All Jane had been able to do so far was to stand by and watch. Meanwhile, the DCF had canceled future visits since they didn't think she was fit to have visits with the children because of her temper, which they assumed was alcohol or drug-related. Where they came up with all those lies was beyond Jane.
But now she was ready to fight back. She was going to get her children back, no matter how long she had to keep at it.
Her lawyer, Scott, stood up and began to tell her story. He then argued why he believed she should be allowed to have her children back with her.
"She has done everything the DCF has asked for and even more. She has taken drug tests, and they showed up negative. She's healthy and has two good jobs with good pay. Her mother will even help out if needed. It is time for her to be reunited with her children."
Much to Jane's surprise, the judge agreed that Jane should be reunited with her youngest. Since the child was still so young, he needed his mother more than anyone, was his argument.
Jane couldn't stop smiling as they handed her Matthew, who was now one year old and able to stand and walk on his own. He clung to his mother, and she couldn't stop kissing him. She was never letting go of him again.
It wasn't much; it wasn't what she dreamt of, but it was a start, it was her first victory.
63
May 2018
The gayest place under the heavens…the gayest place.
I couldn't find rest, even after Jack left and he told us Orange County's Sheriff's Department was all over Disney, looking for Alicia, and that it was only a matter of time before they would find her.
There was something about all this that made me uneasy. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was mostly the fact that in the two previous incidents, the girls had been hidden locally. Disney was far away and maybe just a tad too obvious.
What if that was what the kidnappers wanted us to think?
I had promised Sue to stay with her till they received news from the police, and so now I was sitting in her house, tapping my fingers uneasily on the long solid wooden dinner table they had once told me they had shipped to their house from Bali, Indonesia. It weighed sixteen hundred pounds Emmett had told me back when I had the tour of their house when we had been in Florida for just a little over a month.
"Took eight big men to lift it inside," Emmett said and knocked on it. "Guess we're not moving anywhere soon, ha-ha."
Back then, I had admired the table, but right now it seemed too big, too long, and too empty. This type of table required a big family and, most of all, children around it. It was macabre, but I couldn't stop wondering if they would ever sit around it as a family again.
I got up and walked to Sue, who was standing by the kitchen sink, looking out the window, nervously rubbing her hands against each other. Next to her on the counter was her phone that she glared at anxiously every few seconds. But it remained black.
"What if it isn't the happiest place," I mumbled, standing next to her. Outside the window, I spotted a lizard that looked like it was enjoying the sun.
The thought had lingered in the back of my mind for several minutes now, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I couldn't stand the thought that maybe they were looking in the wrong place.
Sue gasped and looked at me. "Don't say that."
"I’m sorry. I just can't stop thinking…"
"What do you mean?"
I shrugged. "I could be wrong. It's just…"
"What?"
"Well…what if they actually mean the gayest place, not the happiest."
"You mean as in gay and lesbian gay?" she asked, surprised. "But that makes no sense."
"Maybe not." I paused, then continued. "Still, there is always that little what if in the back of your mind, right? I mean, I could be wrong, but…"
"You could also be right, and we can't afford to risk that right now," Sue said. "Tell me more."
"The only thing I can think of is a gay bar," I said.
"A gay bar, huh? The only one I know of around here is the Electric Lounge. It's only five minutes down the road," she said. "Right off 520."
I grabbed her car keys and looked at her. "Let me drive. You're too upset."
64
May 2018
The place was closed at this time of day. From the outside, it didn't look like much. A couple of masked and dressed up mannequins in the window made me think it might as well have been a clothing store as a bar lurking behind them. The door wasn't locked, and we walked inside, into the darkness.
"Hello?"
A woman with heavy makeup and her long black hair put up in a ponytail came out, looking at us suspiciously.
"We're closed."
I paused. I had no idea how to explain any of this to a stranger. Where did you even begin? We didn't have much time.
"I am sorry," I said.
"You lost?" she asked, chewing her gum.
"Not exactly," I said. "I mean…this is going to sound really strange, but we're looking for a little girl."
Sue stepped up and showed her the picture of Alicia from her phone. "She's my daughter," she said. "You might have seen her picture on the news."
"What? She run away or somethin'?" the woman asked, the piercing in her nose vibrating as she spoke.
"She was taken," Sue said. "Along with nine other girls from the same school."
"Oh, okay. I think I heard about that, yeah. Well, I haven't seen her; I’m sorry," she said then looked like she expected us to leave.
"The thing is…" I said. "We have reason to believe she might be here…somewhere. In here."
The woman gave me another suspicious look. I couldn't blame her. "In here? You do realize what this place is, right?"
I nodded. "That's kind of why."
The woman shook her head. "I don't know…it sounds very fishy…I think we would have noticed if there was a young girl in here somewhere. It's not who usually comes here, if you know what I mean."
"We know," Sue said. "And it might not even be here, but could we please take a look around?"
She looked skeptical. "Are the police involved?"
