THREE
Prue made several phone calls that morning. She tried calling the manor three times and each time got the same response. The number was no longer in service. Next, she called Darryl. The police operator informed her that "Inspector Morris was regrettably killed four months earlier when he was trying to apprehend a suspect". He had been buried with full honors. Which explained why he hadn't been to see her recently. She even tried to call P3. Surprisingly, the number still worked. Only it was no longer P3. It was something called "The Hub". Apparently someone had bought the club and changed the name.
Later that day, the nurse brought Prue two boxes. One was a shoebox. In it, Prue found the two rings she usually wore, her earrings, her watch, and a necklace she often wore. It had been a gift from Andy and it was about all she had left of him. Other than her memories.
"Your clothes are in the closet, dear," said the nurse. "We had them cleaned for you."
"Thanks," said Prue, opening the larger box. "What's this?"
"One of your neighbors has been dropping your mail off a couple of times a week," said the nurse. "I'm afraid most of it looks like bills though. Dr. Martin thought it might help you adjust."
"Holy cow," exclaimed Prue, looking at the pile of envelopes.
She looked through them and found almost all of them were bills. Gas bills, electric bills, car payments, mortgage payments, phone bills, credit card bills, the list was nearly endless.
And they weren't just bills. Late notices, second late notices, demands for payment, repossession notices, notice after notice tellomg her she hadn't made any payments. Most of them looked like the standard forms used by most companies.
"They certainly are thorough," said Prue to herself.
"Who are, dear?" asked the nurse.
"Oh, bill collectors," said Prue.
"Yes, they certainly are," said the nurse. "But you've been in a coma for over a year. I'm sure that once you explain that to them they'll be quite understanding."
"I've never known a bill collector to be understanding about anything," laughed Prue. "Still, there's not much I can do about it right now."
She spent the next couple of hours sorting through the bills. Almost every company had sent her notices that their services had been discontinued and she was being referred to a collection agency.
She found one particularly disturbing. It was from the mortgage company. She felt a knot in her stomach as she read it over. It was dated nearly two weeks earlier. Due to her failure to make the required payments, and the fact she refused to contact them, they were forced to foreclose on the manor. She read the date they planned to take possession of the house.
It was less than a week away. No doubt they would change the locks so she couldn't get back inside. And any personal items in the house would probably be discarded. Including the Book of Shadows. When they discovered that no one else could remove the book from the manor, her secret could be revealed to the entire world. And without her powers, she would be easy prey for any demon that wanted to take its revenge on her.
Prue made several phone calls that morning. She tried calling the manor three times and each time got the same response. The number was no longer in service. Next, she called Darryl. The police operator informed her that "Inspector Morris was regrettably killed four months earlier when he was trying to apprehend a suspect". He had been buried with full honors. Which explained why he hadn't been to see her recently. She even tried to call P3. Surprisingly, the number still worked. Only it was no longer P3. It was something called "The Hub". Apparently someone had bought the club and changed the name.
Later that day, the nurse brought Prue two boxes. One was a shoebox. In it, Prue found the two rings she usually wore, her earrings, her watch, and a necklace she often wore. It had been a gift from Andy and it was about all she had left of him. Other than her memories.
"Your clothes are in the closet, dear," said the nurse. "We had them cleaned for you."
"Thanks," said Prue, opening the larger box. "What's this?"
"One of your neighbors has been dropping your mail off a couple of times a week," said the nurse. "I'm afraid most of it looks like bills though. Dr. Martin thought it might help you adjust."
"Holy cow," exclaimed Prue, looking at the pile of envelopes.
She looked through them and found almost all of them were bills. Gas bills, electric bills, car payments, mortgage payments, phone bills, credit card bills, the list was nearly endless.
And they weren't just bills. Late notices, second late notices, demands for payment, repossession notices, notice after notice tellomg her she hadn't made any payments. Most of them looked like the standard forms used by most companies.
"They certainly are thorough," said Prue to herself.
"Who are, dear?" asked the nurse.
"Oh, bill collectors," said Prue.
"Yes, they certainly are," said the nurse. "But you've been in a coma for over a year. I'm sure that once you explain that to them they'll be quite understanding."
"I've never known a bill collector to be understanding about anything," laughed Prue. "Still, there's not much I can do about it right now."
She spent the next couple of hours sorting through the bills. Almost every company had sent her notices that their services had been discontinued and she was being referred to a collection agency.
She found one particularly disturbing. It was from the mortgage company. She felt a knot in her stomach as she read it over. It was dated nearly two weeks earlier. Due to her failure to make the required payments, and the fact she refused to contact them, they were forced to foreclose on the manor. She read the date they planned to take possession of the house.
It was less than a week away. No doubt they would change the locks so she couldn't get back inside. And any personal items in the house would probably be discarded. Including the Book of Shadows. When they discovered that no one else could remove the book from the manor, her secret could be revealed to the entire world. And without her powers, she would be easy prey for any demon that wanted to take its revenge on her.