Second Chance:

[Ozarks Lady]

Great to have a fresh chapter so fast. Thanks it was great.

[barfife]

thanks for a new chapter....been looking forward to it.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 34



Nine days later


The assembled congregation saw a man walking forward prior to communion being served. It caused more than a few voices to waver and a few to stop singing altogether. But Jeff Tilson wasn’t being stopped by anyone right then and there. He went to the front pew and had a seat, looking at the ground the whole time. It wasn’t his first time in the front of the church, but it was a place he hadn’t been in a long time. The minister came forward and sat down with him, speaking softly. Jeff spoke back to him, still looking at the ground with a vacant stare. He continued speaking and those towards the front of the sanctuary could see tears streaming down his face. The song had stopped and slight whispers were heard from the front pew. Jeff put his head down in his hands and continued crying, not caring who saw him or what they thought.

The minister put his hand on his back and leaned over to speak softly in his ear. Jeff nodded slightly and spoke once again, the tears still coming down his face. The minister spoke once again and received another nod. He patted him on the back once again and stood in front of the congregation.

“Today Jeff Tilson has come forward to ask for the prayers for his daughter. She is still in critical condition, but is expected to make a full recovery in time. But the road will be long and hard for her and he has asked for the collective prayers of us all during her trying times. Let us pray together.”

“Oh Lord our mighty savior. We humbly ask your prayers today and all days for the healing of Whitney Tilson. Provide her with your strength, dear Lord, and with the fortitude to endure the long road ahead of her. We ask you provide your strength to her family as well as they endure this burden with her. Guide, guard and protect her and her family, dear Lord and they will find comfort in your love. From Psalms we learn to cast our burdens on You and You will not let us fall. Today, we humbly ask You take the burden from Whitney Tilson and her family and return her to good health. In Your name we pray, amen.”

The congregation had a spattering of “amen’s” that followed and the minister moved on to his next prayer.

“In addition, Jeff has come forward today asking for forgiveness for his sins. He has asked for prayers as he begins his long road to redemption and for guidance in starting a new life. The Lord teaches us to forgive, seventy times seven if it needs to be, and to forget old transgressions. Also, from Luke we remember the story of the lost son. We will celebrate as Jeff was once lost, but has now been found. He was dead, but is alive again with the willingness to embrace the spirit of the Lord.”

“Paul wrote to the Corinthians ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.’ Today Jeff has come before us wishing to become a new creation in Christ our Lord. And is asking for the prayers of the congregation to help him on his path of following the Lord. We can all learn a lesson here today that there is strength in the Lord. So let us pray again.”

“Oh merciful Lord, we come before you today to ask you forgive the sins of Jeff Tilson. He has come before this congregation today and expressed his remorse in the sins of his past. He is willing to take You into his heart once again, dear Lord, and we ask for your guidance as he starts his new path in life, walking hand in hand with you. He will be tempted dear Lord, but with You being the steadfast rock in his life, he will endure the temptations of this life and persevere. Guide, guard and protect him almighty Lord as he starts his new life. In Your name we pray, amen.”

There was something to be said about starting a new life once again. And even though Jeff Tilson had seen…and been part of his share of bad things in life, several of the congregation stepped forward to let him know they were thinking of his daughter and wished him the best. But many of them couldn’t find themselves able to forgive him just yet. But as all things in life, he would have to work hard to prove he had changed. And his journey had just begun.

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

“This waiting and political posturing is not helping! They should be taking active measures to retrieve my daughter!” growled Mohammed Hassan at the Imam.

“They cannot at this time,” said the Imam patiently.

“Then we should be taking active measures!” he exclaimed.

“And possibly ruin all we have worked for?” said the Imam.

“How can you be so calm about this?” asked Hassan.

“It is a trait I have learned over the years. Let this play out the way they want it to. In the end we will have what we want,” said the Imam.

“So we know where she is?” asked Hassan.

“Abdul is looking for her,” said the Imam.

“And no progress?” asked Hassan.

“These things take time my friend. Abdul is good at his job and we should let him do what is necessary,” said the Imam. “Insha’ Allah.”

“These things take too long,” said Hassan, tempering himself.

“As God wills it. In time, we will be rewarded,” said the Imam.

“I will be patient,” said Hassan, but wanting to take a more active role in finding his daughter and arranging a meeting with Allah with those who were keeping her. As he was departing, a car was pulling up. It was Steven Waters coming by unannounced. Hassan had no desire to speak with him at that moment and went back to his house. Waters was met at the door and showed into the office of the Imam.

“It’s not looking good. They might be reinvestigating the case,” said Waters.

“Why?” asked the Imam.

“Pressure from Tennessee. There are some that think this will be the best way of getting her back sooner,” said Waters.

“This is not acceptable,” said the Imam.

“Our cover will work as long as the key players continue to say the same story,” said Waters.

“They have all been advised to say what you put in your report. Another investigation will go nowhere,” said the Imam.

“And if I am investigated?” asked Waters.

“Surely you didn’t start spending the money already?” asked the Imam.

“No, nothing I couldn’t afford already,” said Waters.

“You should be more careful,” warned the Imam.

“And if I am investigated again?” asked Waters.

“You have been so before and nothing was found,” said the Imam.

“Yes, but there was never this much heat on me before,” said Waters.

“If it comes down to it, we will assist you in these matters. We can help you avoid an investigation or trial. We are faithful to those who do us favors,” said the Imam.

“As long as I have a safe harbor,” said Waters. “Otherwise, our department is looking at another investigation and my cousin is assisting in lining things up with the Governor. Very soon he will be placing a phone call to the Governor of Tennessee and discussing the matter.”

“Why take so long?” asked the Imam.

“It’s the way things are done. Politics at work,” said Waters.

“Is there anything to speed up this process?” asked the Imam.

“Not anything right now. Money might work in the long run, but for the moment, let the politicians do what they have to do,” said Waters.

“She should be returned immediately to her rightful place in her family,” said the Imam.

“I can’t speed things up,” said Waters.

“Have you tried?” asked the Imam.

“I can’t without arousing suspicion,” said Waters.

“Haseena needs to be returned to her family,” said the Imam. “Do you have anything else?”

“No,” said Waters and took that as his sign to leave. After he departed, the Imam went to see Abdul.

Abdul looked through the online newspapers and limited the search to those in upper East Tennessee. It was a long shot, but in searching for information, sometimes even the experienced slipped up and put full names into newspapers and articles.

Let’s see here, what’s the name of the next town and county…Erwin, Cindy, Cynthia, Grant, Haseena, Hassan and Unicoi County, he thought as he typed in the search words into the computer and hit enter. He figured it was a long shot using her Muslim name, but sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut. He got a lot of hits since the words being used were fairly common in that part of the world and started looking through the keywords highlighted in the search engine.

Hmmm, Casey Grant, Cindy Grace, Cynthia Grace, Cindy Grate, Cindy Gray...nothing. Let’s check a few of these names out just in case. Casey Grant serving in Afghanistan with sister…no, not her. Cindy Grace engaged to local boy, wedding at Ninth Street Baptist Church…no picture, next article, Cynthia Grace marriage…okay, this one…no picture of her. I supposed the photographer didn’t like her or something…Cindy Grace wins award, finally, no, that isn’t her…well maybe bears a passing resemblance, but she’s too young to be getting married…well, at least in that part of the world, but let’s see if we can get a better picture…no…still not her…Cindy Grate wins academic award…no picture…Cindy Grate to compete at State level academic competition…picture kind of, no that girl is Latina…church group saves local girl from flooded creek-

“Find anything?” asked the Imam as he came into the office.

“No, nothing yet. It’s a reach to think they would be so casual about putting her in the papers,” said Abdul as he took a break from the computer screen and wiped at his eyes.

“One never knows what they will turn up,” said the Imam.

“True, but they have been fairly effective at concealing her so far,” said Abdul.

“Do you need help?” asked the Imam.

“No, I started this, I want to finish it,” said Abdul.

“How are you going about this?” asked the Imam.

“I am using the main highways into Tennessee from New York as my guide and going east to west. I-81 was my first attempt and now I am onto I-26. Later I will move onto the other Interstates. Basically, I am searching around the Interstates and into the local communities that are somewhat close,” said Abdul.

“And no luck so far?” asked the Imam.

“Not yet, it is a long shot, but it is worth a try. Sometimes it is better to try the impossible rather than wait for something to happen,” said Abdul.

“Let me know what you require and it will be provided,” said the Imam.

“I will find her,” said Abdul resolutely and refreshed the browser to a new screen to continue his search. Elizabethton, Cindy, Cynthia, Grant, Haseena, Hassan and Carter County…

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

“School is starting up,” said Mitch the next day. Cindy was off with Sarah in Johnson City doing a little light shopping and just getting out for a change.

“Yeah, that time of year,” said Charlie.

“I’ve arranged for a special deal with the school system here. Basically, you can home school Cindy provided she passes the assessment tests,” said Mitch.

“We don’t want her checked in?” asked Charlie.

“Too visible,’ said Mitch. “You’ve got a Masters Degree, you can teach her.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve done a lot of that stuff,” said Charlie.

“True, but it will come back to you. But if she’s as smart as you say she is, there won’t be much tutoring needed,” said Mitch.

“When?” asked Charlie.

“We’ll let the school year get started and bring her on up. Maybe in another week or so,” said Mitch.

“You setting everything up?” asked Charlie.

“I can, won’t take that long and I can talk to the guidance counselor to help keep his yap shut,” said Mitch.

“What’s the normal course load for kids these days?” asked Charlie.

“That four bell thing is kind of weird. Not like when you and I were in school together. Maybe four I think,” said Mitch.

“Odd,” said Charlie. “Anything else going on in the world?”

“Yeah, talked to the Mayor this morning. Told me to give you this,” said Mitch as he handed over a small cardboard box. Charlie looked at it oddly and opened it up to find a Deputy Sheriff badge from Unicoi County inside.

“What’s this?” asked Charlie.

“Reserve commission. You are hereby deputized and all that jazz. I’ll need you to stop by and fill out some paperwork, but we figured you would be an okay replacement until I get some other hands hired on,” said Mitch.

“And?” asked Charlie, knowing there was more. It was something he and Mitch had talked about in passing from time to time and Charlie had volunteered to help when needed. But he wasn’t expecting a full reserve commission in the department.

“And this makes you legal in case something were to happen to Cindy,” said Mitch.

“Never thought of myself as a law man,” he said, genuinely shocked at the situation.

