The Fugitive Grandma

Chapter 39 - Giving Back

Johnny unzipped his backpack and checked the samples of Helixin as they drove west through the Santa Ana Mountains into Orange County. Stella gripped the steering wheel tightly and squinted hard against the river of headlights flowing along the freeway from the oncoming traffic.

"Everything look OK?" Stella asked. "No broken vials?"

"Everything's fine, Grandma."

"Good. Then we're sitting pretty for a little while. The greatest wealth is health, Johnny. Don't ever forget that."

"What happens when we run out?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Don't worry, Johnny. You're ole grandma's thinking about the next move. But for now we have a little breathing room."

"Where are we going?" Johnny wondered out loud, as the car continued in the direction of the setting sun.

"We need to make some changes." Stella pulled down the sun visor to cut the orange glare ahead. "The police are probably talking to Harry."

"You think he'd tell them about what we did?"

"Probably not. Because if the cops find us, they find out about his bingo racket. But even if Harry don't talk, the cops will find Doc and his floozy. We have to expect the police will catch on, so we have to think about how we're going to hide. As far as Harry is concerned, even if he doesn't tell the police anything, he's going to come after us. So will his boss, Lester Cummings. Those guys are scary, Johnny."

"So what are going to do?"

"I'll tell you what we do for starters. We're going to get new identities so we can move around easier: new names, Social Security cards, a driver's license for me, the whole enchilada. That's why we're going to Orange County. I heard about a place from my neighbor's gardener. He and I trade tips from time to time. Some of the other supermarkets use this place when they need janitors and warehouse loaders. Of course, Mr. Caruso never worked that way."

Exiting the freeway, they drove through the streets of Santa Ana, finally pulling up beside a park with hedges and a crowded soccer field.

As Stella and Johnny approached the hedges, a man crept out from behind and waved at them. He was a Latino with a black mustache and a soft smile. He wore an oversized jean jacket and kept his hands tucked in its pockets.

"So what you need?" the man whispered.

"Driver's licenses. Five, with different names and addresses," Stella said.

"Fifty dollars each."

Stella frowned, using the face she saved for staring down poker opponents on a trip to Las Vegas. "Let me see your work first."

The man turned and opened his jacket wide like a set of wings. Pinned to the inside were a dozen samples: Social Security cards, green cards, US passports, and state driver's licenses.

Stella touched her forefinger to a sample license. "Let me hold it up to the light. I want to see if the hologram looks real."

He unpinned the sample and handed it to her. She appraised it like a jeweler inspecting a rough-cut diamond.

"OK. I'll pay your rate. Give me the five licenses plus a couple different birth certificates for the kid here."

Stella handed the man some photos from her wallet. The man checked them and nodded.

"I meet you back here in one hour," he said.

While they were waiting, Stella and Johnny drove to a strip mall several blocks from the park. In a 99 Cents Only Store there, Stella picked up wigs in several different colors, as well as some tinted glasses. Johnny bought four baseball caps and wore one, pulling the visor down.

After buying their fake IDs from the man at the park, they drove through the side streets to the neighboring city of Anaheim. A cluster of hotels and rental car agencies surrounded Disneyland. Stella and Johnny abandoned the van in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn and then walked to Budget Rent A Car across the street, where she rented a sedan using one of the new driver's licenses.

They headed east in the new car through the Santa Ana Mountains back to Santa Ramona.

"This is our second day through the looking glass, Johnny. How you doing?"

"I'm happy, Grandma. We got money. We got medicine. And we're free!"

"You know I talked to your father today. I needed to give him a heads-up."

Johnny frowned. "What did you do that for? He doesn't care about us!"

"Yes, he does. We're going to have to make peace with him, Johnny. I know we're both mad about what he did. But at the end of the day he's still family."

"Dad's not going to forgive what we did. And even if he did, we got no reason to apologize, do we?"

"That's exactly right, Johnny."

"I'm still confused about what we do next."

Stella had been wrestling with the decision on the next move since they left the doctor's office, running through the risks, calculations, and odds of different actions like a poker player evaluating a hand.

She had watched enough crime reports on the nightly news to know how difficult it was for the police to catch up with a fugitive who simply disappeared. Most crooks who got caught were the ones who kept robbing again and again.

She knew the smart thing to do was just melt away.

But there was another voice in her head, one that didn't make much sense, but was still strong enough to be heard over more rational considerations. This was the voice of the past, her promise to Saint Jude.

There's something else that I am supposed to be a part of, some contribution I can make, not just for me and Johnny, but for many others.

She never understood what Saint Jude had in mind, until now. Suddenly it was very clear.

"I'll tell you what our next move is, Johnny."

"What is it?"

"We've had a good run these past couple days, haven't we? We've helped ourselves. Here's where we think about paying it forward."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, look at the mess I was in: I lost my pension, my insurance, and my cash. And I came pretty darn close to losing my health and my mind as well. A lot of other people out there are facing the same problems. We have to help them. That's what separates a hero from an ordinary person. A hero tries to take care of everybody. A hero knows we're all in this together."

"But how, Grandma?"

They drove by a brand-new billboard for Great American Superstore.

SHOPPING IS GOOD FOR YOU

"Let's get off the freeway," she said, pulling into the exit lane. "It's time for us to get a little help from our friends."