Chapter 39

Note - the blog is now private but if you have someone who asks about reading it please just send them my address. I am happy to add readers :)

As a special treat I'm adding 2 chapters today! So please notice that you have to read Chapter 38 before Chapter 39. Thanks for your support!

Nate heard the news over the police scanner on his way to the bank. Had he heard right? Michael was packing a gun? Nate was surprised to hear it but maybe he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Taking in to the bank would be a bad idea. Surely he would know that.
Nate needed no directions to the bank. He could hear the sirens from three blocks away. Nate followed the noise to the SunTrust bank. At least twenty marked cars were parked in front of the bank. Their owners standing beside their vehicles, doors open for shields and guns drawn. All of them were pointed towards the front door of the bank but no one made a move to go inside.
Flashing his badge allowed him access under the tape. Microphones and news cameras followed him to the tape. How did the media already know? Nate had purposely ignored TV for weeks. He did not need their spin on his case.
He searched the faces of the men anxiously awaiting the man with a gun to find the one man he was looking for. Finding Commander Brett Herndon Nate made his way over to discuss the situation they had before them.
“What’s the FBI doing here already?” Herndon spat on the ground next to him. Nate was unsure if the gesture was directed towards him or just to relieve himself of the extra saliva that must have accumulated in his mouth on his twenty minute stake out.
“This is my case. That’s my guy in there.”
“How do you even know what guy where here for?” Once an ally Nate suspected that Herndon now saw a way to get glory for himself and attention for the Sheriff’s Department.
“Don’t mess with me, man, I was on my way here to pick up Michael Fleming before I go the call. Now all of a sudden my guy has a gun? Does your department have something to do with that?”
“Are you calling my detective a liar?”
“If the shoe fits.”
Herndon let out a curse. “Agent, don’t get in my way today. I have a shot at this guy and I want to take him down.”
“You don’t even know why you’re here to take him in. I’m talking to this guy. The FBI has jurisdiction in this missing person’s case. He is a person of interest in the disappearance of three girls. You will not stand in my way.”
“It’s our arrest Agent. This is my jurisdiction.”
“You may take him in but I will question him. After I talk to him then we can decide if he’s yours or mine.”
Herndon grunted and spit again. Nate took that as an affirmative. He had no time to wait for an actual answer because when he looked up he saw Michael exiting the bank building.
“That’s him. He has the gun.” The words came over Herndon’s radio. Herndon drew his weapon and pointed it at Michael.
“Drop your weapon.”
The confused look on Michael’s face confirmed Nate’s fears that this was somehow a made-up charge. Michael froze where he was.
Herndon yelled again, “I said drop your weapon.”
Michael held his hands straight into the air as a sign of surrender. He was immediately rushed by three sheriff’s deputies and tackled to the ground. He was handcuffed before he could protest. Nate approached cautiously.
“What are you doing? What are you talking about?” Michael’s words cut through Nate. If this arrest wasn’t clean then anything coming from it would be fruit of the poisonous tree.
“Is this him?” Commander Herndon asked a detective exiting the building. Nate recognized him as Detective Jack Williams, Cole Easton’s partner. The same Cole Easton they would be burying in less then a week. Next to Jack stood a small woman with a boyish blond haircut and dark glasses. Large hoop earrings almost reached her neck, a very large necklace covering her body.
Nate jogged over to Detective Williams. “What is this? I came here to talk to this guy and you’re arresting him. For what?”
Jack turned to the girl. “You saw the gun didn’t you Jennifer?”
Jennifer’s eyes grew round and wide. She looked from Nate to Jack and back again. Nate stared at her willing her to tell the truth. Whether Michael was guilty or innocent Nate did not know but he didn’t want his arrest to be based on a lie. Finally the woman spoke, “Yes…yes, I saw a gun. At least I thought I did.”
“If you talked her into this he’ll get off.” Nate pointed his finger at Jack’s chest.
“Pat him down. You won’t be disappointed.” Jack smiled at Nate. He didn’t miss Jennifer’s grimace from beside Jack. She must not like his smile either.
“Got something Commander!” A female deputy who had been standing next to Michael held something high in her hand. Nate left Jack standing with his smirk and strode over to Michael and the officer’s surrounding him.
“What is it?” Herndon asked.
“Looks like some pictures. Pictures of some naked kids.” The female replied. And at that moment Nate decided he did not care of Michael’s arrest was clean or not.

Ashley hit the side of the SUV and felt the blood trickle down her face once again. From where she lay she could not see out the windows and did not know where she was headed. Kyle lay beside her. From all appearances his wounds had stopped bleeding. Ashley tried to roll over and get a sense of where she was but the ache in her back wouldn’t let her move.
What she did know was that she was still alive and for that she was grateful. At least she thought she was. When they finally came to a stop Ashley prepared herself for a fight. She had not been bound or gagged. She was hurting but she would try. Her life may depend on it.
But it didn’t matter. She could not defend herself against two large men who reached in and grabbed her by her ankles and dragged her to a standing position. One large set of hands wrapped a dark cloth around Ashley’s eyes but not before she saw water in the distance.
Her heart began to pound. Where they going to throw her in the water? Was she going to die here? Once again she found herself crying out to a God she had given up so many years ago. Once again she wondered if Nate might have been right about the God he served. If he was and she died in that water where would she go? The question continued to plague her. She tried to think back to Sunday school lessons she had heard so many years ago but her mind could not form coherent thoughts.
“Don’t touch me!” Kyle’s voice came from behind Ashley but she could not see him or anything else for that matter.
“It’s okay bud. We’re going to be okay. Can you be strong for me?” Ashley prayed her lie would hold true. She heard no answer from Kyle. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep the flow of tears at bay. One tear slipped down her cheek from underneath her blindfold. She had no hands to wipe it off her chin so there it sat irritating her skin.
“This way.” A male voice jerked her to her right. She heard metal squealing and then some whimpers that did not belong to Kyle or her. Where was she? The blindfold was removed as a large hand shoved her forward. The same metal sounded behind her followed by a loud thud. There was no light to see by but there was the distinctive smell of urine and there was the sound of crying.
“Where am I?” Ashley said feeling the walls around her. There was metal all around her. Odd bumps in the wall made her think of shipping containers. The kind that would be at a port. The water. That was it. She was being held in a shipping container. Who was here with her?
“Kayla? Kayla are you in here?”
The whimpering grew louder. Then it was on both sides of her.
“Who else is in here?”
“It’s Julia.”
“Julia Lambert?” Not that there could’ve been another.
“Yes. Who are you?”
“My name is Ashley Parks. Do you girls know where you are?”
“No,” the two girls said in unison.
“Do you know that everybody is so busy looking for you?” No answer. “Have you girls seen Lizzie?”
“Who?” Ashley had no idea which girl was speaking.
“Lizzie Andrews. Has there been anyone else in here with you?”
“One girl but she hasn’t come back. Otherwise it’s just been me and Kayla.” Ashley said nothing about the one girl they spoke of. These girls were already scared enough. They did not need to know how many girls had already died.
“Kayla, can you hear me?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” They weren’t exactly words but at least Ashley knew that Kayla was in there and that she was alive enough to talk.
“Kayla, I want you to know that your brother is okay. Your brother, Kyle and I have become really good friends. He’s okay and he’s been helping me…” Sobs interrupted her words. Heavy sobs filled the metal container from what Ashley could only assume to be the back of the shipping container. And then a second set of tears wracked their prison. And Ashley let a second tear fall. But only one because she would not be confined by these walls and neither would these girls. God had put her here but maybe, just maybe, He had put her here for a reason. To save the lives of the two girls sharing her horror.

