Leah and
Alfie
Oscar and Nettie Crowley were having a wonderful time in
Greensboro. Nettie grew up there and knew just about everyone in
town.
They had dinner with the Cooper children at Gladys and
Arthur Preston's home. The Prestons had taken the Cooper children in
when their father died and their mother's mental state had
deteriorated so much she had to be confined to a home. The home was
unlike an insane asylum and gave Alice Cooper a chance for a normal
life in the future.
The Cooper children were thriving under the care of
Gladys and Arthur. They had stability and order in their lives for
the first time in many years. Marlin Cooper had been a mean father
and a miserable human being. There was speculation that because of a
brain tumor, his behavior had become erratic and unreasonable.
Alice's fear of him drove her over the edge.
Polly Cooper was banished from the home when she had
been victimized into believing she was the bride of James Philpot.
James had arranged a wedding ceremony with his cousin posing as a
minister. Polly found herself in the family way. James discovered
the Cooper's weren't as rich as he thought and her father wasn't
about to give him a dime. He told her to get rid of the baby and he
left town.
Polly gave birth to a baby girl she named Faith. She
left Greensboro seeking the help of her old school teacher, Nettie
Dawson. Nettie took her into her home and her heart. Nettie married
Oscar Crowley and the four of them were a family. Eventually, Polly
married Randy Burke and left the Crowley home leaving it a little too
quiet for the young at heart couple.
“We came to Greensboro with the Merryweathers and
Wilsons. We thought there might be a child or two that wouldn't mind
living with us old folks. We will be returning there tomorrow
morning. We would like to be able to give a child a home and also
free up some space for other needy children,” said Nettie.
“Oh Nettie, that is a wonderful idea,” said Gladys.
“Arthur and I haven't been this happy since our own children left
the nest. I think it has brought out the best in both of us. We
love these children so very much I can't imagine them not being in
our lives.”
“Nettie, did you mention Thanksgiving?” said Oscar.
“No, I haven't. It seems the year just started and
already we are talking about Thanksgiving. Oscar and I would like
you and the children, and your grown children also, to join us for
Thanksgiving dinner. We will have a houseful with the boys and their
families and Polly and her family.”
“Nettie, that's way too many people for you to serve
at one time.”
“No, we have plenty of room. Oscar had an addition
put on this summer. He is sure the boys and Faith are going to be
filling the house with grandchildren and he wants to be ready when
that happens. Besides, Trudy is already planning the menu. She is
tired of just serving the two of us all the time. Of course she will
have plenty of help in the kitchen that day. When she and Polly get
together they cook up a storm. It takes us three days of
recuperating after one of their meals.”
“It would be so nice to be together. I'm sure the
children will love being with Polly and Faith for a few days.”
Oscar and Nettie said goodbye to their friends. Oscar
was beginning to miss his own bed in his own house. “Let's get
back to Camden Corners before suppertime tomorrow. All that talk
about Miss Trudy's cooking has made me homesick.”
“I'd like that too Oscar. Evelyn said she had two
children she would like us to meet this morning. We have been so
busy visiting old friends and you boys capturing criminals that we
haven't had as much time at the villa as I would have liked.”
Bright and early the next morning, Oscar and Nettie were
in Evelyn's office.
“The two children I mentioned came to us about a week
ago. They have not adjusted well to the environment. Neither one of
the children have opened up to any of us. They are frightened and I
fear they may have been kidnapped from their parents and threatened
in such a way that they are afraid to speak. One of the young men
in town has a cousin who is a policeman and lives in New York City.
He found these children wandering in the streets. The normal
procedure would have been to scoop them up and take them to the
nearest foundling home. The fellow had heard of our facility here
through his cousin and put them on a train to Greensboro. The cousin
brought them directly here from the train station.
From what little they have said, it is obvious they have
a British accent. We have alerted the London authorities of their
whereabouts but they have not received any reports of missing
children. The clothes they arrived in were tattered but of very
good quality. That is about all I can tell you about them. They are
sweet children but very troubled. Do you think you would be
interested?”
Tears were running down Nettie's cheeks and Oscar knew,
sight unseen, these were the children for them.
Evelyn called the children into the room. “Alfred and
Leah, these nice people are Mr. & Mrs. Crowley. They would like
to take you to their home to stay with them for a while. Do you
think you would like that?”
They both shrugged and looked at the floor.
“Alfred, Leah, I am very happy to meet you. You may
call me Miss Nettie if you would like to and this is Mr. Oscar. We
would very much like you to come with us to Camden Corners. I think
you would like it there. Do you think you would like to ride on the
train again?”
“He likes to be called Alfie.” Leah said without
raising her eyes from the floor.
“Alfie, do you like to fish? We have a big lake that
has hundreds of fish in it. Do you like playing ball? There are
many things we can do in Camden Corners.” Oscar said without
getting more than a nod from Alfie.
Peggy came to gather the children. “Come with me
children. We will collect your things and you may go with Miss
Nettie and Mr. Oscar to their home.” The two children marched out
of the room like little soldiers.
“I hope we can bring them out of their shells. The
poor little things, they are scared to death. Oscar, we must hire a
private investigator to track down their family.”
“I've already thought of that my dear. I will contact
one in New York City that I have dealt with before. I wish we had
more information about them. We'll have the Marino boy take a photo
of each of them. That will help in the search.”
“How old are the children Evelyn, do you have any
idea?”
