The Fugitive Grandma

Chapter 37 - Best Interests

Frank was out at Tuscan Paradise early on Monday morning to meet a married couple, prospective buyers for homes he'd been trying to sell for months.

During the home tour, Frank led the couple to the master bedroom on the second floor. That's when he knew it was over.

It began raining overnight. A noisy trickle of rainwater fell steadily through a leak in the ceiling onto a model bed that Frank had leased for the home showing. The couple stared in horror at the miniature waterfall splashing over the bedding that covered the mattress. Even Frank, the veteran salesman, scrambled to conceal his shock with a nervous grin and soothing platitudes.

Frank tried a few desperate ploys to save the situation, but he knew there was nothing to do but accept defeat and escort the couple back to their car. As they drove away, Frank noticed a slender, attractive woman in a rain poncho waiting in the front yard.

"Do we have an appointment?" Frank said. "Or perhaps you're just in the neighborhood?"

"I am not here to see the house, Mr. Valentine." Rebecca Little flashed her police badge. "I am here to see you about your mother. Have you seen her since last night?"

"No. What about her?"

"Maybe you didn't see it on the news this morning. There was a robbery at Shady Palms last night. We've learned since then that your mother is missing from her room."

"Missing? What do you mean?"

"Just that. She's gone."

"What about my son?." Frank hadn't seen Johnny when he left the house that morning. At the time, he figured the boy was still sleeping in his room but knowing Johnny there was no guarantee he hadn't slipped out.

"If you're not sure where your son is then he might be missing, too. The staff at Shady Palms wasn't sure whether he'd been visiting or not."

"What does this mean? You're not accusing her of being involved in the robbery, are you?"

"We have no reason to think that. Mr. Valentine, we don't really have enough information to think anything right now. I thought she might have been visiting you last night. Could she and your son be visiting someone else, perhaps? Friends? Another relative?"

"She doesn't have a car. I made her give it up when she moved into Shady Palms. Maybe one of her friends from the supermarket picked her up: Millie Szymanski or Elmer Dillinger. I'll call them. But it isn't like her to stay out all night."

Rebecca recited more details from the robbery to Frank, including the shooting of retirement home manager Harry Gibraltar.

Frank gasped. "My God, is he OK?"

"It's not life-threatening. I am not a medical expert, but I think he'll be limping for a while."

"You think my mother could be tied up in all this?"

"Like I said, she's not a suspect, but maybe she saw something."

"What can I do to help?" Frank asked, fear and tension rising in his voice as the disappearance of his mother and son sank in.

"I'd like to know more about your mother. The staff told me that she only came to Shady Palms recently. Why did she go there?"

"What does this have to do with your case?"

"Mr. Valentine, I'm just trying to get some background."

"It was time for her to get some help. She's been deteriorating for a while. She can be very unpredictable. So it was time to get her out of a situation where she was living alone."

"Is she absentminded? Could she have just wandered off someplace?"

"I don't think she's ever done it before. But yeah, it's possible. Anything is possible."

After the detective thanked him and returned to her standard-issue Ford Escort, Frank wandered back into the house. He sat down on the floor and held his head in his trembling hands.

He heard that old voice whisper in his ear.

Your family is cursed, and you can never have the happy, successful life that others enjoy.

At that moment, his cell phone rang. It was his mother.

"Hi, Frank."

"What the hell's going on?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Johnny's fine."

"I just had a visit from a police detective. There's been a robbery. Harry Gibraltar was shot, and then you disappear?"

"Frank, I don't want to tell you too much, if you get my meaning."

Frank knew exactly what she meant, and deep down he wasn't even surprised.

"You did this, didn't you? You robbed Shady Palms and shot Harry. But how did you get a gun?" Then he answered his own question. "Johnny. You got Johnny involved. You are insane. I told you to stay on those ADAPT pills."

"Well, I threw those pills away, and it was the best decision I've made in a long time. I feel one hundred percent better."

"After all I did for you, Mom. I set up a whole plan in your best interest."

"Where do you get off telling me what's in my best interest? What kind of advice did I get from you? You didn't back me up when I wanted to fight Great American to get my pension back. You convinced me to give you power of attorney. You sold my house and car so you could clean up your bad bets in real estate. You put me in a seedy retirement home run by a bunch of bingo gangsters. It's been all downhill since I started taking your advice. So you can forget that load of bull about how you're acting in my best interest. Those days are over. I can take care of myself."

"Mom, I need to talk to Johnny."

"He doesn't want to talk to you."

"He's my son, Mom. I have the right to talk to him."

"I know that, Frank, but he doesn't want to talk to you and he doesn't want to see you. I can't force him."

"I have a legal right to see my son, Mom. I want you to bring him home now. Otherwise, I could report you for kidnapping and put out an amber alert."

"Listen to you! You haven't paid attention to Johnny for months, and suddenly you want him home with you. If he wants to come home, I'll bring him home straightaway, but he's mad at you right now, Frank. He overheard you talking with Lester Cummings in the living room about how you sold me out using that power of attorney."

"Mom, I didn't sell your house for the money, I did it—"

"I know you did it in my best interest, and I can forgive you for what's happened and let bygones be bygones, but the point is Johnny is still mad at you."

"Mom, you messed with Lester Cummings. You stole his money. You shot one of his guys. Don't you realize what that means? He's going to come at you with everything. He's going to come at me with everything."

"I thought about that, Frank. That's why I am calling you. To make sure you take care of yourself. I'm sorry I put you in harm's way."

"What about you and Johnny, Mom? You know what that man is capable of?"

"I am not going to let that happen, Frank. Don't you worry—"

"Mom, if the police figure out what's happened, they'll hunt you down."

"They are not going to find us, Frank."

"You are out of your mind, Mom. You can't hide from these people."

"Sure, I can. I just have to stay healthy. I have to run now, Frank. I got stuff to take care of."

The line went dead. The rain was still coming down.