‘Do you think we would get away with that?’ Tom questioned, doubtfully.
‘If we want to carry on our search for Rosie, we will have to try it.’
‘But then how we will get her home after going to Hungary?’ Tom asked.
‘I am hoping that we can get the police involved once we have found more evidence there, and we can then explain to them about Sadie. They will be able to sort out her passport.’
Tom and Lucy sat nervously waiting for Sadie to wake up. After a three hour nap, she stirred with a panic, sitting up suddenly, trying to work out where she was.
‘Hey it’s ok, it’s Lucy…Rosie’s mum…you remember?’
She blinked a few times, slowly registering Lucy and Tom’s faces and said ‘Am I safe now?’
‘Yes darling, you are safe. You just had a little sleep. We’re going to look after you now until we get home.’ Lucy replied.
‘But I do not have a home.’ she said sleepily.
‘We will sort something out when we get back to England.’ Tom added.
She looked at them both and managed a flicker of a smile.
Lucy and Tom waited until she was dressed in her new outfit and had gulped down a large strawberry milkshake, before sitting her down to talk some more.
‘So Sadie, are you ok if we ask you a few more questions?’ Lucy asked.
She nodded, feeling calmer now that her sobbing had subsided. ‘Yes….ok.’
‘Can you remember anything more about the day you and Rosie went missing?’
Sadie paused while she thought back. ‘Yes….we were playing on the 2p machine in the arcade, when a clown called us over to watch him juggle.’
Lucy looked across to Tom. ‘The clown…see we were right!…Sorry Sadie carry on.’
‘He said he had a special treat waiting for us over the other side of the fairground, so me and Rosie went with him.’
‘And what was the special treat?’ Tom asked.
‘He never gave us it….his face went all mean looking and he pushed me and Rosie into a car.’
‘Can you remember what they looked like?’ Lucy asked.
‘Dark hair….they were not from England….they kept saying we were going on an adventure…they said they would drive us home after. I had a bad feeling about it though.’ Sadie’s chin started to tremble. ‘I…I held onto Rosie’s hand as she was calling out for her mummy. I tried to look after her. I…I have met many bad people …my mum’s boyfriends, people in care homes, so I know when people are bad.’
‘Do you know where they drove you?’ Tom asked gently.
‘We had blanket’s over our heads, but when they took them off, we seemed to be on a boat. I remember Rosie feeling sea sick as we hit the waves.’
‘Yes …she does suffer from sea sickness…you are right…my poor poor baby.’ Lucy despaired helplessly.
‘They put blankets over our heads again as we left the boat, but mine slipped off a bit, and I saw we were put into a blue van. We were driven in the van for a while and then put into a big camper van.
‘What did you do when you were in there?’ Tom asked.
‘We were not allowed outside…they gave us toys to play with. We were guarded by an older man and a younger man. They brought us food and told us to keep quiet.’
‘Do you know how long you stayed there for?’ Lucy asked.
‘I am not sure…we slept a lot of the time as we both couldn’t keep our eyes open. We did hear the engine start up though, and we seemed to start moving again. After a few hours, we stopped somewhere else. I managed to peek through the window and there were lots of garages.’
Lucy’s stomach was churning. The lock up garage they followed Laurenz Felbiger to, must have been a hand over destination. ‘So what happened then?’
Sadie’s eyes started to well up. ‘This…this was when….when me and Rosie got separated. A dark rough looking man took Rosie.’
‘What do you mean…took…how?’ Lucy asked.
‘He was called Renz…Renzo …something like that…..me and Rosie were hugging each other crying. We didn’t want to let each other go, but the nasty man ripped Rosie’s hand from mine and pulled her into his arms.’
Lucy gulped. Her baby girl was scared and frightened, and she wasn’t there to protect her from this cruel monster.
Tom got up and walked into the bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and let out a loud bellowing roar. Lucy could hear bottles being flung onto the floor, and fists being pummelled against the wall.
Lucy wanted to rush and comfort him, but she had Sadie to think about, who was now looking terrified at Tom’s reaction.