Chapter 38

We have to go!” Nate made his voice heard over all the noise on the Major Crimes division of the Tampa Bay Field Office. “What is her location?”
“We’re getting a fix on her cell phone. It’s still on. We’ll have her location in a minute,” Jose said.
“I need SWAT. If there’s any chance they’re still in the area I need to get her back.” This couldn’t be happening. Ashley was under protective custody. How did someone get to her? How did anyone even know where she was? It was her fault that she had skipped out on Jane but there’s no way anyone should have known where she was to begin with to follow her. And if Nate admitted the truth Ashley’s giving Jane the slip probably saved her life. If Jane had been there she wouldn’t have lived.
Of course Nate was just assuming Ashley was still alive. He hadn’t heard a gunshot after the accident but he had heard the screams. If they planned to kill her they probably wouldn’t have taken her alive. Nate hoped.
“Have we located Michael?” Nate asked to no one in particular.
“We’re at the bank but he hasn’t shown up yet,” Eric said with a cell phone to his ear.
“Anything on Ashley’s car?”
“We have uniforms on their way to the scene. I’ll let you know when they get there.” This from another agent.
“Pick it up! We’ve already lost one of our own; I don’t want to lose Ashley too.” Nate met Eric’s gaze asking silently where he should go.
“Head to the bank, Nate. There’s nothing you can do at the traffic accident. If you find Michael and he is involved then maybe he’ll know something,” Eric said.
Nate nodded. He would defer to Eric for instructions from now on knowing he was too close to the case already. Not that every other agent didn’t want to see the creep who took these girls suffer and die but now without Ashley. Well, Nate knew he wouldn’t be thinking straight. Taking the stairs two at a time, Nate descended three floors to the parking lot.
Exiting through the gate Nate waved at the guard and pulled onto the street to make his way to SunTrust Financial Centre near Tampa’s City Hall. Please God, we need all the help we can get.

Jennifer Peters was tired of her job. Tired of cashing checks and depositing money. She had worked for SunTrust bank for nearly seven years and she was doing the same thing. She stayed because the hours were good and made it convenient for her to pick her son up from school. But nothing exciting had happened at SunTrust Financial Centre for as long as she had been there. Not that she wanted to be robbed. No, she didn’t want that but then again maybe it would be a more interesting day if someone actually tested the bullet-proof glass she spent her days behind.
“Next in line,” Jennifer said for at least the thirtieth time of the morning. A man in a dark black suit with crisp white shirt and sunglasses stepped forward to Jennifer’s line. He slid something under the glass to her side. She lifted her hand to take it expecting a check or license. Instead her hand rested on a picture of a well-groomed man with dark black hair and clear blue eyes. His smile was bright and his teeth were perfect.
“Have you seen this man?” The suit standing before her asked.
I wish. “Who is he?”
“Answer the question, please, ma’am.”
Jennifer looked up at the suit in front of her. His hair was not nearly as dark as the man in the picture and his face was older and more jagged then the picture she now held. Not the same man. Pity. “Why do you want to know?”
The suit slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out something else that he slid under the glass to Jennifer. Now she was grateful for the glass in between. She needn’t have worried. The suit passed her a badge of some sort. She read it: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department. “You’re police?”
“I’m Detective Jack Williams and I need to know if you have seen this man.”
Jennifer considered a snide remark but from the frown on the detective’s face thought better of it and simply said, “No, I haven’t seen him.”
“Can you tell me if he’s a customer here?”
“I’m sorry, sir, I cannot share that information with you.”
“I could get a warrant.”
“Then you’re going to have to do so.” No way was she risking her job over some random detective even if he was who he said he was.
The detective leaned in closer and gave Jennifer a crooked smile. “Are you sure you haven’t seen him? It’s very important. Maybe he’s not a customer. It’s possible he’s just visited the bank before.”
“I’m sorry, no.” Jennifer slid the picture and the detective’s credentials back through the slot under the bullet-proof glass. “Maybe you would like to speak with my manager.”
Detective Williams rested his hand on his fist. “Maybe I would, Jennifer.” Give the man a medal, he could read her nametag. The smile again. Was he attempting to use his charms on her? Yuck, he was old enough to be her father.
“Let me get her for you.” But before Jennifer could step away from her someone walking through the door caught her eye. Strange, it looked just like the man in the picture. Detective Williams followed her gaze and it landed on the man as well.
The detective turned away from her and spoke into the radio he had removed from his belt. “He’s here. I’ve got eyes on him in the bank.”
“Let him get what he came there to get then we need to detain him.” Came a reply.
“I have no cause to stop him, Agent,” Williams said drawing out the word Agent. Jennifer got the distinct feeling that Jack Williams did not care much for the man he was talking to.
“I suggest you find one,” the radio said.
Jennifer served three more customers but her eyes remained fixed on the dark-haired man and the detective stalking him. Jennifer’s manager, Mildred Gillespie, was serving the man Detective Williams wanted. He had shown her a key and then taken him back to where the safe deposit boxes were kept. Jennifer had no idea what this man had done but her curiosity was peaked.
She motioned to Andrew who was covering the window next to her and told him she was going on a break. In her spare time, in other words, the few hours that her son was asleep and she wasn’t working, Jennifer spent reading mystery novels. She had never been a part of something exciting. Maybe this was her chance.
Jennifer moved from behind the teller desk to the lobby area where the customers gathered. Her interest peaked she snuck back into the safe deposit box area. She had the clearance to go anywhere she wanted in the bank. She’d been offered three promotions but had turned them all down. She liked working with the customers and she liked her hours. But it didn’t mean she hadn’t taken on any other responsibilities from time to time for extra money. One of those was helping customers who had recently opened a safe deposit box. She had seen lots of things go into the boxes but none of them had been exciting enough to warrant a detective looking into it.
A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Her heart pounded as pain shot through her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
It was the detective. What did he think he was doing? She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “I have clearance to be back here. What do you want from me?”
“I asked for your help. Can you do that?”
“Fine, what do you want?”
“Do you think you can see what it is he’s getting out of his box?”
“That’s a violation of his privacy,” Jennifer said.
“I need this man for questioning. Anything you do to help I won’t forget.” That dorky smile again. Did he really think he was attractive?
“Fine, follow me but if I lose my job…”
“I’ll vouch for you.” Jennifer was 90% sure the detective was lying but she nodded anyway. Her life was normally boring maybe today she would make the news.
“Follow my lead.” Jennifer walked through the curtains that separated the private viewing area from the rest of the bank. She saw two legs sticking out from under one of the individual curtains. Taking a deep breath she said, “Mr. Williams, you can view the contents of your box in here.” She drew back the curtains of the occupied stall.
“What the…?” The man behind the curtain cursed. He turned to face her. “Are you stupid? This area is occupied.” He reached over her head to draw back the curtain but not before she noticed a stack of pictures sitting on the table in front of him. Was that what she thought it was?
“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t see you there.” She fumbled over her words sure that the man would demand to see her manager but instead he turned back to what he was doing. She smoothed her A-line skirt and made her way back to Detective Williams.
“Did you see anything?” he said through gritted teeth.
“He had some pictures,” Jennifer said.
“What kind of pictures?”
“I…I’m not sure.” Jennifer wrung her hands together to try and calm the shakiness. It wasn’t working.
“What do you mean you’re not sure? Did you see something or not?”
“I think I did but I hope I didn’t see what I thought I saw.” Jennifer stepped past Detective Williams and back into the lobby area. Her stomach was revolting. She wanted to find a bathroom to relieve herself of her breakfast.
“Jennifer, please, this is important.”
She stumbled to one of the chairs in the lobby ignoring the looks her co-workers were throwing her way. If she wasn’t careful Andrew would come around to the lobby and make a scene with the detective. They weren’t dating but Andrew still managed to treat Jennifer in a protective and more brotherly way. She held up her hand to show everyone she was fine. She wasn’t sure if she wanted them to believe the lie or not.
“I’m running out of time. What did you see?”
“I think I saw pictures of little kids naked. Did I see that? Is that what I saw?”
The detective let out a string of curses. Had she done something wrong? “Did you see a gun?”
“Wait, what?”
“A gun? You saw a gun?”
“No…”
But it was too late. Detective Williams was speaking into his radio. “Dispatch, I’m in the SunTrust bank on East Jackson Street. I have a report of a gun here in the bank. I need some unis down here. We may be under fire.”

