by H. P. Munro
“It’s okay,” Jessica stopped and spun round. “Aunt Teddy will drop me off here, after our trip,” she added.
“Right. I forgot. Behave,” she yelled as Jessica disappeared out the door.
“I can’t believe how big she is now,” Mack murmured, taking a sip of her coffee.
“Me neither,” Alex smiled.
***
The following afternoon Alex was in the kitchen when she heard the door to the coffee shop open, she heard Teddy’s voice asking for a drink. Wiping her hands on a towel, she left what she was doing to go see her daughter. She was used to the co-parenting arrangement that she and Sully had developed over time, however the nights when Jessica was with her dad. always seemed to drag for Alex.
Teddy had a large bright smile on her face when she walked into the shop. “Hey Alex,” she smiled in greeting. “How’s things?”
Alex gave her a confused look, “Good, where’s Jessica?”
Teddy’s quirked her eyebrows quizzically, “Did Sully not contact you? He sent me a text this morning to say she was sick and wouldn’t be in school.”
“No, he hasn’t. That’s a shame, she would have been disappointed to miss the trip,” Alex replied, digging her phone out of her pocket to call Sully.
“What trip?” Teddy asked, her face scrunched with confusion.
Alex hesitated; her thumb paused in midair about to hit Sully’s contact details. “The trip that you were taking them on to the Falls today. I signed a permission slip,” she said slowly, concern starting to build.
Teddy shook her head slowly, “I wasn’t taking the kids to the Falls today, or any other day.”
“Shit,” Alex gasped, her thumb punching down on Sully’s contact details.
Teddy and Lou shared nervous looks as she paced back and forth waiting on him to answer. “Matt, is Jessica with you?” she asked quickly, her face falling at his response. “Did you text Teddy this morning to say she was sick and staying off school?” her hand gripped the counter for support. “Matt, you need to come to Ruby’s now. She wasn’t in school today. I think she’s gone,” Alex said, her voice hitching as she spoke. She hung the call up and placed her other hand on the counter, trying to steady her breathing, “He said that he left her at the corner before the school, she was walking in with Lucy.”
Teddy pulled out her cell and selected a number, “Hi Mary, it’s Teddy. Hi, listen I need you to ask Lucy about Jessica; she was walking with her to school this morning and Jessica never made it in,” she nodded as she listened to Mary speak, her eyes never leaving Alex’s, she covered the phone. “She’s going to ask...Hi,” she said, removing her hand. “She’s sure?” Teddy’s entire body slumped, “Okay thanks.” She hung up the phone, her mouth opened as if she couldn’t process the words that were about to come out of her mouth, “Lucy said she saw her get into a black car.”
A sob escaped Alex, she felt Lou’s arms tighten around her and guide her towards a seat in the coffee shop. “Sit there,” she looked up at Teddy. “Call Harvey,” she said quietly, Teddy nodded and walked to the far corner of the shop to make the call.
The coffee shop door slammed open and Sully came running in. “What the hell happened?” he asked, looking around at the concerned faces. His eyes settled on Alex who was sitting her entire body folded in on itself as she sobbed. He moved immediately to her and took her into his arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he soothed. He looked up towards Teddy and Lou. “What’s happened?” he asked, his tone coated with fear.
***
Harvey Mack was a man used to dealing with intimidating women, he had been married to Marion Mack for almost fifteen years; a feat that meant he deserved a medal pinned to his chest rather than the Deputy Sheriff’s badge that was currently there. However, dealing with a distraught mother was a whole different ball of wax and he couldn’t help but feel that anything he said or did was going to result in Alex tearing his head off.
“Harvey, why don’t you just come out and ask us straight?” Alex said angrily. “She hasn’t run away ’cause she was in trouble, she was seen getting in a car. What are you doing about that?”
They had moved to Alex’s home and were sitting in the living room perched on various seats, the room filled with an almost visceral tension.
The tall Deputy Sheriff stood awkwardly looking down at the distraught family. He chewed on his bottom lip. “We have an State-wide Amber Alert out. I have to ask these questions Alex, I’m not questioning your’s or Sully’s parenting skills. We all know how much you love Jessica.”
