Ten Little Girls (Rebekka Franck Book 9)

  Sune leaned over and hugged me. My leg was still hurting, despite the pain medication.

  "M-mom?"

  William came out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes. Then his face lit up. "Is Ju-Ju home?"

  Sune got up. "No, buddy. You should be sleeping."

  I grabbed Sune's shirt and stopped him by pulling it. "It's okay.

  I looked at my son and reached out my hands.

  "Hi there, buddy. Are you gonna come and give your mom a hug?"

  William waddled toward me and threw himself on top of me. I hugged him tightly, trying to push all the thoughts of devastation and catastrophe back in my mind. Tears rolled across my cheeks as I refused to let go of him. Finally, he pushed himself up and looked at my leg.

  "Gator!" he said.

  "Yes, buddy. Gator bit Mommy right there in the thigh."

  Tobias had come down the stairs too and approached me. "Did it hurt?" he asked, looking at my leg.

  I nodded. "Pretty bad."

  "Did you have to have stitches?"

  I nodded. "Come see."

  He looked at my leg, then shuddered.

  "I know," I said. "It looks terrible, all swollen and pink, but it should be all right, they say. I'll have a scar, though."

  "Coool," William said.

  "I guess it is pretty cool. I'll have a cool story to tell, right?" I sniffled. "At least, I hope so."

  William saw the tears pile up again, then kissed my cheek. "Ju-Ju will be home soon," he said. "Pinky-promise."

  I chuckled and wiped away my tears. "Pinky promise, huh? You know those are unbreakable, right?"

  He looked very confident. "Yes."

  24

  May 2018

  They were being kept in a small shack. A couple of hours later, the door was opened, and they were told to come out. It was dark outside. Julie held Alicia and Nikki close as they followed the gunmen across the dusty ground, leaving the small shack behind.

  Julie felt such a deep fear rise in her. She had thought the shack was where they were going to keep them, and she hadn't been looking forward to that since there was no AC and it had been very hot for all of them. But now, as they walked toward what appeared to be nothing…no houses, no buildings, no civilization, she began to fear that the shack had been the better choice.

  "Where are we going?" Alicia asked.

  "I don't know," Julie said. "Just do as they say.”

  "I want my mommy," Nikki sniffled. She was exhausted and couldn't stop crying. Julie felt a thickness in her throat too but held it back. She had to be strong for the little ones. They needed her.

  "I know," she whispered. "I want my mommy too. I’m sure we'll see them soon, okay?"

  The gunmen stopped in the middle of a rocky area, then pointed in front of them with their guns.

  "Get in."

  Julie looked but couldn't see anything there. Then she watched as the first two girls in the front of the line seemed to descend into the ground.

  "I have to pee," Nikki complained. "Real bad."

  "Be quiet," one of the gunmen said.

  "She has to pee," Julie said. "I think we all do. We haven't had a bathroom break for hours. Most of the kids have done it in their pants."

  "Be quiet," the gunman said again.

  "But…"

  "I said, be quiet."

  "She has to pee really bad. You can't treat us like this!"

  "BE QUIET!"

  Julie stopped talking. She stared at the man in front of her. The gun was pointing at her, placed closed to her face. Julie was hardly breathing as she stared down the barrel.

  The line moved, and Julie lowered her head, then moved with the line. The gunman moved away. Julie wiped a tear from her cheek, then continued, her heart throbbing in her chest, more tears running down her cheeks. She focused on keeping her breathing calm and not panicking as they approached the hole in the ground where all the girls had disappeared.

  One by one, the girls climbed down a ladder and into what appeared to be a big box truck, covered under several feet of dirt. After the last girl had entered, the gunmen removed the ladder and closed the hatch above them.

  Julie stared for a long time at the point where they had come inside, then sat down, heavily sweating. She pulled Alicia and Nikki close while whispering comforting words into their ears:

  "This is just where we're going to spend the night. That's all. Don't you worry now. Don't you worry."

