Smacking her lips, Wendy drained half the bottle of water. “They have kids play equipment in the backyards, I saw it upstairs. They may have clothes for you and formula and diapers for Ryan,” Wendy told her and then drained the bottle.
Jo Ann looked over at Sally and then back to Wendy. “We can come, can’t we?” Jo Ann asked.
“I’m not going without you,” Wendy smiled.
Chapter Twenty Six
Miracles can happen anywhere
After filling up on crackers and peanut butter, Wendy put the baby carrier back on and put Ryan in it. As Wendy situated Ryan, the twins packed up the supplies. “Okay, we are going to the houses to see if there is anything we can use. If I say run, you run and climb into the black truck in the garage,” Wendy explained, turning to the twins. “Don’t get out because you don’t see me, because I’m coming and then we will leave.”
“Okay,” the twins said in unison and smiled.
“Why aren’t we going to search other houses like that one?” Jo Ann asked, pointing at the massive house behind them.
“The next two houses have fences like this one and we can move around the backyards without being seen easily,” Wendy explained.
When no more questions came, Wendy headed across the yard and opened a gate that gave access to the next yard. Looking at the swing set and other toys, Wendy could tell they were new. She looked down the driveway and saw the gate was open.
Turning back to the house, there wasn’t a garage but a Mercedes was parked beside the house. The space between the house and Mercedes told Wendy another vehicle had been parked there. “Hope they don’t come back,” Wendy mumbled, moving up to the back door.
Listening for several minutes, Wendy didn’t hear anything then reluctantly, she put her nose next to the door and sniffed. When Wendy didn’t jerk back, the twins sighed. Trying the doorknob, Wendy raised her eyebrows when the door opened.
When the door opened, a cat ran past them and out into the yard. Ignoring the cat, Wendy slipped inside and put her finger on her lips as she looked back at the twins. Walking through the kitchen, Wendy smelled the odor of a very full litter box.
Searching the house, Wendy found a family picture of a man and woman with two boys. One looked around ten and the other about six. Looking at the pictures on the walls, Wendy found one taken in the backyard with the dead couple next door.
Going upstairs, they found the boys’ rooms. “Girls, see if these clothes will fit until we can find more,” Wendy told them. The first was the older boy’s room and he was bigger than the twins. From the pictures, Wendy would’ve called him chunky. Finding a school backpack, Wendy emptied it and handed it to Jo Ann who was going through a drawer full of shirts.
Only grabbing a few shirts, the twins followed Wendy to the next room and started searching. They both pulled out tennis shoes from the closet and shoved them into the backpack. Watching the girls pull out some light jackets, Wendy figured the smaller boy had been very close to their size.
Moving to the closet, Wendy pulled out several pairs of jeans and held them up next to Sally. Going through seven pairs, Wendy found two that looked close and shoved them in the pack. Then she moved over to the dresser and grabbed socks. Finding a few more items, Wendy led the girls to the kitchen.
Seeing a few cans of soup, Wendy put them in the pack.
Not finding anything else in the house or the keys to the Mercedes, Wendy led them back outside. Walking over to a shed, Wendy saw a small utility trailer with two plastic gas cans strapped on the front. Shaking them, she found one was full and the other almost half full.
Opening the shed, she found a lawn mower and other stuff, but nothing they needed. “Let’s go to the next house,” Wendy told them in a low voice.
“What about the cat?” Jo Ann asked.
“If we wouldn’t have let him out, the cat would’ve died,” Wendy answered, heading for the side gate. Opening it, she led the girls in and moved to the garage. On impulse, she looked back and saw the driveway gate closed.
Stopping at the garage door, Wendy stood up on her tiptoes and saw a massive SUV and a minivan parked inside. “Oh, now I find another SUV,” Wendy mumbled, but liked the Tahoe much better.
Leading the girls across the patio, Wendy grabbed her nose and looked at a window that was open. Gritting her teeth, Wendy moved to the window. Not only could she smell it, Wendy could feel the stench rolling out of the house. Glancing in, she looked at a kitchen that had cereal everywhere.
Stepping back from the window, Wendy turned and looked at the yard and saw a very small swing set and other small toys. Almost talking herself out of facing another house of stench, Wendy shook her head. “We’ll just look fast,” she mumbled.
Reaching for the back door, Wendy tried the knob and found it was locked. “I can get in through the window,” Sally offered, taking her backpack off.
Before Wendy could tell Sally that it wasn’t worth it, Sally was gripping the window ledge and pulled her body in. Watching Sally climb in Wendy sighed, knowing she would search the house since Sally had put in the effort to get them inside.
Hearing the deadbolt unlock, Wendy turned to the door as Sally opened it and the stench rolled out. Walking past Sally, Wendy looked at the kitchen again. In with the cereal poured on the floor were animal crackers. “Ryan would’ve liked those,”
