Mystery - Chapter Four

Lindsay turned down Lake Road and Hannah loosened her grip
around her sister's waist..

"Linday, what are we doing here?"

Lindsay slowed the bike down and brought it to an abrupt halt.

"Hannah, get off the bike and be quiet."

Hannah obeyed her sister and dismounted the bike .  She stood beside
the bike with a scowl on her face and shoved  her hands into the deep
pockets of her sweater.

"Lindsay,  what are we doing here?"

Receiving only a stoic silence from her sister Hannah persisted in her
questions.

"What's going on?"
"What happened to dad?:
"What did you do?"

Lindaay was busy looking around and finally she rested her gaze on Hannah.

"Hannah, " she whispered, "be quiet, and follow me.  I'll tell you what is going on in a minute."

"But Lindsay," replied Hannah , in a hushed voice, what are we doing here?

Hannah's eyes had become accustomed to the dark and she realized Lindsay had
parked the bike at the entrance to the Lakeville Pier.

"What are we doing at the pier?"

Lindsay didn't answer Hannah.but instead took out a key from her blue denims and undid the padlock that
locked the wooden pier from outsiders.


"Lindsay," whispered Hannah, "where did you get that key?"

Instead of answering her sister , Lindsay raised her fingers to her lips in a gesture that meant
for Hannah to be quiet

The eleven year old had had it and was about to start screaming at Lindsay when her sister
started running along the wooden pier.  Hannah had no alternative but to fall in step
behind Lindsay.

The two sisters jogged for a period of three minutes following the rope line of the pier
that separated the various boats from the wooden planked bridge.

Lindsay abruptly stopped in front of a medium sized sailboat which was anchored two boats from
the end of the pier.

Hannah using the lnight ights that were illuminated on the deck of the pier made out
the name "Midnight" on the side of the boat. 

"Okay, this is it, Hannah," said Lindsay.

Lindsay faced Hannah and in the breath of second took stock of her sister's facial expressions.
She could tell Hannah as near the end of her emotional rope and realized that if Hannah didn't
start getting some answers as to this strange night she would have an eleven year old meltdown..

Even as Lindsay was processing  Hannah's demanor her younger sister was doing her own checklist
of the night's events. 
Hannah instinctively knew somehow that Lindsay seemed all too familiar with the pier. 

Hannah grimaced.  Even more importantly she wanted to know what happened to her father.
Had Lindsay attacked their father.

Up to now Hannah was numb with the day's events but her emotions were begininng to thaw
and  her mind was beginning to deal with the day events   

Lindsay turned to Hannah and said, "we are getting on the boat.  Watch your step."

Hannah nodded in agreement and followed her sister on to the boat.

Once on board Hannah said,  "Whose sailboat is this Lindsay?"

Lindsay took in a slight breath and said, "it's dad's Hannah."

There was an audible gasp from the younger girl.  This was just too much.

"Dad had a boat.  How come I didn't know anything about this?"

"Hannah, come inside the cabin, and I promise I'll explain everything."

Hannah stood rooted on the deck of the boat.

She fought back the tears that were once again threatening 'to consume her.

Her hands were out of her pockets and rolled into little balls at her side.

"No, I'm not going anywhere with you."

Her bottom lip began to tremble and Lindsay knew Hannah was at the end of
her rope.  If she didn't give Hannah some answers soon the younger girl was
going to lose it.

Again Hannah hissed the words from her mouth.  "Tell me what is going on, Lindsay
Tell me now."

"Okay Hannah, come inside.    I promise I'll explain everything.  But you
have to trust me and come inside the cabin.  Somebody might see us out here."

Hannah heard the desperation in Lindsay's  voice .  The younger sister bit her bottom lip
and her mind acknowledged  the tired look on Lindsay's  face.

Hannah was ready to fight Lindsay on this.  She wasn't going anywhere.  She was only
11, but she wanted answers.  She was entitled to them.  She wanted them now.

But she trusted also trusted Lindsay.  Her sister had always been there for her.  Lindsay was
the mother Hannah had never known.
Hannah took in Lindsay's demeanor one last time.

Something about her sister's positive demeanor made Hannah give her one last go
at explaining what was going on. 

Lindsay exuded strength even now Hannah felt it and in her trust gave Lindsay one last chance
at explaining what was happening.

"Hannah nodded, "okay, let's get off the deck."

Lindsay slid back the door and slipped into the cabin.

