The Orphan of Awkward Falls (9 page)

Stenchley’s body jerked and his eyes popped open at the sound of the front door opening. Through the leaves of the hedge, he watched a girl come running out of the house straight toward him. The madman crouched low beneath the bushes and watched her sprint past. His hump quivered as Cynthia’s nostrils picked up the delicious aroma of the girl’s flesh.

Breakfast,
the snake murmured. The girl was just about the size of a suckling pig, which is considered a delicacy among pythons.

Stenchley silently followed the girl down the path, keeping his distance, but not losing sight of her. He trailed her out of the maze and saw that she was heading for the garden wall. She grabbed a vine and began climbing up, completely unaware that her death was moments away. Stenchley closed in, his mouth watering. Cynthia coiled tightly inside the killer’s hump, anticipating the feast.

Strike now. Get her!
the snake hissed.

But Stenchley stopped, suddenly distracted. He found himself standing amid the crumbling tombstones of the Hibble family cemetery. One stone in particular had caught his eye. Stenchley had never learned to read, but he was able to recognize the name of his beloved master. With the realization that the body of Professor Hibble lay somewhere beneath his feet, the madman’s tiny gizzard of a heart felt a twinge of something greater than the lust for blood. Stenchley stared at the monument, forgetting all about the girl, who cleared the top of the wall and disappeared to the other side. Momentarily deaf to Cynthia’s angry hissing, he ran his fingers over the letters carved into the tombstone and recalled the professor’s clear blue eyes. Even the thousands of Treatments he had received at the asylum had failed to erase the memory of their beauty.

Then, as madmen often do, Stenchley became obsessed with a very bad idea. He longed to see his master again. Like a hungry worm, this overwhelming desire bored into the hunchback’s mind and began to chew up all reason and logic. Stenchley rammed his hands into the earth of the professor’s grave and started digging.

Josephine had no sooner slipped into bed and pulled up the blanket than she heard her father’s footsteps going down the stairs. As she lay there replaying the unbelievable scenes of the night before in her mind, she was filled with conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted to run downstairs and tell her father every incredible detail of what she had seen next door. After all, he was a scientist and would be just as fascinated by the orphaned boy and his weird companions as she was. He often said Josephine had inherited the “why” gene from him.

Her mother would find the whole thing very interesting as well, though she would definitely have some problems with Josephine sneaking out for an all-nighter at a strange house. There would be a long lecture about safety and all the disastrous what-ifs of her actions. But, in the end, Josephine was pretty sure they would understand. After all, this certainly wasn’t the first time she had done something a little crazy to satisfy her curiosity.

But talking to her parents was out of the question this time. Josephine had, after all, sworn an oath not to tell, and she had no desire to find out what was meant by “unimaginably dire consequences.” And even if she hadn’t sworn, she was pretty sure her parents would blow Thaddeus’s cover. He was an orphan kid hiding in a creepy old house with only a machine to look after him. Not even Josephine’s open-minded parents could keep a secret like that. They would call the police, or whoever was in charge of stray kids, and yadda yadda, he’d be in the orphanage in an hour. Josephine couldn’t let that happen. It wouldn’t be easy, but she would just have to keep the whole thing under her hat somehow, at least for now.

She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep, but she was still way too excited for that to be a possibility. Instead, she lay there and listened to the routine sounds of Howard banging around in the kitchen beginning to make breakfast. Josephine’s dad was always the first one up in the morning, and since today was Saturday, she knew he would be making his “famous” pancakes. She hoped they would be better than his last batch.

Like any good scientist, Howard used the trial-and-error method when cooking, experimenting with unusual ingredients and odd flavor combinations. As he liked to say, “Cooking is just edible chemistry.”

She heard him turn the radio to a news station to keep him company as he worked. The squeaky fridge door opened and shut as he got out the milk, and the spoon began clinking on the mixing bowl as he stirred the batter.

Suddenly, the cooking noises stopped and the only sound was the radio. She could hear the announcer’s voice talking excitedly in the urgent way announcers did when there was some kind of emergency. She couldn’t hear all of what he was saying, but could make out a few words here and there. Did he say something about an escaped convict? Then her heart skipped a beat when she clearly heard the words “Asylum for the Dangerously Insane.” Wasn’t that the place Thaddeus’s grandfather’s killer had been sent? Josephine hopped out of bed, slipped her robe on, and hurried quietly downstairs. She paused just outside the kitchen door to eavesdrop on the radio broadcast.

