be there with him, and I suggest it be you. You have a good rapport with him. Just keep him from saying too much until we can get the full story. Hugo’s already got a head start on this. Let him do his job and track down as many hard facts as he can.”

“I think we need to find Hal as soon as possible. If something has happened to Marilyn, he’ll need all our support now.”

Hal Watson was a criminal defense attorney in private practice in Cathcart. Gail had known him for quite a few years, and she and Connie had called on him for consultation more than once. She respected his experience and acumen, and had no hesitation in coming to his assistance if she could. Marilyn, his only daughter, was studying law with an eye to joining her father’s practice one day.

She was also Damon Powell’s fiancée.

“Let’s let Hugo do his job,” Connie said again. “He will probably be able to find Hal quicker than anyone, including the police, and the sooner he gets his people on the job, the better. We both know that forty-eight hours is the maximum leeway, before a missing person’s trail can go cold.”

Gail was silent a moment, thinking hard.

“Do you think we’d better call on Charles? I don’t know about you, but my court calendar is full up right now. Much of it is minor stuff, but there is the Del Monaco hearing coming up next week. I’ve done most of the prelim work and have the brief outlined on my computer. I was reviewing it again this afternoon as a matter of fact. But someone will need to be in court on Monday, or we’ll face another delay. And Ralph Del Monaco won’t be happy about that.”

The powerful Del Monaco family was in the midst of a bitter legal battle over patriarch Nino Del Monaco’s fat estate—and his grandson Ralph was one of their major clients.

“You’re right. Hopefully, Charles can clear his slate and come out for a few weeks to help out. At least until we know what we’re dealing with.”

Charles Walton was their associate and partner who ran the firm’s Arizona office.

“If not, we’re going to have to spell each other and do double duty with this new situation.” Gail shook her head. “Just in case, can you look after Damon on Monday, while I handle the Del Monaco hearing?”

“I think so. All I have pending right now is that custody case for Lisa Mathews. I should be able to get a continuance on that. I don’t think she’d mind. The longer Daryl Mathews has to twiddle his thumbs, the better, as far as Lisa is concerned.”

“All right. I think I’d better call Mother right away, also. Let her know we might be tied up for a while. Just in case there’s some issue brewing with Erle. I’m going to suggest that she ask Lucy to come stay with her for a bit. They always have a good time together, and Lucy’s great with Erle.”

Lucy Verner, her mother’s younger cousin, was bright, good-natured, and seemingly in great health. She was a retired nurse and lived in her family’s home in a small farming community about 50 miles north of Cathcart. Between the two of them, Erle would be the perfect angel. Or at least that was what Gail hoped.

“That’s a great idea. If necessary, tell her I can make a quick trip up to Grand View and get her. I hope she’s free. It would be a good solution.”

“All right,” Gail ducked into her office to grab her purse and briefcase. “I’d better get going. I don’t trust Charlie one little bit. I’d better get over there or he’ll have Damon on the ropes.”

“Right. And, Gail…”

“Yes?” She looked back at him, one tendril of hair flying astray.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get through this.”

She waved at him, blew him a kiss, and strode out the main door.

Time to do battle.

But first, she had to call her mother. Once in the elevator, she fumbled her phone out of her tote and hit the automatic number for M&E and thrust the phone to her ear. Hopefully, this conversation would go well.

* * * *

“What do you mean, you don’t know where he is?

Gail tried to keep the panic out of her voice but failed miserably.

She stepped out of the elevator and made her way to a bench in the cavernous building lobby before adding: “What happened?”

“Now, Gail, let’s not jump to any conclusions.” Alberta Norris took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m sure he’s just playing one of his silly games with me. I thought he was doing his magic act in the play room…I just shut my eyes for a minute….”

Gail took a deep breath and counted to three before responding.

“Mother! You know you can’t nap while you’re there alone with him during the day. You should wait until….”

“Yes, Gail, I know. You don’t need to get short with me. I said I only shut my eyes for a minute. I thought he was just fine.”