I shook my head. "I mean they are, but not in this part of it. They're searching elsewhere. We just had this idea…Listen, I know it sounds crazy…but we…"
"Crazy as a bat," she exclaimed. "None of what you two are saying is making any sense to me."
"It doesn't have to. All we want is to look around a little bit, can we do that?" Sue asked hopefully.
The woman shrugged. "Sure. But you won't find her here."
"We'll take that chance. Thank you," I said.
The woman returned to her small office, and we started our search. The bar wasn't very big, so it was easy to see that she wasn't in the main area.
"I'll check the bathrooms," I said and hurried into the back. I opened the door and peeked inside one of the bathrooms. It was very nicely decorated with pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Joan Crawford, but there was no Alicia. I opened the door to the next one, but I didn't even get to peek inside before the woman from earlier suddenly yelled at us.
"Come out here!"
I rushed back into the bar where a guy was standing with Alicia in his arms. Sue let out a loud scream before she ran to her.
"Brian found her in the back," the woman said, her voice shaking. "By the trash cans. She was inside of one, he said. Who would do something like that to a child?"
"Alicia, it's Mommy, please, please, baby, wake up," Sue cried and tried to grab her daughter from Brian's arms. The young man stared at her, completely paralyzed.
"Is she breathing?" I asked.
Sue tried to hold onto her daughter but had to put her down. She was weeping helplessly and calling her daughter's name.
I knelt next to her, then felt her throat for a pulse. It was there, but very, very weak.
"She's alive," I said.
"But why isn't she waking up, Rebekka? Why isn't she waking up? What did they do to her? To my poor girl?"
I
looked at the girl's face, then remembered the verse from the nursery rhyme.
"She's sleeping," I said. "They must have slipped her sleeping pills to get her to fall into a deep sleep."
"Sleeping pills? But…but how many?" Sue asked, her voice turning shrill and anxious.
I looked at Alicia's jeans. Something was poking out of her pockets. I pulled it out. It was two jars of sleeping pills.
"You think they gave her all those?" Sue shrieked and clung to her daughter. "That's enough to kill her!"
"That it is," I said.
"But…but…so it was all in vain? We were too late?" Sue asked.
"We don't know that yet," I said. "We don't know how far the pills have made it into her system. If there are any left in her stomach, we have to get them out now. We have to make her throw up."
Sue didn't hesitate for even a second. She plunged three fingers into her daughter's throat and forced them down so far that the sparse contents of the girl's stomach soon landed on the dance floor. Luckily, they had given her lots of water to flush down the pills, and it made it easier for them to come back up. Sue continued to make her daughter throw up, while I called for an ambulance and alerted Jack Ryder. By the time the paramedics arrived, Alicia had begun groaning and, once she was on the stretcher being rolled into the ambulance, she opened her eyes and looked at her mother.
65
May 2018
They had to hurry. They had to make it out of there before the kidnappers came for the next girl. Julie didn't really know exactly how much time she had left, but she sensed they were cutting it close. Her arms were sore from the digging, and she had dirt everywhere. In her mouth, nostrils, and even in her ears. Yet, she still kept going. With all her strength, she dug out more dirt and let it fall into the coffin. Haley and Tonya were still by her side, digging as well, and soon they felt the dirt get looser and looser and it was easier to remove it.
Until it happened. Until they finally broke through it and felt the fresh air hit their faces and their eyes looked up at the sky above. The sun was getting ready to set in the distance, and the coming darkness would provide an excellent cover for them to get away. It also meant the kidnappers would be here again soon since it was always dark above them when they opened the hatch.
"We did it," she exclaimed and took in a long, deep breath before she spoke again with some tired, yet light, laughter. "We totally did it."
Haley and Tonya came up behind her and looked into the orange sky above them. Haley stepped up and crawled out of the hole.
"Let's get out of here."
"We need to get the others," Julie said and looked down.
Nikki hadn't moved for a very long time, and it worried her. She had been keeping an eye on her while digging, glancing down at her every now and then, hoping and praying she would be all right, that she would stay alive while they dug their way out.
"There’s no time," Haley said. "The kidnappers will be back soon, and then it will all have been in vain."
Tonya crawled out as well and stood next to Haley, looking down at Julie. "We can run for help. We can come back."
Julie crawled out too. She wanted to laugh when she felt the wind on her face. Then she glanced down at the girls below her. Several of them were sick and probably wouldn't be able to run much. Still. There was no way she would ever leave them here. Trudy and Britney had already started to climb the mattresses to get up. Julie looked down at them.
"Help me get the others up as well. The sick ones might need to be carried," Julie said and turned to look at Haley and Tonya for help.
They weren't there.
They had already taken off and were running toward the trees in the far distance, heading for the swamps. Julie sighed, then looked down at the girls climbing up toward her, frantically clinging onto the mattresses, their eyes fixed on the opening and the freedom awaiting them. Julie couldn't blame them. She too wanted to run away most of all but how could she? She couldn't just leave the sick ones behind.
As Britney and Trudy made it to the opening, she helped them get up and out. They squealed in joy, then took off running toward the tall trees in the distance where the others had disappeared to as well. Julie looked down into the hole where the last two girls were. Aubrey was sitting up, looking toward her. She was weak.
