Wild Woods
12
On the Run
Awakening
“ADAM!” GEE PANTED when he found the doctor. Adam looked up from a cup of coffee in the hospital cafeteria. Julia and Mead sat with him.
“Are you hurt, Gee?” Adam asked as he started to stand.
“No. Winded. Ran from the Woods.”
“That’s… about three miles,” Mead offered. “Why are you running?”
“No driver’s license. The children, Adam. They’ve been eating nuts in the woods.”
“What? That’s not possible. Their blood tests showed markers for RDH in their system but they’d get that from long-term use of Lustre.”
Gee put the dirty blanket on the table, causing those seated to pull their cups and dishes out of his way.
“This is what was in the children’s nest in the Patriarch. A blanket. A few ragged clothes. A plastic cup. Mushrooms and nuts. There were plenty of broken shells to indicate they’d been eating them,” Gee explained.
“And a butter knife?” Mead said, spotting the flash of silver in the pile.
“That and the cup are the only domestic things I could find. And here. The remains of their shoes. I don’t know how far they walked to get here, but they are completely worn out.”
“We need to get a nut tested,” Adam said. “Maybe these don’t have the concentration of RDH in them that the nuts in the Forest have.”
“Or we could be dealing with addicts who have developed an immunity to the poison,” Mead speculated.
“You know, I ate a nut from the Patriarch the first time I found him.” Gee said.
“You did? When?”
“Thanksgiving. It didn’t seem to have the same effect that the first nut had. And remember, Karen ingested seven of them when she was kidnapped. I assume they were from the Wild Woods,” Gee said.
“We should run another sample of your blood and Karen’s to see how the markers compare to the children,” Adam said. “I don’t see any signs of withdrawal in the children. In fact, I was going to suggest you can take them home now.”
“We can… What?”
“They aren’t sick. When the little children were here, we were feeling our way. They were unresponsive and we tried to figure out what was wrong. Nina was never admitted because, aside from her damaged memory, she wasn’t sick. These kids are like her. They need a healthy diet and people who will take care of them. That’s what a family does,” Adam said. “I plan to release Jane, John, and Genesis Evars into the care of their family.”
“Pending the judge’s approval,” Mead added.
“You’re saying Karen and I are their family?”
“Convince me otherwise, Gee.”
“What do you think, Karen?” Gee asked. Mead gave him a lift home after their meeting at the hospital. “It’s… So much of the work falls on you now. I don’t want you to feel like I’ve gone out and created a burden for you.”
Karen grabbed Gee’s head and turned it toward her before kissing him passionately. Tears streamed down her face. She pulled away to look at him and then kissed him again.
“Do you think the only child that mattered to me was Renee? We found her. Nina is here. But if we could adopt every child who has been taken and abused, I would.”
“We’ll need more help.”
“I’ve already asked Raven if she would be interested in helping with the children. I’ll put her on full time instead of as a part-time housekeeper. What were Ben’s last words to us? ‘Fill this house with children.’ You don’t think he meant I should become a baby factory, do you?” Karen laughed through her tears. Gee hugged her to him.
They heard a sniff and turned to see Nina standing in front of the sofa.
“Nina, honey, are you upset?”
She shook her head and Karen shifted so Nina could sit between them.
“You… won’t send me away, will you?”
“Absolutely not!” Gee said. “Nina, this is your home. We would never send you away. Aren’t you the one who reminded us that we have a lot of bedrooms?” She released a shuddering breath.
“I… knew that. I was afraid. When Sir and Madam got a new girl, they sold me.”
“Honey, we don’t own you. We love you. When we bring more children into our home, we’ll love more. We don’t need to take away from you to give to Jane and John and Gen,” Karen said. Nina considered a moment and began to smile.
“It’s like Jeanie! I don’t have to stop being friends with her to be friends with Leslie. And that means I can love Mommy and Daddy and still have room for John and Jane and Gen.”
“You are growing up to be such a loving and kind daughter,” Karen said, hugging her.
“Do you want to come and live with us?” Gee asked the children as they sat together in the hospital room. Karen cuddled baby Gen and Nina had chosen to sit close beside Jane.
“Will we be together, sir?” John asked. He hugged Jane possessively. They still spoke softly but seemed to have as much language skill as Nina. They had lived rough for nearly a year but had poor experiences living in a house with their owners.
“First, I am not ‘sir’. I’m just Gee. John, we don’t own you. No one is ever going to own you again. We will give you a home and a safe place and invite you to be part of our family. You and Jane and Gen will live with us as long as you like and we will help you learn and become independent as your own family. Is that what you want?”
“Yes, sir. I mean yes, Gee.”
Jane had not spoken more than a few whispers to John. Karen looked to her.
“Jane, this is your choice as well. Do you want to live with John and Gen in our home as a family?” Jane looked at John and visibly relaxed. Her smile was radiant when she looked at Karen.
“Yes, ma… Miss…”
“Just Karen, dear.”
“Yes, Karen. You won’t take us away from each other?”
“No, sweetheart. Not at all.”
“Then yes.” She clung to John.
“Judge Warren needs to ask you some of the same questions so we can go home,” Gee said. “Just answer him honestly, even if it is different than what you told Karen and me. We’ll wait outside.”