Alex closed her eyes tightly. “I’m sorry, I...” she trailed off, her brain unable to function sufficiently to create the words. She looked down at her lap where her fingers were absently shredding a tissue; her feet were surrounded by what looked like large snowflakes.
“So take me back through the last forty-eight hours. Was there anything unusual?” Harvey asked, he held up a finger to halt their response as his phone vibrated. “Hello?” he answered, leaving the living room to get some privacy. “When? And they have the proof?” he took in a deep breath. “Okay, get someone over there to check out what they’ve got and speak to the driver.” He hung the phone up and turned back into the room, “They’ve managed to trace the car from the full description Jessica’s friend gave us. It’s from a town car hire company in St Anton.” He took a deep breath, “They had a booking in your name Alex, paid for by credit card and all done via email.”
Alex’s face crumpled in confusion. “But I never,” she paused. “Where did the car take her?”
“The airport.”
***
Maddie leaned forward to punch the call button on the elevator; she stood up straight and pulled her leather jacket tighter around her body. It had been a long shift and all she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and sleep for a week.
“Doctor Marinelli!”
Turning her tired eyes to where her name was being called from, Maddie allowed her head to slump as the nurse waved a phone receiver towards her. She held her hands up and waved them mouthing ‘No’ to the nurse.
“It’s the airport Doctor Marinelli, your niece is there, you were supposed to collect her!” the nurse replied, giving Maddie a look of disgust that she had forgotten to do something so important.
“My niece?” Maddie replied confused, she walked back towards the nurses’ station “I...what?” she said to herself as she reached out for the phone. “Hi, Doctor Maddie Marinelli.”
An unimpressed voice reached Maddie’s ears, “Doctor Marinelli, this is San Francisco airport. We have your niece Jessica Milne-Sullivan here awaiting your collection. Doctor Marinelli? Doctor Marinelli, are you there?”
The nurse picked the phone up from where Maddie had slammed it down on the counter and watched as the doctor yanked open the door to the stairwell. “She’s on her way now,” the nurse said sweetly into the receiver and hung the phone up.
“Zoe!” Maddie yelled, as she spotted her friend about to leave the hospital.
Zoe looked up from her phone. “Oh hey I was just texting you, Mitchell’s coming over tonight, hope that’s okay? I was going to order pizza, do you want to share?”
Maddie shook her head, unable to speak as she tried to get her breath back from running down five flights of stairs. “Did you drive in this morning?” she gasped.
“Yeah, I…oww, you’re pinching me,” Zoe complained, as Maddie grabbed her arm and propelled her through the hospital entrance.
“Excellent, you need to drive me to the airport,” Maddie said scanning the parking lot for Zoe’s car. Spotting it, she dragged her friend towards it.
Running to keep up with Maddie’s strides Zoe’s free hand dug around in her pocket for her car keys. “Have you changed your mind again and decided to go back to Hicksville?” she asked, as Maddie spun her towards her car and let go.
“No, I have an unexpected visitor,” she replied, waiting on Zoe to press her key fob to open the door. She slipped into
the passenger seat and pulled out her phone, selecting the only number from Grace Falls that she had stored.
***
Mack was grumbling to herself as she picked up her son Lewis’ toys from the floor and tossed them towards his toy box. An unfamiliar ring caught her attention, initially thinking it was a toy she ignored it until its persistence won her over and she located it. She looked in surprise as she tracked the noise down to the clinic’s ancient cell phone that Maddie had returned.
“Hello?” her eyes opened wider as she listened to the voice on the other end.
***
“What do you mean they took her to the airport. How did?” Alex started to ask, pausing as her house phone rang. Teddy held her hand up to show that she was getting it.
Another officer entered the room; he caught Harvey’s attention and jerked his head towards the hallway, “Harvey.”
“Excuse me,” Harvey said, following his colleague out.
Teddy picked up the handset and listened. “Oh thank God. She’s there and she’s okay?” she asked, feeling tears of relief starting to brim in her eyes. She put her hand over the phone, “It’s Mack. Jessica’s in San Francisco.” She watched her friend’s reaction to the next piece of information, “With Maddie.”
