Jack Ryder Mystery Series: Vol 4-6

by Willow Rose

  "It was so bad they had to bring you in, right?" I asked. "Because the bleeding wouldn't stop. It didn't matter that you were illegal. And then the police came and took a report. You had fallen down the stairs, it said. And lost the baby you were carrying. It said that you refused to say where you lived, and the next day you were suddenly gone."

  Sydney blushed. Her eyes flickered back and forth. "I was illegal. I had to get help. I would have died if I didn't go. The White Lady helped me get there. She paid the nurses off not to tell the police, but the doctor reported me. As soon as I was better, she made sure I was taken back before they could arrest me. So what?"

  "Who was the father?" I asked. "Of your baby?"

  Sydney didn't answer. She stared at her feet.

  "I’m guessing it was Mr. Sakislov, am I right? It was something his son Henry said when we visited them. He said that he didn't care if they were black or white. He would sleep with any girl. He was the father, am I right?" I continued.

  She nodded soundlessly.

  "I’m also guessing that it wasn't a fall," I said. "When you lost the baby."

  "Ella Maria pushed you, didn't she?" Emily said.

  "Because she knew about you and Mr. Sakislov?" I added. "She was jealous?"

  Sydney sniffled. "I…I don't know why though."

  Her mother came up behind her. "I do," she said. "Because Sergei had promised to take care of Sydney."

  "Mom," Sydney said. "Don't…"

  "No, baby. It's okay. The truth needed to come out anyway." Sofia caressed her daughter's face lovingly. "You tried, baby. But it didn't work."

  "That's why you helped us, wasn't it?" I asked. "I couldn't figure out why you were so helpful to us when we exposed Mr. Chauncey and Rosie, the people who had let you stay in their house. We were nothing but strangers you had met for only a few hours. You knew what was going on in that panic room. Growing up in that house, you knew everything. You also knew that if we found out about them, then your mother might be released. We might think that they were also responsible for Ella Maria's death. Did you come up with the idea to make it look like the others? To cut out her tongue and place her in the pool?"

  Sydney sucked in air, then nodded.

  "Your mom killed her in anger for what she had done to you?" Emily said. "For pushing you so you lost the baby?"

  Sydney nodded.

  "She had a future," Sofia said, tears streaming across her cheeks. "Mr. Sakislov had told her he would take care of her and the baby for the rest of their lives. She was about to get out of that awful place that she had been born into. She could get out of the slavery. The baby was her way out. And then that spoiled brat ruined it."

  "So, you killed her?"

  Sofia's eyes met mine. "I…I didn't mean to…I wanted to punish her but my rage…so many years of anger toward these people who had kept us as slaves for so long…I lost it."

  "And then you told Sydney, and she thought of making it look like the other killings. So, when you signed the confession, you were actually admitting to your guilt. But then we came along, and Sydney saw the possibility of getting you out. You could leave and then start over."

  Sofia was crying heavily now, her big eyes staring at me.

  "I never meant to hurt anyone. We just wanted a new life. We just wanted to be free."

  Behind us, I could hear commotion and, seconds later, Commissioner Maycock—flanked by about fifteen officers in very well-ironed, slightly too big uniforms—approached us. They grabbed Sofia and Sydney, then took them away.

  Emily clung onto my neck and hugged me. I held her tiny body close while whispering how sorry I was. I then promised her that one day we would travel to Columbia to find more of her family.

  That made her chuckle between sobs.

  "I’m not sure I dare to," she said and grabbed my hand in hers as we walked out of the airport toward our rental car.

  Chapter 82

  Nassau, Bahamas, October 2018

  It was hard to get proper rest when people were chattering and walking by in the hallway with heels clicking loudly on the floor.

  Because of the pain she had been in when they brought her in, they had given her something that had knocked her out completely, and it had helped for the past several hours, but now she was wide awake.

  Her mother was sleeping in a chair next to her bed and looking at her made Coraline feel so happy. Her dad had arrived as well and was staying in some hotel downtown that he said was the worst he had ever been in, but he said that about all hotels. Both her parents had been there the day before and having them there together had ended in a massive fight, one that finally had the nurses come in and tell them that from now on only one of them at a time could be with the patient since she needed her rest after the ordeal she had been through. The old nurse had given them a good and proper scolding, letting them know that, right now, Coraline needed them to be a united front, united in their love for her and there would be no more fighting.

  Coraline chuckled when thinking about the look on her parents’ faces when they realized just how childish they had been acting. It was hard to believe those two had once loved one another enough to have a child together.

  Coraline chuckled when looking at her mother's wide-open mouth as she sat there in the chair, sleeping with her head bent backward.

  She's gonna get a severe neck ache from this.

  She contemplated waking her up, but kind of enjoyed the peace and quiet for a little while.

  The doctor told her she had been lucky. She was bruised and beaten up, but nothing was broken and there was nothing that wouldn't go away with a little time and care. She was, however, dehydrated, and they were keeping her for observation until her vitals were normal again. And then there was the matter of her mental state. The doctor had told her that once she got back to the U.S., she should see someone, a professional to talk to about what she had been through.

