Broke: (24 page)

Now Immy burst into tears. "No, they've kidnapped Mother and, and I don't even know who they are or...or anything." She dissolved in blubbering.

Ralph patted her shoulder.
"Immy, people aren't kidnapped every time you can't find them."

"No, this isn't like with Dewey. Drew saw them. They took Mother with them."

"How many were there?"

Drew piped up. "Two. Two bad mans with black on their heads. They were mean to Geemaw and used bad language.
Bad, bad language.
"

It took Ralph awhile to
settle
Immy down and get the story.
By then,
Drew was able to calmly relate
, three times,
what had happened, with just minor sniffles.
She included all the bad words each time. This might be the only time in her life she would get permission to say them.
Ralph took notes, then radioed the chief.

"We've got Saltlick, Wymee Falls, and
a
Cowtail
security guy
on the lookout," Ralph said
after he got off the radio
. "There's nothing you can do right now. You should go home and get some sleep. I'll call your cell if there's any word at all."

That was a good theory, Immy thought, but she knew she wouldn't sleep.
Drew climbed into her car seat for the ride to the house. Ralph came outside with them and Immy felt safe with his bulk looming in the night beside them. He gave her a soft kiss and she drove home.

Her hands weren't too shaky on the steering wheel
as she took off
, but she was quivery inside. She
peered
inside every vehicle she saw
, trying
to spot a large woman, probably gagged
and bound
. Hortense would never fit on the floor of a
regular car or pickup cab
. If the kidnappers had a van, that would be a different story.
The
cops
m
ight
never find her.
Immy’s
hand
s
would give an extra tremble and her heart an extra thump-thump-thump when she thought about that.

Immy bustled Drew into the house. While
Immy
was fixing a peanut butter sandwich, Marshmallow squealed and ran to Drew, knocking her over. They had a tearful reunion--on Drew's part. Maybe Marshmallow would have cried if pigs could make tears. He panted
happily
and stayed glued to Drew while she ate.
Drew
gave
some of her crust to
the pig and went to get her Barbies.
The pig trotted after her, still sticking to her side.

Immy listened to Drew's
chatter
closely to see if she was re-enacting any of her trauma. But the only reference
to the ordeal
was when Drew told Marshmallow to bite the bad mans if they came to the house.

After the usual
rowdy
splashing in the tub, and after Drew and the pig were sound asleep, Immy paced the house. Room to room, upstairs and downstairs, c
lutching
her cell
the whole time. What could be taking the cops so long to find such a large and vocal woman?

At two in the morning, she was so tired she couldn't take another step. She hadn't been able to eat anything when Drew ate, but
she
still didn't feel hungry, only a little bit sick in the pit of her stomach. She plopped onto the hard settee, worn out, but couldn't sleep.

Eventually she sank onto her side and put her head on her hands.

Her phone rang. She shot up. She'd fallen asleep. The phone said it was three-thirty. It also said Ralph was calling.

"Yes?" She panted, waiting.

"Hang on a sec," said Ralph's warm, lovely voice.

"Imogene
?
" It was Hortense! "Would it be possible for me to
…
slumber in your urban domicile for the rest of the
…
nocturnal hours?"

Chapter Twenty-six

Immy was late to work Thursday morning. Hortense was
slumbering soundly, although not sound
-
less
-
ly, as Immy and Drew got dressed for the day and left for Drew’s pre-school in Saltlick.

Ralph had sat in
Immy's
kitchen after he brought Hortense to her house at four forty-five.

"Mother!" Immy squeezed Hortense as tight as she could the minute she crossed the threshold. "What happened?"

There were tears in Hortense's eyes. "I was abducted by ruffians. It was…I don't have words to describe the
…
ordeal."

"How did you get away? Who were they?"

"I am afraid that their identities were cleverly concealed for the duration of my torment. Such a
…
tribulation!"

Hortense, Immy was glad to see, had found a few words for her ordeal.

"I have the basics, Hortense," said Ralph.
"
I’ll take your statement tomorrow
. You should get some rest.
"

S
he
hauled herself
upstairs to sleep in Immy’s bed.

