Realizing that they were talking about selling her, Lainey rushed over to Tara and threw her arms around her waist. “Tara, I’m scared.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tara whispered, hugging her back. “Everything will be fine.”
“See. This is why we need Tara,” Kurt said before taking a swig of beer. “They trust her and she calms them down.”
Lainey knew it was more than that. Tara had brought her snacks and even held her a few times while Lainey cried. Tara actually cared about her. And she cared about Tara.
Yury waved his hand. “Eh, Dina can do that, too.”
Kurt chuckled. “Dina? She’s as warm as an iceberg.”
Just then, Dina stepped into the parlor, dragging a boy who appeared to be a little older than Lainey.
“Quit,” Dina hissed, struggling with Sammy.
“I want to go home!” he hollered, fighting to get away from her. He tried uncurling Dina’s fingers from his wrist. “Let me go!”
“Enough!” barked Yury. He got up and stepped over to the boy. “Now you listen here. If you don’t stop this foolishness, I will kill your parents. Your pets. Your friends. Anyone and everyone you love. I will make sure that they suffer like you can’t even imagine.”
The boy stared up at him in frozen terror.
“You understand?” Yury said, his eyes bugging out. He grabbed his arm. “I’m not joking.”
Trembling, the boy nodded.
Yury let go of the child and looked at Kurt. “See. You don’t need to coddle these kids. They just need to know the rules and that if they don’t follow them,” he looked at Sammy again, “people they care about will suffer horribly for their actions.”
Lainey’s shivered. Yury scared her more than anyone in the house. He was like the bad men in the movies. The ones who killed people. Only, he was real and not an actor.
Yury began unbuttoning his sleeve. “Now, you will both sit still and behave so we can take your pictures. You got it?”
Both Lainey and Sammy nodded.
Smiling, he looked at Kurt. “And you didn’t think I was good with children. You see? These kids are not stupid. They are smart. They respect fear. Fear is how you get things done. And nobody…” he winked, “does fear better than me.”
Chapter 12
Carissa
WHEN DUSTIN AND Lainey’s family met up with Carissa, they found her standing next to a row of Barbie’s, her eyes closed, and hands resting on the shelf. Customers quietly walked by with questioning and amused expressions on their faces, but gave her space.
“That must be her,” Helen murmured.
He smiled. “By golly, Helen.” William put his arm around her shoulders. “You never mentioned that you were clairvoyant, too.”
“Oh, you…” she elbowed him in the ribcage.
Smiling at the older couple’s banter, Carissa opened her eyes and turned toward Dustin, who made the introductions.
“Your daughter looks just like you,” she said to Beth, who had honey-blonde hair and light blue eyes. Makeup-less and with her hair in a ponytail, she looked more like a high school student than a mother approaching thirty.
Beth smiled sadly. “People tell us that all the time.”
Tom put his arm around her shoulders. “As you can see, Lainey’s beauty was passed down from Beth. Thank goodness,” he said with a smile.
Beth stiffened at his touch. “Come on now. You’re not exactly the Ugly Duckling. Lainey thinks you’re the most handsome man in the world,” she said.
Tom still loves her, Carissa thought. She knew they were divorced but it was obvious, he wasn’t happy with the situation.
“She should see me now,” he replied sadly.
Tom was about a foot taller than Beth, with brown hair, thick eyebrows, and a few days growth of beard. Although he looked weary, Carissa thought he was far from ugly.
Pulling away from him, Beth walked over to the Barbie dolls. “This is the one she wanted,” she said, picking up a box.
“That’s what I thought,” Carissa said. “I was drawn to her.”
Beth’s eyes widened. “Really?”
She nodded.
“So, have you come up with anything?” Dustin asked, handing her the frappe.
“She was taken by someone she knew and was surprised to see him here,” Carissa said before taking a sip of coffee.
“That’s what the police thought as well. Do you know who he is or how she knows him?” Beth asked, looking hopeful.
