Dobbs (standard:fantasy, 2692 words)
Author: Alpha43	Added: Apr 16 2005	Views/Reads: 3451/2284	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This story tells about a very young child who is rescued from a burning taxicab after it was involved in a wreck. A local policeman and the Social Services people help find the girls’ guardian and then learn of another very special friend.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

you tell me your last name? Do you know where you live?” 

“Sometimes I live with Aunt Nancy and sometimes with Dobbs” 

“And where do Aunt Nancy and Mr. Dobbs live?” Asked the Sergeant. 

Chuckling “not Mr. Dobbs, Dobbs.” 

“OK, Dobbs. How old are you honey?” 

Four fingers went up on her left hand. 

“My goodness you’re a big girl for four years old. Do you have a
telephone at your house? Do you ever talk to anybody on the telephone?” 


Slowly Mary Beth shook her head, “I don’t know“. 

“Do you have anybody at your house besides Aunt Nancy and Dobbs; do you
have brothers or sisters?” 

“Aunt Nancy works at the bomber plant, but she has been real sick. Dobbs
shows up sometimes, can I have more pop?” Mary Beth held out her cup. 

“I’m sorry princess, sure you can have more coke. Don’t let me spill any
on your dress. Do you have lots of people living around your house or 
are you out in the country? Do you have a dog or a cat?” 

A pause, then: “Pete went to heaven,” Whispered a somber Mary Beth. 

“Mercy, was Pete your dog?” 

“Bulldog” 

“I had a bulldog when I was a little boy! Do you have lots of
neighbors?” 

“Some.” Said Mary Beth. 

“Does Dobbs stay home with you every day or does he go to work?” 

“Dobbs sings songs and he tells me stories, but mostly he makes me
laugh” 

“I see? Would you like something to eat, are you hungry? How about a hot
dog or a nice hamburger?” 

“No Thank you. Dobbs will take care of me.” 

An Officer stuck his head through the door, “Sara Kennedy from Youth
Services is on the 2nd telephone.” 

“Good Evening, Sergeant Witherspoon here” 

“Hello William, this is Sara Kennedy and I’m out at the taxi accident
scene, this is nasty. I didn’t know you guys brought the child to the 
station until I talked to Captain Weber; I’ll be there in a half-hour. 
How bad is the kid?” 

“I’m glad you’re coming in. Everything here is fine. Maybe some mild
shock, but things are very laid back, no trauma.” Replied the Sergeant. 


“Really? I guess the taxi was totally engulfed in flames. The poor
driver is unrecognizable. A couple of local girls saw the rescue; I’ll 
give you all the dope when I pick her up. Do I need to stop and pick up 
some clothes for her?” 

“I didn’t hear anything about a rescue, but no, her clothes are old, but
fine.” 

“See you shortly, Thanks.” Said Sara Kennedy, then the line went dead. 

“Let me pour you the last of the Coke and we can go back to our friendly
chat. Where were we, Oh yes, you said Dobbs would take care of you, 
tell me more about Dobbs.” 

“Dobbs flies the planes, he has medals and ribbons.” 

“Where is Aunt Nancy now?” quizzed the Sergeant. 

“She is trying to get better.” 

“OK Honey, there is a nice lady coming to see you. She makes sure that
little boys and girls have a nice place to stay and plenty of food and 
warm clothes; her name is Sara, Sara Kennedy. She will help try to find 
your Aunt Nancy and Dobbs. Doesn’t that sound good? 

“Are you warm enough, would you like a blanket, do you want to lay down?


No, OK then, I have to get back to work, but just give me a shout if you
need anything.” 

Ten minutes later, Sergeant Witherspoon looked up from the desk and saw
Sara Kennedy coming in. “Hello Sara, you made good time.” 

“Hello William, how’s our little lady? I can’t believe she isn’t hurt;
you should see that cab. According to a couple girls coming back from a 
party, the child was out cold in the back seat until the mystery man 
pulled her out. The guy comes out of nowhere, grabs the red hot door 
handle and drags the child out into the ditch.” Sara reported as she 
removed her jacket. 

“Did we get his name?” 

Sara checked her notes. “This R. Thompson and G. Graham say they were
the first on the scene, they saw the cab leave the road and hit the 
power pole, and they could only see the driver at first. The cab burst 
into flames when it bounced off the pole and they stayed back thinking 
the gas tank could blow any second. Then this guy just shows up out of 
nowhere, pulls the girl out, goes back in the cab for the driver, and 
never comes out.” 

“So we have a dead Hero?” Asked the Sergeant. 

“There’s only one body in the burned out cab, the driver.” Replied Sara.


“Sara, How old are the girls that gave you that tale?” 

“They’re about 10, but I deal with kids all the time, they’re not
lying.” Said Sara. “I got their stories separately and they are too 
shook up to be making up yarns, I believe them. They put a sweater over 
the little girl and were there when the child woke up, they said she 
appeared to be OK, but they figured she had to be burned. 

Officer Miller was next on scene, there were only the two girls hovered
over the little kid and the victim still behind the wheel. The Township 
Fire Department got the fire out. The tank never blew, but they figured 
a broken gas line under the hood is what sustained the raging inferno. 
The Yellow Cab Company says a Charles Davis was driving the taxi, 
disabled veteran just back stateside from Guam. A single man with no 
kids, he lived alone on Richmond Court.” 

“Great!” Announced Sarg. “Wait until I have to explain a missing hero to
Captain Weber. Oh well, lets get you back in dispatch and you can have 
a go at the little gal, Mary Beth. She sure doesn’t seem very excited, 
considering she survived a wreck and a fire.” 

