missing? Zena then waddled to the front doors. Bobby followed her. Zena shivered and then rushed out into the parking lot right in front of an incoming delivery truck. Brakes screeched; there was a very loud thud, and Bobby saw Zena stand up and walk away from her prostrate body into thin air.
Bobby went back to the gym. He knew the routine. There would be police, and an ambulance, and questions, and mayhem. He felt sorry for the truck driver, and annoyed with Zena. Not only had she caused problems for the poor driver, but she had also escaped into who knew what without even a backward glance! Life was not fair, not for him, not for the driver of the truck, not even for Laura who was shunned because people sensed that she was different. Maybe life was difficult for everyone and he just hadn’t noticed. Then another thought occurred to him. What if he had caused Zena’s death? Without thinking, he had stood very close to her at the doors. Had she rushed outside to escape the feeling of death standing next to her? He hoped not. He didn’t like Zena, but he didn’t want to be the cause of her death. He wasn’t afraid of punishment; he just didn’t want to be responsible for the death of the neurotic old woman. Bobby felt another shift within himself. He would have to ask Laura about this tomorrow. Until then, he would stay far away from the living, and try to pray for Johnny’s safety. He wasn’t sure that he knew how, but he was going to give it a try.
The next morning, Laura showed up a little early again. They hadn’t had to close the centre because an accident outside wasn't the same as a murder inside. Without a word, they both headed for the large cubicle in the ladies’ change room.
“Did you see what happened to Zena, or were you somewhere else when it happened?” she asked him.
“I saw it alright, I was right there when it happened. I really hope that I wasn’t the cause of it. She shivered just before she rushed out,” said Bobby. “She didn’t hang around, you know. She disappeared almost at once. Why? She wasn’t very pleasant, and she was smothering her son Johnny, but Zena, the Smother Mother, left without any problem at all. Why?”
Laura sighed. “I thought that I explained it yesterday. You aren’t being punished, Bobby. It’s your own mindset that’s keeping you here. I must say that you look a little less here than you did yesterday, however. You must have learned some of whatever it is you need to learn. It shows. I’ll let you know if I hear anything over the weekend. You must be worried about Johnny. Don’t look so surprised. A few of us noticed your special bond with Johnny, and he is missing. Now I have to go to class. See you on Monday, Bobby.”
Bobby said nothing in reply. He was dumbfounded that someone as seemingly isolated from the others as Laura could know about him and Johnny. If Laura knew, then probably so did a lot of other people. Could one of them have killed him?
The weekend was dreadful. Bobby watched groups of individuals, in varying states of fitness, jump, dance, lift weights, and stretch for two solid days. How could he have tolerated this when he was alive? He found it all extremely boring now, even the dancing. He suspected that he had missed quite a number of possibilities in his life and that, when seen from a distance, his life had been just as boring as this. He was now sure that there was a lot more beyond these walls than he had ever noticed. Another shift – he welcomed it this time.
Monday morning found Bobby waiting eagerly at the front doors for Laura to appear. A couple of the patrons who had to walk through him muttered about the air-conditioning being set too high, but they didn’t act frightened. Good, thought Bobby. An uncharacteristically subdued Phoebe sat at the front desk. Averil had taken the week off according to what he had heard Belinda telling Phoebe before she ran off to her office. Bobby knew that Averil had been closer to Zena than the others had been. She was probably taking bereavement leave. Her absence left a very large gap in the grapevine, however. He would have to wait for Laura for any useful news.
When she arrived, Laura waited pointedly for him to move out of her way. Bobby did so meekly, and followed in her wake to the change room. When they were safely ensconced in the cubicle, Laura looked at him before she spoke with what he now recognized as compassion.
“Well, it’s all over but the part for the lawyers,” she said. “Johnny went to the police as soon as he found out about Zena. They took his prints and Zena’s too. It seems that you and Johnny met here after your class. For some reason he was holding the statue; I don’t know why. Well, Zena had hidden in the change room here, and had walked into the Gym to confront the two of you. She felt that you were stopping Johnny from finding a wife to provide her with grandchildren. According to Johnny, this unfound wife was to move in with him and his mother, and start reproducing right away. When Zena saw Johnny holding the statue and you bending over, she didn’t know what to think. She grabbed the statue from the surprised Johnny, and hit you on the head. Johnny thinks that it was fear and anger that made Zena strike out. Again, according to Johnny, you were unconscious, but still breathing when they both ran away. Johnny wanted to call 911, but while he was driving her home, Zena made him promise not to tell anyone. She said that Carol would find you when she came to clean, and call an ambulance. After the initial panic had worn off, Johnny came back to the centre, but of course, he couldn’t get in. He then drove to the outskirts of town, to some motel you two knew about, and checked in under the alias he always used there. When he heard on the radio what had happened to you he stayed there. He didn’t want to face his mother, or anyone else for that matter. He blames himself for your death. The autopsy indicated that if you’d been treated right away, you might have been saved. The rest you already know.”
“How do you know all this?” asked Bobby. “Do you know the same police woman that Phoebe does?” The brutal truth about his death had left him numb rather than angry. Zena had been a silly, selfish old woman, and poor, soft Johnny was just that – poor, soft Johnny. He probably would never have broken away from his mother.
“I spoke to Johnny,” said Laura; “he’s out on bail. He’s not likely to run away again. He owns that house they lived in and he still has a job because he had the wit to call in sick for a week. He’ll be charged with abandoning you and with helping his mother conceal a crime – I don’t know the legal terms for it – but since Zena’s prints were the clearest on the statue, he’s not likely to be charged with murder. He seemed grateful to unburden himself to me, especially after I told him that you and I were friends. I didn’t bother to tell him that we became friends after you died. I think that Averil will back up his story too. She seems to have spent quite a lot of time with Zena last week. She may know more than we do. Anyway, it’s out of our hands now. There’s nothing more we can do.”
“Poor, poor Johnny; I wish I could help him in some way. He is what he is; that’s what got him into trouble,” said Bobby. Maybe after this is all over, he’ll have a chance to live his life for himself. He and I were opposites in that way. I lived only for myself and he lived only to please others. I guess everyone should have a little of both these traits. I suppose…”
“Goodbye Bobby,” said Laura. “I wish you well.” Bobby didn’t answer her, of course. He was already gone. Laura decided to skip the exercise class, and walk to the library down the street instead. She needed to be somewhere else for a while, somewhere quiet where she could recover from her latest assignment.
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