“Can’t think of a better man to help out when I need it,” said Mitch.

“Wow,” was all Charlie could say.

“You won’t be saying that if I have to call you at two in the morning,” laughed Mitch.

“You might get an earful,” laughed Charlie.

“I’ll have Sarah call you instead,” he laughed.

“So Jeff Tilson turned State’s Witness and gave up everything?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, dealers, fields, distributors…everything,” said Mitch. “More than a few cops and a judge are finding themselves in a predicament today.”

“Any of your guys?” asked Charlie.

“Two deputies and three city cops. They are currently wondering how they ended up on the wrong side of the bars,” said Mitch. “Which is why I suddenly need some reserve deputies.”

“I’m a little…surprised,” said Charlie after finding the appropriate word.

“Everyone gets a wakeup call in their life. Jeff was past due on his,” said Mitch.

“Heard he was in church as well,” said Charlie.

“Guess he is running with his second chance,” said Mitch.

“You know he came to see me not long after this whole thing blew up? Offered his assistance with protecting Cindy and all,” said Charlie.

“No, you never mentioned it,” said Mitch.

“Didn’t cross my mind to. I kind of forgot about it until recently,” said Charlie.

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt having the Tilson bunch watching over your place,” said Mitch.

“They tend to get a little rowdy,” laughed Charlie.

“That’s an understatement. And suspiciously I had a present gift wrapped on the court house steps the other day. Seems one of the guys from the drive by mysteriously appeared along with a tape of his confession,” said Mitch.

“Which is probably inadmissible in court,” said Charlie.

“It is, but we got to digging around and found a slew of other charges. Give us some time, we’ll get a legal confession out of him,” said Mitch.

“And then?” asked Charlie.

“Well, Jeff is in an interesting situation. He flat refused to go into witness protection, but gave up everything. He’s kind of a marked man now, but he’s facing it pretty strong,” said Mitch.

“Strange,” said Charlie.

“It’s what happens when a member of your family gets hurt over something you did,” said Mitch.

“True,” said Charlie. “When can I come by for the paperwork?”

“Whenever you get into town next,” said Mitch.

“Anything from Nashville?” asked Charlie.

“No, Anderson called me from his drop phone and let me know they were still waiting on New York,” said Mitch.

“No timeline?” asked Charlie.

“Nope, we just wait for them,” said Mitch. “You have plans for the remainder of the week?”

“I’ve finished the rough work on the stocks for the new rifles I’m building and need to start the fine tuning. Plus working on the car as I’ve been meaning to do,” said Charlie.

“That old beat up Firebird? You’ve been tinkering with that thing for years,” said Mitch.

“Yeah, I dabble at it here and there,” said Charlie. “I need to step back from the gunsmithing for the moment and probably will work on the car.”

“You’ll never get that thing back together again,” laughed Mitch.

“I’ll race you when I’m done,” laughed Charlie as they moved on to speaking of simpler times when they both drive fast cars and took wild chances. Both had somehow survived the wild youth and wondered her they ever got past those times alive with laughs and fond moments of nostalgia.

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

“Nothing from New York yet?” asked the Governor.

“Nothing,” said Anderson, giving his report as requested.

“What are they waiting on?” asked the Governor. “Should I call first?”

“Maybe it would help speed things up,” said Anderson.

“Politics at work up there?” asked the Governor.

“Maybe so,” said Anderson.

“How’s the investigation proceeding?” asked the Lieutenant Governor.

“Pretty well. I am probably going to be getting the pertinent parties together this Friday for a group meeting,” said Anderson.

“Taking longer than usual?” asked the Governor.

“Without help from New York, it isn’t easy,” said Anderson.

“How’s that Sheriff First legislation coming along?” asked the Governor.

“Fairly well. The final draft will be done on Thursday with the changes you recommended,” said the Lieutenant Governor.

“Anything else I should know about?” asked the Governor.

“Yes, we want to send up a man to infiltrate the community in New York,” said Anderson.

“Is it legal?” asked the Lieutenant Governor.

“Not entirely illegal, but in a grey around between the two,” said Anderson.

“If he is caught?” asked the Governor.

“You will have to answer some pretty pointed questions,” said Anderson.

“What can we hope to accomplish?” asked the Governor.

“Confirmation on some of the claims made by Cindy. Folks like to brag and we might get lucky on some of the things we are looking for,” said Anderson.

“You have my permission,” said the Governor after thinking for a few moments.

“He will be headed out later this week,” said Anderson.

“Tell him to be careful,” said the Governor.

Anderson took his leave of the Governor and went to find the Agent who often went in undercover. Although this time, he would be far out of his jurisdiction and without official cover. However, they really needed more information about the inner workings of the community and more specifically about the residents. With him getting more incriminating evidence, they would have a more solid case against the community and a better chance of guaranteeing Cindy’s safety. After Anderson departed, the Governor turned back to the Lieutenant Governor.

“How did the meeting go with the 6th Circuit Court?” he asked.

“Not bad. The judge is in our pocket for this if we need him. He’ll squeeze us in on the docket when we call,” said the Lieutenant Governor.

“He supports this?” asked the Governor.

“Absolutely. We go back a ways and he knows the dangers of the radical Muslims. He’s fully in our court,” said the Lieutenant Governor.

“And it will not be challenged?” asked the Governor.

“Maybe, but that means New York has to send a lawyer into court. Hopefully our Attorney General won’t fold under the pressure,” said the Lieutenant Governor.

“Yeah, I hope so as well,” said the Governor, knowing he couldn’t replace the man if he wanted to. “Why are we assuming the worst case is all this?”

“Better to assume we are going to be fighting the uphill battle rather than thinking everything will be hunky-dory and go our way,” said the Lieutenant Governor, not realizing just how far uphill the battle would be fought.

[RunAndGun]

Grand, as usual you have me on the edge of my seat.

Looking forward to another chapter and thank you!

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 33 CONTINUED

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 33


“Sir, I have an Agent John Anderson that needs to speak with you,” said the secretary to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director.

“What about?” he asked.

“Said he would only speak with you about it,” said the secretary. “You’ve got another meeting in twenty minutes. This is the only time I can squeeze him in.”

“Show him in,” said the Director as he finished typing out an e-mail to one of the State Representatives. The Agent came inside and stood politely in front of his desk until he was acknowledged. The Director hit the send button before speaking to him.

“Sorry about that. Another request from a Representative,” said the Director and shook Anderson’s hand. “I don’t believe we’ve ever met formally have we?”

“Not formally sir, just very briefly at a conference in Knoxville,” said Anderson.

“Please sit down,” said the Director as he motioned at the seat. “What can I do for you today?”

“If you don’t mind sir, this might take a few minutes to brief you in on,” said Anderson.

“I have another meeting in about twenty minutes,” said the Director.

“Hopefully this won’t take that long,” said Anderson as he started to brief on the situation in upper East Tennessee. The Director stopped him at certain points and asked for clarification before asking the obvious question.

“How does this affect us?” he asked.

“Simple, she came to us for help,” said Anderson. “And I’m coming to you for assistance as well.”

“Why involve my office?” asked the Director.

“There’s some bad things happening in New York. We initiated another request for an investigation and got a return call from a State Representative basically ordering us to turn over the girl,” said Anderson.

“And why wouldn’t we?” asked the Director.

“Because of this,” said Anderson and handed over a recording of the conversation between Cindy and the two in New York. The Director looked at the recording with puzzlement until he started getting into the gist of the conversation. A dark frown came over his face as he continued going on.

“And the Representative told you…us we needed to give her up or what?” asked the Director.

“Or they would call it a kidnapping, get the FBI involved and the Governor. And it just so happens the Representative is the cousin of the investigator on the recording there,” said Anderson.

“Have we contacted the New York State Police about this?” asked the Director.

“We have,” said Anderson.

“And their official position?” asked the Director.

“Apparently the Representative is on the committee that controls their funding…they haven’t been very forthcoming about assisting us,” said Anderson.

“They turned down the opportunity to take care of their problems in house?” asked the Director.

“And told us to return the girl or else,” said Anderson.

“Or else what?” asked the Director.

“Or else they would be calling the FBI with the kidnapping charge. Said we were committing a criminal act by keeping her in state until they had a chance to reinvestigate,” said Anderson.

“That’s a crock! She came to us!” thundered the Director.

“I know,” said Anderson.

“And they threatened us? A professional law enforcement agency? They dared to call us criminals?” demanded the Director.

“Yes sir,” said Anderson. The phone rang on the director’s desk and he took the call.

“I don’t care, reschedule the appointment and give them my regards. Cancel all my appointments for the remainder of the day! And I want you to patch me in to the head of the New York State Police immediately!” he said forcefully into the phone. Apparently he took the message quite personally. “Where is she at?”

“She is with a family in upper East Tennessee. You want to know the specific location?” asked Anderson.

“No, not yet. I want her protected though. Night and day until we get this mess straightened out,” said the Director.

“Already done through the local sheriff,” said Anderson.

“Do you have the investigation case file?” asked the Director.

“Yes sir,” said Anderson and handed over a thick envelope with a copy of the case file prepared by Steven Waters in it. The Director skimmed over it for a couple of minutes before his phone rang.

“Director Pete Lyons speaking,” said the Director.

“This is the Administrator of the New York State Police. How can I help you Director?” asked the voice on the other end of the phone.

“I’ve got an agent here telling me about-” he started to say but was interrupted.

“About a fifteen year old liar who needs to be sent back to our State immediately and turned over to her family,” said the Administrator.

“Excuse me?” asked the Director.

“Yes, one Haseena Hassan, also known as Cindy Grant, needs to be returned to our State immediately. She is a runaway from her family and we know you have her there. Return her immediately before we have to get the Federal authorities involved,” said the Administrator.

“Return her without you even conducting a proper investigation into the misconduct of one of your state agents?!” demanded the Director.

“We have every intention of reinvestigating the case, but in the meantime, the original report was validated and stands. She can and will be released back to her family immediately. She is a known liar and has drawn you into one of those lies. If I don’t hear from you or a representative of your department within twenty-four hours that she is on the next plane up here, I will be forced to upgrade her status to kidnapped and send out the alert. And since she is over State lines, the FBI gets involved,” said the Administrator.

“How dare you threaten me?! We are not kidnappers and we will not be threatened! You need to check the professional conduct of your own State Agencies before you go pointing the finger at us mister! How dare you accuse us of kidnapping when she came to us for help?!” thundered the Director in a loud bass voice.

