by Lee Heaven
“Whoa babe, calm down. I was just joking. Hold on I’ll get Tobias,” I hear him yell as if he pulled the phone away. “Tobias, your woman is yelling at me in some weird language.”
Tobias’s voice got louder as he walked closer, “She’s speaking German you dick. What did you do to her? She only speaks that if she’s mad.” There’s a muffle sound as if his fingers ran across the microphone. “What’s the matter sweetheart?”
“Are you with Decker?” I whisper.
“Yeah he’s at the other end of the table we’re all just finishing dinner,” he said.
“In about a minute you’re gonna see Mr. Branning with two state troopers…”
“Maggie what the fuck is going on?” He interrupts me.
“Let me finish please. Go to him, he’s going to need you. It’s…”
“Maggie, they’re here. Hold on.” I hear talking, lots of talking, rapid talking. Then it goes quiet, not a sound at all. “Decker,” Tobias whispers.
A loud crash sounded in my ears. It was like a table being flipped. I heard dishes breaking. Silverware was clanging on the tile floor. Then I heard Decker let out a guttural yell that actually scared me enough to pull the phone away from my ear for a second. When I put the phone back to my ear I heard him crying.
“Tobias?” I asked not even sure if he was still holding the phone. Nothing, no answer. “Tobias?” I said again.
“Maggie, explain what happened,” he finally said.
“I don’t know really. I talked to her around seven-thirty and she was getting ready to leave work, when she wasn’t home by nine or answering any of my calls, Daniel had security go check for her car. I just watched a video where she was taken. I don’t who it is. Daniel here’s with me. We’re at the garage where she was taken. Tobias I don’t know. Oh god. I don’t know,” I rambled out not even really sure what to say.
I could hear him arguing with Decker about coming back with him, but Decker kept telling him no and that he needs to stay.
A little over two hours later Daniel and I were at the airport waiting. It was the same private area where we had dropped the boys off three weeks earlier. We stood there watching as a private plane landed and taxied over to us.
As he emerged from the plane he looked like death had rolled over him a few hundred times. I burst out crying and ran to him. Wrapping his arms around me, we both just cried for a few minutes. Without letting go he walked over to the waiting car and Daniel.
“What do we know?” He asked Daniel.
“Nothing’s changed. Still can’t tell who the man in the video is. He never faces the camera. The car hasn’t been found yet and there is still no report of a vehicle of that kind missing. It may just be his car. There has also been no ransom demand. We don’t know if this is connected to you or her.”
“Why her?” Decker was confused.
“Since she has been connected to you she has been all over the press. It could be someone who became obsessed with her, someone who was obsessed with you and wanted her gone or a number of reasons. We don’t know yet. Until we receive a ransom demand or identify the man in the video we just won’t know.”
“I’m sorry Decker, it’s all my fault. I should have insisted on taking her to work and picking her up. I’m so sorry.”
“Maggie it’s not your fault she was at work, we all thought she would have been safe there.” He squeezed my shoulder and then turned back to Daniel, “I want to see the video.”
“Sir I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Daniel says.
“I want to see the video. This is my girl missing, this is my heart breaking. Maybe I can tell who the man is.”
“Detective Kelly is waiting at the apartment. You can see it there and we can find out if there is any new information since we left to come to get you,” Daniel said as he opened the door for us to climb in.
~~~
I’ve been pacing in my bedroom for over two hours. It’s nearing three in the morning and I can’t sleep. My stomach keeps flip flopping, my mind is racing and my nerves are on over load.
Decker has watched the three minute video probably a thousand times trying to figure out who it was that took Sarah. Her parents arrived around midnight and I set them up in the bedroom next to Decker’s.
Her friends Liz –I believe she’s the one who lives in Colorado and Chrissy, she lives near Chicago, Decker had said- had called as soon as they heard the news and were emailed the video. Both said that they didn’t recognize the car or the man. Without seeing more of his face or body they couldn’t help.
Detective Kelly had said that they were able to follow the car around Manhattan. He went through the midtown tunnel and into Queens. From there the car got on Long Island Expressway and took exit fifty-six toward Islip.
They lost him after he took the exit and went into neighborhoods that were not video tapped. Detective Kelly said that it probably didn’t matter anyways, that whoever took Sarah knew about the cameras around the city and on the highway and was probably driving around to try and loose the police. He said there is a possibility that he may have even ditched the car he had and taken another one and my even be back in the city or far as parts of other states right now.
He said that until there is contact from whoever took her we may not know who it is. He suggested doing daily press conferences, asking for whoever took her to contact someone. Decker went and scheduled a press conference for eleven-thirty in the morning.
I headed back into the dining room and I saw Decker still sitting at the table staring at the video.
“You need to go to sleep. You’re not going to do her any good if you’re too tired,” I said as I sat down next to him and slide the laptop in front of me so I can watch the video, even though I had seen it almost as many times as him and couldn’t figure it out either.
“I need to figure out who this is,” he said as he scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Go to bed, you’ve been staring at this so long I’m sure it’s all blurry. You’re going to need fresh eyes to try and make since out of this.”
