by Elle Gray
Olivia let Brock take the lead as he opened the case file and presented to the two families everything they’d found so far. There was a lump in Olivia’s throat as she watched the four of them processing everything that Brock was telling them. From the lack of fingerprints and no signs of forced entry, to the absence of eyewitnesses, they were in the dark. He explained every lead they’d explored, from the plastic folder in the woods, to the case in Alexandria, to the theories they’d followed up with Maggie. He showed them the notes he’d made and how each point they’d looked at had a dead end. He even showed them the original case file of Amelia’s disappearance from Seattle PD and how there had been nothing to go on in that case as well.
Slowly, Olivia saw the realization dawning on their faces. Even Alice’s eyes began to darken as she discovered that she was in the wrong. The reality of the situation was hitting them hard and Olivia was so glad she wasn’t in their shoes at that moment. She thought that perhaps they hadn’t sensed the hopelessness of it all up until then. They had expected some easy explanation, some easy way out of it all. They’d expected to be able to pick holes in their investigation, to prove that it was Olivia and Brock’s fault their daughters were still missing. But as they saw the inner workings of their investigation, they began to understand that if the FBI couldn’t figure it out, there was no chance they would either.
“So you see,” Brock continued calmly. “We have looked into every possible route to the truth. We have tried our hardest. And I know you don’t think our best is good enough, Alice, but if that’s the case, it’s because whoever is doing this is simply too many steps ahead of us. I’m sorry that we can’t give you the comfort and relief you deserve. I’m sorry that we can’t snap our fingers and bring your children home. But trust me when I say it’s not from lack of trying. It’s certainly not Olivia’s fault, and it’s certainly not because we’re busy ‘canoodling,’ as you called it.”
That caused Alice to cover her face with her hand in embarrassment. Despite herself, Olivia found a hint of satisfaction in that.
“Whatever you think you’ve heard, I’m telling you it’s not true. We’ve put everything we can into this case, and while we don’t appreciate your criticism, we know it’s only because you’re concerned. And honestly, we’re concerned too. I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but there is a possibility we won’t figure this out. We’re still following leads and still checking up on theories. We’re holding onto hope that the kidnapper will slip up, or new evidence will come to light—and who knows, maybe the girls will be released the way that Amelia was. But for now, we’re doing the best with what we have.”
As Brock finished speaking, the entire room was silent. Then there was a sniff and Olivia turned to see tears falling down Alice’s cheeks. Olivia was quick to grab her box of tissues and offer them to Alice. She sniveled as she plucked one from the box, dabbing at her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, looking up at Olivia. “I’m sorry about coming here and being rude to you. I’m just... I’m terrified.”
“I know,” Olivia whispered. She wished that she could give some words of advice. Then she realized that she could. She was the only other person in town who could relate to what those parents were facing. She was the only other person who’d had a family member go missing before, after all. She leaned forward a little.
“It doesn’t get easier to process,” she murmured. “I know exactly what you’re going through. And you’ll always hold onto hope that you’ll get answers if they don’t come back. It’s impossible to face. People will tell you to have faith, to pray, all of that—but sometimes people just don’t make it home. I know you don’t want to hear that, and I hope you get your girls back more than anything, but if they don’t come home, I promise you, it won’t be because Brock and I have neglected our duties. We’re in this together. We’re rooting for you.”
Alice sniffed hard, nodding as she spoke. Olivia stood up, feeling a little more confident as she did so.
“Why don’t I make a round of coffee?”
The four unexpected guests stayed a while longer and Olivia answered more questions for them. By the time all of them left, there had been a lot more tears and they all left without getting what they came for. But Olivia knew that she couldn’t doubt herself anymore. She knew that only she and Brock could give those families peace. If it was possible, she’d make it happen. Time was ticking by and they were all running on empty. But Olivia felt she had one last push in her to find answers.
She would make sure she had the energy to carry on.
Twenty-Four
Not for the first time, Olivia couldn’t sleep. It had been almost six hours since Sophia and Hayleigh’s families had left her house. They’d given her a lot to think about. She wasn’t doubting herself so much anymore, but they did make her wonder whether the girls really were gone forever. Most missing persons cases were solved within forty-eight hours, and the ones that weren’t were often given a bleak ending.
But this was different. One victim had escaped before. She wanted to believe that it could happen again. But the question was why? Did the kidnapper have more of a conscience than they thought? Were they dealing with a cold-blooded psycho? Or just someone who desperately wanted something they’d never been able to have?
Olivia tried to put herself in the kidnapper’s shoes. If she was going off her own theories, then they’d lost the most precious thing in the world: their only child. She imagined the trauma of a young girl’s life being snuffed out before her time. She imagined how it would feel to have to outlast your own child, to know that no matter what you did for the rest of your life, it would be without your child. She imagined that the man or woman behind the attacks was divorced, alone in the world. No family to speak of.
