Lost
Morgan
Patrick rode with me to find Callie. There was nobody home, so he took me to the bar and Pauline said Callie had been calling in sick for over a week. Patrick lived above the bar but said he just came off shift in Clarity and hadn’t been home in a few days to see Shane if he was hanging out at the bar lately. He then took me to see my uncle and he said as long as she had been calling into work she wasn’t a missing person. We drove around until after midnight looking for them. We drove into Clarity where Callie waitressed, and they also said she had been calling in sick. The gut feeling I had was only growing worse.
My dad was the fire chief in Clarity and my brother was a firefighter. He asked the paramedics if they had any calls concerning Callie and they hadn’t heard a thing. We checked the hospital and came up empty again. I even tried her mom once more, but she wasn’t concerned and said Callie would show up sooner than later. The next morning, I called all of our old friends and questioned whether or not any of them saw her in town lately. I knew Callie didn’t keep in touch with them, but I thought maybe she had been in the general store to buy Shane’s cigarettes and beer, but nobody had seen her in weeks. I needed to know if Addie had been to school, so I called my mom’s best friend, Arlene, who taught Kindergarten, and she said Addie had not been in school and Child Protection Services were notified two days prior. That was when I called my uncle and tried one more time to file a missing person’s report on both Callie and Addie.
“Maybe they took a short family vacation.” Mom offered as she set a muffin and cup of coffee in front of me.
I turned to look up at her. “A family vacation? Seriously, mom? Callie can barely afford to keep Shane in beer, let alone afford a vacation.”
Mom shook her head. “Its such a shame. Callie was always a sweet girl and had so much potential, despite a tough childhood.” She walked out of view and to the stove. I then looked at my dad who was scrolling on his phone and eating a muffin.
“Can you please talk with Uncle Darren? It’s not like Callie to ignore my calls, and he said he would keep an eye out for her. That’s not enough, we are talking a missing mother and child, not some random prostitute that’s on crack or something.”
My dad set his coffee cup down. “Crack in Cold Springs?” He chuckled sarcastically just a little. “More like meth, but yeah, I’ll talk to him under one condition.”
I rolled my eyes. “I already said I would visit with great grandpa.”
He shook his head. “Not that, but yes I’d appreciate it. I’d like you to have some respect. Just because someone has an addiction doesn’t mean their lives are worth less. You never know a person’s circumstances.”
I crossed my arms. “Meth?” I wasn’t sure what he meant.
“A lot of rural areas are fighting an epidemic with meth. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been called out to meth lab explosions. It seems to be the drug of choice here and in the surrounding counties.”
I let my hatred show in a growl. “I wouldn’t put it past Shane to be involved in that, not for a minute. He has always been a slime ball.”
Dad stood and kissed the top of my head. “I have to go to work, but do me a favor and stay away from that trailer park. I’ll stop by there on my way home from work tonight and check for her. I’ll also call my brother, but just stay out of it, okay?”
I didn’t answer and dad pecked mom on the cheek before he left. I felt a small ping of guilt knowing he had no idea I owned that trailer park. I sure as hell wouldn’t stay out of it. I owned that trailer park, and Callie was my best friend. I wouldn’t let it go until I found her, and I was absolutely against owning any property where the residents were making drugs. I needed to see it for myself. I tried Callie’s phone again and her voice-mail was full. I had been trying to call for several weeks and I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was me that filled it up with constant messages to call me back. After a shower, I blow dried my hair, put on light makeup, and threw on a pair of jeans along with a V-neck t-shirt. I wore my long hair in a ponytail and threw on a pair of sneakers. I was dressing down knowing there was nobody to impress in Cold Springs. Other than the thirty minutes or longer it took to blow dry my thick dark hair, it was the quickest I had been ready in what felt like years. I was not dressed as a Hollywood starlet, but as just Morgan. The girl from Cold Springs that liked riding horses, gardening, baking, and hanging out with my childhood friends. The girl Callie knew as her lifelong best friend. I had an ache in my gut, like I could feel there was something wrong with my best friend. We had a deep connection, and I knew before I couldn’t reach her by phone that something was wrong. It came the night I had that nightmare and wouldn’t leave until I found her and knew she was okay.
I grabbed my purse and put my phone inside then went downstairs to tell my mom a lie. “Hey, I’m going to run out for a bit. I told Clair I’d meet her in Clarity for lunch.” I pecked her cheek, and she gave me a nod as she was washing dishes.
“Just please stay away from that trailer park, Morgan. Let your dad and Uncle handle it.” She warned me.
