The Truth Healer: A Riveting Spiritual Psychic Thriller

by J Gabriel-Smith

  ‘So where was Lucy at this point?’ Josh asked.

  ‘She had been taken already and bundled into a car.’

  ‘And where were you driven?’ Josh added.

  ‘To a shanty town near Briskolc. That is where Lucy is being held captive.’

  ‘So how did you manage to get away from them?’ Jim asked confused.

  Tom got up to pour them another drink. ‘Well, that is the most extraordinary thing. There was a journalist working on a piece about human trafficking, and her research had led her to Jozsef Halasz’s house. She saw what happened and followed the cars. When the thugs had gone into the shanty house, she freed me from the van and drove Sadie and myself back to the hotel to check out, in case they made Lucy tell them which hotel we were staying in.’

  ‘So where is this journalist now, and what was her name?’ Josh asked with interest.

  ‘She had to go back to the UK for work, but I have her number if we need to speak to her…her name is Chloe.’ Tom said.

  ‘Chloe?…..same as my girlfriend.’ Josh reflected smiling. ‘Ok …yes.. we will probably need to speak to her.’

  ‘Right, we’d better get started then.’ Jim instructed, taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves.

  Jim and Josh started to set up Tom’s room in to a working police investigation site, displaying Tom’s spreadsheet on the wall, and adding their own pointers. They also managed to print off the photos from Lucy’s tablet to pin up.

  Jim rang their Super to update him, who in turn rang the Foreign Liaising Officers in Austria, Hungary and Sweden to explain the case details. They were already familiar with it, from when the first missing persons alert for Rosie went out through Interpol and Europol. The Austrian and Hungarian police were on board for any impending arrests that may be required on instruction, whilst the Hungarian police in Budapest were sending over a couple of their senior detectives to meet Josh and Jim at the hotel.

  At 2pm the Hungarian officers arrived.

  ‘Thank you for coming….I’m Detective Chief Inspector Jim Mackenzie and this is Detective Chief Inspector Josh Anderson.’ Jim said, welcoming them into the room.

  ‘Good afternoon….I’m Detective Inspector Vastag.’ said a tall slim man in this thirties, with greying sideburns and thin lips. ‘…and this is Detective Inspector Ruzsa.’ he continued, standing aside, as his plumper sidekick entered the room. D.I.Ruzsa had a friendlier appearance, with his slightly ruddier cheeks and wider smile.

  ‘Nice to meet you both, and thank you for coming so quickly.’ Jim added. ‘May I also introduce you to Tom and Sadie. Tom is the father of the missing girl Rosie Parker, which I believe you are aware of already, from my Super’s telephone conversation.’

  ‘Yes, we are familiar with the case.’ D.I Vastag replied.

  ‘And now Tom’s wife, Lucy, has been kidnapped, whilst searching for her daughter.’ Jim disclosed.

  ‘I see….well could you to take us through your findings and we can plan a course of action.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Jim replied, gesturing for them to walk over to the various pieces of paper they had pinned up around the room.

  Jim and Josh took them through Tom and Lucy’s evidence, and Jim couldn’t help but pick up on D.I. Vastag and D.I. Ruzsa sharing a few raised eyebrows.

  ‘Is everything ok?’ Jim asked.

  ‘Yes ….yes fine…..we are just very interested to see the name Jozsef Halasz flagged up here.’ D.I. Vastag replied.

  ‘Oh yes….why is that?…do you know him?’ Josh asked.

  Both the Hungarian officers looked at each other uncomfortably.

  ‘If you do…we need to know.’ Jim requested again firmly.

  ‘Do you?’ Tom interjected desperately, holding onto Sadie’s hand.

  D.I Vastag paused, before continuing. ‘Jozsef Halasz has been on our radar for a while, but we have …we have….’ he looked across to D.I.Ruzsa, who nodded for his to continue ‘…we have been prevented from pursuing him.’

  ‘What do you mean…prevented?…but why?’ Jim pressed.

  ‘Our superior…..The Minister of the Interior, has always directed us away from him in the past. Whenever we brought his name to the table about his suspected dealings, he would dismiss them. ‘And why do you think that is?’ Josh asked.