“Hey Sarg, we have a Nancy Anderson on the telephone, it sounds like she
is looking for your little gal in back.” Shouted one of the clerks. 

“Sara, do you want to talk to her?” Asked Sarg. “I only got the child’s
name, Mary Beth, and that this Nancy may be the child’s aunt. You know 
what is going to happen next as far as shelter and being able to 
release her.” 

“Sure, I can speak with the lady, can you get on the extension? 

“Mrs. Anderson, this is Sara Kennedy from Youth Services and on the
other line is Sergeant Witherspoon, with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s 
Department, are you looking for a little girl?” 

“It’s Miss Anderson, and yes, my niece was supposed to arrive this
evening from her Grandmother in Ann Arbor. When I got home, nobody was 
there and I am half scared to death. I’ve been in and out of the 
hospital with kidney disease, and I was rushed up to Beyer Hospital 
late this afternoon. I got back home as soon as I could and no Mary 
Beth!” 

“Are you the girl’s legal guardian? Asked Sara. “We have a little girl
named Mary Beth at the station who was involved in an automobile 
accident, but she appears to be fine. I have to release the girl to her 
parents if possible.” 

“Oh Thank God, can I pick her up?” Said a relieved Ms. Anderson “I don’t
know if I am her legal guardian, but I am all she’s got. Her mom, my 
sister, has been institutionalized for over two months now, ever since 
she learned that her Marine Pilot husband was missing in action over 
Germany. She tried to end it all with sleeping pills and has been 
comatose since that incident.” 

“Are you in good enough shape to pick Mary Beth up, I could bring her to
your place, inspect it, have you sign a few papers and be on my way. 

“Why was the girl staying in Ann Arbor?” 

“She was at her Dads mothers house, just while I was trying to
recuperate and then I take a turn for the worse. She is a wonderful 
woman, but she is in her late sixties, has bad eyes, and is in poor 
health also. If you could bring her out, that would be great, 212 Ohio 
Street.” 

“Thank You Ms. Anderson, we will see you shortly.” 

“I’ll get a car around; you go back and see Mary Beth.” Said Sarg. 

“William, I drove my own car, the DeSoto, come on back with me, she
knows you. Maybe you could go with me to deliver the girl?” 

Sergeant Witherspoon opened the door to dispatch and said “Hello Mary
Beth, how are...” 

Sergeant Witherspoon stopped talking and looked quickly to Sara. Mary
Beth’s face was streaked with tears, she was heaving with sobs and she 
was almost in hysterics. Sara sat down and hugged Mary Beth, stroking 
her hair and asking what was wrong. Sara glanced at the Sarg. and he 
looked mystified, “Sara, she was fine when I left her, she was so calm, 
I have no idea what has happened.” 

Sara used Sarg’s handkerchief to wipe Mary Beth’s face and after a few
minutes the little girl quit crying. 

“I am Sara Kennedy and I have some good news for you. We just talked to
your Aunt Nancy and we are going to take you back to her house. Let’s 
clean you up and we will take you home.” 

Sara drove and Mary Beth sat on Sarg’s lap. “I felt so bad when I saw
you crying Honey, I thought we had a good time talking and I figured 
you were fine back there. Are you burned or hurt? How can we help you?” 


Mary Beth just looked out the windshield, somber and silent. 

Sara asked if anybody bothered her. Had she hurt herself? 

“It was Dobbs,” sobbed Mary Beth. “I was almost asleep and Dobbs showed
up again and told me that he would always love me, but he had been 
hanging around long enough, he had done his work here, and he would be 
leaving me now.” Mary Beth broke into sobs again and Sarg held her 
close. 

Sarg looked at Sara, shaking his head, letting her know that this was
not right. They wrapped Mary Beth in the too big sweater and carried 
her up to the porch of 212 Ohio St. and before they could knock, Aunt 
Nancy had opened the door and rushed them inside. Tears of joy were 
running down Ms. Anderson’s face. 

Introductions were made while Nancy hugged and kissed little Mary Beth. 

You could tell that Miss Anderson was ill, but she looked so happy and
Sara could see that Mary Beth would be well taken care of here. 

While Nancy was washing Mary Beth and getting her some milk, Sara
informed her that as a legal guardian, the County may cover some of 
Nancy’s medical expenses. They had many things to go over, but Sara 
said she felt sure that Nancy was a fit guardian for the child. 

Nancy excused herself while she carried Mary Beth to her bedroom and
extra kisses and hugs came from everyone. You could hear the ‘good 
nights’ or prayers coming from the child’s room. 

Nancy thanked Sara and Sergeant Witherspoon and offered coffee or tea?
Sara told Nancy that she was there for Mary Beth’s best interests and 
she would do everything she could to help them. 

Nancy informed them that they had done plenty, taking care of and
delivering Mary Beth, but Nancy did have concerns about the child’s 
state of mind. “There are times that Mary Beth actually thinks she sees 
and talks to her dad, and like I mentioned, the Marine Corp has listed 
him as missing in action for over two months. We don’t want her to 
forget her Dad, but she needs to keep things in perspective. 

At times, I really worry about the child’s mental health. I know Mary
Beth must be tired and probably still affected by the fire and 
accident, but just moments ago, Mary Beth said Dobbs had visited her 
twice tonight, once to talk at the police station and once yanking her 
out of the burning taxi cab. That pretty well tells me that she has 
some serious...” 


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