Hannah followed her sister into the darkness.

Once inside LIndsay  grabbed Hannah's hand and led her downstairs.

At the bottom of the staircase Lindsay turned on a drawstring light  and Hannah
saw they were in a cabin with two beds and a table.

The two sisters sat on a bed and faced each other.

"Hannah was the first to speak., "okay, what is going on."

"Sit down, Hannah, and I'll tell you."

                                                 XXXXXXX

Mystery - Chapter Three

 ( The Chief of Police and his assistant meet back at the
police station.)  (This is a thought.  Not in this chapter.)

Mrs. Henry walked the young police assistant to the door.
  "Please let me know if I can be of further assistance."


The young policeman tipped his hat and left with the brown
package tucked tightly under his left arm.

The crowd outside Dayton's  house had thinned and Cameron
located his boss among the sea of faces and walked at a fast pace
towards him.

Monroe saw the young man as he was approaching and noted the
bulge under his arm.

"What do you have there," he said,  pointing to the package as the young
man stepped stepped in front of him. 

"Something that Mrs. Henry said was left for her neighbor, Mr. Dayton."

Monroe gave his moustache a twist.

Dayton turned and looked Cameron in the eye.  There was puzzlement on the young
father's face.  All he said was i"I wasn't expecting a package."

Cameron noticed a slight deflection in the man's voice.  Something
that told him Dayton wasn't quite telling the truth.

"There isn't a return address," said Cameron.

But Dayton noticed the small red x in the left hand corner of the package.

The two men stood and looked at each other and the Chief, Monroe was
sizing up the situation.

He turned to Cameron and said, "Why don't we take this down to the
police station and discuss the facts of  the case."

His voice was directed at Cameron, but his gaze took in Dayton as well.

Dayton surmised that he was to be included in this discussion at the station and nodded.
In the same instant he rubbed his forehead.  Out loud all he said was, "OK. I don't mind"

Monore twirrled his moustache.  His thinking wsa that this man Dayton was a smart one, but
all he said out loud was, "good, Mr. Dayton, I'm glad you agree.".

Cameron caught the glance his captain gave Dayton.  Cameron's brown eyes never left the
Chief's face. He realized there was something at play here that he didn't understand.
but he also realized the chief was playing a cat and mouse game with Dayton. 

 "Can I have the  package," said Dayton?

Cameron turned to the Chief..

"Give it to him, Cameron."

By this time Cameron had switched the package to his right hand and gave it a
slight shake.

The movement didn't go unnoticed by Dayon or Monroe.

 Dayon reached out his hand and Cameron pressed his lips together and
held onto the package tightly.  It was only a slight movement of possession on
Cameron's part but Dayon in the moment had caught the frustration of the young policeman.
He realized Cameron didn't want to part with the package.

Cameron breathed, relaxed and handed him the package.

"Thank you," said Dayton.  "I'll just bring it in the house."

"No," said Monroe bring it with you.

"Oh, Okay." said Dayton with a slight frown as his eyebrows knitted together
in surprise. .


"You can open it at the station", said Monroe.

There was a slight pause in the conversation.

Then the Chief continued, "Any reason you don't want to open it?"

"No," replied Dayton.

"Well, then, maybe you should open it now.  It might be important," said Cameron.

Cameron turned toward the Chief a questioning look in his eyes.
He couldn't understand why the chief was playing this cat and mouse game
with Dayton.
He for one wanted to rip the brown wrapping paper off the
package and see what was in the box.

Cameron couldn't help think that it held a clue to what was going on here.

Dayton had dreaded this moment. 

A palpable quiet silence hung over the three men.

Dayton's mind was racing and his heart was beating so hard in his chest
that he thought for sure the other two men could hear it.

He knew what was in the package. He had recognized the bold handwriting
with the red x in the corner.  That was how the organization sent there get out
of Dodge box when things were going to hit the fan.  Usually the box contained
passports, money and airline tickets and an assortment of other documents
to begin a new life in a different part of the country or even another country.

And Usually Dayton received a phone call to be on the lookout for the package but
not this time.
This time he had been caught unprepared and unaware of any danger to
him or his girls which made him more apprehensive of  the present situation  because
at this time he had no idea what they would be fleeing from.

Dayton squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think fast.

Monroe turned to his assistant Cameron , but his gaze rested on Dayton.


"Mr. Dayton, maybe you better give me the package and if you'll accompany
me to my car we'll go to my office."

