Green Center Fiction

A week after the death of their younger sister all three children returned to school. The oldest boys’ face had healed, for the most part, all but the scar on his cheek, a reminder to himself, and his siblings, of Mr. Hue. During the week they remained home, the children dutifully mourned their sister. Mrs. Kurdley would cook all their meals, and tend to their mothers’ needs. Once they returned to school, and Chief Kilroy had moved into the house, Mrs. Kurdley would only come to help Rochelle tend to her mother.

After the children’s first day back to school they met Chief Kilroy at the front door. He brought them all into the parlor, and had them all sit on the chesterfield, he told them he needed to speak to them about something very important. Chief Kilroy graciouslyoffered the children chocolates from a yellow box, and reacted with marked indifference when they all turned him down. The house was strangely quiet. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway plainly heard by everyone in the parlor. Outside the parlor window the street brimmed with sounds of children playing and greeting their fathers as they returned home from work. Before speaking, Chief Kilroy studied the three children with a degree of apprehension in his face. Unable to look them any of the three directly in the eye he began to speak.

“As you know I am a very busy and important man. I have taken it as a burden upon myself, and my family to see to your care until we can find a proper guardian for you all. Stephen spoke up and said that he didn’t know what guardian meant, and that he wanted his mother to take care of him.
“Well you see Stephen, a guardian is an adult whose job it is to take care of little boys and girls when their mothers and fathers can’t. Now I can assure all of you that everyone here in town hopes your mother gets her health back real soon, and be able to raise you all herself and take care of this house as well. But, until then there are some decisions to make concerning your care, and your house. Fortunately, your mother is a woman of privilege, and wealth. This will make it much easier for everybody involved to see to it that you are all properly cared for, and any decisions concerning money will be made by me, for your benefit of course.”

That evening the children all went upstairs to their separate rooms immediately after eating and cleaning up after supper. Chief Kilroy had set up a chore system, which had Rochelle taking care of meals and laundry, with some help for Mrs. Kurdley. The boys were responsible for yard work, and any household repairs. All three chldren were to tend to the day to day cleaning of the house.

After changing into her white nightgown Rochelle quietly walked down the hall to Marks’ room. She gently knocked on the door, and knocked louder again after getting no response. After the second knock the door creaked open and her brothers’ sleepy face appeared from the darkness. Rochelle asked timidly if she could come in, and without saying a word, Mark motioned her inside his room and turned on the reading lamp beside his bed. They both sat on his bed and faced each other in the dim light of the room.

“How long do you think mister, I mean Chief Kilroy will stay here with us?” Whispered Rochelle.
“Don’t know. I guess until mom gets better.”
“What if she never gets better?”
“I can get a job soon, and I’ll quit school if I have to.”
“That could take years Mark.”
“What else do you want Rochelle, for Mr. Hue to come back?”
“No! But I don’t much like a stranger telling us what to do.”
“Keep your voice down Rochelle. Just pray for what you dream. That’s all any of us can do.”

Rochelle nodded, and without saying another word pecked her brother on the cheek and softly returned to her own room and bed. She lay awake long into the night, and thought she heard the morning sounds of birds as she finally drifted off to sleep.

The children awoke to the sound of tramping feet, and furniture being moved about downstairs. To their surprise, and dismay Chief Kilroy had begun the process of turning their parlor into his own private office. The children peered down the steps just in time to see the chesterfield being moved into the hallway, which the Chief had decided to use as a waiting area for his visitors. The children were able to overhear a conversation Kilroy was having with a man who appeared to be the boss of the moving crew. He explained to him that the moving company should just send its bill in the mail, and to put it in Mrs. Hues’ name. The children quickly returned to their rooms and changed into their school clothes. After a breakfast of cold cereal and milk a young policeman came into the kitchen and told the three that Chief Kilroy needed to speak to them before they went off to school. After finishing the dishes, Rochelle washing, Mark drying, and Stephen putting away, the children collected their schoolbooks and went into the hall. A stern looking woman with her dark hair in a tight bun met the children in the hallway. She introduced herself as Chief Kilroys’ receptionist and instructed the children to wait on the sofa until the Chief was ready to see them. Only a few minutes later the Chief emerged from the sliding doors of the parlor, still brushing pastry crumbs from his mouth and shirt.