Gail paused. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to argue with her mother over this, with everything else on her plate. Why, oh why, did Erle have to pull this stunt right now?

And why hadn’t her mother been paying closer attention to him?

“I’m sorry, Mother,” she said in a calmer tone. “I didn’t mean to sound that way. I’m just concerned. He isn’t safe out on his own. You know that. We’re going to have to get you some help.”

There was a brief silence, and Gail thought she detected crying sounds on the other end of the line.

“Mother, please! I just don’t have time for all this. As I said, we’ve got this complicated situation going on with Damon—and we’re short-handed as it is.”

She was alarmed to hear genuine sobs.

“So, you’re too busy with that…that murderer…to care about what’s happened to your own brother?”

“Mother…I said I was sorry….”

She didn’t bother to respond to the depiction of Damon as ‘a murderer.’

“You don’t understand, Gail. Don’t you think I know it was my fault he got away? I’m not stupid, you know. I know I’m getting old and it’s getting more difficult for me to cope with these issues.

“But I don’t think he could have gotten far. And, after all, it’s not any worse than a young child running off somewhere to fool his mother. He’ll be all right. I’m sure of it. I just thought you ought to know before I started out to look for him.”

“You’re right, Mother,” Gail said in a calming tone. “I’m sure Erle will be just fine. But I think it would be better for you to stay there, just in case he shows up again. And he might be hiding somewhere in the house or yard. He’s done that before.

“No,” she continued. “You stay right where you are and keep an eye out for him. I’ll let Connie and Hugo know. They’ll get some people on it right away. Like you said, he can’t have gotten very far away. He’s probably just playing a trick on you. We’ll find him and get him settled…then we’ll talk about what we can do to keep this from happening again.”

“But…,” Alberta’s voice wavered off. “Well, all right. I’ll stay right here and wait. Maybe he will come back on his own this time.”

Gail texted both Connie and Hugo with the news of Erle’s disappearance, then pondered the dilemma as she headed out to Main Street to catch a cab to police headquarters.

Connie was right, of course. They were going to have to make a change of some kind. Erle Norris was a child trapped in a man’s body. Until recently, Alberta Norris had been fully capable of caring for and protecting her son.

But this was not the first time in the past six months he had escaped her watch.

The situation was deteriorating rapidly, and they would have to take action before something really terrible happened.

Gail’s own worse fear was not only the physical danger to her mentally-challenged brother, as innocent and naïve as he was. No, her very worse concern, knowing how quickly his peaceful demeanor could turn to rage, and having seen the results of that rage, was the possible harm he might inflict on others, without really meaning to hurt them.

And that, quite simply, could not be allowed.

Suddenly she knew exactly what had to be done.

Once Erle was safe and back home again, she and Connie would need to have a long, painful talk with Alberta. She was certain her mother would be unhappy about the discussion. But it was necessary, and it would involve some difficult changes for all of them.

But change was necessary, wasn’t it? All of life was full of change. And survival depended on how well you accepted and adapted to it.

“Onward and upward,” she thought. We’ll get through this change, too.

* * * *

What a marvelous change!

Erle kicked his feet in the first few inches of fallen snow on the black macadam in high spirits.

No nasty Mother to tell him “No, Erle! You mustn’t do that!” No stuck-up sister who forgot all about him…for days at a time.

This was much better, out here in the woods, by himself, with no stupid adults around to spoil his fun.

Erle tried to whistle a song, something he heard someone else doing recently. What was it? How did it go? He hated it when he forgot stuff. It made him feel like a little kid. And he wasn’t a little kid, was he? He was a big man now.

Someone had told him that not very long ago…someone else….

He gave up trying to remember the raggedy tune…and that other person. Maybe he would see that person out here, in the woods, and they could play The Game again. The funny, dangerous game no one else had ever played with him.

An unfamiliar eagerness overwhelmed him, as he thought hard about the strange, but wonderful, feeling the funny game gave him.