“I’ll be fine and see you in a few hours.” I walked to the front door feeling guilty over my lie. My mom was the sweetest woman alive, and I hated lying to her. I had the best parents in the world. Although they were both prideful and never accepted a dime from me, they were the best. Mom was a nurse at the nursing home in Clarity, and my dad was always a firefighter. They worked hard for everything they had, and they were proud of the strides they made. Being teen parents wasn’t easy, but my parents still managed to get their educations. It may have taken them longer to get there than others, but they overcame it and provided us with great lives. Mom was a registered nurse and they both had odd work hours, but somehow they made it work. Mom only quit working when I had opportunities in California, but went back to work when I went to college, which they paid for and refused to use a dime of my earnings. The small farm they owned was a purchase they made from my mother’s grandparents. They were both still living, but retired to Florida not long after I was born.
Anyone who says everyone knows everyone in a small town, was probably not from a small town in Indiana. It was a myth, especially in modern times. People from the neighboring cities would buy places in rural areas to escape the noise and find peace. Then would sell and new families would move into town. Not to mention the unsavory types I saw when I drove into the trailer park. That was when I promised to close the place down after I knew Callie and Addie were safe. I swore when I found them I wasn’t taking no for an answer again. She had to leave Shane and start a new life away from him and his nasty friends. Nobody would be making meth on property I owned.
As I drove by one trailer after another, that I owned unfortunately, I saw young children that weren’t even old enough for school playing in front of one trailer and they were unsupervised. I couldn’t understand why child protection services weren’t taking those children and placing them in better homes. I made another mental note to call them myself as soon as I was in Callie’s short driveway. When I arrived, I parked in front of a perfectly good trailer whose driveway was blocked by a piece of shit truck with parts of it scattered everywhere. There were beer cans all over the place and the grass hadn’t been mowed in weeks. Seeing it in daylight was far worse than seeing it in the dark the prior night. When I stopped the Suburban, I looked up CPS on my phone and made the call. I still had the phone to my ear as I exited my vehicle and made my way to the door. They had to have been home, the path to the small patio wasn’t littered with whiskey bottles the night prior. I made it up the three steps to the patio and had to move a child’s riding toy out of the way to reach the door. As I answered the questions the social worker asked, I knocked then peeked inside through the small window. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like an episode of Hoarders I saw on television. There were even car parts in the spot that was supposed to be a living room.
While I had them on the phone, I went ahead and reported Shane and Callie for having a dangerous environment for Addie. I knew it was the second report, and an asshole move, but if they got involved maybe, just maybe, they’d light a fire under Callie’s ass to leave Shane. I walked around the trailer and peeked in the back door, but only saw a doorway that must have led to Addie’s room, because there was a dollhouse within view. I didn’t even make my call anonymous. Shane deserved to know who was about to rain hell down on him. I didn’t even care at that point if Callie was arrested. She had plenty of chances to make a better life for my goddaughter.
I wasn’t surprised when nobody was home. When I ended the call, I took photos of everything and sent them to my uncle. Then I got back into the Suburban and made my way to the general store. As soon as I stepped inside, my eyes met a pair of caramel eyes that crinkled at the edges and the wide smile of Mrs. Hoffman.
“I heard you were in town!” She made her way around the counter and pulled me into a hug. “Welcome home, Morgan.”
I hugged her in return. “Thank you, Mrs. Hoffman. How is life treating you these days?”
She pulled back and looked me up and down. “Wonderful, and it looks as if life is treating you wonderfully as well. How long will you be home?”
Mrs. Hoffman was a kind woman who ran the same small general store her grandparents owned. She didn’t just sell toilet paper and cans of soup, she had a liquor store on one side and a deli counter with a few tables for dining on the other. As funny as it was, she still rented out movies on DVD’s and the last time I was in town she had me autograph her movie posters I sent her, that adorned the walls inside the store. Her husband was a volunteer firefighter but worked in Clarity at the car plant. Her son, Chance, was in our class in high school and went on to play college football and then moved to New York.
“I’m not sure, I’ve decided to take a hiatus and haven’t really made any solid plans.” I answered as she walked back around her counter.
“You never were the Hollywood type.” She said, as if she knew actual Hollywood types. If I were anyone else I might have been offended, but to me it was a compliment.
“Thank you. How is Mr. Hoffman these days?” I gave her my best smile, although smiling was the last thing I felt like doing.
“He’s as ornery as always.” She shook her head with that warm smile still on her face.
“And Chance?”
Her smile only grew brighter. “He is doing well in the big city. He’s married now and she is expecting their first child.”
“That’s wonderful, congratulations. How very exciting. Will you be traveling to New York when the baby comes?” I pulled a pop from the fridge next to the counter.