My phone started to vibrate on the table and we both jumped at the sound. I don’t know if it because it scared us or we were anticipating a call from whoever took Sarah.
I didn’t even look at the caller ID as I answered it “Hello.”
“Sweetheart, tell me is there anything new?” Tobias’s voice soothed from the other side of the phone.
I shook my head at Decker. His face fell even more. “Hold on Tobias.” I turned toward Decker, “Go get in bed now.”Decker finally relented and headed for his bedroom.
“Hi,” I said quietly into the phone. I was about to burst into tears.
“Oh sweetheart, don’t cry. We’ll find her don’t worry. Did they check out her ex?”
I had to take a few deep breaths to keep from breaking down. This was my best-friend and she was missing, her boyfriend was falling apart and mine, well I wasn’t even sure if he was my boyfriend, but he was over a thousand miles away. “Yeah he was ruled out almost immediately since we had just been with him dropping Josie off in Jersey and State Troopers caught up with him on 87 near Albany and she wasn’t with them. He called me right after to find out what was going on. He doesn’t plan on telling Josie anything till she comes back Sunday night.”
“Has anybody been able to make sense of the video?”
This stupid video, but we all keep watching it for some reason. I just wish he would turn around, but he never does. It’s not like I’m watching this live, nothing is going to change, but here I sit watching it again.
“No they haven’t. He knew what he was doing. I think it’s going to be a dead end. The FBI will be here in the morning to help with the search. Parts of the video have been released to news outlets and will be in the papers and the news channels will cover it when the morning news comes on.”
“What can I do?” He asked knowing there wasn’t much he could do.
“Come home Tobias. Come home and
hold me,” I whispered back to him.
I really wanted him to come home. I wanted to feel safe in his arms. I wanted his warm embrace to comfort me right now. But I knew he couldn’t, I knew he had to stay where he was.
I’m not really sure how long we were on the phone. I don’t remember walking back to my room, climbing in bed or falling asleep. But somehow I did all that and Tobias did to. I awoke to him calling my name softly through the phone. All night he stayed on the line with me. I couldn’t have thought of anything sweeter he could have done or how my phones battery didn’t die.
~~~
It has been a full week since Sarah was taken. We haven’t heard one word on who took her. No ransom demand, no snarky note, nothing. No contact what so ever. Decker barely sleeps, Sarah’s parents just sit at the dining room table and stare out the window and poor Josie, she has no idea what is going on. Only that she misses her mommy and wants to see her again.
I’ve tried to tell her that mommy is very sick and had to go away to a special hospital and when it was time she would see her again. She misses her mom and can tell there is something wrong with Decker and her grandparents.
She’s asked for Tobias and the best I can give her is a video chat. I know it’s not the same as having him here for her, but he always has her laughing to tears by the time they are done. I understood her needing him here, I need him here to.
We’ve kept the same schedule as close to possible to make sure we can shield Josie from as much as possible. The second we are out the door for school, the FBI and Police are back in the apartment doing what they need to be doing and are gone by the time she gets home from school.
Everyday is the same; we stand in Decker’s lobby begging and asking for whoever has Sarah to please let her go or to contact one of us. But every day we get nothing in return. Every day is silence, no communication of any sort.
Today was looking to be more of the same silence. We just had our daily press conference and were all back in the apartment. Every day the local restaurants have sent food over for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today The Coliseum Bar and Restaurant on W. 58th Street has sent over a magnificent spread.
Decker has been picking at a chicken pot pie and I’ve been working on a super grilled cheese for a while with no progress. The food is really good but our stomachs are so upset with worry that no one but the security staff really eats. Between all the cheeseburgers, chicken, fish and turkey club sandwiches, all the food looks really good, smells it to, but thinking of eating it only churns my stomach into bigger knots.
Everyone was dishing out food and eating when Decker’s phone went off. Everyone froze and stared at him as he dug it out of his pocket. This was our normal process whenever any ones phone rang. His face fell when looking at the screen and shook his head.
“Just the stadium,” he said sadly looking at the phone. “Jensen,” he said into the phone.
Just as Frank –Sarah’s dad- was about to start a conversation Decker dropped his phone onto the table. All heads turned to see a white faced Decker staring at the table.
“Decker, what is it son?” Jonathan -his father- asked placing a hand on Decker’s shoulder.
He bent over and picked up his phone which had bounced off the table and onto the floor. “She’s at the stadium. She’s fine.”
We all gasped and then jumped into each other’s arms screaming ‘Thank God’ and ‘No way.’ Seconds later we were all running towards the door and piling into the cars.
The normal ride to the stadium seemed to take less time than normal. I’m sure the police escort that joined us the second after we pulled out of the garage and the ones that blocked the streets helped since we didn’t have to wait for lights or clogged streets.
Decker and Sarah’s parents were out of the car and in the stadium before the car was even stopped, leaving me to scramble over to the driver seat that Decker had just abandoned, to jump on the breaks and put it in park. By the time I got into the stadium Decker was on his knees with Sarah wrapped in his arms and her parents collapsing next to them.
