Fabulous Five 008 - The Runaway Crisis Read online

  Katie shook her head and leaned closer to the set to hear what he had to say.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, as we reported earlier, a local thirteen-year-old girl, Shawnie Pendergast, is missing from her home. Authorities began searching for her yesterday afternoon when she did not return from classes at Wakeman Junior High, and a check of attendance records showed that she had not been in school all day. At this time there is no evidence of foul play, and both the parents and the police are proceeding on the assumption that Shawnie Pendergast has run away from home. Here with me now are Mr. and Mrs. Pendergast, Shawnie's parents, with an appeal to their daughter to come home."

  Katie held her breath as the camera angle widened to include a man and a woman seated at the news desk. She recognized them as the same two people who had talked to Tony and her at the theater the night before. Their faces looked haggard. They were even wearing the same clothes they had had on at the theater, and Katie felt a stab of guilt as she wondered if they had been up all night waiting for news of Shawnie.

  Mr. Pendergast spoke first. "Shawnie, this is your father." He stopped, giving an embarrassed little laugh as if he had temporarily forgotten that she would be able to see him on the screen. "Your mother and I are very worried. Please come home. We know you are upset, but there isn't anything that we can't work out together."

  He turned his head slightly and looked at Shawnie's mother, and as he did so, the camera zoomed in on her, showing tears brimming in her eyes. "Shawnie, I just want you to know . . ." Her voice broke and she looked away. When she had composed herself, she looked into the camera again and said, "I just want you to remember that we love you very much and we want you to come home."

  "Wow!" said Katie as the camera shot swung back to the reporter who went on with the morning's news. It was all she could say. Her mind had gone numb with panic.

  "Katie, you've got to think hard," said Willie, picking up her hand and looking straight into her eyes. "You're her friend. Where would Shawnie go? We've got to help find her if we can. Do you realize how dangerous it is out there for someone alone?"

  Katie dropped her eyes and pulled her hand away. "I . . . I . . ." she began. "I have to go to the bathroom." Racing up the stairs, she darted into the bathroom and sank against the door. She did not turn on the light, but in the darkness she could see the faces of Shawnie's parents as if the television set had followed her up the stairs and into the pitch-black room. They couldn't have looked more sincere when they said they loved her. It was obvious that they were worried sick about Shawnie, and still at this very moment she was totally safe, sound asleep not more than a dozen feet away.

  What am I going to do? The question kept spinning around in her brain, and yet she knew that there was one thing she had to do. She had to talk to Shawnie. She had to find out what had happened once and for all. Then she would be able to figure out what to do next.

  Slipping quietly out of the bathroom so that Willie would not hear, she tiptoed to her room and shut the door behind herself. To her surprise, Shawnie was sitting in the middle of her bed in her bathrobe brushing her long blond hair.

  "What was that all about?" she asked. "Did I hear your mom say that my parents were on television?"

  "That's right," said Katie. "And you should have seen how worried they looked. They even have the police looking for you. You've got to tell me what happened, Shawnie. Right now."

  Shawnie laughed softly. "I see they even have you convinced. Didn't I tell you that they were fabulous actors?" She paused and Katie started to protest, but Shawnie spoke again before Katie could get a word out. "I suppose Mom had tears in her eyes and they both said they loved me. HA! That's just to make themselves look good so they'll get all the sympathy. It worked, too. Didn't it? You look as if you're ready to turn me in."

  Katie felt herself blushing, and the doubt that had burned so strongly a moment ago flickered and went out as she looked at Shawnie. Her chin was raised bravely as if daring Katie to call her parents, and she absently rubbed the bruise on her right arm, which had turned a sickly shade of yellow.

  "Can't you tell me what happened?" pleaded Katie, sitting down on the bed beside her friend. "You know I want to help you. I promised you that I would. I won't go back on my word. Don't you know that?"

  Shawnie nodded. "I know that, Katie. It's just that . . . well . . ." She sighed deeply. "It was awful. That's all that I can tell you right now. You've got to believe me. Oh, please, Katie. I don't know what I'd do without you."

