Who Will Find Them

Chapter 6

Bethany sat on a hard folding metal chair. She scanned the bare, drab grey, windowless walls, looking for anything that would offer her comfort, but found nothing except for an old round analog wall clock clicking away the minutes. Three banks of fluorescent lights ran across the ceiling. Their constant flickering and buzzing made Beth want to throw something at them, but even if she had something to toss, which she didn’t, she knew better than to do it. The only other furniture in this chamber was a metal desk devoid of anything, with an old-style desk phone, a pad of 8 x 11 lined paper sitting on top of a manilla file folder, and a ballpoint pen. The desk chair looked slightly more comfortable than the one she was sitting on, but not by much.

She had been by herself for approximately twenty minutes when the sound of the door behind her opening caused her to turn around. A woman walking through the door was dressed in a drab colored suit, flats, her grey-streaked black hair pulled back in a tight bun. The lady might have given the outward impression of being all business except for her eyes. It’s said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and this woman had kind, empathetic eyes. She positioned herself behind the desk, gave Bethany a quick once-over, and started.

“Good afternoon, Bethany. My name is Miriam. I’ve been assigned to handle your initial interview. Before we get started, would you like water or soda, maybe a bag of chips? Do you need the Ladies Room?”

Beth wasn’t sure what to make of this lady and all her rapid-fire questions.

“I could use a toilet, and I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since they took me away from that awful man. Will I have to see him again? He’s not very nice.”

“No, you won’t need to see him anymore. Now come with me, and I’ll show you where the ladies' room is. I’m afraid all we have is vending machine food in this building, but once we’re through talking your case worker will take you for some real food. Sound good?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Miriam walked with Beth until they reached the bathroom door. When Beth went inside, Miriam bought a soda and some snacks. She arrived back at the door just as Beth was coming out.

“All set? I got these for you. I hope you like Cheetos, Reese’s, and a Coke.”

“Reese’s is my favorite! They never let us have any of this stuff at The Place.”

“By The Place, do you mean Safe Haven?”

Before Beth could answer, they re-entered the interrogation room where the desk phone was ringing. Miriam answered the call, listened for a short time, and hung up.

“I’m sorry, dear, what were you saying?”

“Yes, I meant Safe Haven. That place is terrible. The people who work there are cruel. They hit you and take your food away if you do something they don’t like.”

“Is that why you ran away twice before? They told us you ran away because you were looking for your mother.”

“They’re liars! My mother is a junkie. She doesn’t care about me. I was looking for my best friends, Alice and Carrie.”

“Were they adopted and left with their new families?”

“No. I saw each one of them leave with the same man who took me. He took them somewhere, and I need to find them. Will you help me, Miriam?”

“I wish I could, Beth, but my hands are tied. It looks like your luck is changing, though. That phone call was my boss telling me you’ve been placed with a family. Safe Haven is sending one of their people here in the morning to take you to your new foster parents. Isn’t that amazing?”

Tears streamed down Beth’s cheeks, but they were tears of anguish, not joy, and she sobbed uncontrollably.

“No, no, no. You don’t understand. That’s the same way my friends disappeared; now I’m going to disappear too, and nobody will help me, not even the nice bus driver.”

Miriam was stunned by Beth’s reaction to the news. She searched for a comforting response but couldn’t come up with one that was satisfactory. Suddenly, like a switch had been flicked on, Beth’s sobbing stopped and her tears quit flowing. The young girl straightened her posture and stared resolutely at Miriam.

“My father died two years ago, just after my tenth birthday. I didn’t fully understand his final words until just now. Dad said what he was about to tell me probably wouldn’t make much sense until I was older, and he was right. I didn’t fully get it until just now.”

“And what was that, dear?”

“Dad told me he wasn’t going to be around to take care of me any longer, and my mother was struggling with a problem she couldn’t beat, so I wouldn’t be able to rely on her. It was going to be up to me to make the tough decisions and work things out for myself. I’m smart and can do it. No matter what happens with these people, I’m going to win, my dad said so.”

“You’re a strong young woman, Beth,” and I’m sure your dad is very proud of you. Now, let’s go get you some food and a comfortable place to stay until your caretaker comes to pick you up tomorrow”

Later that evening, Dom called Miriam to check on the girl. She told him that all was well and someone from Safe Haven was picking her up in the morning to take her to a new home. That was all she could say, and even that much was probably too much, but she felt he needed to know the girl was going to be all right since he helped rescue her.

Miriam placed her phone back in her pocket, took a deep, comforting breath, and slowly exhaled. What could have been a tragic day ended on a positive note, and she was proud to be part of it. Beth’s initial reaction when told where she was going still troubled her; none of these cases go off without some issues. People are always troubled by the unknown, and that goes double for children who have spent most of their lives being shifted from place to place. Hopefully, once Beth gets settled into her new home, life will get a little brighter for her.

Chapter 7

Sean knew his boss was not a morning person, but he tried to present a positive front despite Tiffany’s sour expression. Besides, if anyone should be in a foul mood, it ought to be him. After all, he’s the one who will be making the three-hour drive to New York City, then delivering this troublesome child to a cantankerous old client in Hoboken, NJ, before driving back to Maryland. He knew it’s said, “Go along to get along,” but it’s not easy at times.

“Good morning, boss! It looks like you had quite a successful night last night.”

