"But…but why now?"
"My guess is they have become desperate. We weren't supposed to find Alicia alive, and now that we did, they sense we're getting close. They're scared."
"Good," I said. "Now, listen to this. Tobias told me there was a fight when they were waiting for the buses."
"I know that, why?"
"Because he said all eyes were on the fight. And Mrs. Baker was separating the kids."
"Yes, she told us that when we talked to her, but Mr. Meckler couldn't confirm it. What's your point?"
"I think someone else snuck out there and tapped the kids on the shoulders. She could do it completely unnoticed because all of the attention was on the fight."
"A third person, huh? But who?"
"It has to be someone from the school. No one else is allowed on the school grounds. They're very strict about that. Not even parents. They have to wait outside."
"So, what you're saying is it could have been another teacher?"
"Maybe," I said, while someone addressed Jack on the other end and he told me he had to go. We hung up.
I put the phone down, then glanced at Tobias, who poured himself a bowl of cereal when the dime finally dropped.
72
November 2006
"You again?"
Judge Porter looked down at Jane.
"I’m tired of seeing you in my courthouse. We've been at it for almost six years now."
Jane rose to her feet. "I am sorry your honor. I just really want my children back."
Jane sat back down, this time a lot more confident than the past four times she had been in the same family court fighting for her girls. Her lawyer had argued again and again that the children had been removed from her by mistake, but this time they had new evidence. It had come to the lawyer's attention, that it was, in fact, the children's grandmother on their father's side who had alerted the authorities back in the day, not because she was concerned with their well-being but because she didn't want her son to lose her grandchildren. And Jane's lawyer, Scott, had dug into the relationship between the caseworker Colleen West and the same grandmother and found a very suspicious connection that he now argued in front of the judge.
"Colleen West's father suffers from MS and has no insurance to cover the costs of his many hospitalizations and his medications, or at least, so it was until Mrs. Riley, the children's grandmother made sure to change that. See, her other son, the children's uncle and current foster father, Jim Riley, is an insurance agent at a very well-established insurance company and, if you look closely at these contracts here, marked as exhibit 3A and 3B, then you'll see he was the agent who got Mrs. Colleen West's father a very good insurance deal, one that would cost him…well, what do you know? Nothing. And if you look at the date the deal was signed, then what do you see now? It was made only two days after Jane Wilson left her abusive husband in June 1999. A coincidence? Well, you're the judge."
Jane's lawyer sat down, and she felt a shiver run through her body. They had a very strong case, and they both knew it. Never before in the many other times she had sat there in this courtroom had she felt so sure that this time she would win. Heck, this time she more than sensed it, she actually dared to hope that the judge would rule in her favor.
She hadn't seen her girls in almost two years now. And every time she tried to call DCF or even go through the courts, she was told she had no rights, that the children no longer needed her.
She had Matthew with her in the courtroom, sitting in the back with her mother. He was now seven years old and growing up to be such a handsome boy. And sweet too. He was such a joy. But Jane wanted all her family back, all her children. It was her right. They were hers, and she wasn't giving up. The twins were fourteen by now, and she only had a few years left with them before they left for whatever life was destined for them, but if she could only get those four years. If only. Anna and Vanessa were still young, and she could have many good years with them and Matthew. There was still time, she thought to herself, as Judge Porter looked down at her once again, then banged his hammer.
"Court rules in favor of Jane Wilson." Then he scoffed. "You happy? You got your children back. Now, get out of my courtroom. I hope never to have to see your face again."
73
May 2018
Cereal boxes. Flippin' cereal boxes! Why hadn't I thought of it before? I slammed my hand into the wheel of the car a couple of times in frustration. I kept calling Jack Ryder while driving over the bridges, but only reached his voicemail. This time, I left a message.
"Jack, it's me. Rebekka. I’m going back to the quarry. I know where Julie is, and I’m getting her back. Please, come as soon as you hear this."
"Cereal boxes," I mumbled while reaching the mainland. "You should have known, you idiot. Why else would there be cereal boxes in a place like that? Jack even told you; he even said the words, They stacked the place with cereal boxes. You were there, Rebekka. You were right there!"
The thought made me want to throw up. To think I could have found the girls earlier and avoided everything that had happened. I could have saved them. I was there! Dang it, I was right there!
I drove for about twenty minutes while the landscape became more and more swampy and desolate, till I reached the quarry. I parked a little away from the entrance, then grabbed Tobias's baseball bat that I had brought with me as the only weapon I could find. I knew it wouldn't be much against kidnappers who probably had guns, but it was all I had at hand. And, to be honest, I was so angry by now I didn't care if they came at me with cannons or tanks. I was ready to fight to get my daughter back. The way I saw it, there was nothing stronger in this world than a mother fighting for her child.
