Innocent Girls

by Terence Mitford

  Her mother agreed without hesitation.

  As she ended the call Alison returned. ‘Okay, Natasha, follow me’

  Natasha raised her eyebrows. ‘Where to?’

  ‘There are two seats available on the next flight to Bucharest. It leaves in an hour. Which means you could be at your grandmother’s place within three hours.’

  ‘Did you say two seats?’

  ‘Yes, do you want some company?’

  ‘What about your business trip? Don’t you have to be somewhere?’

  ‘Nothing I can’t rearrange.’

  ‘I’d love you to come with me if you’re sure.’

  ‘That’s settled then, and this time I’m not letting you out of my sight. Oh, and by the way, I’m paying.’

  ‘No, Alison, I have money.’

  ‘It’s not up for discussion. Look, Natasha, I’m fully invested in your story both from a professional standpoint and a personal one. Let me do this for you. We both want to protect other girls and to do that I need to publish your story. So you see, you’d be helping me as well as other girls like you.’

  Natasha smiled and nodded her agreement.

  During the flight, Natasha took the opportunity to explain to Alison that her parents had separated and divorced when she was a young girl, and that her mother had then met and eventually married Stephen, a wealthy Englishman. They had lived in London for five years but when that marriage failed they moved back to Moldova and her parents had eventually got back together. ‘It’s relevant, because I just discovered yesterday my ex-stepfather was the top man in The Scarlet Club and the one who orchestrated my meeting with the English woman in the Bucharest bar, but my mum doesn’t know that yet.’

  Alison reached over and gently squeezed Natasha’s hand.

  A few hours later their taxi pulled up outside her grandmothers apartment. Natasha and Alison hauled their bags up two flights of stairs to a tearful reunion at the apartment door. After hugs and kisses and introductions, Natasha pulled back and looked over the shoulders of her parents and her grandmother.

  ‘Where’s Katerina?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ her mother said. ‘She should be back by now.’

  ‘Back from where?’

  ‘After you called she said she was going for a walk by the lake but would be back in plenty of time. She even put on her favourite summer dress, the one you bought her for her birthday. She wanted to look her best for you.’

  Natasha felt the hairs prickle on the back of her neck. She knew Katerina would not be late on purpose. They were as close as two sisters could be. The ten years between them meant there wasn’t the usual sibling rivalry that many sisters have, and Katerina was the sweetest girl Natasha knew.

  ‘Why did you let her go? I told you she could be in danger.’

  Her mother shook her head. ‘You told me not to let her go into the city. The lake is the other direction. She’ll be safe there, you know how quiet it is.’

  Natasha wrung her hands together. ‘You don’t understand. The trafficking gangs don’t take kindly to girls escaping and they have soldiers everywhere. They told me they have the addresses of the families of every girl under their control. They probably have this one. They knew about Katerina and threatened to take her.’

  ‘I’m sure she’s fine. How would they know she would come here?’ Natasha’s mother asked.

  Natasha inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘Because Stephen will have told them.’

  ‘Who, Stephen, my ex-husband?’

  ‘Yes, Mum, you were right all along not to trust him. He owned The Scarlet Club, and he set up the meeting with that woman in the bar in Bucharest.’

  Her mum stared open mouthed at her for a long moment, then frowned and said, ‘How did he know where you’d be?’

  Natasha’s cheeks burned. ‘Because I put it on facebook. He must have seen it.’

  ‘You told me that you had deleted him.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mum.’

  ‘Oh my god, Natasha, I sensed there was something very wrong about him, that’s why I left and took you and Katerina back to Moldova.’

  ‘I know, and you were right, but he can’t hurt Katerina now, he’s dead. But there are others who could. I know her favourite spot by the lake, I’ll go and find her.’

  Her mum stared at her as if in shock. ‘Dead? How?’

  ‘It’s a long story, Mum. I need to find Katerina first.’

  Natasha wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her tight, then turned to Alison. ‘Do you mind waiting here? I need to get to the lake fast.’

  Alison nodded. ‘I’ll be fine, go and find your sister.’

  Natasha gave her a grateful smile. ‘My father only speaks a little English but my grandmother is British so her and my mum speak it fluently.’

  ‘I’ll be fine, now go.’

  Natasha held her mum’s hand, gave her a reassuring squeeze, then set off for the lake, and five minutes later she reached the countryside at the edge of the built up area. Trees, bushes, and open grassy areas made for a peaceful retreat, a place to go to be alone, gather thoughts, and relax.

  She left the well worn path and made her way through the long grass towards the spot where she would sit with Katerina by the waterside, planning their futures and describing the handsome strangers they would eventually meet and marry. She smiled to herself as remembered Katerina’s idea of the perfect man. He would have to be tall, good-looking of course, and kind, and he must agree to at least three children. Two boys and a girl.

  As recently as last year, Katerina had never quite understood why she couldn’t pick the order they would be born. Surely there must be a pill we can take nowadays to ensure we have a boy and then another for a girl. Katerina’s naivety amused Natasha and she could never quite bring herself to destroy it. But that was a year ago, and no doubt one or more of her friends had, by now, enlightened Katerina as to just how it all happens. Though, if she was honest, Natasha hoped they hadn’t because there was something precious about a child’s innocence and naïvety that should be preserved for as long as possible.

