Billie falls asleep in Katie’s arms. At least he will have a few minutes of peace before old Frank returns. If we are lucky, a policeman might stop him for drunk driving. But there usually aren’t too many police around our town. Maybe he will get into a fight at the bar. Then they might call the police to come and lock him up for the night.
“Katie, do you think old Frank is really coming back?”
“I’m sure of it! He said he wasn’t finished with us yet, and look what he’s already done. I bet he’ll only be gone long enough to purchase a six pack of beer at the bar. He doesn’t look like he’s in any mood for conversation!”
“I guess you’re right. He doesn’t look like he wants to talk to anyone tonight. What’s Mama going to wear without any clothes now?”
“That’s the least of her worries right now, Missy!”
I stand up. “I’m going to let Sandy loose so she has a fighting chance against old Frank. It’s not fair that she’s tied up so he can easily grab her!”
“Missy, stop! Come back! If Frank sees her loose, he’ll know we are here!” Katie yells.
“Is Frank home, Katie?” Billie asks.
“No, Billie. He isn’t home yet.”
“Missy, get back here now!”
• • •
I run and give Sandy a great big hug. “I’m not going to let old Frank kill you so easily, girl. You’re at least going to have a fighting chance, not like Calico’s kittens. Poor Calico, she tried telling us, didn’t she, girl. You knew all along old Frank was dangerous. That’s why you never liked him. We should have listened to you. Oh, Sandy, I love you!”
“Missy, don’t let Sandy loose! Listen to me, please?”
Sandy stretches the rope so far the snap sticks. I finally get Sandy’s rope loose.”There you go, girl. Now go to where Katie and Billie are!”
Sandy runs straight for the house. She goes inside the open porch door.
“Sandy, come back! Don’t go into the house. Frank will find you. Come on, girl. Here, Sandy. I have a biscuit for you,” I yell. Sandy isn’t falling for my lying about the biscuit. I have used that trick once too often.
Sandy doesn’t listen to a word I say. Growling, she keeps her eyes focused on the porch.
I run to Sandy, hoping old Frank doesn’t return before I catch her. “Sandy…come here, girl. Let’s go outside. Come, Sandy!”
Sandy runs farther into the house. She only has one thing on her mind, and it is finding old Frank.
“Missy, Frank’s coming back. I see his headlights. Run! Get out of the house! Don’t worry about Sandy!” Katie yells frantically.
It’s too late. I can’t go back outside without Frank seeing me and knowing Katie and Billie’s hiding place. Sandy is already in the house. Frank suspects we are somewhere on this property. I hope Mama returns before Frank finds us. Maybe he will think Sandy pulled her rope so tight the snap broke.
I hear Frank’s car door slam. It won’t be long before he is in the house with us.
Sandy begins growling at the kitchen door. I whisper, “Sandy, come here, girl. Come to me!” She just ignores me.
Sandy won’t listen to me. I will just have to hope old Frank doesn’t suspect someone is in the house with her.
Where am I going to hide? Frank has turned all the lights on in the house except the upstairs. I hate going up those stairs in the dark. A vampire might get me, and there are bats out by the tops of the trees already. It’s either the bats or old Frank. At least with the bats, I get to come back to life for a while, well sort of.
I quietly climb the dark stairs that lead up to our bedrooms. The dark usually frightens me, but Frank scares me more than these dark stairs do. If the light is on, he will surely find me.
Knowing a couple of the stairs at the top squeak no matter how hard you try to be quiet, I climb them carefully. I used to try and come down those stairs in the morning to go pee without waking Mama, but they always gave me away. Especially since her bedroom is just below the stairway. I hope Sandy’s barking covers up the noise from these squeaky stairs this time.
I’m not going to cry. This dark staircase is a blessing. Maybe old Frank won’t be able to find me up here. But, he can turn the light switch on downstairs. He will find me for sure then. I won’t even have a chance to escape. There is no place to hide. And it is too far down to jump out my bedroom window.
The light bulb is at the top of the stairs. Maybe I can reach it and take the bulb out. I saw someone do it in the movies once. I try reaching for the light bulb. It is too high up. Every second seems like a minute, and every minute seems like a lifetime. Knowing I don’t have much time left, I try reaching for the bulb again; on my tip toes this time using my fingertips. It is taking too long to unscrew this light bulb. I finally manage to get the bulb out. Not having a good grip on the bulb it drops; shattering into a million pieces. I’m sure old Frank has to have heard the bulb break. If I’m lucky, he is busy with Sandy, and her barking is louder than that bulb breaking.
