The Secret Garden of Martha Grim
by Richard A. Lopez
(c) 1992
Page 26

Driving back to neighborhood, all four of them in John's car, they were still discussing what to do when the came face to face with Willie.
"What if Ann is there?" Callie asked..

"Why didn't we call the police again?" Carmine kept asking..

"OK, so we find him at the house, what do we do, just beat the shit out of him, and take your kid? And your wife is gonna be OK with that?"
Rudy asked, more sarcastic than anything..

"I don't care about her, for all I know she's part of this," came John's reply, a bit too sharply..."Look, I just want to get my boy out of there. I can't really ask you all to do anything that you are against doing, and I thank you for helping me this much, but Cole's got my son, and if he's hurt him, I'll kill the son of bitch!" John finished as he whipped the car around a slow moving Honda that was in front of them..

Everyone held on, tightly. Carmine made a remark about slowing down, and Rudy had said something about being in one accident today already, but it was Callie, who brought him around to reality when she touched his shoulder lightly and said, "John, Tommy..."
John slowed down to safer speed.
Tommy, he thought, hold on..I'm coming...daddy's coming..
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Ann reached the gates just as they closed, just in time to see Willie's truck drive up to the large, vine covered Victorian home that was the
Grim house.
She held the iron bars of the closed gate in a death grip, screaming his name, as he disappeared from sight behind an overly large tree with a gnarled bark.
"My God," she thought, "He's taking Tommy to her, but why? What could she want with Tommy?" Then as if answering her own question, she thought of Sheriff Quinn!
Willie was always talking about how he thought that Martha had something to do with the Sheriff's disappearance. She thought he was just talking. What if he was right. What if she was some kind of killer and he was going to trade Tommy for that so-called "secret" she had.
But he also had the gun.
What if he was going to trick her, and use the gun instead? Was he crazy enough to do this? What if Tommy got caught in the middle?
Who was she kidding, she didn't care so much as she did that if John found out that Willie had put Tommy in harms way, he would hold her solely responsible. And that meant she would go to jail.
That was something she couldn't handle. She had to get Tommy out of there, now!
Ann started to climb. The gate had wicked looking spear points on the top, god she didn't want to get hung up on those.
Suddenly, the buzzer sounded and the gates started to open. She held on for a bit, then let go, once she was sure that she was inside the property. Moving away from the gate and its wicked looking points, she started slowly first, but faster, up the walk.
Not noticing how the vines had closed in behind her, completely covering the walk and pathway, slowly creeping up the way and closing the gap. Silently herding her towards the house.