"Hello? Is there anyone here? Hello?"
A loud sound coming from not too far away made the blood in her veins freeze over. Even though Julie had never actually seen a gun in real life, she had no doubt in her mind that she had just heard one being cocked.
78
May 2018
Matt's shooting range was located on Merritt Island, the island between Cocoa Beach and the mainland. Jack parked in the parking lot outside, and we rushed out.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked on our way in.
"I'm positive. The place belongs to her son. Matthew Riley is her son. Judge Emmett Porter explained it all to me when I called him earlier. Matthew is her son. I searched it and found out that he recently bought this place with the money he inherited from his father when he was killed in a fire two years ago. I'll give you the details later. Trust me on this. "
He sighed. "Whatever you say."
"It fits with the song too," I said and grabbed the door. I opened it, and we hurried inside. More police cars arrived, and officers jumped out, then surrounded the area. I didn't care if I was caught in between anything. I just wanted my daughter back. I found the sign pointing to the shooting range, then ran. Jack had already pulled his gun and pointed it at anyone trying to get in our way.
"Out here," I said and pointed. In the distance, I spotted the shooting range, and it didn't take me very long to see my daughter. She was standing in front of a wall, the black target figure behind her, a bag over her head, feet tied together. Inside the booth, ready to shoot, I spotted a person, her gun pointed at my daughter.
"Stop," she said as we approached her. "Or I'll shoot her."
"Elaine," I said. "Please don't do this. Please, Elaine."
"Actually, it's Jane," she said. "Elaine is my middle name, but you already know that, don't you?"
"Jane, please."
"It's a bitch, isn't it? Not knowing what will happen to your child. Worst feeling in the God-dang world, am I right? Not knowing where she is, if you'll ever see her again. Not knowing if whoever is with her will take proper care of her. Will she be fed? Will she go to bed with a beating? Will I ever see or hold her again? Feel her soft hair? Makes you feel completely powerless, am I right? That someone can simply take your kids from you just like that. Even when your kids realize mommy can't protect them, it destroys something between you that will never come back."
Julie tried to walk but fell face-first into the dirt. Elaine pointed her gun at her while she tried to get up, her finger lingering on the trigger. My heart was racing so fast I wondered if it would actually jump out of my chest. It was unbearable to be this close to my daughter and not be able to hold her in my arms, not be able to save her.
"Let her go, Elaine," Jack said pointing his gun at her. "It's over."
Elaine laughed, then fired a shot. I screamed as I watched the bullet whistle through the air and hit the human-shaped black target on the wall behind Julie right in the heart. Julie screamed too, then rose to her feet and tried to jump away, but Miss Elaine fired another shot right in front of her, and that made her turned around.
"Well. Whad'ya know? It's like one of those games at the fair, hah!" she exclaimed.
"Please, stop shooting, Elaine. Please, don't hurt her," I pleaded. "Why are you even doing this? I mean…I get that you wanted us to feel what you went through when losing your girls. It makes sense, in a deranged sort of way, but why? I spoke to Judge Porter earlier, and I asked him if there was anyone at the school whom he knew from his courtroom, and he told me you were the only one. But he also told me he saw no reason why you would want to hurt him or his family since you had your children back. You got them back."
Miss Elaine turned her head and looked at me for the first time, her hands still clutched around the gun.
"Oh, he said that, did he?"
79
November 2006
Jane couldn't contain her excitement. She had been sitting in the waiting room at the local DCF, waiting for at least an hour. But it didn't matter that she had to wait. She had the letter in her hand, holding onto it tight, never letting go of it again. She had read it over and over again when her lawyer had handed it to her and could hardly believe it. The judge had actually given her children back. They had won. Jane had won.
Tears had streamed down her cheeks the first time she read it, and they had done it again the second and third and even the tenth time she read it out loud to herself at home. And tears were rolling down her cheeks once again now as she waited in the room, sitting in the blue chairs with her lawyer, who kept squeezing her hand telling her any minute now.
Jane looked at her nails. She had dressed up in her best dress, the long one with the flowers, the one she had also worn to court on the day Judge Porter had finally decided to give her the girls back. It had become her lucky dress and, even though it had become a little tight in the sides because she had gained weight the past few years while longing for her children and eating to find comfort, she still looked very presentable in it. At least, according to her lawyer.
And today, she wanted to look her very best. It was the best day of her life. Finally, she was going to bring her girls home, and they could become a family again.
"What's taking them so long?" her lawyer said and rose to his feet, finally losing his patience.
"It's okay, Scott," Jane said. "We have the letter, remember? They can't deny us the girls. They can't keep them from us anymore, remember?"
Scott nodded, then paced back and forth. Jane didn't share his worry. Not this time. She knew everything would turn out for the best for her. Colleen had been arrested and was being investigated by the police. Jane hoped she would be sent away to prison for a very long time. That seemed like the appropriate punishment for all the torment she had put Jane through over the years. Scott had suggested suing the DCF for years of emotional distress, but Jane didn't want any of that. All she wanted was her girls back, and that was exactly what she was getting now.
