Fabulous Five 008 - The Runaway Crisis (6 page)

Katie was amazed at how complicated it was to hide Shawnie
from her mother. She hated having to do it, and she also knew deep down that
Willie would want to protect Shawnie and help her any way she could. It was
just that Katie needed more answers from Shawnie before she brought her mother
in on the situation. Otherwise, Willie might make Shawnie go home. But since
Shawnie was still too upset to talk to Katie about what her parents had done,
it was a cinch she wouldn't talk to Willie either. Katie had no choice but to
keep Shawnie's presence a secret for now.

One of the toughest problems was going down the hall to the
bathroom. Katie had never realized just how far the bathroom was from her
bedroom until Shawnie needed to use it. It was also right by the top of the
stairs, and Willie might come up to bed any minute and catch Shawnie sneaking
through the halls.

"I'll stand guard outside the door," Katie finally
said, "but you'll have to let me in if I hear her coming."

Shawnie nodded and the two girls crept down the hall. Katie
was in the lead, watching the stairway and listening for sounds of her mother.

"So far, so good," she whispered as Shawnie
disappeared into the bathroom, fumbled for the light switch, and closed the
door.

Katie crouched at the top of the stairs and waited. Suddenly
the light in the stairwell dimmed. One of the living room lamps had gone off.
That meant that her mother was coming to bed. Getting down on her hands and
knees, Katie peered under the banister. Willie was making her bedtime rounds,
closing the living room drapes, checking the lock on the front door—all in preparation
for coming upstairs.

Leaping to the bathroom door, Katie rapped softly and called
as loudly as she dared, "Shawnie. Let me in."

Silence. And then the toilet flushed. Katie bit her lower
lip and looked toward the stairs. Willie wasn't there yet, but she would be any
second.

If I knock softly again, Shawnie won't hear over the sound
of the commode, she thought. And if I yell or knock loudly, Mom will hear.

There was only one thing to do. Opening the door, Katie
barged on in. Shawnie was standing by the sink. She looked at Katie in
surprise, but Katie held up her hand for silence. Then she reached behind the
shower curtain and turned the water on full blast.

"What are you doing?" whispered Shawnie.

"Mom's on her way up. If she thinks I'll be in here for
a while, she'll probably go on to bed instead of waiting around to tell me
good-night," Katie whispered back.

Shawnie nodded hopefully, and they stared silently at the
bathroom door.

"Katie," Willie called from the other side. "Can
I bother you to come in while your water warms up? I'll just be a minute."

The two girls exchanged wide-eyed looks of panic. Oh, no!
thought Katie. Why do we have to live in a house with only one bathroom?

Thinking quickly, she shoved Shawnie toward the bathtub. "Get
in," she whispered. "Hide behind the shower curtain."

"But I'll get
soaked!
" protested Shawnie.

"It's better than getting
caught!
" argued
Katie. She was praying that Willie couldn't hear their voices over the sound of
the shower.

"Katie? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, Mom. Just a minute."

Katie gave Shawnie one last warning look and nudged her
toward the tub again. Shawnie puckered up her face as if she were going to cry
before hoisting a foot over the side of the tub and disappearing behind the
curtain.

"Okay, Mom," Katie called. "You can come in
now."

"At least you got a shower," said Katie when they
were back in her room again and sharing the hair dryer.

"But my clothes are soaked," Shawnie said in a
pouty voice. "And my boots. Just
look
at my
boots
."

Katie had to admit that Shawnie's gorgeous leather lace-up
boots were a mess. "They'll probably look okay when they dry," she
said hopefully.

Shawnie was not to be consoled. "Are you kidding? They'll
be covered with water spots. And besides, you hid them in the back of your
closet where air can't possibly get to them. It will take them
days
to
dry completely. They'll probably
mildew
."

Katie shrugged, thinking that Shawnie's boots were the least
of both of their worries right now. The next thing to be considered was the
sleeping arrangements. Katie hated to put Shawnie on the floor, but she had to.
It wasn't that there wasn't plenty of room in her big, double bed. It was just
that tomorrow was Saturday, and sometimes Willie popped into her room on
Saturday morning to tell Katie that she was going jogging or that she was
heading to the grocery store to beat the weekend crowd. Actually, now that
Katie thought about it, Willie was pretty unpredictable when it came to popping
into her room. Sometimes she popped in to say good-night, as well. There was no
doubt about it, Shawnie would have to sleep on the floor on the opposite side
of the bed from the door.

Katie took half of her own covers and one of her pillows and
spread them on the floor while Shawnie watched in silence. Katie wasn't sure if
Shawnie was still upset over going into the shower with all her clothes on or
if she didn't like the idea of sleeping on the floor. Don't be silly, Katie
scolded herself. She's just run away from home. She's upset over that.