“And you will be helping us by sending her back to her family,” said the Administrator.

“Negative! Not until we receive confirmation her father is in jail, the agent who investigated the case is in jail and her family is safe from that community! There will be no discussion about this!” shouted the Director.

“You give me no choice but to get the Governor and the FBI involved. Your twenty-four hours starts now,” said the Administrator and hung up the phone.

The Director slammed the phone back into the cradle, breaking the handset in the process. He stewed for several moments before going off on a rant about the pompous Administrator, New York State in general and of the situation at hand. Anderson sat silently through the entire ordeal until the Director finished up. The Director started to pick up the phone and saw the broken handset. He went to the door and called for each and every leadership position that happened to be in the building at that time. It took two minutes for them to assemble after having been prompted by the secretaries and informed the Director was in a bad mood. After they crammed into the office, they all received orders.

“I want an investigation started on this whole situation from our end. I want that agent investigated, I want that family investigated and I want that whole community investigated! I want answers no matter how you get them! I wouldn’t expect any help from them on this so if we have to send in people undercover to get the information, so be it! There is a blanket authorization on undercover work in reference to this case from now until it’s closed!”

“And I want her protected! I want her to be Yasser Arafat, moving around so they cannot find her until we get the situation under control! And nobody, I repeat NOBODY knows where she is at unless they absolutely, positively have to know! And those that do know take that secret to the grave with them!” exclaimed the Director. He calmed down slightly and took account of the situation. Turning and pointing at Anderson, he finished his orders. “And you need to be ready to brief the Governor.”

“Sir?” asked Anderson.

“Yep, you’re in this up to your neck Special Agent Anderson,” said the Director. “From now on, Agent Anderson is in charge of a Task Force for this investigation. He answers to me and me only and can call on any of your divisions for support. You will give him what he needs. Am I understood?”

Nods and “yes sirs” were heard from around the room. Anderson looked fairly shocked at the announcement since he was only here because a friend at the State Patrol had called in a favor. But since he was charged with leading the Task Force, he would do so to the best of his ability.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go cool down,” said the Director as he stormed out of the office. He wondered why he didn’t have a punching bag in his office and needed some form of physical release right then to help “cool down.” But a walk on the grounds should help him calm down in light of what happened over the phone. But he didn’t know when he set out he would become angrier at the situation as a whole and would end up calling the Governor in a rage later on. After the Director left the office in a storm, everyone turned to Anderson with puzzled looks on their faces.

“Okay, who is being moved around like Yasser Arafat and who specifically are we investigating?” asked the Director of the Forensic Services Division.

“We probably need a conference room to spread out. Can you all give me about ten minutes to get prepared?” asked Anderson.

“Anyone special we will need to bring?” asked another division head.

“I have no idea yet,” said Anderson honestly as he was in up to his neck right then.

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

“Well, I passed on the message as you instructed,” said the Administrator of the New York State Police.

“And their reply?” asked Harley Waters.

“I don’t think we will be exchanging Christmas cards with the TBI,” he replied.

“Do you think they will send her back?” asked Harley.

“I don’t know. Probably will though,” said the Administrator. “You start waving the FBI in their face and they tend to back off.”

“Have you already called the FBI?” asked Harley.

“I’ve talked to a few friends there, but nothing more than informal contacts,” said the Administrator.

“Okay, keep it in mind. I’ve got a meeting with the Governor and Attorney General scheduled,” said Harley.

“We probably should still look into your cousin’s dealings up there,” suggested the Administrator.

“He’s being taken care of already. You don’t need to bother,” said Harley.

“It’s going to be quite the mess no matter what,” said the Administrator.

“We’ll come out winning on the end,” said Harley as he hung up the phone and checked his schedule. His meeting with the Governor would be the next day and he would be presenting him additional evidence of the campaign contributions of the community and their links. Not that the Imam had contributed directly to the campaign of the New York Governor, but apparently he had several friends that did quietly behind the scenes. And that little tidbit of information would come in handy when he had his meeting.

But he also remembered his cousin had gotten them into this mess to begin with. He had been chastised at length already and needed to be reminded constantly of the disadvantages of taking a bribe. He never understood why Steven did so since the family was fairly well off financially and the money he took from the bribes could easily be duplicated by the family had he only asked. But some people just had a money issue and couldn’t get enough of it no matter what. And his greedy cousin probably happened to be one of those people. But this time he had stepped into the crank big time and it was coming back around on him. Hopefully he would wise up and be set on the straight and narrow for the time being. Harley considered trying to find him a job within the State Legislature, possibly as an aide to one of the various Representatives or Senators since he figured that would be a far better place to have him instead of working in an agency where there was so much temptation around. He made a note to remind himself to look into it when the opportunity arose.

But in the meantime, he prepared for his conference with the Governor and Attorney General. He knew they could and would be swayed by his information and he figured it was all nothing more than a formality to get them to exert some pressure on Tennessee to get the girl returned. Nobody wanted a Governor and the FBI on their bad side at the same time and Tennessee would crumble at the pressure from the outside. He was sure of it.

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

“No, the grey border goes in here and the blue border goes in the kitchen,” said Erica as she saw Charlie getting ready to put up the new border.

“I thought you said it matched the couch?” said Charlie.

“I did, but I meant the grey one,” she said with a smile.

“You’re impossible,” he said with a shake of his head as he came off the stepladder and started folding it up.

“I would have done this a long time ago you know? I like interior decorating,” smiled Erica.

“Haven’t really had a need for a woman’s touch until recently,” he smiled.

“And is it so bad?” she asked.

“I think I’ve been missing something over the years,” he smiled back at her and gave her a quick kiss in passing. “You ready for lunch soon?”

“After the mongo breakfast we ate?” she asked.

“I would be willing to bet pennies to dollars there is a hungry teenager with good ears around here somewhere,” said Charlie with a grin.

“Yes, I’m hungry,” called Cindy from the kitchen.

“See?” laughed Charlie and added in a low voice. “Anything in particular you want?”

“Food,” called Cindy.

“Has she had her hearing tested yet?” asked Erica.

“No,” he said. “But I’m guessing she could hear a pin drop from two miles away.”

“I heard that,” Cindy called from the kitchen. Both Charlie and Erica laughed and made arrangements to have a working lunch. The house was being reformed from a place to live into a home quickly, although Charlie was running around doing this and that. Cindy was getting an education on some things like hanging the wallpaper border, but the physically intensive work for the most part was being done by Charlie. Overall though, the house was starting to brighten up and Charlie saw Erica and Cindy had a good thing going when picking things out.

“You know, maybe you should look at some new colors in different rooms,” suggested Erica.

“Such as?” asked Charlie.

“Well, maybe not white in the bedroom,” she suggested.

“Mine?” he asked.

“Yes, yours. Can I pick the color?” she asked.

“I suppose,” he said, wondering what else she was going to do for refinishing the house.

“And getting the siding cleaned. The yard is impeccable, but the house itself needs a face lift,” she said.

“Am I going to be tearing out any walls?” he chuckled as he added the item onto his list.

“I don’t know yet,” she said with a laugh. “Give me some time.”

“The kitchen is all set except the border,” announced Cindy as she came into the room. “Can we do pizza for lunch?”

“I don’t see why not,” said Charlie. “You want to order?”

“Sure, what flavor?” asked Erica as she retrieved her cell phone.

“Whatever is fine,” said Charlie.

“Same,” said Cindy. “But no pineapple.”

“Okay, give me a few minutes,” said Erica as she got the number from the phone book and called in the order. “It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes. Who’s picking it up?”

“I can run out and grab it,” said Charlie. “Only as long as you two don’t start renovating the house entirely while I’m gone.”

“No promises,” said Erica with a wink, knowing Charlie had about a week’s worth of work on his list. She and Charlie walked into the study where Charlie was busy retrieving his pistol. “You always carry?”

“Pretty much,” said Charlie.

“I saw you with it on last night,” she remarked.

“Why were you looking at my butt?” he asked with a wink.

“Because it’s nice to look at!” she remarked. “I hate to ask, but do you have any more of those around?”

“Maybe…why?” he asked.

“In case I needed something while you are gone,” she said.

“Know your way around a gun?” he asked.

“My father taught me to shoot a long time ago. Said I needed to know how in case some boy was feeling frisky,” replied Erica with a grin.

“Well in that case, shotgun is in the hall closet, top shelf under the hats,” he said.

“Loaded already?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t do me much good otherwise,” he said.

“Okay, but that’s a little fact you don’t need to announce to the child services folks,” said Erica.

“I know, hadn’t planned on letting them in on my secret here,” he said. “Be back in a few.”

After he departed, Erica joined Cindy in the kitchen where she was getting ready to start putting the border up. Looking around, it looked more like a woman’s kitchen and everything was getting into its proper place.

“You are lucky you know?” asked Erica as she watched Cindy hanging the border.

“How so?” asked Cindy as she aligned the border with the ceiling.

“For the stars to be in perfect alignment or whatever for Charlie to have picked you up. He’s a good man,” remarked Erica.

“He is the best man and yes, I got really lucky,” she said and started applying the print to the wall.

“I just wish he would open up a little more,” said Erica.

“He seems to have opened up a lot since the night I met him,” said Cindy.

“Maybe you have that influence on people,” said Erica.

“No, I’m just an ordinary girl,” said Cindy as she ran her hands along the border like Charlie had showed her.

“You are far from ordinary. You are a very special girl,” said Erica.

“Not really,” said Cindy.

“And anyone who tells you otherwise is an idiot,” said Erica.

“I’ve heard otherwise,” said Cindy as her expression changed.

“By who?” asked Erica.

“My father…” said Cindy as her voice trailed off and she stopped what she was about to say.

“Sweetie, you are special and have a gift for helping people that you didn’t even know you had. Charlie was still depressed after all these years over the loss of his family. You helped bring him out of it and got him back to having somewhat of a normal life. And that’s a special gift to have. And you do not ever let anyone else tell you otherwise,” said Erica taking her by the shoulders.

“You think so?” asked Cindy.

“I know so,” said Erica with a warm smile.

“I just…I don’t know. I never knew him before so I don’t know what he was like,” said Cindy.

“Withdrawn and quiet. He kept to himself for the most part. He always had a hurt look on his face and the thousand yard stare. But since you’ve been around, he got to be more outgoing, personable and laughs a lot more than I remember. He used to just smile at a joke, but now he laughs and even tells his own jokes. I think you had a lot to do with that,” said Erica.