Chapter 37

Please note - this will be the last entry before I close the blog to the public!! For copyright reasons I need to know who is reading the ending :) We're getting close (only 16,000 words or so left) so for that reason and because I do plan to submit this to publishers I will make this a private blog.

To avoid missing out on the ending please e-mail me: dorindanelson@comcast.net to be included in the invitation to see the rest! You don't have to know me personally to keep reading and you are welcome to pass it along to anyone I just need to know who they are.

Thanks!!

Now for Chapter 37

Ashley gripped the steering wheel of Michael’s Toyota Camry as she weaved in and out of traffic. She glanced back at Kyle who was gripping the door with his good arm. “Sorry bud, I’m doing the best I can.”
“It’s okay Miss Ashley.” But his pale white face and gritted teeth said otherwise.
She slapped the steering wheel repeatedly with her open palm. “Come on, come on, get out of my way.” Then to Kyle, “Are you sure this is the way?”
“Uh-huh.” Kyle gripped the door tighter as Ashley swerved around a slow-moving Lexus. She scanned the sidewalks and the streets as she drove. She was heading south on 19 towards Clearwater Beach; rows and rows of strip malls and stores on either side of her. So far no SunTrust banks.
Wait.
There was one. Ashley glanced behind her and seeing no one sped across two lanes of traffic and into the parking lot. Though it was certainly impossible Kyle’s face was paler then before. Ashley forced a smile on her face. “Is this it? Is this your bank?”
Kyle slowly loosened his grip on the door handle and sat up straighter so he could see out his window. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
“Can you sit there for a second while I run in and ask?” Ashley attempted to make her smile even bigger. “I promise I’ll be right back. I just need to ask a question.”
Kyle nodded in large up and down motions his blue eyes wide with pain or terror she couldn’t tell. Ashley patted Kyle’s leg and smiled again. Kyle wasn’t buying it. Ashley climbed out of the car grateful that for once she had thrown on her Puma sneakers and Lucky jeans instead of her normal stilettos and skirt.
Twenty minutes later Ashley was back in the car. This wasn’t the right bank. This branch didn’t even have safety deposit boxes. The teller indicated a larger branch that did and gave Ashley directions. She hoped that would be the right one. Michael had been gone a while. If he beat her there she would lose the evidence and Nate might never get a chance to close the case.
Ashley couldn’t let that happen.
She put Michael’s car in reverse grateful that this family had enough money for three cars. The car Gina had been in was still at police impound. Hopefully Michael wouldn’t mind that Ashley had borrowed their back-up car.
Ashley pulled back into 19 traffic and continued her trek south. She would need to cross the Tampa Bay Bridge and head into Tampa to find the correct SunTrust branch. At a red light Ashley eased to a stop. She grabbed her purse and began digging in it to find her cell phone. Finding it at the bottom she flipped it open and dialed Nate’s cell.
“Special Agent Zimmerman.”
Ashley suppressed a smile at his title. “Zimmie, it’s me.”
A sigh. “Ashley?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m on my way to SunTrust bank.”
“You’re what? Ashley what are you doing? How did you leave the house? What car are you in? Where’s Kyle?”
“Relax, Kyle’s with me. I borrowed Michael’s third car…” She bit her bottom lip. Nate wasn’t going to be happy about her slipping her protective custody.
“And where’s Jane?”
Ashley didn’t respond. Nate knew he was referring to Officer Jane Brumagim who she’d left sitting out front watching the house while Ashley had driven out from behind the house.
“Darn it, Ashley, that’s not safe. She’s there for your protection.”
“I know that Nate, but she wouldn’t understand. It’s my fault that Michael got a hold of that key and I intend to find him and get it back.”
“You can’t do that. We have it under control. We have him under surveillance.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Not yet but we will.” The light turned green and Ashley pushed on the gas to propel them forward through the intersection.
“Nate, I can find him.”
“Where are you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“No, it does matter. Where are you?”
“I’m on my way to Michael’s bank in Tampa. I’m positive this key goes to a safety deposit box and I plan to get it back.”
“We know what it belongs to but I don’t have a judge to give me a warrant to go in there and open it up. We don’t have enough probable cause,” Nate said.
“Then I’ll get it for you.” Ashley sped up through an orange light determined not to allow Nate to stop her. A black SUV pulled in front of Ashley. “Get out of my way.”
“Ashley, I’m not in your way.”
“Not you, there’s an SUV in my way.” She swerved to the lane to her right but with no success. The van followed her. “Come on, buddy, what are you doing?” She swerved back to the left but again the SUV followed her over. How did it know where she was going?
“Ashley, I need you to come back. Forget Michael and the key, leave it to me.”
“I’m sorry, Nate I can’t do that. As soon as this van gets out of my way I’m going to the Tampa branch and finding Michael. I will talk him into getting what you want I promise.”
“Ashley, don’t do it.”
The way he kept repeating her name was grating on her nerves. She wasn’t a child. She was a grown woman. A woman he had called to come into this case and now she was a part of it whether he liked it or not. It was her fault he didn’t have the key and she was going to get it back.
“What is up?” Ashley said louder then she had intended.
“What’s the matter?”
“This SUV just will not get out of my way…”
“Ashley, stop.”
Too late.
The SUV stopped short in front of her and Ashley could not swerve around it. She collided into the back. A loud crunch filled the car.
“Ashley! Ashley!” She vaguely heard Nate’s voice coming through the phone she had dropped onto the floor in front of her. Her nose throbbed with her heartbeat as liquid dripped down onto her chin. Tasting iron she knew it was her blood.
“Kyle, are you okay?” Ashley attempted to sit up and look back at Kyle but her neck sent a sharp pain down her spine. “Kyle?”
The boy’s silence made Ashley’s heart beat faster. Had she killed him? She vaguely heard Nate’s voice through the phone still yelling her name. She didn’t care about him. She had to get to Kyle.
Slowly she pushed open the driver’s side door, cars moving slowly around her. Had no one stopped for help? Sunlight blinded her and she cupped her hand over her eyes to be able to see in front of her.
“Miss Ashley!” The scream caught her by surprise and she turned sharply to see Kyle scooting to the driver’s side in the back seat. He didn’t seem to notice his arm which was surprising since fresh blood had begun pooling out of her wound. Why had she brought him? She should’ve left him home with Jane.
Something hit the back of her head. The pain adding to her disorientation. She grabbed the car’s roof to keep from falling over. She looked away from Kyle and saw a black figure coming towards her.
“No! No!” Ashley screamed and tried to walk away but the black figure wrapped large arms around her and lifted her off the pavement. “Put me down. Put me down. Kyle!” As he lifted her off the ground she attempted to kick him in the legs and mid-section but he was too big for any of her blows to hurt.
Another black figure moved around in front of Ashley and reached into the back seat. It was certainly a large man but she could make out no distinguishing features. He wore a black ski mask, black turtleneck, black jeans and black gloves. Even his shoes were black.
This was it. She was going to die.
She had read the stories in the paper. She had seen the pictures. Nate had told her. All the women were murdered after their cars were in an accident. She had seen Marie Lambert’s body. Then she thought she was the lucky one. The lucky one not to live to be without her daughter. But now she wasn’t sure. Is this how it ends? She wasn’t ready to die. She didn’t even know where she’d go if she did.
And Kyle. She couldn’t lose him too. She had lost Aidan, she didn’t want to lose Kyle. But instead of a bullet in the skull the strong arms opened the back door to the SUV and threw her onto the floor of the vehicle. She hit the carpet with a thud, pain shooting through her arm, blood from her nose dripping onto the carpet.
The second black figure was more gentle with Kyle and set him beside Ashley. His small face covered in tears and snot. Please God not this!
“We warned you not to mess with us,” the black figure said and slammed the doors at the back of the SUV.

