Chapter 9

They’d been on the march for nearly a half hour when Booger stopped going forward and began moving in wide, spreading circles.

Charlie saw the tracks and frowned. Something wasn’t right.

“Stop!” he shouted, adding,“Wait here,” as he loosened his grasp on Booger’s leash to allow the dog more lead as he began to circle an area about the size of a football field.

Charlie could hear grumbling from the searchers around him, saying the dog was no good, that he couldn’t even follow a scent and didn’t know what he was doing. The talk made Charlie nervous, afraid that his first chance to make money was going to go bust before it began. But he could see what some of the others could not. Booger was following the scent just fine. It was Miss Gertie who didn’t know what she was doing.

Finally, someone near Charlie even shouted at him. “Hey, kid. You sure that dog knows what he’s doing?”

Charlie’s face turned red with anger. Even though he’d been taught to mind his elders, he was nearly a man, and a man had to stand up for himself.

“It’s not the dog that’s lost, mister. It’s Miss Gertie. If you don’t believe me, come look at the footprints Booger is following. She walked in circles here, likely realizing she was lost,” he shouted, and then he took a tighter grip on the leash as Booger suddenly plunged ahead, dragging Charlie with him and leaving the rest struggling to catch up.

The loudmouth in the crowd was startled that the boy had called him out and started to grumble again until someone told him to shut up or go home.

They were back on the move again. It was now three hours past the moment they had discovered Gertie Lafferty missing from her room in the nursing home. Not knowing how long she’d been gone before that was frightening. Time was not on their side.

Lon had seen enough hunting dogs in his day to know a good dog when he saw one, and old Booger was a dandy. He knew they’d find Gertie. What he didn’t know—and what worried him most—was not knowing what shape she’d be in. He kept praying as he went. Lord, please don’t let us find her dead.

Charlie and Booger were so far ahead now that Lon couldn’t see them, and he increased his stride as he jogged through the forest. There were quite a few evergreens, but also a lot of trees that had shed all their leaves, and their dark, naked branches looked like arms reaching for someone to pick them up. He couldn’t see or hear Charlie or the dog anymore and was about to break out in a run when he heard the hound bugle. He knew that sound.

“They found her!” Lon yelled, and started running.

* * *

The moment Charlie saw the little body crumpled next to a tree, he wanted to cry. Booger began to bugle. He’d treed his prey, so to speak… He’d found Miss Gertie.

“Good boy! Good boy!” Charlie said, praising Booger and petting him as he tied the hound’s leash to a nearby tree, then ran to the old woman’s side.

Her whole face was bloody, and for a moment Charlie thought some animal had been at her to cause all that blood, and she was most likely dead. Then he noticed the cut on her forehead just below the hairline and the blood on the trunk of the tree. She’d fallen, and that’s where she’d hit her head.

He felt for a pulse and was so excited when he felt one that he jumped straight up and started shouting, “She’s here! She’s alive!” over and over until he saw Chief Pittman coming through the trees at a lope. “Over here, Chief!” Charlie yelled, waving his arms. “She has a pulse, Chief. She’s alive.”

Lon reached them in seconds, thumping Charlie on the shoulder over and over.

“Good job, Charlie. You and Booger did a real fine job!” Then he got on his walkie-talkie and called for a stretcher.

The searchers who had been carrying it came running. Ken Yancy was the EMT who’d come with the searchers, and once he reached Gertie’s body, he knelt to check for a pulse. It wasn’t a strong pulse, but it was there. Ken gauged the angle of her body to the blood on the tree, then looked up at the kid who’d found her.

“Did you move her at all, son?”

“No, sir,” Charlie said. “Just felt her neck for a pulse.”

“Good,” Ken said, and unhooked the cervical collar he’d fastened to his belt. “Okay, Chief, I need two people to slide that stretcher up against her back while I hold her. Looks like she went headfirst into that tree when she fell, so I need to get this collar on her, and then we’ll turn her.”

Charlie was riding an adrenaline crash and starting to shake. He kept swallowing back tears, praying the old woman didn’t die.