“Really?” asked Cindy.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 32 CONTINUED

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 32



“So what exactly are you asking?” asked Harley Waters, cousin of Steven Waters.

“Maybe some help here. The girl has run away again and we think back to Tennessee. We put out the Amber Alert, but they claim not to have found her,” said Steven.

“And why would my help be necessary?” asked Harley.

“Well, the whole sympathy thing. She’s spun quite the tale of lies about this whole thing and apparently they have bought it hook, line and sinker,” said Steven.

“So what do you need from me?” asked Harley.

“A little political pressure when the time comes,” said Steven.

“The agency you work for should be able to have enough pressure without the Legislature coming into play,” said Harley.

“Maybe, maybe not. There are other conditions here,” said Steven.

“Such as?” asked Harley.

“I’m dealing with a Muslim community,” said Steven.

“We don’t need another scandal like before,” said Harley. “That New York Mosque thing almost bit…never mind, it did bite us in the butt.”

“Well, she’s from there and escaped. Started telling tales about being forced into the religion, being forced into marriage, abuse. Just quite a few lies she made up,” said Steven.

“And why isn’t Tennessee playing ball?” asked Harley.

“Probably because they believe her,” said Steven.

“And you did the investigation?” asked Harley.

“I did, found nothing of the sort,” said Steven.

“I’ll have to read the investigation report before I can say whether I’ll help or not,” said Harley.

“They can help you as well,” said Steven.

“They…who?” asked Harley.

“The Muslim community I’m dealing with,” said Steven.

“Help as in how?” asked Harley.

“Your reelection campaign,” said Steven.

And Harley knew right then his cousin had been bribed once again. He had worked behind the scenes to get him transferred to Rochester to get him out of the spotlight in New York City. And he had helped ward off the investigation coming right at his cousin as well by doing a few favors for those in that department. And Steven had been clean…at least for a while. But obviously, he hadn’t learned his lessons from before.

“They can contribute to my reelection campaign?” asked Harley, leading him where he wanted him to go.

“Generously so,” said Steven.

“I can’t believe you did it again. After what happened last time, I cannot believe you took a bribe again,” said Harley.

“What? No I didn’t!” protested Steven.

“You wouldn’t be in here otherwise,” said Harley.

“I didn’t take a bribe!” objected Steven.

“You would have been content to have the system work if you didn’t. Something happened, you got paid off, there is probably evidence you suppressed and you need my help to clean up your mess,” said Harley and added “again.”

“I just want to see that girl get back to her family,” said Steven.

“Yeah right. Save your innocent lecture for someone else, Steve,” said Harley and looked out the window of his office. “What do you need me to do?”

“If I call, put some pressure on the Governor, Attorney General or someone else to start making calls. Remind them our family contributed to their election campaigns and sometimes below the table. Get them to help us out,” said Steven.

“This is the last time I help clean up a mess for you,” said Harley. “I don’t care if you’re family, I won’t do it again.”

“I’ll make sure my friends know you’ve helped,” said Steven.

“So now they are your friends?” asked Harley.

“No, but influential people with large wallets,” said Steven.

“I probably don’t want to know where their money comes from,” said Harley. “Just get me the file to review before I do anything.”

Steven handed over a disk containing the files, pictures and everything related to the case. Most were forged with the exception of the files that came from Tennessee. Harley took the disk from him and put it in the top drawer since he had a meeting scheduled soon. He would take it home and look it over before starting to make calls.

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

“All set?” asked Charlie after the local social worker finished up.

“Charlie, I’ve known you a while now and I know what kind of person you are. But when this report goes in, you know how this is going to look,” said the State worker.

“I know,” said Charlie. “Cindy will probably go someplace else.”

“I didn’t say that, but the boys up at the State always want to see a stable home life. And that typically means a caring husband and wife combination in a decent home. You’ve got everything but the wife part down,” she said.

“Well, I can’t just run out and get married,” he chuckled.

“There’s always those mail order brides from Eastern Europe,” laughed the State worker. “But seriously, if there is a way of convincing them otherwise…”

“You mean the perception of being married?” asked Charlie.

“Something like that. You know I can’t suggest you conceal the truth,” she replied.

“I think I can arrange something,” said Charlie, thinking of Erica.

“Best be quick about it. We already have the ball in motion on some things,” she said.

“How long?” asked Charlie.

“Don’t know. The TBI is looking hard into the matter and will probably be building a case to send to New York. Plus there is a political angle as well so maybe the Governor gets involved. Mitch had already been talking to the Representative,” she replied.

“As long as I can get a few hours notice, I can come up with something,” said Charlie as he heard the familiar sound of a police cruiser pulling into his driveway. Mitch had come back again.

“I’ll leave you to it, but remember, we never had this conversation,” said the State worker before leaving. Cindy came back into the room after she departed.

“Do I have to move someplace else?” she asked.

“Maybe…maybe not. Depends on how much of a slight of hand I can arrange,” said Charlie.

“I don’t want to move if I can get away with it,” said Cindy.

“I know,” said Charlie as Mitch knocked on the door. He opened it up and motioned him inside.

“How’d it go?” asked Mitch after seeing the social worker leave the house.

“Pretty good I’d say. But said there were certifiable people living here,” smiled Charlie.

“I’d say she hit the nail on the head,” laughed Mitch.

“Wait a second…that was a slam against me as well wasn’t it?” asked Cindy.

“Fairly quick on the uptake isn’t she,” laughed Mitch.

“And only matched by her mouth,” laughed Charlie.

“Hey!” she objected.

“Yes, you’re okay,” admitted Charlie.

“You realize you’re going to have to present the happy home, right?” asked Mitch.

“Can we ask Erica to help out?” asked Cindy.

“Nope, I’ve already got someone who will work,” said Charlie.

“Who?” asked Cindy. “Wait a minute!”

“Of course Mary Worthington will work,” said Charlie.

“No!” objected Cindy.

“Of course I’m going to call Erica,” said Charlie.

“I think she would be more than willing to help us,” said Cindy. “Does she know I’m back yet?”

“I don’t think so,” said Mitch.

“We should surprise her,” said Cindy.

“I can’t imagine the look on her face,” said Charlie as he laughed.

“Well, you need to talk to her anyway, right?” asked Cindy.

“Suppose so,” said Charlie.

“Let’s visit her and surprise her,” suggested Cindy.

“We can do that,” said Charlie as he was wondering what the look on her face would be like as well.

“Nothing else on the agenda today?” asked Mitch.

“Nothing I can think of,” said Charlie. “Can I expect regular visits from certain State agencies?”

“No, I don’t think so. Not unless they have a reason to investigate further. But I would plan on the potential for others to get involved. You know how politicians love to get involved,” said Mitch.

“I’d rather they not,” said Charlie.

“There is a political angle here Charlie. And that’s something that works in our favor,” said Mitch.

“More or less,” said Charlie.

“Trust me, there isn’t a politician in this State that will want her to go back there knowing what we know now,” said Mitch.

“I hope you’re right,” said Charlie.

“And at least we have a new Governor. He’s a pretty good man,” said Mitch. “Better than the last one we had.”

“True,” said Charlie. “You want to go see her today?”

“Sure!” said Cindy. “I’ll have to get changed.”

“It’s just a quick visit to talk,” said Charlie.

“I’ve been cleaning the house all morning and I’m probably icky. I need to shower and change,” said Cindy.

“Don’t ever have a daughter,” Charlie chuckled while speaking out of the side of his mouth to Mitch.

“I heard that,” said Cindy as she bounced up the stairs.

“She ain’t your daughter bud,” laughed Mitch.

“Sometimes I wonder if my little one would have turned out that way,” said Charlie thoughtfully.

“Nah, you would be twice as mean, twice as worried and five times as likely to go headhunting in New York if that was your daughter,” said Mitch.

“I’m already five times more likely to go headhunting in New York because of what she brought back,” said Charlie in a serious tone.

“No, we let the system work for us this time. But this time, it will be our system that works, not theirs,” said Mitch.

“I’m not sure if I trust any system right now,” said Charlie.

“Trust me, nobody in this town or even the State for the moment is going to let anything happen to her. You have to understand. We got burned when we let them take care of it and we have a long memory about things like that. This time, it’s done by the book,” said Mitch.

“Sometimes there isn’t a book for things like this,” said Charlie.

“I know what you’re thinking, don’t go down this path Charlie,” said Mitch.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” said Charlie. “But I will protect her if it comes down to it.”

“Couldn’t imagine anything to the contrary,” said Mitch. “And if you need help, you give me a call.”

“Best to bring a shovel,” said Charlie.

“I’ll have to take the badge off for something like that,” said Mitch, thinking Charlie was joking until he saw the expression on his face and the look of resolve in his eyes.

“Leave it in the drawer and pick it up when you’re done,” said Charlie as serious as a heart attack.

“You’re serious aren’t you?” asked Mitch.

“As I hope you would be. We send her back into that situation again and you and I both know there’s only one way it can end,” said Charlie.

Mitch was slightly stunned right then and couldn’t answer. But at the same time, he thought about what Charlie was saying and realized sometimes there were things that didn’t have to happen within the law. And if the system failed, there was only one way of guaranteeing Cindy’s safety. But Mitch wasn’t ready to cross that line just yet, not until every other attempt had been exhausted.

“I’ll get back to you on that,” said Mitch.

“Don’t have to have an answer right now,” said Charlie.

“You heading to the hospital?” asked Mitch, changing the subject.

“Yeah, give Erica a shock,” Charlie laughed.

“It’ll be a pretty big surprise,” laughed Mitch. “How are things on that front?”

“Doing okay I suppose,” said Charlie.

“My wedding’s planned speaking of. Sarah and I more or less picked out the date,” said Mitch.

“When?” asked Charlie.

“November. Probably before Thanksgiving,” said Mitch.

“We’ll be there,” said Charlie.

“And I was kind of hoping you would be my best man,” said Mitch.

“I think that can be arranged. Even if I have to get out on a work release program,” Charlie laughed.

“Let’s hope it never comes to that,” laughed Mitch s Cindy came back downstairs.

“You ready?” she asked.

“Suppose so,” said Charlie as he went in to collect his pistol. After coming out, he was putting the holster in and sliding the spare magazines onto his belt.

“Two spare mags?” asked Mitch. “Looking for trouble?”

“Nope, that’s when it finds you,” said Charlie. “Just don’t look in my truck box.”

“Should I be worried?” laughed Mitch.

