Second Chance:

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 15 CONTINUED

Cindy sat silently and that was all the answer Erica needed. She figured girls would be girls no matter what the age and she had seen Portia eyeballing Toby that day. She knew Portia wasn

[OR Medic]

Nice addition, Grand. Keep it coming!!

Thanks

Jim

[Triple-sod]

I’m very impressed by the quality of this; I read the first 15 chapters in practically 1 sitting, riveting stuff.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 16


“I’ve got a first aid kit! Pat, call 911!” yelled Charlie as climbed into the cab of his truck and got ready to drive the short distance to the trailhead for the Falls. He barked the tires as he slammed it into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot and again squealed the tires before heading up the road. The speed bumps jarred at the suspension on his truck, but he didn’t care about them or the posted speed limit as he got past C Loop and the start of the trail. After slamming to a stop, he quickly grabbed the first aid pack in the rear cargo box. Just as he was grabbing the kit, two more of the youth group came out of the woods.

“Which side of the creek is she on?” asked Charlie.

“The other side!” said the young girl as they continued towards the main area. Charlie grabbed at the get home back in the box and quickly emptied the main compartment before stuffing the tow rope and blanket he kept in the box. The other items he would need were already in the outer pockets. He also grabbed the combat lifesaver pack and tossed it in as well before shouldering up the lighter load and jumping off the truck.

Another vehicle was heard coming up the road, a park ranger, but Charlie didn’t take the time to explain why he was seemingly crazy in his actions. He slammed the truck box closed before beginning to run up the trail. While he wasn’t used to running that much, the adrenaline was pumping through his system as he headed up the road at a steady, but fast pace. While the terrible thoughts raged through his mind about the horrible things that had happened to Cindy, he remained focused on getting there as quickly as possible.

He heard a shout from behind him at the base of the trail, more than likely from the park ranger and he hoped someone else from the congregation was coming behind him to alert the park staff about the emergency on the trail. As he was continuing his plod up the trail, he passed several members of the youth group coming in the opposite direction.

“They are up by the crossing! She’s still unconscious!” one of them shouted as Charlie passed them. He didn’t see Cindy in the group and didn’t want to stop for further information.

“There’s a park ranger at the base of the trail! Tell him what happened! Run!” gasped Charlie as he continued up the trail, spurred on a little quicker by the information he had received. He continued thinking of what a bad idea it was to have let Cindy go along without him and how everything could have been avoided if he was with the group instead of giving the lecture.

********************

“I’ve got a splint in my pack,” said Cindy as she was ripping through the first aid items Charlie had thoughtfully packed away.

“We need to immobilize her neck,” said Erica as she continued to work on Portia Foster. “Get into my pack, I have another splint.”

Cindy ripped away the packing from the SAM splint and handed it over to Erica before moving over to the other pack and digging through to find the first aid kit. She found the other splint and started tearing away at the plastic covering. Portia’s blond hair was matted down against her face and she was completely out of it.

“I’ll get the arm, you work on the head,” said Cindy as she unrolled the item and started forming it for the broken arm.

“You know what to do?” asked Erica.

“Yes, I read a book on first aid once,” said Cindy.

“You read a book?” asked Erica.

“I have a photographic memory,” said Cindy. “Immobilize the fracture in the same position you found it in, provide a little padding, split on the wound at the joint above and below, attach bandage materials above and below the break, immobilize with a sling is possible. I’m going to do both sides since I can get under her arm.”

“Sounds good,” said Erica as she continued to immobilize the neck area, but kept a watchful eye on Cindy as she went about her work cutting the SAM splint in two and bending both pieces into shape to get coverage on the wound. A roll of surgical tape was sitting out ready to be applied.

“Not much different than the pictures,” said Cindy as she finished forming the splint and grabbing at the tape. She pulled her own knife from the pack and cut through the tape as she put some of the rolled gauze bandage on the splint for padding. She put the two sides on the wound and grabbed at the roll of gauze to wrap around and tie off.

“Toby, start looking for some branches for stretcher material,” said Erica. He had been helping the remainder of the group across the creek while the two ladies were busy doing the first aid on Portia. He grabbed at the multi-tool on his belt and went to the nearby trees to find branches appropriate for the poles of a makeshift stretcher.

“How long until help gets here?” he asked while sawing at several branches.

“Depends on how long it will take the other two to get to the group and to call in help. I’m sure some of them are going to head this way before long,” said Erica, finishing up the neck brace. She quickly checked over Cindy’s handiwork and found it was being done by the book. “Nice job.”

“Thank you,” said Cindy as she finished up tying the knot and getting out the emergency blanket to put over Portia. “Wish we could get some dry clothing for her.”

“Best to just cover her up for the moment. Lucky for us, it’s a warm day,” said Erica as she checked the pupil response of Portia by using the flashlight from Cindy’s pack. Both constricted as they should showing there wasn’t any serious brain trauma for the moment. She probably would have a good concussion, but otherwise, should be okay. Erica pulled a cold pack from her bag and broke open the inner bag to put against the rising knot on her head. The swelling would continue, but at least the cold pack would help slow it some. Cindy was busy pulling off the rings on Portia’s fingers in case her hands swelled up.

“Cindy!” yelled Charlie as he came up to the creek from the other side.

“I’m okay! It’s that girl named Portia!” she yelled back. “We need to get her across the creek!”

“Hold on!” said Charlie as he dumped his pack on the ground. “Do you need the first aid kit?”

“Throw it across, we might be able to use it,” said Erica.

Charlie stepped up to the creek and looked across. Instead of tossing the kit over as requested, he decided to go over and help out if he could. He already visualized what needed to be done by checking his surroundings and looking over to the other side. He saw the path across the creek and put the pack back on. Watching his footing, he quickly but carefully scampered across the rocks before arriving on the other side.

“Are you out of your mind!” exclaimed Erica as she saw him almost slip on one of the rocks.

“Not today,” said Charlie as he dug out the lifesaver pack and opened it up for her. Leaving the pack where he dropped it, he grabbed one item out and went over to help Toby select the branches for the stretcher. He slid the saw out of the handle on the Fiskars pruning saw and helped cut another branch for the opposite side. Toby stopped sawing and decided to strip away the small branches and leaves off the one he had cut already. Seeing the small hatchet in the pack, he put away his knife and grabbed at it instead.

Charlie started cutting at the next branch and finished up quickly, taking it over to Toby to finish up. He also cut two more short pieces before moving back towards the items to begin. A yell was heard from the other side of the creek.

“What can we do to help?” asked Mack from his side of the creek. He was puffing from the dash up the mountainside himself and had the park ranger in tow.

“Hold on, we’re making a stretcher and will need to toss a line over in a minute,” said Charlie as he grabbed the two short pieces and one of the main poles. “Toby, grab that cord out of the upper left pocket.”

Toby unzipped the exterior pocket of the pack and pulled out some military 550 cord. Coming back, he unraveled the end and handed it over to Charlie. He began lashing up the smaller pole at the base, making a crosspiece for the stretcher. Toby saw what he was doing and moved to the other end to do the same with a separate bundle of cord. Cindy wanted to help, but saw what he was doing was over her head for the moment. But she would be learning in the near future as Charlie was doing something that could potentially save lives. Charlie quickly finished lashing the short piece to the longer and grabbed at the other pole. After cutting the cord, he moved over and started doing the same on the opposing side.

“Ambulance is on its way!” called the ranger after getting a radio call. Charlie finished up lashing the second side before watching Toby finish the first.

“Looks good Toby, now do the other side,” he said and walked back to the pack. The rope was far longer than he needed it to be, but that tended to work in their favor. He quickly unraveled the large static rope he typically used for pulling stranded motorists out of the ditch during winter. Finding the tree he had selected earlier, he quickly started tying up the rope in a Yosemite bowline knot. After making sure it was secure, he went back to his pack, he grabbed a piece of the branch he had cut and tied off the end of the remaining 550 cord to it. He made sure the cord was unraveled before heading back to the creek.

“I’m going to toss this cord over and tie it off to the main line. Tie the main line off to that poplar tree behind you!” he called to Mack.

Taking several practice throws, he finally tossed the piece of wood across with the 550 following. It landed about five feet from the shore and Mack waited as Charlie tied the end off to the main line. Once it was finished, Mack started hauling over the heavier rope to the other side and running it back to the specified tree. Charlie saw all was going well and went back to finish up the stretcher.

“What now Mister Gray?” asked Toby.

“I’m going to notch the cross pieces and use those carabiners to hook up to the line. We’ll make a simple sling load for the stretcher here and pull it across,” said Charlie as he started notching out the crosspieces for the cord. “Can you make a blanket litter?”

“I can,” said Cindy as she grabbed the blanket and started to make the litter portion of the stretcher. She found Charlie’s work was right on and the blanket fit perfectly on the stretcher. He finished the first section of the cord before moving down to the bottom and repeating the process. Once it was finished, he went back and grabbed the leather case for the multi-tool out of Cindy’s pack.

“Toby, can you give me your knife pouch?” asked Charlie. He took it off without hesitation and handed it over. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

Charlie took his own Leatherman out and punched a hole in the bottom of the pouch before repeating the process on the second pouch. Cindy looked at him strangely and finally had to ask.

“What are you doing?” she asked and watched as he threaded the two into the cord.

“The cord here and the rope are both synthetic. They will heat up as the stretcher is pulled across the creek. The 550 cord can get hot enough to burn through if we aren’t careful. The leather will keep it from heating up,” he explained as he started tying off the carabiner off to one side. She helped out by retrieving the second one from the pack and waiting for him to finish up. He checked on the line tied off by Mack and found it was perfectly fine. The only thing he needed to worry about now was the stretcher tipping over as it was pulled across the creek. But hopefully it wouldn’t go fast enough for that to be a problem.

“We’re going to need to strap her down if you are getting ready to do what I think you are doing,” said Erica.

“Way ahead of you pretty lady. I’ve got some duct tape in my pack,” said Charlie. “We’re ready here.”

“She needs to be as stable as possible when we put her on here. I can’t find any neck injuries, but we need to be careful anyway,” said Erica.

“Okay, we’ll get her on the stretcher and Toby and I will hold it up. When we get it lifted off the ground, you and Cindy take the duct tape and strap her in,” said Charlie as he retrieved the duct tape from his back and started unrolling a portion.

“Okay, let’s get her strapped in,” said Erica as they moved the stretcher towards Portia. “I’ll support her head and you three lift her onto the stretcher. Cindy, you get the legs, Charlie, you and Toby on opposite sides. Ready? On three…one…two…three…move.”

The four lifted Portia up and sat her gently on the stretcher. Toby and Charlie moved to the opposite ends and lifted up on the handles so she could be strapped in prior to taking her across the creek. A standard dressing was placed on her forehead to keep the tape from being applied to her bare skin. Erica and Cindy worked quickly, doubling up the tape at her head, shoulders, waist, knees and feet. They walked her over to the rope and got ready to get her across the creek.

“Charlie, you are the one who knows what you are doing here. Cindy and I’ll take your place and you can hook it up,” said Erica.

“Okay, come take the handles,” he said and was replaced by Cindy and Erica. They maneuvered the stretcher under the taunt rope and Charlie grabbed at the carabiner before tossing it over the line and hooking it into the loop on the opposite side. Before calling it good, he made sure the leather pouches was in the correct position before repeating the process at the other end. “Okay, gently let go of the handles.”

The three started letting her down gently and let the rope take the weight. It sagged a little, but not much as Mack and done a good job of keeping it taunt while he tied it off. Charlie went back over to the side and was tossed back the 550 cord without asking for it. He quickly attached the cord to the bottom of the stretcher at the lashings and threw the remaining cord back across the creek once again.

“We’ll walk her as far as possible before letting her go,” said Charlie as Mack and several others who had appeared got ready to pull Portia across.

“Ready when you are!” called Mack.

“Take out the slack and go slowly!” ordered Charlie as they walked the stretcher as far as they could go to the edge. Erica collected her pack and started crossing the creek so she could be on the other side by the time her patient arrived.

“Okay boys, nice and easy. Don’t yank it, just gently pull. If it starts to sway, we stop until it settles and go again,” said Mack. “Let’s do this.”