“Oh no, the big city isn’t a place for us. They’ve promised to visit once the baby is a few months old. She’s due in just a few weeks. We’ll have to settle with photos for a short while.”
“That’s too bad.” I set the pop on the counter and reached inside my purse as she rang me up. “You haven’t happened to have seen Callie around lately, have you?”
I looked back up to hand her a five dollar bill and noticed she lost her smile. “No, and I’d like to keep it that way.” She took my money then made change for me.
I tilted my head. “Why’s that?” She placed the dollar bills and change in my hand, but I put it in a bucket that was meant to raise money for someone in the county with a terrible disease.
“Well, she bounced a few checks when she tried to pay off her tab. I’ve still not collected it to this day. She’s not permitted back in here until she pays up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess, beer and cigarettes for Shane?”
She nodded. “Of course, it was never for her or Addie. That poor girl works far too hard to be running up a tab for him.”
I pulled my credit card from my purse. “Here, let me settle that tab for her.”
She groaned. “I didn’t tell you this to get money out of you. It’s not your responsibility, and you should let Callie square up with me. I’m not all that angry, only because I know she’s trying her hardest to make ends meet. This is more Shane’s debt than Callie’s.” She pushed the card back toward me.
“No, let me take care of it so that Callie can get the things she needs. I’d maybe not allow her a tab anymore. In fact, from now on put whatever she needs on my credit card. Keep it on file, but just not the beer and cigarettes for Shane.” I pushed the card back toward her, but turned to look outside when I heard a large rumble of engines.
I turned back and looked at Mrs. Hoffman who was smiling as the motorcycles parked in front of the store.
“Who are these guys?” From what I could tell they were a motorcycle gang, so I was curious why she’d be smiling.
“As far as I’m concerned, they’re angels. They live at the lake, and they’ve been a blessing to this community. Ask your mother, they have started an entire foundation that helps the old veterans in the nursing home, and they do quite a bit of community service. They rode into town a few years ago with that Magnus boy and they’ve been a true blessing.”
I remembered my mom telling me a similar story, but her version didn’t include community service or Josh Magnus.
“Magnus boy? You mean Josh Magnus? The guy that was accused of raping Deanna Hall?”
Mrs. Hoffman raised a brow. “Accused is the keyword there, Morgan. He never raped that girl. She ran out of town with her tail between her legs after she admitted she used it as an excuse when she was pregnant with another boy’s baby, but it was too late for that young man. His father made him join the Army, thinking it would make him look better for the judge and jury during his trial. Its too bad she didn’t tell the truth before he signed up and was shipped off to basic training then off to the war. He had a full ride scholarship to Ball State for hockey and he lost his entire future because of her. Not to mention the busy body women in this town that can’t quite accept his innocence. His mother died a few years ago, and he showed up not too long before that with this group of men. They have a thriving motorcycle business.”
The last thing I needed was a motorcycle gang recognizing me. Mrs. Hoffman must have noticed my discomfort because she reached up to a shelf and handed me a ball cap she had for sale. “Not that it’s necessary, but I can see you’re uncomfortable. Here take these.” She also handed me a pair of mirrored sunglasses.
“Thank you, please put them on my card.” I pulled the ball cap down to hopefully cover my eyes, which were my most recognizable feature. As she made a copy of my card then ran it through her machine, I patiently waited. Being recognized by townspeople was one thing, but a motorcycle gang was a completely different thing. In LA, motorcycle gangs were not good news, and I couldn’t imagine them being any better in Indiana.
I jumped a little when the little bell over the door rang and I heard deep voices and heavy footsteps.
“Seat yourselves, boys, I’ll be right with you.” Mrs. Hoffman said. I listened as the heavy footsteps made their way to the small dining room and I could also feel their eyes on me. It was the second time the bell rang, and I heard another set of heavy boots when the hair on the back of my neck stood up and a chill ran up my spine. I pulled the bill of my hat down and silently cursed Mrs. Hoffman for taking so long.
“Creed, darling I wasn’t expecting you today.” Mrs. Hoffman’s eyes were lit up and she was smiling wider than ever. The man was standing directly behind me, and I caught a familiar scent.
“It was just a quick trip, got back yesterday. Any news from New York?” He asked.
“We have a little while longer, but thanks for asking. How is the benefit for Lance Smith coming along?” She tore my receipt from the machine and slid it toward me, then slid a copy of my card toward me with a pen to sign off on future charges. I quickly signed it, and she gave me a wink with a smile before I quickly slipped on the sunglasses and turned to walk out.