  D.I. Vastag looked again towards D.I. Ruzsa, for his agreement to continue, to which he nodded. ‘He said Jozsef was an honourable man doing a lot for children’s charities, but we have always suspected it was a cover up to deflect from what he is really involved with.’

  ‘We believe….’ D.I Ruzsa took over ‘….that our Minister of the Interior has connections with Jozsef Halasz. We have insider information that our Minister frequents his establishment, as he prefers the younger female companions, if you get my meaning. This obviously is not befitting of a Minister of the Interior, and Jozsef Halasz is well aware of this, so we think they have come to some sort of agreement, whereby our Minister turns a blind eye to his criminal activities, otherwise his career would be at risk.’

  Jim’s eyes widened in disbelief at what he was hearing. ‘If that is the case, why has he sent you here today?….surely he would have not followed our case up.’

  ‘Well, that is it….he didn’t send us. He is on a break from work at the moment…..he has been in hospital having an operation. We have another Minister covering for him at the moment. That is why we were sent here so quickly. The new Minister is…how can I put it…..he is much more efficient in dealing with these matters…..and very keen to clear up the trafficking and corruption in this country. I think, after this, he will be becoming our new permanent Minister.’

  Jim sat on the bed with his head in hands. ‘I can’t believe that this Jozsef Halasz’s name could have been identified two years ago, if it wasn’t for this bloody corrupt Minister!’

  The Hungarian officers looked guilt ridden. ‘We are so sorry for this, but our hands were tied. Our Minister was a very influential person that nobody messed with….if you did, he would make your life very difficult.’

  ‘At least we have found this out now.’ Josh said, resting his hand on Jim’s back.

  Tom stood shaking his head. ‘So my daughter, and now my wife, are out there in the hands of that tyrant, and your wretched Minister would have been aware of this all along?!….it’s sick.’ he shouted, banging his fist down onto the table. Sadie cowered as her eyes started to well up.

  ‘Oh I’m sorry darling, it’s ok, I didn’t mean to scare you.’ Tom softened, kneeling down in front of her. ‘I’m just angry that the nasty men are still out there, but these nice men are going to help us bring back Lucy and Rosie.’

  After a few deep breaths, Josh proceeded. ‘Jozsef Halasz is due to ring this afternoon, to advise where Tom has to meet him to drop off the ransom money.’

  D.I.Vastag nodded. ‘Ok…well we will do everything now to make sure this man and his corrupt circle are brought to justice. I can get as many officers needed out there, ready to arrest him and his corrupt circle when we give them the go ahead.’

  After a tense wait, Tom’s phone finally rang at 3.20 pm. ‘Hello?’ he tentatively answered.

  ‘Do you have my money?’ a gruff voice demanded.

  Tom started waving his hands to Jim, mouthing and pointing at his phone ‘it’s him, it’s him.’ to which Josh gestured to put him on speaker phone.

  ‘Oh.. err …yes I am getting it.’ Tom replied nervously. ‘Is my wife and daughter ok…can I speak to them?’

  There was a pause before a female voice came to the phone, ‘Tom, Tom, we’re are o…’ Lucy managed to yell out, before the gruff voiced man snatched the phone back.

  ‘So…now you know she is ok, I want my money by 2pm tomorrow afternoon. You come alone, and meet my courier at the Millennium monument in Heroe’s Square. He will approach you and ask for directions to Briskolc…this is how you will know it is him. And remember… no police, or you will never see your wife and child again, understand?�
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  ‘Ok, I will bring the money there.’ Tom agreed shakily, before the phone was cut off at the other end.

  ‘Well done Tom, you said the right thing. We do not want to alarm him at this stage.’ Jim advised.

  ‘But what are we going to do about the money?’ Tom asked. ‘I can not risk him hurting Lucy or Rosie.’

  ‘We will get the money Tom, but we usually use forged notes. They are usually none the wiser, and when they do realise, we have manoeuvred in and arrested them.’

  ‘Isn’t that a risk?…what if they check the notes beforehand?’

  ‘Tom, we have been in these hostage situations before. Yes, it is risky, but let us focus on the job now and I promise we will get Lucy and Rosie back.’

  ‘Ok.’ Tom replied reluctantly, not wholly convinced.