The three individuals started pulling gently on the cord and moving Portia across the creek. It was slow, a foot and a half at a time, but for something like this, it was better to be slow rather than fast. The makeshift stretcher swayed slightly as it came across, but overall, was stable enough as they continued to pull her across. Soon the handles were within distance and the ranger and another man went to grab them. As they did, they unclipped the carabiner and pulled her the rest of the way across. Mack and Erica went to the head area and unclipped the final carabiner and let her down gently.

“We’ll grab everything here. You guys get her to the ambulance!” yelled Charlie.

The four took the instructions in stride and immediately headed down the mountain towards help. Charlie went over and untied the rope from the tree while Cindy policed up the trash they had made while at the spot.

“I’ll go on over and pull the rope across Mister Gray,” said Toby as he had nothing to do.

“Keep an eye on Cindy as she comes across,” said Charlie. “And be careful yourself.”

“I’ll keep an eye on you too sir,” laughed Toby as he picked his way across the creek. He had no problems making it across and stood on the other side waiting for Cindy.

“You be careful, do you hear me?” asked Charlie.

“I’ll be okay. I won’t jump like she did,” said Cindy.

“Is that what happened?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, she jumped onto some wet rocks and slipped. But she wasn’t taking the same path we are,” said Cindy.

“I don’t care, you be careful!” said Charlie.

“I’ll be okay, I promise,” said Cindy as she started taking the same path as Toby.

“Watch that big rock, it’s a bit slippery,” said Toby as she was two-thirds of the way across.

Cindy made sure her foot was secure before making the step. It was slightly slick, but her boots held firm as she made the next steps across. Once she was safely on the other side, Charlie started making his way across as well, following the same path as before. He got over to the other side and took the coiled rope from Toby.

“Thanks for all your help Toby. I couldn’t have done it without you,” said Charlie.

“It was no problem sir,” said Toby shyly.

“All I heard was the new blond girl had fallen into the creek and cracked her head open,” said Charlie.

“Portia is fairly new. She came into school at the end of last year,” explained Toby.

“Mind giving me a moment with Cindy?” he asked.

“I’ll head on down the mountain sir,” said Toby as he took his leave of the two. After he was out of earshot, Charlie almost broke down.

“I was worried sick running all the way up here! All I heard was you had fallen into the creek and cracked your head wide open! It almost made me sick to my stomach!” he exclaimed before being able to take in a breath.

“What? They said I fell into the creek?” asked Cindy.

“Well, they said the new blond girl fell in and I assumed it was you,” said Charlie.

“There happened to be two blond girls out here today. I’m smarter than that you know?” asked Cindy with a hint of sass.

“So forgive me for worrying,” said Charlie, slightly hurt over her attitude.

“Thank you for coming up here to rescue me even though it wasn’t me that needed saving,” said Cindy and grabbed him around the neck for a hug. He was surprised at the move but hugged her back. The hurt feelings went away as he was relieved she wasn’t injured.

“It’s okay. I was just worried about you,” said Charlie.

“You actually thought I was hurt?” asked Cindy as they finished the embrace. She too was surprised at the show of emotions and had no idea where they came from. But it seemed like the right thing to do at that time and didn’t feel awkward.

“Yes, I just about jumped out of my skin when I heard about the accident,” said Charlie.

“I really appreciate you caring about me enough to run all the way up here,” said Cindy.

“Well, someone’s got to take care of you. I mean, who’s going to clean out my chicken coops if you aren’t around?” he asked with a laugh as the stress of the situation was wearing off.

“I was really scared when it was going on,” said Cindy.

“Seemed like you did just fine,” said Charlie. “I’m proud of you for helping out.”

“I just did the splint,” said Cindy.

“Which is more than anyone else did,” said Charlie. “You did good monkey girl.”

“Thanks,” she laughed as her stress level was winding down as well.

Charlie dropped the rope into his pack and the two headed back down the trail towards the park area. They walked along in silence, each reflecting on what had happened that day. For Cindy, she was surprised he had arrived so quickly and was that worried about her health. For Charlie it was the relief nothing had happened to her and she was safe and sound. By the time they reached the trailhead, the ambulance was gone and all that remained was Charlie’s truck. He replaced his bag inside and saw he would need to repack his get home bag when he got home. They headed down to the pool area where the remainder of the congregation was waiting.

After they parked and made contact with the group, Charlie was met with applause as someone had told them of his “heroic” efforts at the crossing. He blushed up slightly and took the applause in stride before waving his hands at the gathered crowd.

“Cindy, Erica and Toby are the real heroes. I didn’t do much besides give them the rope” he said with a laugh.

“And Cindy and Toby did a very good job up there from what Erica Chase told us,” said Pat. “But she also told us without you up there they wouldn’t have had a way of getting her across the creek safely.”

“I just made a simple stretcher,” said Charlie. “How’s the girl doing?”

“She’s doing okay. She woke up as they were putting her in the ambulance. Erica went with them to the hospital and might end up taking her over to Johnson City,” said Pat. “And thanks to you as well young lady. It’s nice to see someone with a good head on their shoulders being calm in that situation.”

“I didn’t really do much,” said Cindy modestly.

“Not what Doctor Chase said,” said Pat. “We are going to do the evening service a little earlier than planned in light of what happened.”

“I figured as much. Is the girl’s family aware?” asked Charlie.

“Yes, they were contacted and were headed towards the hospital. Probably the last time they let their daughter come along on a church picnic,” laughed Pat.

“We should get the papers involved. Those three deserve a little press I think,” said Charlie.

“Maybe we can arrange that,” said Pat, thinking over the idea and finding merit. It wasn’t everyday you had a member of your congregation do something so brave. And even though Cindy was a visitor, she could bask in the limelight for a bit as well. Possibly some kind of community award could be arranged as well he thought as he took his leave of Cindy and Charlie.

Cindy had put her hand into her pocket and found she had put Portia’s rings there from when she slipped them off her hand. “I forgot about these.”

“What are they?” asked Charlie.

“Portia’s rings. I took them off her hand after I splinted it up. Swelling you know,” said Cindy.

“We can take them over to her later or take them to her family,” said Charlie, looking at the rings. One looked quite older and was probably a family heirloom of some kind. Cindy didn’t mention she wasn’t on the best of terms with Portia although having just met that day. It was strange with Portia becoming possessive of Toby although he wasn’t seeing anyone. Cindy had a lot to learn about girls her age and how they could become when it came to male companionship. She never had the problems before since she wasn’t ever allowed to socialize with boys her own age and had to learn why teenage girls had to be so nasty when it came to boys.

With everything that happened, the evening service was shorter than most with a continuation of the lessons learned that morning. The hymns were pre-printed on regular paper and passed out for the short service and final call for those who chose to dedicate their lives to the Lord. As the group was singing, a voice was heard muttering from behind them “life’s too short.”

As the call was being made during the hymn, he walked to the front and spoke with the minister. Instead of waiting around, they decided to go ahead and do it right then and there without any changing of clothes or any of the waders he typically wore. Pat and the young man walked into the pool still fully clothed and performed the sacred ritual of dedicating his life to Christ. Afterwards, the younger man went to his family and sat with them for his first communion while Pat went to look for towels for the two to somewhat dry off with after the service.

After the evening service concluded, the younger man stood by and had the congregation line up to congratulate him for accepting Christ into his life. Cindy wasn’t sure about that part, so she held back while Charlie was in line. As he took his turn, he shook the young man’s hand and patted him on the shoulder.

“I’m happy for you all around today. You are a hero for saving that girl’s life and you are even more of a hero for saving your own soul. I’m really proud of the choices you made today,” said Charlie.

“Thank you sir,” said Toby Reynolds with a smile as he took the offered hand of a brother in Christ.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 17


As they were driving home, Charlie spoke to Cindy about the day’s events and started preparing her for the next day’s meeting with the judge. She casually mentioned how nice it was to see someone making the voluntary choice to become baptized rather than having the choice made for them.

“I never asked, but have you been baptized?” asked Charlie.

“Twice,” laughed Cindy. “But neither time was my choice. If I remember, one needs to make the choice themselves instead of having someone do it for them.”

“What do you mean?” asked Charlie.

“Well, my father had me baptized as a Catholic when I was little and again as a Christian later on in…I think it was a Christian church, maybe Presbyterian I’m not sure. Anyway, I never made the choice myself,” she explained.

“Just how many religions have you practiced?” asked Charlie.

“Let’s see…I was a Catholic from when I was born to a little later, Jewish after that, then Christian in a Baptist church, I think Buddhism or Hindu was somewhere in there along with Scientology at some point, but not for long. And Wicca for a while, back to Christianity and finally to Islam,” she explained.

“Seems like your Dad always goes back to Christianity,” said Charlie.

“Probably not this time. He’s in far too deep and has become brainwashed. I mean, who would give up their family to a nasty old pervert?” asked Cindy.

“Very true. So you think there’s no coming back for him?” he asked.

“I didn’t say that. I just think he needs a few moments to reflect on what happened to his family because of that religion. It’s not a bad thing I suppose, being religious and all, but the way it brainwashed him makes it a terrible thing,” said Cindy.

“I want everything to work out for you in the long run,” said Charlie.

“As well as my family,” she said and the matter was dropped.

“Ready for tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah, big day,” she said and looked out the window.

“I probably won’t be in there with you. It’ll probably just be Mitch, Jimmy and the judge,” said Charlie.

“I would want you to go in with me,” she said.

“I understand, but this doesn’t specifically concern me. I mean it does, but it would be best for me to just wait outside,” said Charlie.

“Why so?” she asked.

He paused before answering, thinking over the subject since it was something he had put some thought into before having the conversation. “Well, honestly, I’m not sure if my being a single male having a pretty teenage girl living at my house would be something most judges would accept. If you think about it in today’s world, plenty of dirty old men are looking to prey on someone like you. And it’s probably the first thought that pops into someone’s head. So for the moment, I’d much rather just have Mitch or Jimmy say you are staying with an authorized foster family rather than have to answer more pointed questions.”

“But you aren’t like that!” she exclaimed.

“No, I’m not, but others wouldn’t believe that. And no matter what you say to others, perception is reality in many people’s eyes,” said Charlie.

“So if the subject comes up?” asked Cindy.

“You are staying with a foster family, nothing more,” said Charlie.

“You want me to lie?” asked Cindy.

“No, I’m not telling you to lie. But you need to conceal the truth since others wouldn’t understand the situation,” said Charlie.

“But you aren’t a foster family,” she said.

“I am a certified foster home now thanks to Mitch,” said Charlie.

“Okay, I understand that, but it isn’t the same as a family,” said Cindy.

“I know,” he replied and got lost in thought about how his house might have been a home had life not been so cruel to him. He stayed silent the remainder of the trip to his house, thinking of how attached he had already become to Cindy. Like the family he had never had, she had popped into his life and he had grasped at the first thoughts of being a provider and a father figure, even for a short time. The silence was unsettling to Cindy as she saw something come over him after she made her last comment.

“I said something wrong, didn’t I?” she asked as they pulled up outside the house.

“No, nothing. It’s just me,” said Charlie with a brief smile.

“What? What did I say?” she asked.

“Nothing at all. It’s…it’s just taken me a long time to get over Annie’s and Abigail’s deaths. I know I should have moved on years ago, but I just never did. You didn’t have anything to do with it,” he answered.

“But I did kind of have something to do with it. Now that I’m here, you’ve had a taste of the family life. And you found something you were missing all these years?” she asked.

“You’re far too smart for your own good,” he said evasively, but answering the question indirectly.

“A smart teenager?” she grinned.

“And a blond at that,” he teased, trying to change the subject.

“Hey!” she objected and punched him in the arm as they were heading towards the house.

“Owww, I need to scale back your muscle exercises,” he said rubbing his arm.

“Yeah right, I’d go insane,” she laughed before adding in more thoughts. “I think you would make a good dad.”

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Well, you’re kind, a good teacher, fair but stern when you need to be, caring…just quite a few things,” she replied.

“I hope you aren’t hinting at something,” he said as he unlocked the door.

“No!” she exclaimed. “I just mean you have the qualities of a good father.”

“I can accept that answer,” he said and went towards the kitchen to drop off the empty pan.

“Seems like everyone liked your beans,” she said and immediately started on the dishes.

