Jane sighed. “Quit being such a mother hen.” She slapped four fingers against her lips, then shrugged, and pulled them away. “You’ve always been a mother hen. Making sure everyone is safe and following the rules.”
Her sister was right, but that was her role. As the oldest she had to watch over them, set a good example. “I’ve had to with you two.” She pressed a hand more firmly against her stomach. She would be that way with her baby, too. Watch over them, keep them safe. Betty looked at Patsy, hoping she would agree. “Let’s leave. We can wait in the car for Henry.”
Patsy nodded. “Yes, let’s wait in the car.”
Jane huffed out another sigh, so loud it echoed off the brick walls. “All right. This place is a little creepy.”
“A little?” Betty walked past Jane and entered the hallway that would take them back to the large central room with the large open archways that they’d first entered. She’d only taken a few steps when a muffled thud stopped her. She twisted, looked at her sisters. “Did you hear that?”
They both nodded.
“It was probably a train,” Jane said.
There were train cars lined up on the numerous tracks surrounding the depot, but Betty shook her head. “The sound came from inside the building,” she whispered.
Patsy nodded. “Someone else is here.”
“Henry,” Jane said. “He called us.”
“No.” Betty’s heart crawled into her throat, pounding so hard she could barely breathe. “If Henry was here, he’d say so. The sound came from up there.” She pointed down the long hallway that led to the central room. “The way we came in.” Twisting, she glanced down the hallway behind them. She hadn’t wanted to explore the building, but upon entering it, with its high, domed ceiling and brick pillars, it had seemed safe enough to look around for Henry. But they hadn’t found him, because he wasn’t here. She was sure of that.
“There has to be another way out,” she said. The hall was dim, but not dark; light was shining in from a room near the end. “This way.”
They tiptoed quickly, like they did while sneaking out at night, so their heels wouldn’t click against the wood floor. Hurrying past the basement steps, they stayed near the wall, single file. Betty hoped beyond hope that the room providing the light into the hall would have a door leading outside.
She slowed her steps as she neared the room, and held up her hand, so her sisters would stop behind her for a moment, then peered around the corner, into the room.
It was huge, ran nearly the length of the hall, and empty, but there were windows, and a door.
She rushed into the room, ran across it to the door, and grabbed the big brass knob.
It didn’t move. She tried to twist the knob harder, with both hands, but it barely moved no matter which way she twisted. “It’s locked!” she whispered, trying to shake the door with the knob, but that didn’t budge it, either.
“Let me try,” Jane said, grasping the knob.
Betty stepped aside, doubting, yet also hoping that Jane would have more luck than she had. As her sister tried making the knob work, Betty scanned the room. The windows were near the ceiling, far too high to reach, let alone climb out if they could somehow manage to climb up there and open one.
“Maybe the noise we heard was just a bird or something,” Patsy whispered.
Betty doubted that as much as she did Jane getting the door open.
Jane kicked the door. “Why would they lock this door when the entire front is wide-open?”
“Shhh!” Betty said the same time as Patsy.
“I’d say because they don’t want people trespassing.”
Betty’s insides leaped, at the same time a wave of relief washed over her. She didn’t need to see him to know it was Henry. His voice made her heart race, even when she wasn’t scared, but it was the unique warmth filling her that confirmed it was him.
Jane let out a groan and leaned her head against the door.
Patsy had already turned around, and let out a tiny gasp right before saying, “Oh, Lane, am I glad to see you.”
“Glad?” Jane spun around. “They just scared us to death.”
Betty still hadn’t turned to face the men, because she was afraid that when she did, she was going to latch on to Henry and never let go. This place had scared her like she’d never been scared before.
“You should be scared to death,” Henry said. “All three of you.”
Betty’s heart thudded harder, and she couldn’t stop herself from spinning around. He was right there, grasped her arms and pulled her up against his chest. The comfort of his body touching hers was so great, she gasped and then wrapped her arms around his waist. “Why did you ask us to meet you here?”
“I didn’t,” he whispered and kissed the top of her head.
She leaned back, looked up at him. There was strain on his face, lines on his forehead and around his eyes that she’d never seen before. “You didn’t call Patsy?”
“No.” His hold tightened even as he said, “It’s time to go.”
He kept one arm around her as she turned around and began walking toward the door.
Lane peeked out the door, and then led Patsy into the hallway, followed by Jane, and then Henry and her, but they all stopped at nearly the same time, when a man stepped into the hallway from the basement steps.
Betty’s lungs locked tight. It was him. Elkin.
Wearing a brown tweed suit, and with his brown hair combed flat down to his eyebrows, and a menacing glare enhanced by his thick round glasses, he looked far more evil than a mole.
Henry pulled her backward, behind him as he stepped forward. He also pulled Jane back, too, behind Betty.
“I knew those cute billboards would lead you here, Randall.” Elkin let out a bitter laugh. “You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw you