  As she approached the lake she scanned the shoreline hoping to see her little sister lost in her thoughts while staring out over the water. But the closer she got, the tighter the knot clenched in her stomach, because there was no one in sight.

  The only movement was the gentle swaying of the long grass and the sun’s glittering reflections rippling across the lake. And as stunning as it was, there was an air of foreboding all around, as if this tranquil beauty spot held a secret, a dark and disturbing secret.

  By the time Natasha reached the water’s edge and the large rock they would sit on she was starting to panic. She called out, ‘Katerina!’

  No answer.

  She called again, and again.

  Something shiny glinted up from the grass in the bright sunlight. She took a few steps, bent down, and picked it up.

  Her blood ran cold, and despite the warmth of the sun, a shiver ran down her back as she looked at the silver locket in her hand. She recognised it instantly. She would know it anywhere. She had given it to Katerina last Christmas.

  She flicked open the silver lid and stared at the two photos, one on each side of the open locket. On the left was Katerina and on the right was the picture of herself. She had trimmed both photos and placed them inside before having the back inscribed with Sisters forever.

  She called her sister’s name over and over again and froze to listen. Nothing.

  There were no footprints near the waters edge, but a few feet back there was a patch of grass flattened down in the area where she had found the locket. She dropped to her knees and closed her eyes. She had a feeling, a sixth sense. Something had happened there on the grass, something bad.

  Natasha opened her eyes and studied the ground all around her. There were intermittent patches of flattened grass leading away. She stood up and followed what she guessed were footprints leading towards an old farm track and t
he gate that was usually chained shut.

  There was something in the distance just beyond the gate, something blue, and something that was not normally there. She knew the landscape well and the blue object just didn’t fit. She brought her hand up to her forehead shielding her eyes from the sun’s intensity. The object was large and square and blue. It must be a vehicle.

  She ran towards it as fast as she could and when closer stopped to focus again. It was a van, medium size, with what appeared to be a white sign on the side, a square with an arrow. Something at the back of the van moved. It was a figure, a big man, standing at the back staring into the van through the open doors.

  She was glad she was wearing jeans and flat ankle boots which allowed her to run through the grass over the small hills and dips. She ran as fast as she could, but the big man closed the rear doors and walked down the side of the vehicle. She raised her hands to her mouth to funnel her shouts but he got into the driver’s seat, closed the door, and drove away.

  When she reached the gate her worst fears were realised. On the ground where the back of the van had been was a rope loop with a knot in the middle. She climbed over the wooden gate and picked it up. The exact circumference of a twelve-year-old girl’s head. Long chocolate brown hairs were caught in the knot.

  7

  NATASHA

  Natasha ran most of the way back to her grandmother’s apartment but slowed down about one hundred meters short. She needed to catch her breath and compose herself before she could explain what had happened.

  When she walked into the apartment alone there was silence as her parents, grandmother, and Alison anxiously waited. It was difficult to find the words. How do you tell your parents that your younger sister, and their precious daughter, had been kidnapped? She even felt responsible. Because it wasn’t a coincidence. It was payback for her having the audacity to escape.

  Her mother broke the silence. ‘Where is she, Natasha?’

  Natasha slowly shook her ahead. ‘They’ve taken her, Mum, They’ve taken Katerina.’

  ‘Who’s taken her? What are you saying?’

  ‘The traffickers, Mum, the traffickers have her.’

  ‘But she went to the lake, the gangs operate in the city or in the villages, not by lakes.’

  ‘They took her because of me. They threatened to take her if I escaped.’

  ‘But I thought most of the gang are dead.’

  ‘Most who were involved in taking me and selling me are dead, but not all. Stefan, the man who picked me up at the airport and took me to a house in London is still alive.’

  ‘Oh my god, Natasha, what do we do now?’

  ‘Whoever took her will have been working on instructions from London, no doubt from Stefan. He told me they had men everywhere. The ones he sent will probably be from Bucharest. I need to go and speak to Bucharest police.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Alison said.

  ‘Mum, ring the local police and tell them what happened. I saw a large blue van with a white square and arrow through the middle, and I found this rope on the ground after it drove away. I think these are Katerina’s hairs caught in the knot.’

  Natasha ran to the phone and called for a taxi, then she asked her grandmother for a recent photograph of her sister. Fortunately, her grandmother still used an old thirty-five millimetre camera whenever the family got together and would get the film developed promptly so she always had up to date photos of her grandchildren. She opened a large blue velvet album, plucked a photo from one of the back pages, and handed it to Natasha. ‘I took this in early spring.’

  Before leaving, Natasha hugged her mother. ‘I’ll get her back, Mum. I promise you, I will get her back.’

  Her mother nodded as she wiped tears from her eyes. ‘I hope so, Natasha, but please, don’t put yourself at risk. I can’t lose you too.’