And suddenly, she realized that maybe she wasn’t so different from the person who was terrorizing the town. She’d had everything she loved taken away from her too. Of course, she still had her father, which she considered a blessing, but she always felt as though he could be taken from her at any time too. Nothing felt permanent in Olivia’s life. She was sure that everything good she built would soon be taken from her. Even the presence of Brock wasn’t forever. As soon as the case was done, he’d be gone. She’d faced that idea once before, and she didn’t like it.
So was it possible that Olivia could’ve gone down a different path? Was it possible that she might’ve done bad things if she’d let her grief and misery take over? She considered the possibility that no one was born a villain, but that circumstances could always shape a person into someone bad. What had tipped the kidnapper over the edge? Was there something she was missing? Or was it just hard for Olivia to comprehend because she was a better person?
She closed her eyes and lied back on her pillow. She needed to sleep. She needed to be alert for the following day so she could pick up the investigation once again. She didn’t have time to be questioning the origins of good and evil in the middle of the night.
Sleep was just beginning to drag her under when she heard the noise outside. She sat bolt upright, her eyes adjusting fast to the dark and her ears pricking up. She was already reaching for her gun from her bedside table, rising slowly to her feet so that she didn’t make any noise. She wanted to be able to hear everything going on around her.
She heard the sound again, unmistakable this time. The sound of a twig snapping outside. She felt her heart rate increasing. All of her paranoia returned to her. Was someone out there, waiting to get her? Was the target on her back more than a figment of her imagination?
She listened so hard that she felt like she could hear noises that weren’t even possible for humans to hear. She felt sick with sudden nerves, and she wished she hadn’t sent Brock back to the B&B for the night. She could use some backup if there was someone out there.
But all of a sudden, the night exploded with noise. She heard the scurrying of feet and two garbled screams from right outside her cabin. She hurtled d
own the stairs, her heart in her throat. Those screams weren’t threatening to her.
They sounded young.
Young as in teenage girls.
She threw her front door open and aimed her gun into the dark, knowing she’d have to shoot if the girls were being chased. She could hear the screams still bouncing around the forest, but in the chaos of the moment, she was struggling to locate the source of them.
“Hello?” Olivia called into the dark. “Is everything okay?”
That was when the two girls came crashing through the trees. Olivia stared at them in horror. The pair of them were skinny, covered in mud, their hair scraggly, but there was no mistaking who they were.
“Sophia? Hayleigh?”
The two girls stumbled closer, clutching one another, sobbing uncontrollably. They practically fell the last few steps toward Olivia, who rushed to them and held them close.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, you’re safe now. You’re going to be okay. I’m going to get you home, I promise. Were you followed?”
The girls shook their heads, panting hard, shaking like leaves. Olivia couldn’t believe what was happening. She had the strangest feeling of deja vu ever, and yet the situation was so unlikely that it didn’t quite feel real. She bundled the girls inside, holding them gently as they sobbed. She had to get to the phone and call their parents as soon as she could, but she had to make sure they were okay first.
She took them into the living room and sat them down on the sofa. The pair were too distraught to speak, still clinging to one another like a lifeline.
“Are either of you hurt?” Olivia asked them gently. Hayleigh whimpered slightly as she held out her wrists. Olivia’s heart stopped. The injuries were the same as those she’d seen on Amelia several weeks before. There were deep grooves in her wrists where she’d clearly been tied up. A quick check proved that Sophia had the same injuries too. Both girls seemed to have lost some weight, and their eyes were gaunt as they stared at Olivia, clearly unable to believe that they’d made it out alive.
“You’re going to be okay,” Olivia whispered. “I’m going to call your parents. They’ve been so worried... they will be so glad you’re home. It’s going to be okay, I swear to you.”
Hayleigh and Sophia both seemed unable to speak, still holding on to one another as Olivia quickly left the room and called Alice first. Her daughter had been gone for the longest, and she knew she needed good news the most. She picked up after two rings.
“Hello? Yes?”
“Sophia is here,” Olivia told her immediately. “Hayleigh too. I found them outside the cabin. They’re going to be okay.”
Olivia heard Alice come undone on the other end of the phone, sobbing uncontrollably. It was a horrible sound to witness, but it filled Olivia’s heart with happiness. Happiness that she could finally get the girls home. Happiness that they were safe and the kidnapper’s reign of terror was soon going to end. She finally had eyewitnesses right from the scene. The girls would hopefully lead her right to the kidnapper.
Minutes later, when Olivia had contacted Hayleigh’s family, Maggie, and Brock, she began to fuss around the girls, making sure they were comfortable. She got out her first aid kit and gently cleaned the wounds on their wrists. She found them blankets and made them hot chocolates to warm them up after a night in the forest. She talked to them in soothing voices, explaining who she was and what had happened while they were gone. She told them that she’d need to interview them both, but she knew she wouldn’t be getting any answers out of them until they’d had some rest and some time with their families. Both of them were still stunned into silence, shivering beside one another and still joined at the hip like they were each other’s lifeline.
