Promised Box Set

by James Kipling

  He was taken aback and as he listened, he heard no sound of sadness in his voice. “Why, what has happened with Meghan?”

  “I would rather not talk about my daughter. Bye Mr. Orlando.”

  He heard the line disconnect and he was stumped. There had to have been something happening that he was not aware of, and he was not just going to let it go either. A young woman was involved and he was not certain that everything had been cleared up that easily.

  ###

  That newscast didn’t prove anything, Meghan kept repeating that in her head, but she knew it proved everything that Quinn—that her mother—had been telling her. She did not want any of this to be real though. Her father was despicable, but she always thought there was a line. That if anything was to happen to her, that he would do anything for her, but evidently she was mistaken. She wanted to break down in tears, but could not. She was too angry over it all. She heard someone come down the stairs.

  “He never put someone he knew was innocent away,” she yelled at Quinn, but did not even believe her own words. She had read over the court transcripts and the evidence. He was a liar and he hurt so many people—and now she couldn’t even breathe, knowing the truth was unbearable. She thought the monster he was had been masked until he was behind closed doors.

  “Meghan, you needed to see that,” she said softly. “You need to know the truth about him, and about what he has done to so many different people… not just me.”

  Tears finally escaped and she felt them streaming down her cheeks. “Why? Why is he like this? How did he even get mixed up in all of this?”

  “That is something I have been trying to find out for years. Look, he has made the call to the man he hired to help and he terminated their working relationship. Now we can do what we need to in order to get the information we all want.”

  Wiping away her tears, she did not know how to think. “Go for it,” Meghan finally said. “But I don’t want any part in this. When I got into college, I was distancing myself from him.”

  “Your phone records state otherwise.”

  “You’ve been spying on me? Nice.”

  Receiving no response, she continued, “He demanded check-ins and when I didn’t, he would get someone to check-in for him. To make sure I wasn’t stepping over any lines.”

  “Don’t you think that the moment you go back, that he won’t try to get to you? He is despicable and a wild card. You never know what will happen with him. I don’t want you to get into any danger.”

  Meghan looked her dead in the eyes and shook her head. “If I am in danger it is because you put me there when you abducted me.”

  Quinn acted as though she had just been slapped. “Fine,” she finally said. “This is your choice, so go back to where you were. Good luck explaining all of this when someone comes knocking. Or even when your father learns of you going back to school as if nothing ever happened. If you are willing to gamble with your life, feel free to do so.”

  “You knew when you abducted me that I couldn’t leave.”

  Quinn, her mother, took a step closer towards her and nodded. “Yes, but the moment that he is behind bars, or even six feet under, that is when you are safe to leave.”

  “And what about Alison?”

  “In that instance, I will commit the crime they accused me of.”

  This was not real, Meghan kept thinking. She was just having a bad dream, but she knew it was childish to think that way. Finally she nodded. Her options were minimal and she was not ready to gamble with her own life. Not yet.

  Chapter 31

  They were now in the city of Haxon sitting in the cab. They had wanted to contact the mother of Blake long before this, but she was impossible to get in contact with. It was curious, but they refused to draw any conclusions from that. Ashlynn looked over to Ellie and wondered what they would be able to accomplish this time around. She wanted to get to Blake before he disappeared. Over the past two years, she had seen too many children just disappear and it was starting to take its toll on her.

  “What do you think her response is going to be when we go and talk to her?”

  “Like every other mother’s response to the situation,” Ellie said. “I know telling her this would make the rest of her world crumble.”

  Ashlynn personally knew what she meant. “Do you ever get used to this? The feeling that it is our fault that these kids just fall off the face of the world and are near to impossible to find again?”

  “It does, but we need to work through it. These kids are scared and it is so hard to find them once they are already gone. The people who are abducting them are extremely smart.”

  “Which makes this worse. I don’t know what to do about this. How am I supposed to feel?”

  “I can’t tell you how to feel,” she said, soothing, like a mother. “Just make sure that your emotions aren’t clouding your judgment.”

  The cab stopped in front of the house. It was extremely large for only two people and Ashlynn paid the driver his fare and walked up to the front door. She was feeling lightheaded; and knew she should have eaten something before they left the hotel, but it was too late now.

  Next to the blue door, she saw the white doorbell and rang it. It took less than a minute for someone to open it. The woman’s red hair was braided back and she looked as if she was sleep deprived. “May I help you?”

  “My name is Ashlynn Sherwood and this is my associate Ellie West. We are here about Blake.”

  A woman appeared behind her. They were assuming it was Ms. Southard and she examined them. “What do you mean? You’re here about my son?”

  “We are from the FBI,” Ellie said pulling out her badge. “And we are working with the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, NHTRC, and we have located leads on your son, but he is currently in an auction.”

  Ms. Southard’s color drained from her face and she shook her head. “No! Are you sure it is my son?”