"I can't believe it’s taking this long," Scott said and looked at his watch. "I have a meeting in half an hour. They better get them here before…"
Barely had he finished the sentence before the door to the waiting room opened. Jane rose to her feet, corrected her dress, then looked at the opening door in great anticipation. She took in a deep breath, then smiled from ear to ear as the caseworker that she had met earlier stepped inside. Behind her, Jane spotted the girls.
Her heart beat so fast, she was about to explode. And then she did. She ran to them, grabbed Vanessa, and held her in her arms, then kissed her and kissed her again and again. She rose to her feet, then grabbed both of the twins and hugged them, holding them so tight they could hardly breathe.
"Oh, my God, girls, oh my…wait. Where's Anna?"
She looked behind the girls, then up at the caseworker, and that was when she noticed that all three girls had swollen red eyes. Elisa was sniffling and looking down at the floor.
Someone stepped up behind the caseworker. Jane's heart literally stopped when she realized it was a police officer. He took off his cap and held it between his hands.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. There was an accident."
80
May 2018
"They called it a darn accident. Can you believe it?"
Jane Elaine's eyes glowed with such deep anger, it made her into a completely different person from the nice woman I knew from the front office at the school. I couldn't believe the same sweet lady who greeted me every time I went to the school could also be the vicious woman about to kill my child.
"A freakin' accident!"
"Well, wasn't it?" I asked, glancing at Julie to make sure she was all right. She was on her knees now, crying helplessly. It broke my heart that I wasn't able to simply run in there and get her. Elaine was right about that part. It was the worst feeling in the world not to be able to rescue your child, to fear not getting to her in time.
"Of course not," Elaine spat. "It was no stink
in' accident. He killed her. Her dad did. The girls told me so, but no one believed them. He beat the living daylight out of my poor Anna. I saw her body. So many bruises you could hardly see any skin that wasn't purple or black. Of course, he told them she fell from a tree, and his brother and that stinkin' wife of his chimed in and told them the same story. No one even thought about asking the other children. Because they had a completely different story to tell. But no one would listen. Not the caseworkers, not the police. To them, I was still what it said in their papers, a bad mother whose word you couldn't trust. That was when I swore to get back at them. Get back at all of them. Especially the judge for keeping the kids away from me, but also the entire town for not helping me, for just watching while this was done to my children and me. The school, because they didn't report that my kids were being abused in their foster home. All of you."
I stared at the woman, who still had her gun pointed at my daughter. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"They used to love it, ya' know? The song. Ten Little Injuns. Especially Anna. I used to sing it to them before bedtime. Anna always asked me to sing it twice. She never could get enough of it."
"Elaine, we have the entire area surrounded," Jack said. "There is no way out for you."
Elaine didn't respond. She kept looking at my daughter, aiming the gun at her.
"What was in it for them?" I asked. "The others?"
"Them? They were nothing but a group of lowlifes Matthew met here at the range when they came here all drunk and crazy and wanting to shoot. We promised them money, thinking we could rip the judge of at least a hundred thousand. But the idiots demanded ten million. Without even asking me. You can put them away for all I care. They mean nothing to me."
"But your son means something to you. And so do your daughters," I said.
She scoffed. "My son is long gone. You won't find him. When you found Alicia alive, I told him to leave. Get away from here. And my daughters? I lost my daughters many years ago. They never really came back to me. They were all so broken after living with their aunt and being beaten by their dad whenever he felt like it. They had been told so many lies about me, there was no saving our family. I know they all blamed me for what happened to Anna; heck, I even do myself some days. I blame myself for not having fought hard enough for them. For not getting to her in time. All three girls left as soon as they turned eighteen and never looked back. Things were never right between us again."
She went quiet while I tried to calm myself down. I had no more pleading left in me. All I wanted was to strangle the woman in front of me, just throw myself at her and hurt her, make her regret she ever hurt my child.
"Ah, she found it," Elaine then said, and lifted her head slightly.
"What did she find?" I asked, surprised.
Elaine laughed. "The gun. I placed a gun out there for her to find."
It took a few seconds before I realized what Elaine's plan was.
"Two little Injuns foolin' with a gun," I said. "It's your way out. You want her to shoot you."
I turned to look at my daughter, fumbling with the gun between her hands.
I opened my mouth to yell at her not to shoot, but it was too late. She had already pulled the trigger. I threw myself to the ground, and Jack did the same. The bullet hit Elaine in the forehead and ripped off a part of her face before she sunk to the ground with a satisfied exhale that almost sounded like she was singing:
"One shot t'other and then there was one."
Epilogue
81
June 2018
"Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,"
I looked at William and Tobias in the back seat in the rearview mirror when both of them yelled back in unison:
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
Then I laughed. Julie, who was sitting in the front seat, gave me a look.
