by Julie Mellon
“Hmm, maybe something that ties her to Barbie Jones. They had to have more in common than blonde hair and church volunteer work.” Michael finally put the car in gear and headed toward the public library.
Walking up to the front counter, Michael and Katie flashed their identification to the elderly woman sitting behind the desk.
“Oh, you must be here about poor Elaine and Barbie. Those poor dears. I do hope Barbie is going to be ok?” She looked up expectantly.
“I’m sorry, but we cannot comment on her condition,” Katie stated bluntly.
Michael jumped in with a softer tone. “I’m sure the doctors are doing everything they possibly can.” He flashed her a megawatt smile as he leaned on the counter. Katie could see her melt right in front of them. She wanted to roll her eyes, but knew better than to alienate the woman. They needed information.
Michael continued to smile as he asked, “Can you tell me if either of them were patrons of the library?”
“Oh, yes. They both were. Elaine was here for reading time every Monday.” Katie felt her heart sink in disappointment. She had been so sure that Elaine was up to something. Then the librarian continued, “Reading time was from ten a.m. until noon. The elementary kids would come across the street and they would hear a story for an hour and then roam around looking for books to check out for another hour. She would always help them find something they were interested in. Now, Barbie, she was here every Thursday. She would take our arts and crafts classes. We have classes on everything from painting to sewing to cooking. We have a room in the back that is equipped for just about anything you could teach.”
Katie was nearly coming out of her skin by the time the woman finished talking. She and Michael bid the woman farewell and headed back to the car. As Michael was buckling his seatbelt, Katie said, “I knew it! Elaine was up to something. Let’s go have another chat with the husband.”
Unfortunately, that chat was postponed as Michael’s phone rang. Seeing the number for Chief Davidson, he handed the phone to Katie to answer. He figured it would appease her to be able to get some news firsthand.
“Special Agent Freeman,” she answered.
“Oh, I thought I called Agent Powell,” the chief stuttered.
“You did. But, as I am just as capable of answering a phone, he passed his to me.” Katie just smiled, even though the chief couldn’t see her.
“Um, well, you guys asked me to call if there was a change. Barbie woke up a few minutes ago. The doctor is with her now, but she is asking all kinds o’ questions. You want me to tell her something specific?” Chief Davidson stuttered his way through the statement.
“No, we’re on our way. We’ll be there in five.”
Turning to Michael, she relayed the information. He immediately turned the car toward the hospital. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
Still smiling and with green eyes sparkling mischievously, she said, “Of course. I get tired of being treated unfairly because of my gender.”
“You know, you owe me two facts about yourself. You didn’t give me one yesterday and you haven’t given me one yet today.”
Katie’s smile evaporated. She sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally, she turned and said, “I don’t like hospitals. I was only in one once as a kid, when I had to have my tonsils removed. There are your two facts.” She sat back in the seat and looked out the windshield.
“That’s only one fact. You hate hospitals. Everyone hates hospitals.”
“Actually that was two facts. One, I hate hospitals and two, I had my tonsils removed.” She smiled angelically at him.
“I think that’s cheating. You haven’t told me anything, really.” Katie just laughed as she got out of the car in the hospital parking lot.
The both sobered as they neared Barbie’s room. Neither was looking forward to this discussion. They got to the room as the doctor came out to talk with Chuck.
“She’s stable for now,” the doctor began. “Per your request, we didn’t mention the pregnancy. She seems a little confused, which is to be expected until her glucose levels stabilize. Some of what happened may come back, or it may not. It really depends on how much she was conscious for.”
“May we talk to her?” Katie asked.
“With her family’s consent, I don’t see why not. Just keep in mind that she is groggy and needs to avoid as much stress as possible. It won’t do her body or the fetus any good to endure more stress than they already have.”
“Please don’t call our baby a fetus,” Chuck said. “We have tried for so long to get pregnant that any baby is a blessing. It seems wrong to use that word.” His words were spoken softly. It was plain that it cost him emotionally to think of another baby that probably wouldn’t survive, this time due to unfathomable circumstances. Chuck turned to the agents, “You can go in and talk to her, but I’m going in with you. If I think she’s getting upset at all, I will ask you to leave. Clear?” Chuck had gone into super-protective husband mode. He waited for them to agree and then led the way into Barbie’s room, Chief Davidson bringing up the rear.
Barbie lay in the bed staring blankly out the window, her small frame covered by the sheet making her look even smaller. Most of the machines she had been hooked to earlier had been taken away. All that remained was an IV bag hanging from a pole to her left. Approaching the bed, Chuck reached out and took his wife’s hand gently in his. Barbie turned her head and looked up at him. Chuck leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “I love you, beautiful,” he said. Barbie’s eyes filled with tears that overflowed down her cheeks.
“I love you too, handsome,” she replied. “I thought I would never see you again.” She wrapped her arms around Chuck’s neck and hung on with a strength that belied her small stature.