"
I knew you’d find her.
"
Immy beamed and poured Ralph a cup of coffee. She didn’t say it, but was thinking,
"
My hero.
"

"
It was the
Wichita force that found her
," said Ralph, making slight slurping noises as he drank the hot brew
.
"
Officer Danby found her standing on a street corner at three. We
weren't
able to get much out of her
right away
. I think she might have been drugged. Danby had a
n emergency
doc check her out, but he said she
'll be all right
.
Right now she
needs to
let
whatever it is
work out of her system.
Her weight is to her advantage. She need
s
a lot higher do
s
e than most people.
"

Immy had noticed a
slight
hesitation in her speech. It was like Hortense was searching for words. In the past, Hortense
had
sometimes shortened the length of her words when she was overly upset, but had
rarely
been at a loss for them.

"
What did they give her?
"

"
Most likely a sedative. They took a blood sample
,
so they’ll let us know. But
the
doc assured me that
it d
oesn't
look like she’s in any danger.
Her vitals were good.
From what she said to me, the
kidnappers
couldn't stand listening to her go on and on and shoved her out.
"

Ralph had to work in a few hours, so he took off.
After
he
left, Immy
lay on the
settee, not sleeping, until it was time to get Drew up for school. She debated about keeping her home, but Hortense was still s
noring
and Immy was expected at work. Since she’d done so well this week, she hated to break her streak.

Although she did come in an hour late.

"
My mother was kidnapped last night,
"
she told Mike.
She opened her drawer and stuck her purse in while Mike lounged against the doorway to his office.

"
For real?
"
Mike
pushed off the door jamb
,
as surprised as she’d ever seen him.

Immy sat and made a great show of lining up the filing across her desktop.
"
She was found on a street corner in the wee hours and I had to take my daughter into Saltlick to her school this morning.
"

"
No kiddin’? Kidnapped? They ask for ransom?
"

"
No.
"
Immy
stopped dealing out folders and
pondered this. Why had Hortense been kidnapped? The nappers hadn’t accomplished anything, except to scare the tar out of all of them. Maybe she’d find out more when Hortense slept off whatever they’d given her and was able to tell them what
had gone on
.

When Immy got home with Drew that evening, the two men from the city council were waiting on the porch.
They were the same two anonymous men that had done the inspection, still wearing what may have been the same pressed jeans and ironed dress shirts. With that much starch in their clothing, they
could
wear i
t
a lot of times.

Her heart sank to her stomach to see them there. Were they going to want to tear the house down right now?

"I'm not sure I should speak to you without my real estate agent present," she said. An attorney would
have been a better person
to mention, but she
hadn't thought
of it in time.

"There's no need for that," said the one on the left.

"We've already spoken with Shorr's office," said the one on the right. "She's apprized of what we're doing."

Immy
's
heart migrated to her knees, making them weak. "Drew, go see if Geemaw is okay." She sank to the steps and bowed her head, unable to stand up at the thought of losing her house.

"Don't be alarmed," said Left Hand Man.

"It's good news," said Right Hand Man.

"Really?" She raised her face to them. "Good news? You're not…
?
"

"The Council decided to
take another vote
," said Left Hand Man. "Ms. Shorr
's office
and Mr. Tompkins have appealed successfully and a grace period of one year has been invoked."

Immy jumped up and hugged Left Hand Man. Then, just for the hell of it, she hugged the other one, too.

"This is wonderful. Thank you so much
!" She hugged each one again and they departed, looking dazed.

A rattling in the bushes at the edge of her property drew her attention. An ugly, wrinkled face, topped with wispy white hair, peered out.

"Sadie McMudgeon! What are you doing?"

The crone parted the branches and took a few steps toward the house. "I heard every word. What are those idiots thinking?" She was so worked up that her chin hairs quivered as she ranted.
She c
rept
closer, to the bottom of the porch stairs. "This
place
is evil.
Evil.
It should be destroyed. Why don't they understand that?" Spittle formed in the corner of her mouth.

Immy remembered the woman's tragic past and tried to retain her cool. "What exactly is your problem with this house, Mrs. McMudgeon?"

