Finding Mia

by Dianne J Wilson

  The doorbell rang. Liam gave her a squeeze and went to answer it. “Hold that thought.”

  It was Melindi. She was pale. Haunted. “I’ve just had a call from the police. We have to get down to the station now.”

  28

  Isobel didn’t trust herself to drive. She handed the keys to Liam, he took them without a word. His arm was well on its way to recovery. He stuck stubbornly to the theory that it was Bel’s good patch-up job. She shook her head and blamed the passing of time.

  Melindi broke the silence. “The officer who phoned wouldn’t give me details. I don’t know what we’ll find.”

  Hope and despair duelled viciously inside of Bel.

  Liam voice-dialled Detective Nass. No answer.

  Isobel sighed. Why the detective even had a mobile was beyond her. She found herself praying. If Jesus were standing in front of her, she would be on her knees with her arms wrapped around his legs. If You truly are good and kind…

  They pulled to a stop outside the station and climbed out the car.

  Isobel didn’t know whether to rush or hang back in case it was bad news.

  Melindi reached out and found Isobel’s hand.

  Warm sunshine glowed bright around them, urging Isobel to hope. She hung on to Melindi, grateful for the silent camaraderie.

  Liam took her other hand. Together, they mounted the chipped concrete stairs and pushed back the glass panelled door to the police station.

  The officer at reception had her hair scraped back into a bun a ballerina would be proud of.

  Liam squeezed Bel’s hand and asked, “Where can we find Detective Brent? He called us in to see him.”

  “You’re here about the kidnapping? Straight down the passage, left at the end, first office on the right. I’ll warn him you’re coming.”

  Bel searched the woman’s face for a hint of what they were in for, a clue for her trembling heart. Nothing. Trepidation grew with every hollow step. Bel’s hands started to shake.

  Detective Brent was waiting for them outside his office. By the roundness of his face, he’d long since given up on lettuce. His expression was grim.

  “Come inside, please.” He followed them in and shut the door. “Mrs. Marais?” He glanced between Melindi and Bel, eyebrow raised questioningly.

  “That’s me, Detective. I’m the one who opened the case.” Melindi had her hands firmly clasped.

  Bel tried it, too, and it seemed to help the shaking.

  “And these are?”

  Melindi spoke for them. “Isobel Carter, Mia’s mom. And Dr. Liam Brigham, her partner.”

  Elastic truth.

  On cue, Liam reached out and took Bel’s hand in his.

  “Aah, Dr. Brigham, Nass mentioned you.” He caught Liam’s gaze for a brief moment. Apparently satisfied, Brent sat down and pulled the case file from the top of the tray on his desk. He left it there untouched. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

  Bel sank into the closest chair.

  Melindi drew a shuddering breath and clasped the back of a chair, her knuckles white.

  “Roric MacAllister is an alias. Greg Smethers is his real name, and we’ve pieced together enough information to link him to a number of other crimes involving minors. The problem is he is still MIA.”

  Liam groaned, knuckling his forehead, muscles in his arms bunched as if he were about to hit something.

  The chair squeaked under the heavy detective. “But I do have something else for you.”

  Bel buried her face in her hands, one eye peeping through a gap between her fingers.

  “Officer Ritchie is currently under investigation. It appears that he has been deeply involved with the cases connected to yours. Suicides, missing children. We’ve found evidence in his home to suggest he was the one who recruited someone to pose as the social worker who took possession of each child. We are closing in on her, too.”

  Bel stared at him through her fingers, hearing words that didn’t settle into coherent sentences. Her insides bled, shredded by a missing tiny person.

  Liam hovered on the edge of the chair, tightly wound. “And our evidence?”

  “Nowhere to be found. He probably flushed it.” Brent regarded each one, compassion softening his face. “We also…have something for you.” A smidgen of delight lit deep in his eyes. Nothing else shifted in his expression.

  The knot in Isobel’s gut tightened. Mia? Could it be? Dead or alive? She sat forward. “Our kids? Where? Are they OK? When can we see them?”