“Nah, probably no worse than yours,” laughed Charlie. “Come on monkey girl, let’s go see the good doctor.”

“Let me know what you work out,” said Mitch as he put on his hat and departed.

“Think we should grab her some lunch or something?” asked Cindy.

“That would be nice to do wouldn’t it?” asked Charlie.

“A woman appreciates that kind of thing,” said Cindy.

“Getting involved again?” he chuckled.

“Nope, friendly advice. I’m stopping in your love life,” said Cindy.

“Until the next time you can wiggle in,” said Charlie.

“Maybe so,” she laughed. “What does she like?”

“I haven’t the first clue. Let me make a call,” said Charlie and called the hospital desk. After several questions, he received his answer. On their way into town, he stopped by the grocery store and picked up a pack of premixed fruits as she typically ate for lunch. Charlie often considered it a breakfast meal, but wouldn’t argue with her choice of foods for lunch. He picked up some sandwiches for him and Cindy along with a small bag of chips and drinks. They headed towards the hospital, getting there ten minutes before she was scheduled to break for lunch.

“Can I take it to her? I want to surprise her,” said Cindy.

“I think that will be funny,” said Charlie with a grin.

They headed into the hospital and checked in at the desk before going towards her office. As they arrived, her last appointment was heading out. Her door was still open and Cindy headed right in.

[jrain]

I'm really enjoying your story. Keep up the good work.

[RunAndGun]

Thank you for another great Chapter Grand!

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 31



Sarah pulled back into Erwin after having driven all day and into the evening. She was exhausted, but made good time on her trip back from New York since she carried news of Cindy. As she exited the Interstate, she called Mitch and found he was in the office. She headed that way, curious as to why he would be working so late. By now the news of Cindy’s disappearance probably had beaten her back, but she wanted to talk to Mitch about it firsthand. As she pulled into the parking lot, she noticed quite a few extra vehicles there for this late at night to include Captain Parker’s vehicle and one she recognized as belonging to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. Her puzzlement grew as Charlie’s truck was there along with the Police Chief and both the Mayors vehicles. Heading inside, she spotted Mitch on the phone with someone. He acknowledged her presence and motioned her over with his head. The place was absolutely alive with activity as she saw several members of the Unicoi County Sheriff’s Office, the Erwin Police Department, the State Police and other city and county officials moving this way and that, having phone conversations and speaking to each other in passing.

“Mitch, we need to talk,” she said without any further hellos.

“Okay, yes, we’ll get you a copy soonest…bye,” said Mitch. “Hey baby. Glad you made it in safely.”

“Cindy went missing,” she said after receiving a welcome home kiss.

“I know,” he said and held onto her.

“The police in New York are looking for her. As well as the Pennsylvania police,” said Sarah who sounded like she wanted to do something right then.

“I know,” he said.

“But how?” she asked. Mitch led her over to an office where an agent of the TBI along with Captain Parker was busy in an interview. She couldn’t see past them and moved around to get a clear view of who was on the other side of the table. She saw Charlie and…Cindy. Cindy noticed her and jumped up and ran out of the room, slightly alarming Charlie until he saw who it was.

“What are you doing here?!” demanded Sarah as she hugged the girl.

“I had to come back,” said Cindy. “Just sit down and listen.”

Sarah did so, somewhat puzzled at the situation as it stood. She was in front of a computer with a CD already loaded of the audio file. She listened on the computer to the same conversation that had played at least thirty times that day and her face grew into a scowl. “Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry for leaving you up there! You should have come to me for help!”

“No, they would have found me if I went to you,” said Cindy.

“But I should have known this was coming,” said Sarah.

“Nobody knew this was coming,” said Cindy.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” said Sarah, hugging her once again.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t start blaming yourself,” said Cindy after the embrace.

“But now we have positive proof to keep her from going back,” said Captain Parker as he exited the room. Cindy moved on to another person in the room that wanted to ask additional questions. She had been here for the better part of six hours and wasn’t used to all the attention. All she wanted right then was to head home and go to sleep.

“I’m glad we’re doing something right,” said Sarah.

“Nobody outside this office knows she is here. We keep it at that,” said Parker.

“All these people know?” asked Sarah.

“One thing about a small town, they keep secrets from outsiders fairly well,” said the yet to be identified TBI Agent.

“And the city and county workers?” asked Sarah.

“All have families of their own and have heard the disk. They can keep a secret,” said Mitch.

“I can’t believe this happened! And right after I left too!” exclaimed Sarah.

“Did you see the meeting with her parents and this Waters guy?” asked the TBI Agent.

“I’m sorry, you are?” asked Sarah.

“Special Agent John Anderson of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations,” he said and stuck out his hand.

“Sarah Brock, Tennessee State Patrol,” she said after taking his hand.

“And engaged to the Sheriff here as he boasts,” said Anderson.

“No, I wasn’t there. It seemed like they were in a hurry to get me out of there for some reason,” said Sarah.

“I’m not surprised. According to Cindy, the whole thing went down not long after you left,” said Anderson.

“How long afterwards?” asked Sarah.

“Maybe twenty, thirty minutes,” said Parker.

“That’s insane! I’d barely left!” exclaimed Sarah.

“And she escaped not long after that,” said Anderson, choosing his words of “escape” carefully as that would be how it was presented to the news when they broke the story. Not “runaway,” not “minor,” but “escaped from certain abuse and enforced marriage.”

“What do I need to do?” asked Sarah, ready to work even after driving for twelve hours.

“We need a statement about the conditions you released Cindy into. Waters’ demeanor, his words he used, how you were treated. Basically every little detail you can remember from the time you opened the door to the time it hit your rump on the way out,” said Anderson.

“Get me on a computer,” said Sarah, ready to do whatever it took to make sure Cindy was protected this time.

Cindy watched the goings on in the office after finding a nice comfortable chair. She was physically and emotionally drained from the ordeal of the past thirty six hours and only had about two hours of sleep. The large recliner had been in the downtown office for a long time and deputies working serious overtime often caught a catnap when they could before getting called out again. Cindy had sunk into the chair and was busy fighting off the sleep. She wanted to be aware of everything that was going on, but had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She would catch herself dozing off and wiggle in the seat before the sleep monster started hitting her in the head once again. Eventually she succumbed to his desires and her head went limp to the side. She was unnoticed for at least ten minutes before a deputy saw her.

“Go ahead and take her home Charlie. She isn’t doing us any good here,” said Mitch.

“Okay, give me a yell if you hear anything,” said Charlie. He managed to scoop her up and carry her out of the building, eyes on him the whole way. She didn’t wake up and hung limply in his arms. A deputy helped out by opening his truck door and getting her into the seatbelt before Charlie headed home. By the time he got there, he was feeling quite tired himself, but he had things to do. He managed to get her out of the truck without waking her and got her into bed once again. She was sound asleep and he doubted even a bomb going off would have phased her.

After Charlie got her into bed and covered up, he went into his room, checking the pistol and shotgun he had stored there and decided to go ahead and start fortifying the house before he went to sleep. He went to the safe and pulled out several pistols and other rifles and shotguns. He made sure each and every room had at least a pistol concealed in it as well as having a long gun for every two rooms. In his bedroom, he added in an M1A rifle and went ahead and chambered a round. While it wasn’t entirely unusual to have loaded weapons around the house, it certainly was the most he had ever had. He certainly wasn't taking any chances this time as he knew they would eventually come looking for her and he wanted to be prepared for that eventuality. Furthermore, he planned to make it a one way trip for them, but didn’t dare tell anyone that.

Charlie had gotten lucky when the meth dealers had attacked after he refused to let them use his property to cook their goods. He was lucky in the fact he had been cleaning one of his rifles at the time and quickly got it put back together and loaded and taken out the threats before they could cause serious damage to the house. But this time, he felt there was a whole new spectrum to the threat and decided to make sure he was prepared for anything that could possibly happen. He painstakingly made sure each item was concealed and would have a weapons safety talk with Cindy the next day. For some reason, he kept looking out the window as if a threat would appear in his own backyard right then. He knew the thoughts of them coming in that night in particular were slim, but he had that feeling in the back of his mind the entire ordeal was just beginning.

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

“My wife admitted to telling Haseena to run. But doesn’t know where she went,” said Hassan.

“It is a good bet she went back to Tennessee or will be heading that way,” said Abdul Ali.

“Or to my brother’s house in California,” said Hassan.

“Have you called him?” asked the Imam.

“No, not yet,” said Hassan.

“Perhaps you should speak with him,” suggested the Imam.

“So soon after?” asked Hassan. “He doesn’t approve of my choice of religions.”

“It’s better to be proactive in this case,” said the Imam. “And what have you found out?”

“Cindy skipped out. She didn’t get on a bus we know of and certainly not a plane. We need a current photograph of her for the Amber Alert,” said Waters.

“I don’t have anything that is current,” said Hassan.

“Anything will do,” said Waters. Hassan pulled out a portfolio and handed over a photograph of Cindy. Waters looked at it and back at Hassan strangely. Cindy was dressed as a cat for Halloween and had black hair in the photograph. Her mother had used some hair coloring to give the desired effect. But all in all, the picture was taken when she was eleven years old and barely looked like the girl presumably in Tennessee. “What’s this?”

“I really don’t have anything more current,” said Hassan.

“What do you mean you don’t have a current photograph of your daughter?” asked Waters.

“No, nothing more recent than four years ago,” said Hassan.

“Why wouldn’t you take a picture of your daughter?” asked Waters.

“Because no man or boy will look on my daughter with lust! She has to be hidden from view from all except her family and future husband!” exclaimed Hassan.

“Okay, forget I asked,” said Waters. “We might have to do the computer generated thing, add age…change her hair color…facial features. Your daughter grew up in the past four years. Will you be willing to work with our experts on a photograph?”

“I can,” said Hassan after getting approval from the Imam in the form of a nod

“Maybe you should consider photographing your other children just in case,” said Waters, wondering what other strange things would come up today.

“None of my other children will run,” said Hassan.

“You never know,” said Waters.

“When can we expect something back from the Tennessee police agencies?” asked Abdul.

“I can’t give you a good time frame. We have to draft the request and send it to the appropriate agencies,” said Waters.

“Can they just ignore us?” asked the Imam.

“No, I have some connections I can call up to see the political side is pushed,” said Waters.

“Such as?” asked the Imam.

“I have some family members who are well placed in the State Government. They can help push the right people to get some things done,” said Waters.

“And they would do so just because you ask?” asked Abdul.