A few minutes later, they had an IV in Gertie’s arm, a pressure bandage on the head wound, and a blanket tucked over her as they started back. Ken radioed his partner to bring the ambulance to the edge of the tree line at the back of the baseball field and said they’d meet him there.

Charlie was walking beside the Chief as they moved quickly back toward Blessings.

“She was really cold,” Charlie said.

“They’ll get her warmed up at the hospital,” Lon said. “You and your dog sure earned your money today. You both made a name for yourself, and I hope it brings you all the money you need. As soon as we get back to my cruiser, I’ll get you home and see about getting you and your family some help. I don’t like to see people doing without in Blessings. It’s not how we roll here.”

Once again, Charlie felt like crying. The relief of having even a small part of the burden of his family on someone else’s shoulders was overwhelming.

“I sure thank you,” he said gruffly, and then cleared his throat, not wanting the chief to think he was the crybaby sort.

* * *

They came out of the woods to find the ambulance waiting. The EMTs loaded Gertie and took off through town with the lights flashing and the siren screaming.

Deputy Ralph was also there to pick up the chief, along with Charlie and his dog. He dropped them off at the nursing home and went back on duty patrolling Blessings, as Lon reclaimed his cruiser and took Charlie and Booger home.

The chief pulled up in front of the house and parked, then got his wallet and counted out twenty-five dollars.

“Here you go, Charlie, and thank you again for your help.”

Charlie palmed the money gratefully. “If you have any other emergencies we can help you with, keep us in mind.”

“Is it okay with you if I go in and talk to your mother?” Lon asked.

Charlie hesitated.

“I won’t insult her,” Lon said. “I just want to help.”

“Yes, all right,” Charlie said. “Come with me.”

Lon got out and followed Charlie and the dog to the house. Charlie knocked.

“We only have one key,” he explained, and then the door opened, and Alice was there with her daughter in her arms.

“Thank you for bringing him back, Chief,” Alice said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Lon said. “He did great. We found Mrs. Lafferty alive, thanks to Charlie and his dog.”

Alice smiled and then coughed, then kept coughing until Charlie took his little sister out of her arms.

“Come in, Chief,” Charlie said.

Alice gasped. She didn’t want anyone to see what a state they were in. “No, wait! I don’t—”

“It’s okay, Mama,” Charlie said. “Chief Pittman wants to talk to you.”

Alice clutched at her coat collar, as if holding it tight against her throat would stop the coughing. She was scared they were going to call DHS on her for neglect.

“Please, Chief, please don’t take my kids from me. I can’t live without my babies,” she whispered, and started to cry.

“I came to help, Mrs. Conroy. Not make matters worse.”

“Oh lord, lord,” Alice cried, and sank into a chair near her sofa.

Charlie tweaked his little sister’s nose until she grinned.

“Chief, this is my sister, Patricia, but we call her Pitty-Pat. Honey, this is the police chief. His name is Chief Pittman.”

Lon grinned. “Hello, Pitty-Pat. You have very pretty blue eyes.”

She hid her face against her brother’s shoulder.

Lon had been thinking about this ever since he’d picked up the boy and his dog, and now he sat down near Alice to lay out his plan.

“I will have your utilities turned on before noon today,” he said.

Charlie panicked. “But we can’t pay for them yet.”

“Let me worry about that,” Lon said. “Mrs. Conroy, do you have food?”

Alice looked helplessly at Charlie.

“I’m not sure. I’ve been sick,” she said.

Charlie sighed. “Barely.”

Lon nodded. “That’s okay. Just know that some people will be coming by with groceries today.”

“Uh, Chief…we’ve only got one skillet to cook with, so make sure whatever they bring can be cooked in that. Everything we had burned up when Daddy blew up the house.”

Lon paled. “Even your clothes?”

“Yes, sir. We went down to the Salvation Army and got a couple of outfits apiece, so we’re managing.”

Lon took a deep breath and then made himself get back on track. “I’ll contact the County Department of Human Services to get you setup for some financial assistance. You definitely qualify. And rest assured, I’m not reporting your behavior. Just your situation.”

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Alice said.

Charlie’s legs were beginning to shake, so he sat down. He’d gone a long way this morning on a very empty belly.

