The Great Escape

I had one job. It was to escort the Bicker Sisters from the hospital to the car. Most days I did my job quite well. But one day I decided to take the stairs (which are located right next to the elevator) and meet them on the ground floor.

What could go wrong? I left them on the first floor waiting for the elevator to the ground floor while I walked down one flight. I got to the bottom and waited for the elevator door to open. I know my jaw hit the floor when the door opened and no one was inside. No one. I looked in again in total disbelief. There was absolutely nowhere for them to hide in there. Where were they?

Perhaps they'd been busy bickering and missed getting on the elevator. I decided to wait for the next one. While I was waiting, a young staff member came to wait for the elevator.

"I seem to have lost a couple of old dears. I was supposed to meet them down here but they didn't get off the elevator."

He seemed to get a bit of a chuckle out of that. "Don't worry. We'll find them."

The elevator opened again and an orderly pushed out a bed but no Bicker Sisters. Perhaps something had happened with Mark's dad and they called her back to his room.

I got on the elevator and went back up to the first floor. The Bicker Sisters weren't waiting for the elevator. I looked down the corridor that leads to the main building. Empty. I went back to Stan's room. Not there.

Not knowing what else to do or where else to look, I'd just have to tell Mark that I'd lost them.

I went outside and headed for the car when I saw Mark driving toward me. There in the back sear were the Bicker Sisters. When they arrived at the car without me, Mark asked them, "Where's Barbara?"

"Barbara?" (Like they'd never heard my name before.) Then they started in with the excuses.

"There were so many people on the elevator and they were all pushing buttons." (There are only three buttons to push - Ground Floor, 1st Floor and 2nd Floor - if it had been a high-rise building we'd probably still be looking for them.) "I think we got off on the wrong floor." (You think? They'd only been going to that hospital everyday for over a month.)

Apparently they went up to the second floor, crossed the corridor over to the main building, and then took a different elevator down to the ground floor.

Looks like a fairly sophisticated evasion tactic to me. Mark believes that they secretly wear camouflage around the house and practice their ninja moves when we're not there. I don't doubt it.