A happy parade left the children’s room. Adam and Julia followed the family of six and chatted with Mead Oliver and Judge Warren. All four had witnessed the agreement between the children and Gee, Karen, and Nina, verifying they all wanted to live together. It would take time and proper paperwork to make it a permanent arrangement but the Judge had signed temporary custody over. There had been one stipulation the Judge required and talked it over carefully with Jane, John, and Adam. After the exchange, Jane had received a birth control implant. She sighed when the bandage had been applied to the insertion point.
“Someday I might want another baby,” she said. “I love Gen. But it was very hard and hurt a lot. Caregiver Adam said it was because my hips haven’t grown up yet. When I grow up all the way, then John and I can have another baby.”
“That’s very mature of you, Jane,” Karen said. She held baby Gen again and smiled at the gurgling infant. “You have a good Mommy, Gen. And Grandma will be right here to help.”
John stopped in the hall so abruptly he was almost run over. Jane followed his eyes into the room they were passing. John reached for Gee’s hickory walking stick and asked for it with his eyes. Gee found the children all liked to reach out and touch the stick but was puzzled by John’s request. He nodded and let John take the stick. They followed the boy into the room where Rena Lynd lay silently in bed, Pastor Lance Beck sitting beside her.
“What is the meaning of this?” Beck asked. “Are you here to rejoice in my suffering. Dr. Gaston has already told me she won’t last much longer. Let her go in peace.”
Without hesitating, John and Jane approached the bed opposite where Beck sat and laid the hickory staff next to Rena. They carefully moved her hand and wrapped it around the smooth wood. Both children held her hand against the staff.
The room was silent, Beck shocked to stillness by the children. Rena gasped, her eyes flashing open as a long moan escaped her lips. For a moment, Gee thought it was her death rattle. Lance reached for her hand and she turned her head toward him. A piercing scream issued from her throat.
Mead was in action and pulled Beck’s hands behind his back, snapping handcuffs on him. Never one to wait on formalities, Mead immediately started asking questions.
“Is this the man who attacked you, Rena?”
She shook her head and looked at Beck, tears forming in her eyes.
“I loved you,” she whispered. “You didn’t have to send me to them. I would have done anything for you.”
Judge Warren held up a hand, silencing Mead. Adam and Julia efficiently began checking Rena’s vitals. She never let go of the staff.
“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Judge Warren said softly as he looked at Rena over the children’s heads. “Rena, do you know who did this to you? Who you were sent to and who pushed you into the quarry?” Rena nodded slowly.
“Dr. Jones,” she said. “And Deacon Stewart.”
Pastor Lance Beck was freed, protesting that he knew nothing about her treatment and believing he had sent her to a place where she would be safe. Rena, however, made it clear that she did not want him to come near her again. Ever. He left in tears.
She was so exhausted from the sudden awakening and dramatic outburst, she could hardly keep her eyes open. Julia stayed with her as she fell asleep, having given Mead and Warren enough information to generate an arrest warrant for Deacon Stewart. The story was one of drugs and rape. Before she drifted back to sleep, she looked up at the children and smiled at them.
“Thank you,” she whispered, “for bringing the Forest to me.” She released the staff and dropped off to sleep.
“She’s very weak,” Adam said once they were in the hall. “Even now, I don’t know if she will make it. We’ll do everything we can.”
“I’ll start the warrant,” Mead said to the Judge. “I’ll need Sheriff Johnson. Stewart lives about ten miles south of town.”
“Have him meet us at my office,” the judge said. “And get lots of backup. State police if you need them. This is the end of the road for him.”
“How did you know she needed the staff?” Karen asked the children during dinner at the mansion that evening.
They had been happy but not overly impressed by the little suite of rooms that Karen showed them to—just a bedroom and bath. Raven had prepared a big meal, having already told Sherry at the Pub & Grub that she could no longer work there. Timmy sat at the table with the rest of the family and Gee realized they had adopted the young man with a mind as damaged as the others. He stood as soon as he had finished eating and announced that he needed to wash dishes at the pub. He left.
“When Gee found us, we were afraid. We stayed away from the evil men,” John said. “We hid in the trees. But then we touched his stick and everything was okay. We knew we could trust him. He belonged to The Tree and so did we.”
“When we saw the girl in the room, we recognized her,” Jane added. “We saw her come to the cabin. The evil men visited her every day. Then she left and never came back. We… felt… she belonged to The Tree. So, we took the stick to comfort her.”
“Will she be all right?” Nina asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Karen said. “The caregivers will do all they can for her.”
Jane asked for her baby, being held by Raven. As soon as she had her, she gave the infant a tiny breast to suckle.
“We will help to give Gen more food from a bottle so she can grow strong like the two of you,” Karen said. “You scarcely have enough energy for yourself, Jane. Always eat as much as you want so you can grow.”
The girl smiled and whispered, “Thank you.”
Fire
Deceived. He had been deceived. Could his own deacon have been the one who tried to kill Rena? Lance Beck went straight from the hospital to the church. There, he knelt at the altar to pray.