To Katie's amazement, Shawnie went to sleep as soon as her
head hit the pillow. She must be exhausted, Katie decided. Determined to put
Shawnie's problems out of her mind until morning, Katie turned over on her side
and thought about Tony. Their date seemed as if it had happened a million years
ago, and yet he had kissed her good-night a mere hour before.

She smiled to herself as she remembered the initials shaved
into his hair: T.C. + K.S. Leave it to Tony, she thought tenderly. When she had
first gotten to know him, it had seemed as if he were nothing more than a
show-off, but now she knew that wasn't true at all. He was simply willing to
take chances for things he cared about. Just the way she was taking chances for
Shawnie Pendergast right now. But would he understand that if she confided in
him? What would he think if he knew she was hiding Shawnie in her room?

A banging sound at her bedroom door brought Katie out of a
deep sleep. "Katie! Come downstairs quickly. There's something about
Shawnie Pendergast on television."

Katie opened one eye to see Willie's head poking through the
half-open door. The next instant she was wide-awake and bolting out of bed.

"Come on," Willie urged. "Shawnie's run away,
and her parents will be on the morning news right after the commercial making
an appeal for her to come home."

Passing her mother in the hall, Katie streaked down the
stairs and skidded to a halt in front of the small television set on the
kitchen counter. On the screen, a cowboy was strumming a guitar and singing a ballad
about a gentle laxative. The Pendergasts would probably be on next, she
thought.

Climbing onto a stool at the end of the counter, Katie
caught her breath and shooed the cobwebs of sleep out of her brain. The whole
business about hiding Shawnie was coming back to her now, pressing down on her
like a lead weight.

"Glass of milk?" offered Willie as the commercial
ended and the camera shot went to the news desk and the reporter who was giving
the news.

Katie shook her head and leaned closer to the set to hear
what he had to say.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we reported earlier, a local
thirteen-year-old girl, Shawnie Pendergast, is missing from her home.
Authorities began searching for her yesterday afternoon when she did not return
from classes at Wakeman Junior High, and a check of attendance records showed
that she had not been in school all day. At this time there is no evidence of
foul play, and both the parents and the police are proceeding on the assumption
that Shawnie Pendergast has run away from home. Here with me now are Mr. and
Mrs. Pendergast, Shawnie's parents, with an appeal to their daughter to come
home."

Katie held her breath as the camera angle widened to include
a man and a woman seated at the news desk. She recognized them as the same two people
who had talked to Tony and her at the theater the night before. Their faces
looked haggard. They were even wearing the same clothes they had had on at the
theater, and Katie felt a stab of guilt as she wondered if they had been up all
night waiting for news of Shawnie.

Mr. Pendergast spoke first. "Shawnie, this is your
father." He stopped, giving an embarrassed little laugh as if he had
temporarily forgotten that she would be able to see him on the screen. "Your
mother and I are very worried. Please come home. We know you are upset, but
there isn't anything that we can't work out together."

He turned his head slightly and looked at Shawnie's mother,
and as he did so, the camera zoomed in on her, showing tears brimming in her eyes.
"Shawnie, I just want you to know . . ." Her voice broke and she
looked away. When she had composed herself, she looked into the camera again
and said, "I just want you to
remember
that we love you very much
and we want you to come home."

"Wow!" said Katie as the camera shot swung back to
the reporter who went on with the morning's news. It was all she could say. Her
mind had gone numb with panic.

"Katie, you've got to think hard," said Willie,
picking up her hand and looking straight into her eyes. "You're her
friend. Where would Shawnie go? We've got to help find her if we can. Do you
realize how dangerous it is out there for someone alone?"

Katie dropped her eyes and pulled her hand away. "I . .
. I . . ." she began. "I have to go to the bathroom." Racing up
the stairs, she darted into the bathroom and sank against the door. She did not
turn on the light, but in the darkness she could see the faces of Shawnie's
parents as if the television set had followed her up the stairs and into the
pitch-black room. They couldn't have looked more sincere when they said they
loved her. It was obvious that they were worried sick about Shawnie, and still
at this very moment she was totally safe, sound asleep not more than a dozen
feet away.

What am I going to do?
The question kept spinning around
in her brain, and yet she knew that there was one thing she had to do. She had
to talk to Shawnie. She had to find out what had happened once and for all.
Then she would be able to figure out what to do next.

Slipping quietly out of the bathroom so that Willie would
not hear, she tiptoed to her room and shut the door behind herself. To her
surprise, Shawnie was sitting in the middle of her bed in her bathrobe brushing
her long blond hair.

