What They Left Behind Read online

The police officer drove them downtown, where they were processed and put into one of the station’s two holding cells. Gennie found it to be dark and intimidating. She’d never been inside a police station before and felt apprehensive about it. When she started shivering, Ben put his arm around her. He didn’t seem to be as uneasy as she felt.

  “I think we’ll okay,” Ben said.

  The police officer who drove them there walked over to their cell. “It’s almost lunchtime. You kids want something to eat?”

  “Sure,” Ben replied.

  “My partner and I are going over to the deli. What kind of sandwich do you want?”

  “Roast beef,” Ben said.

  “Tuna fish,” Gennie replied.

  The officer examined them closely with his intense hazel eyes.

  “Hey, I was wondering what happened to both of you. Did you beat each other up?”

  “No sir,” Ben said.

  “Was it that guy that called us?”

  “No.”

  The officer seemed satisfied with that answer. “I’ll go get your sandwiches,” he said.

  About a half hour later, they were almost done eating their lunch when they heard the door separating the holding cell from the rest of the station creak open. Gennie looked through the bars and saw it was the cabin’s owners.

  “I talked him into dropping the charges,” the woman told her.

  “I hope staying in this cell has taught you both a lesson,” the man said sternly.

  They both nodded.

  Another officer not much older than they were came behind them and unlocked the cell with a large skeleton key. He swung the door open.

  “Now come on,” the cabin’s owner said. “There’s a lot of stuff we have to do.”

  They visited the local clinic where a doctor examined Ben’s ankle and said he sprained it. He gave him a brace and a pair of crutches. He was curious about all of Ben’s bruises, but Ben simply said he took a very hard fall. The doctor didn’t question it any further. Gennie was in the examining room with Ben and kept her head down the whole time. She didn’t want the doctor to look at her.

  On the ride back to the cabin, the man asked what happened to them.

  Gennie and Ben looked at each other.

  “You want to tell them?” Ben asked her.

  “Okay,” she replied. Gennie told them about the beating they received from their brother.

  “That’s just horrible!” the woman said. “Why would anyone do such a thing?”

  “He was upset that we were moving out, because we were the ones who took care of the house and fed him.”

  “Exactly how old is this kid?” the man asked.

  “Twenty-seven,” Gennie replied.

  The man sighed, obviously disgusted. “If he were mine, his lazy butt would have been out the door a long time ago. Where were your parents when this happened?”

  “They’re both dead,” Ben replied.

  “You got any adults in your life?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Why don’t you stay with us?” the woman said.

  Gennie saw the man cringe, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Can I ask you a few questions?” Gennie said shyly.

  “Of course,” the woman replied. “Anything you want.”

  “This one’s really silly, but…the town we’re in, it’s called Atlin, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s what it’s called,” the man replied. “You don’t know where we are?”

  “Our brother just dumped us off here,” Ben explained. “I don’t know about Gennie, but I don’t remember the ride or anything.”

  “I don’t remember it either,” Gennie said. “He must have knocked us out cold. First we’re at home in Willow then the next minute we wake up in some woods we don’t recognize.”

  “Where’s Willow?” the woman asked. “It doesn’t sound familiar at all.”

  “It’s about eighty miles north of Anchorage,” Ben said.

  “You’re from Alaska?” the woman said, shocked.

  “Yes,” Ben said.

  “Are we in Canada?” Gennie asked. “I noticed all the license plates say ‘British Columbia’.”

  “Yes, that’s where we are. You’re an awfully long way from home!”

  “We’re in the northwestern part of British Columbia. I’d say we’re about nine hundred miles away from where you live,” the man said.

  “I guess Bryan really wanted to get rid of us,” Ben said.

  “Well, since you’re going to be staying with us for a little while, we probably should get to know each other. What are your names?” the woman asked.

  “I’m Gennie and this is my brother, Ben.”

  “The police said you were the same age. Are you twins?”

  Gennie nodded.

  “You kids have a last name?” the man asked.

  “Perrin,” Ben replied.

  “That doesn’t sound familiar,” the man said. “I was hoping there were some relatives of yours around here so you didn’t have to stay with us.”

  “Rusty!” the woman shouted.

  “I was just kidding,” the man replied.

  “You didn’t sound like you were,” the woman said.

  “So your name’s Rusty?” Ben asked.

  “Well, his real name is Roderick, but he always goes by his nickname,” the woman said. “And my name is Gracie.”

  “Our last name is Rea,” Rusty replied.

  “Have you always lived in Atlin?” Gennie asked.

  “Always,” Gracie said.

  “I drive big rigs and she comes with me,” Rusty explained. “So we have another home in Vancouver where we stay a lot of the time but we’ve always had the cabin here.”

  “Not the same cabin,” Gracie said. “We’ve rebuilt it a couple of times. Once there was a fire, then one year the snowfall was so heavy the entire roof collapsed. We don’t know what caused the fire back in ’43 but Rusty seems to think it was arson.”