“Good morning Rochelle, Mark, Stephen.” Started the Chief. “I have some very good news for you. First, I must compliment you all on the fine job you have been doing around the house. That is, keeping it clean in your stepfathers’ absence.”

The children all thought to themselves that nothing had really changed since Mr. Hue never did any of the housework, and now under the supervision of the Chief their regiment of chores had only become more organized. The children all knew better than to speak their mind, and instead listened intently to Chief Kilroy.

“Now, the good news is starting this afternoon, my sister in law, Lorraine Kilroy, will be preparing your meals from now on. I’m not sure if you all know this, but Lorraine, or Mrs. Kilroy as you should all address her, runs her own food catering business, and has agreed to help provide meals for you all. For a small fee of course.”

The children all looked at each other, and Mark spoke up.
“Sir.”
“Yes Mark, what is it?”
“We can cook our own meals, and I don’t mind shopping. You don’t need to spend your own money to keep us fed.”
“You don’t understand Mark.” The Chief smirking now. “Your mother is a wealthy woman. Lorraine will be paid by her to cook for you.”
“Oh.” Answered Mark, lowering his eyes. “Well children, you better be getting along to school now. Have a good day.”

Without their noticing a tall, square jawed, ape of an officer had come out from the parlor, and was quickly ushering the children out the front door. He had been so swift in his actions that Stephen had to turn around and return up the front stairs after realizing he had left his schoolbooks in the front hall. Mark and Rochelle waited for him just outside the front gate. Rochelle suddenly remembered running up the steps the day Mr. Hue left. She glanced up at her taller brother.

“Mark?”
“Yeah.”
“Mrs. Kurdley told me there wasn’t anything about Millie, y’know, what happened to her? Well, there wasn’t anything about her in the newspaper. Not even in the funeral announcements.”
“Yeah I know.” Shrugged Mark. “Guess there’s nothing all that important about some fatherless kids.”
“Do you think they’ll ever catch Mr. Hue?”
“They would have to look first.”

Stephen ran down the front steps and met Rochelle and Mark where they stood. The three children walked to school in silence.

Returning home that afternoon, the children found that over half of the Police Departments’ staff had moved into the parlor. What had once been their mothers’ pride, a den of antiquity and elegance, was now home to a bustling office. In the corner where the phonograph had once been sat the dispatch officer in front of a large green radio, and a silver switchboard. All of the family furniture had been moved out. The parlor now held five desks, all with telephones and stacks of paperwork upon them. At a desk outside the parlor sat the receptionist the children had met that morning. The room roared with the voices of the officers sitting at the desks. The children stood in the doorway, their mouths open, eyes wide and round. Chief Kilroy sat up from his desk near the rear of the room and approached them, smiling.

“Hello! How was your day?” The chief stood in front of them, his hands outstretched as if anticipating an embrace. “I’ve had to bring a few vital members of my staff here you see, since I’ll be spending so much time her at the house.”

Phones rang form the desks and the radio squawked with urgency. The room was filled with thick tobacco smoke. Mrs. Hue had never allowed smoking in the house. Rochelle thought to herself, “Even Mr. Hue went outside to smoke.”

“Ah! Mr. Ameri!” Bellowed the Chief, looking past the children. They turned around to see a short, balding, timid looking man standing behind them.

“Mr. Ameri is an accountant, and he has agreed to see to your mothers’ financial affairs. I can assure you Mr. Ameri is quite competent in such matters.”