I ran the rest of the way, whirling dust up around me, then stopped as I spotted the small shack. I snuck up to it, then looked down at my baseball bat. Knowing that the best defense was an attack, I decided a surprise attack had to be better than anything else. With the bat swung over my shoulder I kicked in the door, then rushed inside, swinging it uncontrollably. Inside sat two men, staring at me. One of them pulled out his gun, but I was faster. I swung the bat at him and hit him on the nose. His nose made a strange, eerie crunching sound, and the man screamed, bending forward holding it, dropping the gun to the floor with a loud thud. Seeing this, the other man rose to his feet, pulled his gun at me as well and, as I swung the bat at him, he fired. I screamed while the bullet whistled past me and hit the wall behind me. Before the man could fire again, I swung the bat once more and hit him straight on the ear. The man screamed, and his gun fell to the ground. I picked up both of them.
Panting, I stared at the two men. I had both of their guns pointed at them, both of them shaking heavily in my hands.
"Now…you two…grab those shovels over there and help me dig out the girls."
The two men looked at me like I had lost it. Each of them was bleeding heavily from where I had hit them. One of their noses sat crooked on his face while blood gushed out of his nostrils.
I waved the gun at them to make them understand that I was being serious.
"Don't make me come over there. I’m counting to three, and then you better be grabbing those shovels. Now, MARCH!"
74
May 2018
It was so hot that sweat was gushing from my forehead, even though I wasn't the one doing the digging.
The one with the broken nose sniffled and stopped to wipe his forehead.
"No breaks; keep going," I hissed.
The man continued. Dirt flew in the air, and soon I could see a hatch. I felt my heart begin to race inside my chest. At the same time, I wanted to cry. To think that they had kept the girls, my daughter, underground like that for all this time. It made me want to kill them right there on the spot. The anger toward them felt unbearable.
The man with the bleeding ear stopped digging. I approached the hatch. "Down there?" I asked, then swallowed the lump in my throat. "You pigs kept them down there?"
"They ain't d
own there," the one with the bleeding nose said.
I stared at him. My hands were getting sweaty and slippery. "What do you mean they're not down there?"
"They ain't down there no more," he repeated.
"I don't believe you," I said.
"They did, they ra…" the guy stopped when he received a look from his friend with the bleeding ear.
"You won't find them till we get our money," the ear-guy said. He exchanged a glance with the other guy, and I sensed something was off.
"You're lying," I said and lifted the guns up to let them know I wasn't letting my guard down. "Open the hatch."
The one with the bad ear leaned forward and grabbed the hatch, then pulled it open.
"See for yourself."
As he said the words, the one with the bleeding nose moved so fast I didn't react fast enough to fire the guns. He grabbed me and lifted me in the air, then threw me inside the hole and closed the hatch as I fell into the darkness. I screamed, but luckily, I landed on a bunch of mattresses. Both guns fell in with me and landed on the floor beneath me.
It took a few seconds for my eyes to get used to the darkness, but as they did, I managed to look around. The worst part was the stench. It made my eyes water, and the stuffiness of the place made it so hard to breathe that I gasped for air.
I climbed down the mattresses, desperately looking to see if I could spot Julie anywhere, but the place seemed empty. Except for something in the corner, a small bundle that was all curled up. As I approached it, I realized it was a little girl. I used my phone to shine a light on her, then walked closer till I could see her face.
"Oh, my God, Nikki," I exclaimed and turned her around. She was barely alive. I fumbled with my phone to call for help, but there was no signal. Panic spread quickly through my body.
Find a way out of this place. Fast. You need to get her out of this place now. She needs to go to a hospital!
As I allowed the panic to settle in my body, there was a sound coming from above me and, seconds later, the hatch opened once again and let in the wonderful sight of the sun's light. Thinking it was the kidnappers again, I grabbed for one of the guns and pointed it up, finger on the trigger, ready to shoot as soon as I spotted a face.
75
May 2018
Seconds later, a face appeared, but I couldn't see it properly. I moved my finger on the trigger when a bright light shone in my face, and a well-known voice filled the air.
"Don't shoot, Rebekka, it's me!"
My finger slipped on the trigger, much to his luck, and I lowered it before I could hurt him.
"Jack?"
I walked closer and saw his face properly.
"Didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble, huh? How's that going for ya'? Lucky for you, we arrived just in time to see them throw you in there."
"Call for an ambulance," I said. "I have one of the girls down here, and she needs medical attention as quickly as possible."
"Call for an ambulance," Jack yelled to whoever else was up there with him, then looked back down at me. "Let's get you out of here. My men found a ladder by the old shack. We're bringing it down."
I grabbed Nikki in my arms and, seconds later, I was climbing up toward the fresh air with her in my embrace. I couldn't believe how light she was. As I approached the opening, Jack reached down, grabbed Nikki, and pulled her out first. I kept crawling till I reached the end, then took one last glance down at what had been my daughter's prison. It felt almost like the many empty cereal boxes were mocking me. I wondered for a second if I would be able to keep myself from killing the person who had exposed my daughter to this once we had her. I wasn't sure.