  Katie bit her lower lip and thought about Willie. There was no way she could keep Shawnie hidden from her mother very much longer. Couldn't Shawnie understand that?

  Suddenly there were sounds in the hallway.

  "Katie? Did I hear voices coming from your room?" The door swung open, and Willie started in only to stop cold when she saw Shawnie sitting on the bed.

  CHAPTER 14

  "Shawnie?" Willie whispered in disbelief. "You're here?"

  Katie jumped to her feet. She held her breath as Shawnie lowered her eyes and said quietly, "Hi, Mrs. Shannon."

  "I was going to tell you." The words burst out before Katie could stop them. She looked pleadingly at her mother. "We have to help her. She says it's awful at home."

  "I don't know what I would have done without Katie," said Shawnie, looking up at Katie's mother. "I didn't have anywhere to go or anyone else to turn to, and I couldn't stay at home one minute longer."

  Willie crossed the room and sat down on the bed, putting her arms around Shawnie. "Of course we'll help you. We'll do whatever we can. But this is also very serious," she said. "Your parents are terribly worried, and even the police are looking for you. I think you'd better go downstairs and call your mother and father right away to let them know you're okay."

  Shawnie lowered her eyes again and murmured, "I can't."

  "If you don't want to talk to them yourself, I'd be glad to call them for you," offered Willie.

  Shawnie shook her head. "You don't understand. Nobody understands. Everybody thinks that just because they're my parents, they're automatically right and I'm wrong. It isn't like that. You have to believe me when I tell you that I can't talk to them on the phone and I can't go home. Besides," she added, looking straight at Katie, "you promised, Katie. You said you'd do anything you could to help me, and all I ask is that you and your mom let me hide here a little while longer."

  No one said anything for a moment, and Katie could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. What was Willie going to do? She couldn't believe that her mother would make Shawnie go home. Willie had always been there for people who were in trouble or needed help. It had been from watching her mother stand up for her causes that Katie had been convinced to become the same kind of person.

  "I did promise I'd help her," Katie admitted.

  "I have no objection to your staying here, Shawnie," said Willie. "But first, you must call your parents. They're imagining all sorts of terrible things that could have happened to you."

  "That's what you think," Shawnie muttered.

  "Perhaps if you tell us what sort of problems you're having with your parents, we can help you work out a solution," said Willie. "There isn't any problem that can't be solved," she added with a reassuring smile.

  "You wouldn't understand," Shawnie said, shaking her head again. "Nobody would. They're just so . . . so mean. They won't let me do anything."

  "Do you mean that you ran away because they wouldn't let you do something that you wanted to do?" asked Willie.

  "See!" cried Shawnie. "I knew you wouldn't understand. You think that just because they said no to something I wanted, I ran away. Well, there's more to it than that. A lot more."

  "Then tell us about it," said Willie. "That's the only way we can help you."

  "I can't. I really, really can't."

  Willie sighed, and Katie could tell by her expression that her patience was running thin. Shawnie must have sensed it, too, because she jumped and raced to the closet, pullin
g out her suitcase and her wet clothes.

  "Okay. I can tell that you don't want me here, so I'll go. I'll even go home. It's obvious that I'll have to anyway sooner or later. Nobody is going to help me. Just let me do it on my own," she said angrily. "That's all I ask."

  Katie felt helpless as Shawnie pulled dry jeans and a sweat shirt out of the suitcase and wadded up the wet clothes and stuffed them in. "It's all right if you don't want to help me," she said.

  "We do want to help you," Willie insisted. "It's just that running away isn't the answer. It only makes your problems worse. But we don't know what the right way to help you is if you won't talk to us."

  Shawnie didn't answer. It was obvious to Katie that she was determined to leave rather than talk about her situation with her parents.

  "We'll drive you home," offered Katie. It was the only thing she could think of to say.

  "Of course we will," said Willie. "And I'll talk to your parents for you if you'd like me to."

