Taken

by Virginia Rose Richter

While she played, her father read the notes. When he finished he said, “The notes are interesting, Jessie. I’ll pass them along to the police and we should also give them a copy of the enlarged picture you took of the baby.”

  “Are they going to go public with the picture?” Jessie asked.

  “I talked to them about it. They want to have it in their case file, but aren’t ready to put it out to the public.” He stood up.

  “But, Daddy,” maybe someone will have seen Andel and could call the detectives.”

  “It’s delicate. They’re afraid the kidnappers would see the photo. It might scare them out of town. That is if they’re still in town. But the police think they’re still here because of the snowstorm. It’s not a good idea to take a newborn out in this weather.”

  “So you think they took the baby for themselves?”

  “We just don’t know. Or maybe they’re going to sell him for adoption.”

  “Oh. That would be bad,” said Jessie. “Just anyone might end up with Andel. And maybe they wouldn’t be good parents.”

  “Exactly,” said her dad. “There would be a reason why an approved adoption agency might not work with them.” He started to leave the room. “So let’s hope for snowy cold weather for a while. Gives us time to catch this baby snatcher.”

  Jessie finished practicing and ran to the hall phone to call Tina. “I rewrote your notes and gave them to Daddy. He’s going to give them to the police,” Jessie said.

  “Do you think they’ll tell us our suspects’ names and addresses?” asked Tina.

  “No way. Daddy thinks we’ll go haywire and do something illegal.”

  Tina laughed. “Why would he think such a thing”?

  Jessie laughed too. “I cannot imagine.” She twisted the phone cord in her free hand. “Anyway, we took in a lot of money for the homeless shelter and Phillip gets to go shopping. Mom’s said to wait until Friday to deliver the money to the shelter since the sale is running this week after school.”

  “I’ll come home with you tomorrow and help, in case we get customers or suspicious lookers,” said Tina.

  “What? You’re off babysitting duty?” asked Jessie.

  “Mom will have to take care of her own children for a while,” laughed Tina.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day, Monday, Jessie and Tina walked home together after school.

  “I have to stop at the grocery store. I need laces for my tennis shoes,” Tina said.

  In the store, Jessie checked out the hair dye section while she waited for Tina. Everything looked the same as on Saturday. I guess no one in Fairfield colors her hair. The boxes were dusty from not being moved. An older woman stood in the last row studying the different shades of dye. She looks familiar. Oh my gosh, she’s the customer at the garage sale who ran off when she spotted me.

  Jessie stepped back into a corner and watched the woman. When the lady reached for a box on the shelf, Jessie saw it. Her heart skipped a beat. The woman’s left hand had the traces of the burn, the one she saw on the fake nurse in the hospital. Suddenly the woman turned and looked right at Jessie.

  Jessie twirled around and headed for the door. As she passed Tina, she made the “danger” signal and spread out her fingers on her chest, the “woman” signal and pulled on her right earlobe and the “follow” signal and waved her cupped hand toward herself and jerked her head a little toward the woman.

  Tina watched her, nodded and went back to looking at the shoelace section.

  Jessie burst from the store and headed toward the Town Center. She heard footsteps crunching through the snow behind her. She didn’t look back. I need to ditch this woman. Then Tina can keep following her. Jessie picked up speed and rounded a corner across from the Square. Shops lined the sidewalk. Now she was running. At the end of the block, she crossed the street into the Square. The snow was deep on the grass, but Jessie had her boots on and turned at the side of the Courthouse and ran to the cleared-off sidewalk on the other side of the Square. Gotta get off the snow so the woman can’t follow my tracks. She crossed the street and slipped into a shop doorway to take a fast look at the person behind her. The woman was coming through the deep snow in the Square, following Jessie’s tracks. She’s pretty fast for an old woman. Tina was behind the lady.

  The woman stopped at the far side of the Square and looked around. Jessie stood still. Tina was slowing down and making snowballs. She looked casual and convincing.

