Child With No Name

by Franklin Horton

  “Get your ass out here!” he yelled.

  Tonya, shocked at the appearance of the men, had no doubt who he was talking to. She was staring at the doctor, noting that he looked just as terrified as her at the explosion of violence. She pulled her eyes away from him and climbed down out of the camper. When she was outside, she looked from Lena to Shelby. The doctor appeared in the doorway behind her but didn’t venture outside.

  “I’m pretty fucking sure I gave you plain instructions not to leave this area,” he barked.

  Tonya didn’t answer. He was right. He’d laid down the law and she broke it. There was no arguing that point.

  “What’s she doing here?” Shelby demanded, emphasizing Lena with a nudge of his boot.

  “She brought my food,” Tonya said. “They deliver my meals here to the camper.”

  “She’s supposed to bring it and get her ass out of here. Where you two been?”

  The injured Lena didn’t respond, bleeding and terrified. Tonya just stared at Shelby, uncertain of what to say.

  “If someone don't start talking, I’m going to shoot this bitch. Don’t think I won’t.”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “Listen, I don’t think that’s really necessary. How about I just perform the exam I came here to do and then we can all go our separate ways? How about that?”

  Tonya shrugged, an acknowledgment that she appreciated his attempt to turn this down a notch. Obviously, he hadn’t been in a lot of situations like this before. Men like Shelby didn’t just walk off when they felt their orders had been ignored. They took it as a very personal form of disrespect and someone had to pay for that disrespect.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t follow your instructions,” Tonya said. “Lena wanted to show me something.”

  On the ground beneath Shelby’s book, Lena’s eyes bulged and she shook her head adamantly. She waved a hand at Tonya trying to cut her off. Shelby caught the movement and ended it with a sharp kick to Lena's ribs.

  “Where did she take you?” Shelby’s voice was cool and calm, but there was no mistaking the authority behind it. He expected an answer.

  “She took me to a big green building and we peeked through a hole in the wall. She showed me these people in cages, but I told her that what you all do here didn't matter to me. That ain’t none of my business. I’m just here until I have this baby. Whatever you do with it afterward ain’t none of my business.”

  Lena sagged her head to the ground, tears running from her eyes. Tonya looked at the doctor, expecting him to be pleased with her mature reaction to what she'd seen. Instead, he was rubbing his face with his hand. He was a man wanting to be anywhere but where he was at the moment. When Tonya turned back to Shelby, he was staring down at Lena with rage crumpling his face.

  Shelby holstered his pistol and Tonya felt a swell of relief. She’d said the right thing. Everything was going to be okay now. He'd let Lena go. But when Shelby’s hand came up from holstering his pistol, it held a knife, the blade glinting in the last rays of evening light.

  Lena saw it too and she tried to scream. Shelby adjusted his foot, planting it across her throat and shutting off any sounds. Lena clutched the dirty boot with both hands, trying to lift it off her windpipe, trying to catch a breath.

  Shelby dropped onto Lena with both knees. She tried to scream but choked, her throat not working the same after the pressure of his boot. Shelby swung the knife and buried it in Lena’s throat. Her eyes went wide and blood spurted from her mouth, running down the sides of her face and down her neck.

  The doctor tried to push past Tonya in a half-hearted attempt to intervene. She latched onto him with both arms, shoving him toward the camper. He yielded easily. “You’ll just get yourself killed,” she warned.

  Tonya had her back to Shelby but could see the doctor watching over her shoulder, disgust on his face. Tonya heard the wet slap of the knife being plunged into Lena repeatedly, then the gurgling sound of Lena's death ceased and Tonya knew it was over. The only sound remaining was Shelby’s labored breathing.

  Tonya released her pressure against the doctor and stepped back. She turned to Shelby and found him standing there, chest heaving from his exertion as he stared down at his handiwork. Tonya dropped her eyes to the bloody mess that used to be Lena. Her lifeless eyes stared in her direction with accusing frankness.

  “You don’t need to kill me too,” Tonya said flatly. “I already told you I don’t care what you do here. All I care about is getting the money I'm owed when this baby is born and getting on with my life.”

  Shelby wiped his knife off on Lena’s t-shirt and dropped it in the leather sheath. “I ain’t killing you. You’re too valuable to kill. Get your ass in that trailer and let the doctor check you out. You're both going to stay in there until I get this figured out.”

  “Both of us?” the doctor protested. “I need to examine this patient and get out of here. I’ve got a long drive home. People are expecting me.”

  “I don't care if the damn pope is expecting you!” Shelby bellowed. “You’ll get your ass in there and do as you’re told until I get further instructions. Have I made myself clear?”

  Without a word, Doctor Jacoby conceded, gesturing for Tonya to go inside. He helped her up the step, then followed, closing the door behind them.

  Shelby extracted his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. As it rang, he dragged the side of his foot through the grass, trying to wipe a smear of blood from it. When a voice answered on the other end, Shelby growled, “We got a problem. Shit just got complicated.”

  43

  Abingdon, Virginia

  Karen was sitting on her back deck in shorts and a t-shirt when the phone rang. She carefully balanced her wine glass before leaning over to pick up her phone. As she settled into the lounger, she saw the caller and assumed it was about the children she was supposed to pick up tomorrow.