Chapter 36

Ashley paced the living room while Kyle rested. Michael had left the house to run errands and had yet to return. Ashley wondered if it had something to do with the key she was sure he’d taken. Not that she had solid proof but she didn’t know who else could be responsible.
She had to find him. Not that she had any idea where to look but she had to do something other then sit around and wait. The problem was Kyle. She couldn’t leave him alone and she couldn’t take him with her.
But she could take him on a drive.
Checking on Kyle she found him sitting in up in bed reading. “Hey bud, how are you doing?”
“Fine. I slept a little but not a lot. I was thinking about mom and Kayla. I miss them a lot.”
“I know, buddy. It’s really hard.”
“Did you look at what I gave you?” Kyle used his good hand to finger the sling on his bad arm.
“I did.”
“Did you give it to Mr. Nate?”
“Some of it.” Ashley took a deep breath and looked at Kyle carefully. “Kyle, I can’t find the key you gave me. You didn’t pick it up did you?”
“No, I didn’t look at it Miss Ashley. Mom gave me the envelope and I kept it safe. Did I do a good job?”
“Yea, bud, you did a good job. But Miss Ashley didn’t. I can’t find it. It was there and then it wasn’t.”
“Maybe my dad stole it.” Kyle’s eyes looked down at his bandaged arm as his fingers continued to pick at a string he’d pulled off of his sling. His small legs were criss-crossed on the bed. Ashley could just see the tips of his toes sticking out from underneath his legs. She grabbed a chair and stood on it so she was almost eye level with Kyle.
“What makes you say that?” Ashley tickled Kyle’s knee to illicit a smile out of the boy. It worked. He giggled and moved his leg out of Ashley’s reach.
“I know him. He’s mean sometimes…”
“When is he mean?”
“He hit mom sometimes.” Kyle wrapped the string around his finger. And unwrapped it. “She didn’t protect herself. She was worried about me and Kayla but dad would never hit Kayla, he really loves her best. She’s special.”
“Kyle, does your daddy ever have special time with Kayla?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did Kayla ever tell you what they did?”
“She would only tell me that they looked at pictures.”
“Was she sad after she looked at the pictures?”
Kyle nodded his head. For such a young boy he had a great understanding of human behavior. Ashley didn’t want to consider what this little boy had been through. Even though it may not have happened to him he was by no means immune. Why did this happen? Why does God allow such evil things?
“Kyle, do you know what the key was for?”
“I think it goes to a box at a bank. My mom got the box but my dad doesn’t know about it.”
“How do you know about it?”
“Kayla knew. She gave mom the pictures to put in it.”
Then Gina knew what Michael was doing. Gina knew her daughter was in danger and didn’t do anything? “Kyle, this is important. It could have something to do with Kayla. Does your dad know what Kayla gave your mom?”
“No. My mom just found out a few weeks ago. Kayla told her some things.”
“Why didn’t she leave?”
“She couldn’t. We couldn’t. Dad would find us. He would hurt mom. He would hurt Kayla.”
“What about you?”
“He doesn’t care about me.”
Ashley squeezed Kyle’s good arm and held it until Kyle looked her in the eye. “That’s not true. He loves you.”
“No, he doesn’t care. I’m too scared of things. I’m not like him. He doesn’t like me.”
Ashley wanted to contradict his statements. To tell him that it couldn’t possibly be true. What father wouldn’t want Kyle for a son? There was no way that Michael couldn’t love Kyle. But something in his face. Something in his eyes and she knew he wasn’t exaggerating. She knew he was telling her the truth. Her heart ached for Kyle. She wanted to scoop him up and steal him away. If it weren’t for Kayla she would have. Would have taken him where Michael could never find him.
“Kyle, do you know what bank your mom uses?” Ashley tried to keep her tone light. It was one thing to discuss such matters with Kyle. It was another to have him dwell on them.
“Suntrust I think. It’s got a blue sign with a yellow design. They give lollipops. Kayla and I like that.”
“Would you come with me if I went to visit your bank?”
“Okay.” Kyle moved slowly to the end of the bed and twisted himself carefully on to the ladder. Ashley resisted the urge to pick him up and lift him off. She stopped short only because she knew Kyle needed to do it for himself not only for his physical recovery but for his mental recovery. She watched him wince and carry his arm close as he climbed down.
The doctor had said the bullet had missed his heart by mere centimeters. The second bullet went through left arm. Either could have bled out. Neither did. Either could have kept him in the hospital for weeks and yet here he was, at home, climbing down the ladder that led to his bed. Despite his circumstances Ashley couldn’t help but wonder if maybe God was looking out for him. And as she watched him put his toes on the carpet and smile at his accomplishment she wondered if maybe, just maybe, God was looking out for her too.

