Where are the children?

CHAPTER THIRTY

Finally Nancy was able to get up, wash her face and rinse her mouth. She mustn't let them see that she'd been sick. They mustn't talk about it. They'd think she was crazy. They wouldn't believe or understand. But if the unbelievable was possible… The children. Oh, God, not again, not like that; please, not again.

She rushed into the bedroom and grabbed underwear from the drawer, slacks and a heavy sweater from the closet. She had to go to the station house. She had to see Rob, tell him what she believed, beg him for the truth. What did it matter if everyone thought she was crazy?

With lightning speed, she dressed, stuffed her feet into sneakers, laced them with trembling fingers and hurried downstairs. Dorothy was waiting for her in the dining-room. The table was set with sandwiches and a pot of tea.

' Nancy, sit down… Just try to have something

Nancy cut her off. 'I have to see Rob Legler. There's something I have to ask him.' She clenched her teeth together, having heard the hysteria rising in her voice. She must not be hysterical. She turned to Bernie Mills, who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

'Please call the station,' she begged him. 'Tell Chief Coffin I insist on coming over… that it has to do with the children.'

' Nancy!' Dorothy grabbed her arm. 'What are you saying?'

'That I must see Rob. Dorothy, call the station. No, I will.'

Nancy ran over to the phone. She was just reaching for it when it rang. Bernie Mills hurried to take it, but she picked it up.

'Hello?' Her voice was quick and impatient.

Then she heard. So low it was a whisper. She had to strain to make out his words. 'Mommy. Mommy, please come and get us. Help us, Mommy. Missy is sick. Come and get us…'

'Michael… Michael!' she screamed. 'Michael, where are you? Tell me where you are!'

'We're at… ' Then his voice faded and the line went dead.

Frantically, she jiggled the phone. 'Operator,' she shrieked, 'don't break the connection! Operator… ' But it was too late. An instant later, the monotonous dull, buzzing dial tone whined in her ear.

' Nancy, what is it? Who was it?' Dorothy was at her side.

'It was Michael. Michael phoned. He said Missy is sick.' Nancy could see doubt on Dorothy's face. 'In God's name, don't you understand? That was Michael!'

Frantically, she jiggled the Dhone. then dialled the operator and broke into her perfunctory offer of help when she responded. 'Can you tell me about the call that just came in? Who handled it? Where did it come from?'

'I'm sorry, ma'am. We have no way of knowing that. In fact, we're having a lot of trouble generally. Most of the phones in town are out because of the storm. What is the problem?'

'I've got to know where that call came from. I've got to know.'

'There is no way we can trace the call once the connection is broken, ma'am.'

Numbly, Nancy put down the receiver.

'Somebody may have broken that connection,' she said. 'Whoever has the children.'

' Nancy, are you sure?'

'Mrs Eldredge, you're kind of strung-up and upset.' Bernie Mills tried to make his voice soothing.

Nancy ignored him. 'Dorothy, Michael said, "We're at…" He knows where he is. He can't be far away. Don't you see that? And he says Missy's sick.'

From far off, she was hearing something else. Lisa is sick… She doesn't feel right. She had said that to Carl long ago.

'What is the number of the police station?' Nancy asked Bernie Mills. She pushed back the waves of weakness that were like clouds of fog inside her head. It would be so easy to lie down… to slip away. Right now someone was with Michael and Missy… someone who was hurting them… maybe was doing to them what had happened before. No… no… she had to find them… She mustn't get sick… She had to find them.

She grasped the edge of the table to steady herself. She said quietly, 'You may think I'm hysterical, but I am telling you that was my son's voice. What is the number of the police station?'

'Call KL five, three eight hundred,' Bernie said reluctantly. She's really flipped, he thought. And the Chief would have his head for not having got to the phone. She imagined it was the kid… but it could have been anybody, or even a crank.

The number rang once. A crisp voice said 'Adams Port Police Headquarters. Sergeant… speaking.' Nancy started to say, 'Chief Coffin,' and realized that she was speaking into nothingness. Impatiently, she jiggled the phone. 'It's dead,' she said. 'The phone is dead.'

Bernie Mills took it from her. 'It's dead, all right. I'm not surprised. Probably half the houses don't have phones by now. This is some storm.'

'Take me to the police station. No, you go; if the phone comes back on and Michael can call again… Please go to the police station, or is someone outside?'

'I don't think so. The television van went to the station house too.'

"Then you go. We'll stay here. Tell them Michael phoned. Tell them to bring Rob Legler here. We've got to wait.'

'I can't leave you.'

' Nancy, how sure are you it was Michael?'