I turned toward the light, then climbed up. I was helped up the last part by Jack's strong arms. As I once again set foot on the ground, I took in a deep breath of fresh air and exhaled. In the distance, I could see the two men I had mutilated with my bat being taken away in police cars.
"She's not there, Jack. She wasn't there. None of them were. Except for Nikki," I said. "I think they left her because they thought she would be dead soon anyway, or maybe they thought she already was dead."
Sirens wailed as the police cars left with the two men and, in the distance, I spotted the ambulance approaching.
"Where are they, Jack? Where's Julie?"
"They must have moved them. Probably knowing that we were onto them after Alicia was rescued. At least we got two of them."
"You saw Nikki's condition," I said. "None of them can be doing well. We need to get to them."
"I know," he said. "I know. But we are getting closer. I know that several of the parents are looking into getting the money together."
I felt something go through me as he said the words. I turned to look toward a row of tall trees in the background where the swamps began.
"The mattresses," I said. "They were stacked."
"So?"
I looked at Jack. "They ran away. The guy with the bleeding nose almost told me so, but his friend stopped him. Because he knew that they would never get their money if I knew the girls had run away. They must have stacked the mattresses to get to the hatch, then dug their way out. They were bluffing, Jack. They're bluffing us."
76
May 2018
Jack sent all his men into the swamps. The local police force arrived with airboats, and Jack called in helicopters to circle the entire area.
The first girl they brought out was Tonya. She was completely out of it, sunburned and dehydrated, but she was alive.
Next came Trudy and Britney, who told us they had stuck together through the night and slept in a tree. Aubrey was passed out and had been bitten by a snake, but luckily not a venomous one. It took hours, but by the time the sun was about to set, they brought out Hayley, completely undernourished and dehydrated, but alive. I ran to her as they put a blanket around her shoulders.
"Haley. Have you seen Julie? Where is she?"
Haley stopped and looked up at me. I had never seen such deep exhaustion in a child before.
"She didn't want to leave Nikki…"
I swallowed hard. "Nikki? But she…she was still…"
Haley shrugged, and the officers guided her toward an ambulance waiting to bring her to the hospital. I looked after her as she was escorted away, my heart pounding in my chest.
They had all made it out? But Julie had gone back? For Nikki? But Nikki was still down there? She was still in the hole underground.
I turned to face Jack, tears springing to my eyes. He pulled me into a warm embrace and held me so tight I could hear his heartbeat.
"Where is she, Jack? Where's my little girl?" I sobbed.
"We'll find her. We'll find her. I'll make sure we do."
I closed my eyes and tried hard to let his words convince me he was right, but somehow, my hope was dwindling anyway. It was while standing there in his strong arms that I thought about something.
"Nikki is the last one."
I pulled out of his embrace.
"What's that?"
"In the song. You know how it ends with …and then there was none."
He gave me a confused look. "Yes, and?"
"Well, all the other kids escaped, and only Julie and Nikki were left. That's what we know so far. So, if Nikki was the last one, then Julie…"
"Must be the second to last."
I grabbed my phone and found the lyrics to the song again. I sniffled as I read them out loud to Jack.
"Two little Injuns foolin' with a gun,
One shot t'other
And then there was one."
I stared at Jack and down at the phone's display again. Then I dialed a number. It took me only one phone call to get my suspicion confirmed, a suspicion I had had since I had spoken to Tobias earlier. After that, it took me just a few seconds on my phone to find the place I was searching for.
"Will you drive, or shall I?" I asked Jack. "And don't even try to tell me to stay here while you take care of it because you know I can't do that." r />
77
May 2018
Julie could see nothing but deep darkness. She knew she wasn't in the tomb anymore since they had come down to get her and taken her out. She had screamed and kicked at them, fighting their attempt at taking her out with them. Not so much because she didn't want to get out; of course, she wanted to, but she didn't want to leave Nikki all alone down there. She knew Nikki would never survive if there was no one to take care of her and make sure she had water poured into her mouth.
"She'll die," she screamed. "She'll die!"
But the kidnappers had placed a bag over Julie's head and carried her up and out. Where to, Julie didn't know. At first, she had walked for a little while, still crying and screaming. Then they had placed her inside a van or something like that and had driven for quite a while. Julie had been screaming and yelling in the back, but after a while, she had given up mostly out of exhaustion and laid down and, even though she had fought it, sleep had overpowered her.
When she woke up, she was no longer moving but was lying on what felt like solid ground. She was still wearing the bag over her head, and her feet were tied together. She tried to pull off the bag, but it was tied in the back, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get it off. She then tried to loosen her feet, but they were tied with a strip like the ones the police used in movies and, no matter how much she pulled it, she couldn't get it off either. She managed to get onto her knees, and by using the wall behind her, she managed to stand on her feet. She couldn't see anything and tried to run around, but almost fell as she tried to move her feet.
"Hello?"
The sound of her voice bounced off the wall behind her. She thought she could hear a bird in the distance and the sound of cicadas. The air was fresh, so she had to be outside somewhere. But where was she?