  “They will be brought down soon. They’re at Medical.”

  Melindi shot to her feet. “Are they hurt?”

  “That’s what they’re assessing. Please sit down, Mrs. Marais. We’ll get to all your questions.”

  “Detective, how did you find them?” Liam asked.

  “Walked into the station. Said they were dropped off outside. The boy knew his mom’s number, so we could phone.” He shrugged. “It’s a mystery.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense.” Isobel eyed the detective as if he were a street magician who had lost her diamond down his sleeve.

  Interrupted by a knock on the door, Bel turned.

  Ben came in first, subdued until he saw his mom. He ran to her, knocking an empty chair over in his rush. He buried himself in her arms. The bravery that had cocooned Mia and Lilly dissolved and he sobbed silently.

  A nursing sister came in with Lilly on her hip. Her other hand held Mia’s. The tiny blonde stood wrapped in silence, eyes on the tiles.

  Isobel fell out of her chair and, like breathing air for the first time, scooped the little girl up and pressed her close.

  Her blonde hair a tattered mess of knots, Mia tucked her head under Isobel’s chin. Her arms hung limp, no tears, no smiles. But she was alive.

  Ben stepped back as the nurse brought Lilly and placed her on Melindi’s lap.

  Melinda wept and laughed as Lilly bounced, patting her mom’s cheeks.

  Ben stood against the wall, dazed—dreamlike.

  Mia wiggled out of Bel’s arms. She went over and stood next to him, forehead pressed against his shoulder, as close as she could get. He put an arm around her. Crouching down, he whispered in her ear, “Mia, it’s Mine. She’s really here. Come.” As tenderly as if he were holding a fragile snowflake in his warm hands, he shuffled on his knees, drawing Mia back to Isobel.

  Isobel ached for the pain she’d caused Mia. More than anything, she wanted to absorb every hurt, the crushing weight of abandonment. She got on her knees.

  Ben put one arm around Isobel’s shoulders, and with the other, gently drew Mia into Bel’s arms. He extricated himself from the embrace.

  Bel clung to Mia, pouring her heart out in whispers into her matted hair. “I know it felt like I left you. I didn’t. When everything was dark around you, you were always on my mind. My love for you kept me hoping, kept me alive. I wish you could see into my heart.”In her spirit, in her own words, she heard the echo of God speaking…

  I know you felt like I left you. I didn’t. When everything was dark around you, you were always on My mind. My love for you kept Me hoping, killed Me, and brought Me back to life. I wish you could see into My heart.

  ****

  Steam fogged up the bathroom mirror and curled up in lazy twists from the bath. Bel rubbed conditioner into Mia’s tangles. She began brushing out the knots with a wide-tooth comb, working with small sections at a time. Mia swatted the water, not interested in what Bel was doing behind her back.

  Bel had run the bath too hot, then had to cool it so as not to sting Mia’s nappy rash.

  Roric had apparently barely changed her at all, and it would take serious mothering to get rid of the angry redness.

  The comb snagged in an ugly knot. Mia pulled away from Bel. “Ow! Stopit. No!”

  Not prepared to fight on Mia’s first day back, Bell put down the comb and rinsed the conditioner out, ignoring the knots. She picked up the soap and lathered the little girl’s body, all the while looki
ng for signs of trauma. Mia had never carried much extra body fat, but she had now lost it all. Her ribs showed clearly through her translucent skin.

  He hadn’t bothered to feed them too often, either.

  Lifting Mia out the water, Isobel wrapped her in a soft towel and carried her through to the room. She rubbed lotion into the child’s dry skin. The nappy rash cream made Mia cry, but Isobel persevered, knowing that it was the only way to make it better.

  She carried Mia back to the bathroom and cuddled her in her arms to brush the child’s teeth.

  Mia fussed against her, wriggling to get away.