"What was that all about?" she asked. "Did I
hear your mom say that my parents were on television?"

"That's right," said Katie. "And you should
have seen how worried they looked. They even have the police looking for you.
You've got to tell me what happened, Shawnie. Right now."

Shawnie laughed softly. "I see they even have
you
convinced.
Didn't I tell you that they were fabulous actors?" She paused and Katie
started to protest, but Shawnie spoke again before Katie could get a word out. "I
suppose Mom had tears in her eyes and they both said they loved me. HA! That's
just to make themselves look good so they'll get all the sympathy. It worked,
too. Didn't it? You look as if you're ready to turn me in."

Katie felt herself blushing, and the doubt that had burned
so strongly a moment ago flickered and went out as she looked at Shawnie. Her
chin was raised bravely as if daring Katie to call her parents, and she
absently rubbed the bruise on her right arm, which had turned a sickly shade of
yellow.

"Can't you tell me what happened?" pleaded Katie,
sitting down on the bed beside her friend. "You know I want to help you. I
promised you that I would. I won't go back on my word. Don't you know that?"

Shawnie nodded. "I know that, Katie. It's just that . .
. well . . ." She sighed deeply. "It was awful. That's all that I can
tell you right now. You've got to believe me. Oh, please, Katie. I don't know
what I'd do without you."

Katie bit her lower lip and thought about Willie. There was
no way she could keep Shawnie hidden from her mother very much longer. Couldn't
Shawnie understand that?

Suddenly there were sounds in the hallway.

"Katie? Did I hear voices coming from your room?"
The door swung open, and Willie started in only to stop cold when she saw
Shawnie sitting on the bed.

"Shawnie?" Willie whispered in disbelief. "You're
here?
"

Katie jumped to her feet. She held her breath as Shawnie
lowered her eyes and said quietly, "Hi, Mrs. Shannon."

"I was going to tell you." The words burst out
before Katie could stop them. She looked pleadingly at her mother. "We
have to help her. She says it's awful at home."

"I don't know what I would have done without Katie,"
said Shawnie, looking up at Katie's mother. "I didn't have anywhere to go
or anyone else to turn to, and I couldn't stay at home
one minute longer.
"

Willie crossed the room and sat down on the bed, putting her
arms around Shawnie. "Of course we'll help you. We'll do whatever we can.
But this is also very serious," she said. "Your parents are terribly
worried, and even the police are looking for you. I think you'd better go
downstairs and call your mother and father right away to let them know you're
okay."

Shawnie lowered her eyes again and murmured, "I can't."

"If you don't want to talk to them yourself, I'd be
glad to call them for you," offered Willie.

Shawnie shook her head. "You don't understand. Nobody
understands. Everybody thinks that just because they're my parents, they're
automatically right and I'm wrong. It isn't like that. You have to believe me when
I tell you that I can't talk to them on the phone and I can't go home. Besides,"
she added, looking straight at Katie, "you promised, Katie. You said you'd
do anything you could to help me, and all I ask is that you and your mom let me
hide here a little while longer."

No one said anything for a moment, and Katie could feel her
pulse pounding in her ears. What was Willie going to do? She couldn't believe
that her mother would make Shawnie go home. Willie had always been there for
people who were in trouble or needed help. It had been from watching her mother
stand up for her causes that Katie had been convinced to become the same kind
of person.

"I did promise I'd help her," Katie admitted.

"I have no objection to your staying here, Shawnie,"
said Willie. "But first, you
must
call your parents. They're
imagining all sorts of terrible things that could have happened to you."

"That's what you think," Shawnie muttered.

"Perhaps if you tell us what sort of problems you're
having with your parents, we can help you work out a solution," said
Willie. "There isn't any problem that can't be solved," she added
with a reassuring smile.

"You wouldn't understand," Shawnie said, shaking
her head again. "Nobody would. They're just so . . . so mean. They won't
let me do
anything.
"

"Do you mean that you ran away because they wouldn't
let you do something that you wanted to do?" asked Willie.

"See!" cried Shawnie. "I knew you wouldn't
understand. You think that just because they said no to something I wanted, I
ran away. Well, there's more to it than that. A
lot
more."

"Then tell us about it," said Willie. "That's
the only way we can help you."

"I can't. I
really
,
really
can't."

Willie sighed, and Katie could tell by her expression that
her patience was running thin. Shawnie must have sensed it, too, because she
jumped and raced to the closet, pulling out her suitcase and her wet clothes.

"Okay. I can tell that you don't want me here, so I'll
go. I'll even go home. It's obvious that I'll have to anyway sooner or later.
Nobody is going to help me. Just let me do it on my own," she said angrily.
"That's all I ask."