Nate was struggling. He had a lead, he didn’t have a lead. He knew something and then he didn’t. Nothing was falling into place. Nothing was easy.
And now his evidence was missing. Evidence he hadn’t even been able to see yet. How could Ashley be so stupid? No, it wasn’t her fault. But how could she have hid it where she did? Who couldn’t have found it?
Nate was snapping his fingers as he walked by other agents and technicians. He needed things and he needed them now. Nate snapped at Jose Martinez, “I need a background check on Michael Fleming.”
“The DA?” Jose looked at Nate with wide brown eyes.
“Yes, the DA. I have a reason. I need everything. Bank, credit, everything and I don’t want him to know about it.”
“Won’t be easy.”
“But you can get it done.” Nate walked away without another word leaving Jose to mumble something to himself in Spanish.
Nate knocked on the door to Annabeth Porter’s office. She looked up from her desk, phone to her ear and waved him in with her free hand. Nate shut the door behind him and waited.
“I need those DNA results and I need them now.” Annabeth slammed the phone down and looked up at Nate and indicated with her hand to take a seat in the leather chair opposite her desk. Nate sat. Annabeth came across the desk and sat on the edge of her mahogany desk. Her gray pantsuit had lavender stripes through out and she wore a matching lavender silk shirt. Her scuffed black heels rested beside her desk on the floor. She crossed her stockinged feet in front of her and looked down at Nate with a sigh. “Do they not know what kind of case this is? I’ve requested a rush at the lab on the DNA from under Daisy’s fingernails that Dr. Folek found and I’m getting nothing. No help at all.”
“I need those results,” Nate said.
“Believe me, I know.” Annabeth sighed again. Nate knew Annabeth deserved her title as Supervisory Special Agent putting her in charge of Nate and the other Special Agents in the Field Office. However, there was quite a bit of opposition to a woman being promoted to the position a year ago and Annabeth has felt the brunt of the prejudice ever since. Due to the high profile aspect of this case Nate could only hope that the lab and the other agents would put their prejudice aside and find the missing girls.
“What do you need?” Annabeth said.
“Why do you always think I need something when I come into your office?”
“Because you’ve never come into my office just to chat. And I know that look on your face. That look says ‘I have to ask you something and you’re not going to like it.’”
Nate chuckled. “And I guess that’s the reason why you’re the boss.”
Annabeth swung her legs and then hit the desk with her palm. “So, what do you need?”
Nate held his breath and then let it out slowly. “I need to put surveillance on Michael Fleming.”
Annabeth jumped off her desk to her feet. “Oh no, no, no! You can’t seriously be telling me you want to put surveillance on Pinellas County’s District Attorney especially when that attorney also happens to be the father of one of the missing children?”
Nate held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I can’t help it. This is where the evidence is taking us. Michael’s son, Kyle, gave Ashley Parks some information which she hid in her room.” He paused when a quizzical look crossed Annabeth’s face. “Ashley’s been staying at his house for the past two days to help with Kyle and keep her out of sight…”
“Unless he’s actually involved, then she might be right in harm’s way.”
Nate hadn’t thought of that.
“Finish your story.”
“This morning Ashley called to say that the key Kyle gave her is missing.”
“Key to what?”
“We’re not sure yet. If I had to guess probably a bank box or safe of some kind. I have Martinez doing a background check. I’m hoping we can come up with some banking information. Give us an idea where to start.”
“All of this I understand. What I don’t know is why this means you need to keep tabs on Michael?” Annabeth said.
“Ashley believes Michael is the one that stole the key.” Nate cleared his throat and swallowed. There was a possibility that Ashley was wrong. Nate knew he was putting a lot of trust in Ashley’s instincts.
“Ashley? We’re trusting this woman who can’t even get information out of the witness we brought her in to talk to? She hardly even knows Michael. What makes her think he’s guilty?”
“There was no one else in the house.”
“That’s not enough Nate and you know it. Anyone could have snuck into Michael’s house and stolen the key.”
“How would they have known it was there?”
“How did you know it was there?”
“She told me,” Nate said.
“How do you know she didn’t tell anyone else?”
Nate started to reply but thought better of it. Truth was he was afraid to commit to Ashley’s claims but with no evidence to contradict it what choice did he have? As he watched Annabeth pace he knew she was thinking the same thing. Her dark hair, usually back in a ponytail hung in a bob at her shoulders. Nate knew Annabeth was much closer to sixty then she appeared. She had aged well but this case was beginning to wear on her. Wrinkles were forming around her forehead and dark circles clung to the bottoms of her eyelids. Her eyes were actually a dark purple. Whether it was her real color or contacts Nate didn’t know but he assumed if they were real it would explain her lavender wardrobe.
After what felt like an hour Annabeth looked hard at Nate. Her purple eyes zeroing in on Nate’s face. “I’ll grant your request to have agents tail Fleming but you’d better not be wrong. I do not want to regret this.”

Chapter 35

Author's Note - for great news on my writing please check out my other blog: Two Kids Plus Trips!! Rather then repeat myself I'll just have you link back there :) Although the bottom line is that my writing is good but I have to do more of it. Good news for you - hopefully the chapters will come quicker now.

For the next chapter:

Michael Fleming had a problem.
Make that two problems. One was Ashley Parks. The other was not being able to get to his daughter. This wasn’t part of the plan. None of this was. And Ashley Parks was making it worse. While the woman intrigued him with her beauty and child-likeness she infuriated him with her inability to keep to herself.
The fact that she was here with Kyle wasn’t a good sign. It meant that she believed Kyle knew more then he was telling and that was a bad thing. Michael had no way to know how much junk Gina had filled Kyle’s mind with. That woman was worse then Ashley with all her talk of God and love. How he had stayed married to her for more then ten years he had yet to figure out.
But appearances are everything and Michael was all about those. No one knew his secret and if Michael did what he was told no one would ever find it out. Michael took a sip from his glass the set it down on the counter. He was running out of time and ideas.
Giggling tickled at his ears. Looking out the kitchen window he saw Kyle resting on a swing and Ashley gently pushing him. She watched his arm as she pushed and he was going back and forth so slowly but Kyle didn’t seem to mind. No, he was smiling. More than that, he was laughing.
Michael took another drink; the hard liquid burning his lip. What is going on with this woman? His attempts at wooing her had not been successful. Not that she was his type. But she could’ve been. Despite her age she looked much younger. Time had not aged her.
One thing Michael knew, Ashley was hiding something. This morning she had passed him in the hall without looking him in the eye. Last night she cringed at his touch.
There was one way to find out.
This was his house and he had every right to search every room in it. Something had happened after she talked with Kyle, but what?
Michael opened the door to Ashley’s room and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The bed was neatly made with the floral comforter Gina had chosen. Ashley had one bag sitting beside her bed. Michael opened it and rummaged through.
Finding nothing he stood and scanned the room again.
The closet. Nothing.
He couldn’t see the backyard from where he was. Ashley could come in at any time.
He opened the nightstand and again came up empty.
“Think, Michael, think.” He cursed under his breath. How could nothing be going his way?
Wait. Last night when he was talking to Ashley her eyes had wandered towards her pillow. It had meant nothing to him then but now it meant everything. He felt the sheets and found nothing. But when he moved the pillow he found what he was looking for. A small envelope. Picking it up he recognized Gina’s writing on a small slip of paper. A website.
Michael cursed again. How did Gina find this? How did Ashley get it?
It wasn’t enough to convict him of anything but if they searched the site he knew it wouldn’t look good.
A glint caught his eye and he looked further into the envelope. A small gold key was stuck in the bottom corner. It wasn’t something Michael recognized nor did he know what it went in.
He slipped the key in his pocket, turned on his heel and headed back to the kitchen. He smiled as Ashley came through the patio door. This is why Michael hated women. They all lied. As soon as he could he would find out what else Gina had hid from him and if Kyle knew anything… Well, he would deal with that later.