I stand in the dark at the top of the stairs waiting for old Frank to leave again. I hear him yelling at poor Sandy. She is going to be in trouble for sure if she doesn’t leave him alone this time.
“Get out of my way, you mangy mutt. Let me finish my beer. What? Are you in a hurry for me to kill you? Just wait. I’ll get around to killing you soon enough you aggravating, ugly dog. God, how I hate animals!”
Old Frank must not have heard me climb the stairs, or he wouldn’t be drinking his beer. Maybe he will just drink all six of those beers and pass out like he sometimes does. Then maybe we can sneak out and hide somewhere by the river until we spot Mama’s car. Even the river by the dock doesn’t scare me as much as old Frank at this moment!
“How did you get loose, Sandy? Did someone let you loose? Come here, girl. Come to your old buddy, Frank. Let me look at your collar!”
Sandy growls at old Frank. She isn’t falling for any of his lies.
• • •
I hear old Frank trying to catch Sandy. He is chasing her around the living room and kitchen. He will never catch her like that. I wish I could yell, and tell her to run outside and hide.
“When I catch you, I’m going to kill you, Sandy. Hold still now and let me see your collar!”
Old Frank must have reached for Sandy as she moved. I hear something big fall to the floor. Maybe old Frank broke his leg or even better; broke his neck!
“Don’t you ever try tripping me again! When I get a hold of you, you’re dead!”
I guess old Frank didn’t get injured from his fall. Poor Sandy! I hear him chasing her around the house again. I hope she’s smart enough not to let him get close.
“That’s it! I’m tired of chasing you! I am not playing your games anymore! Come on, Sandy. Come to Frank. Get close enough I can throw this old knife into your sorry belly, you fool!”
No, Frank can’t do that to Sandy. That’s not even fair. I should have left her tied up. She might have been safe. If he kills her, it will be all my fault! Oh, poor Sandy.
I hear Sandy yelp, then a loud thump. I hope old Frank just kicked her again and didn’t actually kill her.
Frank screams at Sandy. “Serves you right you damn dog!” Sandy lets out anther yelp, then another. They are the most ear piercing yelps I have ever heard. I try covering my ears, but I still hear her agonizing cries.
Old Frank must be stabbing her like he did the red velvet overstuffed chair of Mama’s. I hope she doesn’t suffer!
Frank begins pacing the floor. I hope he wears himself out. That might give both Sandy and me a chance to run from him.
“Who let you loose, Sandy? Are those kids in this house? Maybe we better take a look around. It doesn’t look like you broke your collar, girl. Are those kids outside? Too bad you can’t tell me. Too bad you didn’t put up a better fight!” Old Frank screams.
He wants us kids to know he killed Sandy and we are next. If he finds me, I’m going to fight with everything I have to save Billie, Katie and myself. He’s not going to kill us so easy!
“I think I’ll just sit here and watch old Sandy’s blood flow onto the floor while I drink another beer. She sure does have a lot of it. You kids have a lot of blood, too? It’s probably yellow by now. Yellow like the cowards you all are!”
It gets quiet for a minute. I peek through the floor register to see what old Frank’s up to next. He heads for the refrigerator. As if he needs more beer. Why can’t he just pass out? He sits down at the kitchen table and smokes a cigarette. When he finishes, he begins screaming again.
“You kids afraid of little old Frank? What have I ever done to you? It’s your Mama I hate. Who’s going to be first? Do any of you want to volunteer to be the first one I kill? Or are all of you cowards like your tramp of a Mama? I guess I’ll just have to start with whoever is in this house.”
I see Frank go toward the bathroom. Maybe I can run out of the house? Frank came out so quick he must have missed that toilet for sure. He heads to the living room and begins pacing again.
“Did Sandy follow you all in here? What were you in the house for? Were you getting a little hungry? If you’re upstairs, Missy, I should have killed you when I found you at the cemetery! Your Mama made me go and get you, you little baby! You are too much of a coward to be sitting in the dark alone!
Why doesn’t he stop screaming? I can’t take him screaming about killing Sandy and Daddy. Please, God, make old Frank leave us alone! Mama, where are you? I begin softly crying.