“It would have been if the Reverend hadn’t shown up. I had to put up with feeling his perverted gaze on me through the whole event.”

“Look on the bright side, you were able to tell him the NYC issue was under control, and the rest of the operation was running smoothly.”

“That’s true, but I think it’s time for the good Reverend Lancaster to spend some quality time with his maker. Once you get back from your little trip, we need to discuss what will be the best way to make that happen.”

“If you say so, boss, but I suggest you think really hard before going down that road. This is still his organization, and there are a lot of people who won’t be as cooperative once he’s gone. Things could become extremely competitive with the Serbians once the Reverend is out of the picture.”

“I’ve already thought of that and put out feelers to see how willing they are to discuss changes in our arrangements. Their people were more open to talking than I expected. If they can be believed, the only roadblock to improving our relationship with them is the Reverend. It will give you something to think about during your drive to the city and back.”

“It will do that, for sure, although it sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“Nothing is ever done until it’s done, but I’m leaning that way. That reminds me, where did that nasty bruise on your neck come from?”

“It’s what I get for sticking my neck out for a friend. I’ll try not to let it happen again. Time to leave if I’m going to get there before noon. Tell the customer he’ll have his package by early afternoon.”

“I don’t think anything will make that crotchety old pervert happy, but at least we won’t need to listen to his complaining until he needs another replacement.”

Tiffany and Sean were just wrapping up when her phone buzzed. The caller ID showed it was from her public relations person, so she answered.

“Abigail, this is early for you to be calling.”

“Sorry, ma’am, I know it’s early to be calling about business, but I think this is important. I got a call early this morning from a reporter from the Sun. He wants to do an interview with the kidnapped girl and the bus driver who rescued her, today if possible, tomorrow at the latest. I think this could be a great publicity opportunity. It would certainly help with our fundraising.”

Tiffany was so stunned by the request she almost dropped the phone.

“Ma’am, are you still there?”

“Yes, yes, I’m here. Hold on for a minute, Abigail.”

“Sean, don’t leave yet; I may have some new instructions for you.”

“Okay, I’m back. You’re right, this would make a great PR spot for tomorrow. Today will be too tiring for her. See if you can set up the interview sometime around 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.”

“I’ll try to make it happen. I’m sure they will work with us if it means an exclusive story for them. Let me get it set up. Got to go, bye.”

Sean stood at the far end of the room with a perplexed look on his face.

“Now what?”

“The Sun just contacted Abigail. They want an interview with Beth and the bus driver. Bring the girl directly back here so we can prep her on what to say. I’ll find someone else for the Hoboken pervert.”

“Nothing ever goes as planned with this kid, does it?”

“She does have a way of keeping life interesting, I’ll give her that.”

“One other thing, I can’t be in the same room as the bus driver.”

Before she could ask why, Sean ran a hand over a black and blue neck. Tiffany immediately understood.

“Not a problem. I’ll have Joe bring her in.”

“I think Abigail might be the better choice.”

“Joe too? Who is this guy, Bruce Lee, or Jack Reacher?”

“Let’s just say he’s been well trained, ma’am.”

“Okay, I get it, Abigail it is. Now you need to get going before people up there start wondering why you’re late.”

With one potential disaster averted, it was time to move on to the next issue: finding a replacement for Beth. The Hoboken perv had specific requirements that had to be met, or he would reject the package. Beth fit them to a T, but she was no longer in play. Her replacement had to be 11-12 years old, blue or hazel eyes, light brown or blond hair, slender, and no previous sexual experience. He wanted to be her first and most likely her last partner. Tiffany wasn’t sure what had happened to the previous packages she delivered to him, but she could imagine. This was the toughest part of the trafficking business, and she had considered closing this part of the organization down more than once, but the money was too damn good to walk away from. That, plus the fact that no one cared what was happening to her while the Reverend was using her for his sex doll.

Tiffany sat in front of her computer and pulled up the records of all recent arrivals at each of her group homes. Three immediately fit the profile. They were the right age, build, hair, and eye color, and most importantly, no one would be looking for them if they went missing. In the end, she used the Eeny Meenie Miny Moe method to choose her next package. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized how insignificant a girl’s life had become to her that she could select one that way. She called Joe to her office and handed him delivery instructions identifying the replacement girl’s name, current location, and the delivery address. He took the updated information and left without anything of importance to say. This was just one more job in a very long list of jobs he needed to complete.

The most distasteful job of the day on Tiffany’s list wasn’t selling off kids; it was calling Reverend Lancaster for their weekly update. Just thinking about the man made her stomach turn over. Every week she was required to call him with a financial report and child inventory status. When the stock (a term he used to dehumanize the children) showed signs of running low, he would contact his suppliers, and within days a new batch of children would arrive at the organization’s various group homes. Many of the children dropped off at her facilities were malnourished, dressed in filthy clothes, and spoke broken English, if any at all. This seemingly endless supply of abandoned children was directly connected to the Reverend’s association with the local Serbian group.

It was the Serbian connection that made it so difficult for her to be rid of the good Reverend, but she was working on that. He wasn’t the only one who could arrange business meetings and attend social functions where working relationships were formed. Plus, spending the occasional all-nighter to seal a deal was an option the Reverend was unable to offer. Yes, it was becoming exceedingly clear to her that Reverend Lancaster had outlived his usefulness.