  “Good evening, Harrison,” she said. She was on her second glass of wine and her voice was perhaps a bit more chipper than usual.

  “There’s nothing good about it,” he growled.

  She swung her legs around the lounger and placed her wine glass on the deck. “What’s going on?”

  “You sent Dr. Jacoby to North Carolina to examine our patient, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, when he gets there he meets up with Shelby, the farm manager.”

  “I’ve spoken with Shelby on the phone,” Karen said.

  “Anyway, when they go looking for our patient, she's not where she’s supposed to be.”

  “She’s missing?”

  “No, not anymore. Despite strict orders to the contrary, she’d been out wandering around the farm and saw some things she wasn’t supposed to see.”

  “Like what?” Karen asked, apprehension in her voice.

  “The containment area. One of the employees, a local girl, apparently knew about it and showed her. She wanted our patient to understand that things were not as we presented them. She didn’t know who she was dealing with, though. Our patient was kind of nonplussed about the whole thing and said it wasn’t any of her business.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” Karen said. “You haven’t met her but Tonya is a piece of work.”

  “I need you to get down there,” Harrison said. “Shelby killed the local girl, so he has that to deal with. He won’t let the doctor leave and he’s not willing to take his eyes off the patient. He’s afraid she’ll get into more trouble if left to her own devices.”

  “What do you want me to do? Surely you don't want me to babysit her until this child is born?”

  “No, I don't want you to babysit. I want you to call the doctor and find out if we’re far enough along to induce the baby. Find out from him what drugs we need to perform the procedure and get it called in. Gather all the gear and head down to the farm. I’m feeling like we’re a little too exposed right now and I want this wrapped up. I’ve got Julie placing the other product so we can empty the containment area a
t the Sand Creek farm for now.”

  “What about the patient? What do you want done with her after we induce?”

  “Overdose her and bury her on the property. I don’t give a shit.”

  “But you don’t want her paid off, right? You don’t go through with the deal we made?”

  “Nah,” Harrison said. “She’s seen too much. We need to mitigate the risk.”

  “Got it, boss. I’ll make it happen.”

  “I knew you would, Karen. In fact, I want you to take the money we were going to give the patient and give yourself a little bonus. By the time this is over, you’ll have earned it.”

  “I appreciate that very much, Harrison.”

  In his customary manner, Harrison ended the call without a goodbye. Karen immediately went to the contact list in her phone and found Shelby’s number. She certainly wasn’t friends with the crude farmer, but he’d recently helped her make the arrangements to get Tonya to North Carolina. She punched the icon to make the call and crossed her fingers that he’d answer.

  “Hello,” he answered, his voice a snarl that warned her the call had better be important.

  “Shelby, this is Karen. I’ve been in touch with our boss and he wants me to speak to the doctor. I’m going to call him when I get off the phone with you, but I wanted to warn you first. I don’t know what the situation is like down there right now and I didn’t want you to prevent him from taking the call.”

  “Thanks for the warning because I probably would have stopped him.”

  “I figured. Will it be okay if he takes the call in private? I don’t want the patient overhearing our discussion.”

  “I guess that’ll be fine. He ain’t handling this whole thing too well. He’s kind of a sissy.”

  “I know,” Karen agreed. “I’ll try to talk some sense into him.”

  “Good luck,” Shelby said, ending the call.

  Karen immediately scrolled to Dr. Jacoby’s contact and placed a call to his phone.

  He picked the call up immediately. “Yes?” He sounded like a man caught at a very inopportune moment, fear and stress evident in his voice.

  “I understand we have a situation down there, Dr. Jacoby. Are you in a place where we can speak privately?”

  “Give me a moment."

  She could hear the sound of his footsteps and a door closing. “I know what you’ve seen is stressful,” she said. “Based on our conversation earlier today, I’m aware that you feel this is not what you signed up for.”

  “That would be correct. Coming down here was bad enough, but the situation has seriously deteriorated. It's totally fucked, to be honest.”

  “Are you able to speak privately now?”

  “I am.”

  “Good,” she said. “I suspect you’re not going to be comfortable with what I'm about to say, but I'm trying to be upfront with you. I tried to impress upon you when we spoke earlier that the people we work for are not to be fucked with. I understand that you saw a young woman murdered this evening?”

  “I did.”

  “Can I assume that it happened in a sudden and violent manner?”

  Dr. Jacoby gulped. “That would be an accurate description.”

  “Then I think you understand the gravity of our little situation now, don’t you? These are not people to be trifled with. Me, you, or even a member of your family could just as easily be dispensed with. Do you understand that?”

  The doctor cleared his throat and responded with the timbre of a broken man. “I do.”

  Karen smiled. She had him exactly where she needed him now. He was scared and in shock, fearing for himself and for those he loved. He’d do anything she asked.

  “Then I need you to listen to me very carefully. Harrison wants this situation neatly wrapped up as soon as possible. We’re going to need to induce Tonya's labor and harvest the child.”

  “Excuse me? Please tell me that I did not hear you correctly.”