S
adie
answered by spitting on the bottom step and hobbling away toward her own house
,
hidden in the growth
down the hill.

Thinking she didn't want any more encounters on her porch right now, Immy hurried inside.

Hortense was in the kitchen,
mixing
up chocolate chip cookie dough. Drew,
o
n a chair pulled up to the counter, was helping by tasting the batter after each ingredient.

"Is that satisfactory, Nancy Drew?" Hortense held out a fingerful of golden, gooey goodness.

Drew licked her grandmother's finger and
bobbed her head up and down
in approval
, her eyes bright. Marshmallow lay at Drew's feet, waiting patiently for something exciting to happen.
Maybe he dreamed of Hortense d
umping
the whole bowl
upside down
in front of him.

After Hortense added the chips and Drew had a final sample, Immy herded
Drew and the pig
into the backyard.

"I have to hear what happened," she said as Hortense
plopped spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.

Hortense paused only a moment.
"Two brigands invaded my abode, uninvited."

"I think invasion is always uninvited, isn't it?"

Hortense slid the
baking
sheet into Immy's oven, set the stove timer, and took a seat at the table.

"Would you like to hear what happened?"

Immy closed her mouth tightly and nodded.

"Nancy Drew was in the lavatory when they overran my home. Both of them wore black head coverings--"

"Ski masks?"

"I do believe that's what they were. One of the ruffians seized my upper extremities and bound them tightly before I could react. They moved with alarming velocity. Then the other villain slipped something
made of textile
over my head and tied a ligature around my neck."

"Were they trying to strangle you?"

"No, it wasn't that tight. They were merely keeping the blinding head covering
in
place, I believe. Prior to it being
secured, I espied Nancy Drew peeking into the room, but the hooligans m
erely instructed her to remain behind
and lock the door
. They forced me out of the house and down the steps, into some sort of vehicle.
Thank the Lord Above
that
Nancy Drew wasn't molested.
"

Yes. For sure.
"A car? A truck?"

"It was more commodious than a sedan. Perhaps a mini-van or
even a
full-sized van. I was pushed to the flooring, which was not carpeted. One of them loosened the cord and forced a liquid into my mouth. I tried not to swallow it, but did not succeed in that endeavor."

"They drugged you."

"I surmise that was their purpose.
Things did seem dimmed
and a bit slow
for a time
after that action
."

"Did they say anything to you? Like, why they kidnapped you?"

"They were trying to tell me something
about scaring you
, but I refused to let them
speak m
ore than a few
words to me
.
I did not want to hear from them.
"

They know I'm investigating, Immy though
t
. And getting close to the truth.

"
They were rude people behaving abominably.
I berated them constantly for ungentlemanly behavior and for their unnecessary crudeness. Foul language was used whilst still in my house and I'm afraid that Nancy Drew may have overheard some of the expletives. I said
repeated
silent prayers that she had avoided capture.

"At length, after driving around, seemingly aimlessly, they resumed uttering profanities
over my constant verbal barrage
and
they
stopped the vehicle. I was deposited on a sidewalk
,
where I was, at last, able to unleash my bonds and stand up."

"Oh, Mother." Immy felt tears spring to her eyes and grabbed her mother's hands. "How awful for you." She felt like she might start to cry.

"It is concluded, Imogene. I am none the worse for wear."

"But we need to find out who they are and what they wanted."

It was too bad Hortense hadn't let them speak. She might have found out
exactly
what their agenda was. But at least she outtalked them into letting her go.

"You couldn't tell anything about them?"

"There was a distinct odor of garlic on
the breath of
one, or possibly both, of them.
That was obvious before they slipp
ed
the blinder over my head.
They did mention having spaghetti at one point and even told me I could have some.
We never reached the place where the repast was to be.
I could not have ingested any comestibles
created by them, however.
"

"I can appreciate that," agreed Immy.

Ralph came over later to get an official statement from Hortense, but she couldn't add much beyond what she'd
already
told her daughter.

"We think we found the van," Ralph said, tucking his notepad away. "One was rented day before yesterday and turned in this morning. But we're not getting anywhere tracing the renter. It was a cash transaction and the clerk doesn't remember who rented it."