It had been six hours since Eric found the video feed of Kayla. From all they could tell the girl with her was Julia and there had been no sign of Lizzie. The door had opened thirteen times but no one ever stepped into the line of view of the camera which meant they probably knew they were being filmed.
At one point Julia had been removed from the room kicking and screaming. With no sound Nate could only watch her tiny face contorting in pain. When Julia slipped out of her abductor’s grasp he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the floor. She didn’t stop fighting. The young girl began kicking with her free legs connecting at least once with the man’s leg.
Not once did Julia’s abductor look up at the camera. Instead Nate could only sit at his desk, staring at the back of the man’s head watching him drag a young girl out of a room to do only God knows what with her.
“Anything?” Eric handed Nate a Styrofoam cup of coffee and rolled his chair up beside Nate’s. He also began staring at the green screen.
“Their abductor has dark brown hair. From the color of the back of his neck I’m guessing he’s Hispanic but it could be Asian. The green tint doesn’t help. Not a single one looks at the camera. They must know it’s there. What I can’t understand is why this feed is live.”
“Maybe other people are paying to watch.”
“Paying to watch what? All we see is two girls sitting on mattresses rocking. Who would want to see this?” Nate took a sip of coffee and leaned back in his chair. “I completely understand wanting to watch them, make sure they don’t go anywhere but why are they broadcasting?”
“Sicker things have happened. Maybe they’re hoping the girls will perform for them.”
“With no provocation I doubt it.” Eric leaned into the monitor and stared more closely at the screen. “Wait, look.” He pointed at Kayla.
“What do you see?”
“Who would you say the camera is focused on?” Eric said.
“Kayla. We hardly even see Julia’s face at all except when she was removed from the room. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking someone is watching Kayla. Has anyone moved Kayla all day?”
“No, she hasn’t left the mattress except for a few times and I’m assuming that was to relieve herself in a corner off camera. She may have eaten there too, I can’t tell,” Nate said then took another sip of coffee. He set the empty cup on his desk and leaned closer to the monitor.
“What about Julia?”
“She’s been moved at least three times. Every time someone has thrown her back in. I haven’t seen anyone’s face.”
“And did Kayla react?”
“Some. She stops rocking and sits up every time Julia comes back. She reaches out to Julia but Julia will not move towards her. With no sound I can’t tell if they’re talking,” Nate said.
“Someone has to be watching them. The feed was hidden but not well enough for someone to be an expert hacker to find it. It’s almost like someone is paying to watch just this.” Eric pointed to the green screen and to Kayla who had once again retreated to her corner. But now she was lying on her side facing the wall. Nate assumed she was probably trying to sleep. With no sun light in the room neither girl could know it wasn’t even lunch time.
“Eric, how do we find out where these girls are? How do we track down the men responsible and stop this. It’s killing me to watch these guys take these girls and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Internet crimes is on it. They’ll find something Nate. We have to think positively.”
“But how long will that take? It could take them years to crack this. You and I both know that the porn industry has the toughest internet security.” Nate shook his head. “We have to know where this feed is coming from!” Nate smacked his hand on the table. Eric remained silent beside his partner knowing how personally Nate was taking this case. In all his years he had only been on a missing child case once before and it wasn’t this high profile. That case had turned out to be a parental kidnapping and custody case. This was nothing like that.
“Something’s gotta give, Nate. No one can take this many girls and not be tracked down. There are too many people involved in this for them to be in hiding for too long. We will get these guys.”
Nate closed his eyes and said a quiet prayer to God. He knew the day ahead would hold many challenges. They had few leads and it could come down to an interview of someone yet unknown that could open the doors on the investigation. He knew it was out of his control so he prayed to the God he trusted to point him in the right direction.
Before he could finish his prayer her heard his cell phone ringing.
“Zimmerman.” Nate spoke into his phone.
“Nate, it’s not here. It’s not here.”
“Wait, what? Ashley?”
“Yes, it’s me. It was here a few hours ago and now it’s gone. I can’t find it. I don’t know where it is.”
“Where what is Ashley?”
“The key.”
Something wasn’t registering. “What key?”
“The key Kyle gave me, it’s gone.”
“Where was it?”
“I had it in the envelope Kyle gave me and it was under my pillow with my cell phone. I know it was there when I got up this morning. It was there before I went outside with Kyle but when I came back in it wasn’t.”
“Who else is in the house with you?”
“It’s just me, Michael and Kyle. No one else.”
Michael? “Ashley, did you tell Michael about the key?”
“No, I swear. Kyle asked me not to say anything and I didn’t. Especially not to Michael.” Ashley paused and all Nate could hear was her breathing. Nate felt like she wanted to tell him something but didn’t know how.
“What is it Ashley?”
“I don’t know how to say it Nate but I feel like something is off with Michael. I heard him talking to someone last night. He was yelling about paying someone and not touching someone. And then he came in to my room…”
“I heard that. I heard him talking to you. I didn’t listen to the whole thing; I assumed you wanted your privacy.” In truth Nate had been angry that Michael was in a room alone with Ashley. He had repeated to himself over and over that they weren’t alone. That Kyle was with them, that Ashley knew better but as he hung up the phone he hadn’t been so sure.
“It wasn’t like that, Nate. It’s not like that between us. I admit I had felt something for him but that was because of Kyle. Now, now, I don’t know what to think about him. Kyle is scared of this man. You know I counsel children but I also talk to their parents. If I had to make a determination as to where Kyle should’ve been placed if this were a custody case I would recommend to the judge that Kyle not be placed with his father.”
Nate attempted to process the information. Michael Fleming was a district attorney. He was planning to run for public office. He was a man who had sworn to uphold the law. Was it possible that he could have something to do with his daughter’s disappearance and his wife’s murder?
“Ashley, do you think Michael could’ve taken the key?”
“Nate, I don’t know who else could’ve done it,” Ashley said. “I hate to think he’s involved but truly I have no idea how anyone else could’ve gotten the key or known where it was or even have known that I had it.”
“I agree, Ashley. I promise I’ll look into it.” As Nate hung up the phone he said another prayer. This time a prayer of thanks that Ashley Parks may have just given them the lead and direction they needed to find these girls and close this case.