  "Can't keep it bottled up," he had added with a big smile that he seemed to carry no matter whether he was telling her something serious or joyful. She could never read his expressions right.

  But he was right. She still had nightmares and, even though she knew both of them were dead, she still sometimes felt like she saw them, especially when she dared to go into the hallway to go to the bathroom from time to time and strangers walked past her.

  Coraline sighed just as a face peeked in. A frown turned into a smile when she saw who it was.

  "Jack! You came!"

  Ever since the handsome detective with the soft blond curls had saved her that night in the car, she had been wanting him to visit her. He stepped inside, his daughter right behind him. She was so skinny, her legs looked like those of a skeleton and Coraline wondered if she wasn't well.

  "Of course, I came," Jack Ryder said. "We came. To say goodbye. We're leaving late this afternoon."

  Coraline sighed, tears springing to her eyes. "Aw. Guess I'll never see you again, then?"

  Jack laughed. "If life has taught me anything, it is never to say never."

  "Thank you," she said with a deep sigh, her voice quivering slightly. "For saving my life."

  He chuckled. "The pleasure was all mine. Or should I say ours. Emily here was the one who knew where to find you. She's the one who solved the case."

  "Then, thank you, Emily," Coraline said and reached out her hand toward the girl. Emily took it, and Coraline pulled her into a warm embrace, feeling the bones in her back, then as they pulled apart, she gave her a worried look.

  "You'd make a great detective one day."

  Emily blushed shyly. "I don't know about that."

  A groan emerged from Coraline's mother, and she sat up straight, feeling her neck.

  "Ouch."

  "Mom? There's someone I want you to meet."

  Coraline's mom blinked her eyes, then looked at Jack and Emily. Then her eyes were filled with tears. She rose to her feet and grabbed Jack's hand in hers.

  "Thank you. Thank you so much for saving
my daughter's life."

  "She did a lot of the work herself," Jack said with a wink at Coraline. "She's one brave girl."

  Epilogue

  Cocoa Beach, October 2018

  "JAAAACK!"

  "DAAAD!"

  We had barely found our suitcases before we heard the screams. I turned around and spotted our entire family coming toward us. Shannon was carrying Tyler in her arms, almost dropping her purse that was dangling underneath him, while the twins were following closely along with Betsy Sue and Angela. Even my mom and dad were there, rushing toward us, arms stretched out.

  I couldn't stop smiling as the twins raced each other to get to me first, Abigail pulling Austin's shirt to keep him from winning.

  "Hey," Austin complained as Abigail made it first.

  I chuckled, then grabbed her in my arms, then reached out for him as well and pulled him into a warm embrace, while he mouthed I hate you to his sister. Next came Shannon and Tyler, who was squirming in her arms to get down and run to me. She put him down with a deep sigh, hair unruly and no make-up, and he ran toward me, his small arms stretched out.

  "Da-a-a-ad-d-y-y-y-y!"

  I let go of the twins and grabbed him in my arms, holding him very close to me, smelling him and laughing, realizing in this very moment how much I had missed them all.

  Tyler soon grew tired of me and wanted to get down, so I kissed him on the cheek and put him on the floor so that he could roam freely again. Shannon kissed Emily and hugged her, then came to me, while my parents both threw themselves at Emily.

  Shannon stood in front of me with a deep sigh and, just then, I noticed she was still wearing her PJs under her long coat that was way too warm for the Florida weather, but long enough to cover up her PJs. Her hair went in all directions, and she had deep black bags under her eyes. It was so far from the famous country star that the rest of the world knew, and I wasn't sure anyone would even recognize her.

  I chuckled, then hugged her and kissed her gently, closing my eyes and taking her in.

  "How are you?" I asked and caressed her make-up-free face.

  "I think…I think I’m still alive," she said, chuckling. "But I’m not sure."

  "I promise I'll never do it again," I said.

  She chuckled. "Good. ‘Cause I don't think our marriage would be able to survive that."

  We grabbed our suitcases and walked out to our cars, then drove back to my parents’ motel, where my mom had prepared burgers and hotdogs for us that she served on the porch under the huge welcome home sign that the kids had drawn.

  I grabbed a burger and sat down, while letting all the chatter and life around me fill me with joy. Even Abigail and Austin's bickering made me happy, at least for a few minutes. By the end of the evening, I knew I was going to be as annoyed with it as I usually was. But for now, I was enjoying it.

  Shannon sat next to me with her own burger and had just sunk her teeth into it when Emily walked up to the grill and grabbed a plate between her hands.

  I stopped chewing, and everyone stopped talking as she reached out the plate toward my dad.

  "I think I'd like a burger, please."

  Shannon's eyes grew wide, and my heart thumped in my chest as my dad served her the burger and she sat down, then took a big bite. My mom sent me a smile and winked. I felt a tear in the corner of my eye but wiped it away.

  "What happened?" Shannon whispered.