How could it be possible for the church of God, his flock, to sink so low? Had he, on a mission to save children from the evil influence of homosexuality and disobedience, been used for some unrighteousness by his Deacon? He had taken the sins of those children on himself. Done unspeakable things to show them the way to salvation. With the assistance of the drug created by Dr. Jones, he had carefully wiped away their evil natures and made them obedient to every word of their parents. They’d been brought to him one at a time over the past ten or more years for instruction that he gladly gave.
Yes, the unwashed sinners of the town would likely not approve. Some would even condemn him as a child abuser. But those people were the first to condemn the youth of today for not having respect or the discipline that their parents, themselves, had failed to instill in them. They didn’t dare even spank a disobedient child for fear of accusations. Yet in his years in the ministry, Lance Beck had turned many a child from the depth of depravity and raised them up whole—a pleasing sacrifice unto God.
What witchcraft had that Satan worked with those children to animate Rena and cause her to make such accusations? The Champion’s magic wand laid across her hands while she rejected her love. It was preposterous and the people of Rosebud Falls let themselves be bewitched by his spells. He had come to town to sow discord. Even within this church.
Preaching had not been enough. It was time for Lance Beck to take action. If the community refused to recognize the evil of the Forest and the enchantment they were under, then he had to destroy the Forest. Like Elijah, he would call down the fire of God and destroy the priests of Baal and their heathen shrine. He was called. He would begin with the cabins, ready tinder in the Wild Woods. From there he would attack the very bastions of evil in the Forest. The foresters’ office, the lumbermill, and that sick breeding ground of insolent and parentless adolescents, Flor del Día.
Lance Beck rose from the altar, a new and recharged crusader. He needed fuel for his fires.
That was when the preacher recognized the scent of gasoline. He sniffed at himself wondering if he had spilled some when refueling his new car. A noise below him drew his attention and he used the chancel stairs to go to the basement. A single light, left always on so they could find the switches for the lights in the basement, scarcely illuminated the bottom of the stairs. He stepped around the corner to see Deacon Stewart emptying a five-gallon gas can on piles of literature, tables, and the paneled walls. Another can sat nearby.
“You!” Beck cried out, surprising the older man. “What are you doing? It’s true! How can you abide the House of the Lord, murderer!”
“What? Ah! She’s dead then. One less stop I need to make tonight,” Deacon sneered, noting the preacher standing on the gas-soaked wooden stairs. “Your services are no longer required by this church, Pastor.”
Beck charged across the wet floor at Deacon and was met with the can, thrown at him. He slipped to one knee and Deacon snatched up the other can to throw at him as well. Beck fell back to the floor, gasoline soaking his clothes. “This is your resignation!” Deacon yelled. He stepped back to the foyer stairs and flicked a lighter at the thin trail of gas he had left there before escaping up the stairs.
“No!” Beck cried. He scrambled back toward the stairs he had descended, the flash of fire engulfing him before he had made the second step. In agony, Beck climbed toward escape, spreading the fire to drapes and carpet. Overcome by pain and fumes, Beck stumbled to the chancel where he fell across the altar.
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” he whispered as the flames consumed him.
Mead and Johnson were speeding out of the city when the call came through for all emergency vehicles to immediately proceed to Calvary Tabernacle where a fire threatened nearby houses and the surrounding woods.
Johnson looked at his counterpart and shook his head. He turned into a drive about five miles south of town and backed out to return. Four other units copied his move, turning on their emergency lights and sirens.
Family
“The house we lived in was like this,” John said. “Mother and Father were very rich.”
“Mother and Father?” Gee asked.
“That’s what they told us we had to call them. Mother and Father. The only words we were allowed speak were, ‘Yes, Mother,’ and ‘Yes, Father.’ They came to play with us each evening. We ate dinner, cleaned our rooms, played dress-up, or school. Sometimes we were rewarded for doing a job well. Some rewards were pieces of candy. Others were being petted. They liked to pet us all over. Usually, they found something wrong with what we did and punished us. They liked to spank us and then pet us.”
“John, do you know who these people are?”
“Mother and Father. We never saw anyone else. The first time we’d ever been outside was when we ran away. We didn’t know there was so much outdoors or how big the house was until we saw it. We took our clothes and the cups and plates we ate from. This is the only one left. We took a knife, afraid that if we took too much, they would look harder for us. We knew about money and took what was in our play store. We found out later the money wasn’t real,” John said.
“We weren’t dressed like other people,” Jane added. “The clothes we had were like the ones on Esther’s little doll. People stared at us so we hid and ran and hid some more. We found places where people dumped food and ate there. We took clothing we found in houses we snuck into and left our play money in exchange for it. Mostly, we just kept walking until we found the woods.”
“It’s almost too much to comprehend. I’m glad you ran away, but why? Did they hurt you?” Karen asked.
“Jane started to bleed. They were mad. They said they didn’t want teenagers, they wanted children. They were going to get rid of us and get new ones. We knew what it meant when people threw things away. I didn’t want Jane to be thrown away,” John said.
“We were alone in our rooms most of the time and learned how to open the locks on our doors so we could be together after playtime,” Jane said. “And petting each other was much better than having Mother and Father pet us. I understand that is how we got Gen.”
“Why did you come here? I mean to the woods?” Gee asked.