'I'm sure. Dorothy, please believe me. I'm sure. It was Michael. It was. Officer. Please. How far is the station in your car?… Five minutes. You'll be gone ten minutes in all. But make them bring Rob Legler here. Please.'

Bernie Mills thought carefully. The Chief had told him to stay here. But with the phone out, there wouldn't be messages. If he brought Nancy with him, the Chief might not like it. If he left and came right back, he'd be gone a total of ten minutes, and if that ever was the kid on the phone and he didn't report it…

He considered asking Dorothy to drive to the station, then discarded the idea. The roads were too icy. She looked so upset that the odds were she'd crack up her car.

'I'll go,' he said. 'Stay right here.'

He didn't take time to look for his coat, but ran out the back door to the patrol car.

Nancy said, 'Dorothy, Michael knew where he was. He said, "We're at…" What does that mean to you? If you're on a street or a road, you say, "We're on Route 6A," or "we're on the beach," or "we're on the boat"; but if you're in a house or store, you know you say, "We're at Dorothy's house," or "We're at Daddy's office." Do you see what I mean? Oh, Dorothy, there must be some way to know. I keep going over things. There must be something… some way to know.

'And he said that Missy is sick. I almost didn't let her go out this morning. I thought about it. I thought about it. Was it too cold; was it too windy? But I hate to think about them being sick or to baby them about being sick, and I know why now. It was because of Carl and the way he examined them… and me. He was sick. I know that now. But that's why I let Missy out. It was damp and too cold for her. But I thought just half an hour. And it was because of that. And I got her red mittens, the ones with the smile faces, and I told her to be sure to keep them on because it was so cold. I remember thinking that for a change she had a matching pair. But she did lose one by the swing. Oh, God, Dorothy, if I hadn't let them out! If I had kept them in because she was getting sick… But I didn't want to think about that… Dorothy -'

Nancy spun around at Dorothy's strangled cry. Dorothy's face was working convulsively. 'What did you say?' she demanded. 'What did you say… about the mittens?'

'I don't know. Do you mean – that she lost one – or that they matched? Dorothy, what do you mean?… What do you know?'

With a sob, Dorothy covered her face. '1 know where they are. Oh God, I know… and I was so stupid. Oh, Nancy, what have I done? Oh, what have I done?' She reached into her pocket and pulled out the mitten, it was there… this afternoon on the floor of the garage… and I thought I'd kicked it out. And that awful man… I knew there was something about him; the way he smelted so sour… so evil… and that baby powder. Oh, my God!'

Nancy grabbed the mitten. 'Dorothy, please help me. Where did you find that mitten?'

Dorothy sagged limply. 'At the Lookout, when I was showing it today.'

"The Lookout… where that Parrish man lives. I don't think I've ever seen him except from a distance. Oh, no!' In an instant of total clarity, Nancy saw truth and realized it might be too late. 'Dorothy, I'm going to The Lookout. Now… the children are there. Maybe. Maybe I'll be in time. You go for Ray and the police. Tell them to come. Can I get into the house?'

Dorothy's shaking stopped. Her voice became as calm as Nancy 's. Later – later, for the rest of her life – she could indulge in self-recrimination… but not this minute. 'The kitchen door has a bolt. If he put it on, you can't get in. But the front door, the one on the bay side – he never uses it. I never gave him a key. This will open both locks.' She dug into her pocket and came out with a set. 'This one.'

She did not question Nancy 's decision to go alone. Together the women raced out the back door towards the cars. Dorothy let Nancy pull out first. She caught her breath as Nancy 's car lurched, skidded and then righted itself.

It was almost impossible to see. The sleet had formed a thick ice shield against the window. Nancy rolled down her side window. Glancing out of it, squinting against the pelting sleet, she raced the car down the road, across Route 6A and down the street that led to the cut-off for The Lookout.

As she started up the winding incline, the car began to slip. She floored the gas pedal and the front wheels skidded, twisting the car on the icy road. Nancy jammed on the brake. The car spun around. Too late, she tried to right it. A tree loomed ahead. She managed to yank the wheel in a half circle. The front end of the car pulled to the right and with a grinding crash hit the tree.

Nancy was thrown forward, then snapped back. The wheels were still spinning as she pushed open the door on the driver's side and stepped out into the pelting sleet. She hadn't put on a coat, but she barely felt the sleet go through her sweater and slacks as she tried to run up the precarious hill.

At the approach to the driveway, she slipped and fell. Ignoring the sharp pain in her knee, she ran towards the house. Don't let me be too late. Please don't let me be too late. Like clouds breaking before her vision, she could see herself staring down at the slabs at Lisa and Peter… their faces white and bloated from the water… the bits of the plastic bag still sticking to them. Please, she prayed. Please!