“Thank you, Chief. Thank you so much,” Charlie said.

“It’s part of my job, and I’m glad I can help,” Lon said. “So, I’d better get back to the office and get the ball rolling on all of this. Have faith, ma’am. We don’t abandon our own here in Blessings. Just stay seated. I’ll see myself out.”

They watched the chief leave and then looked at each other in disbelief.

“It’s gonna be okay, Mama,” Charlie said. “Why don’t you take Pitty-Pat and go back to bed so you two can get warm? I’m here. I can handle stuff.”

Alice began wiping her tears as she stood. “Maybe I will lie down just for a bit. I don’t feel good.”

Charlie was scared for her, but trying not to show it. Mama couldn’t die too. God wouldn’t do that to them—would He?

* * *

Lon had already called the gas company and was calling the city utilities department on the way back to the office.

“Utility Department, this is Rita.”

“Rita, this is Chief Pittman. I need a favor.”

“Yes, sir, what can I do?”

“I need the utilities turned on at 440 Milway ASAP.”

“Just a moment while I check the—”

“No,” Lon said. “I know they were turned off because the family owed money, and I’m asking you to turn them back on now. I will be down to pay what’s owed before the day is over.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll get the order written up right now.”

“I need them on before noon. A woman and two kids are living there without power. She’s sick, and they’re cold and hungry. Understand?”

“Yes, sir. Right away.”

“Thank you,” Lon said, and then finally called Peanut.

Peanut had been waiting for news. When his phone rang and he saw it was from the chief, he answered abruptly, hoping the news wasn’t bad.

“Peanut, it’s me. Thanks for the heads-up about the bloodhound. That kid and his dog found Miss Gertie more than a mile up in the trees behind the park.”

Peanut frowned. “Please tell me she was alive,” he said.

“She had a pulse. She also had a big gash on her head when she fell against a tree. She’s definitely suffering from exposure. Can’t say what the outcome will be, but that’s not why I’m calling. I need your help.”

“Yes, sure, what do you need?” Peanut asked.

“That kid, Charlie Conroy…he and his mother and little sister are in the old house behind the Blue Ivy Bar. Their utilities got cut off days ago. They’re cold and mostly out of food, and his mother is sick. I’ve already dealt with getting the utilities turned back on, but I need some help with DHS, and I know you work with them often.”

“Yes, there are people I could call,” Peanut said.

“I know this is clearly not protocol, but is there any way you can get someone to their house to help them sign up for assistance and whatever else that welfare can do for a situation like this?”

“I’ll make it happen,” Peanut said.

Ruby walked in and slid onto the side of Peanut’s desk. “Is it Gertie?”

“They found her,” he whispered. “We’re talking about Charlie and his family. Hang on, Chief. I’m putting this on speaker phone so Ruby can hear too. Is there anything else you need?”

“I need people willing to donate groceries and cold or flu meds—particularly cough medicine—and get them to the Conroy house. Alice Conroy is sick with either the cold from hell or a case of the flu. They have a single skillet to cook in and next to no clothes. God only knows what else they’re doing without since everything they owned burned up with their house.”

“I can tend to all that,” Ruby said. “Where do they live?”

“The old house behind the Blue Ivy bar. It’s 440 Milway.”

“I know which one you’re talking about,” Ruby said.

“The utilities are off, but I’m having them turned on. Hopefully they’ll be back on by the time the groceries arrive.”

“Okay, Chief. If you need anything further, you can call my cell. I can make this happen. Talk to you later,” Ruby said, and bolted out of the office.

Peanut grinned. “Well, she’s gone. You gave her a mission, and you know Ruby. She’ll get the food there. In the meantime, I’m calling County. I’ll let you know how it goes later.”

“Thanks, Peanut. Your help is much appreciated. I need to go check on Miss Gertie. Call if you need me.”

“Will do,” Peanut said, as the chief disconnected. He searched his contacts for the number to DHS, then made the call.

* * *

Ruby was on her phone on her way to the Piggly Wiggly. She’d already called Lovey, who was donating cooked food from Granny’s along with money, and she was talking to Rachel Goodhope as she drove.

“Yes, it’s a terrible situation they’re in, and I’m upset I didn’t know about this sooner.”

