Finding 01 Finding Kaden

by Jean Reinhardt

  When she had finished eating, Martha stood up to clear the table but Jasper picked up the plates.

  “Please let me wash up, it’s the least I can do. It’s the nicest food I’ve ever tasted. I mean that, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, for the offer and the compliment, but please, call me Martha. Ma’am is so formal, and I hope we can be friends, okay?”

  Martha placed her hand on Jasper’s shoulder as she spoke. He nodded, forcing down a lump that had risen in his throat. He wasn’t used to kindness. It was dangerous to get too soft on the streets. That was the second time she had gotten to him.

  When they had washed up and tidied everything away, Martha went into a small office next to the staff room and came back with a laptop in her hand.

  “I’m not too comfortable in the police station myself, Jasper, so why don’t we have a look online and see what we can find.”

  This was a much better idea as they could look at photos together. It wasn’t long before she found the local missing person’s website. They peered intently at each image, but soon realized that because Kaden’s face was swollen and bruised it would be very difficult to match him up with any of the missing people on the screen.

  “I know, why don’t we search further afield? Maybe he was from another state,” she said.

  Having narrowed the information down to approximate age, height, weight etc., they looked at every image that came up but nothing seemed to match. Martha could see the disappointment on Jasper’s face.

  “Why do you care so much about this guy, after all, you haven’t known him very long, have you?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, I guess I feel responsible for him.” Jasper stood up to go. “Well, thanks for your help, and the food. I really appreciate it.”

  Martha made an impulsive decision, which was not like her.

  “Where do you stay when you’re not at the shelter, if you don’t mind me asking?” she said.

  “Oh, I have a few places I hang out depending on the time of year, weather. Stuff like that.”

  He wasn’t going to give her exact locations. That would be too much information.

  Martha sighed. What she was about to suggest felt so right. Her son would probably go mad if he found out, but he was away at college and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

  “How about you come home with me this evening, Jasper? I know we are both taking a chance with this. After all, I might be a serial killer, or you might mug me, rob me, even…”

  “No. No. I would never do anything like that.” Jasper was upset that she thought he would harm her.

  “Well, okay. I do rob stuff to buy things I need, like food, and to stop me getting beat up.”

  “Beat up? Do you pay someone to protect you?” asked Martha, trying not to show any emotion.

  Jasper couldn’t look her in the eye as he answered.

  “I’m small for my age. I get picked on, so I try to carry some money on me all the time. There’s a few older kids on the street that beat me up if I don’t have cash. But if I give them some, they leave me alone. It’s a protection racket. A lot of younger kids like me do the same. If I only have a little money I eat out of bins to save it. I don’t rob people or mug them. Sometimes I shoplift. Okay, that’s not exactly true. Most days I shoplift, selling the stuff I get so I can have some cash on me - just in case I bump into anyone.”

  Martha was silent for a few moments. She had been wondering if inviting this young homeless boy back to her place was asking for trouble, but listening to what he had just said convinced her more than ever that it was the right thing to do.

  Over the next three hours Martha found odd jobs for Jasper. It made the time go by quickly as he waited for her to finish work. She didn’t want him to leave the library in case he changed his mind about her offer and didn’t return.

  On the drive home to Martha’s apartment Jasper felt uncomfortable to be sitting in the front passenger seat. They both laughed when he said it was unusual for him to be in a car without a siren.

  “Well now, a sense of humour. Where have you been hiding that?” asked Martha.

  “Oh, it forces its way out every now and then,” said Jasper.

  Once inside the apartment, Martha hung up her jacket and showed Jasper where he would be sleeping. It was a small, neat guest room with a TV on the wall next to a large book case that reached up to the ceiling.

  “The bathroom is across the hall if you want to freshen up, or have a shower. You’ll find some clean towels in there on a shelf. I’ll start supper, do you like omelette?”

  Martha was already heading down the hallway to the kitchen as Jasper shouted, “Thanks, and yes, I love omelette.”

  By the time he had showered and changed his clothes, the food was ready and he followed the smell of toast that led him to the kitchen.

  Martha pulled out a chair.

  “Come on, sit down before this gets cold,” she said, pointing to the opposite side of the table.

  Jasper sat down and ate his supper at a much slower pace than he had eaten his lunch. If felt very strange to him to be eating without being hungry.

  When they had finished and washed up, Martha suggested that they sit on the sofa and watch some TV.

  “I just want to see what’s happening in the world,” she said, switching on the news.

  “You can watch whatever you want after that.”

  Jasper wasn’t too bothered about TV. He felt himself relaxing and leaned back into the sofa, closing his eyes as he did so. He must have dozed off because he woke up to Martha slapping him on the knee with one hand and pointing at the TV with the other.

  “Look, quick, do you think that’s him?” she asked.

  Rubbing his eyes, Jasper leaned forward to get a good look at the photo on the screen. It was of a dark haired young man who looked about eighteen or nineteen. The reporter said his jacket and shoes had been found on the river bank. According to the ID card in a wallet that was with his belongings, his name was Kaden Seager and he was the son of City Councillor Lloyd Seager. He had been missing for the past few days.