  Two further offices from the Swedish police arrived by 6pm that evening, followed up by Josh and Jim’s Chief Superintendent, a female officer, and two other back up officers from London. They were all briefed on the evidence Lucy and Tom had discovered. The Swedish police immediately phoned Anna Gerber’s parents, who said they would arrive the next morning. They, like Lucy and Tom’s life, had been put on hold for the last six years, so they were desperate to hear news about their beloved daughter.

  It was growing into a momentous operation. After lengthy discussions with the National Crime Agency, the information and photographic evidence gathered by Lucy and Tom, warranted them targeting each individual hub uncovered in Austria, Hungary and the UK. From the key suspect’s houses to the child labour dwellings, they were ready to at least arrest some key members of the trafficking ring, and hopefully reunite some long lost children with their parents.

  As they formulated their plan, they decided they needed to make their hit when it was dark. They couldn’t wait until after the money handover, as it wouldn’t get dark for ages. Unless they changed the timings of the money exchange, it wouldn’t work, and they didn’t want to make Jozsef Halasz suspicious by altering the arrangements.

  They were going to have each hub under surveillance from midnight, with the plan of attack at 2am. With most of the pick pocketing children around in the day, they thought they would have more of a chance of rescuing them at night whilst asleep. Josh and Jim knew this was a critical case, and if they cocked it up, they could risk never finding Lucy or Rosie again.

  *****

  It was breaking Chloe’s heart listening to Josh down the corridor on her tablet. She wanted to rush in, fling her arms around him, and tell him how much she loved him. Their plans were scaring her. She had seen how Jozsef Halasz’s clan had attacked Tom. They were not going to surrender willingly, so she feared massively for Josh’s safety. She had hid in her room the whole day, ordering room service and listening to them planning their mission.

  Just as she was running a bath, her phone rang.

  ‘Chloe, it’s Tatiana.’

  ‘Hi Tatiana, you probably know this already, but the police are involved heavily now.’

  ‘Yes, I know, and that is why I am ringing.’

  ‘Oh..right, don’t tell me there is more to do?’ Chloe asked hesitantly, turning off the taps.

  ‘Yes sorry Chloe, a couple more things I’m afraid. Firstly, you remember Marianne from Beaux Arbres campsite?’

  ‘Yes why?’

  ‘You need to get Tom to ring her as she has some important information.’ Tatiana instructed.

  ‘But how am I supposed to do that?…I have left him now and he is with Josh!’

  ‘I am sure you will think of something. You said you would stay in touch, so he will not think it is odd you are ringing him.’

  ‘Ok ok….I just hope he doesn’t put me on the phone to speak to Josh.’

  ‘It will be ok…don’t worry. Trust me.’

  ‘So what is the second thing?’

  ‘Ah yes…. there is one place the police have missed off of their hub list.’

  ‘Really?…where?’ Chloe asked confused.

  ‘Remember back to when you were outside Jozsef Halasz’s house, listening in on the maid and young girl’s conversation?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well did the young girl mention anywhere?’

  ‘Not that I can remember…..oh hang on, there was a place. Oh what was it? …. that’s it…Gigi’s.’

  ‘Correct…you will need them to visit there as well.’

  ‘Bu….’

  ‘Sorry Chloe I have to go now, but I know you will be fine.’

  ‘Bu…’ It was too late Tatiana had gone.

  Chloe sat on the bed thinking of how she could randomly ask Tom to ring Marianne, and how she was going to get the police to add Gigi’s to their target list.

  What was Gigi’s anyway? Chloe started searching for it on her tablet, and although she couldn’t find a website for it, she found a forum where tourists had visited it.

  From the reviews, she discovered it wasn’t a nice city restaurant, but instead a seedy brothel. The explicit details of the tourists visits left her with a bad taste in her mouth, and her blood was now running cold thinking of who they were going to find there.

  After much deliberation, she took the plunge and rang Tom.

  ‘Hi Tom, it’s Chloe.’

  ‘Oh hi Chloe!… I hope you got back safely to England.’

  ‘Yes thanks. How’s things going and how’s Sadie?’

