“No”, Daniel responded , “and the doctor is afraid of him catching a secondary infection. Even we have to put on masks. I see there’s a card with it, do you mind if I give it to him and read him the card, Gladys?” “That=s fine, we just want him ‘to know we love him”, she answered and she turned and headed for her car on the circular driveway a bit upset that she couldn’t get more intel on Sidney’s condition, but happy to get the information she got. That would keep some of her clients chirping for days.
“Marilyn, I’m going to lock the gate to the road, I can’t take any more visitors”, Daniel shouted. “I don’t want you to have to deal with two bodies.”
December 31, 2010.
The phone rang at the Frome residence. “Hello this is Sidney Frome, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible”. The beeper sounded, “Hello Sid, pick up this is Fred, I wanted to see how you were doing”. Marilyn picked up the telephone. “Sid, daddy’s sleeping, but he seemed real perky today.”
January 1, 2010.
Before dawn that morning, Daniel and Marilyn took Sidney’s body and dropped it off in the woods outside of town, near the creek. They put some leaves around it, so that it would not be clearly visible. Daniel said to Marilyn, “you know this is how most horror movies start”. “Cut it out Dan” replied Marilyn, “this already gives me the creeps. I’ll probably need therapy for the rest of my life”.
Around noon, the phone rang and Marilyn answered. It was the lawyer. “I just wanted to call and wish Sid a happy New Year.” “Thanks” Marilyn said. “Daniel is giving him a shower right now. Dad feels real good today and is thinking about taking a walk later on before dark.” “Is that wise?” the lawyer asked, concern clearly evident in his voice. “You know Dad, he’s one stubborn old bird. We’ll try and stop him, but if he decides he wants to go, he’ll go.” Fred laughed, “Your father sometimes is just too much. Tell him Happy New Year and don’t be stupid”. As he hung up the phone, Fred looked outside. “Wow its starting to snow, that should keep the old buzzard inside”, he thought.. “Honey, do want me to put a fire in the fireplace for when the Mallons come over this afternoon?”
Just before dusk, Marilyn put on clothes identical to her father’s. She put a scarf over her face and wore no make up and put on glasses identical to her fathers and went on a walk toward town. As expected people shouted out to her and she kept her head down and kept walking. She walked into the woods where her father’s body was dumped, jumped up to a lower limb and climbed the tree like a teen and moved over to another tree where a change of clothes had been left for her. She changed clothes went back to the house. She waited an hour and went outside toward town, ringing doorbells and asking people if they had seen her father. She walked around yelling, “Dad, Dad”. Of course Sidney never responded.
The sheriff called for the blood hounds, but with the fresh snow, they lost the tracks very quickly and their handler was worried that they might get frost bitten. So, the search was called off.
January 2, 2010.
The Sheriff started a search party around town and around the farm, but to no avail. The Sheriff scratched his head. He couldn’t have gone too far, he thought to himself. He continued searching for three more days, but without any sign of the body, he figured, they’d have to wait until the snow melted.