“…I have Sergeant Finneas Cole of the Awkward Falls PD on the line now,” the announcer was saying. “Fin, can you give us any details about the escape?”

“Aye, Phil.” The sergeant spoke calmly, as if he were talking about a missing cow instead of an escaped killer. “The escapee busted out of the asylum yesterday afternoon during the big to-do they were having over there for the mayor’s visit.”

“Oh, yah? Well, how’d the fella manage that? I’ve always heard that the asylum is escape-proof.”

“Turns out, not so much,” said the officer. “Anyhoo, it appears the guy went wild during some kind of scientific demonstration. Ran around bitin’ and scratchin’ the doctors, then jumped right through a window.”

“He sounds like a dangerous one, eh, Fin?”

“I’d say so, Phil. The man’s name is Fetid Stenchley. He’s been locked up for murder for the last ten years or so. He even tried to attack the mayor’s wife during his escape, but her dog held him off. The little pooch latched on to his nose, I’m told, and wouldn’t let go!”

“That’s some dog, eh? Musta been a husky, then, eh?”

“Nah. Hairless Egyptian spaniel.”

“Oh, they’re tough ones, those are.”

Josephine gasped at the mention of the mad killer who had murdered Thaddeus’s grandfather. She shivered at the thought of him on the loose somewhere nearby.

“Now, what’s our threat level here in town, then, Sergeant?” the announcer asked.

“We’re at hot pink now, Phil, which is, as you know, pretty high up there,” said the officer. “You’ll wanna be on the careful side, keepin’ both eyes open today.”

“And is Stenchley still at large at this time?”

“Aye, Phil, the escapee has still not been apprehended. The first lady says she saw him hightail it into the woods after he jumped the north wall. I figure he’s makin’ his way up north toward the lake country wilderness, but he’s not likely to get that far. A crack squad of Mounties came in last night with a couple o’ helicopters and a bunch of fancy gear. They’re out lookin’ for him now.”

“Helicopters, eh?” The announcer sounded impressed, as if the sergeant had said the Mounties were bringing in cruise missiles.

“Oh, yah, they’re serious, those Mounties are.”

“They get their man, eh, Fin?”

“Always, Phil, always.”

The sergeant went on to advise listeners in the Awkward Falls area to report any strangers or unusual activity to the authorities immediately. He stressed that this was only a precaution, however, and that the Mounties would undoubtedly have the escapee locked up again in no time.

Josephine stood frozen outside the door, pondering the news of Stenchley’s escape. She suddenly thought of Thaddeus. He could be in serious danger. What if the policeman on the radio was wrong, and the Mounties did not catch Stenchley soon? Wasn’t there an old saying that criminals always return to the scene of their crime? If so, the murderer might show up at Hibble Manor. Thaddeus would be a sitting duck, with only rusty old Norman to protect him.
I have to warn him,
she thought. Maybe an opportunity to slip out and run over there would present itself.

A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Josephine nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around quickly.

“Oh, Mom! I’m so glad it’s only you!”

Barbara, still sleepy before her first cup of coffee, gave her daughter a confused look. “Of course it’s me, silly. Who else would it be?”

“Good morning, girls.” Howard jogged out of the kitchen past them. “Big news! I just heard on the radio that a convicted killer escaped yesterday from the local asylum. They’ve got the Mounties out searching for him.”

“What? A killer?” asked Barbara, now really confused. “But they’re not supposed to have killers in cute little towns like this!”

“I’m as shocked as you are,” said Howard. “I think we should lock all the doors and windows just to be on the safe side. They don’t expect any trouble, but there’s no point in taking chances.” He wedged a chair against the front door and made a note to get the lock fixed.

They went carefully through the house, locking every opening they could and closing the few curtains Barbara had put up so far. Josephine cautiously stuck her head outside the front door and scanned the street for anything that might be an insane murderer, but saw only empty, potholed Oleander Alley. This did not look like a place where escaped convicts ran amok.

Then again, it didn’t look like a place where kids lived in abandoned mansions with robots, either.