“What?” Alex and Sully asked simultaneously.
“Hang on, I need a pen,” Teddy spoke into the phone, looking around for something to write with. She rummaged through a drawer until she found a pen and scribbled the number Mack was giving her onto a scrap of paper. “Okay, got it. Thanks for calling Mack. Yeah we are too,” she smiled hanging up. “Maddie got a call at work to go get her at the airport.”
Alex flopped down onto a chair; her relief at knowing her child was safe was palpable as she sat exhaling softly.
Harvey re-entered with his colleague, “Douglas here has spoken to the driver of the hire company. She got on a flight to San Francisco.”
“We know,” Teddy responded. “We just got a call. She’s flown out to see the doc who was here a couple weeks ago.”
“The one with the broken down car?” Douglas asked with a look of confusion. “Well at least we know she’s safe,” he smiled towards Teddy.
“She is until I get my hands on her,” Alex growled ominously. “I’m going to kill her.”
Sully laid a hand on Alex’s shoulder, “I don’t get how this could have happened.”
“The driver said she had the consent form signed and he just waited with her until the airline took her on as an unaccompanied minor,” Douglas replied.
“But she must’ve done all this on the internet and we’re careful with her ever since the pony incident,” Sully said, running a hand through his hair.
Alex looked up, “The computer has a password on it. I don’t get it either.”
Teddy looked over at her friend. “Milne1974?” she asked.
“Yeah, how did you know that?” Alex screwed her face up in confusion. “I’ve never told you that.”
“You didn’t have to, you’re that predictable Alex,” Teddy replied. “Looks like she’s graduated from buying horses on e-bay. We know she’s bright that’s why we have her on the Talented and Gifted program at school!”
Sully couldn’t help the small proud smile on his lips. “Our daughter is one smart cookie,” he said, shrugging as Alex glared at him. “What! She is. She’s going to end up as president or something.”
“Jail is where she’ll end up, for computer hacking and credit card fraud,” Alex countered. She stood up and lifted the laptop up from the table, “Guess we’d better get some flights booked to go get her back.”
***
Maddie and Zoe entered the arrivals hall looking around for the service desk, spotting the sign Maddie practically ran towards it. “Hi, I’m here to collect a child,” she said quickly.
“You make it sound like you just bought her!” Zoe said, as she arrived behind Maddie. Her head jerked back as she caught sight of the glare Maddie fired in her direction, “Woah, someone’s snarky.”
“Jessica Milne-Sullivan. I got a call,” Maddie said turning back to the woman behind the desk and flashing an apologetic smile.
Recognizing the name, the woman narrowed her eyes at Maddie. “The child you were meant to pick up over an hour ago?” she said. “Can I see some ID?”
Maddie pulled out her driver’s license and slipped it over the desk. The woman checked it and pulled up the details on the computer, “Okay.” She passed back the ID and picked up a phone, “Hey Mandy, someone is here for Jessica. Can you bring her down.” Her friendly tone and smile immediately disappeared as she put the phone down and looked at Maddie again, “She’ll be a minute.”
Maddie paced back and forth as Zoe browsed the tourist leaflets. “You know I should probably go check out Alcatraz at some point,” Zoe remarked, turning a leaflet round in her hand.
“Maddie-Lyn!”
Maddie spun round to where Jessica was being escorted by an airline worker in uniform. The young girl was tugging at the woman’s hand to make her go faster to get to Maddie. Finally, when she was close enough, she broke free and ran the distance to Maddie, her backpack bouncing up and down as she ran. She reached Maddie and gripped her around her waist. Maddie looked at the airline worker. “Thank you,” she said, getting a stony stare in reply.
“Yeah, you’re never gonna get an upgrade here,” Zoe remarked putting the leaflet back and watching as the airline worker gave Maddie a final look up and down before leaving them.
“Jessica, what are you doing here?” Maddie asked staring down at the child hugging her.