“I wouldn’t let that happen. I would have torn apart every inch of this state to find you.” They looked into each other’s eyes for several minutes, as if they were having a private conversation. Finally, Chuck said, “There are two FBI agents here to talk to you. Do you feel up to it?”
Barbie turned and looked at the two agents standing at the foot of her bed. “I’ll try to answer your questions. I’m a bit fuzzy about things though.”
Michael moved to the other side of the bed and sat in the chair so he wouldn’t tower over her. Katie remained at the foot of the bed, watching her reactions. They introduced themselves and Michael began by asking, “Can you take us through the steps of your day?”
“Well, I was off work yesterday. It was yesterday right?” At the nod from all four of them, Barbie relaxed a bit and continued. “I work part time at the grocery, but it was my day off. See, Chuck and I, we decided that me working part time would be best. It helps me relax and maybe we can get pregnant sooner.” She squeezed his hand, assuming the tears in his eyes were for their past babies, not suspecting there was more to it. “Anyway, I loaded up the stuff to take to the church. David was there when I got there and he helped me unload the stuff.”
“Who’s David?” Katie asked. The other four turned to look at her. It was Chuck who answered.
“David is the guy who helps around the church. I guess you would call him the handyman, but he does lots of stuff. He fixes the plumbing, takes out the trash, and cleans up after services. You know, just general stuff.”
“Ok, please continue,” Michael said, bringing attention back to the events of the day and filing away the name for future consideration. It was interesting that no one had mentioned his name before. He didn’t even recall it being in the case file.
“Well, we got everything in the church and David gave me a drink of water. It was so hot that day and I was thirsty. I felt a little shaky. I even debated not going to the park; I thought I might need to get home and eat something. But I rested a few minutes and talked with David and Father Joe.” She paused and rolled her eyes with a small laugh. “Father Joe scolded me for not coming to confession lately, so we went to the sanctuary and into the confessional. I joked with him that I wa
s perfectly fine giving my confession in the back room of the church, that I didn’t need a sacred space, but Father Joe likes the tradition. Could I get a drink of water, please?” Chuck immediately stood and poured her a drink from the pitcher beside the bed. After a few drinks and even more deep breaths, Barbie continued with her story.
“I left the church and went over to the park. It was so hot that there weren’t many kids out. Probably more the moms who can’t take the heat than the kids wanting to stay inside. I remember little Petey Walker and his mom were there. We talked for about thirty minutes. The heat was sapping my energy, so I got up to go back to my car. I knew I needed to get into the air conditioning and get home to eat. That’s all I remember, before...” Barbie’s body began to tremble at this point and Chuck gently wrapped his arms around her.
“You don’t have to say another word, if you don’t want to. You just focus on you and keeping yourself healthy.”
“Chuck, you know I can’t do that. There’s someone out there kidnapping people like poor Elaine and me. Has there been any word on her?”
Chuck stiffened and laid her back on the bed. He looked over his shoulder at Michael, imploring him to answer that question.
“Elaine was found yesterday morning. She didn’t make it,” was all Michael said. Barbie began to cry and Chuck gently rocked her back and forth. Everyone stood silently as Barbie let out her grief for her friend. Finally, she pulled herself together.
“Do you think it was the same man that did this to me? Was he gonna kill me too?” Her words were quiet, but there was the underlying strength behind them that Katie had seen in the picture of her with the dead deer.
It was Katie who answered. She knew that Barbie could handle more than the men thought she was capable of. “Yes, we think it was the same person. We also think that your diabetes saved your life. If you hadn’t gone into shock and lost consciousness, there is no doubt that person would still have you.”
Michael was about to say something to soften Katie’s words, but Barbie’s nod and simple thank you stopped him. The men stood silently as the women gazed at each other, taking measure of the other’s strength.
Finally, Barbie continued, “The first thing I remember is that I was underground. The walls were not smooth. They looked like rock, like someone had dug this room in the ground, but not finished it. Kind of like a cellar or something. The floor was dirt, or packed clay. Of course, this is Tennessee and there isn’t much difference between dirt and clay around here. There were two pillars in the middle of the room and I was tied to them.” Chuck gasped and looked away. Barbie squeezed his hand and when he looked at her she said, “You don’t have to stay and listen if you don’t want to. I’m okay.”
Chuck just shook his head. “I’m not leaving you to go through this alone again. I am always gonna be right beside you.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Laying their joined hands back down, he encouraged her to continue.
“My feet were tied to the bottom and my hands to the top. Like I was a giant X. I was seeing black dots right away, so I knew I had been there for a while. I was so thirsty, but my tongue wouldn’t move. Then I realized that there was something in my mouth. It was metallic and there was a band that went around my head to keep it in. It muffled any sound I made and it hurt my teeth.” She unconsciously licked her lips and ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth. “I think some of my teeth might be chipped.” Barbie caught the look that passed between Michael and Katie. “What? Is that important?” she asked.
Again, it was Katie who answered. “It does reinforce the connection between your abduction and Elaine’s. She had signs of biting something hard as well.”