  Martha looked at Jasper.

  “Your friend didn’t have any jacket or shoes on when you found him, did he?” she asked.

  Jasper shook his head.

  “He could be wandering around right now, not knowing who he is. The photo doesn’t look like him does it? Only for the fact that the clothes were found we wouldn’t even be connecting this missing person with our guy, would we?” he asked.

  “It’s too much of a coincidence, Jasper. Do you think Tuck had anything to do with this?”

  Jasper remembered seeing Milo when he went to get breakfast at the Soup n Sleep.

  “I don’t know about Tuck, but Milo was at the shelter the night we were there. They usually stick together,” he said.

  Martha tried to picture the last time she saw Tuck, but she couldn’t place Milo.

  “What does he look like?” she asked.

  “He’s the opposite of Tuck0. Small, pale, straight black hair greased back. I haven’t seen either of them around since that morning. Then again, I wasn’t going out of my way to find them, if you know what I mean.” He shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’m going to call the police right now, Jasper.” Martha saw his face change.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t be in any trouble. You helped him out. All you have to do is tell them everything you remember.”

  A thought occurred to Martha. “Are you afraid of Tuck and Milo?”

  Jasper stood up and walked around the room.

  “We don’t snitch on each other on the street, no matter what.”

  He was pacing back and forth behind the sofa.

  “I don’t mind saying I found him and brought him to the shelter, but please don’t mention Tuck or Milo. Besides, why would the cops believe anything I say?”

  Martha patted the sofa beside her.

  “Come over her and sit down, Jasper. I promise you, I won’t sa
y or do anything that you don’t want me to. I’m just going to ask to speak to someone about the case. Do you realize who this young man is?” she asked.

  Jasper shook his head.

  “His name is Kaden Seager and he is the son of Councillor Lloyd Seager. The thing is, his father is connected with the Soup n Sleep. I’m pretty sure they haven’t offered a reward yet, there was no mention of it on the news. So you see, Jasper, the police have no reason to think either of us are lying. We have nothing to gain from this.”

  After making the call, Martha said that a detective would be there soon and assured Jasper, once more, that everything would be fine.

  They both jumped when the intercom buzzed. A man’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Martha Taylor? This is Detective Jake Matthews. You called the station about Kaden Seager, is that correct?”

  “That’s right, come on up.” Martha pressed the buzzer.

  She smiled reassuringly across the room at Jasper, who looked very pale.

  “Trust me, it will be okay, and you can stay here as long as you want to. Nobody on the street needs to know where you are.”

  Three sharp knocks sounded on the door. Jake produced his badge with his ID as he entered the apartment. Martha offered to make coffee but the detective said he’d already had too much that day. She sat beside Jasper while Jake took a seat opposite them. He had a notebook in his hand, and began to write in it straight away. They gave him their full names and Martha was surprised to discover Jasper’s was Jason Perry. After taking down their details the detective listened to each of their stories.

  When they had told him everything Jake stood up.

  “Young man, I will have to bring you to the station. Ma’am, can you come down to make a statement tomorrow morning?”

  Jasper looked at Martha as if she had slapped him.

  “Why can’t he stay here? We can both go down in the morning,” she said.

  Jake sighed deeply before answering.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. He is under age and you’re not his guardian, so he will have to go to Juvenile Hall. Don’t worry, he’s been there before I’ll bet, so it will feel just like home, won’t it son?”

  Jake turned to catch hold of Jasper as he tried to run.

  “Please, Detective Matthews, let him stay here tonight. I promise we will both be down at the station first thing in the morning. In fact, we could both go with you right now, if you like. That would be even better, wouldn’t it?”

  Poor Martha was distraught. She felt that she had betrayed Jasper’s trust in her. However, her pleading landed on deaf ears and the detective kept a firm hold on the boy’s arm as he steered him around the sofa and out of the room. Passing the bedroom that he should have been sleeping in that night, Jasper tried to break loose from Jake’s vice-like grip.

  “My stuff is in there. Can I get it?” the boy asked.

  The detective looked through the open door and saw a rucksack and a sports bag on the bed.

  “Hold out both hands, son,” Jake said, producing a pair of handcuffs.

  Martha was horrified.

  “There’s no need for that, detective. He hasn’t done anything wrong, in fact he has been trying to find that young man you’re looking for.”

  Nothing she said made any difference. In spite of the knot in his stomach Jasper tried to make Martha feel better by smiling back at her as he left the apartment.

  “Don’t you worry, sweetie, I’ll get this sorted out tomorrow and you’ll be back here before you know it. I promise. As for you, Detective Matthews - you had better make sure that boy is well looked after. Do you hear me? Do you?”

  Martha’s voice rose to a shout as Jake closed the door behind him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  After a five hour journey the van pulled into a large building beside a small airstrip. The doors opened and the boys were blinded by the sudden burst of daylight. One by one they were taken out and handcuffed to each other while being allowed to stretch their legs. Tuck, who had been released and lifted from the stretcher, was helped to stand by two men in overhauls. A third man, who was carrying a rifle, stood by a small plane. Boxes of goods were being loaded into the hold and some steps had been wheeled over to the open door.