“Yeah, they always go over good,” he said and wondered if he should make the call he had been thinking about for a while that afternoon. Cindy’s comments had kind of prompted him to think about his situation as a whole and it was late enough to be okay he thought. While she was busy getting the dishwater ready, he grabbed at his cell phone and ran through the numbers listing to a number he hadn’t called in a long time. He paused momentarily before coming to a decision and hitting the send button.

“Hello?” said the voice on the other end.

“Erica? It’s Charlie,” he said into the phone.

“Well, this is an unexpected surprise,” she said.

“I was calling to see how that girl was doing,” he replied.

“She’ll be okay. Broken arm and a pretty hard knock on the head, but otherwise should bounce back perfectly fine. She’s getting a CAT scan and an MRI scheduled for tomorrow and she’ll be in the hospital for a while, but overall the prognosis looks good,” said Erica.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” said Charlie.

“I never got the chance to thank you for your help today. I don’t think we could have done it without you,” said Erica.

“Nah, you had everything in hand when I got there,” said Charlie.

“But no way of getting her across the creek,” said Erica.

“Someone else could have done what I did,” he replied modestly.

“Why don’t you take a little credit for what you did?” she asked.

“I guess I’m modest to a fault,” he laughed.

“No matter what, you helped out a lot more than you give yourself credit for,” said Erica.

“You were the one who probably saved her,” said Charlie.

“Well, no, Toby was the one who pulled her out of the creek so the biggest credit was on him. Plus Cindy helping splint her arm which I would have had to do after the neck. But your aid kit with the emergency blanket and splint helped out. Trust me, even behind the scenes you had a lot to do with saving this girl. And by the way, the EMTs said they loved your homemade stretcher,” she laughed.

“Jokingly or serious?” he asked.

“No, seriously. They really liked it and thought it was pretty ingenious,” said Erica.

“Nothing in the world that can’t be fixed with a little duct tape and 550 cord,” he laughed.

“Well, there are a few things,” she laughed in return.

“Which are?” he asked.

“Hurt feelings. I would have liked to have had you on that hike this afternoon,” she said.

“I had other obligations,” he said.

“I know, but you don’t have an excuse the next time,” she said.

“Okay, next trip you plan out, I’ll come along,” he said.

“You promise?” she asked.

“I promise,” he replied with a smile.

“How’s Cindy taking everything?” asked Erica.

“Pretty good although we’ve not really talked about it yet,” said Charlie.

“She deserves some sort of recognition for her part. Her and Toby both,” she said.

“I’ll see what can be arranged,” he said.

“Don’t bother, I’m already on it,” said Erica.

“Just let me know when,” said Charlie. “Now how are you taking all this?”

“You know me, I’m a doctor and see things like this all the time even in Erwin. No big deal to me and it kind of was a good exercise since I didn’t have all my normal hospital stuff around,” said Erica. “But of course, your timely intervention with the additional materials was key to the success.”

“I’m fairly certain you would have figured a way across the creek,” said Charlie.

“Maybe in time, but you did it far quicker than I ever could,” she said.

“I was just the provider of the materials,” he said.

“Can you do me a favor?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said.

“Say the following words: ‘I helped out a lot more than I give myself credit for.’ Now repeat after me,” she ordered with half a laugh.

“You’re killing me,” he laughed in response.

“Ands too,” she said with a laugh. “Much as I’d like to continue this conversation, I’ve got to go check on my patient. You want to give me a call later?”

“I think that could be arranged,” he replied.

“Promise?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think I can promise to that,” he said with another smile.

“Okay, I’ll hold you to it,” she said with a laugh. “Bye Charlie.”

“Bye Erica, have a good night,” he said as he ended the call. After he turned around, he found Cindy washing the dishes with a silly grin on her face. “What’s the grin all about?”

“Nothing,” said Cindy before stifling a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he asked again.

“Erica and Charlie, sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” she said before giggling like a teenager should. It was probably the first time he had seen anything associated with being young come from her besides the jumping she did at the store that one day.

“Oh shut it, I was calling to make sure she was okay,” said Charlie.

“Uh huh, and that big silly grin on your face came from where?” she asked.

“Erica is a friend and I was making sure she was okay after today. Just like I planned on making sure everything was okay with you too monkey girl,” he said.

“Me? Oh, don’t mind me. I’m perfectly fine. Now Doctor Chase? She might need your assistance and comfort over the situation. A pair of strong manly arms to collapse into like one of those dirty women’s romance novels,” said Cindy with a large grin.

“You’ve read those?” asked Charlie, changing the subject.

“Don’t change the subject and yes, I started reading one until my mother caught me. Probably not appropriate reading material for a twelve year old,” she grinned.

“I wouldn’t think so,” said Charlie.

“But anyway, you going to call her again?” asked Cindy.

“Maybe so. Not that it’s any business of yours,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll let you decide if you want to call back the pretty lady with a good career,” said Cindy with a grin.

“You kill me,” he said with a smile and a roll of his eyes.

“What’s for dinner anyway?” asked Cindy, letting him off the hook.

“Something simple, soup and a sandwich,” he said.

“I’ll get everything ready,” said the hungry teenager as she finished up with a pan and set it off to the side. After washing her hands, she got out the items while he grabbed two cans of soup from the pantry and got them ready to heat up. They continued talking while getting ready and Cindy started to worry about what was going to happen the next day. She knew it was inevitable, the meeting with the judge, but she wasn’t sure what the outcome was going to be. But all she knew was the fact she was finally getting help for her family. After supper, she finished up the dishes and went out to the cabin to grab the remainder of her items and move them into the house. After she returned, she went upstairs and placed her new items on the bed for later storage in the small chest of drawers in the bedroom. Heading back downstairs, she found Charlie at work on the computer, typing at something or other once again.

“Whatcha working on?” she asked and peeked over his shoulder.

“Nothing serious, just writing down some random thoughts,” he said and continued typing. He was a speed typist and was quickly filling in the pages as he went along.

“What’s it about?” she asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said.

“May I watch some TV?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” he said without looking and continued typing.

“You don’t have a problem with me moving into the house do you?” she asked while looking through the TV guide.

“No, no problems. We’ll have to work out some bathroom times though,” he said.

“Yeah, that could create a problem,” she said as she turned on the set and started flipping through the channels. She ended up on the History Channel and plopped down deep into the recliner. He was halfway listening while he continued to type, looking at the program from time to time.

“You like history?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fascinating,” said Cindy.

“You certainly are different. I have a friend who’s a history teacher and he says it’s hard to get his students to pay attention,” said Charlie.

“I don’t know, I’ve always found it interesting,” said Cindy, continuing to watch the program on the decline of the Roman Empire.

“Good enough reason I suppose,” said Charlie as he went back to typing at his rapid rate. Eventually he saw Cindy yawning and informed her it was time for bed.

“I’m okay, I can finish this program,” she informed him.

“If you fall asleep, I’m writing nasty words on your forehead,” he said seriously.

“You wouldn’t,” she said.

“Bet me I won’t?” he asked with a laugh.

“No, you’d do it to prove me wrong,” she said and yawned again. “Okay, bed time for me.”

“You going to shower in the morning?” he asked.

“Yes, probably after you do,” she said with another yawn. “Excuse me.”

“Okay, I’ll wake you up around six or so,” he said and went back to the computer.

“Who’s fixing breakfast?” she asked as she turned off the TV.

“I’ll get it,” he said.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Yeah, no problems,” he said. “Good night.”

“Night,” she said and went upstairs to get ready for bed. She was apprehensive about the meeting with the judge the next day, wondering what the outcome would be. She also wondered what her life might have been like had her mother married someone like Charlie instead of her father. She didn’t hate her father, but didn’t quite understand what made him do the things he did, especially as of late. And she also wondered how he could have been brainwashed so easily and wondered if somehow she might have the same thing happen to her sometime in her life. She tossed and turned thinking of the situation as it stood until she finally dozed off to sleep, restless even though she was tired from the day’s events.

Charlie heard her tossing and turning in the older bed in the spare bedroom of the house. He wondered what happened to be on her mind at that particular moment in time and again wondered what it would be like to have a full time family. He thought of Erica Chase and the fact she was a nice lady and still of the age of where having children wouldn’t be a big deal. While he was almost three years older than she was, that age difference wasn’t a huge deal this day in age and she had already been through the marriage situation once before while she was still in medical school. A cheating husband had pushed her into social solitude at one point and she was just getting back into the game. By all rights she was considered a good catch by any of the eligible Unicoi County men, but she had taken to Charlie since becoming his doctor before.

And I haven’t really done anything to reciprocate those feelings have I? I could…should get back into the dating game. It’s been a while and really, I’ve made excuses the entire time about not wanting to get back into it. I’ve always used the excuse of Annie’s death for not dating and shun away any attempts at companionship…maybe it’s time I allowed myself to actually live a little once again, he thought to himself as he pushed away from the computer slightly. He was a little tired himself and was getting ready to turn in. His legs were already getting a little sore from the run he had done that afternoon and he knew he was slightly out of shape as well. Something he knew he needed to rectify in the near future.

Heading upstairs, he could still hear Cindy toss in the bed. He thought about looking in on her and figured it might be slightly inappropriate to do so. Heading for bed himself, he laid down and remembered the same feelings of having a warm body by his side and how nice the comfort of having a woman in your home really was. As he slid off to sleep, his last thoughts were of why he had never started dating again and why he should.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 17 CONTINUED

********************

[Cimarron]

Appreciate the story and all your work on it.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 18

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 19


Cindy emerged from the psychologist’s office looking like she had been crying once again. The doctor peeked out and nodded his head at Charlie, beckoning him to come inside and speak with him. Charlie checked on Cindy and made sure she was okay before she told him she would be okay. She took his handkerchief to blow her nose and wipe away the remains of the tears on her face. Charlie was worried about the situation as it stood and went inside.

“Mister Gray? I understand you are the foster home provider for Miss Grant?” asked the psychologist.

“I am,” said Charlie simply.

“Are you performing duties as her parent?” he asked.

“No, I’m just the home provider,” said Charlie.

“I hope you understand I normally cannot speak of the counseling sessions with you, but Miss Grant gave me written permission to discuss the matter with you,” he said.

“Okay,” said Charlie simply once again.

“Well, she is holding in some deep troubles, fears and depression. She is worried about her family, what she might be returning to and most of all, what future she might have. I firmly believe her story about the happenings at the community in New York and none of the details are made up,” said the psychologist.

“Which means?” asked Charlie.

“Well, simply put, she needs further counseling. Maybe in New York or possibly here, it doesn’t matter. But all told, she needs to get it all out and in a professional setting. There are lots of good counselors in the local area I could recommend if you don’t feel comfortable bringing her back here,” he said.

“No, I can bring her back here with no problems,” said Charlie. “But what do I need to do?”

“Be supportive. If she wants to talk, let her talk. Don’t try to yank out the emotions, let her get them out on her own. She’s hurting inside, but sometimes it takes years for everything to fully manifest. All in all, she needs the support you can provide,” he replied.

“But I’m not her family or her father,” said Charlie.

“No, you aren’t, but she has you in the role of a father figure for the time being,” said the psychologist.

“I never wanted to be put there; I was only trying to help,” he replied.

“Cindy has made that decision for you. She trusts you like family at this point and thinks rather highly of you. Like an adopted father, she has placed her faith in you to do what is right,” said the psychologist.

“We haven’t even known each other that long!” exclaimed Charlie.

“Sometimes it doesn’t take that long,” said the psychologist. “These things happen from time to time.”

“Wait a minute…she isn’t…doesn’t have…you know?” asked Charlie.

“A crush? No. She’s put you in the father figure role for the time being and thinks of you that way and that way only. I would have picked up the signals otherwise,” he replied.

“So what do I need to do?” asked Charlie once again.

“Just continue to support her as you’ve been doing until she goes back to New York. She is fairly apprehensive about the whole thing and you can help her out in that respect. Just continue doing whatever it is you are doing, it’s good medicine. She seems to respond to whatever it is you happen to be doing right now,” he said.

“Anything else?” asked Charlie.

“I can make a few calls to find a decent counselor in New York if you want,” said the psychologist.

“No not just yet. Thanks, but we aren’t sure what’s going to happen yet,” said Charlie.