  The woman shook her head, got onto the sidewalk and headed down the street. Tina continued trailing her. Jessie entered the yarn shop where she’d been hiding.

  “Why Jessie Hanson,” said the store manager. “Don’t tell me you’re turning domestic and are taking up knitting.”

  Jessie smiled. “That’s not a bad idea. I think I’ll just look around.”

  Jessie checked her watch. Five minutes later, she left the store, crossed the Square and hurried up the inside stairway to her father’s office.

  The entry door sign read Carl G. Hanson - Attorney at Law. Jessie opened the door, stepped into the waiting room and sank onto a chair, breathless.

  Her dad looked around the corner. “Well. Let’s see. Out of breath. Face flushed. Let me guess. You’ve been up to something and it scared you.”

  “How do you always know these things?” asked Jessie. “You’re right, but this time I’m innocent. I didn’t start it.”

  “What happened?” Her father sat down in the chair next to hers.

  “We were in the grocery store—Tina and I.” Jessie pulled of her mittens. “I saw one of the customers from the garage sale. The one who hurried to her car when she saw me. Remember my notes?”

  “I remember,” said her father. He was listening.

  “I got out of sight and just watched her. When she reached for something on a shelf, I saw the burn on her hand. It’s kind of faded now. More like a shadow.”

  “Which was it—a shadow or a scar?” he asked.

  “A light scar, I guess.” Jessie unzipped her parka.

  “Then all of sudden, she turned around and saw me.”

  “Okay.”

  “I took off and when I passed Tina, I gave her the hand signals for ‘danger,’ ‘woman’ and ‘follow.’”

  “What did Tina do?”

  “Well we’d talked about the signals. You know, don’t react when you receive one. So that’s what she did. She just nodded and went back looking at shoe laces.”

  “Where’s Tina now?” asked Mr. Hanson.

  “I ran across the Square and ditched the woman when I hid in the yarn shop doorway.”

  “Yes. And Tina?”

  “She’s still following the woman. But the woman has never seen her and Tina’s looking very casual.”

  “We’d better go find Tina,” said her dad. “Come on.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “There she is,” said Jessie.

  Her dad steered the car to the curb. Tina looked up and hurried through the snow to the car. She opened the rear door and got in.

  “What happened?” asked Jessie.

  “I’m getting snow all over your car, Mr. Hanson,” Tina said.

  “Don’t worry,” said Jessie’s dad. “Phillip tracks in everything.” He started down the street. “Did you find out anything?”

  “Well for one,” Tina said, “the woman was driving a different car. Not the one she got into at the garage sale.” She pulled off her stocking cap. “I got the license.” She handed a slip of paper over the front seat to Jessie. “I don’t think she figured out I was following her. She never turned around.”

  “Can you give the number to the police, Daddy?” Jessie asked. “I think this might be the fake kidnapper nurse.”

  She turned to Tina. “Make some more notes on the woman. What she wore, how tall, the scar and anything else.”

  “Okay,” Tina said.

  “You know,” said Jessie, “she was in the hair dye section. I’ll bet Andel will become a blond very so
on.”

  “I want to talk to you girls,” Mr. Hanson said. “I know you think this is kind of a game, but, believe me, people who steal a baby are genuine criminals and would hurt you in order to keep you quiet.” He pulled to the curb in front of Tina’s house. “We’ll check out the folks in your notes. But we have to be careful. Try to be patient. If this woman is the kidnapper and she’s looking at baby clothes and hair dye, the baby is probably still alright.”

  Tina got out of the car. “Thanks for the ride, Mr. Hanson. I promise I’ll remember what you said.”

  She opened the wrought iron gate and ran to the house.

  “What about you, Jessie? Are you going to remember what I said?” asked her dad. “Don’t forget—the kidnapper actually saw you at the hospital. People remember you because of your braid.” His voice was stern and Jessie knew he meant what he said.

  “I’ll be careful, Daddy.” She pulled on her wool cap and tucked her braid into it. “But remember, Daddy, Tina and I were only going into the grocery store to buy shoelaces. We weren’t looking for trouble.”