She got to the house and steadied herself against the shingles as she ran around it towards the front entrance. The key in her hand was wet and cold. She grasped it tightly. The house was completely dark except for the top floor. She could see a light coming through the shade of one of the windows. As she rounded the house, she could hear the harsh crashing sounds of the bay as the waves broke against the rocky shore. There was no beach – just piles of rock. The beach was over to the left.

She hadn't realized this property was so high. You could probably see the whole town from the back windows.

Her breath was coming in deep, sobbing gasps. Nancy felt her heart pounding. She couldn't breathe from running in the cold wind. Her numbed fingers fumbled with the key. Let it turn; please, let it turn. She felt resistance as the rusty lock grabbed at the key, then held it, and finally the lock turned and Nancy pushed open the door.

The house was dark – so terribly dark. She couldn't see. There was a musty smell, and it was so quiet here. The light had come from the top floor. That was where the apartment was. She'd have to find the stairs. She resisted the impulse to shriek Michael's name.

Dorothy had said something about two staircases in the foyer past the big front room. This was the front room. Uncertainly, Nancy started forward. In the pitch darkness, she reached her hands in front of her. She mustn't make noise; mustn't give warning. She tripped, fell forward and recovered herself by grabbing something. It was the arm of a couch or chair. She felt her way around it. If only she had matches. She strained to hear… Had she heard something… a cry… or was it just the way the wind howled in the fireplace?

She had to get upstairs… had to find them. Suppose they weren't there?… Suppose she was too late?… Suppose it was like last time? – with those little faces so quiet, so distorted… They had trusted her. Lisa had clung to her that last morning. 'Daddy hurt me' was all she would say. Nancy was sure that Carl had spanked her for wetting the bed… had cursed herself for being too tired to wake up. She hadn't dared to criticize Carl… but when she made the bed, it wasn't wet; so Lisa hadn't wet the bed. She should have told them that at the trial, but she couldn't. She couldn't think, and she was too tired… and it didn't matter any more.

The stairs… That was a post under her arm… The stairs… three flights… Walk on the side… Be quiet. Nancy reached down and yanked off her sneakers. They were so wet they'd made a squishing noise… Important to be quiet… Have to get upstairs… Mustn't be too late again… Last time too late… Shouldn't have left children in car… Should have known…

The stairs squeaked under her foot. Mustn't let him panic… Last time he panicked… Maybe Michael's call panicked him… Last time they said the children hadn't been thrown in the water till after they were dead… But Michael was still alive just a few minutes ago… Twenty minutes ago… and he thought Missy was sick… Maybe she was sick… Have to get to her… The first flight… Bedrooms on this floor… but no light, no sound… Upstairs two more flights… On the third floor there was no sound either.

At the base of the last staircase, Nancy stopped to control her harsh breathing. The door at the head of the

stairs was open. She could see a shadow against the wall caused by a thin flicker of light. Then she heard it… a voice – Michael's voice… 'Don't do that! Don't do that!'

She ran up the stairs blindly, furiously. Michael! Missy! She hurried, not caring about the noise, but her thick socks didn't make noise. Her hand grasping the banister was silent. At the top of the stairs she hesitated. The light was coming from down the hall. Silently, swiftly she hurried through the room, the living-room probably, that was shadowy and quiet, towards the candlelight in the bedroom, towards the gross figure with its back to her that was holding a small struggling figure on the bed with one hand, giggling softly as with the other he pulled a shiny plastic bag over a blond head.

Nancy had an impression of startled blue eyes, of Michael's blond hair matting on his forehead, of the way the plastic clung to his eyelids and nostrils as she cried, 'Let go of him, Carl!…' She didn't know she'd said 'Carl' until she heard the name come from her lips.

The man spun around. Somewhere lurking in that gross mass of flesh, she could see eyes that darted and burned. Nancy had an impression of the plastic clinging, of Missy's tousled figure lying on the bed, her windbreaker a bright red heap beside her.

She saw the look of stupefaction replaced by cunning. 'You.' The voice she remembered. The voice that over seven years she'd tried to blot out. He started towards her menacingly. She had to get around him. Michael couldn't breathe.

He lunged for her. She pulled away, feeling his thick grasp on her wrist. They fell together, clumsily, heavily. She felt his elbow dig into her side. The pain was blinding, but his grip relaxed for an instant. His face was next to hers. Thick and white, the features bloated and broadened, but the sour, dank smell… the same as it had been before.

Blindly, she reached out with all her force and bit the thick, jowly cheek. With a howl of rage, he lashed out, but let her go, and she dragged herself up, feeling his hand pulling at her. She threw herself on to the bed, with her fingernails tearing at the tight plastic sheet that was making Michael's eyes bulge, his cheeks become blue. She heard his gasping breath as she twisted around to meet Carl's new attack. His arms pulled her tight against him. She felt the sick warmth of his exposed body.

