Lucy pondered their next move, before grabbing Tom’s arm and leading them both back towards the casino entrance. She smiled at the bouncer as he moved aside to let them in, and steered Tom towards the reception desk.
‘Oh hello…English…you speak English.’ Lucy stammered.
‘Yes madam, how may I help you?’
‘I would like some chips please.’ Lucy asked defiantly.
‘What are you doing?’ Tom whispered under his breath.
‘Sshh…just follow my lead.’
Lucy and Tom walked through to the main casino area, where they were met by a sea of roulette, poker and black jack tables. It was the afternoon, so it wasn’t as busy as they imagined it would be in the evening, but there were still the lonesome die hard gamblers pitched up at a few of the tables.
‘What now?’ Tom asked.
‘The roulette tables are the easiest, so let’s go and place a few bets on there for a bit, then we might be able to see if Laurenz materialises at all.’
As Lucy casually put a few chips on either black or red, Tom brought them over some drinks. After spying every corner of the casino for the next half an hour, Tom eventually manoeuvred off of his stool.
‘I’m just going to have a look around.’ Tom muttered, while Lucy made small talk with the croupier.
As he walked around studying the other gamblers, he noticed a few men going through some double doors at the back of the casino. After a quick glance around, he headed towards them, but just as he was about to open them, another suited bouncer called out. ‘Nein, Stopp!’
Tom stopped in his tracks and turned around. ‘Sorry, English.’
‘You no go in there….private….members only.’
‘Oh I am sorry, I did’t know…..is it a club?’ Tom asked curiously.
‘Yes ….you have to be member.’ the bouncer repeated.
‘More game tables?’ Tom asked, pointing at the others on the floor.
‘No….for men only.’
Tom paused. ‘Men?….oh Men.’
‘You like to join?’ the bouncer asked.
‘Err no….my wife is over there…thanks anyway.’
Tom rushed back over to Lucy. ‘We need to get out of here ..now!’
‘Wha….hang on let me get my chips.’
‘Quick, cash them in….we are leaving.’ Tom instructed.
‘Ok ok.’
Lucy jumped off her stool and made her way out onto the street after collecting her money.
‘Now what is it?’ she said, slightly flustered.
‘There is a club, which I think leads under the casino, that is for men…if you know what I mean.’
‘For men…what, do you…..oh men…like a strip bar?’
‘I can’t be certain, but I think that is what the bouncer was getting at.’
‘So……..even if there is, how does that help us?’ Lucy asked bewildered.
‘It means that Laurenz isn’t just in the casino game, but in the men’s entertainment game, which would involve women.’
‘Ok, but how does that definitely link him to Rosie.’
‘It doesn’t directly….but he could be trafficking girls to work in his clubs.’
‘Oh God…do you think so?’
‘I am afraid there is a distinct possibility.’ Tom said grimacing.
‘So what should we do?’
‘We can’t do anything directly yet, but it has pieced some more of the jigsaw together.’
‘I suppose so.’ Lucy said, looking down.
‘Let’s get away from here and walk around a bit. I could do with some fresh air.’ Tom suggested.
After searching around for an hour, finding no other links, Lucy sat down disgruntled on some nearby steps. ‘This isn’t getting us any further is it?’
Tom looked around aimlessly. ‘I know, we don’t really know what else we are looking for here do we?’
‘I need some refreshments now as I can feel myself getting irritable.’ Lucy grumbled.
‘Ok come on, let’s go into that restaurant over there, and then we can always try the Child’s Crisis Centre this afternoon.’ Tom suggested.
A waiter guided them towards one of their cream parosoled tables, where the aroma of pizza was wafting under their noses, promising them that much needed boost.
As they guzzled back their large glass of lemonade and beer, they could feel their tired minds being brought back to life after their long trek around the streets in the soaring heat.
Lucy and Tom both sat savouring the moment, allowing themselves to switch off for an hour and enjoy the food. Their minds had been so busy worrying, that they needed to reboot and start afresh with new energy and a new plan of action.