  Bel spoke soothing words, but held her firmly and kept going until all the past week’s build-up was gone. Getting her to sit still through having her hair brushed was almost impossible. Digging in her bag, Isobel found Mia’s favourite dog-eared book starring a baby polar bear. It was a touch-and-feel book. Losing herself in the feel of soft polar fur and rough gravel, Mia stayed still long enough for Bel to finish detangling her fine hair. Bel kissed the top of her head.

  Mia had withdrawn inside herself again. Few words made it past her lips and her eyes wouldn’t meet Bel’s.

  A knock sounded on the door. “Safe to come in?” Liam called.

  “Yep. Mia, Lim’s here.”

  The little girl crawled onto Bel’s lap and hid her face in her neck.

  Liam perched himself on the edge of the bed. “How are things looking?” His tone was light and upbeat, but he gestured towards Mia with concern in his eyes.

  “The nappy rash is ugly, but everything else seems untouched. The heart will take time to mend.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  She pulled Mia closer and shook her head. “I don’t know. Nothing is resolved. I’m back in limbo. Skating on a pond with ice that could crack beneath my feet.”

  Liam sat on the edge of her bed. “I’m sure it feels like that.” He sighed. “I just wish you could see yourself through Jesus’s eyes. He has good things for you. You can believe it.”

  “I don’t buy it. Not anymore. I thought I heard from Him on the beach that night, and look what happened. He said the darkness was over, but it all got worse. Much, much worse.”

  Mia stirred on her lap. “Jesus!” She turned to Liam and her face crinkled in a smile.

  “Yes, Mia. Jesus.” Liam grinned back, damp collecting in the corner of his eyes.

  She repeated it again, clapping with delight. It was the first thing she’d said all day. Apart from her moans at having her knots taken out—which didn’t really count. Retreating inside herself again, Mia snuggled into Isobel’s arms, resting her head on Bel’s chest. A sigh shuddered through her body, but not a hopeless sigh. A sigh of contentment.

  “Isobel, listen. Promises are given as light. What good is a blazing torch when the sun is up? You need that torch at night. When everything around you seems to be shattering, you can trust God’s promises. Once He says something, you can believe it no matter what hits you. This whole thing, this mess…it will resolve. You’ll see. You just can’t give up right now.”

  Mia had grown too still. Sleep had crept over her.

  Bel slipped the child down off her chest and into her lap. Soft hair fanned over Bel’s arm like spun gold.

  Liam was watching her with an expression in his eyes so tender, she could not put a name to it.

  She looked away. “So what now? None of it makes sense. Why steal them and not go through with it?”

  “I’m as baffled as you, but I know someone who might shed some light.”

  29

  Ben was already tucked up in his mom’s bed. According to Melindi, he’d eaten two helpings of dinner and had asked for more food. He was working his way through a bowl of cereal when Liam found him.

  “Hey, big guy. How are you?” Liam pulled the corner of the duvet straight and sat on the edge of the bed.

  Ben didn’t reply but attempted a smile.

  “You did a brilliant job recording.”

  The smile on Ben’s face softened, becoming genuine.

  “Do you mind if I ask you some things?”

  Ben shrugged.

  Liam took it as a yes. “What happened to the man who took you? Why did he take you to the police station and leave you there?”

  “I dunno.” Ben looked at him as if he’d crawled out from a cave.

  “Was he cross? Scared maybe?”

  “Nah, more like…confused. I think Mia did something to him.”

  “Mia? How so?”

  “She cast a spell on him.” He nodded sagely. Obvious.

  Liam barked out a laugh but cut it short by clenching his tongue between his teeth. Ben’s face was so sincere. “Describe it for me.”

  “This morning, Mia was crying. I think she was hungry. There were some other people coming and he was so cross. Anyway. So suddenly, Mia stopped crying, just like that. It looked like she was listening.” Ben glanced around the room, leaned toward Liam, and spoke in a secrets voice. “It was so freaky. She laughed, nodded, and then walked over to him. I tried to hold her, but she got away. She went straight up to him, staring like he was a monkey in a zoo. I thought he was going to smack her. Then she climbed onto his lap, put her hands on his cheeks, and kissed him.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He looked so confused. It made me want to laugh. After that, he took us to the police.”