  “Yes.”

  The other woman gave a look to Ms. Southard and spoke. “Macey, we should let them in here. They can give us vital information.”

  Ms. Southard nodded and stepped aside to allow them access to her residence. “What is being done about this?” the other woman asked.

  “Right now we are tracking him. We are trying to set up a profile of the person who is responsible for this. It will narrow who we are looking for. And might I ask who you are?”

  “Emily Valentini, I am a friend to Macey. Could you show me the auction?”

  Ashlynn nodded and opened up the briefcase. Taking out her laptop, she set everything up at the coffee table and Emily watched what she was doing. She was logging into several different systems and she pulled up a screen. There were pictures and a single video.

  “You can’t track where this is coming from?”

  “No. It is bouncing from several towers and being rerouted virtually everywhere it possibly can.”

  Macey was looking at the picture of her son and tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. “He is still alive,” she sobbed. “What—what happens in the video?”

  “I don’t think you want to see,” Ellie said softly.

  Emily looked over to Macey and shook her head. “I need to know what is happening to my son.”

  Playing the video, they watched as Blake was sitting on the bed, untouched for a moment. There was no audio but they watched as he was looking at someone. He did not listen to their instructions and Blake was beginning to cry. Macey shook her head.

  “I need a moment.”

  Emily watched as she walked away and she looked to the two agents. “Why didn’t you call us prior to your arrival?”

  “We couldn’t get in contact with you. We tried, but the phone lines never connected us.”

  Letting out a breath, Emily was more than frustrated. “Are you able to get into the messages from the others who are bidding on him?”

  “No. Everything is set up in a way
that I can’t get through. Not without setting off any alarms he might have.”

  “What makes you think it’s a he?”

  “We have reports from boys matching Blake’s description being abducted.”

  “Can I see them?”

  “They would be of no help to you,” Ellie said.

  “You obviously don’t know me or my profession. Besides the more eyes that are on this the better, am I mistaken?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  Ellie shot a look to Ashlynn who nodded. Another screen opened and she began reading over everything. It was going to take her a while, but Emily knew what she was going to need to do.

  ###

  Alison was still sound asleep next to Derek. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he got out of bed to get a drink of water. He opened the cabinet and grabbed a water glass just as he heard the phone ring.

  Walking towards the stand near the couch, he saw it was the burner phone that had been sent to him. He did not want to answer it, but curiosity got the better of him. “Hello?”

  “Derek,” she said. “It has been a while, how have you been?”

  He could not find his words for a long time. Finally he spoke, “Who is this?”

  “Are you telling me that you don’t remember my voice? I thought you would have a better memory. Or did you think the news report of me dying in prison was accurate? You of all people should know better. Not everything you read is true, isn’t that right?”

  “You’re the one behind all this? You’re the one who abducted my daughter?”

  “Our daughter, but I’m thinking maybe she should just be mine. She knows the truth about you now and after being locked up all that time, I have found everything I needed to prove you are dirty.”

  “If you go through with that you will die.”

  “No, I won’t, so don’t bore me with empty threats. You should know that my threat to expose you is very real, and I will be taking down Alison Peterson as well. I know what she has done, and she will be going down with you and her childhood friend Michael Herndon.”

  “You don’t know anything,” he snapped. “And my daughter would never side with you!”

  “You don’t know anything about Meghan then do you? I know what you have done to her. Kept her in the dark her entire life. You controlled her and manipulated her. She never got to be a normal child, and now you are going to deal with the consequences of that. I have to go for now,” she said somewhat cheerily. “You should go get water—you look parched. Tell Alison I said hi and that she should really wear something other than yellow. It washes her out.”

  The line was dead, and as he looked over his shoulder he suddenly couldn’t breathe. Alison was standing there—wearing a yellow blouse. Replaying the last words of the caller, he looked at his hand… still holding the glass he had intended to fill with water. Quinn was near—very near.

  “Who was that?”

  “Do you remember the woman who birthed Meghan?”

  “Quinn Saunders? The one you put in prison for the murder of her brother?”

  “Yes.”

  “She was killed on the inside,” she said firmly. “I made sure she was dead. I even went down there to speak with the doctor who was in the infirmary that day.”

  “Well, she is very much alive and she is the one who has Meghan.”

  Alison nodded. She seemed to understand what would be happening, and calmly asserted control. “She will go down before she gets the chance to do anything.”

  “How are you going to find her?”

  A malicious gleam came into her eyes as she smiled. “Leave that to me. If I were you I would just keep a low profile.”

  As she was getting ready to leave he spoke. “She is watching us. I don’t know how, but she was able to know that you were wearing yellow and that I was headed to the kitchen for a drink of water… right when the call came in.”

  “Derek, don’t worry about anything. She is arrogant and won’t get the chance to do anything. Do you understand?”