  ‘Everything has gone crazy. We have the Swedish and Hungarian police here, and they are planning to stampede the hubs at 2am tomorrow. Sadie is fine…she’s playing a word search with one of the female police officers, Linda, so she seems quite content.’

  ‘Oh good. Listen Tom, I remembered something that might be key for the police to check out. When I was outside Jozsef’s house, I heard a young girl and his maid mentioning a place called Gigi’s. When the young girl left, I followed her back to the shanty town where Lucy is being held. She had come to collect a young blonde girl aged around thirteen years old. These girls may have been heading to this Gigi’s place, so I think it is important you check it out. I hate to say it Tom, but I have looked this place up and Gigi’s is a brothel in town. These girls may be on a missing list somewhere.’

  ‘Oh really?….one minute Chloe, can you relay this to the police officer?’ Tom asked, handing the phone over.

  ‘Oh n….’ it was too late. Chloe braced herself, preparing to change her voice.

  ‘Hello, this is Detective Chief Inspector Jim MacKenzie. Chloe is it? Tom has told me all about you. Can you explain to me again what you heard?’

  Phew, Jim didn’t know Chloe personally, so he wouldn’t recognize her voice. She explained everything to him, before he thanked her and handed her back to Tom.

  ‘Thanks for doing that Chloe.’ Tom said appreciatively.

  ‘That’s ok…..actually there was one other thing. I was thinking you ought to ring Marianne from Beaux Arbres campsite. She has played a very important part in this investigation by all accounts, so I think you should let her know what has happened to Lucy. I know it won’t be nice to hear, but she may have found out some more information if she has carried on researching herself. You never know.’

  ‘Yes, you are right, I probably should. I’ll give her a ring now. Thanks again Chloe. I’ll keep you updated.’

  ‘Great thanks Tom, and I will be praying for you all.’

  At least they all knew what they needed to now. Chloe had done her bit. She just had to wait now and see the final truth unfold.

  *****

  Tom dialled Marianne’s number.

  ‘Bonjour.’ a female voice answered.

  ‘Hello…..Marianne?’ Tom inquired.

  ‘Yes….who is calling?’

  ‘This is Tom…Lucy’s husband.

  There was a pause while Marianne gathered herself.

  ‘Ah…yes….Tom. How are you?…is Lucy ok?’ Marianne asked, feeling the panic rising within her.

  ‘No, I’m afraid not. That is why I am calling. We have manage
d to find Rosie…alive, but in doing so, Jozsef Halasz has taken Lucy.’

  ‘That is fantastic news Rosie has been found!…but what do you mean Lucy has been taken?’

  ‘We were outside of his house, when Lucy got snatched by one of his henchmen.’

  ‘Oh no!….do you know where she is…are the police involved? Marianne shrieked.

  ‘Yes, they are here with me now….Jozsef has asked for a ransom.’

  Tom could hear Marianne starting to sob on the other end of the line. ‘Sorry to bring this bad news to you, but I thought you might be wondering what had happened to Lucy, as she only spoke to you the other day. I also wanted to check if you have managed to find out anything else from your end.’

  Marianne continued to sob. ‘Marianne, it will be ok…are you….’

  ‘There is something I need to tell you Tom.’ Marianne said mournfully.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I did find out something very significant during my research.’

  ‘What do you mean significant?’ Tom questioned, his compassionate tone now becoming cooler.

  Jim noticed Tom’s body tensing up, and gestured for him to put Marianne on speakerphone.

  ‘I…I discovered something so awful that I was too ashamed to let Lucy know immediately. Not until I had found out the whole story anyway.’

  ‘What Marianne….what did you discover…and about who?’ Tom demanded.

  ‘I found out that…that…’

  ‘What God dammit!….just tell me.’

  ‘That my husband was involved with Jozsef Halasz.’

  The room fell silent. Marianne’s distant sobs were the only sound breaking the silence. Sobs that depicted what Tom, and undoubtedly Jim, were feeling inside at that precise moment.

  After a few seconds, Josh intervened and picked up the phone.

  ‘Marianne…this is D.C.I. Anderson. I need you to tell me exactly how your husband got involved with Jozsef Halasz, and how you believe your husband may have been involved in the abduction of Rosie and perhaps other children.’