After hiding the girls, Mitch instructed his second in command to openly welcome any visitors who might wish to search the property. They were to be fully cooperative. He then grabbed Alison and after a few words with Kipling, the three retired behind the basement wall in the hidden lab to watch and enjoy the festivities. Mitch couldn’t hide his glee from Alison and Ivan when Todd overreacted during the news report, as he informed them of the tragic circumstances surrounding Blair Manning.
Ivan had listened, amused at Mitch’s boasting. He had wanted to destroy Todd Manning, and Manning’s meltdown indicated that Mitch had struck paydirt.
Mitch was holding Alison as he described the events that took place in the clearing. He was so charged by his encounter with Blair that he began to fondle Alison in front of Ivan, he wasn’t even aware he was doing it until Alison squirmed against him. Looking at Ivan’s smirking face he responded, “Seen enough, Ivan? Hope you got your thrill because that’s all you’re seeing. Go work on your little babies and leave us alone. Wait a minute, before you go, give me an update on Natalie.”
“My dear sir, as I told you earlier she is indeed pregnant and appears to be carrying at least three babies. I must also inform you that she is starting to exhibit signs of nymphomania. It appears she’s reacting to the lack of inhibitions brought on by the drugs she's taking. She came on to me during a recent exam. I don’t believe she was able to stop herself. I assure you, this will have no effect on your progeny.”
“Good to know, my children better be all right. I always knew she was a harlot, her natural tendencies have just come to light. I know just where I can use those tendencies to my advantage. Good night, Doctor. “ At that, Mitch grabbed Alison and hauled her into their basement room. Alison was all over him the minute the door closed and soon they were going at it, as only they liked it, hot and furious.
It was nearing three in the morning when the police arrived at the compound. They had been searching the mountain around Dragonheart since Blair Manning had been found. Bo had finally found a judge willing to grant them a warrant to search surrounding properties. Brody went up to the gate that had been installed in the last month to ensure privacy and was met by a gentleman claiming to be the coordinator of the colony. After explaining about the attack on the mountain and search for the perpetrator, along with showing the warrant, they were allowed in to search the grounds. Once inside, Brody and his men began an exhaustive search, not only were they looking for signs of Mitch, but also for signs that any or all the missing women might be there. Unfortunately, they came up empty.
As Brody was leaving the property his flashlight gleamed off something on the ground just outside the gate. “What the hell is that?” Unsure what had glinted, he kept the light on the spot and used a small branch to brush the leaves away and uncover the object. To his surprise, he realized he was looking at a pacifier. Not just any pacifier but a very distinctive one that was part of a matched set. Grabbing his handkerchief, Brody picked up the item and carefully cleaned off the grime covering two engraved initials. L. M. Was it possible Natalie and Liam had been there at one time? Brody looked back at the colony. They had been searching for Mitch and looking for proof of someone being held against their will. Everyone he had encountered had seemed willing to help. Damn it, Natalie, did we let you slip through our fingers? Have you been here all this time and only now been moved? Brody knew finding the pacifier only meant that Natalie had been in the woods at one time. It was found outside the compound, so he had no proof she had been there. Still, it wasn’t a very likely place to lose Liam’s pacifier. He wrapped it carefully and pocketed it, intent on showing it to Bo and John the minute he got back to the station.
***
John laid down the file and walked over to get another cup of coffee. The damn scene kept playing over and over in his head.
“They’re over here Shaun, it looks like a clearing.” They entered it to find Todd and Blair on the ground. Todd was doing his best to comfort her and she was obviously in pain. His flashlight lit the area and he saw Blair’s clothes lying in pieces on the forest floor, remnants of duct tape and ropes. “My God, she’s been raped,” came immediately to his head. Feeling sick that someone would do that to Blair, he had encouraged Todd to wait for help.
“It’s bad John, there isn’t time to wait for them. We’ll have to take her out. There’s something wrong with the baby.”
John shook his head, the memory of what happened next coming unbidden to his thoughts.
As Todd lifted Blair into his arms carefully, his jacket fell off Blair’s shoulders and she cried out. John’s flashlight beamed at her back and the oozing red gashes that marred it were suddenly visible. Todd’s face had been like granite, but his eyes told John just how deeply everything was affecting him.