But he couldn’t tell anyone else about it. No one else at all. Because the other person had warned him what would happen if he told. People would get hurt. No, people would die, if he told.

So whatever happened—and whatever anyone said to him—or asked him—he must not tell about The Game. That had been drummed into his brain…and he dare not forget it.

An odd little chill came over him all of a sudden and he shivered, as he scuffed along in the icy ruts of the narrow country road. He felt something damp creeping into his shoes. Perhaps he should have worn his galoshes after all, since it was so wet and slushy out here. He liked that word, slushy. It had a funny, delicious taste to it…like cotton candy…the kind that made his nose wrinkle up like a bunny rabbit.

He stopped. Mother always said he should wear his galoshes…and his overcoat…and his hat…if it was raining or snowing. And he didn’t have any of those things with him today. He hadn’t been thinking at all about things like that when he crept out of the house while Mother was sleeping.

Crept out quiet as a little mousie, he did.

He grinned at the thought. He, Erle dressed up in little mousie clothes! Creeping silently out of the house. Not getting caught….

But what did Mother know about anything? She was getting old…older than ’thuslah, as they said in Sunday School. She didn’t know nothing! He was just fine in his regular clothes and shoes.

Just fine!

Suddenly a movement just out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. It must be a bird or some other kind of animal, fluttering about in the overgrown bushes near the road.

He forgot all about the damp in his shoes…forgot about the tune he had been trying to remember, too.

Was that thing in trouble? Should he go try to free it? Or should he just leave it to struggle alone.

He grappled with this huge dilemma, much like the bird…or thing…or whatever it was…continued to thrash about in the undergrowth.

Why was it always so hard to make up his mind, he wondered. Why was everything always so hard for him? The other people in his life didn’t seem to have this kind of problem. Mother, Gail, Connie.

They all seemed to know exactly what they were going to do and when to do it.

Not like him. Always wondering what he was going to do…if it would be okay to do it.

By now, given the huge dimension of the issue at hand, he had forgotten all about the other person and The Game. They no longer existed for him and he stood uncertainly, in the middle of the road, brow furrowed, as he tried to decide what he was going to do next.

The Thing struggling to free itself had now gained all of his attention. He began to move furtively, ever so slowly, toward the flapping noise in the brush at the side of the road.

Now the icy dampness in his shoes was beginning to make his feet burn, almost as if they were on fire, and he brushed the drifting snowflakes away from his hatless brow impatiently.

If Mother was here…or Gail…they would know what to do. They would fix everything for him and make it all better.

Angrily, he stomped his foot, and winced at the sudden sharp searing pain which made tears spring to his eyes.

Suddenly, he wished he was safe, warm and dry, back at home, sitting in front of the bright crackling fire playing games with Gail, while Mother fixed hot cocoa and his favorite cinnamon toast, to take away the hurt and chill.

He limped on, whimpering under his breath to himself. But just as he was drawing near enough to the thrashing sound to get a good look at whatever it was, a dark figure stepped out from the trees on the other side of the road and called out to him:

“Erle! Erle Norris! Wait up a minute. We need to talk to you….”

Startled, he tripped and nearly fell down.

Something about the figure seemed menacing. He looked on in apprehension as the first figure was joined by a second.

Who were they? Why did they know his name?

In a panic now, Erle began running, slipping and sliding, through the icy sludge, trying to get away from the threatening dark forms giving chase.

Just as they caught up with him and reached out to grab him, he fell, face first into the snow and mud.

An unearthly scream left his lips, as he felt hands grabbing at his clothing, pulling him back up and spinning him around roughly.

“What have you been up to, eh, Erle boy? What kind of nasty mischief have you been getting into, young man?”

“Wha…? What do you mean?” The words tumbled out. “I don’t know what you mean?”

He began to whine then burst into great, wet, heaving sobs.

Maybe change wasn’t such a good thing, after all, he thought, as the two men led him to their car just over the rise and shoved him into the back seat.