“Oh, I know how that can be,” he laughed. “Thank you for your time.”

“No problems,” said Charlie. He stepped back out into the waiting room and saw Cindy had cleaned up, although her eyes were still slightly red. “You going to be okay monkey girl?”

“I think so,” she said and handed back his handkerchief.

“No way, you can keep your own boogers!” he exclaimed. She laughed slightly at the joke, her spirits lifted slightly at seeing he wasn’t going to be treating her any differently. She was apprehensive Charlie would be more distant after the visit, but saw he was the same old Charlie she had known since day one.

“Did he say I was crazy?” she asked.

“Nope, said I was certifiable for taking you in though. Said you were a sassy one,” he replied with a grin.

“He didn’t say that!” she exclaimed as Charlie went over to pay the bill. He saw he wasn’t in the right line of work since the bill for the one hour of work was more than he made in a week from farming.

“Yep, he sure did. Said you were sassy and downright mean. Said I shoulda left you on the road where I found you,” he said with a straight face.

“You weren’t in there that long for him to say that!” she exclaimed.

“Nah, he said you were going to be just fine,” he said after collecting the receipt.

“Did he really?” she asked.

“Yeah, you are going to be okay,” said Charlie. He saw her face pick up a little and a small smile grew on her lips. While he would take the doctor’s advice and be supportive, a part of him still wanted to charge off to New York, grab her father by the hair and slap him around for a few minutes. But self control got the better of him as he would provide the positive role model in her life for the time being.

“Can we make another stop while we’re here?” she asked.

“Is Doctor Chase around so you two can talk about me?” he asked.

“No, but I can check if you want,” she said with a sly grin.

Charlie let out a sigh and shook his head at her. “Seriously, who do you know in the hospital?”

“Portia Foster. While you were inside, I had the receptionist check to find out what room she was in. I still have her rings,” said Cindy.

“Okay, we can swing by if you want,” he replied and opened the door for her. They navigated the hallways in the hospital before coming to the room specified by the receptionist. Cindy peeked inside and saw Portia lying on the hospital bed staring absentmindedly at the TV. She knocked lightly on the door and went on in. Surprise showed on Portia’s face as this was the last person she expected to see walking into her room.

“Hello,” said Portia while looking confused.

“Hi, how are you doing?” asked Cindy as she walked into the hospital room.

“I’m okay I guess. What are you doing here?” asked Portia weakly from the bed. Her head was wrapped up in a large bandage and she had rings under her eyes. Her arm was held up above her head in a large cast since the break was close to the shoulder.

“I came by to bring you these,” said Cindy as she collected the rings from her pocket.

“I thought I’d lost those. Why do you have them?” asked Portia with surprise. After getting out of the emergency room and going through her operation, the hospital staff had no idea what rings she was talking about. Portia thought they had been lost forever.

“I took them off after Toby pulled you from the water. Your hands swell up after a time and they would have had to cut them off otherwise,” said Cindy. “I forgot them when they took you to the ambulance.”

“This one is my great grandmother’s. Goes back in my family a long way,” said Portia, looking over the rings with her good arm.

“I also came over because I didn’t know if anyone else had. I know you’re kind of new here and know how it can be when you’re the new girl,” said Cindy.

“Yeah, we’re both kind of new, although I didn’t want to admit it,” said Portia.

“I guess we all have things we’d rather not admit,” said Cindy. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, everything is okay,” said Portia. “How’s Toby?”

“He’s okay. He’s the one that pulled you out of the creek and saved you,” said Cindy.

“And I heard you were the one that helped Doctor Chase. Thank you,” said Portia.

“Anyone else would have helped out,” said Cindy.

“No, from what I hear, everyone else just stood around,” said Portia. “That’s the last time I try to impress a boy by doing something stupid.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cindy.

“Toby couldn’t take his eyes off you. I was jealous of you for it and wanted to impress him somehow. I figured by hopping across the creek like some rabbit he would notice me,” said Portia.

“Well, he definitely noticed you,” laughed Cindy.

“But it was a stupid thing to do. Why try to get his attention when he was focused on you? And you really weren’t paying him any attention anyway,” said Portia.

“We just met not long ago,” said Cindy.

“I know, but you’re really pretty and I guess jealousy took over,” said Portia.

“It’s no big deal and we all make mistakes,” said Cindy.

“So do you like him or not?” asked Portia.

“As a friend and nothing more. I don’t want to get involved with someone since I might not be around that long,” said Cindy.

“How come?” asked Portia.

“Well, I’m not from here and my family has…problems. I’m just staying with Charlie until things can get settled,” said Cindy.

“Doesn’t every family have problems?” asked Portia.

“I suppose so,” said Cindy as her voice trailed off. “When are you getting out of here?”

“I don’t know, but I’m hoping to be better by the time school comes around. I’ve got cheerleader tryouts,” said Portia.

“Well, just take it easy and I’m sure you will make it,” said Cindy. An uncomfortable silence followed them and she decided to go on her way since she had delivered the rings like she planned.

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying,” asked Portia.

“Yeah, just stuff going on,” said Cindy.

“Bad stuff?” asked Portia.

“Family stuff,” said Cindy.

“I know how that can be,” said Portia.

“I’ll leave you to rest now,” said Cindy as she didn’t really know Portia well enough to discuss her problems.

“Okay,” said Portia. As Cindy started to walk out, Portia’s voice stopped her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” asked Cindy.

“For being mean to you. And after I was hurt you didn’t have to help, but you did,” said Portia.

“Water under the bridge,” said Cindy.

“And yes, you’re the first person besides my family that has visited me,” said Portia.

“You take it easy and get better,” said Cindy as she walked out. Portia went back to watching the TV absentmindedly and wondered if she had just made a new friend.

********************

“Maybe we should think about moving on,” said Adila Hassan, wife of Mohammed Hassan and mother of Cindy.

“Why would we do that?” asked Mohammed.

“You’ve changed, that’s why,” said Adila.

“And that’s a bad thing?” asked Mohammed.

“I didn’t say that, but our daughter is out there right now and we should be doing more than just sitting around waiting for her to come back,” said Adila.

“Our daughter made the choice to run away. The imam thinks it’s better to wait and let the law enforcement do their jobs. We know she is in Tennessee, or at least we think she’s in Tennessee with the police. Everything will go according to plan,” said Mohammed.

“But we aren’t a family here. Not like we once were,” said Adila.

“We are a stronger and larger family surrounded by the faithful here. We don’t need the wickedness of the world to help us be strong,” said Mohammed.

“It’s not the same and you know it,” said Adila.

“Do you want to speak your mind?” asked Mohammed.

“I remember the last time I did so,” said Adila, slightly cringing at the memories of the last time she had spoken her mind and the retribution she received.

“Good, I’m glad you remembered. Haseena will come back to us and everything will go according to plan,” said Mohammed.

“Who’s plan?” asked Adila, flirting with the borders of what he considered unacceptable behavior.

“Allah’s plan,” said Mohammed.

“His or the imam’s?” asked Adila.

“His through the imam. You are suggesting this isn’t Allah’s plan for Haseena?” asked Mohammed.

“No, I’m suggesting we need to think about being a family once again. Out on our own,” said Adila, starting to speak her mind without worrying about the consequences.

“For the first time in my life I feel like I am a part of something special. And you want me to just throw it all away?” asked Mohammed.

“I didn’t say that, but you are also part of something else special. It’s called a family,” said Adila.

“You should watch your comments,” warned Mohammed.

“I’m just saying we were happy together,” said Adila.

“And I believe we are even happier under Allah’s love here. They have taken us in, given us a free home and sustenance, we have anything we would want and new friends who understand and believe in us,” said Mohammed.

“And those same things happened before. You had a family that loved you and believed in you. I know you lost your job, but you could have gotten a new one with little trouble had you only taken the time to look. You have a Master’s Degree in engineering and could have found a job easily,” said Adila.

Mohammed stopped talking for a moment, remembering when he lost his job. Apparently the manager hadn’t thought discussing religion was a good idea at work, especially after being counseled about it several times. But that young idiot just had to push his buttons one last time by flaunting the fact he was eating pork. And of course his reaction to smash the sandwich into his face probably wasn’t the best reaction, but he was through talking about it. So he had been fired even though the other worker had been completely insensitive to his religion. Mohammed wondered if his nose was back in the proper place now after his trip to the hospital and hoped he would be a little more tolerant of others religious views in the future when eating ham sandwiches.

“A family that did love me or still does?” he asked with a tone.

“I’ll always love you and so will the children. Maybe some time away would help us all clear our minds,” said Adila.

Mohammed thought about that for a moment, turning away from his wife. He wondered if she was correct and thought about leaving for maybe a month. Going out to spread Allah’s words with his family for a while. Maybe that was a good idea. But the way his wife said it, he knew she didn’t mean it that way. She was looking to escape the love and commitment of the community hopefully to never return. And to think his own family would forsake him so easily was ridiculous. His quick turn and backhand slap across her face was a reminder he was the one in control of his family and the one who made decisions for them.

“How dare you insinuate my family doesn’t love me! The love and devotion are demanded by Allah and the man is the head of the family! I make the decisions for my family and I decide when this place no longer suits our needs! You have no say in it! And you will know your place as a Muslim woman and know I am the one who decides when and if we leave!” he shouted as she reeled from the abuse.

“Stephen! I was-” she started to say and was assaulted once again.

“Shut up! That name means nothing to me!” he shouted as he delivered another slap across the face.

“I’m sorry!” she cried.

“You need more reminding of your place!” he growled and closed in on her. “We will have investigators here soon and we need to make sure our stories are straight so we can get our daughter back! You blow this opportunity and we may never see her again!”

Adila steadied herself for the onset of the physical abuse that had been more and more common lately. While she didn’t know exactly why the situation was developing as it was, she knew in the end her daughter would be coming back to them. Maybe then she would be in a better position to deal with him. Maybe then she could get him to focus on becoming a father once again and see the error of his ways. So she put up with his abuse only to get her daughter back to her rightful place in the family.

********************

“Okay, everything was sent off this morning and the New York State Police receipted for it,” said Captain Parker the next day. “The photographs of the abuse marks didn’t come out all that great, but will be good enough for the purposes we need.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Charlie.

“We wait for New York to get back with us. Until then, just take care of Cindy,” said the Captain.

“Just wait?” asked Charlie.

“We’ll see what New York has to say about it and go from there,” said the Captain.

“Charlie, you know it’s the way it has to be,” said Mitch.

“I know, I’m just worried about her,” said Charlie. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Out the door, second door on the left,” said the Captain. Charlie excused himself and walked out of the office and down the hall.

“I think he got a little too attached in all this,” said the Captain.

“He has a reason to be. It’s a long story, but Charlie lost his family some years ago and hasn’t really had anyone to care for besides himself since then. He latched onto Cindy as another chance at a family. I know it’s going to be hard for him to give her up, but I’m worried about the aftermath,” said Mitch.

“How come?” asked the Captain.

“After his family died, he went into a deep state of depression. I want to keep that from happening again,” said Mitch. “I’ve got to keep him focused on something else.”

“I trust there won’t be any problems with him,” said the Captain.

“No, I don’t see anything coming up. He’ll be okay,” said Mitch.

“Thanks for all your help in this,” said the Captain.

“It’s different, that’s for certain. Glad we don’t have those kinds of problems around here,” said Mitch.

“You aren’t joking. The whole radical Islam is a problem if I’ve ever seen one. I went into Afghanistan with the Guard a while back and saw one of the pro-Taliban regions. It wasn’t a pretty sight,” said the Captain.

“Never thought I’d see something like that in our own country,” observed Mitch.

“Yeah, but it isn’t quite the same country as it used to be,” said the Captain. Charlie reentered the office with Cindy in tow. She had been visiting Sarah in another office.

“Cindy, for the moment you will be remaining with Charlie until we work out the details,” said the Captain.

“How long?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” said the Captain honestly.

“Okay,” said Cindy.

“Anything else for us?” he asked.

“No, nothing I can think of besides thank you,” she said.

“No problems, it’s our job,” said the Captain. “You take care now.”

“I will,” said Cindy as she shook his hand. Charlie also said his goodbyes and left the office, a dark expression on his face.