  "Thanks, but I want to do it all myself." Shawnie said firmly. "I'll go home by myself and I'll talk to my parents by myself. I'll really do it. You can trust me."

  "Of course we trust you," said Willie.

  Shawnie acted as if she didn't hear. Picking up her clothes, she left the room. Katie knew she was heading for the bathroom to dress.

  "Mom, what are we going to do?" pleaded Katie as soon as she heard the bathroom door close. "We can't just desert her. I promised her I'd help."

  "I know that, sweetheart," said Willie. "But hiding her is not necessarily helping her. Right now it seems to me that sending her back home is the best help we can give her."

  "But what if she's in danger?" insisted Katie. "You saw the bruise on her arm. I'll bet they beat her. They might beat her even worse for running away."

  "Has Shawnie ever told you that they beat her?"

  "No," Katie admitted. "But I know she would never walk into a closet door, and that's the way she says she got the bruise. I think she just doesn't want to rat on her parents."

  "Does that make sense to you?" asked Willie. "If things are so bad that she feels she has to run away, wouldn't she want people to know her parents were hurting her so that something could be done about it?"

  Katie couldn't believe what her mother was saying. "You think she's making it all up, don't you?" she said incredulously. "You think Shawnie's lying."

  "No, sweetheart. I just think we need to know a lot more before we start interfering and maybe doing things that could make the whole situation worse. If it will make you feel better, you can call Shawnie tonight and see how she's getting along. And I'll even promise that if we get any real evidence that Shawnie is in danger, we'll bring her here immediately."

  Katie nodded. She felt better. She had known deep down that her mother wouldn't desert them although she was sure she wouldn't be able to explain that to Shawnie.

  "I'm ready to go now," Shawnie said a few minutes later. She had brought her suitcase downstairs and had even had some toast and milk with Katie and Willie.

  "Are you sure I can't drive you home?" Willie asked for the umpteenth time. "I would even be willing to let you off a block or two from your house, if you'd rather."

  "No, thanks, Mrs. Shannon. I'll be okay. I just want to do it myself."

  "I understand," said Willie. Then she gave Shawnie a hug and said, "I really do want to help you. If you ever need to talk, just let me know. The same goes if you ever need help talking to your parents. Okay?"

  Shawnie nodded. "Okay, Mrs. Shannon. And thanks again."

  Katie walked Shawnie to the door. "I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted them to," said Katie.

  "That's okay," said Shawnie. "It wasn't your fault. At least you tried."

  The girls said good-bye, and as Katie watched Shawnie walk down the street and disappear around the corner, she felt as if she had let her friend down. After all, she had promised. It wasn't fair that Shawnie couldn't at least have some time away from her parents to get things sorted out. Maybe she should have begged and pleaded with her mother more, she thought. Maybe Willie would have given in and let Shawnie stay if she had only tried harder.

  The rest of the day crawled by. Katie tried to clean her room in the morning, and she and Willie went to the mall for a little while in the afternoon, but her mind kept returning to Shawnie. What had her parents said when she got home? Were they mad? Or were they so glad to see her that they forgot to be mad? Fat chance, thought Katie. They'll probably punish her. Or . . . Katie couldn't let herself think about what else might happen. If only the day would pass faster so that she could call Shawnie and find out how she was.

  "Turn on the television and we'll watch the evening news while we devour this," said Willie as she set a giant pizza box in the middle of the kitchen table. They had decided that they didn't feel like cooking supper, so they had stopped by their favorite pizza place on the way home from the mall and carried out one extra large with everything on it.

  Katie pointed the remote controls toward the screen and punched in the digits of their favorite channel just as the news was starting. This time it was Marge Whitworth, the evening news anchor, who stared out at them.

  "Police are still baffled," she began, "by the disappearance of thirteen-year-old Shawnie Pendergast, who has not been seen by her parents since she left for school yesterday morning . . ."

  Katie and Willie turned to each other with looks of horror.