  The prisoners were allowed to use the toilets, which was a bit tricky because of the handcuffs. Tuck said he didn’t need to go and sat down on the floor, watched closely by the guards. His legs felt like jelly and his stomach was killing him. When the others joined him he was hauled to his feet and dragged to the steps of the plane. He tried to resist, but in his weakened state it was useless. The rest of the prisoners were starting to panic, so the man with the rifle pointed it at them.

  “Enough of the whining,” he shouted, “Just get up those steps and keep quiet.”

  The boys were forced onto the plane and handcuffed to the seats. The door closed and the engines roared. As the aircraft taxied out of the hanger towards the runway Kaden leaned forward to speak with Tuck, who was seated in front of him. Neither of them took their eyes off the two armed guards who had boarded the plane with them.

  “Don’t turn around, but did you lose a piece of paper?”

  Tuck looked on the ground around him and saw nothing.

  “I took it out of your hand back at that clinic. I thought it might be important and was afraid they would find it. I have it in my shoe, but I didn’t get a chance to look at it yet,” said Kaden.

  Tuck turned his head to answer, which caught the attention of the guards. One of them shouted over the noise of the engine.

  “Keep your eyes to the front and your mouths shut, all of you.”

  Once they were airborne things quietened down somewhat, but it was a bumpy ride. The windows were blacked out so there was no chance of seeing what the landscape was like. Kaden felt numb. He didn’t know where he was going, or why he was handcuffed. He didn’t even know who he was and couldn’t remember anything about his past. The only familiar memory he had was of the young girl laughing in the back of a car and he knew she was important to him.

  After a while, the temperature in the plane began to drop. The guards stood up and dragged a box to the centre of the aircraft. They lifted the lid and took out thickly padded, bright orange jackets and pants, and what looked like snow boots. Each of the boys were released from their bonds, one at a time, and told to put on the clothing and footwear.

  When all of the prisoners had been seen to and handcuffed back into their seats, the guards themselves got dressed in warm clothes. Then they opened another large box full of bright, green rucksacks. Each bag contained some thermal clothing along with a water canister and a thick plastic cup, bowl and spoon. There was a rucksack for each of the boys and these were placed alongside their seats. Kaden had taken the piece of paper out of his shoe, hiding it in one of the snow boots he was wearing. He was glad to have thought of this, as all of their shoes were gathered up and bundled into a large sack.

  “You won’t need those where you’re going,” sneered one of the guards.

  “And where exactly would that be?” asked Tuck.

  “You’ll see soon enough, but one thing you can count on, there won’t be any streets there for you to cause trouble on.”

  Both guards returned to their seats laughing.

  Even if they had been allowed to speak, none of the boys felt like doing so. Each one was lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure out what was going on. It was as if they had been sentenced to a prison term, but without having a trial. By now, none of them thought they were going to be killed - whoever was responsible for this had gone to too much trouble. However, that didn’t allay their fears. If they had been told what lay ahead it would have given them something to focus on. Not knowing, made them imagine all sorts of things. Would they be used for medical experiments, sold off as slaves, or locked up somewhere for the rest of their lives?

  They had no family that would miss them or try to find them. Nobody would care about a handful of s
treet kids who suddenly disappeared. The only one who wasn’t thinking along these lines was Kaden. He was desperately trying to make himself remember his past. Savouring the image of the laughing girl, he froze it in his brain until every detail was mentally recorded. With her blond hair in two plaits tied up on her head, she wore a purple and silver long sleeved vest or leotard. There were shiny sequins around the neck and on the sleeves. Kaden tried to concentrate on girls names, matching them to her face, but none of them seemed to fit.

  After a long and bumpy ride, the plane began to descend. Some of the boys, including Kaden, felt a searing pain in their ears but couldn’t put their hands over them as they were still handcuffed to the seats. By the time they landed, tears were streaming down Kaden’s face. The pressure in his head was unbearable, due to the beating he had received a few days before. Jasper had told him he’d been mugged, but Kaden didn’t know what his attacker looked like. He couldn’t even remember getting beaten up.

  Once the engines were switched off the door opened. As the handcuffs were freed from the seats the boys found themselves being shackled to each other once more. They stepped off the plane into a cold darkness, each one carrying the rucksack they’d been given. A small building glowed in the distance, the lights from the windows a welcome sight.

  A short walk over freshly fallen snow brought the party of prisoners to a small stone house. The boys were led down a short corridor towards the back of the building and roughly pushed through a narrow doorway. They found themselves standing in a room with a light in the centre of the ceiling and mattresses on the floor. There were no windows in the room.

  The handcuffs where removed from their wrists by one of the guards, while the other one stood at the door holding a rifle. On each bed lay a sleeping bag, which was a good thing as the room wasn’t heated. The guards left the worried group, having refused to answer any of their questions. There was a loud click as the door was locked and then total silence.