WHOOPS—I DID IT AGAIN!
Elvira Booker shut off the filling station’s old TV before her great-granddaughter could look up from her coloring book. She couldn’t let her see the scary-looking man on the screen. Why, his angry expression and unkempt appearance were enough to scare the birds out of the trees! According to the emergency alert, an armed bank robbery had taken place right here in Hillsburg, and the police suspected that the perpetrator was still in the area. The local bank was offering a reward for the man’s capture.
Elvira bustled out of the little office and down the narrow hallway to the front desk and cash register. Quickly, she flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED, then winced and flipped it back to OPEN. She couldn’t just lock up and leave. She and Henry needed the money—especially now after her costly mistake. Henry had been so disappointed. But in Elvira’s defense, she’d never watched the station while he was away before. She was a homebody, better at baking pies and frosting cakes than checking tires and such. Still, the blame was hers. Now Henry was in town paying for the damage she’d caused.
She hadn't realized she was chewing her lip until eight-year-old Cindy took her hand. “Grammy?” she said. “Are you all right?"
“Yes, I’m fine, sweetheart,” Elvira replied with a smile. “I’m just a little jumpy today. Let’s both of us go back to the office and color some more pictures, shall we?”
Just then a short melodic ding sounded, announcing that a customer had pulled up to the pumps. For a second, Elvira froze. Then she shook off her nervousness. Despite the news report, the criminal was probably miles and miles away by now. She peered out the big front window… and her knees buckled.
It was him! She’d recognize that awful face anywhere. And now he was getting out of the car and hurrying toward the door!
She couldn’t let a man like that anywhere near Cindy. “Honey quick!” Elvira ordered. “Go back into the office and call 911. Tell them the robber is at Henry’s Corner Filling Station. You remember how to do that, don’t you?”
“Yes, Grammy!”
“Good girl. Then crawl under the desk and sit tight until I come to get you."
Trying to hide her fear, Elvira stepped outside, blocking the doorway. “Good morning, sir,” she said. “What can I do for you?
“Got a restroom?” he growled.
“Yes, straight out back behind the building.”
He grunted something, then said in a cold voice, “Fill up the tank—and be quick about it.”
“Yes, sir,” Elvira replied. But as she watched the big man stride around the building, her mind whirled, thinking about the reward and the bills, and her costly mistake. Suddenly she knew what she must do.
Shivering, she rushed to the pumps and quickly inserted a nozzle into the tank--then opened the car door and popped the hood. She was just finishing when he returned. “Your…your oil was fine she stammered as he brushed past her. That’ll be twenty dollars.”
His only reply was another surly look before he roared off.
When the sheriff arrived a few minutes later, Elvira pointed excitedly toward a secondary road. “He went that way, Sheriff—but he won’t get far!
Later that day, when the robber was in custody, the bank president phoned to thank Elvira and tell her about the big reward she would receive. “How wonderful!” Elvira said. "Thank you so much!" Henry would be so pleased with her-- this time!
**********
HOW DID ELVIRA KNOW THE CROOK WOULDN’T GET FAR?
Solution: She’d filled the crook’s tank with diesel fuel instead of gasoline. The moment the diesel fuel hit the engine, the car conked out. Elvira knew it would because she’d already done it once before—by accident!
This Solve It Yourself Mystery first appeared in the March 8, 2010 issue of Woman’s World Magazine under the title “On the Road Again” by Edie Hanes. All rights have reverted to me. J
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMONG US
Dr. Amos Callaway smiled across the desk as Maddie Blake continued her tale of alien invasion. He knew her well--had brought her into the world twenty years ago, seen her through all the usual childhood illnesses, applauded when she was accepted at a prestigious New York City actor's school. She'd always been wildly creative. But telling stories like this wouldn't do. "Maddie, it's not possible."
She met his eyes in desperation. "I know that. But I'm telling you, that man is not my grandfather. He looks like Grandpa Tom and talks like Grandpa Tom, but he isn't."
Callaway came around the desk and took the girl's hand. In these days of assembly line medicine, he loved being an old country doctor whose patients were also his friends. "Maddie, when we started the experimental treatment, I told you it could have side effects: loss of appetite, mood swings and the like. You agreed that it was better than dying."
"This isn't a mood swing! Even at his lowest, he was warm and affectionate. Now...there's nothing." She paused, then went on a little hesitantly. "Remember that meteor shower six months ago? It came out of nowhere. Even scientists and astronomers were surprised. The...the debris landed less than a mile away in Lem Haskell's cornfield."
Callaway stilled for a moment, then chuckled. "Well, now. I finally understand what this is all about. Apparently, we watched the same movie on the TV last week. Wonderful film for it's time."
"What are you--"
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Winter checking for pods in basements and watching blank bodies become people they knew. Perfect replicas--except for emotion. And of course, the film took place in an isolated community. Like ours."
Maddie shook her head. "Doc, I know the difference between Hollywood and reality. Please...I know you're busy, but can
you--"
"Bring him in," Callaway said, walking her out. "Maybe we just need to adjust his meds. And maybe," he added with a wink, "they're working your imagination too hard at that fancy actor's school."
"Maybe," Maddie replied, still doubtful. She paused then, compassion softening her eyes. "How's Mrs. Callaway?"
"Better," Callaway replied, beaming. "Much better now."
The moment Maddie and her grandfather arrived, Callaway's nurse whisked them into his office. Callaway whisked Maddie right back out.
He stared in dismay at "Grandpa Tom." "You must learn human ways, Faldour. We are emotional beings."
"It is difficult," Faldour said.
"But possible," Callaway returned earnestly. His dear Hannah was living proof. "If you remain distant, Maddie will take you to another doctor, and tests will confirm that you are not of this world. There will be consequences."
Faldour looked away, seeming to remember his dying planet. Pure energy, he and the last of his kind had arrived during the meteor shower in search of a home. Instinct had led them to Callaway--and his dying wife. Callaway's initial terror had vanished the moment Faldour had offered what science could not. As he'd watched in amazement, a glowing being had slipped painlessly into his beloved Hannah, extending her life and sparing him a heartbreaking goodbye. Now...now there was even a flicker of emotion.
"You must try harder, " Callaway insisted. "You must succeed."
That evening , Callaway stood with a young wife at her terminal husband's bedside. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "We've exhausted every--"
"Please," she sobbed. "There must be something you can do."
Callaway paused, suffering the same pangs of conscience he'd had before "treating" Maddie's granddad. Then he considered the eleven glowing beings in hiding, gentle souls who simply wanted to live in peace...as his patients did. He was a physician. Hadn't he vowed to use any means possible to save lives? Weren't organ transplants commonplace now? And in essence...wasn't this just another kind of transplant?
Callaway drew a breath then softened his voice. "I know of an experimental treatment...but there would be side effects, possibly lack of emotion, which might not return."
"Anything," the woman whispered. "I love him. The kids need him. When can we start?"
"Tomorrow," Callaway answered, squeezing her hand. "Bring him to my private clinic tomorrow."
* * *
Hope you enjoyed AMONG US. It originally appeared in SUN Magazine under one of my other pseudonyms. All rights reverted to me on publication.
I hope you’ll visit again to read more light romances, mini mysteries and science fiction shorties. Until then...
My Best Wishes,
Lauren