“At first I thought they were twins but I'm thinking
they are probably just close in age. I think Leah is around 7 and
Alfie might be 6. I think Alfie is tall for his age. I believe they
may have lived a rather cloistered life. They are not comfortable
being so close to so many children. Even with the problems most of
our residents have, they do seek out children their own age. Leah
and Alfie just cling to each other. Are you two sure about this? I
hope I haven't burdened you too much.”
“We will do our best. We will work on finding their
family and in the meantime we will try to make them as comfortable as
we can. I have worked with many disturbed children over the years, I
know it won't be easy but hopefully we can help them get through
their current situation.”
“I was hoping we could get together this evening with
Polly and the boys but it might be best if we just have a quiet time
together. I'll gather some of the books we have left from when Faith
was here. Maybe reading to the children will be the best thing we
can do for them tonight.” said Nettie.
“That's a good idea dear. I haven't been able to get
more than a grunt out of Alfie during the entire train ride. I
thought an ice cream sundae would help but he still said nothing.”
“He did enjoy that ice cream though. So you did
communicate through your stomachs.” Nettie laughed.
Trudy served them a nice supper. “I've never known
children to be so quiet. Are you sure you two have tongues?” she
teased as she placed a roll on each one of their plates.
Alfie stuck his tongue out and giggled just a little.
Leah grabbed his arm as though trying to stop him from saying
anything. It didn't go unnoticed by any of the adults.
“Oscar we must find out why these children are so
terrified. I wonder if we should call Doc McMillan to examine them?”
“That's not a bad idea. I've asked Tony Marino to
come over to take a picture of them. He will develop it and I'll
have it sent special delivery to the investigator in New York.
Nettie sat on the sofa and spread the books out on the
table in front of her. “Would you like to choose a book to read
Leah?”
Leah shook her head no and sat in a chair by the window
staring out.
“How about you Alfie?”
Alfie pointed to one and then looked at his sister. He
shook his head no and went to the window sitting on the same chair as
Leah.
Nettie picked up one that was a favorite of Faiths and
began reading. After several minutes, Alfie stood up and walked
over to Nettie. His legs started to get tired and he sat down beside
her. Not too long after that, Leah got up and came over to the sofa.
She sat on the other side of Nettie.
Oscar walked into the room. What a picture this was.
Nettie with a child on each side of her. He thought once again what
a wonderful mother she would have made.
Tony Marino stopped by to take photos of the children.
They didn't know what he was doing and had seen many strange things
in the United States so they just ignored him. If they had known
their likenesses were going to be sent to an investigator, they may
not have been so cooperative.
Doc arrived and checked them over a bit. He talked to
them in his quiet way and they both actually smiled. “I think they
have suffered a trauma. You are right to be concerned. I would say
they have been threatened in some way about not saying anything. I
can't think of any better people for them to be with right now. My
advice is just to listen if and when they begin to open up. I think
they already feel comfortable being with you. The villa may have
been a little too hectic for them. Good luck and I'll check back
later this week.”
Nettie tucked the children into their beds. They chose
to sleep in the same room and that was fine with her. She and Oscar
watched from the doorway a while later as both of these precious
children slept.
In a castle outside of London, a young mother was
wringing her hands. “Where can they be Phillip, where can my
children be?”
“Minerva, I think it's time we call the authorities.
Our Leah and Alfie have been gone so long and there has been no word
about the ransom in weeks. If they are still alive we need to find
them.”
“Phillip, no. I won't allow it. The kidnapper said
they would die if we called the authorities. We will be killing our
own children.”
The butler knocked on the door. “Begging your pardon,
sir. There is a gentleman to see you. He is from Scotland Yard
shall I show him in?”
“Yes Briggs, please show him in.”
“How do you do, sir? Hiram Rowntree here,” showing
his badge he continued, “I would like to ask you a few questions
about a Miss Bridget Davies. I believe she was in your employ as
nanny to your two children.”
“Yes sir, she was up until four months ago. I believe
she was leaving London to wed a gentleman up north somewhere.”
“I'm sorry to inform you that her body has been
discovered in a ditch. She had been bludgeoned to death.”
Minerva cried out at the news.
“That is horrible detective, I wonder if you would
excuse my wife. She has been under a doctor's care of late and
should not be subjected to this stress.”
“I understand. If we need information from her we can
ask her at a later time. Can you tell me all you know about Miss
Davies?
“I'm sorry officer, I know very little about her
personal life. She was recommended by the agency we go through for
all our domestic help. Our children seemed to be very fond of her
and were disappointed when she left.”
“I wonder if I may speak with your children.”
Phillip had been forced to lie about the children's
whereabouts before and quickly said, “I'm afraid they are visiting
their grandparents in Bromley.”
“I don't think it will necessary to disturb you any
further sir. I'm sorry to have been the bearer of such unhappy news.
I bid you farewell.”
The door shut behind the detective. Those two are
hiding something, he thought to himself. They haven't seen the last
of me.
“Minerva, we have to do something. I saw the look in
that detective's eye. He knew I wasn't being completely honest with
him. It is time to report the children as missing. We can't go on
like this wondering where they are.”
Minerva agreed. “Wherever they are, I hope they know
we are thinking of them.”
At that moment, a smile came across Leah and Alfie's
faces as they slept. “Oscar look, they are both smiling. I hope
they are having happy dreams.”