“Maybe, and maybe there might need to be some incentive placed,” said Waters.

“We are not some magical money tree Mister Waters. We are stretched thin as it is with your greed,” said Abdul.

“It could be in the form of campaign contributions if you want. And that’s a tax write off,” he grinned.

“Let us know how much, but we would prefer to just have a favor owed,” said the Imam. “We have friends who could make life easy for them in exchange.”

“I can check into that,” said Waters. “You have some powerful friends?”

“Not so much powerful, but well connected and wealthy. Muslims know how to treat our friends well when we need to,” said the Imam.

“And in the meantime?” asked Hassan. “What about my daughter?”

“She’ll pop up. We can always go to the press if we need to. They could be sympathetic to our cause,” said Waters.

“I would prefer to keep the press out of this if we can. No sense drawing attention to our situation here,” said Abdul.

“I just want to get my daughter back,” said Hassan.

“We’ll do our best,” said Waters.

“Your best might not be good enough in this case. You are reminded of certain information we know,” said the Imam.

“You can’t hold me accountable if the State of Tennessee doesn’t play ball,” said Waters, paling slightly.

“No, but if we sense for a moment you are not doing everything in your power to get Haseena back…” said Abdul.

“Like I said, I’ll try,” said Waters.

“Try harder,” suggested the Imam.

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

Cindy woke up in the somewhat comfortable bed she was just getting used to early in the morning. The sun was just starting to slip up over the mountains and the rays of sunlight were beaming into the house. She managed to control her heavy foot stomps this morning for a change and tiptoed downstairs. As she was heading into the kitchen, she saw Charlie asleep in the recliner in the living room, snoring lightly as he did so. She giggled softly at the sight and continued on to the kitchen where she started getting breakfast ready. It was like she hadn’t even left before as she was used to the morning routine. She saw there were enough eggs in the fridge already so she wouldn’t have to invade the chicken coops to get more for breakfast. As she tried not to make too much noise, she wondered why Charlie was sleeping downstairs instead of in his bed. She had no idea he had stayed up worrying over her and had even gone as far as to keep a semi watch out the windows into the yard just in case.

She thought about the past three days and wondered how she had come to be back here so quickly. Not that she was complaining as she was safe once again, but she worried herself sick over thinking of her younger siblings and her mother. Cindy wanted them safe and away from that environment until someone could make an in depth investigation of the community. And the Imam…he certainly needed to be deported or sent back to wherever he was before, which she thought was Saudi Arabia, but wasn’t sure. All she knew was he was pure evil and had a way of manipulating those around him to do what he wanted them to do. To have a father give up his daughter just because he wished it was a revolting thought to Cindy even at her young age.

As she was getting the items ready to cook, she heard Charlie rolling around in the chair and his feet hit the floor. He walked into the kitchen silently and saw her getting the items ready.

“When did you get up?” he asked groggily.

“About twenty minutes ago,” she said and continued to stir at the gravy mix. The ground sausage was already in the pan and the cast iron skillet was starting to warm up. He went across the kitchen and got a pot of coffee started, wondering why she didn’t and probably preferred her not to since getting the coffee just right was a science he had perfected over the years.

“You sleep okay?” he asked.

“I don’t remember falling asleep, getting home or you putting me to bed,” she said. “I woke up around two or so and changed into my bed clothes.”

“You were pretty tuckered out,” he said with a laugh. “But otherwise?”

“I keep thinking about my family. How long is it going to be before they push up an investigation?” she asked.

“Probably today or tomorrow,” said Charlie.

“I want them safe,” she said.

“We’ll do everything in our power to make it so,” he said.

“And that’s why I came back here. I knew you would help out,” said Cindy.

“I’ll push as much as I can, but there are some things I can’t do,” said Charlie.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’ll help as much as I can, but we have to let the law work if we can. Justice will be served, but it might not be overnight,” said Charlie.

“But the law hasn’t worked so far!” she objected.

“Only a small part of it,” he said reasonably.

“Will I be able to stay here until justice is served?” she asked.

“You can stay here as long as you like,” he said with a smile. “What are you fixing for breakfast?”

“Eggs, sausage, sausage gravy and biscuits,” she said as she stirred the sausage in the pan.

“My recipe?” he asked.

“Yep,” she said.

“Probably get ready for more meetings this afternoon,” said Charlie.

“I’ve already prepared myself for that. I figure it will be daily until they start seeing results from New York,” said Cindy.

“Maybe, maybe not,” he said as he watched her mix the gravy. The biscuits were already getting finished up and she was moving along pretty quickly.

“How’s Erica?” she asked.

“I should have called her yesterday and let her know you were back in town,” said Charlie.

“She doesn’t know yet?” asked Cindy.

“No, not to my knowledge,” he said as he heard a car pulling up outside. He immediately went on guard until he saw the familiar shape of Mitch’s truck. He relaxed somewhat and met him at the door.

“Sorry for the early morning,” said Mitch.

“How late were you guys in last night?” asked Charlie.

“Maybe another hour or two after you left,” said Mitch as he sniffed at the air. “Breakfast?”

“You already ate?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, Sarah foxed me something up this morning. Oatmeal and fruit,” said Mitch, thinking of the tasty biscuits and sausage.

“She got you eating more healthy?” chuckled Charlie.

“Yeah,” said Mitch.

“Welcome to married life,” said Charlie with a grin. “What are you doing out this early?”

“Finishing up the package to forward to the TBI and we had a wreck this morning up near Sam’s Gap. Eighteen wheeler jackknifed on the Interstate,” said Mitch.

“That can get ugly,” said Charlie.

“Good morning Cindy,” said Mitch as he walked into the kitchen.

“Morning Mitch,” she said and pointed at the table. A cup of coffee sat ready for him.

“You sleep okay last night?” he asked as he took a sip.

“All I know is I need to steal that recliner from your station. That thing is comfortable!” she exclaimed.

“That it is. Came in right handy last year during the snow when we were working practically double shifts,” said Mitch.

“If it goes missing, don’t come looking for it here,” she grinned.

“And who are you going to get to help you move it?” asked Mitch.

“Charlie of course! He’s a perfect partner in crime,” she exclaimed.

“That he is,” said Mitch. “We shouldn’t need to do much follow up today. Maybe Anderson will need to talk to you, but nothing more than that.”

“Which one was he again?” asked Charlie.

“The TBI Agent,” said Mitch.

“He seemed to ask some pretty pointed questions,” said Charlie who had been grilled at length. His tone indicated he wasn’t happy with the questioning from the previous night. Did you entice her to run away again…are you in any kind of relationship with her…why would she come back to your house…do you feel any kind of desires for her…did you give her the money to travel with…the direct questions went on and Charlie felt more like a criminal rather than helping her out.

“He was just covering his bases Charlie. Making sure everything was good to go,” said Mitch. “He’s on our side here and is making sure we are all protected.”

“He could have toned it down a bit,” grumped Charlie.

“He was pleasant to me,” said Cindy.

“You aren’t the dirty old thirty-five year old man,” said Charlie.

“I know you aren’t a dirty old man and that’s all that counts,” said Cindy.

“But it does stand to reason, that can be the perception now. Especially with the Tennessee Child Services getting involved,” said Mitch, thinking along the same lines.

“What do you mean?” asked Charlie.

“Well, we have to show her in a stable home life here. Yes, you are stable Charlie, but you said it yourself when this first came up. How’s it going to look with you being a single male having a teenage girl living under your roof?” asked Mitch.

“Yeah, I remember that,” said Charlie.

“But there is someone I think might be able to help,” said Mitch.

“She might,” said Charlie, thinking along the same lines as Mitch for a moment. A polite “ahem” broke them out of their thinking.

“Mind letting the poor refugee know what’s going on?” asked Cindy.

“I may have to play married when we get State callers,” said Charlie.

“Oh, Doctor Chase is moving in? How wonderful!” she exclaimed with her cheesy grin.

“Not moving in, you little monkey! Just helping out when needed!” exclaimed Charlie.

“Well, she could move in,” she grinned.

“I can speak to Erica about it,” said Mitch, ignoring the exchange and interrupting when he got the chance.

“Nah, I’ll give her a call today,” said Charlie.

“You sure?” asked Mitch, knowing full well Charlie had other motives for the call.

“Yes, duty is such a burden,” laughed Charlie.

“You think she’ll play ball?” asked Mitch.

“I think she will,” said Charlie with a laugh.

“Okay, what else today?” asked Mitch.

“I hadn’t planned on doing anything,” said Charlie.

“Okay, stick close to home today in case we need some follow up interviews. You have your cell just in case, right?” asked Mitch.

“Of course,” said Charlie.

“Well, I’ll be headed out then,” said Mitch. “Come with me right quick Charlie.”

They headed out and got to his vehicle out of earshot of Cindy.

“I take it you have enough armament covered in there?” asked Mitch.

“Every room and long guns for every two rooms,” said Charlie.

“We’re going to do our best to keep your location a secret,” said Mitch. “I just don’t get good vibes from this whole thing.”

“I know the feeling. Same vibes I’ve gotten the whole time,” said Charlie.

“And the fact I don’t trust the opposition as far as I could throw them,” said Mitch.

“That too,” said Charlie.

“We’ll have to disclose some of it, but the fact remains we are going to have to look into keeping your location a secret,” said Mitch. “I don’t know why.”

“I’m thinking she needs to get some shooting lessons as well,” said Charlie.

“Well, we don’t need to be broadcasting that to the Child Services or the news,” said Mitch.

“We still thinking of the press?” asked Charlie, knowing the matter had come up yesterday.

“Maybe…more than likely. It will be good to have them on our side for this,” said Mitch.

“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable putting her out there like that,” said Charlie.

“No and I’m not either. I would rather think just verbal statements and e-mails would suffice,” said Mitch.

“Maybe so,” said Charlie, wanting her protected to the utmost of his and everyone’s ability.

“Okay, you need anything, give me a call,” said Mitch.

“Later,” said Charlie as he walked back into the house. Breakfast was almost ready and he took a seat at the table.

“You two get done talking about me?” she asked.

“Yes,” Charlie answered frankly.

“What was said?” she asked point blank.

“Nothing you need to be concerned with at the moment,” said Charlie.

“If it concerns me, I probably should know,” said Cindy.

“Trust me on this,” said Charlie. “It’s over your head.”

Cindy was fairly miffed he was treating her like a child for a change. One thing she liked about Charlie was the fact he treated her with a little more respect and as a grown up. But this time, things were different. She didn’t appreciate it and told him as much.