“We didn’t know where we were going. We ran and we hid and one day we recognized where we were. The woods is where we woke up when Mother and Father got us.”
“Again, waking up. Just like Nina said she woke up at the cabin,” Gee said.
“The cabins were scary,” Jane said. “We thought we’d be safe there but then we saw the evil men with the children who were there. We hid in the trees.”
“How did you survive? Eat? Stay warm?” Karen asked. Jane and John looked at each other and were silent as they thought about the question. “It’s okay. You were desperate children. We won’t blame you for anything you did.” Finally, Jane nodded and John continued.
“The women.”
“What women?”
“Women came to the cabins to take care of children, clean, and cook. When we first arrived, we didn’t know what to do and a woman saw us. She looked around and held a finger to her lips. The next morning, there were blankets and some food near the cabin. For a few weeks clothes and food were hidden near the cabins where the evil men couldn’t see them. We tried to live on the ground, hidden in the bushes and thorns but then the children left and the women cleaned the cabins and left,” John said.
“We were going to move into a cabin but we saw the woman in the hospital brought to one of them so we knew they weren’t just abandoned. The evil men came every day. When we saw what happened to her, we moved deeper into the woods and found the big tree. We built our nest.”
“I brought you everything I found in the nest. We’ve washed the other blanket and clothes and gave you the knife and cup. The only thing we didn’t give you were the mushrooms and nuts. We can feed you much better and we are worried they might not be healthy for you,” Gee said. “There were no other clothes or blankets. Did you lose them when you made the nest in the tree?” The children shared a look with each other. Again, a slight nod.
“The Tree said to trust you,” John said warily. “You won’t hurt them, will you?”
“The trees? No. We are trying to save and protect the woods.”
“The other children.”
Gee and Karen paled.
Raid
“Police! Open up!” Sheriff Johnson yelled as he pounded on Deacon Stewart’s door. Silence answered. He pounded again and prepared to have a deputy break down the door. Just before the deputy swung his heavy metal ram, the door cracked open and eyes looked out from below Johnson’s chest level. “Open the door,” the sheriff demanded. “I have a search warrant for these premises and an arrest warrant for Carl Stewart, alias Deacon. Let us in.”
The small person scuttled back from the door, leaving it ajar. Johnson pushed it open and entered. Mead and two deputies followed closely, hands on their sidearms.
The room was immaculate though not ornate. The officers sniffed fresh wood polish. A tiny Asian woman crouched on her knees near the fireplace, a child huddled next to her. Mead called in a woman trooper standing by to assist. She moved immediately to the huddled woman. Officers spread throughout the house.
“Where is Deacon Stewart?” Johnson asked the woman. The trooper hushed his voice and repeated the question softly to the frightened woman.
“He leave. Say come back for Li when house clean. Li work very hard.”
“I’m sure you do, Li,” the trooper said. “Your house is very clean.” She seemed to know how to put the woman at ease as she beamed in pride. “Did Deacon go alone?” The woman shook her head.
“He take boy. Girl stay to help clean.”
“That makes things messy,” Mead grumbled. He thumbed his cell phone. “Put an APB on Deacon Carl Stewart,” he said into the phone. Turning to the woman he asked, “When did he leave?”
“Early. Three o’clock?” the woman answered. Mead returned to the phone.
“Currently presumed to be within four hours of Rosebud Falls, direction unknown. Look up his vehicle registration and add it to the notice. Warning: He is wanted for murder, assault, and kidnapping, and is believed to have a male child with him. Consider him armed and dangerous. Get it out now, Mary,” he barked into the phone.
Johnson nodded.
“Get the woman and girl to the hospital and then a safe house,” he suggested to the trooper. “We need to search this place and it’s going to take a while. We’ve been up all night. Damn fire.”
The trooper agreed and moved the two outside to a waiting ambulance. The woman was afraid because she had not finished cleaning and Deacon would be back for her. It took a few minutes for the trooper to convince her that she would be safe and they would make sure Deacon knew she had done a good job of cleaning.
“You stink,” Mead said, looking at Johnson. He sniffed at himself. “Me, too. If it weren’t for that damned fire, we’d have been here at midnight—before he ran. That church is just more trouble than it’s worth.”
“I bet he didn’t get here to pack until the church was burning.”
“You think?”
“I think you can add arson to the list of crimes he’s wanted for. That fire was definitely deliberate and went up much faster than even a wooden church should. The fire chief was sure an accelerant was used. Any word on the preacher?”
“No. We didn’t find him home during the fire. We put out a missing person notice. He could be traveling with Deacon,” Mead said. “Where do we start?”
“Deputies!” Johnson yelled. Two sheriff’s deputies and two policemen moved into the living room, already wearing latex gloves. State troopers were searching the grounds and outbuildings.
“We’re looking for any information that will help us locate and convict Deacon Carl Stewart. That includes drugs, papers, bills, journals, canceled checks, maps, and hidden passages where children might have been concealed. There could be children in hiding the housekeeper didn’t know about. Box and carry everything. Itemize it. Chain of custody. We don’t want any tainted evidence when we put this bastard away for life.” The deputies and officers nodded and went about their work. “Mead, you should call Savage and search Stewart’s office.”