“John, cover her back up please,” his voice ragged with the strain.
He had covered her as gently as he could with the jacket, trying not to cause Blair any additional pain. Several times as they made their way down the path, he had offered to take Blair, and each time Todd’s steely eyes had said it all. “She’s mine, stay back.” By the time they met with Shaun and the EMTs, he had begun to worry about Todd too.
“You sure as Hell were right about that one, weren’t you, John?” He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced at the taste. He had reached the hospital earlier and had been informed that both Mannings were stable and out of danger. That meant he could finally go and ask questions. The problem was, he didn’t want to do it. They had been through so much last night and the thought of making Blair relive it seemed cruel.
A knock on his door brought John out of his thoughts. “Come in.”
The officer entered, “You wanted some of the results on the items found at the site.”
“Yes, what have we got so far?”
“Fingerprints found at the scene confirmed it was Mitch Laurence. He didn’t even try to hide the fact. We’re currently trying to ascertain where the tape, bungee cords, and rope could have been purchased. Another curious thing found was a dog whistle. What do you suppose he wanted with that?”
John shrugged. “There’s no telling with Laurence. The man is a psychopath. Get back to me on finding out how he got the supplies.” John sat back down at his desk as the officer left only to hear another knock. He looked up to find Brody standing in the doorway.
“We had no luck on the mountain, the man just vanished. T\I thought you should see this. I found it outside the nudist colony.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief, opening it up on John’s desk.
John’s eyes fell on a very familiar pacifier. “Liam! You say you found this outside the compound. Did you see them?”
“No, that‘s just it. They were very cooperative. They let us thoroughly search all the premises. We found no sign of anything out of the ordinary there. Still, I can’t help wondering if they had them at one time. Do we know anything at all about this colony? I mean, is it legit?” Brody began pacing. He had gotten so close to Natalie and Liam when he had believed Liam was his. Now, even though he was getting back with Jessica, he still felt a bond with them. Jessica and Vicki were worried sick. “John, I want to scream. If they were there all this time...”
“Don’t. We can’t start berating ourselves. Just because you didn’t see them doesn’t mean anything at the moment. This is the first clue we’ve had that they might still be in the area. Let’s see what else we can find about this so-called group. I want to know how they found out Hesser’s property was up for sale. You were there pretty early this morning. How did you get in?”
“Now that you mention it it was weird. We were met at the gate like they knew we were coming. You don’t think...?”
John remembered the sensors that had been in place for Carlo’s compound. Had the colony put them back on and if they had, why had they needed them? Things were looking pretty suspicious now. They had searched the property for Alison, Mitch, and Ivan and found them gone. Several days later the property had been purchased during the Mayor’s auction. Just recently a fence had gone up around the property. Were they trying to keep visitors out or other people in? “Who alerted them we were coming? I need to talk to Todd. I’m wondering if he knows more about the compound than we do. Listen, Fish just told me that Mitch’s prints were all around the site where Blair was found, so we know he was our perpetrator.” He picked up Liam’s pacifier. “We know the Messenger’s people have Natalie and Liam. Could the colony be Mitch’s followers hiding in plain sight?”
“Seriously? You think that’s the case. We’ve been searching all over and they’re right here?” Brody turned and looked at John.
“I'm beginning to think so. I’ll see if Bo will authorize some surveillance. I want to know where they come and go. You go to work trying to get more info on just who made the purchase of the property and Brody,” he met the other man’s eye. “don’t say anything about the pacifier to Jessica or Vicki, especially Vicki; after what happened to Todd last night, she doesn’t need any more stress.”
Brody nodded and left to go start his search into the colony. John watched him leave and sat back down at his desk. He rubbed off more of the grime covering his son’s nubby, his thoughts going to his beautiful baby boy. He pulled out his phone and looked at the picture again of Natalie and Liam that had been sent that first week. They had blown the picture up and hadn’t been able to get a location off of it. Could they have been sitting in the compound when the picture was taken? Brody said there had been no sign of Mitch or the missing girls, but Mitch had to have gone somewhere last night. The colony was their best bet. John put the pacifier away in his drawer and walked over to leave Bo a note. “Fish, if Bo asks, I’ve gone to talk to the Mannings.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be kind. All constructive comments welcomed and appreciated