Idioms...sayings understood by native speakers part seventy eight

Dr. Clark met Jenny in the emergency room. Sara lay on the gurney, pale, barely breathing, eyes closed, with tear stains on her face.

"What in God's name happened?"

"I...I don't know. She... I think she came looking for me to give me this." Jenny held up a pager. "You see, I saw that man leaving. I think he might have talked to her."

"What man?"

"The same one that attacked me. I think he might have gotten to Sara."

Dr. Clark looked at the vital signs. He ordered a myriad of tests. Nothing was making sense. Everything pointed to shock, but that would mean she was bleeding internally... How...

"Get a KUB now. Hang two liters of saline full wide and then keep her at 150 mls/ hour. Did you send those labs yet? I want them stat."

The nurses were running in various directions working on the orders Dr. Clark was spitting out.

Carl came down to the ER desk. He had to go see the finance counselor about his mother's bill. Jenny had called him on his cell to come right away.

"My name is Carl Matthews, my mother is here. Sara... Sara Matthews..."

The registrar looked up the name. "Do you have the password? She is a no information patient." Carl rolled his eyes and hit the desk. "Give me a break."

"Contacts. The password is contacts." Rick stood beside Carl.

"Yes. You both can go in. Just ask at Center Desk."

The two passed by security and entered.

"Did Jenny call you too?"

"Yes, she text-ed me."

Jenny came around the corner and saw them. She swallowed hard. They saw her and hurriedly approached.

"Tell me... what happened." Carl stated.

---

Millie and Oscar parked the car outside of the old farm house. They had recieved a call from Rick and after talking to Dejuan... getting directions... they felt that this would be a good place for the exchange.

"Didn't that grey Volvo look familiar when we passed it?" Millie asked quietly to Oscar.

"If Chris is here, then everything will be known to the family. We might as well get ready to weather the storm."

---

Charlie got up suddenly in the midst of everyone talking about numbers and went to the door.

"Charlie?" Katie looked up and called the man's name but all he could say was, "Noise."

Larry looked at Joey who went after Charlie.

"What noise?" Joey inquired as quietly as he could.

Charlie pointed back at an opened window.

Joey clenched his teeth.

"Charlie, is someone at the window?" He whispered.

Charlie nodded.

"It is nothing, Charlie thought he heard something, but it is only a bird." Joey said, loudly pointing at the opened window.

Deshaun asked, very quietly, "Where is the back door?"

Katie looked at the man and pointed.

Joey nodded at them. Indicating that Deshaun should take the back while he took the front, Joey exited the house.

Chris stood on tip toe, not noticing the branch of a bush that kept hitting the house and scratching it in a strange pattern. Scratch, scratch, scratch... Chris would go flat footed to ease the pain in his legs. Then he would try again so as to hear more of the conversation. Scratch, scratch, scratch.

"You. Don't move." As Deshaun came around the side of the house, Chris jumped out of his skin and ran the other direction, just as Joey had gotten to the side of the house. He dropped low and caught the fleeing man by the knees, using his shoulder and upper arms, being careful of his casts. He effectively tackled him to the ground.

Deshaun stood over the man. His eyes narrowed. He glared at the old man lying there on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

"Who the hell are you?"

All three showed looks of surprise when they heard a feminine voice.

"Chris? Aaron Christopher Matthews... What are you doing?" Millie stood by the man, arms crossed and tapping her foot.

The man looked up and saw his younger sister standing over him.

"Mi mi millie?"

"Get up now. We are going to have a chat." She turned and took Oscar by the arm and headed to the front of the house.

Christopher escorted by Joey and Deshaun had no other choice but to follow.

Katie glared at the "possessed" accountant who entered the room and was placed in the center of the couch. She told of Chris's obsession about going to live with him to all that were there.

Millie arched an eyebrow.

"Christopher, this girl is not Melanie. Why did you want to bring her to that house?"

"I... I "

"Who is Melanie?" Katie piped up.

Millie sat down beside her brother.