“I have the warrant. I’ll head there now. At least we have a friendly CEO over there,” Mead said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Mobilizing the Search
“There could be how many more out there?” David shouted at Gee. Sunday was not going to be a day of rest for anyone.
“John said there had been eight of them in the Patriarch nest when it started to snow. When the worst weather hit and the temperatures dropped, they moved into one of the cabins but the children don’t like it there. That was probably the cabin Darrell discovered was out of propane. We were out of the woods completely for three weeks and when I got volunteers back in there, we focused on the fencerow,” Gee said. “Jane gave birth in one of the cabins but as soon as she could climb, they moved back to the nest in the Patriarch. The kids divided up the supplies they had and scattered. They’ve seen others in the past month but have not talked to them.
“We’ll need every forester in the Wild Woods,” David said. “Jonathan, start calling them up. We need to search as if lives depended on it. They do.”
“We also need to be calm and non-threatening,” Gee said. “Don’t send them in all at once and send them from different directions. These children have been abused and fled. They are very good at hiding.”
“How long have they been out there?” David asked. “How long have we had frightened children living in the wild within a mile of our Forest?”
“Jane says they got here before the nuts started falling off the trees. That was about September, I’d guess. Just before Harvest,” Gee said.
“Six months! And traffickers moving kids through before that. How could we have missed this for so long?” David moaned.
“David, these children are different than the first three little ones we found. They’re more like Nina. Older adolescents whose training or brainwashing failed at some point and they ran away from their owners. They will hide,” Gee said. “Our best bet is to spread out, find likely places where they might travel—like to water—but don’t try to invade them. The same things Jessie and Jonathan have been doing the past couple of weeks. Let’s set out more survival kits and increase the amount of food in them.” David nodded agreement.
“I see what you’re saying. If we try to ferret them out, they’ll dig deeper. We need to lure them. Tame them,” he said. “Let’s start getting survival kits together. Do you want to call in your volunteers?”
“I’m torn,” Gee said. “They have a lot of enthusiasm but sometimes lack restraint. I’ll figure out who to talk to.”
DNA
A week after the three children had been released to the custody of Gee and Karen, Judge Warren sat in the conference room he often used for less formal meetings. Nothing in this room went on anyone’s official record.
“The good news is that we located a list of contacts,” Mead said. “We don’t yet know the relationships, so we’re proceeding slowly.”
“What kind of contacts?” Judge Warren asked.
“We have his cellphone log and have identified most of the parties he called. There were the expected contacts that could be part of the trafficking or might just be from church and office. Jones, Alexander, Daniels, Darren Cole, Beck, and the attorney, Matt Hogue. But the other numbers look like he was running for national office or something. Reclusive, rich, foreign, in government. Our suspicion is they may have been customers. We also found a map with locations of various warehouses and dates next to them. We suspect these may have been the drop points for loads of stone that concealed children. Larry Syre has become very cooperative in identifying places he dropped and picked up loads.”
“So, what’s the bad news?”
“It’s no longer our case. Or maybe that is good news—I don’t know. We were definitely in over our heads.”
“It’s gone federal?”
“Yes, sir. The longer Deacon is on the loose, the more likely he is to have crossed state lines. His Asian housekeeper has been cooperative with the state patrol and spoke through a Chinese interpreter. She first begged not to be sent back to China. She’s illegal, smuggled into the US in the trunk of a car shipped by container. Her contact on this end got her the job with Deacon two years ago. She has not been allowed out of his house in that time. And no, the two children are not hers. They were brought to the house in November—about the same time we found the kids in the truckload of stone. The boy Deacon took with him is about seven, she thinks. The sum is, FBI involvement. They thanked us for the evidence and took over the case. What they haven’t done yet is ask for access to any of the recovered children. We gave them a full report and they said that part was up to us. They were interested in criminals.”
“Just as well. If they recovered a kidnapped child, they’d turn him over to CPS and the kid would be in worse shape than before. Good news?” Judge Warren asked.
“It’s been a busy week. I’ve asked Gee and Karen to join us, if you don’t mind, your honor.”
“I find that encouraging. Call them in.”
Gee and Karen were accompanied by their attorneys, Jack and Gretchen LaCoe. After they were greeted and everyone settled, Judge Warren turned the floor over to Mead.
“We have a DNA match for one of the children from the missing persons data base,” Mead began.
“Which?” “That’s wonderful!” Gee and Karen both exclaimed.
“Take it easy. You might not be as excited once I tell you. We have a match for the little mother you call Jane Evars. She was reported missing eight years ago, at age five. Her real name is Susan White. Initially, her father was suspected of kidnapping her out of spite for his ex-wife. He was exonerated when he was convicted of an armed convenience store robbery with his image on video surveillance at the time of the kidnapping. That was in Washington State and as a third felony he was sentenced to life on their three strikes law,” Mead said. “A real winner.”
“But her mother. As much as I love Jane and want to keep her with us, her mother needs to be contacted,” Karen said. Tears were in her eyes. They all realized the implication of the thirteen-year-old girl being given into the custody of her natural mother.
“Can’t,” Mead said. “She committed suicide by needle on the fifth anniversary of the kidnapping—three years ago.”