  “I need a list, doctor. Tell me what I need to bring. Drugs, medical equipment, everything. As soon as I have what you need, I’ll be on my way but you need to stay there. We’re going to deliver this baby and then you can go on home and forget any of this ever happened. Do you understand me?”

  The doctor let out a long breath. “This is wrong, Karen. Surely you can’t expect me to induce labor and deliver a child in this filthy camper? What if there are complications?”

  “We deal with complications every day, doctor. It’s the nature of our business. We deal with them as best we can and then we move on. This is not up for discussion. This is what’s going to happen. The sooner you give me the list, the sooner I can be down there, and the sooner we can put this whole night behind us.”

  Doctor Jacoby sighed heavily. “Do you have a pen handy?”

  Karen smiled at the sound of his voice. There was resignation now. He understood his place.

  44

  Federal Courthouse

  Abingdon, Virginia

  Ty had hoped the task force meeting was going to be exciting but so far it was a tremendous disappointment. Though the nature of the mission was exciting, the actual briefing was as bad as the worst military briefings he’d ever sat through. There was a lot more emphasis on who was taking the lead and who’d run the press conference than how they’d conduct the actual operation.

  There were certain operational details they couldn’t plan right now without knowing the time and place that the children would be handed over to the counselor. In one of his few contributions to the evening, Ty relayed that Cliff had secured the cooperation of the three “actors” who’d pretend to be Raylene’s children and that he’d gotten the loan of a private jet to get them to Virginia. Everything was in place, they just needed to hear from Raylene.

  The only new information Ty picked up was the name of the counselor from the clinic, the woman in the white Escalade he’d followed up the interstate. Her name was Karen Richmond and she lived in the Abingdon area. She lived in a rented home in a nice neighborhood, the house paid for by the corporation that owned the clinic.

  “That’s a nice setup,” Whitt said. “Wish my employer paid for my place.”

  “It’s more common in the medical field,” Baxter replied. “Sometimes it’s the only way to get specialists to come to small towns. The employer has to offer incentives to sweeten the deal.”

  “Anything else on her? Does this Karen Richmond have a record?” Whitt asked.

  “Clean as a whistle,” Baxter replied.

  When the meeting let out with very little accomplished, Ty hit the gym. He preferred to go during the day when it was less crowded, but sometimes that wasn’t an option. As was usually the case when he was mission-obsessed, Ty’s symptoms were manageable. He felt relaxed. He didn’t worry about the cars that ran up behind him on the street or about the people he didn’t recognize in the gym parking lot.

  He spent two hours at the gym and it was dark when he came out. He was alert and his situational awareness was on-point, but he wasn’t paranoid. He unlocked his truck, climbed in, and sat there for a moment while he checked his phone. There was a missed call from Lieutenant Whitt and he decided to call her before heading home.

  “Lieutenant Whitt,” she answered, her greeting always crisp and business-like.

  “Yeah, is this Papa Johns?”

  “You’re hilarious, Ty. You really missed your calling.”

  “Speaking of calling, I just got out of the gym and saw I’d missed one from you.”

  “Nothing good. Raylene called. She said the counselor from the clinic, our Karen Richmond, canceled suddenly. It looks like our operation tomorrow is delayed.”

  “Damn,” Ty groaned. “I was excited about that.”

  “We all were, but it happens.”

  “You don’t think Raylene was compromised, do you? Did they figure out she used to be a cop?”

  “I asked that but Raylene said she didn’t get that impression,” Whitt said. “Sounds like some kind of emergenc
y came up. The counselor had to leave town but would be back in a few days. She said she’d call Raylene as soon as she returned and they’d set up a time, so I guess we’re on hold until that happens.”

  “Well, thanks for letting me know, Lieutenant. I guess I need to call Cliff and give him an update.”

  “Thanks, Ty. You have a good evening.”

  “You do the same, Lieutenant.”

  Ty got rolling and exited the parking lot. He synced his phone with his truck and called Cliff through the speakerphone.

  “Cliff Mathis,” the gravelly voice answered.

  “Hey Cliff, it’s Ty.”

  “What you got for me, brother?”

  “Delays, buddy. The counselor called Raylene and said she had to go out of town on an emergency. They seem pretty sure this is a legit family thing for the counselor. She promised to call Raylene as soon as she was back in town.”

  “Eh, it happens. Snags and delays are par for the course,” Cliff said. “I’ll let my team know to stand down.”

  “You were coming with them, right?”

  “Affirmative. I’ve got projects here that need my attention, but I was going to head out as soon as we got word it was a go. I planned to fly out with the child actors and their parents.”

  “I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

  There was a moment of silence before Cliff spoke again. “We know from experience that these lulls in the action are when you get in trouble, Ty. What are we going to do to avoid that this time?”

  Ty gave a nervous laugh. “I guess that is becoming the pattern, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I don’t want to say that you’re predictable, but you do have a history here.”

  “Any recommendations?”

  “How about this: you don’t leave the house for anything mission-related without speaking to me first. I don’t care about the time. If you start getting sucked into the hole and feel like you are going to do something rash, you call me first. Can you agree to do that?”