As Lucy took her first bite of pizza, she caught sight of a little girl out of the corner of her eye. She was wearing a grubby floral sundress with dirty white sandals. Her button nose was peeking out from behind her overgrown baby blond fringe, and her delicate tanned arm was holding some heather.
Lucy felt her heart go in her mouth, as the little girl headed in her direction. For that momentary second she thought it was Rosie.
As she put down her pizza and turned towards her, she felt her heart drop again, as she realised it wasn’t her baby girl, but somebody else’s.
The little girl reached out to present Lucy with the heather, whilst holding out her other tiny hand palm up, pleading for money. As Lucy turned to acknowledge her, she was suddenly disturbed by the sound of a woman shouting.
‘Your bag, Your bag, She’s taken your bag!’
Lucy urgently turned to look for it. To her horror, she only caught a final glimpse of the strap disappearing off the table. It was in the clutches of another child, who was now making their way off into the crowds with it.
Without thinking, Lucy flung her chair out from under her and sped off after them. Her life and soul were in that bag. Her phone and camera with the last photos of Rosie were in there. Photos that were not all saved, and she would never see again. They had no meaning to this child who only wanted to make a few euros, but they meant the world to Lucy, which is why she was weaving in and out of the oblivious tourists with wild abandon. She was damned if she was going to let this child steal it away from her!
‘Stop, Stop…she’s got my bag!’ she shouted.
The crowds of people just looked blankly at her, but she didn’t really expect them to help. She wasn’t sure if she would have in the midst of licking her cornetto and caught up in the moment of holiday meandering.
She was desperately trying to keep her eyes locked on the shabby grey top bobbing up and down in the distance, which was getting more and more impossible as it blended in with the surrounding buildings and tourists.
‘Luce wait, be careful!’ Tom called out, trying to keep up with her.
As she reached one of the narrow alleyways leading off from the square, Lucy could see the back of a trainer vanish into a turning up on the right. Lucy gritted her teeth in determination to catch the child up, as she knew if she lost the thief, she would never see her bag or those photos of Rosie again.
She sprinted to the turning, relieved that she may have finally caught them, but to her dismay, she was met by sudden emptiness. There was no-one to be seen. She bent over to catch her breath, feeling her cheeks burning and her tendons aching where she had strained to keep her flip flops on.
‘No, no, no!….this can’t be happening!’ she fumed, banging her fists against her thighs.
She stared down the alley in disbelief, angry that she had allowed the child to escape.
Just as she was about to turn back defeated, she suddenly heard a quiet rustling sound. She paused momentarily, before walking further on down the alley to a doorway. As she poked her head around it, there, quivering in the corner, was the scrawny tanned child hugging her bag.
‘There you are!’ Lucy yelled, grabbing the child’s arm. ‘Give me that back!…How could you do this you evil child?! …..Do you know what this bag means t
o me?!’
She couldn’t see if it was a boy or girl, as their hair was a straggly shoulder length bob, and they were wearing knee length mud stained shorts with blue scuffed trainers.
‘Well, look at me!’ Lucy demanded, forcing their head up by their chin. ‘Do you speak English?’
The child lifted their gaze, with tears now streaming down their cheeks. Lucy stared back into their deep chocolate eyes. As she took in their olive heart shaped face, thick black lashes and cherub pout lips, she felt her heart stop.
‘You!’ Lucy blurted out with venom. ‘I knew it!’
The young girl’s brown forlorn eyes widened in slow recognition. Her lips were trembling as she dropped the bag.
‘Katrina!…I knew you had something to do with my Rosie going missing! How could you do this to my family? Where is she, where is she?!’ Lucy demanded, now screaming and shaking Katrina’s skinny forearms.
‘Luce stop it, stop it!’ shouted an exasperated Tom, who had finally caught up.‘She’s only a child, she doesn’t know what she is doing.’
‘Yes she does!… she knew exactly what she was doing when she lured Rosie into the hands of those men!’ Lucy screamed.
Katrina was shaking her head, crying ’No, No, please ….I didn’t.’
‘I saw you befriending my Rosie.’ Lucy said accusingly.
‘Luce let her speak.’ Tom instructed, trying to calm the situation.