“Suicide by needle?” Gee questioned.
“Fentanyl overdose. It wasn’t her first attempt.”
Karen was openly weeping now, held by Gee and comforted by Gretchen.
“What is that?” Gee asked.
“Synthetic heroin,” Mead explained. “Last year it caused more deaths than HIV, car crashes, or gun violence. It was a major contributor last year to the reduction by five months in life expectancy of an infant born in the United States. First time life expectancy has dropped since the end of World War II.”
“Judge, what does that imply regarding Karen and Gee’s custody of the child?” Jack asked.
“Nothing immediate,” Warren answered. “An effort should be made to discover any other close relatives. Custody laws always favor a near relative over anyone else. Further removed than grandparents, siblings, and parents’ siblings and there is an equal chance that Gee and Karen would retain custody. And, of course, the same would be true if the relative was found unable, unwilling, or unfit to take custody,” Warren said. “I’ll accept suggestions, but I don’t see any reason to adjust custody at this time.”
“I believe, your honor, the child’s true name should be registered and changed on the custody papers,” Jack said. “That would keep things completely transparent.”
“And we need to tell her what her real name is,” Karen said. “It isn’t right to go on calling her Jane when her name is Susan.”
“She may prefer it,” Gee said. “She has no memory of what her name was before she was brainwashed. It’s the same as Nina not remembering her name was Renee. She prefers to remain Nina.”
“And the DNA report on Nina?” Warren asked.
“Confirms she and Violet share lineage from Collin’s father. It’s as close to positive as we’ll get unless we manage to locate her mother,” Karen said.
“Well, Collin is satisfied, so I suppose that’s what’s important. Yes, Gretchen?”
“Your honor there is the matter of registering the baby’s birth certificate. The children are vague about the age but based on ancillary data—like weather—we’ve fixed the date of birth as approximately January fifteenth. We would like to suggest a birth certificate be issued listing Susan White, aka Jane Evars, as mother with father tentatively identified as John Evars, pending the possibility of a future DNA test revealing his true identity. Dr. Poltanys has confirmed by paternity test what we already knew. John is the father and Jane is the mother. We would also like the court to request an official birth certificate for Jane so her identity can be legitimized. We all know how difficult having no confirmable identity can be.” She glanced over at Gee and he nodded.
“Agreed,” Warren said. “Any other business we need to cover at this time? Adjourned.”
Salome
“A week and still no children,” David said as he met with the team Saturday afternoon. “Gee, are you sure they’re still out there?”
“No. That’s the problem,” Gee sighed. “They could have scattered after the cold weather broke. I just feel they are there somewhere.”
“We know at least someone is out there,” Jonathan said. “Two of the survival kits were raided. They left everything but the food, which tells us where their priorities are right now.”
“Not only out there, but starving,” David said.
“It also shows they are waiting until night to collect,” Gabe offered. “Each survival kit and cabin has been watched during the day, from a safe and non-threatening distance.”
Gee puzzled over this bit of information. The foresters replenished the broken kits and left, hopeful that at least the food would help the hidden ones. Gee went home to talk to Karen.
A small party was in progress when he got home. Jude and Laura and the younger children were there. He could hear their squeals from the playroom with Jeanie and Nina’s voices joining in. Gee assumed John and Jane were with them but the voices of the two were still so soft even he had to strain to hear them at times. Raven and Timmy carried trays of cocoa and cookies toward the playroom. Karen quickly got up to greet her fiancé.
“Having fun this afternoon?” Gee asked.
“You wouldn’t believe…”
“Gee!” A patter of little feet preceded a tight grip on Gee’s leg as Esther clung to him. Karen moved back a step so Gee could scoop the little girl up into his arms.
“My little Esther! Oh, I’m so happy to see you! Are you excited about something?” Gee asked. Esther started to speak and stopped as if trying to get the words she wanted, her lips finally puckering up.
“Puppy!” she burst out. She pointed to the playroom and Gee carried her there looking down at the little ball of fur running in circles from child to child. Esther squirmed and he set her down.
“Is this going to start a trend?” he asked as he wrapped an arm around Karen.
“Our fault!” Jude announced proudly.
“We found him online and picked him up this morning,” Laura said. “The poor thing is going to sleep soundly soon.”
“I think John and Jane are as awed by the little thing as they are by their daughter,” Karen suggested. “We are going to have to consider a pet soon. Look at Nina.” The teen giggled as she held the puppy in front of her face while he licked at her.
“Kids, there’s hot cocoa and cookies,” Raven announced from behind them.
“Can puppy have a cookie?” little David asked.
“We have special cookies just for puppy,” Laura said as she went to her purse and retrieved a puppy biscuit. “Why not put puppy in his bed now so he can eat his cookie? We should pick a name for him.”
The children scrambled to get their cocoa and watch the new addition as he lay on the cushion and chewed at his treat. He hadn’t finished it before he fell asleep.
“Karen, let’s go into the kitchen for a minute,” Gee whispered as Laura talked to the children about names. It was a good exercise since each of the children could remember being named.
“What is it, Love?”
“I’m going back to the woods tonight,” he began.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“I hate to think of you alone out there. Do you want me to come, too? Raven could watch the children.”