Katie felt helpless as Shawnie pulled dry jeans and a sweat
shirt out of the suitcase and wadded up the wet clothes and stuffed them in. "It's
all right if you don't want to help me," she said.

"We do want to help you," Willie insisted. "It's
just that running away isn't the answer. It only makes your problems worse. But
we don't know what the right way to help you is if you won't talk to us."

Shawnie didn't answer. It was obvious to Katie that she was
determined to leave rather than talk about her situation with her parents.

"We'll drive you home," offered Katie. It was the
only thing she could think of to say.

"Of course we will," said Willie. "And I'll
talk to your parents for you if you'd like me to."

"Thanks, but I want to do it all myself." Shawnie
said firmly. "I'll go home by myself and I'll talk to my parents by
myself. I'll really do it. You can trust me."

"Of course we trust you," said Willie.

Shawnie acted as if she didn't hear. Picking up her clothes,
she left the room. Katie knew she was heading for the bathroom to dress.

"Mom, what are we going to do?" pleaded Katie as
soon as she heard the bathroom door close. "We can't just desert her. I
promised her I'd help."

"I know that, sweetheart," said Willie. "But
hiding her is not necessarily helping her. Right now it seems to me that
sending her back home is the best help we can give her."

"But what if she's in danger?" insisted Katie. "You
saw the bruise on her arm. I'll bet they beat her. They might beat her even
worse for running away."

"Has Shawnie ever told you that they beat her?"

"No," Katie admitted. "But I know she would
never walk into a closet door, and that's the way she
says
she got the
bruise. I think she just doesn't want to rat on her parents."

"Does that make sense to you?" asked Willie. "If
things are so bad that she feels she has to run away, wouldn't she
want
people to know her parents were hurting her so that something could be done
about it?"

Katie couldn't believe what her mother was saying. "You
think she's making it all up, don't you?" she said incredulously. "You
think Shawnie's lying."

"No, sweetheart. I just think we need to know a lot
more before we start interfering and maybe doing things that could make the
whole situation worse. If it will make you feel better, you can call Shawnie
tonight and see how she's getting along. And I'll even promise that if we get
any real evidence that Shawnie is in danger, we'll bring her here immediately."

Katie nodded. She felt better. She had known deep down that
her mother wouldn't desert them although she was sure she wouldn't be able to
explain that to Shawnie.

"I'm ready to go now," Shawnie said a few minutes
later. She had brought her suitcase downstairs and had even had some toast and
milk with Katie and Willie.

"Are you sure I can't drive you home?" Willie
asked for the umpteenth time. "I would even be willing to let you off a
block or two from your house, if you'd rather."

"No, thanks, Mrs. Shannon. I'll be okay. I just want to
do it myself."

"I understand," said Willie. Then she gave Shawnie
a hug and said, "I really do want to help you. If you ever need to talk,
just let me know. The same goes if you ever need help talking to your parents.
Okay?"

Shawnie nodded. "Okay, Mrs. Shannon. And thanks again."

Katie walked Shawnie to the door. "I'm sorry things
didn't work out the way you wanted them to," said Katie.

"That's okay," said Shawnie. "It wasn't your
fault. At least you tried."

The girls said good-bye, and as Katie watched Shawnie walk
down the street and disappear around the corner, she felt as if she had let her
friend down. After all, she had promised. It wasn't fair that Shawnie couldn't
at least have some time away from her parents to get things sorted out. Maybe
she should have begged and pleaded with her mother more, she thought. Maybe
Willie would have given in and let Shawnie stay if she had only tried harder.

The rest of the day crawled by. Katie tried to clean her
room in the morning, and she and Willie went to the mall for a little while in
the afternoon, but her mind kept returning to Shawnie. What had her parents
said when she got home? Were they mad? Or were they so glad to see her that
they forgot to be mad? Fat chance, thought Katie. They'll probably punish her.
Or . . . Katie couldn't let herself think about what else might happen. If only
the day would pass faster so that she could call Shawnie and find out how she
was.

"Turn on the television and we'll watch the evening
news while we devour this," said Willie as she set a giant pizza box in the
middle of the kitchen table. They had decided that they didn't feel like
cooking supper, so they had stopped by their favorite pizza place on the way
home from the mall and carried out one extra large with everything on it.

Katie pointed the remote controls toward the screen and
punched in the digits of their favorite channel just as the news was starting.
This time it was Marge Whitworth, the evening news anchor, who stared out at
them.

"Police are still baffled," she began, "by
the disappearance of thirteen-year-old Shawnie Pendergast, who has not been
seen by her parents since she left for school yesterday morning . . ."

Katie and Willie turned to each other with looks of horror.

"But she said she would go home," Katie whispered.
"She
promised.
"