“I’ll do anything you ask,” Rachel said. “Do you just need money donated, or can I come help you shop?”

“Come help me shop,” Ruby said. “I’m going to call Mabel Jean. If she doesn’t have any appointments scheduled, she can help too. Oh…if you have any old kitchen pots and pans you don’t use anymore, or one or two you can spare, they have a skillet and that’s all. Everything they owned burned up in a fire.”

“I’ll go through my stuff and bring enough for them to cook a meal in. As for the groceries, I’ll call you once I’m inside,” Rachel said. “You come find me and tell me what to do.”

“I will, and thanks,” Ruby said, then put in a call to the shop. Within minutes, Mabel Jean was headed to the Piggly Wiggly to meet her.

* * *

Alice Conroy had no idea what was coming as she crawled back into bed and tucked Pitty-Pat in beside her. All she knew was that because an elderly lady had wandered away from the nursing home, their own lives were about to change for the better.

“I’m still hungry, Mama,” Pitty-Pat whispered.

“More food is coming, honey. We ate our peanut butter sandwich, remember? Just close your eyes and help Mama rest.”

“I’ll help,” Pitty-Pat said as she backed into the curve of her mother’s body and closed her eyes.

Charlie went to the cabinet to see what food was on hand. There were four slices of bread, a half jar of peanut butter, and one can of dog food.

He opened the dog food and dumped it in Booger’s feeding bowl, then scratched him behind the ears as he gulped it down in two bites.

“I’m sorry there’s not more,” Charlie said.

As soon as the bowl was empty, he took it outside, filled it with water from the hydrant on the outer wall of the bar, and then ran back.

Booger lapped at the water until he had quenched his thirst and then plopped down near the cold stove.

Charlie took one slice of bread, spread a very thin layer of peanut butter on it, then ate it slowly to make it last. He knew the chief had said groceries would come, but until they were here, he trusted nothing.

Once he finished eating, he got their broom and began to sweep. He closed the door to his mother’s bedroom so stirring the dust wouldn’t make her cough more, and then got to work. The longer he swept, the better he felt—like he was sweeping away their troubles along with the dust. When he was finished, he put the broom away and then began dusting the house, because sweeping had left a thin layer of dust on top of the dust that was already there.

He was straightening up in the living room when someone knocked. He hurried to the door, and when he opened it, a man from the gas company was on the step.

“I just turned the gas back on, so I need to relight the pilot lights in your cook stove, heating unit, and water heater.”

“Thank you,” Charlie said, and led him to the kitchen and then into the short, dark hall where the water heater and heating unit were housed. “Sorry it’s dark. I don’t have a flashlight.”

“Don’t worry, I have one,” the man said.

Within minutes, both of the pilots were lit.

“Oh…the water is on too,” the man said. “A guy left here in a city truck as I was pulling up. Now all you need is your electric and—”

At that very moment, the lights came on. The gas man grinned. “Ask and ye shall receive, right, son?”

Charlie nodded, so grateful for power he couldn’t speak as he followed the man back to the front door.

“Now then, you guys are all set up. Have a good day, okay?”

Charlie nodded again, then closed the door and sat down and cried.

The central heat was on. The lights worked, and they had both hot and cold water. It was a miracle. He was so excited about the water that he got the mop and mop bucket and began cleaning the floors, starting from the kitchen, working all the way through the living room, then down the hall and into his bedroom.

He tossed the mop water out the back door and was coming inside when he heard another knock at the door.

He ran to answer.

The three women standing on the doorstep with their arms full of groceries were strangers, and one of them, a small blonde with stitches in her lip and two black eyes, seemed to be in charge. He tried not to stare.

“Hello, Charlie. I’m Ruby Dye. I own the hair salon down on Main Street. This is Mabel Jean Doolittle, she works there with me, and this other lady is Rachel Goodhope, who runs the bed-and-breakfast. We have some groceries for you. May we come in?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Charlie said. He stepped aside as they walked in, then led them to the kitchen.

“There are more bags in the cars, Charlie. If you don’t mind, it would be a big help if you started bringing them in too,” Ruby said.