When Howard was satisfied that the house was relatively secure, he went back to work on the pancakes, whistling a little louder than usual and glancing out the window every few minutes.

While Howard flipped the cakes, Josephine slumped down at the breakfast table across from her mom, yawning and rubbing her tired red eyes. Her hair was a rat’s nest of tangles sticking out from Eggplant’s edges.

“Looks like someone stayed up reading too late last night,” Barbara said. “Couldn’t you sleep, sweetie?”

“Nah,” she said. She didn’t like lying to her mom as a rule, but saw no alternative in this case. “I guess being in a new place and everything made it hard to relax.”

Barbara gave her a sympathetic look. “Aw, poor thing.”

“Hungry, ladies?” Howard proudly forked a stack of cakes onto each plate and plopped a dollop of meringue on top. “I came up with a radical new recipe today in honor of our first morning in the new house: vanilla bran batter with raisins, mango, and pistachio, topped with organic guava syrup–cream cheese meringue. You’re gonna love ‘em, kiddo.”

Josephine tried to be excited about the pancakes, which were an odd shade of orange. “Wow, Dad. They look fantastic.”

Barbara’s nose twitched as she sniffed her own pile. “Mmmm. They smell…interesting.”

Howard dug into his own stack with gusto, clearly pleased with his creation. Her parents ate breakfast and talked as if it were just another morning, chatting about the house, Howard’s new job, the weather. They seemed to have forgotten all about the escaped convict who was out there somewhere. But Josephine could not stop thinking about Fetid Stenchley. She finally asked Howard, trying not to let her fear show too much, “Do you really think they’ll catch that guy soon, Dad?”

“Who, the convict? Are you kidding?” He grinned confidently. “With the Mounties after him, that guy’s as good as caught. They’re the best cops in the world!” Howard stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. Barbara handed him his Packers hat. “Try not to worry about it, sweetie,” he said. “I’m sure that by the time I get home from my exciting first day of work, they’ll have him back in his cell, safe and sound. Just keep an eye open for anything unusual. You can call me at the office if anything comes up. The university is only thirty minutes away by bicycle.”

Howard snapped rubber bands around his pant legs to keep them from getting caught in his bicycle chain, then kissed Josephine on the forehead and Barbara on the lips. He bungeed his briefcase into the handlebar basket and rolled the bike out the front door.

Just before the door closed, he stuck his head back in and said, “Oh, Jo, I almost forgot to tell you! I remember now where I’ve seen the weird guy from your photo. He’s a famous scientist I once did a paper on back when your mother and I were in college. His name is”—something clicked inside Josephine’s brain, and she suddenly knew who it was even before her father finished the sentence—”Hibble. Professor Celsius T. Hibble, the father of biocybernetics. He was a pretty famous guy back in the day.”

Of course! It dawned on her that despite his age and ample girth, Thaddeus certainly resembled the man in the photo, especially that wild shock of white hair.

Josephine watched out the window as her father pedaled off. She and Barbara put away the breakfast dishes, then Barbara went upstairs to get dressed. Josephine considered running quickly next door to tell Thaddeus about Stenchley’s escape before her mom came back, but before she could make up her mind, she heard her mother hurrying downstairs. So much for that idea.

“Ready, Josephine?” Barbara called, putting on lipstick with one hand and fishing keys out of her purse with the other. “I’m really excited about going downtown! After we stop at the library, I want to browse through some antique shops to look for a floor lamp. And maybe we’ll get some lunch later. We’ll have a real girls’ day out! What do you say?”

“Um, great, Mom.” But Josephine could think only about Thaddeus at that moment.

They drove off, snaking their way down the rutted streets toward town. Josephine gazed out at the tiny skyline of Awkward Falls as they drove, chewing her nail and trying to sort things out in her mind. The initial shock of Fetid Stenchley’s escape began to subside a bit, and Josephine wondered if maybe she was overreacting to the whole killer-on-the-loose business. Her dad didn’t think there was anything to worry about, and he was usually right about that kind of stuff. Don’t be such a worrywart, she told herself.

The sun was out now, and everything looked considerably happier than it had yesterday in the fog. The town was clean and homey, possibly even sort of quaint, though she would never admit it to her
mom. It did not look like the kind of place where horrible things happened. Josephine decided that Thaddeus was probably completely safe.