Cameron noticed a slight intake of breath on Dayton's part. 
Dayton hesitated just a heartbeat before handing the package to Monroe.

The Chief grasped the package and all three men started to travel towards the chief's car.

A few seconds into the walk Monroe motioned to Cameron with a hand's up.

The three men stopped.

"The chief twisted his moustache and said, "Cameron, on second thought it might be
better if stayed behind and finshed interviewing any neighbors you may have missed
or any stragglers in the crowd that may look like they have some information on the girls.

The Chief paused and then finished with a wink to his asssitant.
"You know go through the list and dot all the i's and cross all the t's and
make sure there isn't anything else to find out."

Cameron sucked in his breath.  All he said  was, "okay, chief." 

The young assistant saw Monroe tuck the package under his left arm and then he placed his
right hand under Dayton's left elbow and maneuvered him in the direction of  the parked patrol car.

Once a short distance from his assistant Monroe looked over his
shoulder and whispered in Dayton's ear. "Don't worry Dayton, I have you covered."

The breath whistled through Dayton's mouth and Monroe could feel
Dayton's shoulders tense.

Dayton fell out of step with Monroe but the Chief nudged him on.

He had surprised Dayton and Monroe chuckled and said,yes, the organization was thorough.

Meanwhile Dayton's mind was running rampant wild with thoughts

"Were his girls safe?" and "Who was this Monroe?"

but all Dayton said was, "I beg your pardon?  What did you say?"

The chief ignored him.

By this time the two men had reached the chief's cruiser and Monroe let
go of Dayton's elbow and opened the passenger door and said in a hushed
voice,  "get in. we don't' have much time."

Dayton pursed his lips together and stared at Monroe. His heart thumped wildly in his chest.

Who was this man with the twirling moustache.

"Get in," said Monroe with an authoritative voice.  
..  .
Dayton slid into the leather seat but not before he took another glance
at Monroe.

Dayton had a good view of the man under the light of the lit lamposts and he
watched the chief as he circled in front of the vehicle and finally reached the driver
side door. 

What Dayton saw was the unfolding of a man who squared his shoulders and straightened
his frame and in doing so Dayton saw the Chief grow in stature.
There was a transformation going on here that Dayton knew he didn't understand
but then in a moment the Chief  was sitting next to him and reverted back to
twirling his moustahce and the metamorphosis was complete.

Dayton clicked his seat belt on at the same moment Monroe got behind the
steering wheel..

Neither man said a word.  The quiet was deafening as Monroe keyed the
ignition and switched on the headlights.

The car had a low moan to it.  It was was a clean engine and barely audible.

Inside the car you could barely catch the exhalations and inhalations as each man wrestled
with their thoughts.

The click of  the Chief's seatbelt broke the silence.

Dayton rolled down his window and turned to breathe in the fresh air.

It seemed to slap him into action.

"Who are you?" said Dayton.

Monroe maneuvered the car at a slow speed out of the neighborhood.

"Give me a moment,"  said Monroe.

He took his hand off the steering wheel and rubbed his eyes.
  
After a moment of quiet Monroe said,  "the black queen sent me."
(After a moment of quiet Monroe said, "the queen of the dark side sent me.")
Dayton closed his eyes.  He had gotten his answer, but it wasn't the one he
had expected.

  .        XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When he finally collected his thoughts Dayton said, "what do you mean black queen?"

"Listen, Dayton, you better trust me because from the looks of it somebody is out to kill
you and your two daughters are still missing."

Dayton went over the man's demeanor in his mind.   He realized there was something more
to this man than his outward appearance.

A few moments ago he had seen Monroe's body take on the physical stature of a man
who was much stronger than he first appeared.  He had seen the chief grow in stature
and now he was sitting next to Dayton once again twisting his moustache and rubbing
his eyes.

Obviously there was something more to Monroe than the normal observant eye took in.

Dayton decided to go with his gut which was telling him to trust Monroe.
Besides thought Dayton what choice did he have.  None that he could
see in his mind's eye.

"Ok," said Dayton.

"Good," said Monroe.


At that point the two men stopped talking and Monroe revved up the engine.
They had gone about two blocks when they came to a stop sign.
Monroe made a full stop and then made a right hand turn.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cameron had walked a few feet when he stopped, turned and watched
the two men as they covered the distance
from where he was standing to Monroe's parked police car.
Cameran estimated it was an area of about thirty feet.
  .
The young assistant tried to quiet his mind and control his thoughts.
He had known the Chief for five years and in five minutes an almost
instant moment in time under a streetlight everything seemed to change.
Cameran thought he saw a glimpse of a Monroe he didn't  recognize.