Barbie nodded and went on, “I realized I was naked right about then. But I kept talking to myself. I was trying to keep myself calm. I knew that if I got too stressed it wouldn’t be good, especially because I didn’t have access to my insulin. I was trying to look around and figure out how to get out of the ropes when the first strike came.” Chuck involuntarily squeezed her hand. He was trying so hard to remain impassive, but hearing what his wife had gone through was his undoing. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as she continued to tell what had happened.
When she finished her story, Katie asked, “Did he ever speak to you?”
Barbie thought for a few minutes, replaying the events in her mind. “Yes, he did,” she said excitedly. “He said that I had murdered innocent babies and that I had to be punished. I tried to tell him that he had been misinformed, but the thing in my mouth wouldn’t let me speak. I just shook my head trying to let him know that I could never hurt a baby.” As she spoke these words, she began to cry again and Chuck got up to gather her in his arms once more. He sent the agents a look that let them know the interview was over for the time being.
Patting Barbie’s leg as she stood, Katie motioned to Michael that it was time to leave. They made their way from the room, telling Chief Davidson they would come back if they had further questions.
Katie and Michael made their way out of the hospital and back to the car. Neither of them said anything as they processed Barbie’s story. Once the air conditioning had cooled the car, Michael looked over and asked, “What do you think?”
She paused before answering. “I think we really didn’t learn anything useful. We already knew he used an iron gag and that he whipped them. She couldn’t give a clear idea of how she was taken or where the lair was. Let’s give her a bit of time to calm down while we go back and talk to Rick Henderson. When we come back, I want to know what Barbie did on Monday nights. Perhaps there is a connection there.”
Michael nodded and turned the car in the direction of the Henderson’s home.
As they drove off, Michael said, “You were really good with her.”
Katie smiled at the compliment. “I just understood her. I knew she had more strength than you or Chuck were giving her credit for. She needed someone to be straight with her and not soft-pedal the news. Her mind would have made the scenario worse if we had told her partial truths in there. How about we try Rick Henderson now?”
Michael knew she needed to move on, that she wasn’t used to compliments. “How about we get some lunch first?” It was after one in the afternoon and neither had eaten since 3:30 this morning. Katie nodded and Michael pulled out of the hospital lot.
A few minutes later, Michael pulled into the drive thru of a fast food restaurant. “Surely we aren’t eating here!” Katie exclaimed.
“What’s wrong with this place? It’s an American tradition. We all grew up on these burgers.”
“Not me,” Katie said. “I have never eaten here. In fact, I’ve never been through a drive thru.”
Michael looked at her as if she had three heads. “How can you be twenty-six years old and never been through a drive thru? I thought you said you grew up in Arizona, not on Mars. I know they have fast food in Arizona.”
Katie bit her lip. She had never told anyone about how she grew up. It was her secret. She already felt like an outcast when it came to pop culture, so she always avoided conversations that involved her childhood. She knew she wouldn’t get out of this as easily. “My mother was a stickler about nutrition. We grew our own vegetables and canned or froze them for the winter. We had meat delivered from nearby farms. Most of the time, we traded vegetables for the meat.” It was the best that Katie could do without revealing too much.
Michael seemed to accept the information, but he wasn’t letting her off the hook about the drive thru, or the food. “Well, today, I’m treating you to your first fine dining experience!” He wiggled his eyebrows as he shot her a grin that would make any woman’s heart pound. Katie wanted to think she was immune, but her body responded as her heart picked up its pace. He pulled up to the speaker and ordered from the menu. Katie didn’t understand a thing coming from the speaker, but apparently Michael had no trouble at all.
As they pulled to the first window and Michael paid for their lunch, Katie
just sat in the seat and looked around as if she expected to be struck by lightning being caught in a drive thru line.
Once he had collected their food from the second window, Michael pulled the car into a parking space and began dishing out the fries and burgers. He sat the drinks in the cup holder between them. Katie opened the cardboard box containing her sandwich and looked at the lettuce and sauce oozing from between the two patties of meat and the bun. Picking it up and taking a bite, she tried hard to conceal the moan that wanted to escape as the flavor hit her tongue. There was no way she would give Michael the satisfaction of knowing that it was the best burger she had ever tasted. Apparently she wasn’t as good an actress as she wanted to be.
Michael chuckled and gave her a satisfied smile as he bit into his own burger and used a fry to swipe some of the sauce from the inside of the container. Following his lead, Katie picked up a fry and gathered up the extra sauce. This time she couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped. This made Michael laugh even harder. Michael had gotten her a sweet tea to go with the meal. “How did you know I drank sweet tea?”
“I am a trained investigator,” was his reply. He just smiled as they finished their meals in a comfortable silence and tossed the wrappers in the trash bin beside the building.
CHAPTER TEN
They found the Henderson home overflowing with people. As they approached the front door, an elderly man came down the sidewalk, looking angry. “We ain’t got no use for you damn reporters. Now you just turn your sorry behinds around and git off this property.”
Michael pulled his credentials from his pocket and identified himself to the man.