“No, I’m not treating you like a child. I’m attempting to protect you and make sure you are safe. Some of the things we are planning on doing you honestly don’t need to know about except to keep a low profile. As for the rest, I haven’t steered you wrong yet have I?” he asked.

“No, your advice has been pretty good,” she admitted.

“And this time will be any different?” he asked.

“Probably not,” she said. “I’m sorry. I just want to be involved in everything.”

“I understand that, but for once, let the grownups do what they have to do. Relax a bit and be a kid,” he said with a chuckle.

“Like act all dingy and scream about how much I hate you?” she laughed.

“Yeah, that too,” he laughed.

“Okay, what are we planning on doing today?” she asked.

“Nothing much. Just some work around here,” he said.

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

“Hey, if you don’t like the price, you don’t have to buy it,” said Jeff Tilson.

“Listen, you suddenly can’t just up the price on us. We had a deal,” said the man.

“My product and if I want to charge more, I can and will,” Jeff said. “The price was for the last shipment. Call this one increased because of inflation.”

“We can buy elsewhere,” said the man.

“Maybe you can, but I guarantee you I’m still the cheapest around. Times change and all,” said Jeff.

“This could cause problems,” said the man. “And these problems could come right back here to you.”

“I doubt very seriously you want to cause problems around here,” Jeff warned.

“You should be careful then and rethink your position. My clients aren’t real happy about a price increase,” said the man.

“As if I care what your clients think,” said Jeff. “Best watch yourself going out of here as well.”

“You’ve been warned. Best to rethink your prices,” said the man.

“I don’t take too kindly to threats around here. Especially when they come from folks on my property and in my neck of the woods where each and every person knows me. You can take your money and go someplace else,” said Jeff angrily.

“You are refusing us?” asked the man.

“No, I’m telling you if you ain’t outa here in the next thirty seconds, I’ve got plenty of places to hide the bodies and nobody will say a word,” spat Jeff.

“Are you threatening us now?” asked the man.

“Nope, not threatening, promising you ain’t nobody gonna lose any sleep over your disappearance,” said Jeff.

“Nobody threatens us and gets away with it,” said the man as he got into his car and left.

Jeff watched him as he left the property and headed down the road. He didn’t put much more thought into the situation and figured the dealers would come to their senses and see he still had the best prices for the “merchandise” in the area. As for the threats, they made those things all the time. And eventually they would come to their senses and would come back and buy from him as they always did. He put the impromptu meeting out of his mind and finished getting the house ready for his daughter to come visit. It was one of his normal visitation periods and he wanted to make sure the house was clean when she got there. Unlike many divorced couples, Jeff and his ex-wife were cordial enough and especially so around his daughter. And his daughter didn’t mind coming to visit her father at all. So Jeff always took the extra time to make sure his house was in order and made sure all the business was conducted prior to her arrival. He would have to tell his business partners it would have to wait until his daughter left. And even though they might not like it, they would just have to get over it.

But the “business partners” had a new boss and one that didn’t care for change all that much. And in changing the rules of the game and raising the prices, Jeff had inadvertently upset the new boss.

And that game was played for keeps.

[Grand58742]

Welcome to the forum. There is a lot of great information here and a lot of good people. I look forward to seeing you around the boards.

[RunAndGun]

Grand I am really glad to see your work again! I am glad to find you again after you leaving the AR place.

I have really been enjoying this story. Thank you for sharing your talent and I look forward to reading more!

.......RunAndGun

[SamT]

Girl, 13, says she fled home to avoid a forced marriage in Pakistan

Authorities searching for Jessie Marie Bender, 13, of Hesperia found her Wednesday at an Apple Valley motel. She told them that her family had planned to take her to Pakistan, where they were going to marry her off.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hesperia-girl-20110304,0,2083335.story

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 30



“That’s some tale,” said Charlie although he wasn’t surprised at what happened in New York but was relieved she was safe once again. She hadn’t gone into specifics on getting from New York to Tennessee and hoped Charlie would ignore that little fact.

“I’ve got no place else to go, nobody to turn to, but I remember you told me to call if I needed help,” said Cindy.

“I didn’t expect you to show up less than three days later!” he exclaimed, wondering if this was some weird dream.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go. You’re the only person who believes me and the only one I trust,” said Cindy. “I can stay here, right?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “You can stay here as long as it takes to set things right.”

“Expecting trouble?” she asked as she saw his pistol he left sitting on the countertop.

“No, just didn’t expect someone to be ringing my doorbell at 3:00 AM,” he said. “How did you get here? You didn’t mention that part.”

“That’s another story,” she said. “You might want to sit down for it.”

“I probably will have to sit down if you shock me anymore tonight,” he said and put the pistol on the desk in his study before coming back to the kitchen. “You hungry?”

“Actually, yeah, I haven’t had anything besides some beef jerky and a Pepsi somewhere in upper Virginia, so I’m pretty starved,” she said. He got into the fridge and pulled out the leftovers as he had made enough for two, forgetting while doing so he was alone again. Reheating it didn’t take long and she inhaled it fairly quickly.

“Okay, now seriously, how did you get here?” he asked.

Cindy went over her escape, the fake bus ticket and how she had found Mark to give her a ride. She had just gotten to the part about getting him to give her a ride out of State when he interrupted her.

“You let some strange boy give you a ride all the way from New York?!” he demanded, the protective side in him coming out once again.

“They were checking the bus lines and I couldn’t take a flight. It seemed like the only logical choice!” she protested.

“Cindy, you could have been hurt or molested or any number of bad things!” he exclaimed.

“Well, I wasn’t! He turned out to be a nice guy. Dropped me off at the Unicoi exit and I walked in from there,” protested Cindy.

“You walked all the way in from Unicoi?” he asked calming down slightly as she was safe now.

“Okay, I lied right there. I caught a ride from a deputy at the gas station. Said he didn’t mind doing a favor for Charlie’s niece,” she said.

“If you would have called, I would have picked you up, even all the way in New York,” he said. “But otherwise, we need to get you over to the State Troopers for another written statement. You want to do that this morning?”

“I’ve got better than just my testimony this time. Listen,” she said and handed over her iPod. He took the offered ear bud and put it in. Once he had it settled, he listened to the short conversation between her and her father along with the longer one between her and the CPS Agent. When the conversation continued, his face grew into a scowl and she could see anger welling up inside of him. His previous concerns over the person who had dropped her off went away as the latest revelation had his full and complete attention at that point in time. He took the iPod away from her and replayed it two more times to fully grasp the problems she faced.

“Why did you record all this?” he asked.

“I needed some proof it was happening since nobody believed me the first time. This seemed like the best choice,” she said.

“I believed you,” he said.

“And that’s why I got into a car with a complete stranger and drove here. I knew you were the only person I could turn to,” she said.

“If I knew this was going to happen, I would never have let you go in the first place,” he said and leaned back in the chair.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“We take this to Mitch, Jimmy and to anyone else who will listen. Maybe even the papers, I don’t know yet. But no matter what, we force them to face this problem,” said Charlie.

“And?” she asked.

“We tried it their way, now we do it ours,” said Charlie as he stood up.

“Thank you Charlie,” she said and rose to give him a hug. It was quite unexpected, but he understood where she was coming from.

“It’s my pleasure young lady,” he said and hugged her back. “Now you should get some sleep.”

“I’m okay,” she said.

“Nope, you need to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow,” said Charlie.

“The cabin all set up?” asked Cindy.

“Umm, no. Can’t let you go out there tonight,” he said.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Well, the Jones boys are staying over for the night. Their parents asked if I would let them stay before they headed out on a hiking trip tomorrow,” said Charlie.

“No, it wouldn’t do to go in there with them. I’d never get any sleep,” laughed Cindy and realized how inappropriate that sounded. “I mean, they would be pestering me all night.”

“I know what you meant. I’d rather not have to deal with those two this early in the morning. Your choice, spare bedroom or couch,” he said.

“Spare bedroom ready?” she asked.

“I just have to put sheets back on the bed,” he said.

“Why am I already comfortable with being back here?” she asked, thinking out loud.

“We’ll get this resolved,” said Charlie.

“Promise me you won’t let them send me back again. Not until it’s safe,” she asked before climbing the stairs.

“For both you and your family,” said Charlie. “We’ll make sure your family is safe as well.”

While she went back to “her” room, Charlie remained behind. He contemplated calling Mitch right then and there, but knew it could wait a few hours. But he also remembered Sarah had probably already been contacted in New York and had passed on the message to him. So he picked up the phone and called once again.

“Hello?” said Mitch half asleep after four rings.

“Mitch? Charlie here,” he said.

“What in the devil are you doing calling at four in the morning?” asked Mitch grumpily.

“You mean you weren’t expecting this call?” asked Charlie.

“No, I wasn’t expecting you to call…are you drunk?” asked Mitch.

“No, you mean Sarah hasn’t called you?” he asked.

“No, not since last night to let me know she was leaving first thing in the morning and we needed to talk when she got back. She’s driving straight through,” said Mitch, somewhat waking up. “What’s going on?”

“You need to get over here right now,” said Charlie.

“What’s going on Charlie?” asked Mitch, sensing the conversation was important.

“Not over the phone Mitch. Just get over here,” said Charlie and hung up the phone.

Mitch looked at the receiver and wondered if Charlie had been drinking. He was worried about his state of mind since this was the second time in his life something stable had been yanked away from him. But he also sensed the urgency in Charlie’s voice and rolled out of bed. He hoped Charlie wasn’t worrying about being formal and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before heading over to his house. The drive in was simple as there was no traffic to speak of on the way to Unicoi. Once he arrived at Charlie’s house, he saw the living room light on. Parking out front, he was met by Charlie at the door.

“What’s so important to be dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn?” he asked testily.

“Come here,” said Charlie and led him upstairs. Charlie wasn’t the kind to play games and Mitch knew something important had to be going on. Plus, he looked like he was stone sober, so alcohol wasn’t a factor. Once at the top of the stairs, Charlie stopped at the spare bedroom and opened the door slightly. Mitch peeked in and saw Cindy fast asleep in the dim light creeping in from the hallway.

“What is-” he started to say but was hushed by Charlie who didn’t want to wake her. He continued in a whisper. “What is she doing back here?!”

“Come back downstairs. You need to listen to this,” said Charlie.

“You best have a darn good reason for this Charlie. If New York find out about this, I will have to take action,” said Mitch.