While the Chief addressed the children Rochelle observed the striking difference between these two strangers in her house. Kilroy stood tall, but a considerable bulge sagged over his belt. Unlike Mr. Ameri, Chief Kilroy had a full head of hair which he kept short in the ever traditional law-enforcement “crew cut”. Kilroys’ uniform lost much of its impressive effect due to its overfilling by the Chiefs’ frame. Mr. Ameri stood short, slouched , and wore a crumpled black suit with a white shirt and solid red tie.

“Now children.” Continued Kilroy. “Mr. Ameri and I have some things to discuss.”

In a single motion Kilroy ushered the children out of the room, and slid the parlor door shut behind them.

*

That evening the three children were fed a meal of baked chicken and carrots in the dining room. For as long as each of them had been alive, all of their meals had been in the kitchen, at the small white metal frame table. The dining room had only been used when company came for supper. Now, in the quiet vastness of the large room the children sat over their dinner in silence listening to the clamor of sounds coming form the parlor, their parlor.Finally, after an unknown man in an apron and white uniform served them a dessert of orange gelatin with pineapple slices, the children decided to meet in Marks’ room at bedtime.

Now was Rochelles’ favorite time of day, after supper. Every night she would go to her mothers’ room on the top floor and help her change into a clean nightgown. Then, Rochelle would comb her mothers’ long, red hair, and on a especially good night they would talk quietly about school work, or clothes, or boys.

As she anxiously climbed the stairs Rochelle was met by a tall, blond woman in the uniform of a nurse.

“Hello Rochelle. I’m Ms. Blair. Mr. Kilroy has hired me to tend to your mothers’ needs. Go on inside and see her, but don’t be too long, she needs her rest.”
“But I was going to help her with her bath tonight.” Cried Rochelle, meekly. “Tonight is her bath night, and I help her with her hair.”
“She’s already bathed.” Replied Ms. Blair, firmly.

Without another word Rochelle rushed past Ms. Blair and burst into her mothers’ room. Her mother lay on her side, facing away from the door, on her tall, soft bed. Rochelle crept to her side, and noticed to her dismay that her mother was already asleep. She gently pulled back her long hair and kissed her on her cheek. After laying beside her mother for a few minutes Rochelle went out of the room, and down the steps to see her brother Mark, where they both sat in silence, waiting for Stephen.

That night, in Marks’ room the children discussed their feelings about Chief Kilroy, and his plans for their family. The children all agreed they were glad Mr. Hue had left, but they wished their little sister was still with them, and they all sort of felt that the police were at fault for her demise. They also talked about how they thought Chief Kilroy was kind of spending their mothers’ money like it was his own, and that he ought to at least ask them before he went off and spent anymore. Stephen had said he liked the Chief, and thought he would listen to what they all had to say, so long as they were polite. Mark and Rochelle both disagreed with Stephen. They were beginning to believe that Chief Kilroy intended to stay for a long time in their house.

The next morning Rochelle and Stephen burst into the kitchen, and began pleading wit Lorraine Kilroy. “Please can we help you cook! We love to help Mrs. Kilroy!” yelped the children in unison. Mrs. Kilroy didn’t notice Mark sneaking out of the kitchen behind his brother and sister who were jumping continuously and bubbling with young joyful noise.The children returned from school to find a truck on the street in front of their house. In bold white letters on both doors of the wrecker the words “BYRONS GARAGE 24 HOUR TOWING SERVICE” stood out against a dark blue background. Behind the tow truck with its two front wheels in the air hung the patrol car belonging to Chief Kilroy.

The next morning in the town newspaper a article appeared on the front page reporting on an incident in which an unknown party had poured a considerable amount of sugar into the gas tank of Chief Kilroys’ car, permanently damaging the engine. Chief Kilroy was quoted as saying that the perpetrator was suspected to be none other than Mr. Hue, who held an obvious grudge against Chief Kilroy and the police department. In the same morning edition the editor printed a letter from none other than Dr. Felix Mann. The letter was printed in the editorial section.