“I think it will be best if I just sit there quietly. At least one child is coming out at night to get food from the survival kits. I think I’ll fix a thermos of hot soup and some sandwiches and sit under the Patriarch to invite them for a picnic,” Gee said.
“You don’t think they’re dangerous, do you?” Karen asked.
“No. but even if they are, they don’t deserve to be treated like animals. I don’t know if any will show up just because I’m camped there. I just need to try.”
“Come home to me in the morning? Please?”
“I will, Love. And I will probably be in bad need of a shower and some real sleep. I haven’t camped out in… I don’t know how long.”
“I’ll keep the bed warm.”
Gee tucked himself into a sleeping bag, propped against the Patriarch with a survival kit beside him. Before going to sleep, he poured himself a little soup, which he drank with a sandwich. He laid the thermos on the kit with another sandwich and settled down to sleep as well as he could.
When he woke in the morning, the sandwich and thermos were still there, untouched. It was only a possibility. After having another cup of soup, he packed his gear, leaving the survival kit behind. This kit, however, had no food in it.
Gee wandered into Jitterz just as it opened Sunday morning. Elaine handed him his coffee and a sweet roll.
“You don’t usually come in before you shave in the morning,” she giggled. “Are you growing a beard?” Gee felt his rough cheek and grimaced.
“Elaine, are you poking fun at the customers?” Birdie said as she came out of the kitchen. When she saw Gee, she started laughing, too. She reached out and plucked a bit of bark from his hair. “Slept rough last night?”
“In the woods. Birdie, there are more children out there. I can feel it.” Gee was near desperation. At any moment a child could be beyond help.
“You’re going to have a big family before you even get married,” the fortuneteller said. “Don’t give up. They need you as much as you need to find them.”
“You can feel it, too, can’t you?” She nodded. “Do you know what they have endured? The cold spell, the snow, the rain. I’m so afraid I will look up into a tree and see a dead child. Please tell me I won’t, Birdie.” He couldn’t remember feeling so helpless. Hopeless. The Haitian held Gee’s eyes.
“I see only love and care in your eyes, Gee. I see no lurking tragedy.”
Gee slept much of the day, repeating his vigil Sunday night with no better results. Monday, he stayed home with his family, being sure to hold each of the teens and the baby for a while. The energy he received from them revived his spirits and his determination.
“Tonight? In this?” Karen asked as he prepared to camp again on Thursday night. It would be the fourth time he stayed out, sleeping at home every other night. Rain and wind had been threatening all day and the first drops were beginning to fall with the night.
“What better time?” he asked. “I’ll spread a tarp and have a dry space. I can only hope.” He heated the soup for his thermos and filled it.
“Oh, sweetheart, I hope, too. When you are out there, I find myself sitting up late, supposedly working on my book but not getting any writing done. The children… They’re aware. I’ve seen Nina standing with John and Jane on the veranda, looking out southeast toward the woods. They’re tense. I pray that you will be successful and we can help the children of the woods.”
“I love you, Karen. We share a mission.”
Gee made his way to the Forest and then into the Wild Woods, able now to find his way in the dark without need for a flashlight. He continued to move almost silently, at one with the woods. He’d come to know the Patriarch in the time he had been visiting and stretched his tarp across a low branch, creating a crude tent, mostly sheltering him from the rain. He anchored the edges of the tarp and crawled under, leaning his walking stick against the tree at his head.
Opening the survival kit, he removed the ground cloth and spread it beneath his shelter, laying his sleeping bag on top. The rain increased and Gee read a book on his cellphone. He drank a bit of soup, more to release the aroma in the makeshift tent than to assuage his appetite. He arranged the blanket from the survival kit next to him and placed the thermos and a sandwich on it along with a cookie Raven had baked that morning. He crawled into his sleeping bag and rested until sleep claimed him.
He sensed the presence more than he felt movement. A silent hand stretched above his head to the walking stick. Gee calmed his breathing, letting the stick be moved. The child—it had to be a child—was still. He could hear breathing and knew he or she had not left. Eventually there was a sigh and Gee felt the child wrap up in the blanket and lie down beside him, the stick between them.
Gee opened his eyes, gray half-light barely a threat to the darkness. Beside him he saw a dark head of hair. By the height, he estimated it was an older teen. He could not tell anything else except that the sandwich was gone and his walking stick was clutched tightly by the youth.
Gee crept out of his sleeping bag and slipped his boots on without disturbing his visitor. He stepped into the edge of the surrounding trees to relieve himself and then returned as quietly as possible. The chill air made him shiver and water still dripped from the branches overhead.
Inside his makeshift shelter, he saw eyes wide open, watching him approach. He sat at the end of his sleeping bag, not crowding the teen—he thought now it was a girl—as he reached for the thermos. He poured soup into the cup and took a sip. Then he held it out to her. She pulled herself upright, another blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and accepted the cup. She took a sip and started to hand it back.
“Go ahead. It’s for you.” She looked relieved and savored the soup as she drank it. He poured more into the cup and offered her another sandwich, which she accepted. When she had finished eating, she pointed up into the tree.
“Where?” she whispered.