Chapter 34

Ashley held the phone to her ear as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her hair clung to the back of the neck. Her once flat ironed hair now hung in wet tendrils. At least part of it, the other part was a wavy mess which is why she showered and flat ironed every day.
She listened to Nate’s conversation with Eric discussing what Ashley already knew. Kayla was sitting in a hole waiting. What Ashley couldn’t understand was what she was waiting for and why the other girls weren’t also waiting. Instead she could feel their pain as much greater then Kayla’s.
The dream had been so vivid. Even the smell of sweat and urine overwhelmed her. As she looked around the room she saw just two mattresses lying next to opposite walls, a girl sat on either mattress but she could only make out Kayla. She didn’t know who the other girl was. She did know to avoid the corner to the left of the door. That was where the strongest smell was coming from. Had these girls not even been given a toilet? A strange green color covered the whole room. No other light or color was visible.
When a faceless man dropped food off on a tray neither girl made a movement towards the door. Both girls just sat still in their places except for the constant rocking. Neither girl spoke. Instead they just stared at the door awaiting whatever horrors lie beyond it.
Ashley had woken then.
Just like in the movies, she had sat straight up in her bed, her body covered in her own sweat, the smell no different then in her dream. She had called Nate then. Sure she expected him to call her crazy. She expected him not to believe her and he had done those things. What did surprise her is that she found exactly what she was talking about just moments later.
“Ashley, how did you know?” Nate’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“What do you see?” Ashley avoided his question.
“I think I see what you saw.”
“Why is it green?” Ashley was not letting Nate get off without answering her questions.
“We think it’s a night vision camera. This is probably real time and with no light in the room the camera is seeing in the dark. We’ll have to wait until the sun comes up to see if any light gets into the room.”
“Have the girls moved?”
“They’re alive, Ash…”
“But have they moved? All I could see was their rocking and they seemed terrified. Have they moved from the corner?”
Nate’s voice changed. It was now full of concern for the girls as well as for her, “No, Ash, they haven’t moved yet.”
“Has anyone come for them? Has the door opened?”
“No. No one has entered the room.”
“Someone will,” Ashley said but before Nate could say anything she asked, “Who is the second girl?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know Kayla is in there but which other girl is in there? I couldn’t tell.”
“I believe its Julia. No sign of Lizzie but we aren’t sure if her case is actually related to the other two. It could be a completely separate case.”
“Do you believe…” Ashley’s voice trailed off as she heard footsteps down the hallway.
“Ash? Ashley are you there?”
“Shh,” Ashley kept her voice as low as possible and tiptoed across the bedroom’s hardwood floor. Donnie’s shirt and shorts clung to her as she moved. She pulled the clothes tighter around her as though a shield from whatever may lie ahead of her. Had someone found her? Was it just Michael checking on Kyle?
“Don’t touch her!” Michael’s voice drifted through the door.
Silence. He was obviously talking to someone on the phone and waiting for some kind of reply.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her. I paid you and you will do as I say.” Loud footsteps walked past Ashley’s room and then returned. Was Michael looking for something? Was it something in Kayla’s room?
“I told you I would take care of everything and I will. I have everything under control. Ashley won’t be a problem. Neither will the FBI. Just trust me.” The words and footsteps ended abruptly. The light footfall outside her door.
As quickly and quietly as she could she made her way back to her bed and jumped under the covers. Realizing that Nate had not cut their connection she slid the phone underneath her pillow. If anything happened to her Nate could at least know what was going on.
A soft knock came from the door.
Ashley didn’t answer. Instead she lay as though she were sleeping because she should be. She shouldn’t be haunted by dreams. Well, she’d always been haunted by dreams but those dreams contained visions of Donnie and Aidan. Of the three of them as a family still living together in sunny Florida. Aidan was bigger now and looking so much like his father.
Instead she lay there in Donnie’s clothes wishing the man knocking on the door beyond was Donnie and not Michael. But reality meant it was Michael knocking and when she watched his form step through her door she knew it wasn’t Donnie. Donnie had always been shorter and stockier then most men. But while he complained of his frame, Ashley loved it. Loved that his bulk came from working hard to care for her and she never minded the few pounds he put on while she was pregnant with Aidan. Sympathy pains. She liked that.
“Ashley?” Michael called softly as he walked across the wood floor. A squeak let Ashley know he was just inches from the bed. “I thought I heard you up in here. Are you okay?”
Ashley rolled over and feigned sleep. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I thought I heard you up.”
“Oh, I went to the bathroom a while ago but I must have fallen back asleep.” Ashley pushed herself up to a reclined position careful to not crush her cell phone under her pillow. “Did you need something?”
“I just got a frustrating call.”
Ashley glanced at the clock, it read 6 AM. “At this time of the morning.”
“Yea, but as they say, crime never sleeps so neither can I.”
“What’s on your agenda today then?” Ashley pulled the covers up to her chin aware of her ratty clothes. When Donnie had first died the smell of him was still in his clothes but since then washing and wearing had taken even the faintest hint of him of away. And now large holes were forming in the worn fabric. Twelve years had taken its toll. On her and the clothes. As she looked at Michael she wondered if she could ever find it in herself to love another man. To wear another’s man’s shirt.
“I have three cases on my docket. I’m hoping they all plead out. If so then I can work on getting my daughter back.” Michael sat on the edge of Ashley’s bed. He laid his arm on her leg through the blanket. She fought the urge to pull her leg away.
“Any word on that?” Ashley asked as innocently as she could. She hoped Michael didn’t notice the quiver in her voice or her beating heart. If he knew she had overheard him what would he do?
“No. But you would know better then I wouldn’t you?” He raised his dark eyebrow and looked at her. Did he know?
“What do you mean?” Control the shaking, girl.
“Don’t you talk to Nate on a regular basis?”
There was no hiding that. “Yes, I guess I do.”
“And has our great FBI agent discovered anything that might save my daughter?” His hand squeezed her leg. How much to tell?
“It’s possible but you’d have to talk to him. He doesn’t tell me much.”
“Aahh, yes, he seems to keep us all out of the loop.” Michael looked at her for what seemed like an eternity then he glanced at the door. “What about Kyle? I know Nate brought you here to talk to him. Has he given you anything useful?”
“You already know Kyle has been a great help. But he’s been through so much I don’t know how much he remembers or feels comfortable sharing.” Ashley made a point of avoiding any of her conversation with Kyle from earlier.
“Aren’t you like a child-talker or something? No child-whisperer? I thought you could get anything out of any kid.” Michael’s smirk made her skin crawl.
“You’ve been talking too much to Nate. I do talk to and counsel children but they don’t always just open up and spill every secret in a week’s time. Quite often I have a number of sessions in my office before I can make a determination on the child’s placement.” Ashley sat up straighter. At least she was in familiar testimony. “Normally I don’t interview child witnesses. At least not those who have witnessed crimes. I talk to children who have been in abusive situations or those involved in custody cases. After I talk with them I make recommendations to the court as to which parent is a better suited custodian.”
“But the courts generally listen to you?” Michael seemed truly interested in her career.
“Yes. Even young children have a good idea of what is going on around them and which parent they would be more comfortable with.”
“What about when you know something is going on with a child but they don’t tell you. What do you do then?”
Now it was Ashley’s turn to raise her eyebrow at Michael. Was he getting at something? Was he worried about losing Kyle or was he thinking about Kayla testifying in the future? “My opinion isn’t the only one the court takes into account. If it’s clear a child has been abused even if they haven’t shared that information with me the courts will still remove the child from their home. It’s a very complicated process. I’m only a small part.”
“And why did Nate bring you into this case?” Michael asked.
“We’re old college friends. We went to school together for years. I’ve consulted with the FBI on only a few other cases and nothing as high profile as this so I can’t honestly say why Nate brought me in. If he’s looking for a miracle it isn’t me.”
“I think you’re doing a great job. Kyle likes you a lot and that’s saying something. He’s a pretty shy kid.” Michael moved his hand from Ashley’s leg to her hand and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t keep the heat out of her face. “I bet Kayla will like you too…” Michael paused, sighed and added, “When she comes home.”
Ashley only nodded her reply. Did he know Kayla was still alive or was he just a loving father hoping against hope that the worst wouldn’t happen? Either way Ashley was determined to find out and find the girls that were haunting her dreams.