He was observant this young assistant.  Very astute.  And he had caught a
balancing act between the two men as they got in the police car.   The
silhouette of the police chief as he crossed the front of the police car under
the lamplight seemed to be the shadow of a different Monroe.

Once in the car the silhouette had thrown something in the back seat.
And upon a moment's reflection Cameran realized that it must have been the package.

Cameran's mind raced.   "It seemed like such an indifferent act on the Police Chief's part."
Cameran's mind hammered it in,  "Like the package really didn't matter."

Cameran respected the Chief.   "No." his thoughts yelled.  "It was more than that.  He trusted him."

Cameron's heart quickened as he turned to complete his duties as Monroe had commanded him to do

He had questions but for now he put them to rest as he did his job.

.

Mystery -Chapter 2

Detective Monroe gave the man a once over.

The station had gotten a call from a concerned citizen.
There had been a lot of noise coming from the house across the street. 
The partial  report stated  that  the neighbor had reported that there
was a scream.  And shortly after two girls were seen running from
the garage taking off on a red moped.

When the neighbor was interviewed later that evening.
It was a Mrs. Henry who had made the call.  She reportedly had told
the young assistant, "I heard a scream and had gone outside to investigate
and it was then I had seen the two girls. 

The older of the two had wheeled the red moped out of the garage and the smaller
one hopped on in back of her and then they had taken off. 

The front door was left wide open 

Upon interviewing her further the assistant had stated.  Mrs. Henry was just
a concerned neighbor  She had called earlier in the evening and left her name
with a nice young man. "

The commotion had happened at 4 o'clock.  But she hadn't called it in till 7.00. 
As she didn't think it was her business.

But now it was dark out and the lights in the house were on and the front door
was still wide open.   So Mrs. Henry thought that she had better call the police.


Detective Monroe gave the dad a once over.  The man seemed anxious.  He was a 
a bit dazed, but focused.
The wound to his forehead although it had bled a lot  the detective concluded it was
superficial in nature.

Mr. Dayton said he had come home from work at 4:00 and entered his house.
He was entering his kitchen when he saw a shadow from the corner of his eye
and then something hit him on the head.

The next thing he remembered a police nurse was hovering over him and
someone shoved smelling salts under his nose.

After he regained a sense of things he realized that his girls were missing and
he told the police he didn't know their whereabouts. 

Detective Monroe was a man with a wispy moustache, salt and pepper hair
and a stout figure.   He had been on the village force five years.  He was a
trarnsfer from a large metropolitan Chicago police force.  His application papers
were in the form of transfer papers.   They said he wanted a slower paced lifestyle for himself. 
He wasn't married.  He had been doing police work for 25 years.  It was his life. 
The village elders offered  him the job as chief of police and he accepted.  The townspeople came to
respect him.  Some thought him a bit odd, but the elder people sat on their rockingchairs
and accepted him and soon he was one of them.  It was a wedding between a town and a
man.

Finally Monroe spoke,  He addressed his question to Mr. Dayton.  "What makes you think they
are missing.  Did you call their friends?"

"No.  My girls always come home from school.  They are in the house by 4:00 every
day"

Monroe turned to the young policeman next to him.

"When I'm done here get a lis from Mr. Dayton of his daughter's  friends.""

"Right ,Chief," came the reply".

Monroe twisted his moustache.
He sort of talked to himself.  And it came out in a blurred mumble.

"There is something strange about this father's demeanor."

The young policeman read the Chief's mind.

"What?" he said.

"What are you thinking?"


Sometimes his young assistant got on his nerves.

He seemed at times to read his mind and Monroe didn't
want anyone reading his mind."

He had his secrets too.

"Look,Cameron, just get the list and we'll go over the facts of
the case later  Talk to the neighbors. and find out what you can
about the girls."

Cameron recognized the undertones in his boss' voice so he didn't ask
his next question.  He would wait.  .

A few of the neighbors had gathered around because of the commotion
and Cameron sauntered off to talk to them.   From everything he heard 
he was getting a gist of what the family was like.

Single dad, two girls, 14 and 11, quiet.

There didn't seemed to be a woman of the house and no lady friends were
seen visiting.