  "It wasn't about the food; it was never about food or even about being skinny and meeting some unrealistic ideal she had seen in a magazine. Just like mom told me, it was a lot deeper than that. It was all about her identity and finding out who she is and what she wants to do with her life."

  "And she’s found that out now?" she asked, baffled, as we watched Emily finish the entire burger like it was nothing.

  She had decided to leave the scale in the hotel room when we left for the airport. I think she believed I didn't see her place it in the bathroom right before we left, but I did. And that made me so happy, I could hardly contain it. It also made me believe that she was determined this time around, and I had a feeling she was going to make it. She was going to get better, especially now that she had a goal to reach; she had something she wanted out of her life. A goal that couldn't be achieved if she was underweight.

  I nodded, pressing back more tears as they threatened to burst out of me.

  "Yes. She wants to be a detective. Just like her old man. Can you believe it? There's gonna be another Detective Ryder in our family. And a darn good one, if I might add."

  THE END

  Afterword

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for purchasing book 4-6 in The Jack Ryder Series. I hope you enjoyed it. I want to let you know that the inspiration for this story, as in many of my other books, comes from real life.

  Black Jack: There are tunnels under Savannah and, as far as I have been told, they were used to shanghai sailors to ships and to get rid of bodies during the Yellow Fever epidemic. All houses in Savannah worth anything are haunted, especially if you ask the tour guides. The story of the General is one of the stories they tell, and so is the one about the three girls being murdered in that very same house while the parents were out to dinner one night. When they came back, three of the girls were dead, the fourth had survived. A tour guide I spoke to told me that tourists often take pictures of the house, and when they look at the pictures afterwards, they find the image of a little girl sitting in one of the windows. It is said that it is the general’s daughter.

  Oh, and then there is the theory of the murder gene. It is actually real. Scientists believe they have found out that killers share a gene that others don’t. Read more about it here:

  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/killers-born-murder-gene-scientists-4528684

  The thought is kind of terrifying to me. My guess is that people who have the gene either become killers or writers, right?

  Girl Next Door: As you might know, this story was inspired by a real serial killer who went by the initials BTK for what he did to his victims—Bind, Torture, and Kill. He was known to break into people's houses and wait for them to come home. He roamed through the 70s then the 80s and wasn't caught until 2005. You can read more about him here, but I have to warn you, some of it is quite disturbing.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader

  https://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/btk/article1003753.htmlB

  Her Final Word: When I was around fifteen years old, I started to starve myself, having the idea that it would make me happier if I lost a few pounds. A few became many and, when I was seventeen, I was admitted to a hospital for the first time, and I spent eight months there. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there and, shortly after I was let out, I went straight back to starving myself again and was admitted once again when I was nineteen for six months.

  Now, I know there are many different reasons why young girls do this to themselves. For me, it was about a lot of different things like a tough childhood, but the key to surviving it was finding my identity. I was scared of the future and who I was supposed to be. It was when I found a purpose in life, when I started to write books and then when I met my husband, that things began to change, and I no longer desired to starve myself.

  Love changes everything, right? I wanted a life with him, and most of all, I wanted to have children. Today, I am healthy and well and hardly ever think back on that time, but it will never leave me completely. And that's okay. It's a part of me now, part of my story. And, as I was writing the first Jack Ryder books, I knew it had to become a part of his story too. But now I think Emily has found the key to beat her sickness, and I can't wait to see what she will accomplish as a detective later on in life. Maybe she'll even get her own series.

  The story of the white lady was inspired by a real story, believe it or not. Sante Kimes was a woman who committed so many crimes I couldn't fit them all in this book, so I focused on her charges of modern-day slavery. She offered young
, homeless illegal immigrants housing and employment, then kept them as virtual prisoners by threatening to report them to the authorities if they didn't follow her orders. The details of her life are quite spectacular; if you want to know more, here are a couple of links:

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sante_Kimes

  https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/03/sante-kimes-mother-murderer-criminal-mastermind

  I was fascinated by the ordeal immigrants go through to get to a better place and then what happens to them is sometimes worse than where they came from. And as I started reading about it, I realized it is more common than you think. Here's the story of a woman in Texas who kept illegal immigrants as slaves that you can read about:

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/16/texas-woman-kept-mexican-slaves-for-14-years-said-theyd-go-to-hell-if-they-disobeyed/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6edc4b0e863d

  A lot of the immigrants also end up as sex slaves and being trafficked.

  The United Nations Polaris Project, which tracks human trafficking, estimates there are 20.9 million people across the globe that are slaves. Yes, that many. It's a huge problem. As a matter of fact, Jack Ryder's favorite café Juice N Java in Cocoa Beach has joined the fight to help victims of trafficking and started the Freedom Fighter Movement. If you want to support it, just follow this link:

  http://www.juicenjavacafe.com/24716/Page.aspx

  Don’t forget to check out my other books as well. You can buy them by following the links below. And don’t forget to leave reviews if possible. It means so much to me to hear what you think.

  Take care,

  Willow

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