Chapter 24
Larry phoned Nancy again.
"I have some more news. These people are really nice and they've offered to help me. Nancy, they asked me what I wanted, and the only thing I could think of was to live with you and the kids again."
He paused, waiting with bated breath. Would she want him back, would they?
Nancy took a shaky breath. To have their family back together? And no mother-in-law from hell getting her nose in their business?
"Oh honey, this is the best news you could give me today!" She hesitated. "I don't have much saved, but it's yours."
Larry smiled into the phone. She wanted him back.
Nancy looked around at the house. She and her boys were staying with her elderly mother, and while she was relieved that they had been welcomed in, well, the house was small and to add another person in would be a very crowded house to be sure.
She started to speak then stopped. How to make it sound like she wanted him to come but with the cramped situation at her mothers' place? She didn't feel right just adding someone else into the tiny house without asking her mother first. She was trying to pay her share of the bills, and necessities for her boys, well there wasn't much money left over. On the other hand, if Larry was there, they could find a place of their own to live when he got a job.
Larry spoke again.
"I've got some things I need to do but I'll be in contact with you again soon with a new phone number you can phone me. I'm trying to decide what to do with Mother. She's in trouble, Nancy. I hated what she did to me but she did take me in and gave me somewhere to live and something to eat. I think she needs some serious psychiatric help
He spoke again.
"Honey, do you want to stay there or do you want to move to another city? I can't give you any more details right now, but sweetie, I don't think we need to worry about money for quite a while!"
Nancy looked at the phone. Did he just win the lottery?
~~~o0o~~~
Connie and Lula were bored. Nothing was going on and they wanted some dirt to spread.
"White Girl said she was too busy last week to do a Girls Night Out, what say we phone and try again?"
Connie nodded her head slowly.
"You know, she left here pretty fast after learning that we had that old bag from Philadelphia. I wonder if she knows anything about what's going on with that?"
Lula tapped her fingernails on the couch. "I heard that Grandma Edna broke her hip when I was in getting my nails done at the Cut 'n Curl yesterday. Annie told me that she went to the hospital to see her and there were a couple of RangeMen guarding the door. Why do you think Edna needed to be protected? Valerie was in for pneumonia last month and nobody was guarding her door!"
Connie shrugged her shoulders. "The last time the guys were in for files, Zero mentioned that they had to hurry because they were helping to move some dude's stuff out of a truck and returning it to the rental office."
Obviously something was going on.
Vinnie came out of his office.
"I need the phone number of that comic book store over on Dewdny again."
Connie flipped open her phone book with a pencil and used the eraser to get to the right page. She pushed a pen and paper toward him and pointed to the number, all the while blowing on her nails.
Vinnie grumbled as he picked up the pen and wrote down the number.
Stomping back to his office, he slammed the door shut once again.
~~~o0o~~~
Frank stood with the phone still plastered to his ear. He was shaking slightly and he was taking gulps of air. His slimy cousin, the scourge of the Plum family had just phoned. He had passed on some information what his contact had emailed about the room with all the pictures. It had nothing to do with what he had been paid to do, but still…. Vinnie mentioned that he had told his man to forget what he had seen. He had given a flimsy story about the actions of a local character here in Trenton and was working on a human interest story. He hoped that all would be forgotten soon. His man didn't know Stephanie or her reputation as the Bombshell Bomber.
Vinnie had told Frank that he could tell that the man was really not interested in pursuing more information by the way he changed the subject. All he wanted to know was when he'd get paid.
Helen came into the kitchen with a bag of groceries and saw Frank sitting at the table. His face was ashen and he was shaking a bit.
Helen literally dropped the bag on the counter and rushed to her husband. Was Frank having a heart attack? Should she call 911?
Frank looked up at her and shook his head. "Vinnie just called. We may have a problem."
~~~o0o~~~
Larry and Woody walked into the comic book store. Woody had taken separate photos of the four comic books and they were looking for some information.
Zack saw Woody come in and came over. They did that complicated hand thing popular right now and both smiled.
Woody loved to look through the selections on his day off. He had drifted into this area, then that, then had stood around talking to the staff. To him, it was a relaxing couple of hours and he knew all the staff by name.
Zack flashed a smile at the new customer. Business was slow but steady slow and a new customer was always welcomed. Who knew what they might want? Comics were such an on again/off again hobby. Closer to the ComicCon's booked in different cities, business always picked up and then it would gradually slow down again.
Woody looked at Zack and asked.
"I want to show you a photo, but mum's the word, man."
Zack looked surprised but motioned for them to come to his office. He closed the door knowing that his staff would look after whatever came in for a bit.
He made no apology for the state of the place. There were boxes of Star Wars creatures piled on his desk. There was a stack of comics with the strap holding them in place on his office chair.
He offered them a chair but they refused, standing just inside the door.
Woody pulled out his phone and turned it toward Zack.
"I've seen it and it's in really good condition. We have pictures of some other kinds but I think this might be the most valuable. My friend here wants to know his options."
Zack looked at the photo and the face he made was actually very comical. He looked at Woody, then Larry and blurted, "You're not juicing me, man? You really saw one?"