  25

  October 1991

  "Everything looks perfect. Your babies are in perfect health as far as we can see."

  Jane looked at Bob who was standing next to her while the doctor took off his gloves. Bob was holding her hand and had been all through the ultrasound. She had felt him squeeze hers when he heard the babies' heartbeats. Bob insisted on being there for all of Jane's doctor's visits now, and she figured that was perfectly normal since he needed to know everything too.

  "That's wonderful; so we shouldn't be nervous about the pain she has felt?" Bob asked.

  "It's only natural that she might feel contractions. They're called Braxton Hicks contractions and are perfectly harmless."

  "Phew," he said and looked at Jane again.

  "You have absolutely nothing to worry about," the doctor said. He stood for a second and looked at Jane, then took in a deep breath. "Do you mind me asking where you got that bruise?"

  Jane felt her body go cold. She had tried to cover it up, using plenty of foundation, but apparently not well enough.

  "Oh, that," Bob said, looking down at Jane. "Funny story, Doctor. See…it's all my fault."

  Jane looked up at him. She had never thought he would say that. Bob had apologized endlessly after hitting her to the floor that day, and she had promised to forgive him. Since then, he had showered her with flowers and chocolate, and he had even cooked dinner for her every night so she wouldn't have to stand up so much. He had been the sweetest most considerate man, and she didn't want him to get into trouble for losing his temper like that. It was, after all, only this once. He had promised it would never happen again and she believed he would never do that to himself or to her again. He messed up. Everyone was allowed to make a mistake, right?

  "It is?" the doctor asked, putting his papers down. He took off his glasses and looked up at Bob. "How so?"

  "Well, the thing is…God, I am such an idiot. You see, I’m in the kitchen, cooking, right? And in comes Jane, right? I don't hear her, and so I open the cabinet and slam the door right into her face. Clumsy me. I feel terrible, though."

  He clenched her hand and held it to his heart, looking at her sadly. The doctor seemed to be scrutinizing them both. Jane felt her heart pounding in her chest, then forced a smile.

  "It was just as much my fault," she said, taking in a deep, ragged breath. "For sneaking up on you like that."

  "Will you listen to her, Doctor?" Bob said. "Isn't she just the best wife in the world?"

  The doctor smiled, relieved, and nodded. "I’m sure she is. And she will soon become a mother of not just one but two children. That is quite the accomplishment. I am happy to hear that you're treating her well and cooking for her. She's gonna need all the care she can get in the last months of the pregnancy. I’m happy she’s in such good hands."

  26

  May 2018

  I can't say I slept much, if at all. I stayed on the couch all night, the phone clutched in my hand, staring at it, constantly pressing the button to make sure it was still on, hoping and praying for it to ring and bring me good news. I was waiting for just a voice, no matter whose, telling me she was on her way home, that they had found her and were going to bring her to me.

  It must have been the longest night of my life. All I could think of was Julie and how she was doing and whether she was safe. Was she thirsty? Was she hungry? Did she get anything to eat? What did those people—whoever they were—want with her? What did they want from us? A ransom?

  As soon as the sun came up, I dialed Jack's number. I coul
dn't wait any longer and had to have the latest news.

  "Rebekka," he said, sounding as tired as I felt.

  "Please, tell me you have news."

  "We found Mrs. Baker," he said. "She was brought in late last night. She had been visiting her son in Ocala, she said, so that's why she hadn't answered her phone."

  "So, what does she say?" I asked.

  "Well, you know I can't reveal any details, but I can tell you that she says she didn't see or hear Mr. Meckler tell the kids to go on another bus, but that it had to have been him since he was the only one out there with her. And she didn't even know about the other bus."

  "And what does Mr. Meckler say about that?" I asked.

  "We're still questioning him, so that's what we're going to find out hopefully soon. But so far, he's sticking to his story. He says she had to have been the one to tell the kids to go on another bus since he didn't do it. But he didn't exactly hear her say it."