Carissa gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I don’t. Not yet, at least.”
“At least she’s honest about not knowing,” muttered Tom.
Carissa looked at him. “Actually, I do know certain things about the kidnapper, just not a name or face. He’s man. In his thirties. He’s been around your daughter quite a bit and very familiar to her.”
Everyone stared at her, stunned.
“Could it be someone from her school?” Beth asked.
Carissa nodded. “Yes. It’s very possible. He could also be a coach or… a friend’s father.”
“Is there anything more you can tell us?” Beth asked, searching her face. “Like, has she been harmed?”
Carissa felt that Beth’s daughter wasn’t hurt, yet, but was definitely in grave danger.
“I don’t feel as if she’s been hurt. But, I’m pretty sure that the group who has Lainey is involved with child trafficking. I think…” Carissa didn’t want to say the words but knew she had to. “I think they plan on selling her. And soon.”
Beth stared at her in horror.
“Dear God,” Helen said, placing a hand on her chest. “Who could sell a child? What kind of monsters are they?”
“The worst, apparently. Can you help us find her before that happens?” William asked in a gruff voice.
“I’m going to try my very best.” Carissa looked at Dustin. “Are you still friends with Jeremy?”
His face lit up. “Yes.” Dustin pulled out his phone. “I’ll give him a call. I can’t believe I didn’t think about him before.”
“Who’s Jeremy?” Tom asked.
“He used to work for the government. Anyway, he’s the best hacker I’ve ever met and knows how to maneuver around the dark web,” Dustin said. “Hopefully, he can help us.”
“What’s the dark web?” Beth asked.
“It’s a haven for criminal activity. You need special software to access it, and most people aren’t aware it even exists,” Dustin explained.
“So, you think that whoever took Lainey might know something about it on this ‘dark web’?” William asked, looking intrigued.
“It’s possible,” Dustin said.
“There are a lot of bad things to be found on there. And most of the users use a program called Tor to hide their I.P. addresses, so they can browse or conduct business anonymously,” Carissa said. Jeremy had helped with another case and had educated her on both Tor and the dark web. “Like pedophiles and people who are willing to exploit children for money.”
“Wow, my skin feels like it’s crawling just hearing about it,” Beth replied with a grimace.
Dustin nodded. “There’s a lot of disturbing things going on there. People sell drugs. Weapons. Illegal pornography. Woman and children. And, because of Tor, it makes it that much easier for the sleaze-balls to remain anonymous.”
“What is happening to society?” Helen said, shaking her head in disgust. “So many sick people.”
“Yes,” Dustin replied, dialing Jeremy. “And it isn’t getting any better. Places like the dark web don’t help either.”
Beth moved closer to Carissa. “Tell me the truth… do you think we’ll get Lainey back?” she asked quietly.
It was the one thing Carissa never usually knew for sure and trying to explain that she didn’t, yet still sound credible as a psychic, was often very challenging.
“I’m sorry. I want to believe that you will; I just can’t give you a solid answer,” she said, reaching out to B
eth. She touched her hand and was rewarded with some insight on Lainey’s mother. Beth was a woman who loved her daughter more than anything and the guilt of losing Lainey was eating her up inside. Carissa also felt something else that surprised her. She had some interesting doubts about Tom in regards to their missing child.
Noticing the curious look on Carissa’s face when she pulled her hand back, Beth asked if something was wrong.
Carissa glanced at Tom. Obviously, she couldn’t bring it up in front of him. She decided that she’d try and speak to Beth alone later.
“Nothing is wrong. I just tapped into your emotions there for a second and felt your pain. I promise, we’ll do whatever we can to get Lainey back,” she replied softly.
Beth relaxed. “Thank you.”
“GOOD NEWS. I spoke to Jeremy and he’s agreed to check into a few things,” Dustin said a short time later, putting his phone away. He looked at William. “I sent him a picture of Lainey and he’s going to dive right in and see if he can come up with something for us.”