“Something wrong?” asked Cindy.

“No, nothing,” he muttered as they got into the truck and departed.

********************

“Sir? We’ve got a request here from the State of Tennessee requesting an investigation be conducted on a family and community up north,” said the administrative clerk in the New York State Police Headquarters.

“Oh?” asked the supervisor on duty. The file was handed over and he started thumbing through it. “Synopsis?”

“It’s a pretty wild one that’s for certain. Claims a fifteen year old girl is being forced into marriage to a forty-seven year old man. Claims abuse is commonplace in the community as well as the practice of forced marriages,” said the clerk.

“Sounds a little outlandish,” said the supervisor. “Where at?”

“East of Rochester. Planned community of some sort. I did a quick check and we really have nothing on them except the Department of Homeland Security and FBI running an investigation on some of the members,” said the clerk.

“Really?” asked the supervisor.

“Nothing substantial yet,” said the clerk. “Apparently they think the community might be a haven for domestic terrorists.”

“Any reason for us to get directly involved?” asked the supervisor.

“I think we can have the locals check into it and see. Maybe after that,” said the clerk.

“Gut feeling?” asked the supervisor.

“Not sure yet. The story is pretty big…I’m not sure if something like this will pan out,” said the clerk.

“Who did the request come from?” asked the supervisor.

“One of the local divisions of the Tennessee State Police,” said the clerk.

“Not through a judge?” asked the supervisor.

“No, just a request for an investigation,” said the clerk.

“Okay, give it to the local boys in Rochester and see what they can turn up,” said the supervisor.

********************

“Is Waters around?” asked the local branch chief of the New York State Child and Family Protective Services.

“I think he’s due back in about a half an hour,” said another agent.

“When he gets in, have him come see me,” said the chief.

“Got a case for him?” asked the agent.

“Yeah. He cleared up that case in Newark, right?” asked the chief.

“I think he’s finishing up the report today,” said the agent.

“Any indication of his problems following him from his last assignment?” asked the chief.

“No, it looks like he might have been put on the straight and narrow,” said the agent.

“Okay, have him come see me when he gets in,” said the chief, wondering if this case would be right for his newest agent that had been transferred from New York City under unusual circumstances.

[OR Medic]

"Paging Mr Hanger, Mr Cliff Hanger to the white courtesy phone."

Nice addition, keep up the good work, and thank you.

Jim

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 20



“Good morning. I’m Steven Waters from the New York State Child and Family Protective Services,” said the man in the gray suit as he walked towards the door of the central building in the planned community. He was met by one of the members inside at the door.

“Please wait for the Imam,” said the man as he went back inside the central area to find the Imam. They already knew he was coming, having been alerted by the guard near the entrance.

Steven Waters was a newly assigned member of the Rochester Branch after having been transferred from New York after being investigated for misconduct at his last assignment. Since his move though, he had been keeping things in perspective and doing his job the right way. It wasn’t often you got a second chance at keeping your job in this day in age and he decided it was better to just do as he was doing rather than risk it all on stupid mistakes. He thought about the case file he had read before coming out to this remote community and wondered if any of it was real or not. The story was fairly wild to say the least, but he would determine the truth or lie of it.

The Imam came to the door dressed in a button shirt minus the tie and blue jeans, not looking like a preacher of Islam. He looked at the Agent for a moment before stroking his beard and inviting him in with a wave of his hand.

“Good afternoon, I’m Agent Steven Waters from the New York-” he started to say before he was cut off.

“Yes, I was told. No reason to repeat your long department title,” said the Imam with a chuckle. “Please come in and sit.”

“Thank you sir,” said Waters as they entered a small Spartan office, devoid of most everything except a laptop computer, a telephone and a Koran sitting on the corner of the desk. A small stand off to the side had two carafes sitting on top.

“Would you care for a cup of coffee or tea?” asked the Imam.

“What kind of tea?” asked Waters.

“It’s Chai tea made Middle Eastern style,” said the Imam.

“I’ve never had it that way,” said Waters.

“Oh, take a pound of tea and five pounds of sugar and you have Chai,” laughed the Imam.

“I’ll stick with coffee then,” said Waters, noticing the Imam had little accent when speaking. “Black.”

“So what brings you to our doorstep today Agent Waters?” asked the Imam after serving the cup of coffee and taking a cup of tea for himself.

“I have an official request for an investigation on one of the families here in your community. It seems there are some allegations of inappropriate behavior with some of the members of the family and of the community,” said Waters, getting right down to business.

“Oh? Which family and which members?” asked the Imam.

“Frankly sir, you were named as one of the members along with the…Hassan family,” said Waters after looking at the folder to confirm the name.

“And the complainant would be Mohammed Hassan’s daughter, Haseena,” said the Imam.

“Yes, although we have her listed as Cynthia Grant,” said Waters. “How did you know?”

“Haseena Hassan has a bad habit for making up grand tales to anyone who will listen. She is a compulsive liar and has gone to the local police about supposed abuse already. They investigated and found nothing out of line. She additionally makes up lies to make people feel more sorry for her,” said the Imam.

“What’s this name you keep calling her?” asked Waters.

“Cynthia Grant was her name before she converted to Islam. Her father was Stephen Grant if I recall correctly,” said the Imam. “What specific allegations were made?”

“Well, she claims she was to be forcibly married to a member of the community and was abused for her defiance of the matter,” said Waters.

“Oh really?” asked the Imam with his eyes showing mirth. “And which member in particular was she to be wed to?”

“Ummm, you sir,” said Waters.

The Imam looked at him for a moment before laughing out a jolly laugh. “Okay Mister Waters, if this is some sort of joke, you have fooled me.”

“No joke sir,” said Waters seriously.

“It appears Haseena has spun quite the tale this time around. And brought others into her web of lies,” laughed the Imam. “However funny it might be, this is a serious matter now and I will provide any and all assistance to resolving the matter.”

“I appreciate the help, sir,” said Waters, scribbling some notes on his binder.

“Have you been in contact with Haseena? Is she well?” asked the Imam.

“I haven’t personally. She is currently under the custody and care of a foster family in the State of Tennessee for the moment,” said Waters.

“So I can assume she is being treated well,” said the Imam. “Let me assure you Mister Waters, I may have the normal male desires, but I am already married and I have no wish to become wed to a girl half my age.”

“The report claims it’s within Islamic tradition to do so,” said Waters.

“Yes, some years ago…even this day in age it is not uncommon to find the practice in the Middle East and North Africa. But this is America and the practice is frowned upon. Yes, historically Muslim fathers betrothed their daughters to suitable heirs…even sometimes much older than is customary, but not this day in age and certainly not in America,” said the Imam.

“Do you support it?” asked Waters.

“I cannot condone what others believe to be the right thing. If it is a custom of certain regions in the Middle East, it is their custom and I will respect that. However, this is America where the practice is forbidden and I support the laws of America,” said the Imam, not really giving a direct answer.

“So you did not arrange the marriage with her father?” asked Waters.

“No,” laughed the Imam.

“And he made no sort of arrangement with you? Even bringing the subject up?” asked Waters.

“Certainly not! I would protest if he did such a thing!” exclaimed the Imam.

“How might you object?” asked Waters.

“I might even go as far as to have him leave the community here. Such practices only bring us into the public eye,” said the Imam.

“And you wish to remain outside of the public eye?” asked Waters.

“We are a simple community of Muslims who wish to practice our religion without the outside influences of what I might consider the corruptible and sinful ways of many Americans. Yes, we might be far more devotional than others, but we wish only to live in peace and serve Allah,” said the Imam.

“May I speak with her family? I need to interview her father, mother and two siblings in the matter. Along with seeing her home environment and that of the surrounding community,” said Waters.

“By all means. While I cannot escort you the entire way as I have other matters to attend to, I will find a suitable guide for you,” said the Imam.

“Will I be able to schedule a follow up interview?” asked Waters.

“Certainly. Anything to put this minor inconvenience behind us and get Haseena back to her family,” said the Imam.

“When can I schedule an interview?” asked Waters.

“I will make myself available to you whenever you need,” said the Imam as he picked up the phone. “Please have Ramzi come to my office.”

“I thank you for your cooperation in this matter,” said Waters.

“Again, anything to get the child back to her loving family,” said the Imam. Moments later, a knock was heard at the door. “Please come in.”

“You requested me sir?” asked the man after opening the door slightly and peeking his head in.

“Yes, please take Agent Waters here to see whomever he needs to see. Start with the Hassan family and go from there wherever he wishes,” said the Imam.

“Yes sir,” said the man named Ramzi. “If you’ll follow me sir.”

Waters stood and nodded politely at the Imam before leaving the office. He had been gone maybe two minutes when another knock was heard at the door. A man entered without being prompted and stood before the desk. He grabbed a cup of the tea and a bag of sunflower seeds from under the top of the table.

“You and your sunflower seeds,” chuckled the Imam.

“Some people are addicted to drugs, others to cigarettes others still to gambling. Everyone has a vice and mine happens to be sunflower seeds,” laughed the man.

“I suppose there are worse things in the world than being addicted to something like that,” said the Imam. “What information were you able to get on short notice?”

“Steven Waters, age twenty-nine and has been employed with New York State for almost five years. Somewhat recently transferred here from New York City where he was investigated on four occasions for taking bribes to clear cases. However, none of the investigations ever revealed any improper actions on his part as the witnesses would typically clam up and the money trail was cold. Plus there is a political side of the situation here since his family is well connected in New York politics,” said the man.

“And this means?” asked the Imam.

“If he starts nosing around and finding things he might not like, we might need to look to other means to make this problem go away,” said the man.

“The farm will be well fertilized this year?” chuckled the Imam.

“That would raise too many questions,” said the man.

“So what should we do?” asked the Imam.

“I believe he might be swayed by other means,” said the man.

“How much?” asked the Imam.

“Hard to tell. He doesn’t have much in the bank from what my contacts told me, so this probably means he never took much or was never offered a great deal. Or it means his accounts are very well hidden. So some for him, more for his supervisor at the department…not sure exactly how much it will take,” said the man.

“More than what we keep in our petty cash funds?” asked the Imam.

“Possibly so,” said the man.

“Go ahead and get two-fifty. Hopefully that should cover our greedy little agent,” said the Imam, who was used to doing things under the table.

“And if it doesn’t?” asked the man.

“He has skeletons in his closet. Everyone does. Keep digging,” ordered the Imam.

********************

“Mohammed? It’s Ramzi,” said the man as he knocked on the door to the small house.

“Hello Ramzi,” said Mohammed Hassan as he looked past at the other man after opening the door.

“This is Agent Steven Waters from the New York Child Agency. He comes with news of Haseena,” said Ramzi.

“Have you seen my daughter? Is she okay?” asked Hassan excitedly.

“No, I haven’t seen your daughter, but I understand she is okay. I’m here on other matters,” said Waters.

“Such as?” asked Hassan.

“It might take a few minutes,” said Waters.

“Please come in,” said Hassan as he waved the two into his house. It was immaculately clean and fairly devoid of most things families would have like photographs, pictures on the fridge and simple things lying about in the house. Waters saw the wife come out of a bedroom, wearing the traditional Islamic garb, covered from head to toe. She took a seat opposite of him in the living room and sat down. It was a little unnerving to Waters as he was used to seeing people’s facial expressions and gauging their reactions to what he was saying. But this time, he might have to go on the words alone to figure out what was going on.

“I will have to conduct separate interviews, but overall, I am here because your daughter raised some allegations against you and other members of the community here,” said Waters.

“Oh? Is she spinning her web of lies once again?” asked Mohammed.

“I don’t understand,” said Waters.

“Haseena, you may know her as Cindy, has a very vivid imagination. She often creates large tales filled with complete details others would think to miss. Sometimes in jest, other times in order to draw sympathy to her current situations. But she is very convincing,” said Mohammed.

“Can you give a detail of a lie she created?” asked Waters.

“Hmm, once she was off the property in a place she wasn’t supposed to be and got hurt. She made up a tale of being attacked by several boys to cover up the fact she had been in a place where she wasn’t supposed to be. When confronted, the boys were in fact in another place being supervised by an adult. That is just one of the times she has made things up,” said Mohammed.

“How often does she do it?” asked Waters.