“Ow! Damn dog, you’re still tripping me when you’re dead!
“Maybe you are the one in here, Katie. You need to call your little boyfriend? Too bad I already got rid of the phone. No one is going to help you kids. You’re all going to die. It’s not like you’ll be the first person I have killed with my bare hands. You brats remember that man you found drowned. I killed him, too! He was going to be using everything I bought for my last wife. You probably didn’t even know I was married before, did you? Henry McDougall would have lived in the house I bought for me and my ex-wife, Rhonda. No one takes my stuff and lives to tell about it! No one! That includes that tramp of a woman you all call your Mama! And no damn man is going to take my woman! Do you hear me?” He continues screaming.
• • •
What am I going to do? I can’t let him kill Billie, Katie, or Mama if she’s still alive. I don’t have any cast-iron skillets up here to hit him with. There aren’t any guns or knives upstairs. There is nothing to use for a weapon. Billie does have a wooden baseball bat in the corner of his room. Maybe it will at least knock him out. I have to try something. I can’t let him kill anyone else.
I go into Billie’s bedroom to look for his bat. I sure hope he didn’t leave it outside the last time he played with it. He is good at not putting his things away. Making my way around his room in the dark, I trip on some of his army men lying all over his floor. I hope old Frank didn’t hear me downstairs. I feel around and finally find Billie’s bat. I grab hold of it real tight and make my way to the top of the stairs in the dark. My heart is pounding outside my chest. If I knew what a heart attack feels like, it might be what I am feeling right now, in the dark, at the top of these stairs!
“You kids upstairs? You’re not really scared of me, are you? I’m just teasing you. You know I haven’t really killed anyone. Your mangy dog deserved to die!”
I didn’t answer old Frank. I’m not falling for any of his lines. He killed Calico’s kittens and Sandy. I’m sure he killed Henry McDougall, and Roger. I sure hope he isn’t serious about forcing Daddy into the telephone pole. Mama told us the only thing that helped her get through Daddy’s death was that he died instantly, and didn’t have time to think about leaving us behind.
“If you kids don’t come down here now, I’m coming up there. There is no place to escape. You can jump out one of those windows up there and then you’ll die anyway!”
I sure wish I listened to Katie and stayed outside. At least we all had a chance to run if he found us. Now I can’t let him find them. It is better if he finds me first and they at least have a chance to escape. Maybe he won’t see me in the dark and he will just leave. No matter what, I can’t let him find my sister and brother!
I hear old Frank stagger to the stairway. Too bad he didn’t drink enough to pass out. Maybe his vision is blurred and I can just run past him. Maybe he is so drunk he will just fall down these stairs.
“I hear you up there. Come down, now!” He screams as he steps on the first stair. If you tell me where your Mama is, I might let Billie live. What? I don’t have any takers. Maybe I should just kill Billie first so you girls can watch.”
I hear him trying to turn on the light. It doesn’t work. I’m glad I took the light bulb out.
“How come this damn light switch doesn’t work? What did you kids do to it?”
I don’t answer him. I just stand at the top of the stairs with Billie’s baseball bat and wait for old Frank to reach the top. My first swing at old Frank will be for Daddy!
“I have my knife ready for when I find you. You can’t escape from me! It’s going to be such a pleasure watching your blood flow all down your young body!”
I hear Frank climb each step. I know the last three steps squeak. He won’t be alert enough to worry about any noise. He doesn’t know I am ready for him, in the dark, with Billie’s bat, at the top of these stairs. I have to protect my family. I’m not going to let old Frank hurt one more person. He doesn’t frighten me anymore!
Old Frank steps on the first stair that squeaks. I know there is only one more step to go before I’m face-to-face with the devil himself. I can smell Frank’s beer breath he is so close. If he reaches the last step that squeaks, I won’t have a prayer. I will only be able to hit him in his chest. I have to hit him the minute the second stair squeaks.
I aim Billie’s bat ready to strike my target. The second step squeaks. I swing Billie’s bat so hard I almost fall face down those stairs in the dark myself. The bat connected with something hard, jerking me backwards.
I hear old Frank land on each step as he tumbles down the stairs. I hope I hit him hard enough he can’t get back up and come after me. He will be madder than a bull around a cow in heat with a fence between them if he is still alive. Anyway that’s what Roy always tells us when he is mad.