“Excellent,” said William, looking relieved. “We appreciate anything he can do.”
“Just like Carissa, he’ll try doing what he’s best at, but again. No guarantees,” Dustin said, looking around at everyone.
“We understand,” said Beth.
“So, what else do you suggest we do?” Tom asked, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I feel like we should be doing a lot more than this.”
“I agree,” said William.
“Obviously, you need to keep spreading the word, especially through the media. Hell, even letting them know that you’re speaking with a psychic is something they might be interested in reporting,” said Dustin.
“Yes. It’s good to keep Lainey’s name and face in the news,” Carissa added.
Dustin looked at Carissa. “I also think it would be a good idea to have Carissa visit Lainey’s room. She might be able to make a better connection.”
Carissa nodded. “I was going to suggest that myself.”
“Whatever you think will help,” Beth said.
Carissa caught Tom rolling his eyes and knew right away that he believed her to be a fraud.
Time to fix that.
“Thank you so much for giving me this chance to help find your daughter,” she said, walking over to him. She held out her hand. “Like I mentioned earlier, I’ll do whatever I can to bring her home to you.”
Tom reached out and shook Carissa’s hand. “We appreciate you trying to help,” he replied.
Feelings of guilt and shame flooded Carissa’s senses. Tom blamed himself for Lainey’s disappearance but she couldn’t tell why exactly. She decided to focus on something else. Pointing out that he felt guilty about his daughter’s disappearance was something anyone could pick up on. After all, he was a parent.
“Tom, your father died when you were a teenager. He had a… gambling addiction,” Carissa said, seeing a vision of playing cards and money. She also sensed that his father had been an alcoholic and died of possibly liver disease or cancer.
Tom pulled his hand away. “Yeah,” he replied, looking guarded. “Did Beth tell you that?”
“We’ve never spoken,” Beth said, expecting his response. Getting more information, she went on. “Your mother and you are not on speaking terms. Although, it’s mostly by your choice.”
“She’s upset about our divorce,” Tom muttered. “Every time we talk, it turns into an argument.”
“Yes. It’s because she thinks you’re following in your father’s footprints. She’s just frightened,” Carissa told him.
Tom didn’t say anything.
“Seriously, though. You should call her and let her know about Lainey,” Carissa replied.
Beth’s jaw dropped. “Tom, you didn’t tell your mother yet?”
“We haven’t spoken since you and I separated,” he replied, unable to meet Beth’s eyes. “Anyway, we should be talking about how to find Lainey. Not about my personal life.”
“She needs to know,” Beth said curtly. “And if you’re not going to call her, I will.”
Tom sighed. “Fine, Beth. I’ll call her.”
Dustin looked at his watch. “We should head back to your place, Beth, and see if Carissa can pick up anything. Who knows, maybe her kidnapper has visited your place in the past?”
Beth grunted. “It’s so hard to believe that anyone we know could really be involved.”
“You’d be surprised by what some people will do for money. Especially, if they’re desperate enough,” Dustin said.
Carissa noticed Beth’s eyes dart to Tom and knew that there definitely was a certain level of mistrust there.
Chapter 13
Lainey
DINA MADE LAINEY take a shower and afterward, she was given a sleeveless white dress to put on for the photos. Once dressed, Tara helped dry her hair while she sat in front of a full length mirror, watching.
“Sorry,” Tara said, trying to comb through some of the snarls. “We ran out of conditioner.”
Lainey didn’t care about the conditioner or anything other than going home.
Tara’s forehead creased when she asked about seeing her mother again.
“Kiddo, it’s never going to happen. I’m sorry. You have to quit talking about it.”
Lainey stared at Tara’s reflection in the mirror. “Can’t you bring me home?”
“I can’t. I told you before, I’m just as much of a prisoner as you are,” Tara mumbled.
Lainey knew that she was able to move freely around the house. Surely, Tara could walk out the front door when nobody was looking? “Well, can’t we sneak out? While they’re all asleep?”