“Often enough. Sometimes she would spin great tales around the dinner table for the amusement of others. It kept us laughing, but this time, I suppose I won’t be as humored,” said Mohammed. “Would you like to talk alone first?”

“No, I’d rather have the both of you in the room to start with,” said Waters.

“Okay. This is my wife Adila,” said Mohammed waving his hand at the other side of the couch.

“Ma’am,” said Waters with a nod. He got a nod in return and wondered why the woman was being so silent. “Basically, Cindy Grant…which you call Haseena Hassan…made allegations of physical abuse, possible sexual misconduct and a forced marriage to the local Imam.”

Waters looked at the reactions on Mohammed’s face. Seeing a blank stare originally, the sides of his lips turned upwards slightly before turning down into a frown. “She says she is being physically abused?”

“Yes, and the Tennessee State Police included photographs of evidence to that effect,” said Waters.

“And was to be married to the Imam?” asked Mohammed.

“So she claims,” said Waters.

“What of the sexual misconduct?” asked Mohammed.

“Well, by being forced into marriage, she would not be of the age of consent, and certainly would not give consent. But even if you are married, you can still be raped,” said Waters.

“So the possibility of being sexually abused as opposed to the actual deed?” asked Mohamed.

“Yes,” said Waters.

“Mister Waters, I can assure you we never have abused our daughter and I can most certainly guarantee you she was not to be married to the Imam. He already has a wife,” said Mohammed.

“Isn’t it a Muslim trait to be married to more than one woman?” asked Waters to gauge the reaction.

“I think so, but it is an old custom and certainly not one we practice here,” said Mohammed.

“There was evidence of physical abuse,” said Waters.

“Such as?” asked Mohammed.

“There was evidence of bruising on her back. She made claims she was beaten after going to the local police about the abuse and arranged marriage,” said Waters.

“She went to the local police; and to my knowledge the claims were unsubstantiated,” said Mohammed.

“I’ll be checking into that, but to the point, she claims you were the one who led the abuse,” said Waters to gauge another reaction.

Mohammed’s face turned to anger before he returned the retort. “Mister Waters, I love my daughter, with all my heart love her. She is my first born child and I would never do anything like that to endanger her or abuse her. Haseena has a lot to offer the world and I would never allow anything to harm her or destroy the chances of her making a meaningful contribution to society.”

“There was evidence of multiple attacks,” said Waters.

“Such as?” asked Mohammed.

“She claims she was beaten with a belt, two different types of belts and the marks indicated two different objects were used,” said Waters.

“I don’t own a belt…well, not one I use that is. I tend to use suspenders mainly,” said Mohammed.

“Do you have a belt?” asked Waters.

“I think I do somewhere in my storage,” said Mohammed.

“Can I take a look at it?” asked Waters.

“Certainly. It might take some time to locate it, but you are more than welcome to see it,” said Mohammed.

“Do you mind if I speak to your wife while you are gone?” asked Waters.

“Please. But I hope you understand it is our custom not to show our women’s faces,” said Mohammed.

“I would need to make a positive identification,” said Waters.

“I must be in the room to do so,” said Mohammed. “Go ahead and show the agent you are who you say you are.”

Adila pulled out an old New York Driver’s License from a small portfolio in the desk and handed it over. After handing it over, she removed the niqāb from her head and showed him she was who she said she was.

“Thank you,” said Waters.

“Typically we do not allow our women to be unsupervised when talking to men outside the family. But in this case, I know this is your job here and it will be permitted,” said Mohammed. “Come Ramzi, let’s find this belt our friend thinks I used to abuse my daughter with.”

Mohammed and Ramzi trailed off into the house as Adila put back on the niqāb and sat back down on the couch.

“Mrs. Hassan, you specifically were not mentioned in the reports from your daughter, but I need to know if there is anything going on,” said Waters.

“Nothing is going on here. We just want our daughter back safe,” said Adila.

“You say there is no abuse going on?” asked Waters.

“No,” said Adila simply.

“Would you lie to protect your husband?” asked Waters.

“No,” said Adila.

“Is this place a strict Islamic fundamentalist community?” asked Waters.

“Some might say that, but we are only following Allah’s will here,” said Adila.

“Has your daughter ever mentioned any abuse to you?” asked Waters.

“No,” said Adila, returning to her simple answers.

“Has the Imam ever made any advances towards your daughter?” asked Waters.

“No,” said Adila.

“Has your husband mentioned if he would permit a marriage between the Imam and your daughter?” asked Waters.

“No, the Imam is already married,” said Adila.

“May I see the rest of your children?” asked Waters.

“Yes, my other daughter is here, but my son is in school,” she said.

“Why isn’t your daughter in school?” asked Waters.

“She is a deaf-mute and has special needs. The community cannot teach her effectively,” said Adila.

“Is there no public school that can help?” asked Waters.

“We would prefer our children to be educated here,” said Adila.

“Does Cindy have a boyfriend?” asked Waters.

“No,” said Adila.

“Any male friends?” asked Waters.

“No, Stephen…excuse me, not you Steven, my husband Stephen would not allow it. She is coming of age and needs to be escorted by a male member of the family,” said Adila.

“Any reason to suspect she is going behind your back and seeing a boy which could be abusing her?” asked Waters.

“No,” she said.

“Is your other daughter in the house?” asked Waters.

“Yes, she is in her room. Please remain here,” said Adila as she rose to find her other daughter. She returned after a few moments with a younger girl in tow. He introduced himself and Adila provided the translation.

“This is my daughter, Nawar. She is ten years old,” said Adila.

Waters was not educated in sign language and had to rely on the mother to provide the translation. He asked some simple questions and watched as the silent conversation went back and forth between the mother and daughter. He would have to check to see if there was anyone nearby who could provide the service for follow up interviews. He wasn’t comfortable with the current arrangement since he didn’t know what was being said, but had to rely on the mother right then and there.

“Nawar says she knows nothing of the abuse. She and Haseena were close, closer than most sisters and they would have talked about it,” said Adila after the conversation was over.

“Did she ever see anyone touching or hurting her sister. A friend perhaps?” asked Waters.

Adila translated the message and a shake of the head followed. Another signed conversation followed and Adila translated it as well. “She says Haseena never spoke of anything like this or of any male friends.”

Before Waters was able to ask another question, Mohammed and Ramzi walked back into the room. Mohammed handed over an old canvas belt with a brass buckle.

“This is the only belt I own,” he said and resumed his place on the couch.

Waters looked over the belt and noticed it was in somewhat new condition. Either he hadn’t been wearing it that much or it was brand new. He knew something about the belt in particular since he owned a similar one from a pair of shorts he had bought several years before. “And this is the only belt you own?”

“Yes, you can check with my old employers. It was a running joke with my coworkers with my suspenders,” said Mohammed.

“And what do you do now?” asked Waters.

“I supervise the electrical systems here,” said Mohammed.

“No other employment?” asked Waters.

“No, the community provides for our needs,” said Mohammed.

“I will need to see the remainder of the house if that’s okay with you,” said Waters.

“Please,” said Mohammed with a wave of his hand.

“You seem like you aren’t that worried about all this,” observed Waters as they started looking over the house.

“I will do what I must to get my daughter back. I am not that worried since she has a track record of lying to anyone who will listen. You will discover the truth and she will be returned,” said Mohammed.

“And what will happen to her then?” asked Waters.

“She will be disciplined. Not physical punishment mind you, but she will be restricted and her chores will increase for a time,” said Mohammed.

“Why is that?” asked Waters.

“Well, she certainly went overboard this time. Involving both the State of New York and Tennessee in her little charade does not make me happy in the least,” said Mohammed.

“Why didn’t you put out an Amber Alert?” asked Waters.

“The police advised against it for the moment. But then when we were contacted by the police from Tennessee, we were assured she was in safe hands. I wanted to go down there and pick her up, but the policeman I talked to as well as the Imam advised against it. The Imam said to let things take their natural course and she would be returned in good time,” said Mohammed.

“And you weren’t worried?” asked Waters.

“I spent more than a few sleepless nights worrying over her,” said Mohammed.

The remainder of the house was spotless and the children appeared to be well fed and clothed other than Nawar since she was wearing the Islamic dress. “When will your son be home?”

“This afternoon. Probably around five or so. He stays at the afterschool program and comes home then,” said Mohammed.

“Any way I could talk to him today?” asked Waters.

“We could remove him from class if you would like,” said Mohammed.

“Is it anything he might miss that would be important?” asked Waters.

“I don’t know,” said Mohammed. “Ramzi?”

“I have no idea, but I can check,” said Ramzi as he walked away with a cell phone and made the call.

“Is there a way of being able to talk to my daughter?” asked Mohammed.

“Maybe, I’ll have to check,” said Waters. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll head over to the police department and check in with them. I’ll be back around three or so. Is it a big deal if he misses the afternoon activities?”

“I think for this matter it will be okay,” said Mohammed. “Are there any further questions for us?”

“No, not yet. I’ll need to conduct follow up interviews with each of you as well as your neighbors and friends. And I’ll have to observe the home environment as well as scheduling an interview with Cindy - I mean Haseena. This will probably take at least a week or two,” said Waters as he stood up to leave. Ramzi returned with information.

“Your son is on a school trip today and won’t be back until late this evening,” he informed the group.

“Okay, so tomorrow then?” asked Waters.

“Whatever time you need, we will accommodate you,” said Mohammed.

“I’ll check in later,” said Waters as he departed with Ramzi in tow. After he departed the residence, the phone rang.

“Hello…no…no, I don’t believe he suspects anything yet…as we agreed on, we told the story…I played the worried father of course…she did fine, we heard the conversation over the intercom…he said there would be follow up interviews…I’ll come over and discuss it more in person,” said Mohammed as he hung up the phone. He walked the short distance to the mosque which also served as the “headquarters” for the community. Walking into the office of the Imam, he found two others sitting in the office already.

“What did our friend find out from New York?” asked Mohammed as he took a seat.

“Just as we suspected, our friend has a history,” said the Imam.

“Oh?” asked Mohammed.

“Yes, we are still gathering details, but money always works to get information,” said the man, still chewing on a cheek full of sunflower seeds and spitting out a shell into a plastic bottle.

“You didn’t have to spend any money on my behalf,” said Mohammed. “Our cover would have worked.”

“It is only money and I think the cause is worth it,” said the Imam.

“What kind of history does this Waters man have?” asked Mohammed.

“The kind that most people wouldn’t want to come up again,” said the man.

“And he will be more…understanding to our situation if this information is presented?” asked Mohammed.

“I believe so. Such things, if they are true, tend to make those in the social work clam up and become extremely nervous. All we must do is have him believe we will go to the press or his superiors and I believe he will be more than willing to help us out,” said the man.

“And what now?” asked Mohammed.

“Now we let him think he is doing something important. And when the time is right, we let him know what we know as well as giving him something to keep his mouth shut in the matter. I think our little problem will go our way after that,” said the Imam after a moment to reflect.

“And if it doesn’t?” asked Mohammed.

“There are always accidents,” said the man after spitting out a sunflower shell.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 21



Steven Waters returned to the Islamic Community the next morning after spending quite some time looking over the police report from the local township and interviewing the officers involved in the case. At first appearances, the officers had acted properly, but something in the back of his head kept telling him something was unusual. He didn’t quite know what it was, but at the same time, there was a nagging feeling it was all being staged on his behalf. While he hadn’t interviewed Cindy yet, he felt there had to be some truth to her story. None of the teenagers he had worked with in the past has such vivid and realistic stories about their abuse. Not that this case wasn’t outlandish in the least, but at the same time, where there was smoke, there was often fire. He had conducted a simple check on the community and found there was almost no information to be had except several of the members had active case files with the FBI and DHS or both.

But adding in the fact he was still on somewhat of a probation, he was playing this one by the rules. He would conduct the investigation in an impartial and neutral way, making sure the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed. He headed back into the mosque to look for the Imam to set up additional interviews and let him know the schedule of events. He came to the door and found the congregation was in morning prayer. He stood silently in the foyer area of the mosque and waited for the group to finish up. After the group completed their small devotional service, the departing members looked over Waters silently on their way out. He saw the Hassan family and gave them a polite nod as they walked by, seeing their son for the first time. A nod was returned and the family departed without saying a word.