‘It’s ok….he is just very upset. He hates what has happened to both you and Rosie. You are being such a brave girl talking to us like this…come here.’ Lucy beckoned her over for a cuddle, and rocked her back and forth gently, until Tom re-emerged from the bathroom.
Lucy reached her hand out to him. She could see her husband was hurting as much as she was. Both feeling like they had failed their little girl. They were her parents….they were supposed to protect her from evil men like this. But they weren’t prepared to have evil cross their paths like this. They liked to think they lived in a world where predominantly good people resided, and for most of the time this had been true for them. Unfortunately though, this time, they had been unlucky, and evil had tragically met them head on.
‘Sorry Sadie, are you ok to continue?’ Lucy asked.
Sadie nodded. ‘After Rosie got taken, I had to wait alone with the younger man. He just kept staring at me and telling me to shut up crying. It was horrid in the care home, but I never felt as bad as this. I was very scared and lonely.’
‘You must have been terrified you poor darling.’ Lucy said.
‘It felt like I was left alone for a few hours with the young man, when the man called Renz..or Renzo came back and drove me to a lady’s house.’
‘A lady’s house?’ Tom asked.
‘Yes …I stayed with her for a few months. She was the Master’s mistress…..that’s what she told me anyway. She taught me lots of tricks to pick pocket tourists….everything she had learned since six years old….she knew it all. Lena…that was her name. Lots of long red wiry hair. She was kinder than the nasty men who took me and Rosie, but she could be horrid too if you didn’t do well during the day.’
‘What do you mean…do what well?’ Lucy asked.
‘Steal….Lena would warn me that if I didn’t try hard and steal the amount I was set each day, I would have to go and work in the house that the sweaty dirty men went to. I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t want to find out.’
Lucy grimaced, knowing full well what sort of place Lena meant. ‘So how did you steal?’
‘I stole bags, wallets and cameras from the tourists. They knew nothing about it. I worked with a helper…one of the other girls or boys got their attention whilst I grabbed what I needed.’ She paused for a moment before continuing. ‘I was very scared at first, but after a year of practise with Lena, I became very good at it. I didn’t enjoy it… I hated it. I’m not a bad girl… but if I didn’t bring back enough stuff, I would get the brutal back hand from the Master. I have longed for the day I could get away, but the other girls told me that I would have to stay at least five more years…until I was older enough to escape.’
‘So you would be expected to pick pocket until you were sixteen?’ Tom asked, slightly in shock at her acquired skill.
‘No …..I had heard that us girls were no use to them after the age of thirteen, as we couldn’t easily hide from tourists. I was told that we would still work for the Masters, but somewhere else. I was scared it was do with the dirty sweaty men.’
‘Well, that’s not going to happen to you now sweetheart.’ Lucy reassured her, squeezing her hand.
‘Did you always live with this Lena?’ Tom asked.
‘No, after a few months, I moved in with the other girls and boys. It wasn’t very nice there…..stuffy
and hot in the summer, and freezing cold in the winter. The others were from all over the place, but most of them were from Sinti or Roma families. I picked up a lot of German, otherwise I would have felt very alone. We would talk together and they told me their parents had sent them there to earn money for the family. We were like a family though, as we didn’t have anyone else, and we would always cover for each other if one of us hadn’t earned enough that day, by sharing each other’s wallets or cameras. We’d do anything to protect each other from a bruising.’
‘So where was this house you lived at?’ Tom asked.
‘Here in Vienna….Lena said I was lucky to have been taken there as it was a nice city where lots of money could be made. She said I could have been taken to Hungary where the Masters had other places.’
Lucy and Tom were amazed at how she had managed to cope for so long. Imagining Rosie in the clutches of those monsters was almost too much to bear, but they knew they had to hear it if they wanted to find her.
‘You are a very courageous girl to get through each day there, all alone.’ Lucy said, brushing Sadie’s fringe out of her eyes.
Sadie’s lip started to wobble again. ‘It was so so horrid there… I can’t believe I am out of that horrible place. I feel like I’m dreaming.’
