Chapter 25
The next day, Bill and Georgie left their house and rode their bikes to Eddie's house. When they got there, they saw that everyone else had shown up and were at the door. Georgie and Bill parked their bikes under a nearby tree and headed for the door. Bill ringed the doorbell and the group waited until Ms. K opened the door. She didn't seem pleased nor happy to see the loser's club, Georgie, or Ale.
"Hi, M-M-Ms. K. Can w-we s-s-see Eddie?" Bill asked politely.
Ms. K didn't respond, she grunted and let them in. The group walked in and found Eddie laying on the couch next to Ms. K's chair. He looked fine and he was clean, but he still had the cast on his arm. Eddie woke up and saw his friends and Ale surrounding the couch.
"Hi Eddie, how are you?" Beverly asked.
"I'm okay. A bit sore, but I'm okay." He said.
"That's good. Can you still walk and get up okay?" Mike asked concerned.
"Yeah, but slowly." Eddie said.
"Do you think you can still ride your bike?" Stanley asked.
"Uh uh, my son is not riding on a bike! He'll get a new injury if he falls off!" Ms. K shouted.
The group realized that she was right, Eddie would be at risk of getting injured again if he rode on his bike. Thinking quickly, Bill came up with a plan.
"I have a b-b-better i-idea. How about w-we w-w-walk? You can k-k-keep an e-eye on us and m-m-make s-sure we don't get on o-o-our b-bikes, deal?" he offered.
The group looked at him like he was crazy, but Ms. K contemplated the idea. As long as she didn't see the kids get on their bikes, Eddie would be safe. Plus, all she had to do was watch them walk down the street until they were long gone. The group realized the plan as well, and realized that Bill had a point.
"Alright, it's a deal, but I better not see any of you on bikes and you better take Eddie straight home when you finish what ever you're doing!" Ms. K warned.
"Of course M-M-Ms. K-K, we promise nothing will h-h-happen t-to Eddie." Bill promised.
Eddie got up from the couch slowly and walked towards the door. Beverly and Mike helped him keep his balance and Beverly opened the door. Everyone else followed them out and walked down the steps.
"Remember Eddie, be back here as soon as you finish what ever you're doing, alright?" Ms. K reminded.
"Okay mom." He promised.
Ms. K watched on as the kids left the front gate and walked back to Bill's neighborhood. It was good exercise when you think about it, the kids walked slowly to Ms. Granger's house; it was only a few doors down Bill and Georgie's house. Once the kids got there, Bill went to the door and ranged the doorbell. They waited until an old woman opened the door, it was Ms. Granger. She recognized Bill and his friends and gave them a warm smile.
"Hello Bill, Beverly, Mike, Ben, Eddie, Stanley, Georgie, and Ale. How are you?" Ms. Granger greeted warmly.
"Hi Ms. Granger, c-c-can w-we come in?" Bill asked politely.
"Of course, come in come in." she said kindly.
Ms. Granger let the kids in and in her home was an old retire-like home with the sweet smell of fresh baked cookies and flowers. Ms. Granger brought a tray with a teapot, teacups for everyone, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She placed the tray on the table and poured tea into the teacups. Everyone each took one cup and one cookie; except Ale, she took two cookies. Bill looked at her and was surprised to see that Ms. Granger knew Ale and that she wasn't afraid of her like everyone else. Then again, Bill guessed that she only saw Ale's good side and hadn't got on her bad side yet. Ms. Granger brought out another teacup and plate for Richie, but realized he wasn't there.
"Hey, where's Richie?" she asked.
"He's n-n-not h-here Ms. Granger. He's…b-b-busy" Bill lied.
"Oh, well that's too bad. So what can I do for all of you?" she asked; as she placed the plate and teacup on the coffee table and sat down.
"Well, we have a f-f-few q-questions for you." Bill begin.
"Oh, and what would that be?" Ms. Granger asked confused.
"Well, we w-w-want to know wh-what h-h-happened in 1962. M-M-Mom m-mentioned something about missing k-k-kids." Bill explained.
"Ah, that. Well, I won't lie, but I don't remember much about that. It was the year my husband died, you see." Ms. Granger begin.