“The boy and girl and baby?” Gee asked. She nodded. “They are together, safe and warm and well-fed.” The girl sighed heavily. “Would you like to be safe and warm and well-fed?” Gee asked. Tears sparkled in the teen’s eyes and broke down her cheek as she nodded. “I’m Gee. What’s your name?”
“Salome. That’s the name I was given before I went to my first master.”
“You’ve had more than one master?” She nodded. “Do you know how long since you awoke?” She thought a moment and then nodded again.
“About five years. My parents sent me here to summer camp because I liked a boy. I felt funny the whole time I was here and forgot everything about the boy. And lots more. Men showed all about how bad boys were and said I should always be obedient. A preacher saved my soul and said Salome was a good biblical name for a girl like me. I went home but didn’t recognize people. They gave me to my master. He kept my mind all muddy so I wouldn’t fight having sex with him. I only remember it hurt but I had to obey. Then I was sent to another.”
“When did you leave to come here?” Gee asked. The girl sighed deeply.
“Before Christmas. It took a long time because people who helped me wanted to keep me for themselves and I had to keep running away. I don’t know why I came back here. This is where the camp was. I thought maybe I would remember more. But I knew my master would kill me soon. Especially when he found…” She lowered her head, tears still streaming and cupped her stomach.
“You’re pregnant?” She nodded. “Will you walk with me to where you will be safe and warm?” he asked. She looked at her feet in ragged socks. Gee searched in his backpack for a clean pair of socks and handed them to her. She held them against her cheek. After she put them on, Gee handed her a pair of moccasins. They were a little big for her but would protect her feet as they walked. He unfolded a space blanket to put under the wool blanket on her shoulders and led her outside.
“I will serve you,” she said. “Please keep me warm and don’t kill me.”
“Salome, you never need to serve anyone like that again,” Gee sighed. “You’ll be safe and warm and fed. No one will hurt you.” She looked ready to cry but hugged the walking stick tightly while Gee worked quickly to take down the shelter and fold the tarp neatly on top of the remains of the survival kit. He put two energy bars in the kit and packed everything else in his backpack.
They both held the walking stick as he led her out of the woods.
Custody
“This is a different level of trafficking,” Warren said.
“It ties the youth reclamation camp, the church, and Lance Beck directly to the child sex ring and abuse,” Gee said. “And the parents. They sent her here and then sold her. Their daughter!”
“We can’t bring Lance Beck to justice now,” Mead said. “The forensic report confirmed the charred remains in the church were the preacher. You risked your life to save him from drowning so he could burn.”
“Perhaps. I still had to do it.”
“So, everything comes down to Carl Stewart and he’s gone to ground somewhere,” Judge Warren said.
“And he’s on the FBI’s most wanted list now,” Mead said. “They’ll find him.”
“There are still the women John and Jane talked about,” Gee said. “Were they all illegals like the Asian woman found at Deacon’s?”
“Circumstantial evidence links Mrs. Alexander with cleaning the cabins. Li cleaned Deacon’s house with the same cleansers. Paul identified them as one of those pyramid sales products where everyone becomes a dealer and sells to ten dealers below them,” Mead said. “We suggested the FBI get sales information from the company.”
“I’d bet on the members of the church,” Warren said. “Put your mind to it, Mead. You’ll come up with a way to identify them.”
“What about Salome?” Gee asked. “That’s what I actually came to ask about.”
“According to Dr. Poltanys, she was treated more roughly than either Nina or the new Evars family,” Warren said. “Scars from beatings and bondage. Tears of sensitive tissues. And pregnant, of course. In some ways, she is still in better condition than the other children.”
“How so?” Mead asked.
“She remembers. Not everything. Adam speculates that part of the purpose of the drug was to cloud the memories and preferably to wipe them out completely. She doesn’t remember her name or where she lived, but she remembers being a child, learning to read and write, going to school, and having friends. You’ll have a rough time with her, Gee. She wants to keep the baby when it’s born. Are you sure you and Karen can handle another?” Warren asked.
“Karen is with her now. They’ve already bonded,” Gee said. “Leah came over yesterday to review accounts with Karen. She said we could afford to adopt all of Flor del Día if we wanted to. We just want to help the children we can.”
“Noble,” Mead said. “You’re still getting married, aren’t you?”
“Ten days. You’ve got your invitation.”
“Very well,” Warren said. “The girl wants to retain the name Salome?”
“It’s an interesting phenomenon,” Gee said. “Like Nina, it is the name she was given when she woke up. John and Jane don’t remember a name. They were always called ‘baby’, ‘brother’, ‘little girl’. That sort of thing. But Nina and Salome identify with the name they were given when they awoke. She wants to keep it.”
“If I get my hands on those bastards…”
“Mead, don’t make idle threats,” Warren reprimanded him. “I’m extending the temporary custody of the seventeen-year-old girl identified as Salome to you and Karen, Gee. We’ll have a quarterly custody review for all your wards. Dr. Salinger may request a visit at any time to review the children’s progress and health. Thank you for stepping up, Gee. We should begin recruiting potential foster parents in case more children are found in the woods. You said John and Jane mentioned as many as eight at one time. I’m confident you’ll find more.”
Comments
Please feel free to send comments to the author at nathan@nathaneverett.com.