Oh, God. She pushed back his face with her hands and felt him bend her backward. As she tried to pull away, she could feel Missy's foot under her, touching her, moving. It was moving. Missy was alive. She knew it; she could feel it.

She began to scream – a steady, demanding call for help; and then Carl's hand covered her mouth and nostrils, and futilely she tried to bite the thick palm that was choking out air and causing great black curtains to close in front of her eyes.

She was sinking into gasping unconsciousness when abruptly the hands loosened their pressure. She choked -great gurgling sounds. From somewhere, someone was shouting her name. Ray! It was Ray! she tried to call out, but no sound came.

Struggling up on to one elbow, she shook her head. 'Mommy, Mommy, he's taking Missy!' Michael's voice was urgent, his hand shaking her.

She managed to sit up as Carl swooped. His arm passed her and grabbed the small figure that had begun to squirm and cry.

'Put her down, Carl. Don't touch her.' Her voice was a croak now, but he looked at her wildly and turned. Holding Missy against him, he ran away, his gait awkward. In the dark of the next room, she heard him bumping into furniture, and she staggered after him, trying to shake the dizziness. There were footsteps on the stairs now – hard, racing footsteps coming up. Desperately she listened for Carl, heard him down the hall; saw his dark shadow silhouetted against the window. He was climbing the stairs to the attic. He was going up to the attic. She followed him, caught up with him, tried to grasp his leg. The attic was cavernous, musty-smelling, thick-beamed with a low ceiling. And dark. So dark it was hard to follow him.

'Help!' she screamed. 'Help!' At last she could make her voice carry. 'Up here, Ray. Up here!' She stumbled blindly after the sound of Carl's footsteps. But where was he? The ladder. He was climbing the thin, rickety ladder that led from the attic straight up to the roof. The widow's walk. He was going on to the widow's walk. She thought of the narrow, perilous balcony that circled the chimney between the turrets of the house.

'Carl, don't go up there. It's too dangerous. Carl, come back, come back!'

She could hear his harsh breathing, the high-pitched sound that was between sob and giggle. She tried to grab his foot as she climbed after him, but he kicked savagely when he felt her hand. The thick sole of his shoe caught the edge of her forehead, and she slipped down the ladder. Ignoring the warm, gushing blood that streamed down her face, not feeling the force of the blow, she started up again, crying, 'Carl, give her to me. Carl, stop!'

But he was at the top of the ladder, pushing up the door that led on to the roof. Thick sleet pelted down as the door creaked upward. 'Carl, you can't get away,' she pleaded. 'Carl, I'll help you. You're sick. I'll tell them you're sick.'

The wind caught the door, pulled it open till it thudded against the side of the house. Missy was crying now – a loud, frightened wail: 'Mommmmmmmy!'

Carl thrust his body on to the balcony. Nancy scrambled after him, bracing against the door frame. It was so narrow. There was barely space for one person between the railing and the chimney.

Frantically she clawed at his clothes – trying to get a grip on him, to pull him back from the low railing. If he fell or dropped Missy… 'Carl, stop. Stop!'

Sleet beat against him. He turned and tried to kick her again, but stumbled backward, grasping Missy against him. He lurched against the railing and regained his balance. His giggle was now a persistent, hiccuping sound.

The walk was covered with a layer of ice. He sat Missy on the railing, holding her with one hand. 'Don't come any nearer, little girl,' he said to Nancy. 'I'll drop her if you do. Tell them they must let me go away. Tell them they must not touch me.'

'Carl. I'll help you. Give her to me.'

'You won't help. You'll want them to hurt me.' He swung one foot over the rail.

'Carl. No. Don't do it. Carl, you hate water. You don't want water to cover your face. You know that. That's why I should have known you didn't commit suicide. You couldn't drown yourself. You know that, Carl.' She made her voice calm, deliberate, soothing. She took one step towards the railing. Missy was reaching her arms out, pleading.

Then she heard it… a cracking, breaking sound. The railing was breaking! As she watched, the wooden posts gave way under Carl's weight. His head went backward; he swung his arms forward.

As he released his hold on Missy, Nancy darted forward and grabbed her baby. Her hands caught in Missy's long hair – caught and twisted and held. She was teetering on the edge of the walk; the rail was crumbling. She felt Carl grab her leg as he fell, screaming.

Then, as she was being dragged forward, firm arms came around her waist from behind – arms that held and supported her. A strong hand pulled Missy's head against her neck, pulled them both back, and she collapsed against Ray even as, with a last despairing scream, Carl slid off the balcony, across the icy, sloping roof and into the angry, rock-filled surf far below.