  “It was!” Rusty fired back. “The Gearys have had it in for me since day one. They had their kids go up there and start that fire.”

  “Who are the Gearys?” Gennie asked.

  “Never mind,” Gracie said. “Rusty is just being paranoid.”

  “Lester’s wife Vina took a liking to me,” Rusty explained. “Which was no surprise because she took a liking to every man. She probably slept with everyone in town. Well, since I was married and she was ten years older than me and ugly to boot, I told her I wasn’t interested. She went home and told Lester that I attacked her. So, the whole family’s had it in for me ever since. When I went into town they threw beer bottles at me, tried to run me over a few times and I know they burned down our house.”

  “Well, now you kids know everything,” Gracie said, frowning. “It’s not as bad now. Vina’s been gone for a while and Lester’s sick. The kids are grown up. I think they’ve put the past behind them.”

  “I was sure when I went into the cabin that it was one of the Geary grandkids that had broken in,” Rusty said. “I was thinking that their parents were encouraging them to do it.”

  “Well, we’re glad you aren’t,” Gracie said. “I don’t think Rusty would have been as nice if you were the grandchildren.”

  “Do you have any kids?” Gennie asked.

  “No,” Gracie replied. “We tried for quite a while but it never happened.”

  Gennie thought that was probably a good thing. She couldn’t see Rusty tolerating the antics of very small children.

  “So how did your parents pass away…if you don’t mind my asking,” Gracie said.

  “Our dad died of a heart attack in March,” Gennie explained.

  “Our mom…she went to go to the store when we were babies and she never came back. The weather was bad out and she froze to death in the snow,” Ben said.

  “That’s awful!” Gracie replied. “Both our parents are gone too, so we know how you f
eel. We weren’t quite as young as you were when they passed away, though. Rusty’s brother and sister-in-law died in a horrible car accident when their son was about your age. He lived with us until he went to college, so we’ve have some experience with this.”

  When they reached the cabin, Ben couldn’t do much because of his ankle, but he offered to make dinner for the Rea’s. Rusty wouldn’t let Gennie chop the wood, but she was allowed to carry it back to the cabin, where she stacked it up neatly outside.

  When dinner was ready, they all sat down in the kitchen and chatted.

  “Do you kids know what you’re going to do with your lives?” Rusty asked while buttering a roll.

  “I don’t know yet,” Gennie said.

  “Are you going to get married?” he asked her.

  “No!” Gennie replied.

  “You will,” Rusty said. “You’re a good-looking girl. So, how about you, son?”

  “I was thinking of getting into cooking.”

  “That wouldn’t be a bad idea. This is the most delicious meal I’ve had in years. It blows Gracie’s cooking out of the water.”

  Gracie gave him a playful shove.

  “It even makes my mama’s cooking look bad and she was the best cook around.”

  “Well, my family’s sort of against it because it isn’t…manly, you know.”

  “What’s not manly about it?” Rusty asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s something mostly girls do.”

  “So? That doesn’t make it not manly. Once in a while, I, the manliest man around, like to grill something outside.”

  “He always burns it,” Gracie said.

  “Not always,” Rusty replied defensively.

  “Most of the time you do.”

  “My brother called me names all the time because I like to cook,” Ben said.

  Rusty grunted. “That’s the one who beat you up, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I have a mind to give him a good beating myself. He’s got one hell of a nerve.”

  “Do you know how to cook too, Gennie?” Gracie asked.

  “No,” Ben replied. “One time she attempted to make a cake for our twelfth birthday. When the recipe called for two eggs, she threw them in there, shells and all. It was the most disgusting cake I’ve ever tasted.”

  “It wasn’t my fault,” Gennie said. “The directions said ‘two eggs’. It didn’t say anything about breaking them and getting rid of the shells.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “What do you like to do?” Gracie asked.

  “Oh, lots of things,” Gennie replied. “I like to fix stuff, read, listen to music.”

  “What sorts of things to do you like to fix?” Rusty asked.

  “Anything with a motor in it, basically,” Gennie said. “I can fix some household stuff too.”

  “Do you want to take a look at our generator?” Rusty asked. “It’s been making this strange noise and I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it.”

  Gennie was excited to hear this. “Sure, I’ll look at it.”

  She went out to the back of the cabin and looked at the generator. She removed the rear housing, the rotor, and stator. The rotor held onto a tapered crank long bolt. She looked at the bearing supporting the outer end of the rotor. It looked fine to her; it was barely worn, with a fine film of lubricant covering it. She inspected the cooling fan on the end of the rotor. It looked fine too except she could barely spin it. She took it off the rotor and it made a horrible scraping sound. The inside of the fan was caked with gritty dust. She cleaned it, lubricated it and put the generator back together. She started it to see how it would run and it made a satisfyingly loud hum. Gracie and Rusty came over to see how things were going and were very happy with the results.

  “I’m glad you kids are useful,” Rusty replied. “It makes letting you stay that much easier.”

  Chapter 7: August 17