He looked out, saw three cars, and paused. “Which car, ma’am?”

Ruby grinned. “Oh, all of them. Trust me, there’s a lot to carry in here.”

Before Charlie could get out the door, his mother emerged from her bedroom, saw all the women, and grabbed at her sleep-tousled hair. “I thought I heard voices,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am, you sure did, and I’ll bet it sounded like a henhouse full of chickens,” Ruby said, then went through the introductions again, then began to explain. “We brought food. Charlie, get busy carrying sacks. Alice, this is your house and your kitchen. We’ll bring things in, and then you put it all where you want it to go. How’s that?”

Alice nodded, too wide-eyed to speak. It wasn’t until they all went back for more that she realized the power was on and the house was clean. It even smelled clean, although all Charlie would have had to clean with was water. It was the most wonderful thing in the world to feel heat and have water and light.

She began emptying sacks and putting away food, some in the refrigerator humming near the kitchen counter, and the rest in her very empty pantry. They’d even brought a big bag of dog food for Booger. When the sacks kept coming, and she saw what they’d brought, she was in shock. How did they know? God in heaven, how did they know? And Charlie. She hadn’t seen him smile in months, and now he was grinning and talking with the ladies as if he’d known them all his life.

Finally, all the sacks were inside, and Mabel Jean and Rachel had said their goodbyes and left to go back to work. Ruby brought in the last sack, which was the food Lovey had donated from Granny’s Country Kitchen. Ruby set it on their kitchen table and then turned around.

“This is already cooked. Lovey Cooper sent it. She owns Granny’s Country Kitchen. And before you dig in, take the medicine we brought.”

“Yes, yes, I should do that,” Alice said, and went to get a glass of water.

The bedroom door opened again as Alice was swallowing pills.

Pitty-Pat saw a strange woman standing beside her mother and was too scared to come in. “Mama?”

“Hi, baby. Come meet Miss Ruby.”

The little girl came in and then scooted behind her mother’s leg. “Her face is funny,” she said.

Alice gasped. “Patricia, that’s not a nice thing to say!”

Before the little girl could burst into the tears Ruby saw coming, she laughed.

“No, it’s okay, and I totally agree with you. Right now my face is a mess, but it will heal and then I’ll be myself again.”

Alice sighed. “I’m sorry. Kids are so brutally honest.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ruby said.

“Were you in an accident?” Alice asked.

Ruby shook her head. “I’m the woman who was kidnapped last Sunday.”

Alice gasped. “I didn’t know about that. Really kidnapped?”

“Yes, but I’m alive and home, and he’s in jail—forever, I hope.”

Alice was in shock, trying to imagine the horror of such a thing happening to her. “That’s wonderful. I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said.

“Yes, it is wonderful,” Ruby said. “And I need to let you and your family sit down to a meal. Enjoy, get well, and the first time you’re downtown, stop by the Curl Up and Dye and say hello. First family haircuts will be on me.”

“I will, oh, I will,” Alice said. “I can’t thank you enough. People are so good here. I’m grateful. Very, very grateful.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Ruby said. “You and Patricia take care.” And then she glanced at Charlie. “It has been a true honor to meet you, Charlie. You and Booger rock.”

Charlie smiled. “Thank you, Miss Ruby. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, Charlie. Give Booger an extra scoop of dog food for the fine job he did finding Miss Gertie.”

“Yes, ma’am, I sure will,” Charlie said, and let Ruby out before locking the door behind her. When he turned around, his mother was already taking out the food from Granny’s.

“It’s fried chicken,” Alice said. “And biscuits, and mashed potatoes, and green beans. Oh my lord! And pie! There’s a whole fruit pie.”

Charlie took down the three plates from the cabinet that May from the Blue Ivy Bar had given them, and got out the mismatched forks and spoons he’d pulled out of the ashes of their old home.

“Fill ’em up, Mama, and let’s eat. I’m starved.”

“I’m starved too,” Pitty-Pat said.

Alice sat down, too shaky to stand, but she was more than able to fill her children’s plates. Coming to Blessings had been the smartest thing she’d done in years. There were angels in this town—real angels masquerading as humans. Of that she was convinced.