The letter read:

Dear Editor;
I am writing to express my concern with the aggressive and fumbling manner in which the town police department conducted the search of a household. The home they searched was residence to one Mr. Hue, his wife, and their four children, Mr. Hues’ stepchildren. As many members of our community may know Mr. Hue has been suspected of abusing his stepchildren for quite some time, and the police have performed a righteous task in their removal of him from the household. It is my opinion, however, that the search, which led to the departure of Mr. Hue, also resulted in the untimely death of young Millie Aarons. Though her demise was purely of an accidental nature, I believe, this extremely unfortunate accident could have been avoided had the police used common sense, and not so quickly resorted to its aggressive infiltration of the home. I happen to know that the reason the Police were able to enter the home in the first place was the execution of a search warrant. The items the police were searching for were guns belonging to Mr. Hue, and to this day no such guns have been found in the house. As a esteemed member of this community I would like to call on the child welfare department to insist Chief Kilroy move out of the household, in which he has taken up residence without approval from the homeowner. I believe that our police Chief has already proven himself a threat to the safety of the children, and he should move out of their home and help find them a proper guardian.

Sincerely; Dr. Felix Mann; MD

Two days after the letter had been printed half of Dr. Mann’s appointments had called his office to cancel. During a visit to have her rheumatism prescription renewed, Mrs. Kurdley told the doctor that someone had called her three days before her appointment and told her that a rumor was quickly circulating around the town that Dr. Mann had “approached” a male patient with a “indecent offer”.
“My god Ester, who told you that?” Cried Felix in exasperation. “Of course you know that’s just not true. Why I’ve been married for twenty years now and…., and oh god that’s why everyone has been canceling on me. Tell me Ester who was it? Who told you that vicious lie?”
“It was Chief Kilroy.” Answered Mrs. Kurdley.

That evening after closing his office, Dr. Mann got in his car and drove to the Aarons house. He planned on confronting the Chief and being quite stern, but fair. Kilroy had himself been mistaken, he thought. He even wondered if it wasn’t old Mr. Hue who had been calling people, passing himself off as the Chief. Then he remembered the letter he had written to the paper and resigned to understanding he had been a victim just like little Miss Millie, lying under that heavy wooden door.

Upon approaching the house he was startled to see the Coroners’ van, once again sitting in the street, just in front of the gate. After sprinting up the walk he was greeted by a sight that nearly stopped his heart and chased his breath away. There in the front door, in her nightgown, stood Mrs. Hue. Her long red hair hung down her shoulders and over her chest. She smiled as he approached.

“Hello Doctor” she said. “I’m afraid we have had a terrible accident.”

The doctor learned from Mrs. Hue that just after her bath that evening Ms. Blair had tripped on a roller-skate that had been accidentally left on the stairs just outside of the top floor bedroom. In the ensuing commotion the chronic shroud of mysterious illness that had hovered over Mrs. Hue for so long evaporated, and her strength seemed to be returning more and more with each passing moment. Dr. Mann had arrived just in time to examine the body of Ms. Blair before the Coroner hauled it into the waiting van. She had suffered a broken neck, sudden and fatal.

“Where are the children?” Asked Dr. Mann.
“I sent them to bed, they’re all quite upset.”
“Oh yes. I’m sure they are Mrs. Hue. Can I do anything for you? How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling better by the minute Doctor, considering the circumstances. And please, call me Mrs. Aarons.”

The next day Chief Kilroy and his staff moved out of the house, and back to the Police Department building on the town square. Mrs. Aaron relieved Lorraine Kilroy and the accountant, Mr. Ameri of their duties, and without hesitation hired another accountant, a friend of Dr. Mann, to go over her finances in the wake of Chief Kilroys’ handling of them.After the children returned form school Mrs. Kurdley drove them all, along with their mother, to visit the unmarked grave of young Millie. Rochelle placed a small bouquet of daisies on top of the mound. Early that evening she walked from her house to the church where she and her friends got on a bus and rode to the next county to a small roller rink for a night of skating.