"Oh. I'm s-s-so s-sorry, Ms. Granger." Bill said surprised.
"Thank you Bill. But I do know what you're talking about, it's one of the many mysteries of Derry." She smiled.
"Oh, what are the o-o-others?" Bill asked.
"Well, there's the murders." Ms. Granger spoke.
The kids perked and their eyes were wide with surprise; except Ale, she didn't care. Ms. Granger realized that maybe saying that in front of a young child was not a good idea and she felt bad.
"I'm sorry dear, maybe I shouldn't be saying that in front of Georgie." She said.
"No no Ms. Granger, it's alright, I don't mind." Georgie said.
"What murders do you mean, are th-th-they l-like what happened to Patrick?" Bill asked confused.
"It's horrible what happened to him, but yes, the murders were just like how Patrick was found." Ms. Granger explained.
"Did they ever find the culprit?" Beverly asked.
"No, no one knows who did it, but they think it has something to do with the kids." Ms. Granger explained.
"The kids?" Ben said confused.
"The ones that go missing. Each one is found with blood on their clothes and every time they're asked about it, they said that the culprit made them kill the people in question; leading the police to believe the culprit is sadistic and psychotic." Ms. Granger explained.
"That's horrible." Mike spoke.
"It gets worse, it was how the children described the culprit. They all described him to be a clown, this only increased my fear of clowns. Did you know your grandparents almost caught him?" Ms. Granger spoke.
"They did, wh-wh-what h-happened?" Bill asked interested.
"Well, according to them, they caught him forcing a little girl to kill a pedophile. He got away before they could catch him and the pedophile died, but their accounts of the incident told some truth." Ms. Granger explained.
Bill was in disbelief, it explained a lot actually. It's no wonder why Pennywise wants payback against the Loser's club, they ruined his plan to devour his prey, and with most of their grandparents dead, Pennywise would possess the grandchildren and make them do his dirty work. They had to find Richie and stop him; otherwise, their remaining relatives would be next, instead of some low-life crook.
"Did you know that your great uncle George was one of the missing children, Bill and Georgie?" Ms. Granger asked.
"What…" Bill said shocked.
"Yep, though I wasn't there personally, my husband was. He saw your uncle playing with a boat your grandfather gave him and the boat fell into the sewer. Once your uncle try to get it, my husband saw a glove grab your uncle's arm and spray a white mist at him. Your uncle looked like he was staring at something for a few minutes, then walked into the woods. When my husband told the cops about this, the police figured the culprit was using some sort of drug he used on the kids." Ms. Granger explained.
Bill was horrified, if his hunch was right and if what Ale said was true, then Pennywise's intentions was more than just missed prey. If his hunch was right about what Ms. Granger said, then something else happened in the woods. Bill put the empty teacup on the coffee table and got up.
"Th-Th-Thank y-you for t-t-telling u-us this Ms. Granger." He said.
"Of course, Bill." She said.
The group put their empty teacups on the coffee table, said their goodbyes, and left the house. Ms. Granger stood at the door and gave a final wave. The group waved back and continued walking down the sidewalk. The group eyes were wide and looked at each other worried or concerned. Beverly looked at Bill.
"I know what you're thinking…" she spoke.
"I am. If what Ms. Granger s-s-said is t-true, then w-w-we h-have a b-b-bigger pr-problem." Bill said serious.
"I'll say." Ale spoke.
"So, where are we going now?" Mike asked.
"We're going to a r-r-retirement h-home. There's a g-g-guy that's f-from a M-Maycomb Alabama, maybe h-h-he c-can help us." Bill answered.
"And how would he help exactly?" Stanley asked skeptical.
"It'll help to check if the murders in Maycomb are connected to the ones in Derry." Ben pointed out.
"Exactly. We need to ch-ch-check and s-see if Pennywise has d-d-done th-this in…other places." Bill said.
"I don't know, Bill. The retirement home is a few miles near my neighborhood, I don't think I can make it in my state." Eddie said uncertain.
"Don't worry, we'll d-d-drop y-you off on the w-w-way. You've h-h-heard e-enough stories for o-o-one d-day." Bill assured.