‘It wa…wasn’t me.’ Katrina sobbed, whilst intermittently gasping as she tried to get her words out.
‘What do you mean it wasn’t you?’ Tom asked more encouragingly.
‘They…they too..took us both.’.
‘What? What are you talking about?’ Lucy snapped, dismissively letting go of her arms.
‘Ro…Rosie was my fr..friend, until ….until the na…nasty men dro…drove us away.’ Katrina wept, lowering her head.
‘So Katrina, are you saying you were taken against your will by these men as well?’ Tom asked more supportively.
Katrina nodded and threw her arms around Lucy’s waist, burying her face into her belly. Lucy looked at Tom in shock, hovering her hands in mid air before slowly putting her hands around Katrina’s back.
‘It’s…it’s ok…I’m ..I’m …sorry Katrina.’ Lucy said, slowly calming down. ‘I didn’t realise….but I do not understand why your parents haven’t been searching for you.’
Katrina looked up with her swollen red eyes and said quietly. ‘I..I do not have any p..parents.’
‘What do you mean you do not have any parents?’ Tom asked.
‘I..I lived in c..care.’
‘A care home?…but…’ Lucy questioned.
Katrina slowly nodded. ‘I..I was tak..taken into care wh..when I was eight…. My mo..mother died from drugs. I ne..never knew my fa..father. Th..they do not care if..if you go missing. No one cares. I l..liked to play at Ber.Bernie’s, I f..felt like I had fa..family around me.’
Lucy wiped away a stray tear that she had been holding back. ‘Oh Katrina, you poor girl.’
‘But the police asked all of the care homes country wide if they had reported any Katrina’s go missing.’ Tom queried.
Katrina bit her lip and looked down, before muttering ‘My n..name isn’t really K..Katrina.’
‘What?!….but why did you pretend it was?’ Lucy shrieked.
‘Be…because, I like to pr..pretend I am someone else.’ she admitted, letting out a small sniff ‘…I..I don’t like my own life, so I pre..pretend I am happy in Katrina’s.’
‘Oh darling, come here.’ Lucy said, hugging her.
‘What is your name then?’ Tom asked.
‘…S…Sadie’ she replied, looking solemn.
‘So ….Sadie….why did you steal Lucy’s bag….who is making you do this?’ Tom asked.
‘I …I….can not say…they….they will hurt me.’ Sadie panicked, holding her tummy.
‘Have they hurt you there?’ Lucy asked, pointing to her frail tiny body. ‘Can I have a look?’
Sadie slowly nodded.
Lucy lifted up her t-shirt, recoiling slightly as she revealed a large dark bruise spread over her ribs. ‘We won’t let them do anything else to you sweetheart.’she declared, shaking her head in disgust. ‘We need to take her with us Tom.’
‘I know, let’s get her back to the hotel.’
‘But they…they will see me… they are always wa..watching.’ Sadie fretted, shaking her head.
‘Tom, get my jacket out of the bag.’ Lucy instructed, before turning back to Sadie. ‘Here, put this on.’
Sadie stood while Lucy wrapped her jacket around her and placed her sunhat on her head. It was a bit oversized, but as they set off back to the hotel with Sadie huddled in between them both, they managed to successfully conceal her.
The relief of getting back to their room was immense. Once inside Tom ordered room service, as it didn’t look like Sadie had eaten a proper meal in months. Lucy put her in the bath, cleaned out her fingernails, gave her hair a good scrub and dressed her in one of her linen over shirts until they got her some fresh clothes
‘I’m..I’m….sc..scared’ Sadie sobbed, ‘..they are going to co…come and…and g…get me.’
‘Who are they?’ Lucy asked, brushing Sadie’s hair.
‘The..the.. Masters.’
‘The Masters?…what do you mean?’ Lucy pressed, sitting her down on the bed.
‘The hor…horrible m…men who make me st…steal. If I do…do not st…steal enough each day, they hur….hurt me as pun…pun…punishment.’
Lucy hugged her. ‘It’s ok darling, they won’t hurt you anymore.’