Chapter 33

Nate paced back and forth in the hospital. Part of him was worried about Beth Andrews who was still in surgery and part of him was worried about Ashley alone with Michael. Nate wasn’t sure he had anything to do with the girl’s disappearances but he was sure that he didn’t want Ashley alone with him.
Twenty minutes later Nate got word that Beth Andrews was going to make it but would not be awake for questioning for some time. Nate decided his time would be better served finding out what Ashley had to tell him. Flipping open his cell phone, he dialed Ashley’s phone. She answered on the first ring, her voice a quiet whisper.
“Ashley?”
“Yes, it’s me. I have something for you.” Nate could just make out the words.
“From Kyle?” Nate asked.
“Yes, he gave me this envelope. It has a website and a key probably to a locker.”
“I need to get that from you.” Nate’s heart began to race. What Ashley held might actually be a lead. It might actually get them somewhere which was better then where they were now.
Which was nowhere.
“I can’t get it to you right now. I’m at Michael’s. I can’t leave Kyle. I can’t look this up. I have no idea where the key goes.” The words were spilling out of her now and Nate tried hard to keep up. “He’s a scared kid, Nate, I can’t leave him….”
“I’m not asking you to, Ash, but I could use that website now. It will give me a start. I’ll get the key from you in the morning. In the meantime don’t let anyone else know about it. If Michael is involved in any way I don’t want him to know anything.”
“Fine, fine. I can take care of myself. I’m exhausted. You look up the site, I’m going to sleep.”
“I’m ready, give it to me.” Ashley read off the website and Nate wrote it down. As Nate read what Ashley had given him he was sickened. “Ashley, where did Kyle get this?”
“He said his mom gave it to him. Told him to keep it.”
“That’s it? How does a kid end up with a site like this?”
“That’s what he said Nate. I believe him.”
“Fine. I’ll see you in the morning, and Ashley, don’t go out without protection.”
“I know. Goodnight, Nate.”
Nate heard silence and knew Ashley had closed her phone. “Goodnight Ashley, I love you.” Nate closed his phone too and held it to his chin. When was he going to tell her in person? For real?
Nate looked down at the small piece of newspaper he held in his hand. On it he had written the website Ashley had read to him over the phone. It could be nothing, it could be everything.
After requesting that the doctor call him with any updates on Beth’s condition and after assigning an officer to guard Beth at all times. Nate headed back to his office and booted up his computer. He typed in the address Ashley gave him and almost threw up at what he saw. “Children Fore Play” was a site fully devoted to small children in positions that small children shouldn’t be in. Flashing words invited Nate to click on them to view more kids, boys and girls alike.
Unfortunately for Nate it was something he couldn’t just ignore. On face value, it appeared to have nothing to do with the case but there had to be a reason that Kyle had this particular website. And worse, Nate had no choice but to view the entire website.
He couldn’t do this alone. He picked up the phone and called Eric.
“Walker.”
“Eric, its Nate. I need you back at the office.”
“Nate, its late Sunday night.” Nate heard fumbling. “Wait, now its Monday. Can’t this wait a few hours?”
“Eric, I swear to you, it cannot wait a few hours. I have some information and I need your expertise.”
Silence.
“Eric, now. I just spent hours at the hospital with Beth Andrews and you’ve had a chance to sleep. I need you here.”
“If you call three hours sleep then fine, I’ve slept.” More fumbling. What was the man doing? “I’m on my way.”
Nate paced, stared at the horrible images on his computer, paced again. He was sure he would have technicians on it first thing in the morning but right now he needed Eric’s eyes. Eric could find what Nate was missing, he was sure of it.
It took Eric almost two hours to show up at the office and when he did he looked like he had fallen back asleep, crawled out of bed and gotten in. Fortunately for Eric his dark bald head needed no care and all the women seemed to love his look. For the rest of him, Nate was sure Eric could get a change of clothes somewhere.
“What took you so long?” Nate asked.
“Come on man, it’s the middle of the night. What do you want from me? Besides, you look like you got some sleep yourself.”
It was true, Nate had sacked out in his chair for maybe forty-five minutes. Now he felt alert and ready to go.
“What do you need from me?” Eric asked.
“Ashley got a website, I need you to look into it.”
“Don’t know how to put it in the computer? Simple, www…”
“Yea, I got that but when I pull it up I come up with child porn.”
“Ouch. What do you want me to do about it?”
Nate handed Eric the paper he wrote down the web address on and Eric typed it into his computer. “I need you to get in without us paying for it. And I need you to figure out what the big deal is. I didn’t recognize any of the girls on this site. I want to know how this relates to our case.”
“Where did Ashley get this?”
“Kyle.”
“Our Kyle?”
“Yes.”
“District Attorney Michael Fleming’s son?”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t good Nate. Do you think Michael could be involved?”
“I’ve always thought Kyle knew more then he was saying. It would make sense that he kept quiet if he feared his dad. His mom must have known something too. She’s the one that gave Kyle the information. Maybe that’s why she was killed.”
“What about the other women?” Eric said.
“I don’t know but let’s make an attempt to find out.” Nate resumed his pacing while Eric tapped away at the computer. Nate only glanced at the computer a few times. These were images he didn’t need to see. Somehow Eric had gotten into the site without paying. Nate didn’t ask questions. It’s not a skill he wanted to add to his resume.
Nate stopped mid-pace when he heard his cell phone ring. His heart rate sped up. It was close to dawn but still too early for anyone to be calling. He checked his phone and saw Ashley’s name. This couldn’t be good. Had Michael found out already?
“Are you okay?” Nate asked before Ashley could say anything.
“Hello to you too Nate. I’m fine. I can’t sleep. I have a bad feeling.”
“We’re working on it. I promise we’ll catch whoever is behind this and make him pay.”
“No, you don’t understand. Kayla’s in trouble. Something’s wrong I can feel it,” Ashley paused as though she wanted to say more but didn’t.
“She’s being held against her will. Of course something’s wrong.” Nate was too tired to play games, even with Ashley. If she knew something she needed to tell him.
“I saw her,” Ashley whispered.
“What do you mean you saw her?”
“She was in a room. It was dark. There were two mattresses in the room. I think one of the other girls was there with her. The room had a strange greenish glow. She was huddled in the corner, her knees to her chest. I could tell she was scared but she wasn’t in as much pain as the girl with her. I don’t know if it was Julia or the other girl you mentioned, Lizzie, I think.”
“Ashley, what are you talking about? Where did you see them?”
A long pause and Nate waited, hearing only the computer keys clicking and the hum of the computers around him. They would all come to life in just over an hour but for now the place was still quiet. Then Ashley’s voice broke the silence once again, “I saw them in my dream.”
“You’re dream Ashley? Is this like your visions?”
“Kind of.”
“Ashley, you’ve been right before but what do I do with this?”
“I don’t know but we have to save her. Somehow we have to find her and get her back. She’s scared and I’m afraid she’s running out of time.”
“I know all this but where did these visions come from?” Nate didn’t make any attempt to hide the anger and frustration in his voice.
“Nate, twelve years ago I experienced pain that no mother should endure. No one should outlive her child but I did. I was there when Aidan died. I held him but it was like it wasn’t me. It was like I was standing outside myself, looking down, watching this person that was me and yet wasn’t me experience pain. Ever since I’ve been tuned in to other people’s pain and I can sense it. I can feel it. This is why I’m so good with kids. I can feel their pain and I can almost see where they’ve been, where they are now.”
“What about adults? Can you sense the pain in adults? Can you tell me about Michael? Can you tell me who killed these girls?”
Silence indicated Ashley hadn’t missed his sarcasm. Finally she spoke, “I’m not a psychic, Nate. I don’t predict the future or claim to have visions from God or otherwise. I have a connection with kids. I don’t know why. Maybe because they’re more open then adults. Maybe because they’re more vulnerable and need more protection or maybe God just gave me a gift. You’re the one who said you believe in God. You tell me.”
Nate didn’t miss her sarcasm either.
“You’re right, Ashley, I’m sorry. I just don’t know what your dream or vision or whatever can tell me. I don’t know what I can do with it. I know Kayla is scared…”
“But at least you know she’s alive.”
She had him there.
Nate held the phone to his forehead and took a deep breath. He cared for Ashley. Loved her even if he wouldn’t admit it to anyone but himself but sometimes she said and did things he couldn’t understand.
As Nate put the phone back to his ear, Eric said, “Nate, I’ve got something. Check this out.”
“Hang on a second Ashley.” Nate took two steps to stand next to Eric and what he saw blew him away more then anything he had seen before. He put the phone back to his ear. “Ashley, you’re not going to believe this. I’m looking at your green room right now and you were right, Kayla is alive and very, very scared.”