  I sighed. This was annoying. If they were just accusing one another, then we were getting nowhere.

  "But who is right, then? Isn't there anyone who can tell us who is lying? There were a ton of kids there? Didn't they see or hear anything?" I asked, then thought about Tobias, who hadn't seen much. He was busy talking to his friends, he said.

  "We'll have to go talk to more of them today," he said. "But so far, there have been two kids telling us that Mr. Meckler grabbed Haley and told her to get out of the line."

  "Well, there you go; he's lying then," I said.

  "But…the second kid also says that Haley was told to go get her lunchbox, and he saw her walk inside, then come back out."

  "So, what does that mean?"

  Jack sighed. "I don't know. But it does support Meckler's story."

  I groaned. "And while they fight over that, the girls are out there somewhere desperate to come home. They must be terrified by now. I know I am."

  "You and me both, Rebekka," Jack said. "You and me both."

  27

  May 2018

  It was unbearably hot inside the buried box truck. Julie hardly slept at all that night and, when she woke up, she felt like throwing up. The kidnappers had placed boxes inside, made from plywood, and they had carved a small hole on top of them, so the girls could use them as toilets, but the smell started to spread, and in the hot moist air, it soon became almost impossible to breathe properly.

  Next to the toilets, the kidnappers had stacked food. Several boxes of cereal, a jar of peanut butter, and a pack of bread, a couple of boxes of crackers along with bottles of water. Julie grabbed a water and some crackers but ate mainly because she knew she had to in order to survive. Not because she had an appetite.

  She handed bottles of water to Alicia and Nikki and gave them some crackers as well, but only Alicia drank and ate. Nikki sat in the corner, her knees pulled up under her chin, rocking back and forth, sobbing.

  Julie drank greedily from the water while staring at the food piled up and the mattresses scattered on the floor.

  How long are they planning on keeping us?

  Judging by the amount of food and water, she guessed it had to be a very long time.

  Realizing this, Julie almost choked on the water she was gulping down. In the back of the box truck, Haley threw up, and a girl whimpered in deep fear. No one was speaking; everyone was just trying to get through the next few minutes without panicking, without losing it completely.

  The worst part was the feeling that there wasn't enough air. Simply thinking about it would get to her, and she held a hand to her throat, feeling like she was suffocating.

  Julie sat down on a mattress close to Alicia, gasping for air, and fighting to keep the panic at bay. The mattress was dirty, and there were bugs crawling on top of it. A drop of sweat left her forehead and clung to her eyebrow for a few seconds before it gave up and fell to her arm. She stared at the drop, wondering how long it would stay there before it would dry out. It didn't last long in the heat before it was gone.

  Julie closed her eyes for a few seconds, remembering her room at the pink house on the beach. How she missed her bed there and her blanket and pillow. How she longed to breathe the fresh ocean air again or just be able to go to the toilet without having to do it in front of nine others. She leaned her head to the side and remembered her mother. The thought caused a violent pinch in her stomach. She missed her so much. She thought about her younger brother, William, and her stepbrother, Tobias, and imagined them playing together in the pool. Oh, the nice, cool pool. What she wouldn't give to be back there now and not buried several feet underground.

  "It's a coffin," she mumbled to herself as she opened her eyes again. "They made us a giant coffin and buried us."

  28

  June 1992

  The babies were a blessing. From the moment they came into their lives, Bob and Jane had never been happier. It was like it all came together, like this was what they were meant to do…being parents.

  Bob was good and helped Jane out as much as he possibly could. He would even get up at night when one of them woke up. More often than not, it was both of them since when once one started to cry, the other would chime in a few seconds later.

  He changed their diapers and always had an available hand to hold one of them when Jane was tired from breastfeeding. It was exhausting having two at the same time, but it was also so incredibly fulfilling in many ways. The love of the two little girls brought the two of them so close together; they soon seemed to forget everything that had gone before this moment. It was like they had started completely over from scratch.