"Really, Mom?"
"Come on; it's William's favorite song. Sing along, will you? Have a little fun. You're so serious all the time."
Julie rolled her eyes at me as I continued singing. She didn't know it, but it was the most soothing sight to me. Her being annoyed with me was a sign she was back to being her pre-teen self again. I never thought I would have missed it so much, but I had.
After she had shot Miss Elaine at the shooting range, I had yelled at her to drop the gun and to stand completely still; we were coming for her. She had then fallen into my arms, crying helplessly. They took her to the hospital where she got hydrated but, other than that, they said she seemed fine, better than most of the other kids that had escaped. Some of them were on strong antibiotics and fighting bad bacterial infections, due to the exposure to human feces inside the box truck.
Julie had then fallen into a deep sleep, holding my hand, and not woken up until twenty-four hours later, still clutching my hand in hers. By then, a nurse came in and told us Nikki had woken up, and so had Emmy and Aubrey. Later that same day, they had all gathered inside Nikki's room and cried and hugged and talked so much that Julie was completely exhausted afterward.
All nine girls had returned a week later to school—under much media attention—and the small town of Cocoa Beach began licking its wounds and was slowly trying to get back to normal again. At their latest meeting, the city council had decided to name a street after Alondra Browning, in her loving memory.
Julie was struggling with the fact that she had killed someone and was suffering from night terrors and claustrophobia. She was terrified of me leaving her alone. She could suddenly burst into tears for no apparent reason and was sleeping with me most nights, waking up in terrified screams, desperately clinging on to me. I had sent her to see a therapist, and that seemed to be helping her cope with it. She was slowly returning to being herself.
Elaine's son, Matthew Riley, was detained by the police in Canada after a long search, and he had admitted to having watched the children for months before the kidnapping, while they planned their attack. Jack believed they had now captured all who were involved in the kidnapping. Six men in total had been arrested. Including the one who owned the quarry, who had admitted to letting them bury the truck, but insisted that he didn't know what it was used for.
In Miss Elaine's apartment, they had found drawings and notes describing the plan in detail on her computer, and they also suspected her of being behind the fire that killed both her ex-husband and his brother and wife two years earlier.
School was out now for a summer break I think we all needed more than ever. Hopefully, we would be able to put it behind us once we returned in August. I knew I was ready to move on.
I parked the car in the parking lot outside Dr. Herman's clinic, then looked at the kids. Sune was almost done with his treatment and only had a couple of months left. We hadn't really discussed what would happen then. Would we go back or stay? Sune said he loved it here so much he wanted to stay. Our visas lasted for five years, and we might as well make the best of it, was his argument. I didn't know if I agreed. Had you asked me before the kidnapping, then yes, I would have loved to stay. But right now, I felt like there were so many bad memories in this place. And I was beginning to miss my home in Denmark. There was also the matter of my dad. He wasn't getting any younger or better, and I didn't want to spend his last years so far away from him. So, you could say I was quite undecided. It was a conversation we would need to have soon, but not today.
Today was a happy day. I had taken the kids to the clinic to surprise Sune. We wanted to see him train and then take him out for ice cream afterward. To celebrate…well, everything, life. Everything was good right now, so incredibly good.
"Come on," I said and opened the door to the clinic for the kids to swarm inside. William found some toys in the waiting room and played with them while the receptionist told me where to find Sune.
"He's with Kim in room 404."
"All
right. Don't tell him we're coming," I said. "It's a surprise."
"My lips are sealed," the receptionist said and mimed that she closed it with a zipper.
"Come on, kids," I said and grabbed William's hand in mine.
We walked down the corridor and found room 404. I could hardly contain my joy as I grabbed the handle. Sune had asked me so many times to come and watch his progress and, finally, I had the energy and time to do so. I couldn't wait.
"Surprise!" I said and swung the door open.
Then I froze.
"Rebekka?"
I closed the door again, barely breathing.
"Dad?" Will said. He looked up at me. I had no words for what we had just witnessed. I felt Julie's hand in mine, while Tobias stood like a rock.
"Why was dad kissing that nurse?" William asked. "And why were they naked?"
The door slammed open behind us and Sune came into the hallway, still only half dressed.
"Rebekka?"
"Don't even…"
Sune looked at me, flustered. "I'm…I'm…"
"How long, Sune?"
"Rebekka, I…"
"HOW LONG?"
"I don't know…a couple of months?"
I could hardly breathe. "So, while I…while I…and Julie and while everything that was going on…you…and her…How do you live with yourself?"
"Rebekka…please…"
"I can't even look at you right now," I said, and I turned around and grabbed Will by the arm and rushed him and the two others to the car.
"Mo-om?" William cried. "I want to see Daddy. Who was that lady? Who was she, Mommy? Why are we leaving? We can't leave Daddy! How will he get home?"