  He looked at her and frowned when he saw that her braid had already disappeared.

  At home that night, Jessie was practicing her lesson when the phone rang. She ran to the hall.

  “Hi,” said a woman’s voice. “I’d like to come by and see your kids’ clothes.”

  “Sure,” said Jessie. “We’ll be here tomorrow between four and six after school.”

  “I’m sort of in a hurry. Could I come now?” asked the woman.

  Jessie’s mother was standing in the kitchen doorway listening to Jessie.

  Jessie covered the receiver and whispered, “Some woman wants to come now and look at the sale stuff.”

  Her mother shook her head and whispered, “It’s too late. You have to finish practicing. Tell her no.”

  “Sorry,” said Jessie into the phone. “It’ll have to be tomorrow. We’ll be here then. Good-bye.” She hung up.

  The next day was Tuesday. Five days had passed since Andel was taken. Jessie hurried home from school to be there if last night’s caller stopped by.

  “Hi,” said Phillip. “What you doing?”

  “Right now I’m getting home from school. What’re you doing?” She still wore her coat and her braid was tucked under her stocking cap.

  “I went shopping with Mama. Want to see?” Jessie followed him into the living room. Several bright new toys were arranged in a neat row.

  “See—new tractor.” He grinned up at her. “And two cars. Look at the animals. That’s a cow. And here’s a horse. And here are two chickens.”

  Jessie sat on the floor next to Phillip. “These are really nice,” she said. “Did you pick them out by yourself?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “May I pick them up?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  Jessie examined each toy while Phillip glowed with pride. “You have a farm started here,” she said. “Do you have any money left?”

  “Yes.”

  The doorbell rang. “Wait a minute, Phillip. I’ll be back.” She ran to the door.

  A woman stood there. She was tall with brown hair and wore dark glasses. “Hi. I’ve come to look at your sale. I called last night.”

  “Right,” said Jessie. “Meet me at the garage door. I’ll go through the house and open it.” She ran through the kitchen and pressed the door opener.

  Inside the garage, the woman first went to the larger sizes of clothes. After a few minutes she began to sort through the newborn stuff.

  Well, thought Jessie, maybe she has several kids. She studied the woman so she could write up her notes. She wore a heavy brown winter coat. And a matching scarf and gloves. When she took off her gloves, Jessie could see her hands. There were no marks or scars.

  “How old is your baby?” Jessie asked.

  The shopper ignored her, picked up the stack of newborn clothes she had chosen and carried them to the little table where the change box sat. “I’ll take these. How much do I owe you?”

  Jessie added up the price stickers. “That will be $22.30,” said Jessie.

  The woman removed her dark glasses and slipped them onto the top of her head. She pulled her billfold from her handbag and looked up.

  Jessie froze. I’ve seen those sleepy gray eyes before. Why doesn’t she recognize me? Oh, because my braid is tucked in my hat? Jessie picked up the clothes and turned her back to the woman while she put the little garments into a bag. Her hands shook. I need to follow her.

  A loud scream came from the house. Phillip! thought Jessie. She ran through the kitchen door and into the living room. Her mother was already there.

  “I thought you were with him,” said her mom.”

  “What happened?” asked Jessie.

  “He cut his hand on one of his new toys. Can you believe it?” She held a tissue over the palm of his hand. “Come on, Phillip. Let’s go put something on this.” He was still crying as his mother carried him upstairs.

  Jessie ran out the front door to the garage. No one was there. Next to the cash box lay a twenty-dollar bill and a five. Great! I didn’t even see what she was driving.

  She took a tissue from her pocket and carefully placed the twenty-five dollars in a bag. Just in case there are fingerprints.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Okay, Jessie,” said her father. “Let’s go over this again.” They were in the living room on the sofa. “One of your suspects has a mark on her hand. Think back. Can you remember which hand showed the mark in the hospital?”