‘Well, you are not sweetheart, and you will always be safe with us now, we promise.’ Tom comforted her.
‘I know it has been two years, but do you remember Rosie’s name ever being mentioned?’ Lucy asked.
Sadie shook her head. ‘No… I don’t…. but the Masters never used our real names. We were all given new names. Mine was Jasmine.’
‘Really?!…you have had so many names!’ Lucy exclaimed.
‘I know.’ Sadie grinned. ‘I did though stay up one night talking to Lena. I asked if she knew what happened to the little girl that was taken with me.’
‘Yes?’ Lucy inquired, moving closer to her. ‘ ….and what did she say?’
‘She’d been at the vodka, so it wasn’t very clear, but she mumbled something about them liking blonde types there. When I asked her where, she told me to shut up and mind my own business, but she then staggered off muttering ‘Yes a hungry man likes the little blonde princesses.’
‘So you think she meant Hungary?’ Lucy asked.
Sadie nodded. ‘Yes, I think she did.’
Tom got up and paced around the room.
‘Tom, are you ok?’Lucy asked, concerned that hearing them refer to their darling Rosie as a commodity was too much.
After a few moments, he gathered himself again and came back to sit beside them. ‘You have been fantastic Sadie…you really have. It is just very hard to hear everything you are telling us. With your help though we may be able to find Rosie.’
Sadie smiled. ‘I hope so, I really want to find her again too.’
‘So it looks like we definitely need to go to Hungary. We have the address of Jozsef Halasz there, and we now know he owns Golden Dreams Casino, which has a branch in Budapest too?’
‘Jozsef?’ Sadie asked.
‘Yes…a Jozsef Halasz…. we have tracked a man down that we think had something to do with your kidnapping. We found a receipt at the campsite you were held at.’ Lucy replied.
Sadie looked down repeating the name ‘Jozsef’, as if trying to recollect the name.
‘Do you think you have met him?’ Tom asked.
‘I am not sure….. I remember another older man coming to visit that seemed to know Lena. I am sure she greeted him as Jo.’
‘Here I have a picture.’ Lucy interjected, frantically scrolling through her pictures before bringing up the one with the three men Emil, Laurenz and Jozsef.
Lucy watched as Sadie’s whole body tensed with repulsion.
‘Yes, that is him, she said pointing to the man on the right….and the one in the middle, he was the one who took Rosie from me, and then drove me here.’
‘Are you sure?’ Tom asked.
Sadie nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
Lucy jumped up and planted a kiss on Sadie’s cheek. ‘Tom, we have them! We bloody have them now for sure!’
Tom smiled and rested his hand on Sadie’s shoulder. ‘You have been great sweetheart…. let’s get you another drink and a big piece of cake.’
As Lucy and Tom sat discussing what Sadie had told them, Tom deliberated their next move.
‘So, I think we have enough to go to the police with now, don’t you?’
‘I just want to track down this Jozsef Halasz first, and then we definitely will. It will only be a few more days. Yes, we have evidence from Sadie now, but these gangs are notorious for going underground, and if they smell a whiff of the police sweeping in here, the gang in Hungary may hide out and ship off any girls they have to another country. We can’t risk that yet. I just want to get to Hungary first, as then I will feel closer to Rosie.’
‘Ok ok…I suppose we have come this far, another couple of days won’t hurt.’
‘I think though, we should go and see where Sadie was living….just to take some photos so we have as much evidence to give the police when we eventually call them.’ Lucy suggested.
‘Yes, good idea.’ Tom replied.
They had to be extremely careful not to put Sadie back in any danger, so they camouflaged her in a big floppy hat and heart shaped sunglasses, and placed her between them in the back of a cab. Sadie pointed at the area where Lucy and Tom needed to go, and as the cab pulled up near a four tiered building of flats with graffiti scrawled all over it, they sat and watched as small children came and went.
‘Let’s take some pictures and get out of here. I think we’ve seen enough.’ Tom said.
