Hiding (Part Four)

Chen's car was gone overnight again. The kids were here alone. The 20 pounds of rice, case of Coca-Cola, and boxes of malted milk balls were apparently a week of groceries for the kids. I texted Lisa.

"She's not moving out but she's still not living here," Lisa replied. "I spotted a car license plate face-down in the back seat of her car. Is she planning a sneaky getaway? I'm just exhausted."

"Me too," I said. "Did you hear about the lady in the news last night? She deliberately drove her 3 kids into a reservoir. Luckily everyone survived. I held my breath when I heard the story, worried that it was Chen."

"Could it really get that bad?"

"My friend told me Child Services would've taken the kids immediately if it was a dire emergency. But since the kids are relatively okay, they have to take the case to court and that will take time."

"Damn, that could take forever!"

"We have to remember the kids have been living this way for a year. To them it's normal. To us it is torture. We have to be patient."

We took a break from texting, but on Saturday I heard from Lisa.

"OMG! a moving truck is here. 4 men loading the truck with furniture. Crib, bed, air conditioner. I did see a box of kids books and toys so the children are going with them, thank God."

I decided to walk by and check out what was happening. I saw Chen's boyfriend driving away with Chen and the three kids in the back seat of the blue Toyota Highlander, the one Chen used to drive. The moving truck was already gone, but Chen's silver sedan was still parked on the street. Lisa saw me and ran out.

"Well, there's still stuff on the porch and curtains left on the windows," she said. "But everyone's gone."

"We need to tell Chu, maybe she'll get some leads as to where they went. I'll bet they moved to another state."

Hiding (Part One)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding.html

Hiding (Part Two)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding-part-two.html

Hiding (Part Three)
https://theurbanmermaid.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiding-part-three.html