Doc Trueblood listened to Burl Tree’s heart and lungs, took her blood pressure, and checked the dilation of her pupils.
“Everything checks out just fine, Burl,” said Doc. “The best thing you can do is stay active this afternoon and drink lots of water to flush out your system. I’m going to give you a vitamin B12 shot to boost your energy a bit. You should be right as rain by tomorrow, but I’d rather you didn’t go back out there in the middle of nowhere all by yourself until Sheriff Orange finds out what’s going on.”
“Taken care of, Doc,” said Ned and Sid at the same time.
“Thank goodness,” said Mrs. Tree. “I got to admit, I was pretty scared when I woke up and saw Ned standing over me.”
“Thanks, a lot,” Ned replied.
“You know what I mean, Ned Cochran,” said Mrs. Tree. “I’m not used to waking up to see any man standing over me, let alone you, and I still don’t remember being drugged last night. Do you think my memory of it will come back?”
“It might,” said Doc as he opened the door and asked Nurse Trachea Carmichael to prepare a B12 syringe. “If it does, it may take a few days. Sure would be helpful to the sheriff if you could remember who came into your house. Nurse is ready to give you your shot, then you can be on your way.”
“Roll up your sleeve as far as you can please, Mrs. Tree,” said Nurse Carmichael. Mrs. Tree watched the whole process, but Ned and Sid turned their heads simultaneously exclaiming they hated needles.
"Nurse, make Mrs. Tree an appointment a week from today, please," said the doc. " Burl, if you still are feeling poorly, don't wait a week to come in."
When Ned, Sid, and Burl had entered Doc Trueblood’s office, his waiting room had been empty. By the time they were leaving, the waiting room was full of what looked to be healthy people peering over magazines as the three walked past them.
“News travels fast,” grumbled Sid.
“Looks like Doc’s opened the South Branch of Gossip Central,” replied Ned as he held onto to Mrs. Tree’s elbow and guided her to the truck.
Sid Topp and Burl Tree looked at each other knowing full well who the founder of this branch was. Gardenia Cochran was quick on the gossip trigger. Next stop, Sheriff Orange’s office. More fodder for the Chanceville Grist Mill.
As Ned drove them the few short blocks to the sheriff’s office, people who never paid attention when Ned drove by any other day stopped and waved as if Ned was leading the Founder’s Day Parade and they were hoping he’d throw some candy to them.
“I can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow and hear all the brilliant theories about what happened to you, Mrs. Tree,” said Sid shaking his head slowly.
Ned pulled into the parking lot and before he could shut the engine off, Maxine Crabtree appeared.
When Sid opened the truck door, Maxine insinuated herself between him and Mrs. Tree.
“I’m here to pray for you, my dear,” said Maxine.
“Why would you need to do that?” asked Burl.
“Well, uh, you know, after you’re ordeal,” answered Maxine.
“That won’t be necessary. It would be hard for you to know what to pray for since you have no way of knowing what her “ordeal” is,” said Sid as he tried to loosen Maxine’s grip on Mrs. Tree’s arm.
“Well, I, uh, you know,” sputtered Maxine. "How about just a general prayer?"
About that time Sheriff Yesper Orange came out to help Ned and Sid get Mrs. Tree into the office.
“I’ll take it from here, Mrs. Crabtree. Thanks for your help,” said sheriff who had just returned from his lunch break and saw Maxine Crabtree swoop down on poor Mrs. Tree.
“But can’t we have just one little prayer before you go in?” pleaded Maxine.
No one bothered to answer her. They circled around Mrs. Tree and ushered her inside as fast as they could, her feet almost coming up off the sidewalk.
“Well, I never!” shouted Maxine.
“And you never will,” muttered Ned as he closed the door behind them.
Artwork Yaara Oren
"Well, if it isn’t the Three Musketeers!” shouted Pearly Ringwald. Pearly always shouted. Sheriff Orange privately thought that the dispatch microphone was the most useless item in the department. He was pretty sure Pearly could be heard all over town without it.
"You three go on in my office," I'll be right back the sheriff said as he headed down the hall.
The phone began to ring and Pearly shouted into he phone, “Sheriff's office. He’s down the hall taking care of business, if you know what I mean."
Even though Mrs. Tree was a little hard of hearing, Pearly’s voice made her jump. That was the last thing she needed today. This day had been jumpy enough already.
About that time the sheriff came in from down the hall, shutting the door with a definite click. He then closed the venetian blinds.
“Seems like a lot of precautions,” said Ned. “We’re the only ones in here, ‘cept for Pearly.”
“Pearly has ears like a bat. Sometimes I think she can read lips, too,” replied the sheriff. “I don't think she’s figured out how to listen in through the intercom but I'm going to switch it off just in case.” He turned on the radio that sat on a bookshelf by the door, hoping that the music would help to drown out their voices.
“Boy, do I sound paranoid,” said sheriff, shaking his head. “How you doing, Mrs. Tree? Doc Trueblood called ahead to say you were on your way. Sounds like you’ve had a rough night and day.”
“I’m okay. Doc gave me a B12 shot and said I need to drink lots of water,” she replied.
"Let me go ahead and take your statements so you can get some rest," said the sheriff.
"That sounds good but I'm supposed to stay active this afternoon. I don't think that's going to be easy. I'm feeling a might tuckered out, " said Mrs. Tree yawing.
The sheriff went to the door to ask Pearly to bring Mrs. Tree a glass of water. When he opened it, there stood Pearly holding a glass of water.
“Thought, Burl might be a bit thirsty after her ordeal,” she said as she handed it over to Yesper.
“See what I mean?” he asked. Ned, Sid, and Mrs. Tree nodded in unison. “Okay, let’s get down to business," said the sheriff as he turned up the radio. “Doc told me on the phone that Sid is taking you home to stay with him and Tippy for a few days. I think that’s a great idea. I’m hoping we can get this resolved pretty quickly. I know you want to get back home as soon as possible. I’m going to check the Pawn It Off pawnshop here in town and a few others in the vicinity. Maybe this yahoo has tried to pawn or sell those books.”
After Sheriff Yesper Orange took the statements of Ned, Sid, and Mrs. Tree, he got up, motioned for the others to stay seated, walked quietly to the door, and pushed it open, nearly knocking Pearly Ringwald off her feet. In spite of themselves, Ned Cochran, Sid Topp, and Mrs. Burl Tree all burst out laughing.