‘Yes I agree, we have the address as well to give to the police.’
After a few minutes, the cab driver was grumbling for them to go, so Tom swiftly got out, took a few pictures, and jumped back in before the cab sped off back to their hotel.
‘At least that’s more evidence to show. We’ve just got to get us booked into the next hotel in Hungary now.’ Tom declared.
Lucy put her arm around Sadie. ‘Are you ok?’
‘Yes, I am now. I want to get as far away as possible from that place.’ she said, looking at the building with hatred. ‘I just feel bad for my friends I am leaving behind.’
‘Well, hopefully once the police are involved, we will be able to save your friends too.’ Lucy replied, comforting her.
Chapter 26
Driving through the streets of Vienna, Chloe felt a wave of sadness come over her as she thought of Josh. He would have loved to have been here with her, strolling around enjoying the beautiful architecture and museums. Sadly for them both though, Chloe wasn’t here to enjoy a romantic weekend. Instead, she was here to court possible danger, and to meet an unknown ‘somebody.’ A very crucial ‘somebody’ by Tatiana’s accounts. Who that person was, she didn’t know, and the tension of getting to that moment was anxiously building.
As she finally arrived at Hotel Magdalena, she parked up and made her way through the marble floored reception area. Some tourists were studying their street maps in the lounge, whom Chloe looked on at with jealousy. They were obviously all planning a pleasurable day of sightseeing.
‘Hallo, willkommen madam.’ a friendly receptionist greeted her.
‘Hello, I have a room booked under the name of Messenger.’
She tapped a few buttons on her keyboard before replying, ‘Ah yes, I am afraid your room isn’t available until 12.00. You are welcome to wait in the lounge, or you may like to go for a coffee. You can leave your bag in our storage area.’
‘Oh, ok.’ Chloe replied, with disappointment. She really wanted to settle in her room before Lucy and Tom arrived, but she’d just have to wait. Instead she decided to store her bag, and venture out for a short explore around the area.
Her first port of call was one of the many coffee houses near the hotel. Their rich smell of cocoa beans and chocolate cake were luring her in, so she made her way o
ver to one of them and indulged in their delights.
As she studied her map, she worked out her bearings, and the places Lucy and Tom may likely visit. She knew they would try and find the Gold Dreams Casino and they had talked about going to the Child Crisis Centre. Chloe was still intrigued as to who this someone they were supposed to meet would be.
After half an hour, satisfied that she knew where she was possibly going, she popped the last bit of chocolate cake into her mouth, paid the waiter and set off strolling around the city’s medieval alleyways. As she arrived at Stephansplatz, she stood gazing up at St Stephen’s Cathedral, fascinated by it’s colourful mosaic patterned roof. She felt the urge to go in and delve behind it’s gothic walls, but she knew she didn’t have long before she had to get back to the hotel. According to her estimation, Lucy and Tom were due in an approximately an hour’s time, so she headed back past the array of shops and canopied eateries, before finally hopping on the Ringstrasse tram, back to the hotel.
As Chloe sat swiping through the photos she had taken of the city, she heard some familiar voices in reception. She looked up and saw Lucy and Tom chatting to the receptionist. It looked like their room wasn’t available either so they were going to nip out until it was ready. Chloe decided to wait at the hotel as she didn’t think they would go far before settling into their room.
As the time approached 12 noon, Chloe’s room was finally ready, so she followed the receptionist into the bag store. As she reached for her bag, she saw Lucy and Tom’s luggage glaring back at her. Caught staring at the front zip pocket of their case, she wondered if the listening device could be heard from there. ‘Urghh what should I do?!’ she deliberated. After what felt like an eternal few seconds, she finally made a decision. ‘Oh what the hell, just do it!’ she goaded herself, before slipping the device into the pocket. It was empty and it didn’t look like it was being used, so she hoped they wouldn’t ever look in there. At least now, she didn’t have to try and sneak back into their room, and with any luck, it could stay in there for the rest of the trip.
The Truth Healer: A Riveting Spiritual Psychic Thriller Page 28