Later on Cameron would get most of the phone numbers of the two sisters' friends from his
interview with the dad.  There would just be three names on the list. The neighbors
didn't recall any young people coming to the house.  The dad was quiet.  The girls were quiet
and kept to themselves.

Cameron thought he had a pretty good feel for what was going on here.

Looked like a simple break in.  Maybe a burglar that Mr. Layton surprised.  That would
explain Mr. Laytong getting hit on the head.
But the girls not being home that was a disturbing bit of information.
There didn't seem to be any close relatives and none of the neighbors saw
any odd behaviour or noise coming from the house.  And then Cameron said, out loud,
"Well, there was no odd behaviour coming from the house until today that is.

And  In fact old Mrs. Henry the woman across the street who had made the
call said she never saw the girls go anywhere except with their dad.


When Cameron interviewed Mrs. Harris, her exact words were, ""Funny," she said, "
the exception to the girls going anywhere was the moped.   That was the thing that got
her attention about the girls."

"Sorry," but "why was that funny?"  Cameron asked.

"Well," Mrs. Cameron explained.  "It was an old beat up red moped that looked
like it had been around for years."

"I don't undersand," said Cameron.

Mrs. Henry pursed her lips.  "Well, you'd think a dad who was affluent and drove
a late model red sports car on occasion could afford a decent bike for his children,
whether it be a moped or a two wheeler."

Cameron didn't understand Mrs. Henry's logic but he shook his head up and down
which suggested that he was in agreement with her.

"Un hun,"  was all he said.

He scribbled a note of what she said in his notebook
If you read his notebook later it would read, "Mrs. Henry, red moped, funny."

Mrs. Henry nodded approvingly that Cameron was writing in his notebook.

When Cameron looked up from his notebook  Mrs. Henry smiled appreciatively
at the young assistant.

All she said out loud was, "it's nice to be listened to."

As Cameron nodded in assent Mrs. Henry continued, "when I was 11 my father
bought me a two wheeler red bike so she knew how important new bikes were
to children.

"Un hun," said Cameron.

Cameron took in a deep breath.   He raised his eyebrows, pressed his lips together
and then he tapped his notebook with his pencil.. 
"Thank you.  Thank you.  If we need anything further, Mrs. Harris,  I or the Chief will
get back to you."

Cameron started to walk to the front door.  His right hand was on the doorknob
when  Mrs. Henry cocked an eyebrow and said,"I'm not finished yet.
Don't you want to know about the postal package that was left here
because no one was home across the street between 1:00 and
2:00 when United Parcel makes deliveries."

The young policeman's eyes widened and his mouth dropped opened.

He was thoroughly caught off guard.

Mrs. Henry beamed in delight.  She had fully caught the young policeman's
attention again.

Cameron momentarily regained his composure and said  "What package?"

Mrs. Henry was enjoying herself.  She hadn't been paid this much attention
in years.  And hadn't been so entertained by a young man in god knows
how long.

She smiled broadly and all Cameron could think of  was
that she reminded him of that cat Garfield.  The fat cat with the crazy grin.

He shook the image from his mind.

Mrs. Henrys, leaned over and whispered, "thought you'd never ask."  

                 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

mystery - Chapter 1

Two Girls on a Moped
14 and 11

And the descriptions were as follows:

As given by the neighbor Mrs.Henry as she had last seen the two girls
her words exactly as the detective remembered.

The older girl Lindsay  was 14 and driving the red beat up
moped.  She had brown chestnut hair with a hint of moon
shining through on the top layer of her head.

Wine cork curls  reached to the nape of her neck.

She had creamy skin set against a natural sweep of dark brown
eyebrows that provided a delicate umbrella for soft
hazel eyes that looked out from slightly curled black
eyelashes.

At this moment her eyes were focused intently on the road
ahead of her.

To complete the picture a smooth rounded nose matched the
dimensions of a full mouth with girlish pink lips.

A square chin and elongated neck supported by strong shoulders
gave the suggestion of a young girl becoming a young woman.

(Description Continued.)

A blue gingham collared open blouse sported by a gold chain with
a medallion attached.

Sleeves rolled up above the elbows at exactly the same spot.

Delicate hands wrapped around the handlebars ready to apply the brakes
at a moment's notice.

The younger girl, Hannah, clapsed her hands against he sister's abdomen so
tightly that Cathy for a moment had to catch her breath.