  Natasha tried hard to force a reassuring smile. ‘Try not to worry, Mum. They will pay for what they have done. I will make sure of that.’

  Forty minutes later the taxi pulled up outside Bucharest’s main police station. The reception desk was busy with several people waiting their turn, but Natasha couldn’t wait. She ran to the counter. ‘I need to see someone now, it’s urgent.’

  The complaints rang out immediately. Even the officer on duty shook his head and told her to get in line.

  Natasha turned back to the people waiting. ‘I’m sorry to push in but I have to.’ She turned back to the officer behind the desk. ‘My sister has been taken, I need to see someone now.’

  The officer sighed, and in a couldn’t-care-a-less tone, asked, ‘Who’s taken who where?’

  ‘Traffickers have taken my sister. She’s only twelve.’

  The officer studied Natasha for a moment. Then he put down his pen, turned to a desk phone and punched in a number. ‘You’d better come down here, another one’s gone.’ He put down the phone, opened a door next to the counter and waved Natasha through. Allison followed.

  He showed them into a waiting room with magnolia walls, notice boards, a row of chairs, a strip light, and no windows. ‘Wait here.’

  Natasha studied various posters and leaflets on the noticeboards. She pointed to numerous pictures of young teenage girls and turned to Alison. ‘You see.’

  Alison studied the photos. ‘Are these all missing?’

  Natasha scanned the headlines below each photo and nodded.

  A large man entered the room and glanced from Natasha to Alison. His face was round and full, which matched his waistline, and his black hair was showing signs of grey. She placed him somewhere in his late thirties, maybe early forties, and hopefully experienced enough to understand the risks young girls faced in and around Bucharest and some of the evil forces at work there.

  She glanced from his open neck shirt to his creased grey trousers to his eyes. ‘Are you a detective?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, I am, who are you and how can I help you?’

  ‘I’m Natasha Caraman and this is my friend Alison.’

  The detective’s face straightened. ‘You’re Natasha Caraman?’

  ‘Yes, why do you ask like that?’

  ‘Because I know what happened to you. I have read a copy of your statement. The British police sent us a full report because of your connection to Bucharest.’

  ‘I suppose that makes sense. Do you speak English?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Good, can we speak in English so that my friend Alison can understand?’

  The detective nodded and showed them into a nearby interview room with a table and four chairs. He asked them to sit down and he sat opposite them.

  Natasha placed the photograph on the table and slid it towards the detective. ‘This is my sister, Katerina. The traffickers have her.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  Natasha explained the threats that were made against her sister while she was held in the house in London and what she had seen and found by the lake.

  The detective just nodded.

  ‘You don’t seem surprised.’

  ‘I’m not, It’s happened before, it’s how they operate. They are evil people.’

  ‘The man who picked me up at Heathrow airport and took me to the house in London was the one who threatened to take my sister if I escaped or didn’t cooperate. His name was Stefan, he said they have details of the families of all the girls they take.’

  ‘Yeah, the men who abduct the girls often work on information from friends or family members who sell them details of girls to target. Sometimes the friends and family members sell the girls direct.’

  ‘It was my ex-stepfather who provided the information on me, and no doubt my sister. We were still connected on Facebook.’

  The officer nodded. ‘I see.’

  ‘Do you know which gang will have taken my sister?’

  ‘There are several operating around Bucharest. Most are based in sector five, around the Rahova and Ferentari districts. They are safe there. Even though the gangs often ta
rget their daughters, the residents know better than to inform on them.’

  ‘Can you get your officers to search for the blue van I saw near the lake? I’m sure Katerina was taken in that.’

  ‘I will circulate the description, but if she’s in Sector five, I doubt we’ll find her. Officers don’t have a great deal of success in the area.’

  ‘Then I’ll look myself.’

  ‘Don’t do that. It would be too dangerous for you to go poking around there asking questions. They will know you’re not local, and if the wrong people hear about it we’ll be investigating two more disappearances.’

  ‘Someone has to do something. I cant just sit back and let those bastards sell my sister.’

  ‘If they’ve taken her she’s probably on her way to Europe by now.’

  ‘But you’ll notify the European border police won’t you? They can intercept them.’

  ‘Yes, but the gangs have contacts on all the borders. They pay border guards to ensure they get through. Most are honest but they only need one or two corrupt officials at each crossing. I don’t want to give you false hope because there’s not much chance of finding her. It’s just the way it is.’

  ‘No, it’s not. Not when it’s my sister. I’ll find her, and I’ll find the scum who took her.’

  The detective opened a folder and took out a multi-sided form. ‘I need you to fill this out with your sister’s description and details.’ He placed a pen down on top of the form.

  Natasha grabbed it and wrote as fast as she could. When she had finished she pushed the form towards the detective along with the photo of Katerina.

  ‘I need it back, can you take a copy?’

  The detective nodded, left the room, and returned with the photo a few minutes later. ‘Take my advice and go home.’

  Natasha got to her feet. ‘You may have read my statement but you don’t know me, because if you did, you wouldn’t say that.’ She turned to Alison. ‘Let’s go, we are wasting our time here.’