35
Madie drove into the parking lot at the Centre; right away, she knew something was wrong. The gates to the compound were closed and locked, the closed sign visible on the gate. What? A glance at the clock on the dash read 1:30 p.m. The parking lot was empty save for two vehicles: Kelly’s and Pete’s, a volunteer. What’s going on?
She exited her car and heard someone calling her name. She looked up to see Bea coming towards her from Chelsea’s yard. Madie waved and walked across the parking lot. “Hi, Bea. Do you know why the Centre’s closed? Where is everybody?”
“Chelsea’s been waiting on you. Come on in and she’ll explain.”
Madie followed her into the house to the bedroom, where they found Chelsea propped up in bed. “Hey, don’t you look cosy?”
“Yup, fat and cosy,” Chelsea said, patti