"Do you want to talk or shall I?"

Chris looked at her sister. His face fell.

"I know that Melanie is dead." He muttered.

Katie looked at the older woman and the man who was sitting with his face crest fallen.

"Miss, you look like my brother's first love. Melanie."

"What?"

"John stole him from her. She committed suicide the next year when he broke up with her."

"That is rather stupid to kill yourself over a man." Katie blurted out.

"Don't call my Melanie stupid."

Millie grabbed her brother's arm.

"See, she is not Melanie. Why did you come here today?"

"Millie, I had to. Martin said so."

"Martin? Martin "The Chairman" Matthews?" Dejuan inquired.

"Yes. He was afraid that Katie would have some evidence against us."

Millie went white in the face.

"Tell me, Christopher. You haven't been doing anything bad, have you?"

Christopher looked at his sister.

"It was only business, Millie."

"Tell her... Tell her what kind of business you are in." Katie stated.

Millie looked at the group who were glaring with hatred towards her brother.

"Listen. Christopher is..."

"Special." Charlie spoke up.

"He is good with numbers. Everything else he..."

"Is wetarded." Charlie filled in, looking at the man.

"Sort of. Any social situation, he becomes awkward. He has been bent by my brothers."

"Tell us what kind of business you are in." Katie spoke up again.

"I can't." Christopher folded his hands and started the multiplication tables in his head, mouthing the words.

"We aren't going to get anything out of him."

"Fine. Why don't we give him what he wants. They will come after me and then the police can get them."

Joey shook his head. "Girl, you live in a fantasy world, right?"

"Huh?"

"They won't come after you directly. They will hire someone and that someone will disappear and you will be dead and the Matthews...They will go free."

Charlie sat down on the other side of Christopher. He started to rock.

The group looked in surprise as Christopher started to rock with him.

"What are they? Two peas in a pod?"

"My brother has Asperger's Syndrome. The family kept it quiet and let everyone think of him as a genius. He is spectacular with numbers. He is good at knowing where to invest. Everything else... not so much."

Christopher stopped rocking as did Charlie.

"Feel better?" Charlie asked.

Christopher nodded.

Charlie got up and took his hand, pulling him up.

"Christopher and Charlie are going for a walk."

---

"Your mother has gone into some kind of shock. We are checking for poisons right now."

"Poisons?"

"If your mom came in contact with that man, is considering poison that far fetched?" The doctor turned and continued to monitor Sara, who was now intubated.

Carl took a deep breath and let it out. He grabbed Jenny and pulled her into a hug. Then he kissed her and said, "Take care of mom." He turned and left the room.

Jenny looked at Rick who nodded and headed out behind the man who was now striding towards the exit.

---

Joey excused himself and followed after Charlie and the "possessed" accountant. He figured the least he could do was watch over Lynn's brother.

---

"Well, I guess we need to figure out this book." Dejuan looked at it intently.

Millie sat on the couch and clenched her hands. Oscar came over and squatted in front of her.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded.

"Do we proceed with Rick's plan?"

She nodded.

"All right then."

He stood up and went over to the girl who was frustrated that her "plan" would not work.

"Hello, my name is Oscar Johanson. This is my wife, Millie."

Dejuan came forward then.

"Please let me present Miss Katherine Anne Hauser."

The girl gave a slight giggle being referred to as that.

"Miss Hauser? My wife and I are childless. We hear that you are an orphan in need of lodging, food and care. We are not rich. But, if you would like, we wish to invite you into our home. You will have your own room. My wife is diabetic. So she is very careful about what she eats and since, we know that you also have to be careful, that should not be a problem. We cannot replace your parents. That is not the plan, but if you will allow an old childless couple like us to take care of you. We would feel blessed."

"Well... I don't know. I don't know you."

"So, you will get to know them." Larry stated. "Just leave the revenge angle to the adults here... okay? I would like to read one of your comic books one day. Understand?"

"Besides, you cannot stay with us. That would be too awkward having a girl in with a bunch of guys." Deshaun stated.

