Chapter 4-Shattering the Empire

Brainy sat in the hospital waiting room, elbows on his knees, hands rubbing his temples. He sighed, threw down his hands, and looked up. Hs gaze scanned the room until it fell on the soon-to-be Mrs. Johanssen.

Phoebe was busy on the phone. She was dialing Helga's old phone number in attempt to notify Helga's parents of Helga's death. After several rings, someone picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?" came a slurred voice.

"Mrs. Pataki, this is Phoebe. I called to-"

"Phoebe? You're Helga's little friend, right? Let me see if Helga is here." Miriam placed the phone on the counter beside her vodka bottle. She walked upstairs and came back a few minutes later. She took a swig of vodka and picked up the phone, bottle still in hand. "Helga is not here. May I take a message?"

"Mrs. Pataki, I know Helga is not there. She committed suicide. She is at the Hillwood morgue. Helga committed suicide." The sound of glass shattering on the floor reached Phoebe's ears.

"What?!? My baby can't be dead. She's only ten."

"Mrs. Pataki, Helga was eighteen and she did commit suicide. She is at Hillwood City Morgue. I have to go. I have to call many people to notify them of Helga's death and Arnold's hospitalization."

"Arnold?"

"Arnold, Helga's boyfriend. He found her and tried to kill himself as well. He is being monitored, but he should be fine."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later. I'll call Olga and get B." Miriam hung up the phone. She called Olga and told her of Helga's suicide. Olga promised to be on the first flight out of Alaska.

Miriam threw on her coat, grabbed her purse, and ran out of the house. Since her license had been taken away, and there wasn't a bus in sight, she ran to Big Bob's Beeper Empire.

At the Empire:

Miriam ran through the door. The bell toiled as she slammed the door behind her.

"B," she called.

Bob strolled out from his office. He looked at Miriam in surprise.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you usually at home, asleep behind the couch or on the counter or something?"

"Oh, B. Something bad has happened to our daughter."

Bob was immediately serious. "What?! What happened to Olga?"

"No, B. Not Olga, Helga."

"I have no daughter named Helga."

Miriam broke. She rose up to her full height; her eyes finally clear after several years on the bottle.

"Robert Pataki! How can you be so cold? Helga, our daughter!"

"I am telling you, Miriam, the only daughter I have is Olga."

"Olga. If you ever paid any attention to Helga, you would have found she was better than Olga!"

"Hey, hey, hey! If you paid any attention to Helga, you would have learned she was pregnant."

Miriam covered her mouth with her hand. "Pregnant?"

"Yeah, she was three months pregnant. Alfred was the father. I found out, so I kicked her out."

"Arnold," Miriam said softly, "Arnold was the father." She looked down at her shoes, then back up at Bob. "How could you kick your daughter out?"

"She was three months pregnant and she wasn't married!" Bob yelled.

"Helga is dead, Robert," Miriam yelled back. "The baby is gone too. If only I had known that you kicked her out, maybe she would be alive."

"She is dead!?!" Bob's face fell.

"Yes, Robert. Helga killed herself. Arnold found her and tried to kill himself also. Someone saw him and they called an ambulance. Arnold is in the hospital. Helga is at the morgue."

"I was a fool, Miriam. I should have paid more attention to her."

"So should I. Come on, B. We should go to the morgue."

Bob Pataki nodded. He grabbed his coat and ushered Miriam to his car. They climbed into the car and drove to the morgue.