The Imam and another man were the last ones out of the room and were somewhat surprised to see Waters standing in the hallway waiting for them.

“We thought you were going to return last night,” said the Imam.

“I finished up late at the local police and decided to wait until the morning,” said Waters. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for me.”

“No, we were told. Please come into my office,” said the Imam and was followed by the other man. “And what did you learn at the police station?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to discuss matters pertaining to ongoing investigations with those who are under investigation,” said Waters politely.

“I see…” said the Imam as he sat down behind his desk and stroked at his beard. “How can we help you this morning?”

“I came by to set up additional interviews with you and others in the community. I wasn’t sure of your schedule and it’s better to do it in advance,” said Waters.

“Yes, of course,” said the Imam. “I am available at any time except during prayers.”

“I appreciate your assistance in this matter,” said Waters.

“Yes, but I would like to know where this is heading. I am the unofficial leader of the community here and would like to be able to inform the community of how long this will last,” said the Imam.

“They can take as little as a week or up to a month depending on circumstances,” said Waters.

“And in this case?” asked the unidentified man.

“I’m sorry, but we haven’t been introduced,” said Waters.

“My name is Abdul Ali,” said the man without offering his hand.

“Well, in this case, we are looking at probably upwards of two weeks or so, plus another week of reconciliation with the family with daily meetings. Maybe more, I don’t know,” said Waters.

“Anything we can do to make this process go faster?” asked the Imam.

“No, just cooperate and things will go smoothly,” said Waters.

“I hope you understand Mister Waters we are a private people in our community here. We are hoping to avoid a spectacle in the general public and are hoping this ends sooner rather than later,” said the Imam.

“And anything you can do to speed things up would be greatly appreciated…even rewarding,” said Abdul Ali.

And Waters knew right then they were talking about a bribe. He had heard those words before, maybe not the exact verbiage, but he knew what a subtle hint was when he heard one. While he was unaware of how much they might have to offer, the planned community seemed to be well off and the construction was top notch. Nothing seemed out of date in the community and the members dressed well enough. While he had taken bribes in the past, none of them had ever been over a certain amount, but this one might be lucrative. But he remembered he was somewhat in the hot seat and knew this one needed to be played straight.

“Sometimes just doing our job and seeing things through to the end is rewarding enough,” said Waters.

“Hmm, sometimes in life we meet a man of principles. Are you a man of principle?” asked the Imam.

“I like to think I am,” said Waters.

“Ever violate a principle?” asked Abdul.

“Everyone violates principles,” said Waters evasively.

“So if it was to come out in the news or to the head of the New York Child Services that a member of their organization had…relations with a member of a family they were investigating. What kind of principles would those fall under?” asked the Imam.

Waters felt the color drain from his face and knew the situation he had gotten into three years prior would eventually come back to haunt him. He hoped he had paid the family off enough to keep it quiet, but someone somewhere had a bigger wallet than he did.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” said Waters as he glanced away from the two men.

“I can tell by your reaction you might know a little more than you just let on. There happened to be a nice family in New York City with an attractive daughter around fourteen years of age. Of course she looked older than her years, but age was a factor. Supposedly her father had been abusing her, sexually from what I understand. You knew about this, but to avoid a lengthy and drawn out process, he offered his daughter to you. While she might have been consenting to avoid having her father go to jail, it is still statutory rape according to New York laws. But if she was to say she didn’t consent and the act was forced…well, that’s First Degree Rape according to the State,” said Abdul.

Waters opened his mouth to reply, but couldn’t find words to say right then. He stared down at the floor and knew he had been caught. While he had tried very hard over the past few months to straighten his life out professionally, he knew the resurgence of that particular situation would not only get him fired, but he would probably have a judge throw the book at him, no matter what his political connections were. Sometimes when these things got into the press, there was nothing that could be done about an enraged public screaming for blood.

“That was three years ago,” said Waters quietly.

“The last time I looked, the statute of limitations doesn’t exist in rape cases. But at the very least, it will destroy you and the credibility of the department you work for,” said the Imam in response.

“You have no proof except the testimony of an under aged girl,” said Waters.

“And her father who was later convicted on sexual abuse charges. I’m sure a quick visit to him in prison for another testimony might help his chances of parole,” said Abdul as he took a handful of sunflower seeds out of a bag. “Let’s face it, even the barest indications of sexual impropriety with a minor will get you destroyed in your department. Nobody would ever want to have you work for them again. At best, you are jobless, at worst…well, child sex offenders tend to have a rough time in jail. Seems as if they are on the bottom of the food chain in prison.”

“I…I don’t know how to respond,” said Waters.

“Again, we can make things accommodating to you,” said the Imam, relaxing the grip they had on him slightly.

“How is that?” asked Waters.

“Simple, you do your investigation and Haseena is returned to her family. The basis of her claims will be found to be false and she will be returned to her rightful place in the community,” said the Imam.

“And if the investigation is repeated or cross checked?” asked Waters.

“The basis of her claims is outlandish enough that even the most seasoned investigators would scoff at the idea. Do you have any reason to believe right now there is any basis to her claims?” asked Abdul.

“No, it is pretty out there,” said Waters.

“And other investigators would think the same, no?” asked the Imam.

“Yes, the others I work with would probably say the same thing,” said Waters.

“So do your investigation, file your report and get her back to her family,” said the Imam.

“Why do you want her back so quickly?” asked Waters, curious enough to ask the question.

“You aren’t married so you don’t know what a parent missing their child is like. But I want to reunite that family. They have had enough troubles adapting to the community here save the father and this current situation is causing them more strife. I would like to see them whole again and putting this behind them,” said the Imam.

“Not for personal gain?” asked Waters, still looking for an angle to play.

“I have told you already I am married and have no use for an immature liar. She has caused enough trouble here and we need to get her back under her father’s guidance,” said the Imam.

Waters sat back in his chair and wondered what…how he could get out of this mess he was currently in. He had no other option but to go along with the plans of the community here and go with their desires. “And I have your assurance this matter will be dropped once Haseena is back in her home?”

“Yes, you have our word on that. And if anything was to come up about it, you can always come to us for help in the matter,” said the Imam. “And again, we are generous. I’m sure we can come to an acceptable outcome that benefits everyone including your superiors.”

“That might be needed,” said Waters. “This one came from the State.”

“Abdul will assist you in that matter. But for now, go and do your investigation as you see fit,” said the Imam as a way of dismissing the man.

Waters stood to leave but wanted to say more. But the threat of going to prison far outweighed the words he wanted to say. He slowly turned and left the office and went back to his car. He needed to get away for a while and think about the situation and see if there were any other solutions to the case. As he drove off, the Imam and Abdul watched him leave.

“Do you think he will take the subtle hint?” asked the Imam.

“He should,” said Abdul.

“How did you come up with the information so quickly?” asked the Imam.

“I honestly didn’t. Half it was a stab in the dark as it was only rumored to have happened at his last assignment. No evidence was ever found and I don’t even know the family in question. But rest assured, we will find them,” said Abdul.

“You played a hunch on an important investigation into the community?” asked the Imam.

“Not really a hunch. There was enough substance to the rumor to know something had gone on,” said Abdul.

“But it was still a hunch,” said the Imam.

“Perhaps,” said Abdul. “But a well calculated one. One a criminal, always a criminal and it’s no great stretch of the imagination to guess what horrible things he has done in his life.”

“I’ll give you that,” said the Imam. “And now?”

“Our friend will see the light and we are waiting on the family name in case he needs additional prompting. But I believe our agent will be eating out of our hand before long,” said Abdul.

********************

“I wonder how everything is going,” said Cindy as she scraped off a small weed from around the tomato plants in the garden.

“How what is going?” asked Charlie. “No, dig it out and take the roots as well. If you just take the top and leave the roots, the rest will grow back.”

“I meant the investigation,” said Cindy.

“You shouldn’t worry about things out of your control,” said Charlie, who was also curious about the goings on. While he was knelt over, his cell phone rang. He took a look at the number and recognized the caller immediately. “Hello pretty lady.”

“Hey Charlie,” said Erica Chase. “How are you?”

“Doing good, weeding out the tomato plants. How are you doing?” he asked as he wiped his hands off one at a time and walked away to talk.

“I’m good. I actually called to see how Cindy was doing,” said Erica.

“Want to talk to her?” asked Charlie.

“No, just checking on her. I heard she went in to see Portia Foster and thought that was a nice thing to do even with the way she had been treated by her,” said Erica.

“I never really asked what happened in that situation,” said Charlie.

“Just good old teenage drama along with just a touch of envy. Cindy has a secret admirer,” laughed Erica.

“Toby Reynolds?” asked Charlie.

“The very same,” said Erica.

“Yeah, I got that impression. He does tend to wag his tongue when looking at her,” laughed Charlie.

“Not that I blame him, she’s a pretty girl. But he’s a good kid from all accounts so you don’t have much to worry about,” said Erica.

“I just don’t want to see her hurt by getting involved in someone and then leaving,” said Charlie.

“Are you talking about me?” asked Cindy from the plants.

“Your hearing is quite exceptional,” said Charlie with a chuckle and walked further away out of earshot. “Yeah, she is doing okay I think. She hasn’t mentioned anything and the counselor says it will take quite a bit of time.”

“You thinking of another session while she is here?” she asked.

“Can’t hurt anything,” said Charlie.

“And how are you going to take it?” asked Erica.

“Me? I’ll be fine,” said Charlie.

“Don’t try that on me. You’ve gotten fairly attached to that girl since she’s been here,” said Erica.

“Nah, just doing my civic duty,” laughed Charlie, wondering how Erica saw right through him.

“Yeah right. Let’s face it Charlie, you happen to like being the father figure,” said Erica.

“Okay, maybe just a tad,” said Charlie.

“And possibly there is a family in your future?” asked Erica, subtly hinting at something she dare not say out loud.

“Maybe so, but I’m getting older,” he said.

“Yes, of course you’re over the hill and nobody has children in their thirties this day in age,” laughed Erica. “But there are a few women out there who just don’t care how old you are.”

“Do I know them?” he laughed.

“You might know one or two,” she said and he could just about see the twinkle in her eyes.

“Maybe I’ll ask one or two of them out on a date sometime,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes that he figured she might see.

“Charlie, I like you a lot, but sometimes your beating around the bush gets old,” she said.

“Okay, how about dinner then. Friday night? Just a simple dinner and a movie,” he asked, finding the courage to do so after so many years.

“I believe we can do that. But what about the munchkin?” she asked.

“I can find someone to watch the monkey girl,” said Charlie.

“She’s old enough to be alone for a few hours you know?” asked Erica.

“Maybe so,” said Charlie, but didn’t know the details of being a foster parent. He wasn’t sure whether or not he could just up and leave her for the evening. He would call Mitch later about it.

“Okay, Friday night and we’ll go Dutch. So just a simple dinner with friends with no ties?” she asked.

“I would never make you pay,” he said.

“I know, but I’d rather keep this simple,” said Erica.

“Simple means I pay for it,” he said. “I’m an old fashioned gentleman like that.”

“You are a gentleman,” she agreed. “What time Friday?”

“Let me get back to you on that. I’ll have to check on the Cindy status,” he said.

“Does this mean you might actually call again?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Hey! I called once already,” he objected with a laugh.

“I know, and it was nice to hear from you,” she laughed in return.

“Well thank you ma’am. I aim to please from time to time,” he said. “I’ll let you know soonest about the time.”

“Bye Charlie,” she said.

“Bye-bye Erica,” he said in return and ended the phone call. After returning to the plants, he saw Cindy had almost finished everything up.

“Well? Did you two talk about me the whole time?” asked Cindy.

“Actually no, I have a date thank you,” he said very smugly.

“Well miracles never cease,” said Cindy very sassily.

“Come on now,” said Charlie, still quite full of himself.

“When is this date of yours?” she asked.

“Friday night, time remains to be seen,” he replied and looked over her work.

“How come?” she asked and picked up the basket with the fresh tomatoes in it.

“Well monkey girl, I have to have a place to stash you. I supposed I could tie you up and leave you in the basement, but I figured Mitch might not look too kindly on that idea,” he said.

“I would be okay alone for the evening,” she said.

“I have to check on that,” he said.