Woody nodded. "I know you can keep your mouth shut but my friend here wants to know what he should do with it. It was given to him by his dad quite some time ago."
Zack strode to his desk, took the stack of comics off his chair, sat down and started to click keys on his computer.
"Well, at the auction last year, we had one that sold for 1.2 and from the sound of it there was a bit of a bidding war going on, so there certainly is interest. It may sound really stuffy but the best people to get hold of to check on what you can do to sell this properly would be to contact Heritage."
Zack took a pad of paper and wrote down something, looking back and forth from the computer screen to the piece of paper.
"There's a phone number, and a website."
He looked up.
"Before you sell it, would I be able to see it? A Number 9! Wow, my day would be complete if I could see one of those!"
Woody gave the paper to Larry and they moved to the door.
"Mum's the word, man, or we may have to put some serious security on it."
Zack laughed. He knew what Woody did for a living.
They walked out the door and climbed into the vehicle.
Larry was starting to believe that there might really be something to the gift that his Dad had left him. Mentally he sent a message to his memory.
'Thanks Dad. Maybe I might be able to buy that pack of gum for it like we had joked about. Maybe quite a few packs of gum!'
~~~o0o~~~
Stephanie used her friend status on Facebook and found a copy of a year book from where both Michelle and her sister and Larry and Chuck had attended high school. She had been rather surprised at the ease of finding the copy on line. Privacy issues and regulations usually meant that this would not be available but with the upcoming reunion maybe it had been uploaded. In this case, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
With names now to check it wasn't difficult to find their pictures. Whereas Michelle was a junior, Patricia was a senior.
Pat had been in so many school clubs, or leadership positions. Michelle had come into high school with teachers probably wondering if she would be following in her very popular sisters' footsteps.
Stephanie looked through every club, and every sport picture. There was not one picture of Michelle.
She looked at the Grade 10 and only picture of Michelle in the yearbook.
Michelle, like almost every other girl that year was sporting the popular style at the time. Her curly hair was back combed very high on the top of her head but long hanging down the back. Stephanie chuckled at the look and secretly called her 'big hair'. Stephanie shuddered at the work that would be involved in keeping a style like that.
Next she found the picture of Chuck Morrison. Here too, the styles seemed to drift to either lots of curly hair on top of the head or the Elvis Presley look. Chuck had taken the Elvis route and she remembered the Brylcream sitting on his night table.
Curious, she looked at Larry. He had certainly changed in the years since his Grade 12 picture. The caption under the picture stated that he was undecided on a future career at the present time.
~~~o0o~~~
Mary Morrison phoned The Plum Bond Office. Connie answered the phone with the greeting, "Good morning, Plum Bond Office."
Mary spoke. "I need to talk to the owner."
Connie purred on the phone in her most professional tone. "Mr. Plum is out of the office at the present time. May I help you?"
Mary snarled. "I need to talk to that slimy creature as soon as he comes in. Something was taken from my house that shouldn't have been."
Connie dutifully took down her phone number and promised to have him call at his earliest convenience.
They both hung up at the same time.
Lula looked at Connie. "WTH was that?"
Connie shrugged her shoulders.
"That was that crazy woman we bonded out from Philly. Nice piece of work!"
They settled back and relaxed. It was coffee time but there was no dainties, no donuts, no nothing. Once again the two groused about the fact that Stephanie never came in anymore. They'd always been treated when she came in. Now, they just sat there and starved.
The door opened and Vinnie walked in. Connie handed the message to Vinnie and rolled her eyes.
Vinnie took the note and walked into his office, closing and locking the door behind himself.
He looked at the piece of paper hoping it was the comic book store. The owner, some guy named Zack had promised to find out how much the comic book was worth. Vinnie had plans. His wife Lucille was making noises that she was going to see daddy if they didn't get away on an extended holiday soon.
Instead, it was the woman from Philadelphia.
He put through the call, all the while powering up his computer. He had a program with his name on it. He'd had a tough day so far and he needed to relax.
The phone picked up and Mary Margaret Morrison was on the other line. She had no time for pleasantries and snarled.
"I gave you my key to get a bunch of comic books from under a bed in the basement. Instead, your minion grabbed something from my other sons' room that wasn't to be disturbed."
Vinnie spoke into the phone. "Mrs. Morrison, my man was told, as per your instructions, to check a man's bedroom and find the comic books. He found an empty bedroom in the basement and two bedrooms upstairs. It was obvious which was yours. He found and removed the comic book from the sons' room. End of story."
Mary Morrison couldn't believe it. "I need that back. I'll get a loan and give the $10,000 to the courthouse, but I must have it back. That belonged to my son who passed away and I need it back."
Vinnie smiled to himself. He loved his job some days and to piss off this lady who had given him no amount of grief with her attitude, well, payback was a sweet thing indeed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. That comic is being held to pay for your bond. You said that there were comics in your sons' room and my man found a comic book in your sons' room. I say again, end of story."
Mrs. Morrison curled her fist over the phone handle and her hand turned white. This was her other sons' fault. And, while she was thinking about it, where was he and why had he come back and taken all his possessions?
She hung up after confirming the court date and time.
She vowed to get that comic back, by hook or by crook.