  Jessie tried to visualize the nurse reaching for the baby. “It was her left hand. The mark was also on the left hand at the grocery store.”

  “This is important. Are you sure?” asked her dad.

  “Yes,” said Jessie.

  “Did you see the grocery store person’s eyes?”

  “No. She had on dark glasses and never took them off.”

  “So the first time you saw the sleepy gray eyes was in the garage today with the woman who bought infant clothes.”

  “Yes. She took off her glasses and looked right at me,” Jessie said.

  “Did she seem to recognize you? You know—from the hospital.”

  “No. Not at all,” said Jessie. “But I still had my coat and hat on and my braid was tucked into my hat.”

  “Why was that?” asked her dad.

  “Because when I got home from school, Phillip wanted to show me his new toys right away. So I didn’t take them off and then the doorbell rang,” said Jessie. “It was the shopper so I ran to the garage and opened the door.”

  “This is pretty odd,” said her father. “But I think it’s more likely to have two sleepy-eyed women around town than two women with scars on their left hands.” He sat thinking. “I’m going with the grocery-store woman. We have two license plates numbers. One from the garage sale and one from Tina’s following her from the grocery store.”

  “Have the police checked them out?”

  “They’re watching three properties. One of the plates was out of town. Omaha. The police there are watching that house.”

  “I wish you’d tell me the addresses here in town,” said Jessie.

  “That won’t happen,” said her dad. “I worry about you and Tina enough already. Go ahead and practice. I like to listen. You’re doing very well! Stick to music.” He unfolded the newspaper and began to read.

  * * *

  On the way to school the next day, Bryce caught up with Jessie and they walked together.

  “Bring me up to date on the kidnapping, Jessie,” he said. “I haven’t talked to you since Sunday at the garage sale.”

  Jessie smiled, very happy to see him. “A few new things have happened.” She told him about the grocery-store woman and the sleepy-eyed lady from yesterday. “Tina and I used the signals in the grocery store. They worked great! Tina didn’t even change her expression.”

  “What next?” he asked.

  “Who knows? I went with
Mom to the Novaks’ and felt so bad. Those poor people. This is Wednesday. It’s been six days since the baby was taken.”

  “I know. It’s awful,” he said. “I haven’t told anyone the stuff we’re supposed to keep a secret.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “My dad says that’s really important.” Jessie looked up into his eyes. His expression was full of concern. You are so cute, she thought.

  “Do you have a lesson Saturday?” he asked.

  “Yeah. At one o’clock. Mrs. Livingston’ll be back. How about you?”

  “I do. At two. Want to walk over together? I have to go to the library. I can do that during your lesson.”

  “Okay,” said Jessie. Very okay! “Pick me up around twelve thirty. Then I’ll meet you at the café after your lesson.” They ran up the school steps and said good-bye.

  * * *

  In the car on Friday afternoon with Phillip strapped in his car seat in back, Mrs. Hanson said, “This is a nice amount of money to give to the homeless shelter. They’ll be pleased.”

  “Did Daddy tell you the real reason we had the sale?”

  “He did,” said her mom. “You could have told me, but, it’s okay since the money’s going to a worthy cause.” She turned the car into the shelter parking lot. “Besides, I think it was a smart plan. You don’t have to tell me everything.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” said Jessie.

  Jessie took Phillip from his seat and stood him on the sidewalk. “How’s your hand?”

  He held up his hand, all wrapped up in a bandage. “Tractor did it. Hurts.”

  “Are you going to let Mom take the tractor back to the store and maybe get a different toy?”

  “Maybe,” he said.

  They removed several boxes from the trunk that were filled with what was left from the garage sale.

  “What happened to Sunny’s baby dolls?” Jessie asked her mother. “They were beautiful.”

  Her mother took Phillip’s uninjured hand. “Tina’s mom bought them for the twins. In fact, she bought almost everything that Sunny contributed. The clothes and toys.”

  “Sunny will see herself everywhere,” laughed Jessie.

  “The shelter will be able to use these things that weren’t sold,” said her mom.