I could have told you she was going to panic. There were just too many people in the room for her level of comfort. There was probably close to fifty people in the room between Decker, Sarah’s parents, security, doctors and police.
I was just about to step into the room and tell Decker she was going to panic when the tray of food went flying across the room and crashed noisily on the floor as she screamed for everyone to get out. Instead I turned down the hall and pulled my cell phone out. I could hear the screaming of the coaches and balls cracking off bats before he even said anything.
“Hey sweetheart,” he crooned down the phone.
I couldn’t help it. I started balling uncontrollably into the phone trying to speak but nothing really made sense and sounded more like grunts and groans.
“Guys shut the fuck up I can’t hear,” he yelled to everyone around him. “Maggie, what’s wrong?”
I could tell by the tone of his voice he was bracing for bad news. Except it wasn’t bad news, it was all good news and I just couldn’t get it out. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying so badly. I think the stress of the last week just came crashing down at that moment and it all came pouring out in a torrent of uncontrollable sobbing.
“They found her,” I was finally able to get out. Then it all came tumbling out before he could ask any questions. “She’s safe. She’s alive. She’s unhurt. We’re at the hospital with her now.”
I heard him exhale and I could feel the weight of this stress lift off of him as he whooped loudly. As quick as I relayed the information to him he was informing the whole team and they were cheering and screaming ‘yes’.
“Tobias, come home. I need you so much. I need to feel you. I need you to touch me. Please Tobias!” I wasn’t beyond begging at this point. I was beyond gone. The stress of the last week, the teasing he had laid on me for the week and half before he left and then the past four weeks of nothing but phone sex had strung me to my last nerve.
I needed to feel his touch. I wanted his hands on me. I didn’t even care if it was one of his teasing sessions right now. I needed to feel him. I was going to snap if I didn’t get it soon.
“Maggie, calm down. Everything will be fine. She’s home and safe. I’ll be home next week. Please sweetheart calm down. Bitte Schatz beruhigen. Please sweetheart calm down”
I loved when he spoke German to me. I can remember the first time he did it; I had gotten mad at him for one of those teasing kisses, I had called him an asshole in German under my breath as he walked away, but he had heard me, turned around and backed me to a wall, he bent down and in my ear he whispered ‘Ich bin und du mich noch liebst’ which translated to ‘I am and you still love me’. He was right to. Somehow in a matter of days without even being in a relationship Tobias had made me fall in love with him.
I couldn’t wait for him to come home. I needed him to come home. I needed whatever this was between me and him to finally take its place and come out of hiding.
I slid down the wall I was leaning against, resting my head on my knees. I sniffed trying to hold back another round of tears that I felt coming on. I hated this feeling of being weak. I was weak with Jacob once and it broke me. Ten years later I was weak once more with Landon and he broke me worse than Jacob.
I was even weaker when it came to Jon. I didn’t have the strength to turn him away. I know if it wasn’t for Tobias, that last day at my parent’s house, he would have had his way with me again no matter how many times I would have told him no.
Now, now I was weak again and needed Tobias to hold me up and he couldn’t, he was way too far away. “Tobias…” was all I was able to get out.
“One week sweetheart, one week and I’ll be home. Adieu, sweetheart,” then he hung up.
He never let me say goodbye, always hung up before. I wasn’t sure what it was about and I really didn’t care, I found it endearing and sweet.
I wasn’t sure if
I could wait that long. Thoughts of jumping a plane down to Florida was becoming more and more appealing after the events of the last week, but now I needed to be strong again for Sarah.
I knew it was Decker who slide down the wall next to me without even lifting my head, his cologne was breath taking and just by the smelling it I knew when he was around.
“You know he is absolutely head over heels in love with you right?” Decker said as I leaned on his shoulder.
I snorted, “I don’t think its love. I think it’s just obsession at this point.” I knew I was in love with Tobias but I just wasn’t sure if he loved me.
“All he ever did was talk about getting back here to see you. I told him to fly you down but he wouldn’t because he didn’t want Sarah to be alone. Please don’t be blind like her. I love her deeply and tried to show her. It took almost five months. Don’t let it take that long with Tobias. If he won’t make the move then you must. Don’t just show him, tell him. I wish I told her sooner. Maybe I would have had her and Josie sooner. Maybe we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Decker this was her psycho-ex’s fault. There was nothing you could have done different. He planned this well. Waited way over a month since he found her on the street that day with no other contact or threat, had it planned so well that no one knew it was him. There is absolutely nothing you could have done different. But now we have her back, now is our chance to protect her again.”
“I’m afraid she is going to withdrawal again, she is fragile to begin with. Her mom said after her attack years ago she tried to commit suicide a few times. I’ve seen the scars on her wrist. I’m afraid she’ll go there again, so are her parents.”
“We’ll both make sure that doesn’t happen. We’ll both make sure she knows that that is not an option for her. However, we also can’t push her. She needs to withdraw a little. It’s a normal reaction; she’ll need time to move on in her own way. She’ll cry, yell, and a slew of other actions. She may even stay in bed or locked in her room, but it’s how people deal. You can’t push her that will be worse. Just go to her when she needs you the most and she’ll let you know when she’s ready to move on.”