“Don’t trust me? I promise to have the party over by the time you get home,” she said with a twinkle.

“You aren’t too old for a babysitter,” he said.

“I’m old enough to babysit!” she objected.

“And you are but I still need to check with Mitch about the whole foster family arrangement,” he said.

“I understand. Poor little girl here can’t cook for herself for one night so her foster provider can go out on a date with a pretty doctor lady,” she said dejectedly.

“You’re horrible,” he said as they walked towards the barn. Along the way, he pulled out his cell phone and called Mitch. “Hey brother.”

“Hey Charlie. What’s going on?” asked Mitch on the other end.

“I had a question. What’s the law say about leaving teenagers alone for the evening?” asked Charlie.

“You’re talking about Cindy? How long are we talking?” asked Mitch, who seemed to be involved in something right then.

“Long enough for dinner and a movie,” said Charlie.

“Doctor Chase?” he asked.

“Yeah, how did you-” Charlie started to say but was cut off.

“Because that pretty thing’s had her eye on you for a while now and eventually you would get it through your thick skull she was worth a try,” said Mitch.

“Yeah, but it’s only a friendly dinner,” said Charlie.

“Yeah right. Listen, I’m kinda busy right now, but long story short, for short periods she will be okay on her own. But if you don’t feel comfortable, she can always come over and stay with Sarah and me. Otherwise, she should be fine on her own,” said Mitch.

“Okay, I’ll let you know about the latter if it comes down to it,” said Charlie.

“Okay, I’ve got to run, see you later,” said Mitch and hung up without giving Charlie a chance to say anything else. Charlie decided to have a little fun at Cindy’s expense.

“So you are saying she needs at least an adult, eighteen…oh, twenty-four to babysit her…yeah…oh, she’ll be fine…sure, I can ask Mary Worthington to watch her, I’m sure she’ll oblige…yeah, maybe have her spend the night with Mary would be okay…oh sure, Mary will probably go along with it…okay, you take it easy,” said Charlie and went through the motions of ending the call.

“What did he say?” asked Cindy, who overheard the conversation.

“Said you needed to be supervised and suggested Mary Worthington. I’ll give her a call,” said Charlie as he went through his contacts list.

“No! Not her! Can’t I stay with Sarah or Mitch?” objected Cindy.

“Why not? She’s a nice lady,” said Charlie as he put his phone up to his ear.

“Because she’s annoying! I only met her and automatically wanted to run away screaming!” objected Cindy.

“Well, you’ll just have to get used to her…Hello Mary? Charlie Gray here…yes, I’m good…and you…okay, got a favor to ask…Cindy, my niece needs a babysitter for the night…Friday…maybe all the way through Saturday morning…I’ll pay for her food if you want…oh, she would love to spend the evening with you,” said Charlie and looked over at Cindy, pleading with her hands clasped together whispering “no” and shaking her head. She looked quite pitiful right then, but he continued his charade. “Okay, Friday evening at five then…yes, I’ll pack in her pajamas and toothbrush…okay, see you then…bye.”

“I can be just fine by myself!” objected Cindy.

“Nope, Mitch says you need adult supervision,” said Charlie.

“But why her?” exclaimed Cindy.

“You can ask her,” said Charlie and handed over the phone. She checked the number and saw it was in the same area code. “Go ahead and call it.”

She hit the send button and wondered why he was making her make the call. But a recorded voice came on the line for the NOAA National Weather Service recorded forecast for East Tennessee. “What’s this?”

“The weather forecast,” said Charlie, trying not to laugh.

“You put me through mental pain and anguish!” exclaimed Cindy.

“I know,” he said, still trying not to laugh.

“You’re a horrible person!” she exclaimed.

“I know,” he said and finally let out a laugh.

“I thought you were for real!” she exclaimed.

“Cindy, that would be the shortest conversation in history with Mary Worthington if it was a call. I’d still be trying to ask the favor if it was actually her,” Charlie said with a laugh.

“You’re mean!” she exclaimed. “But what did Mitch say?”

“Said you were going to be okay by yourself for a few hours while I’m gone. Unless you wanted to stay with him and Sarah,” said Charlie.

“She moved in with him?” asked Cindy.

“Not yet, but probably close,” said Charlie.

“You’re still a big old meanie,” she said and threw her nose in the air.

“I could probably ask Mary, she would be more than willing to do it. But I’m not sure if you could handle the endless questions,” said Charlie.

“No, please don’t,” said Cindy.

“Okay, let’s head inside and check the movie theater to see what’s playing. I figure I could use a girl’s touch on that?” he asked.

“I can definitely find you something utterly romantic and heart grabbing. A good chick flick that will even amaze her with your choice,” said Cindy.

“It’s just a friendly dinner,” said Charlie.

“It’s a date and get used to that fact,” said Cindy as she plopped down behind the computer. “Now let’s find you a romantic movie.”

********************

Steven Waters looked at the almost empty bottle of Southern Comfort in front of him. After taking a long drive, he had gone into a package store and picked up a bottle and returned home. In drinking, he was seeking wisdom, which typically doesn’t come together with alcohol. But drink he did and thought about the mess he had gotten himself into. Three years ago, he was investigating a sexual abuse case against a family in New York City. A suspicious neighbor had been the one to place the call to begin with and the investigation actually showed promise of wrongdoing. After his investigation was almost complete, he received a visit from the daughter of the family, the same one who had been abused. She pleaded with him to find her father innocent as she couldn’t bear the thought of him going away to prison. Eventually she offered the one thing she had yet to and he had given into temptation. While he knew it was illegal and immoral, he had been drawn into her world of pleas and cries and finally gave in to lust. He found the father innocent of any wrongdoing, but had later found out they had put the daughter up to it.

And holding this over his head, he was forced to pay them off for their silence, handing over a considerable amount of money to do so. And they had kept quiet about it, even after the father had been reinvestigated and found guilty. But he had kept his word and not said a word about the arrangement they had made. While it was always in his mind taunting him, he figured he had seen the end of the situation, at least until this morning.

Little did Waters know Abdul had a wide net of sources within the New York State Government. Money often helped for information and this time it had paid off. He had called in a favor looking for information about Waters and found the dirt in his past. While taking bribes was one thing they could hold over his head, it had never stuck before and he figured it wouldn’t be the best item to throw at him. But there were rumors of wrongdoings in one particular case and the individual Abdul had talked with had merely guessed at the impropriety of Waters. But he had hit the nail on the head and Abdul saw they had him right in the hangman’s noose. After he refused the bribe, Abdul knew he needed to yank the man’s chain once again to get his attention. Taking a wild swing, he mentioned that specific case and was rewarded with a home run.

Waters knew not only his career, but his life would be over. While his family was somewhat well connected in New York State politics, they would turn their back on him in a heartbeat over this situation. He thought about running and taking his chances with the law, but also knew they would eventually catch up to him and the Islamic community could not be trusted to keep their mouth shut if he decided to run and let someone else conduct the investigation. He saw they were holding Aces over Kings in this game of poker and he had no other option but to go along with their plans.

And it could be profitable for him as well he thought as he took another swig of the bottle with a little dribbling down his chin. He had no other choice but to clear the case and leave it at that. But they had also offered the bribe after making the not so subtle remarks over his former mistakes. So he would take them up on it with enough to guarantee his supervisor’s silence as well. Not that he had much choice in the matter, but he would go upwards of fifty thousand to make sure his supervisor went along. Besides having money in his family, the bribes he had taken in his past were still squirreled away in various bank accounts under aliases and in a fireproof box in a hidden hole in the floor. All in all, this could turn out very much in his favor and in bringing his boss along with him he would make an ally in the process to help conceal the truth.

But he still remembered the fact the girl’s claims had to have some sort of truth behind them. They wouldn’t have offered the bribe otherwise. He still felt somewhat of a sense of duty to see this case through to the end, but the alcohol was clouding his thinking and he only saw the one option as his only relief from the situation at hand. He never considered the fact he could just face judgment and let the cards lie as they fell.

He made a choice that night, a choice to help the community get her back. He had been able to survive the background checks and investigations before and knew he would land on his feet again if the matter ever came back up. He would have to extremely falsify the report to include interviews, testimonies and the overall condition of the community. But again, these were things he had done before and had enough practice in to make the perjury stick.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 22



Steven Waters walked into the office fairly nervously. He had been at a convention in Buffalo the day prior and had been unable to make contact with the Imam or his assistant until that morning. He had taken a day of paid vacation and gone back out to the community to follow up on their offer.

“Have you reached a decision?” asked the Imam.

“I have,” said Waters.

“And?” asked Abdul.

“I’ll get the girl back here,” said Waters quietly.

“We thank you for that,” said the Imam.

“And the question now remains of the proper incentive?” asked Abdul.

“It will take some to help keep my superiors quiet,” said Waters.

“How much?” asked Abdul.

“Depends on how much you are offering,” said Waters.

“An exact sum would be nice,” said Abdul.

“Fifty for my boss,” said Waters.

“And for you?” asked Abdul.

“What are you offering?” asked Waters.

“We can start at the same amount,” said Abdul.

“For committing perjury and falsifying an official report?” asked Waters. “It might take more than that.”

“You have gotten greedy since your last bribe,” said Abdul. “We know your last price came in at an amount far less than that.”

“Times change,” said Waters.

“So they do…one hundred,” said Abdul.

“Five hundred,” said Waters.

“You are insane. We will go to the press and take our chances with another investigator,” said Abdul.

“That takes into account additional funds to be passed out if needed,” said Waters.

“I know it won’t take that much,” said Abdul.

“And my cut as well,” said Waters, noticing the Imam was quiet through the negotiations.

“One fifty,” said Abdul.

“Four hundred,” said Waters and looked at Abdul.

“Two fifty and not a penny more,” said Abdul. “I could only guess you already have a good amount saved up from your last situations.”

“Three hundred,” said Waters with one final offer.

“Two fifty or the deal is off,” said Abdul adamantly.

“I agree to that,” said Waters after thinking for a moment. He would have been willing to settle at fifty thousand dollars, but figured it was worth a try to get more. A quarter of a million dollars would set him up nicely for some of the things he had planned and add to the sum in his accounts.

“And where would you like the funds transferred to?” asked Abdul.

“Yeah right and create an electronic signature that leads right back to me? Cash will be fine thank you very much. Franklins and Grants will work great,” said Waters, feeling a little smugger about the situation.

Abdul reached behind his chair and retrieved an ordinary looking gym bag. Handing it over to Waters, he knew he had just seriously violated several laws in the process, but he was the kind of person that ignored the law as long as he got results from it. “There is your share although there are several bundles of twenties in there as well.”

“And for my boss?” asked Waters.

“We will need to make arrangements. By this afternoon we should have what you require,” said Abdul.

“And the investigation?” asked the Imam.

“I’ll talk it over with my boss, but I’ll probably have to sit on the final report for another week. Otherwise it might look suspicious,” said Waters.

“Are you stalling?” asked the Imam.

“No, but these cases typically take a little longer to finish up,” said Waters.

“You informed us before it sometimes only took a week,” said the Imam.

“But in something this complex, it would take a little longer to finish up the interviews and observations,” said Waters sensibly. The Imam looked at Abdul and received a nod in reply as if he was saying “yes, the infidel is telling the truth in this matter.”

“Very well then, do you have anything further for us today?” asked the Imam.

“I will need to speak to Hassan again. I need more specific details to put into my report,” he replied.

“I will see to it he is available,” said the Imam as he reached for the phone. “Please have Mohammed Hassan come to my office.”

“When will you approach your superior?” asked Abdul.

“Probably tonight at his home,” said Waters. “And it’s better to have the money in hand already.”

“As I said, this afternoon,” said Abdul.

“Would you mind if I stepped out and started working on my report?” asked Waters.

“You have a computer with you?” asked the Imam.

“Yes,” said Waters as he motioned at his attach

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 22 CONTINUED:

[Gwynmael]

I've hesitated to comment, want to make sure everyone has a chance to see that Grand has posted a new chapter.

You sir, have a gift! I check the site at LEAST 3 times a day to see if there's a new chapter! I try to be patient, but it is difficult when the story & writing are of this caliber.
Do you possible have older stories you could post that would feed our reading beasts? I'll try harder to be patient.