  After six months, however, things turned. It began with a phone call from Bob's brother one Saturday afternoon, telling him that Bob's sister, Irene, had died. A heart attack in the middle of the night, they said. The shock of losing his sister so suddenly made Bob lose it. He sat down on a chair in the living room. He was staring into thin air when Jane came in.

  "Are you all right? Bob? Who was that?"

  He looked at her. She put both babies in a playpen and sighed, exhausted, while Bob said:

  "That was Jim."

  "Your brother? What did he want?"

  Bob rose to his feet. Jane saw that something had changed in his eyes. Something was different and frightening.

  "What's it to you? What do you care anyway?"

  "I’m sorry," she said and looked away.

  "You don't care about me, do you? I’m just your little errand boy, am I right?"

  "Bob…what's gotten into…?"

  "What do you do all day while I’m at work, huh? You screw that neighbor. Don't you think for one second that I haven't seen how you look at him."

  Jane turned her head and looked at Bob. She had no idea who he was even talking about.

  "What neighbor? I don't even go out. I’m at home all day taking care of our children."

  "Ah, don't give me that."

  "Excuse me? Don't give you what?" she asked.

  As she said the words, she immediately knew she shouldn't have. She could tell by the fire in Bob's eyes that she had overstepped a line. She had made him angry.

  Bob grabbed her by the throat and pressed her up against the wall behind her, smashing her against it so hard she lost the hearing in one ear temporarily. He was choking her now, and Jane was desperately fighting for her life. Somehow, she managed to kick him in the stomach, and he let go of her. Dizzy, she got up to her feet and ran for the phone, but Bob was quickly on top of her, grabbing the phone and smashing it to the ground. He then slammed his fist into her face over and over again, continuing for so long that Jane lost consciousness before he let go of her. Sweat and saliva dripped from his chin as he stood above her.

  "Now look at what you made me do. Look at you! Will you never learn?"

  29

  May 2018

  It was a dark and cloudy day. One of the rare ones in Florida, the Sunshine State. It wasn't raining, though, so we still sat outside in the heat while eating breakfast. I liked looking out over
the ocean. It calmed me down. Sune had placed me in a chair and Tobias had given me another chair for my leg, so I could keep it up. I wasn't supposed to move around today at all, but I didn't want to miss out on breakfast on the porch with my family. My phone lying in front of me kept buzzing with Amber Alerts for the ten missing girls and, every time I heard the sound, it made my heart sink.

  I barely had any appetite since all I could think about was Julie, but I still forced myself to eat some of Sune's scrambled eggs and bacon that he had so caringly made for us.

  Tobias was pushing his eggs around on the plate. I sent him a smile, hoping to cheer him up a little, but it didn't help. I could tell he was fighting to keep himself from breaking down and crying. Heck, I was too. Only William seemed to be able to eat, even with everything that was going on. He shoveled in his eggs, then asked for more.

  I drank some coffee while Sune served our youngest and he dug in once again. The boy always had a good appetite, I had to give him that. I couldn't stop staring at him. Somehow, it cheered me up to watch him eat. When he was done, I looked out over the ocean again. The heavy clouds matched my mood perfectly.

  I felt a hand in mine and looked down to see William. He had left his chair and come up to me. I pulled him up into my lap, and we looked at the dark clouds together.

  "The clouds kind of look angry, don't you think?" I asked.

  He gave it a thoughtful look, then said: "The clouds may be angry but not angry enough to cry."

  I chuckled and hugged my poetic son. "True. Doesn't look like rain, just lots of gloomy weather."

  "I wanna play ball," William said and let himself slide to the ground. He ran into the grass and grabbed the soccer ball I had bought for him. He started to run with it, then kicked it in between the two palm trees we had pretended to mark the goal.