“I tried that once. They almost killed me, I was beaten so badly.”
Lainey’s eyes widened.
“Just… look, there’s no way that we can leave and if we did, they’d catch us,” she said bitterly.
“But, what if they didn’t? I can run really fast.”
Tara’s eyes softened. “I’m sure you can. But, Lainey, they have guns. You can’t outrun a bullet.”
Lainey’s heart sank. Deep down she’d been hoping that Tara would help, especially after Yury said she had to make movies. Lainey didn’t know what kind they were talking about, but figured they couldn’t be good because she’d gotten pretty upset.
A loud pounding on the door made them both jump.
“You almost done?” Kurt asked, opening the bedroom door and peering inside.
“Yes,” replied Tara, setting the comb down.
Kurt stepped into the room and smiled. “Hi, there, Princess,” he said, holding his hand out to Lainey. “Let’s see how you look.”
Lainey was too terrified of the man to resist. She took his hand and stood up.
“Look at you. You have to be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” he said, nodding in satisfaction. He winked at Tara. “Aside from you, of course.”
Tara rolled her eyes.
Kurt pointed to Lainey’s mouth. “By the way, put some of that lip gloss on her.”
“My mom doesn’t let me wear makeup,” Lainey said.
He smiled in amusement. “Believe me, kid, she isn’t going to know about it.” Kurt looked at Tara, who was glaring at him. “Is there a problem?”
“You swore that I wouldn’t have to make films if I helped with the kids,” Tara said angrily. “You promised me.”
Sighing, Kurt pulled out a cigarette and lit the end of it. “I don’t make the rules. Yury does.”
Tara’s eyes darted to Lainey and then back to Kurt. “When is he leaving?”
Kurt blew out a puff of smoke. “Sunday. He’s taking you with him it sounds like. Just like he mentioned downstairs.”
“It’s not fair,” said Tara, tears springing to her eyes. “You promised me… I helped you with the kids…. You lied to me!”
Kurt put his arm around her shoulders. “Relax. If you cooperate with him, Yury will take good care o
f you.”
She shrugged his arm away from her. “I don’t care. I don’t want to do this.”
“You have no choice,” Kurt replied, walking toward the door. He turned back. “Look, don’t make it harder than it has to be. You’re going no matter what so don’t give him any reason to hurt you.”
Tara stared at her with resentment. “Maybe I’d rather die than do those films,” she said in a hollow voice.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” he said.
Tara raised her chin. “I wasn’t trying to be.”
Sighing, Kurt nodded toward Lainey. “Bring her downstairs. I’m going to check on Sammy,” he said, walking out the door.
Tara stood there motionless, staring off into space, as his footsteps receded.
Lainey cleared her throat. “What kind of movies is he talking about?”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she walked over and grabbed a tissue from the night stand. “Bad ones. Pornos.”
“What are those?”
“Sex films,” Tara replied miserably. “Let’s go.”
Shocked, Lainey followed Tara out of the bedroom. “You’re going to be in those?” she whispered.
Tara laughed coldly. “Not if I can help it.”
Lainey wondered what she meant about not doing them but didn’t ask. She was almost too afraid to. Tara was clearly upset and in no mood to talk about it.
The two girls headed down the staircase. As they moved through the foyer, Tara stopped and stared at the front door.
“Tara?” whispered Lainey. Her heart began to pound. Was she thinking about leaving?
Before Tara could answer, the staircase creaked.
Both girls looked up to find Dina and Sammy descending down the steps toward them. Like Lainey, he wore white, but with a black tie and pants. It was obvious that he’d also had a shower as his curly blonde hair was combed over to the side and still damp.
Kurt walked out into the foyer. “Everybody ready?”
“Yeah,” replied Tara, not looking at him.
“Then let’s get a move on,” he said.
They stepped into the parlor, where Yury was setting up a backdrop for the photos.
Looking for Lainey Page 6