Olivia didn’t want to think too hard about what they’d been through together and the ways that it had bonded them together, but she knew they’d both been to hell and back. At least she could try to ensure that they would never suffer so horribly again, and that no one would go through the same thing at the hands of the kidnapper.
Come morning, she was going on the offensive.
When everyone arrived at the cabin, the chaos was insane. Olivia stood back as Alice and Elijah arrived first. Alice swept Sophia up into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably while Sophia clung to her mother like a baby monkey. Elijah enveloped them both in his arms, crying silently.
Hayleigh looked a little lost without Sophia at her side so Olivia sat beside her and took her hand, acting as a poor replacement just for a while. But when Hayleigh saw her parents come through the door, she sprung to her feet and ran to them, holding them tight and all of them talking at once between their sobs.
It was at that point that Maggie and Brock quietly made their entrance, observing the scene with tired smiles and tear-filled eyes. It wasn’t over, but it would be soon enough, and that was enough to lift everyone’s spirits.
Brock crossed the room and pulled Olivia into a hug. She relaxed into his arms, her throat tight as she held back her unshed tears. She didn’t want to break down in front of everyone when there was so much going on, but as Brock rubbed her back, she let out a choked cry. She couldn’t help it. Everything had happened so fast, but as she felt some of the tension leave her body, she knew she was experiencing one of the best nights of her life.
“I’m so glad you got the girls home,” Maggie told Olivia with a proud smile, touching her cheek gently. “I know how much you put into this case. You deserve one hell of a vacation after all this is over.”
Olivia smiled. “Well, maybe once I’ve put the kidnapper behind bars. I’m so happy the girls are home, but we can’t afford to let our guard down. The kidnapper is still out there.”
“Don’t worry. The police patrol is still out on the streets. We can speak to the girls after they’ve had some rest. Then we’ll end this once and for all,” Brock told her. “And Maggie is right. You deserve a break after all of this.”
Olivia closed her eyes with a smile. She pictured herself on a beach in Fiji, reading books all day in the sunshine. But when she opened her eyes again, she knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Her place was in Belle Grove, trying to protect the people living there. She needed to stay on her toes and get to the bottom of the case once and for all.
“You can take the girls home,” Olivia told both families. “But we need to speak to them both as soon as possible. If you bring them down to the station in the morning, we can finally figure out what’s happening.”
“We will. Thank you, Olivia. Thank you,” Alice said. She seemed like a completely new woman now, her eyes softened and a smile gracing her face. As she and the others left the cabin, the girls still shell-shocked, Olivia was handed a moment of silence to process what had just happened. She couldn’t believe that things were going to be okay. That was, as long as they managed to catch the kidnapper.
“This is it,” Brock said, his eyes glinting. “We’re going to finally nab this sicko for good. Once we’re done, drinks are on me.”
Maggie let out a loud laugh. “Oh, I’ll hold you to that, young man.”
Brock tipped her a wink. “My pleasure, Officer Stone.”
She laughed again, clearly relieved that the girls were back home safe and sound. “Ain’t no way I can sleep after all this excitement. I’m out to update the patrol on this situation. I’ll see y’all later.”
Maggie left and then it was just Olivia and Brock left. Brock smiled at Olivia.
“Do you think you’re going to be able to sleep?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then let me make you some coffee,” he said, disappearing from the room. Olivia sank onto the sofa, unable to believe that only a few minutes before, two kidnapping victims had been sitting there. Soon, she’d be able to deliver justice to them. She closed her eyes for just a second, thinking that she’d stay awake, but before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
Olivia woke to find that both she and Brock were curled up uncomfortably on the sofa. On
the table, the coffee Brock had made her was stone cold. Olivia stretched. She usually felt groggy when she woke up, but her racing heart made her feel more awake than she had in a long time. It was going to be a big day.
She checked her watch and found that it was only seven-thirty, so she took a quick shower and prepped herself for the day. She triple-checked her pistol, knowing that she might well need to use it that day. She pulled on a loose-fitting top that would fit her bulletproof vest underneath it. Part of her felt fearful of what the day would hold, but she was more concerned about catching the kidnapper. It didn’t matter so much what happened to her. She just wanted justice.
Brock was ready to go by the time she got downstairs, and they silently headed out to Brock’s car together. He drove them to the station and they waited there in the quiet reception area for the families to arrive.
Hayleigh and her family arrived first. She looked a lot better than she had in the middle of the night. There was some color in her cheeks and her hair was damp from being freshly washed. She was unsteady on her feet, like a baby deer learning to walk, but she rushed over to Olivia and pulled her into a hug.
“Thank you,” she whispered. It was the first time Olivia had heard her voice, and it was huskier than she’d expected. In the light of the day and without so much fear in her eyes, she looked older than she did before. Olivia wondered how much of that was because her experience had forced her to grow up fast.
“I’m so glad you made it back safely,” Olivia told her gently. “We’re going to ask you some questions today so we can hopefully find the person who did this to you. Is that okay? Do you feel okay talking about it?”
