Nightmare Academy (6 page)
It could be perfectly legitimate, or it could be a very sly trap.
“I'm not getting any matches. I thought Living Way was the only youth shelter around here.”
Nate carefully eyed the woman talking to his kids, thinking it over: no matches in the computer; no record of this particular youth shelter; a pleasant, nonthreatening woman with business cards.
It could be perfectly legitimate, or it could be a very sly trap. He spoke into his collar, “This could be it. Let's take it slow, one step at a time, and check it out.”
I
'M READY AND WILLING,” Elisha replied.
“It beats another night on the street,” Elijah conceded, taking his sister's cue.
Margaret Jones thought they were talking to her. “Great! Come on, I'll walk you there.” She started up the street at a leisurely pace and the kids followed her. “It can get rough out here. Not too many people who believe in Right and Wrong. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” Elisha answered.
“Sure,” said Elijah.
“But it looks like you two trust each other, and that's the start of friendship right there, doing right by our friends. You know what I'm talking about? Do you think there's a right and there's a wrong?”
They came to an intersection and turned right, heading up the hill.
“They've turned right on Spencer,” Nate reported, walking a block behind them.
Sarah was behind the wheel and driving the van, watching a moving map on the dashboard linked with a GPS receiver.
“Miller's three blocks north of Spencer on Second. I'll check it out.” She turned up Spencer and drove right by her kids as they walked with Margaret Jones.
Margaret Jones kept on talking, but there was something strangely “rehearsed” about it as if she was driving at something. “Some kids grow up going to church, things like that, and they seem to have a pretty good sense of right and wrong. Were either of you raised in church?”
Go with the flow,
Elisha thought. “I was.”
“Did you like it?”
“Sure.”
“Do you believe in God?”
“Sure. I'm a Christian.”
Margaret Jones was delighted. “You are? Well, that says a lot, doesn't it? I'll bet you're a very honest person then.”
“I try to be.”
“That's great. How about you . . . uh, what should I call you? You don't have to use your real name.”
“Call me Jerry.”
“Jerry, how about you? Do you believe in God?”
“Absolutely.”
“So, do you think that helps you to be honest?”
He decided to act “dull” about it. “Sure, I guess.”
“I mean, I've been wondering if a person's religious beliefs have anything to do with their morals. What do you think?”
Sarah drove past an old stone building cubbyholed between two newer ones and saw the little sign on the front window: Light of Day Youth Shelter. “I've found it and it looks real. I'm going to park somewhere.”
“I still have the kids,” Nate reported, following them up Second Avenue toward Miller.
Sarah parked against the curb a block past the shelter, shut down the engine, and clambered into the back where she once again manned the radio receivers and recording equipment.
“Here we are,” said Margaret, pulling the door open.
Inside was a small reception area with chairs, couches, and a table neatly arranged with fashion, sports, and teen interest magazines. Through a wide archway to the right was a dining hall; several kids were sitting around the tables enjoying late-night soup and fresh baked bread. Through another wide archway to the left was a game and activity room; three boys and a girl were playing a game of pool, and Jay Leno was doing his opening monologue on television.
“Wow,” said Elijah as they followed Margaret from room to room. “A game room, a pool table, a library . . . “
Elisha narrated as well. “Hey you even have an elevator!”
“That takes you up to the rooms. Do you want to see your rooms first, or do you want to eat first?”
“Let's eat,” said Elijah, and he wasn't acting.
Sarah opened the passenger door of the van to let a dirty vagrant enter.
He climbed into the expansive freight compartment, removed his coat and hat, then took a chair next to the radio console. From where they were parked, they had a good view of the shelter through the van's passenger window. They could hear the kids still talking, describing the place. “Looks like they're going to be warm and safe.”
Sarah wagged her head. “Life is full of surprises.”
Elisha's voice came over the radio as she conversed with Margaret. “So, how many kids are here?”
“At last count, I think around twenty. Some have been here for a week or so, and some are fresh off the street, like you. Grab a spoon. Bowls are over there.”
'A game room, a pool table, a library.. “