  “What are you going to do to Meghan?”

  “Her fate will be the same as her mother’s. There is no choice.”

  “Alright, just be careful.”

  “I always am,” she said, as she stole a kiss from him before she disappeared.

  ###

  Meghan had been watching this entire time, the way her mother had told her to. Her blood ran cold as she listened to the last thing he said.

  “What is going to happen now?”

  “You are going back to school. You’ve missed about three days. But you’re not going to your apartment. Dominic will retrieve your belongings and take them to where you will be staying.”

  “Is it really wise for me to go back?”

  “I’m not going to take away your education because of my agenda. Just keep a low profile, alright? And your father had hired a PI, so if he comes around, just tell him or anyone else that asks that you were out of town.”

  “Lying isn’t something I can do that well,” Meghan said.

  “It’s not likely he would believe you either way, if he’s any good, that is. But it won’t matter in the end.”

  “I do have a question. Why abduct me to do something you could have done without me?”

  Quinn wanted her daughter with her. “I was hoping your father would have chosen you over his career. His decision only makes it clear that he is all about himself.”

  “You never had to abduct me,” Meghan said furiously. “None of this had to happen to me. You are just as screwed up in the head as he is.”

  “Meghan you need to calm down.”

  “You want me to calm down? No, that is not going to work. My entire life I have been told what to do and what to say. Frankly, I am sick and tired of it. I am not going to alter my life because you made a bad decision in abducting me!”

  “Do you really want me to keep you prisoner here until this is all over, because I can do that too you know.”

  “You would have to kill me, because the moment you release me I will go straight to the authorities.”

  “They wouldn’t believe you one way or the other. My death is very well documented, and despite the evidence you’ve seen to the contrary, to the rest of the world, your father is untouchable.”

  Meghan was looking around and weighing her options. She finally nodded. “Release me then and babysit me if you must, but the moment you are done with whatever you are doing to my father, you’ll stop your communication with me. I want nothing to do with you, or with him.”

  Quinn felt her daughter push past, and she had a sinking feeling in her chest. She was not in a very strong or stable frame of mind, and she hadn’t been for a while. Some of her recent decisions hadn’t been well thought out, and she hadn’t devised a bulletproof plan. She’d been winging it and knew she was edging close to another mental breakdown. She shook her head and squared her shoulders. Everything was going to be okay, she was not being too bold. No one would figure out that Quinn Saunders was still alive.

  She saw Dominic as he entered the room. “How much did you hear?”

  “Everything,” he said. His hands were in his pockets. It had been several hours since she had seen him. “Don’t control her life, babe. Let her go off to be herself for once. She doesn’t need anyone else having a say so about what happens in her future.”

  “If she goes back to what she was doing before, then Alison will surely find her.”

  “You know Alison will find her regardless of where she is. She is resourceful and has ears everywhere. Right now you are playing with fire.”

  “They deserve to pay for what they did to all of us.”

  “I don’t disagree with that. Do you have everything you need to prove that Derek Malone is really Michael Herndon?”

  “Yes. I have everything that proves it, but he is smart too, and he could easily have a counter.”

  �
��You were doing really well,” he said. “Up until you told him everything you knew and that you were planning to expose him.”

  “Maybe I want him to squirm.”

  “You know that isn’t true. Let Meghan go and whatever happens to her happens to her. She should not have been involved in the first place.”

  “If I wouldn’t have involved her, then she wouldn’t have known that I was here. I can protect her from all of this.”

  “No, babe, you can’t. What you have done is involve your daughter in something she should never have been part of.”

  “I thought it would be the best. Now she knows she has a mother who will be there for her. I will always be there for her.”

  “You need to understand that you opened a new can of worms. Let Meghan go, and if she comes back then great, and it will be because she wants to, but if not, you’re just going to have to live with that.”

  Quinn remembered the feeling of not being able to be there for her daughter when she had been taken to prison. She remembered how she had been told over and over she would never be able to see her. It had killed her, but it was one of the reasons she kept fighting and had survived. It was to be with her daughter again, and to take down the son of a bitch who had protected the killer of her brother. But, the one thing she had not figured out was why her brother had been a target in the first place. She had found other files with the murderer’s signature all over them. The same way of killing but nothing connecting the victims.

  “I want to bring someone else in,” she finally said. “The only person who could blow the top off of this.”

  “Who?”

  “David Orlando, the PI that Derek hired.”

  Dominic shook his head. “No! You can’t! That is probably the most unwise decision of all. He could get you arrested for abducting her.”

  “I want him to talk to all of us. He will help.”

  “And what makes you say that?”

  “I’m not really sure, but when someone like me feels I can trust someone, it means something.”

  He was silent, and she knew she had won this argument. She was not sure why she felt as though she could trust a stranger with this, but she knew he was the best way to gain what she wanted.