‘So Sadie, where did you meet these men?’ Tom asked softly, clearing the plates aside and pulling up a chair beside her.
Sadie looked across at Tom, before looking down at her lap. She started to rub her hands together, nervously rotating them round and around.
‘It’s ok you can tell us.’ Lucy gently reassured her.
‘The na…nasty men gave ….gave me to them… they said…they said they were…were my new family.’
‘What nasty men…..who are they?’ Lucy asked.
‘The ones that took me….. and R..Rosie.’ Sadie replied.
Tom leant forward and held both Lucy and Sadie’s hand, taking a deep breath.
‘Does Rosie live with you here Sadie?’ Tom asked hesitantly, not sure if he was ready to hear the answer, after seeing what Sadie had gone through.
She shook her head. ‘No…. they sep..separated us before…before I got driven here. I don…don’t know where she is now.’
Lucy’s head dropped. ‘Ok sweetheart, you look exhausted, why don’t you try and get some sleep and maybe we can talk a bit more later.’
Sadie nodded. ‘You w..won’t leave me w..will you?’
‘No, I’ll be right here.’ Lucy replied, tucking her in and kissing her forehead.
Lucy walked over to Tom and they held each other for a few moments. ‘We will need to get her some clothes. I can’t leave her so do you think you could nip to the department store opposite and get her a few tops, bottoms, sandals and underwear?’ Lucy asked.
‘You trust me with that?!’ Tom asked, slightly alarmed by his given task.
‘Well, I don’t have a choice as I think it is best if I stay with her.’ Lucy responded half smiling.
‘Ok ….what age clothing is she?’
‘I know Rosie said Katrina…..sorry Sadie… was nine years old when we met her, so buy her age eleven to twelve.’
‘Eleven going on sixteen….she has had to grow up so fast.’ Tom remarked, shaking his head.’
‘She certainly has ….anyway see you in a bit.’
‘Ok see you later.’
Lucy settled down in the armchair and watched Sadie breathing softly as she slept. She looked so small and fragile. Lucy could not imagine how anyone could treat her so badly, and laden the responsibility of stealing on her small shoulders.
She really hope
d that Sadie could shed some further light on what had happened to Rosie… but she didn’t want to push her too much too soon.
Images of Rosie out there in Sadie’s position somewhere, kept flashing through Lucy’s mind. Out there alone, scared and possibly being harmed. It was intensely painful to think about it. She just prayed she was out there alive still and even though she would not wish Sadie’s scenario on Rosie, she would rather find her like this, than not at all, or even worse, find out she was dead.
Tom eventually arrived back after an hour, stressed but feeling accomplished that he had succeeded in finding an acceptable wardrobe for Sadie.
‘These are great Tom, you have excelled yourself!’ Lucy praised, picking up a ladybird print top and denim skirt.’
‘Thank you darling, I did get a bit of help from the sales assistant.’ he admitted grinning
Lucy smiled. ‘At least these will keep her going for a few days.’
She folded the clothes neatly into the wardrobe, feeling a pang of loss as she touched them. It had been a while since she had needed to buy any girls clothes.
‘So what are we going to do now?’ Tom asked, helping himself to a biscuit.
‘I think we should let her rest and then we can see if she can remember anything else.’
‘To think she has had to go through this for the past two years, is beyond me.’ Tom said.
Lucy reached out and stroked Sadie’s’s tired body. ‘I know, two years is a long while…and think of the many other children still going through it.’
‘We are going to have to take her home with us aren’t we?…. but I’m not sure what we are going to do about her passport.’ Tom deliberated.
‘We only need one to get her home to the UK. I think we will be ok driving over the border to Hungary if we need to. I have Rosie’s passport, so her hair could have got darker as she got older. Rosie’s photo was taken four years ago, so her looks would have changed a bit anyway, and she could have got a tan from the sun anyway. We can look ahead in the queue, anyhow, and see how thoroughly they are checking the cars. If they aren’t checking them, we can hide her down in the back footwell with a blanket over her.’
The Truth Healer: A Riveting Spiritual Psychic Thriller Page 27