  Liam frowned. “So Mia didn’t say anything to him? Anything at all?”

  “Nope.”

  “And she didn’t say anything to you?”

  Ben shook his head. He fiddled with the duvet, scrunching it between his fingers, and then smoothing it out again. “What if he comes back?”

  “I am going to do everything I can to make sure that he doesn’t.”

  Ben regarded him with tired eyes, as if he was weighing Liam up, considering him worthy of his words. Apparently, something in Liam satisfied Ben’s need for reassurance. He sank back onto the pillows with a deep sigh.

  Minutes later, Liam let himself into Bel’s house with her spare key. He stopped for a moment, door in hand, struck by the realization that he no longer thought of himself as a visitor. It’s as if I belong here. He savoured the feeling and for a brief moment allowed his head to wander the paths his heart had already worn bare. This was the real deal.

  He shut the door behind himself and called out, “Bel! Where are you?” No answer. He hung his keys on the hook in the passage and climbed the stairs two at a time.

  Bel was in the bedroom, packing clothes into a suitcase. For every five items she managed to put in, Mia would unpack one or two. Frustration bubbled close to the surface, blushing Bel’s cheeks.

  “You’re running.”

  “How perceptive of you.” She snatched a purple top out of Mia’s hands and threw it into the suitcase.

  “Don’t do it.”

  “You have no right to demand that of me.” She retrieved the purple top from Mia for a second time, folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. The top dangled from her armpit. Mia toddled over and tried to pull it down, giggling.

  “When I left, we were good. Now, you are fed up with me. Why?”

  Isobel tugged on the other end of the purple top. Tug-o-war with a two-year-old. She gave up and sank to the floor, running her hands through her hair. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Don’t you want to hear what Ben had to say?”

  Mia dropped the purple top, losing interest as Bel was no longer attached to the other end. She toddled over to Liam, craning her neck to stare up at him. She hugged his legs and said, “Ben.”

  He leaned over and gently ruffled her hair.

  Bel clenched her jaw. “I just got all the knots out of that.”

  He ignored her comment, waiting for her answer.

  “It won’t make any difference. Nothing he said could change anything.”

  “Just give me some time. I’m going back to the police now. Just don’t do anything yet. Ple
ase?”

  ****

  Bel hooked Melindi’s gate closed, pinching her finger on the wire holding it in place. She popped her finger in her mouth to take away the sting and thought how much she would miss her neighbour.

  There was no doubt in Bel’s mind now, she had to leave. There was no other choice. Seeing a red pickup drive past her house had sent any shred of security crashing. Roric—or whatever his name was—was back and intent on finishing what he’d started. The whole darkness-and-light thing on the beach was nothing more than wishful thinking. Roric was dangerous, even more so now that he’d let his catch slip through his clutches. He may have let them go once, but it was only a matter of time before regret set in. He would be back, twice as determined. Liam had been right all along.

  Mia had tucked herself next to Ben were he sat playing a racing game on the PC. She squeezed in behind him on the chair and lay her head on his back. He was her knight, and nothing would change that.

  Isobel had forgone Melindi’s offer of tea to get back to packing, determined to make the most of her Mia-free time. She started up the path, looked up, and stopped.

  The front door stood slightly ajar.

  I could have sworn I closed it.

  She ducked behind a bushy bottle-brush next to the path. What now?

  Liam would know what to do.

  She shoved that idea aside. The whole point of this was to figure out how to make it on her own. Creeping forward, trying to avoid fallen, dry leaves that would give her away, she sneaked closer to the open door. Crossing the yard took an eternity. She made it to the porch and peered through the lacy lounge curtains. No movement.

  Isobel stayed at the window, straining for a clue of who could be inside. Nothing stirred, and she began to feel a bit silly. If there were a shortcut to ridding herself of this paranoia, she would happily throw money at whoever could make it happen.