  "But she said she would go home," Katie whispered. "She promised."

  CHAPTER 15

  Katie and her mother stared at the television in silent disbelief as Marge Whitworth introduced Shawnie's parents for a second appeal.

  "We are offering one thousand dollars to anyone who has any information on our daughter's whereabouts," Mr. Pendergast said. There were dark circles under his eyes, and Katie guessed that he still hadn't had any rest. Mrs. Pendergast looked equally tired.

  They really are worried, thought Katie, no matter what Shawnie says.

  A telephone number flashed on the screen, and Willie scribbled it onto the lid of the pizza box. "We'll call as soon as they've had time to get home. We have to tell them what we know," she said, sighing deeply. Then, as if she were talking to herself, she shook her head and murmured, "I should never have trusted Shawnie to go home on her own. I should have known that she was too upset. I should have insisted on driving her home."

  Katie felt a sudden sympathy for her mother. Willie had believed she was doing the best thing for Shawnie by sending her home. And she had trusted Shawnie, too, Katie thought, just the same as I did.

  At that instant the phone rang. Katie jumped as if she had been stuck with a pin. Willie was sitting closer, so she answered.

  "It's for you," she said, handing the receiver to Katie. "It's Tony."

  "Did you see the news on TV?" he asked as soon as she said hello. "They still haven't found Shawnie. It doesn't surprise me a bit, though."

  "Why not?" asked Katie. "Why are you always putting her down?"

  "Oh, you'd have to know her to understand."

  "I do know her," Katie insisted. "And I think she's nice. She has a lot of trouble at home and she needs somebody to help her."

  "And Her Honor, Katie Shannon, is coming to the rescue," said Tony.

  "Well, somebody has to. I even let her stay in my room last night, but she's gone now, and I don't know where she is."

  "What!" shouted Tony. "You let her hide at your house? Wow, Katie. Can't you tell when you're being taken?"

  Katie sucked in her breath in anger. "And I suppose getting petitions to allow boys to wear earrings to school was different? Was I being taken then, too?"

  She slammed down the phone and spun around so that her mother would not see the tears jetting into her eyes. Boys! she thought. I should have known better than to trust Tony. He's just like all the others.

  A little while later Willie called the Pendergasts and told them what she knew about Shawnie. Katie cri
nged as her mother described how Katie had hidden Shawnie in her room overnight, but Willie took all the responsibility herself for allowing Shawnie to leave for home on her own.

  "What did they say?" asked Katie when Willie hung up.

  Willie smiled sympathetically. "They said to thank you for letting her stay here last night. They said they understood why you did it. They also said that they understood why we let her leave this morning with just a promise to go home. They were very nice about the whole thing, and they said they were relieved to know that she didn't spend the night alone on the streets."

  Katie felt a little bit better, but she was still worried about Shawnie. "Have they heard from anyone who knows where she is now?"

  Willie shook her head. "Ours was the first call they had gotten."

  The phone rang again a little while later. It was Jana this time. She had seen the telecast about Shawnie, too, and had called because she knew Katie had been so concerned about Shawnie earlier.

  "I just don't know what to do," said Katie after she told Jana the whole story. "I don't know where else she would go."

  "Maybe you should call some of her old friends from Copper Beach. She might have gone to one of their houses," offered Jana.

  "That's a good idea, but . . ."

  "But what?" asked Jana.

  Katie sighed. "I don't know who her old friends are. I don't remember seeing her with anyone around school. Do you?"

  "Now that you mention it, no," said Jana. "But Tony ought to know. He went to Copper Beach."

  Katie bit her lower lip. She didn't want to admit that she and Tony had had a fight over Shawnie and that she had hung up on him. "I think I'll call Dekeisha instead," she said.

  When she hung up from talking to Jana, she dialed Dekeisha's number, but the line was busy. She tried again a few minutes later, but it was still busy. She sat down on one of the kitchen stools and drummed her fingertips on the counter top, waiting to try Dekeisha's number again and thinking about Shawnie.