Mille stood up then.

"Dear, we are used to teenagers. It is okay if you rebel... you are supposed to, but your dad really wouldn't want you to be alone."

"Aren't you one of them?" Katie looked at the woman.

"Yes. I am known as the runt of the family."

Katie's eyes softened slightly at that. "And if I want to be come a comic book writer?"

"Go for it. I, too, would love to read one of your works."

"Do you read a lot?"

"ah, well. My diabetes is attacking my eyes and it is hard to read small print now." She smiled, "But if the print is big, I can read."

"My dad used to laugh saying he couldn't read the fine print. He always asked me to read things for him."

"I hope you will do that for me, too."

Katie sized up the older couple who seemed to be nice enough. Then she stopped in thought...

"What did you just say?"

"I hope you will read out loud to me, too. Like you did for your dad."

"That is it. Give me that book."

She went over to her dad's desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, she started at what appeared to be the back of the book.

"You are reading it backwards." Dejuan stated.

"No. I am not. The Japanese have their books go this way."

She started to write down letters......

GOSEEYOURMOMLOOKATTHEFLOWERSONSNAKESBIRTHDAY

"What day is it?"

"Today? June the fifth, why?" Dejuan asked.

"Because tomorrow we need to visit mom's grave."

She separated the words.

GO SEE YOUR MOM LOOK AT THE FLOWERS ON SNAKES BIRTHDAY.

"How did you figure that out?"

"Dad always had me read to him because he said every third word seemed to escape him. I think he did that so we could have something to do... but if you look at how he underlined words and then highlighted others... no one would know to only look at the third word of each mark whether they were highlighted or underlined.. that was just to show me which third word would work. If you just take the first letter of each third word, then you get this."

"Okay, but how did you know just to use the first letter?"

"My dad was all about word play." She frowned looking at the message. "It doesn't say when to go though."

"Katie, cemeteries really don't have visiting hours and tomorrow is Sunday. Why don't we go there around ten or eleven." Oscar stated quietly.

"My dad planned on implicating your family in some dirty business. You okay with that?" She had her arms crossed and stared down Millie.

"If my family is involved with dirty business, as you put it...it would not surprise me. I would be okay with it."

"Really?"

"Yes." Millie did not flinch from the glare of the teenager.

"If I do go with you, what is in it for you?"

Oscar started to speak...

"Not you. I already heard your spiel... what is in it for you?" The girl pointed at Millie.

"Me? Someone to talk to when Oscar is away. Someone who knows what it is be different... Someone who I can hope to call my friend one day."

"She is as tough as Rick was." Oscar spoke gently.

"Yeah. She is as tough as nails, just like Ricky."

Deshaun and Dejuan both stifled their smiles as they heard their brother being referred to as Ricky... that would come in handy later.

Larry stood up, suddenly leaning on his crutches.

"Look. Sal is working on getting a placement for you. We all know you cannot live with single men. This is the only solution. So get over it. I am going to find Joey."

As he opened the door, Joey ran into him. Both fell with Larry catching the worse of the fall.

"Shit. Larry... are you okay? God, I am sorry."

Then he righted himself.

"We gotta go. Charlie got in that weird guy's car and they drove off."

"What?"

Larry turned on his side. trying to work thru the pain of having his partially broken lower legs knocked by Joey's knees as they fell.

Dejuan and Deshaun stated. "You all stay here. We will find Charlie."

They ran out the back door, not waiting for Larry to move.

Katie yelled, "Wait, take me with you."

Oscar moved and held her arm.

"Did you not hear that it is up to the adults? Help me with these two. They just got hurt."

Katie resentfully complied.

Millie shook her head. She is just like Ricky.

---

"Where do you think they are going?"

"Where else? To the lion's den."

"Don't say that, bro. Charlie at the Matthews' house?"

"You have to think like a five year old. Remember?"

"So you think Charlie is going to ask these old men, how come?"

"As strange as it sounds, I bet that is what he is thinking."

to be continued.