Julie swallowed hard, wondering if she dared to go all the way down there and help them. It was a great risk. She looked toward the swamps where the others had already disappeared. If she ran now, she would make it too. But where did that leave Aubrey and Nikki?
They'll kill them, won't they? When they realize we’re all gone, they’ll have to get rid of them.
Julie didn't dare to take the chance. She took one last breath of fresh air, then glanced toward the forest before she let herself sink back into the hole, into the stuffy unbreathable air and eye-watering stench and landed on top of the pile of dirty mattresses.
66
May 2018
It was with a strange empty feeling that I returned to the beach house and my family. William greeted me with a warm hug, while Tobias and Sune were playing some game on the Xbox and hardly even noticed I came home. I didn't want to disturb them, so I walked to the kitchen and poured myself some coffee. As I lifted the cup toward my mouth, I realized my hand was shaking so heavily I could barely hold it still.
I put it down with a deep sigh, then began to cry. I sat on the barstool at the breakfast counter and hid my face between my hands and let the tears roll down my cheeks, sobbing helplessly.
"Mommy cryin'!" William yelled and ran to his dad. "Daaaad! Mommy crying!"
Sune gave up on whatever he was playing and rushed toward me. He sat next to me and put an arm around my shoulder.
"What's wrong, Rebekka? I thought you found the girl? You told me so on the phone? You said you found her and that she was alive?"
I sniffled and wiped away my tears, trying hard to look normal. "We did," I said.
"Then why are you crying? Isn't that a happy thing?" Sune asked.
"Mommy worried about Ju-Ju," William exclaimed, addressed toward his dad, placing his hands on his hips.
It made me chuckle.
"He's right," I said. "I just…I’m so happy for Sue and John and all that. They have their little girls back, but I still don't have mine. And tomorrow, I have to go through all this once again. Will it be Julie this time? Or will I have to go through trying to get to another parent's girl, worrying that we'll be too late before it’s finally my turn? And will I be able to find her? I can't stand having to wait like this, feeling like I’m in some stupid video game and that soon I will lose and that stupid sign will flash GAME OVER."
Sune sighed. I could tell he was searching for words to say. I looked into his eyes.
"I’m sorry," I said. "I’m pulling you down. You were having fun. How did your training go today?"
"Amazing," he said, almost laughing. "I’m getting better and better every day. These people really know what they're doing."
"That's wonderful," I said. I know it didn't sound like it, but I actually meant it. It was so great that he was improving. That was why we were here in the first place.
Sune placed a hand on my shoulder, then leaned over and kissed my cheek. "You'll get her home. I know you will."
"I just wish…that I could somehow get ahead of these bastards. The next line in the rhyme is Seven little Injuns cuttin' up their tricks. One broke his neck and then there were six." I looked at Sune like I expected a certain reaction, then continued.
"What is that supposed to mean? They'll break Julie's neck? Is that going to give me a chance to save her? Or will she end up like Alondra? Because breaking your neck…that is pretty definite. Either you'll never walk again, or you'll die, right?"
"Maybe we shouldn't go down that road yet," Sune said. "We don't even know if she's the one who's next. And, hey, maybe Alicia can tell you something that will lead to them being found, huh? Maybe it won't come to that."
&
nbsp; I sipped my coffee, finally being able to keep my hand still enough, but it didn't even taste good. Sune looked into my eyes. I so deeply hoped he was right, but it was getting increasingly harder for me to keep my hopes up. Today had been another close call. We couldn't afford any more of those.
67
May 2018
Julie grabbed Aubrey first. Luckily, she was light, and Julie could easily lift her. She carried her to the mattresses, then lifted her up as far as she could stretch, so Aubrey could grab onto the sides and pull herself up with her arms. Julie pushed her from beneath while Aubrey pulled and pulled. When she could tell Aubrey was almost out of strength, Julie climbed up further and pushed her upward, then crawled up further and pushed her again till Aubrey was finally at the top of the pile and could lie down on top.
Julie crawled up to her.
"You're almost there," she said. "But we must hurry. They could be back anytime now."
Aubrey stared at the dark sky above them. She was lying on her back, panting. Then she began to cry.
"I can't. Not anymore. I’m so tired."
"You can't give up now," Julie said. "Look how close you are to freedom. All you have left is to crawl up through the tunnel we dug. You can do it. I know you can."
Aubrey couldn't stop crying. Julie didn't know what to do. She looked down at Nikki, who was still motionless on the floor. The kidnappers couldn't be far away now.
"Come on, Aubrey, please," she begged. "I'll help you the last part. Just…you have to do some work yourself too; will you, please?"
"I can't! I can't!" Aubrey cried. "I’m too tired."
Julie looked up at the sky above, then cleared her throat. She thought about the many times she had to deal with her baby brother being all whiney and not wanting to do what he was told, especially when he was tired and cranky. There was usually no reasoning with him at that point. Just like then, this moment required action.