Jessica looked up, her blue eyes wide, “You never said goodbye and you promised to draw with me and name all the bones…and I tried. I’ve been drawing skeletons but they don’t look right and Aunt Teddy was rubbish at naming the bones, even though she said she’d help me, ’cause you couldn’t since you’d gone, but not gone like my Uncle Bear ’cause he’s dead and you’re just gone,” she let the last bit of air in her lungs gush out. “Have you called my mama?” she asked, her tone tinged with worry.
“I called Mack to get her to tell your mommy that you’re okay,” Maddie answered, pulling Jessica into a hug. “I think there’s probably been a lot of worried people back at Grace Falls. How did you? I mean, just how?”
Jessica shrugged, “I booked a flight using my mama’s credit card, and then I booked a car to take me to the airport and emailed them using my mama’s email.” She squinted as she remembered all the steps she had taken to get there, “I had to print off the permission slip from the airline. So I switched off mama’s alarm and got her super late so she wouldn’t see what she was signing and told her it was for a trip and got her to sign it.”
Maddie and Zoe’s eyes widened in amazement as they listened to Jessica taking them through her deception in a matter of fact manner listing off her actions against her fingers.
“And then I was staying at my daddy’s overnight, so I used his phone to text Aunt Teddy to say I was ill and wouldn’t be at school.”
“She’s like a freaking evil genius mixed with Ferris Bueller,” Zoe snorted shaking her head in astonishment.
The small girl turned her head looking at Zoe for the first time, “I’m Jessica, who are you?”
Zoe blinked in surprise, “You’re blunt and to the point. I like you. I’m Zoe, Maddie’s friend.”
Jessica narrowed her eyes, “My mama’s prettier that you.”
“Aaaand now I don’t like you!” Zoe said tilting her head to the side. “Can you send her back now?” she asked Maddie, giving her a sickly sweet smile.
“Crap,” Maddie said. “I didn’t even think about how we get you back. Umm,” she looked around suddenly panicked that she would have to take Jessica back to Grace Falls herself, she was still running through the possibilities when her phone rang. “Hi,” her voice faltered slightly as the thought that it could be Alex struck her.
“Maddie, it’s Sully, is Jessica there with you?
Can I speak to her?”
“Sure,” Maddie handed the cell over to Jessica. “It’s your daddy.”
The young girl took the cell phone in both hands, “Hi.”
“Jessica? Are you okay?” despite knowing that his daughter was safe, Sully’s was still filled with trepidation until he heard Jessica’s voice.
“Yes,” Jessica answered. “Are you and mama very mad at me?”
“You remember what it was like with the pony?” Sully asked. “Well multiply that by around a thousand,” he sighed not wanting to scare Jessica too much. “But we’re just mad ’cause we were so worried that we’d lost you and because apparently you chose an expensive flight to put on Mama’s credit card,” he added, waving his hand to shush Alex as she pitched in behind him. “We love you very much.”
“I’m sorry I worried everyone, but I wanted to draw skeletons with Maddie like she promised.”
Sully sighed, “I know Sport. Can you put Maddie back on for me?”
Jessica handed the phone back to Maddie. “I’m in biiig trouble,” she said, pulling her mouth into a frown.
“Hey Maddie,” Sully said, his voice laced with tiredness following the emotionally draining afternoon they’d had. “We’re going to fly out but we can’t get a flight until tomorrow morning. Can Jessica stay with you tonight?”
Maddie swallowed, looking between Jessica and Zoe who was regarding the child through narrowed eyes, “Sure, what time does your flight get in tomorrow and I’ll bring her to the airport.” Zoe rolled her eyes as Maddie listened to the flight details, “Okay, see you tomorrow.” She looked down at Jessica, “Well we’ll have plenty time to draw skeletons tonight. You’re staying with us.” She put her hands onto Jessica’s shoulders and started to march her towards the exit as she mouthed an apology to Zoe.
***
“What’s that one called?” Jessica asked one finger pointing towards a diagram as her other hand tried to negotiate a slice of pizza into her mouth.
Maddie leaned forward on the sofa to look at where she was pointing. “Fibula,” she confirmed before beating Zoe to the final slice of pizza and earning a scowl from her friend.