The Baby Farm by Marty Langenberg

Author:Marty Langenberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Corruption - Church, Childbirth, Crime, Family relationships
Publisher: Marty Langenberg
Published: 2017-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 38

PENNIE TAPPED LIGHTLY on Heather’s bedroom door and stepped in. She saw immediately that the room was empty, and she lightly called out her friend’s name, assuming she was in the bathroom. When she got no answer, she moved to the bathroom door, knocked, and called out again. Strange. Still no answer. She opened the door to confirm there was no sign of Heather. She hurried to the dining room but could not understand why Heather would have gone alone.

Beth was waiting for her at the table. “Good morning, Beth. Is Heather here? She was not in her room.”

“Sorry, Pennie, my dear.” Beth had stood up and reached out towards Pennie and held her arm. “Heather is no longer with us.”

“What? Where is she? What do you mean? Why is she no longer with us?” Pennie’s voice had risen with each question. She knew she was close to sounding hysterical.

“Oh, it’s all so unpleasant. I wish this hadn’t happened. Reverend Williams says it’s all my fault, and he’s probably right, he always is.” A small sob accompanied her words. She had not let go of Pennie’s arm and now led her to the table. “Come and sit, dear. Maybe you’ll have a cup of tea?”

Pennie sat down but was not interested in tea. “No, thank you. Please, tell me, where is Heather? Is she all right? She didn’t go into labor already, did she?”

“No, nothing like that. Last night... oh, it’s terrible. I still can’t believe this. Reverend Williams says I should never have allowed her to come back here. We shouldn’t have two girls here at the same time. It really is all my fault.”

Exasperated, Pennie tried hard to control her anxiety. “What does that have to do with her not being here? Where has she gone? What happened last night?”

Beth had a linen handkerchief scrunched up in her hand and was rubbing her eyes as she sobbed. Pennie felt sorry for the woman but knew that she was the Reverend’s accomplice in all of this. Unwitting, maybe? Still, she could not wait forever. She stood and put her arm around Beth’s shoulders. “Please, Beth. Try to pull yourself together. Tell me what happened.”

“It was the middle of the night,” Beth began. “Reverend Williams came into my bedroom and asked me what was happening. I didn’t even know what he was talking about. Ten minutes later he came in again and asked me to find some aspirin because one of you had a migraine.”

‘The man doesn’t even know who we are,’ thought Pennie. “That was Heather, then? I didn’t have any headache.”

“That’s right, dear. I came down and found Heather collapsed on her bed. Her door was open, and her light was on. She seemed to be unconscious when I got to her.”

“Please, tell me she’s all right, Beth.”

“Yes, she was. I fetched a damp cloth and washed her face and neck. She came around and I gave her some water to drink. Then, I called doctor Evers, again.

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