There isn’t any noise. Old Frank isn’t screaming that he is going to kill us. He hasn’t climbed back up the stairs after me. Is he pretending to be hurt or did I really kill him? I wait for a few minutes more before deciding to climb down those dark stairs. There isn’t a sound to be heard except my heart pounding. My hands are sweating. I feel like I can’t breathe. If old Frank isn’t dead, I have to run to Billie and Katie fast. I take Billie’s baseball bat with me as I walk down the dark stairs; stepping over old Frank’s body. If he is alive, he might grab my leg pulling me down. I will be an easy target. It doesn’t matter now. There is no turning back. I step carefully over Frank. He doesn’t move. His neck is in a funny position. Blood is oozing out from under him. I thought I only hit his head. His eyes are rolled back into his head. He looks dead! For our safety, I hope so. If he is dead, he won’t be able to harm anyone else ever again!
I walk to the living room to see if Sandy is dead. Old Frank cut her throat with his knife. He stabbed her several times with his shiny knife. Her blood is all over the floor. “Oh Sandy, I’ll never be able to give you a buggy ride again. I’m so sorry, girl. Thanks for protecting us. I’ll never forget you. I promise!”
I run out of the porch to where I left Katie and Billie hiding. Katie grabs me and gives me a big hug. Tears flow down their face.
“We thought you were dead. We heard Frank kill Sandy. We heard every word he screamed at you and poor Sandy. We thought Frank killed you, too.”
“Oh, Missy, I’m so glad to see you,” Katie says, crying and hugging the life out of me. “Are you hurt? Did he injure you? Where is Frank, Missy?”
“I killed him! He came after me at the top of the stairs. I waited until he reached the top and then I batted his head with Billie’s baseball bat. He’s lying at the bottom of the stairs with his head in a strange position. There’s a lot of blood. Do you think I’ll go to jail for murder?”
“No, I don’t think so, Missy! Frank said he already killed three people and you were only trying to protect yourself!”
“Do you think he killed Mama?” Billie asks crying.
“I don’t know, Billie. He never said he did. We’ll just have to wait and see if she shows up,” Katie tells him.
“Missy, you’re bleeding!” Billie screams.
“No, Billie, it’s okay. It’s old Frank’s blood not mine!”
“Let’s go in the house and make sure Frank’s dead,” Katie suggests.
“No, Katie. I’m pretty sure old Frank’s dead. We don’t want Billie to see old Frank’s bloody body or poor Sandy’s. I think we should go to one of the neighbors and call Uncle Riley now. I think he needs to know what happened here tonight. We don’t even know if Mama is really alive so it doesn’t matter if she gets mad at us for calling him. I sure hope we don’t get separated or have to go to the orphanage!”
I feel numb. I’ll never be frightened anymore of the dark. Vampires will never be as frightening as old Frank. I will never have to sleep with a pillow or blanket over my head.
• • •
The first door we knock on no one answers. The second door we knock on no one answers. We keep knocking on doors until we are a couple of blocks away. Finally, some little old woman answers her door.
“What are you kids doing out at three in the morning? Where is your mother for goodness sake? Does she know you’re out at this hour? Oh my, how did you get all of that blood on you, child? Are you okay? Come on in. Let me have a look! Did you have a car accident?”
“No, we had an accident at our house, and I’m okay. Can we use your phone, please?” I ask.
“Sure, honey. You kids want something to drink?”
“That would be real nice, Ma’am. I’m really thirsty. Can I use your bathroom, too?” Billie asks.
“It’s down the hall to your right, young man.”
• • •
“Is this Dixon Police Station? Do you have Chief Riley’s phone number? This is Katie Canfield, Dot’s daughter. Chief Riley and my mama used to go together and I really need to talk to him. He told us kids we could call him anytime!”
Katie had a hard time convincing the operator to give her Riley’s number. But she was insistent and wouldn’t give up.
Finally, she convinces the operator to give her his phone number. When she reaches Riley, she tells him everything she knows. He told her he will take care of everything and for us not to worry. He is going to meet us at our house in twenty minutes. We are to stay put until then, if the very kind neighbor will allow us to wait here.
“Sure you kids can stay as long as you need. How about I get you all some blankets. You just sit down on my couch and don’t worry about a thing. You’re safe with me!”