"Hannah" she whispered through clenched teeth, "let go, I can't breathe."

 "Sorry," muttered Hannah as she loosened he grip around Linday's  mid section.

The younger girl was eleven and had long brown hair parted in the middle and her
hair fell freely to her middle back.

She had on a bumble bee black and yellow stripped sweater and was trying to hold
back the hiccups that seemed to overwhelm her so much at times that she had seriously
bit her lower lip and a slow trickle of blood was staining her sweater.

The two girls didn't speak for a while.

Lindsay had slowed the bike to a cruise.  They were in that part of the village
where the roads were flat so she could relax a little.

Hannah had held on for dear life as Lindsay put her foot to the pedal
so hard at times that Hannah had to squeeze her blue eyes shut really tight
for fear that if she opened them she would see that  they were going to crash
into one of the ravines as the bike sped through the dark night.

Now, Lindsay had slowed the bike to a cruise.  They were in a part of the village
where the roads were flat so she could relax a little.

Hannah breathed again as she felt the bike slow and she opened her eyes
and began to try to process her jumbled thoughts. 

Hannah thought if  she could process one thought at a time she might be able to
make sense out of this horrible night.

First, Hannah had never seen Lindsay act this way.   Not only what happened to her
father, but the way she treated Hannah.

What had her father done to make Lindsay do what she did?
To Hannah's eleven year old mind Lindsay was Hannah's idol.
Lindsay was good at everything she did.  She excelled in academics
and was on the high school swimming team.

Hannah just plodded along in Lindsay's shadow.

And Lindsay lways got along well with dad.  What had changed?  Why had
Lindsay hurt their dad?

Of the two Lindsay was the respectful dutiful daughter.  Never back talked,
or got into fights.

Whereas Hannah always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.   
Scared of her own shadow the mean kids use to say.

She had one friend and even that didn't last. 
She had been over Lorraine's house and Lorraine's mother had gone
through her daughter's knapsack and found a marijuana cigarette. 

Who did Lorraine blame?  Hannah.  "It  was Hannah's,"
protested  Lorraine.

Hannah was then banned from Lorraine's house.   She had hoped
Lorraine's mother wouldn't  tell he father.   But that didn't work out
and she was grounded for a month.

Lindsay believed her.  But not her father.  No, he didn't want to know Hannah's
side of the story..

Hannah held back the tears as she thought about her father.
She and her father had arguments.  He seemed to disagree with
everything he said or wanted her to do.  Called her a scaredy cat.

And on that afternoon she was her father's daughter.

She had opened the kitchen door and walked into a picture of her father
laying crumpled at the bottom of the staircase and blood slowly trickling
from a wound to his forehead.

Her hand flew to her mouth and her books slammed to the floor.
She felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach.
She lost her breath.  And her world started turning.

Lindsay was to the side of her father and she had a knife in her hand.
The silver handle butter knife clattered to the black and white flowered linoleum floor when
she heard her sister Hannah's piercing scream.

The 14 year old turned swiftly to face her sister.

"Shut up Hannah."

Hannah stared at Lindsay her eyes wide as saucers.

She could hardly breathe.  "What - what --

"We're leaving." replied Lindsay, before Hannah finished.

"Move," said Lindsay. 

"What?" mumbled Hannah.

"We're leaving," said Lindsay.

"What?" replied Hannah.

"We're leaving ,"

Hannah stood rooted to where she was.   She had
lost her voice.  And she couldn't move.


"Now," urged Lindsay..

Finally Hannah in a rush spit out,
"But, but what about dad?  What did you doooo?"

Hannah's voice trailed off into a wail.

The older girl was face to face with Hannah and she
grabbed the younger  girl by the shoulders and shook her.

"Hannah, look at me."

The younger girl tried to look past her older sister, but Lindsay blocked her view.

"Hannah, look at me."

Hannah turned to look at her sister.  She focused her eyes on Lindsay.

"Good,"  Lindsay replied.

"Now,  listen to me."

Hannah, "nodded, yes."

"I'm going to get my moped from the garage and then we are leaving."

Hannah blurted out,
"But what happened?  What about dad?  What did you do?"

"I'll explain later.  Right now we have got to get out of here."

"No, I'm not going anywhere, "replied Hannah.

"You have to do as I say.  Dad left instructions?"

"Dad left instructions.  What are you talking about?"  said Hannah.

"I'll explain later.  Right now let's get out of here."

      XXXXXXX