“Just listen,” said Charlie as they went into the kitchen. He handed over the iPod and poured Mitch a cup of coffee. Mitch looked at the device and hit play. The conversation was somewhat muffled since Cindy had the microphone inside of her shirt, but still clear and distinct. Mitch listened for several minutes, rewinding it several times. And like Charlie, a dark scowl grew over his face as he listened further.

“She has everything she claimed right on tape! Who’s the first guy?” asked Mitch.

“That Waters character,” said Charlie.

“And the woman and second man are her father and mother” said Mitch stating a fact more than a question. “What’s with the whispering?”

“What whispering?” asked Charlie.

“During her conversation with her mother. There was whispering going on,” said Mitch.

“We’ll ask her about it when she wakes up,” said Charlie.

“But this is the kind of evidence we needed from the start. Her father says straight up she is supposed to get married to the Imam and she will get beaten for running away and resisting. And Waters says he’s going to turn a blind eye to it!” exclaimed Mitch. “What’s the shari’a law thing?”

“Shari’a law is Islamic law. Basically it states a woman has to be pure before marriage. Pure as in virginal. And the penalty for non-compliance with that is death,” said Charlie.

“He threatened to kill her?” asked Mitch incredulously.

“Yep, as well as the abuse and marriage thing” said Charlie.

“Is she…” asked Mitch, letting the question hang out there.

“I don’t know. I do know she never did anything here to my knowledge,” said Charlie. “But her father would be assuming the worst and all it takes is one simple comment from the Imam after he uses her.”

“Over my dead body is she going back there!” exclaimed Mitch in an elevated voice causing Charlie to shush him once again. “Seriously! We can’t let her go back up there until this is taken care of!”

“I know Mitch,” said Charlie.

“Maybe I shoulda let you go up there in the first place,” said Mitch with a chuckle.

“Oh trust me, I would never have let her out of the house had I know this,” said Charlie. “Who do we need to contact about this?”

“Anyone who will listen! Jimmy, Parker, shoot even the TBI and the FBI, the State representative, our Senators and Congressman, the press, anyone who will listen and get on our side here!” exclaimed Mitch.

“And then?” asked Charlie.

“We get action taken. First off, she does not, and I repeat NOT leave this State until a full investigation is completed into her family, that community and the New York Child Services. I want that agent thrown under the jail and her father along with him! And that Imam probably knows everything that is going on, so add in a conspiracy charge on him as well. Waters has to have been bribed or forced to do this, so there’s another charge. Next off, we get a judge with some guts to stand up and do what’s right to get on our side. Maybe even the Circuit Court judge would work. Shoot, maybe even have the Mayor call the Governor and get him on our side,” said Mitch rapid fire.

“Sounds like a lot of doing,” said Charlie. “You’re going to need some help.”

“You’ve got political connections,” said Mitch.

“I do and I’m going to be calling in some favors about this,” said Charlie.

“But for starters, nobody and I mean nobody needs to know she’s back here. Keep her in the house, keep her locked up, no matter what, nobody needs to know she’s at your house,” said Mitch.

“Done,” said Charlie. “What else?”

“I haven’t the first clue. Maybe if I had gotten some more sleep,” said Mitch, truly at a loss for a plan of action right then.

“And you wished I had waited to call you?” asked Charlie.

“Absolutely not!” exclaimed Mitch as he refilled his coffee mug and started a new pot. “This was too important!”

“I know, that’s why I drug you out of bed at the crack of dawn,” chuckled Charlie.

“You have no idea of the anger I’m feeling right now,” said Mitch. “No, I know how you felt the other day. It’s like you knew this was going to happen.”

“I didn’t know it was going to happen or else I would have never let her leave in the first place,” said Charlie.

“And I would have been right there with you with this place ringed by deputies,” said Mitch. “The whole force along with a few hundred newly deputized people would have surrounded this place!”

“If any of them boys come around, I’m probably not going to be asking a whole lot of questions,” said Charlie.

“I’ll help you dig the hole,” said Mitch. “Let me wake the mayor up and get him out here. He needs to know this. How do we get that copied onto something other than the iPod?”

“I guess you just plug it into the computer and copy it over,” said Charlie.

“I would say give it a try, but let her do it instead,” said Mitch. “And I’ll have to take that into evidence.”

“I’ll buy her a new one,” said Charlie as Mitch was dialing the mayor’s house. He spoke for several minutes before hanging up.

“He isn’t happy, but he’s on his way out,” said Mitch.

“He’ll be even less happy once he hears that conversation,” said Charlie. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m starving,” said Mitch.

“Eggs, ham and biscuits sound okay?” he asked.

“You’re going to make someone a fine wife one of these days,” laughed Mitch.

He and Charlie continued their planning as Charlie got the items ready for breakfast. As they continued to talk, a plan was forming up. Charlie made extra since the mayor was coming over and would probably need something to eat as well. Just as Charlie was putting the biscuits in the oven, another vehicle was heard coming up outside. Charlie immediately went for his pistol and pointed at the gun safe for Mitch. Mitch was the only other person besides Charlie that had the combination. He quickly spun the dials and grabbed the first weapon available and loaded it up. But by the time the AR-15 was loaded, Charlie had returned with the Mayor.

“Mitch, I really hope this is important,” said Tim Graves who looked like he was still half asleep.

“I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t,” said Mitch. “Coffee?”

“Sure and then tell me why I’m out here before dawn,” said Tim. Mitch came over with another cup for the Mayor and handed over the iPod. Tim looked at the device curiously and back at Mitch and Charlie. He put the earphone in and hit play. And just like the other two, his face grew angry and a frown set in. He looked quite demonic even in the light of the kitchen.

“This can’t be serious!” he exclaimed with anger dripping from his voice.

“As a heart attack,” said Charlie. “She’s upstairs asleep right now.”

“How did she get here?” asked Tim.

“I didn’t get the full details, but slipped away and hitched a ride from New York to here. I don’t know any more than that and I was going to find out when she woke up,” said Charlie.

“What’s the plan Sheriff?” asked Tim.

“She doesn’t leave Tennessee, period. Not until we are satisfied she will be taken care of in New York. We call on New York to conduct an in depth investigation into the community, her family and the Rochester branch of the child services. And after we are satisfied everything is good to go, we release her,” said Mitch.

“Sounds good, now how are we going to accomplish that?” asked Tim.

“By calling in every politician, lawyer, civil rights activist, law enforcement agent, judge and friend we can to get on our side. Maybe even the press,” said Mitch.

“Let’s hold off on the press for the moment. Nobody knows she’s here?” asked Tim.

“Just the three of us. Maybe Sarah knows she’s headed this way,” said Mitch.

“She didn’t contact Sarah before she left?” asked Tim.

“Not to my knowledge. Sarah might know something is up since she said we needed to talk when she got back,” said Mitch.

“Do you think New York suspects her of coming back here?” asked Tim.

“It would be a logical place for her to go,” said Charlie.

“Then we tell them we never saw her,” said Tim.

“We need the State Police, TBI and the Governor’s office in bed with us for that,” said Mitch.

“And I can flat guarantee you the Governor will be screaming for blood once he hears this. Same with the folks I know at the TBI. And you can bet the State Troopers won’t go along with any request to extradite her,” said Tim.

“We can only hope,” said Mitch.

“Most of them have kids. Put yourself into the parent’s role here Mitch,” said Tim. “If this was my daughter, nothing would stop me from loading up my rifle and doing a little no bag limit hunting in upstate New York.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Charlie.

“Why not?” asked Tim.

“Because you probably wouldn’t get the chance,” said Charlie.

“You need to lay low for the time being Charlie. You take care of her and focus on nothing else. We’ll see this one through to the end,” said Tim.

“I’ll mind my manners, but again, if any of her family of their friends comes a calling, I probably will defend my property,” said Charlie.

“As I would expect you to. Shoot, give me a call and we can have a little fun,” said Tim. “What’s next?”

“Well, we know Judge Gleason will be quite useless,” said Mitch.

“Maybe not after she hears the conversation,” said Charlie as he continued to cook.

“Knowing her? Probably not,” said Mitch.

“So we find another judge,” said Tim.

“Maybe so,” said Charlie. “How do you want your eggs?”

“Just scrambled,” said Tim.

“Mitch?” asked Charlie.

“The same,” said Mitch.

“Where is she anyway?” asked Tim.

“Upstairs asleep,” said Charlie.

“I want to talk to her later on. Let her know we are going to do everything in our power to see this is resolved in a manner favorable to her,” said Tim as he finished off his cup of coffee and refilled his mug.

“Not only that, but see that justice is done,” said Mitch.

“Absolutely. That agent needs to be tossed into jail for his actions,” said Tim. Stomping was heard coming down the stairs as Cindy apparently was up once again. She stomped into the kitchen and saw the three men sitting around the table staring at her.

“What are you doing out of bed?” asked Charlie in a fatherly voice.

“I woke up and smelled food,” said Cindy. “Making enough for everyone?”

“You need to get some rest!” objected Charlie.

“I’m hungry,” she exclaimed.

“You just ate like two hours ago!” objected Charlie.

“And I went like twenty four hours without eating!” she shot back at him, grumpy from the lack of sleep and from the situation as a whole.

“Grab another plate,” said Charlie as he cracked open two more eggs and added them into the pan. There would be enough biscuits and ham to go around. He also remembered he would be feeding the Jones twins when they woke up that morning and made sure he had enough left over for them as well. He broke open the remainder of the eggs in the fridge and tossed them into the skillet after checking the clock and seeing it was close to the time they would start getting up. Additionally he added some extra sausage to another pan before continuing to cook.

“Miss Grant, I’m really sorry about what happened,” said Tim. “Had we known what was going to happen, we never would have let you go back.”

“If I had known what was going to happen I wouldn’t have gone back,” she said while retrieving a glass of milk.

“Cindy, I’m really sorry,” said Mitch. “I’m sorry to have put you into that situation.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said and sipped at the glass.

“No, we could have done things differently,” said Mitch.

“No, there was no other way,” she said.

“First things first. How do we copy that file off your iPod?” asked Mitch.

“I can do that,” said Cindy.

“If you don’t mind,” Mitch said. “Charlie, you have any blank CDs?”

“A whole box of them,” he replied from the stove.

“Cindy, start copying that file onto disk,” ordered Mitch.

“How many do I need to make?” she asked as she picked up the IPod.

“Until you run out of disks,” said Mitch with a determined look on his face.