by TM Simmons
"At least we can talk without worrying that he'll overhear us," Channing said as she glanced in the rearview mirror. "Report us to someone in the tribe, who will pen us up again."
Nodinens laughed. "I think we will make a detour on the way to my home. I wish to also talk to the last two children who were taken."
"What about Sandy's daughter, Lark? Should we talk to her?"
Nodinens kept her eyes on the road, but nodded. "Yes, we should. In fact, we can do that right now."
Nodinens slowed and turned into the road to the casino. Before Channing thought to ask why they were going there, Nodinens was at the valet stop, motioning for service.
Channing met Nodinens on the sidewalk. At Channing's puzzled expression, Nodinens said, "I forgot. You do not know. Walt was able to get the job Hjak told him about. So Sandy brings Lark with her to work. Our casino has a daycare for the children of its employees."
"What a wonderful idea," Channing said as they walked onto the casino floor.
The machine sounds were muted today, since even the casino was suffering a business slow down due to the fear permeating the area. However, there were still a few people staring at the screens as though totally isolated. Nodinens led them to the hotel check-in, nodded at one of the clerks but passed on by to a door beside the desk. On the other side of it, a wide hallway led deeper into the building.
They came out into a play area. A few cribs lined the wall, and children of varying ages were engaged in story time. Six of them sat in a circle, and there were three more adult women in the room. One was straightening some books on shelves, and the two others were setting out some snacks on child-size tables.
Even here, Channing saw two grown men in attendance. One tried to remain unobtrusive on the far side of the room, but the other one appeared to be enjoying the story. He laughed with the children as they responded to an obviously oft-read book with character voices when the woman reading pointed at them.
Sandy entered the room behind them. She wore a brief but tasteful uniform with the casino logo on it, a worried expression on her face.
"I saw you come in, Grandmother," she said to Nodinens. "Has something else happened?"
"No," Nodinens assured her. "I am glad you are here, though. Can we talk?"
"Of course." First Sandy glanced over at the circle of children, who were so engrossed they hadn't noticed the newcomers. "I was taking my break to check on Lark, but since she looks like she's having a good time, I won't interrupt."
"Lark is the child in the red shirt," Nodinens explained to Channing.
Channing noticed something else. Although one guard was caught up in the book, the guard across the room kept a steady, piercing gaze on her.
"I am in the mood for some of that expensive, delicious coffee," Nodinens said. She led them back down the hallway, then onto the casino floor. A few steps further, she turned into a coffee shop.
When the three of them were at a table, Nodinens nodded at Channing to start the conversation.
"Sandy," Channing said. "This might be hard for you, but we'd like to ask Lark about what happened when Nenegean had her."
Sandy's face paled, and she squeezed her cardboard coffee cup so tightly it threatened to overflow. "I understand," she said. "I was wondering why someone hadn't talked to her already. I want to be with you, when you do."
Nodinens took out her phone. "I wish to borrow Sandy for a while," she told whoever answered. "And I do not wish for you to dock her pay." She smiled at whatever the person on the other end of the phone said in reply, then murmured, "Thank you," and disconnected.
Sandy chuckled. "It helps that your nephew is my boss."
"He was very agreeable," Nodinens said. "We will finish our coffee, and by then most of the children will have had their snacks and be down for naps."
Fifteen minutes later, they returned to the daycare. Lark was sitting on her nap-pad, still awake. When she saw her mother, she leaped up and raced across the floor. Sandy caught her in her arms, and while they talked, Nodinens left them to speak to one of the caretakers.
"How would you like to miss naptime today?" Sandy asked her daughter.
"Play with Mommy!" Lark said happily.
"That's a good idea," Channing murmured to Nodinens when she returned. "We can pretend we're playing."
"You know Grandmother, Lark," Sandy said to her daughter. "And this lady is a doctor. Dr. Drury."
"Channing," Channing said as she held out a hand.
Lark grinned and shook Channing's hand in a playful up and down handshake. "Glad metcha, Shannee."
"Would you like to play a game?" Channing asked.
"Yes!" the toddler said.
"Then let's find some toys," she said as they walked over to a toy box in a corner.
Nodinens helped Channing choose an Indian princess doll and a small teddy bear. There was a fairly large plastic tunnel that appeared to be suitable for placing over a train track, and also a smaller three-inch doll, dressed in a playsuit.
When they stood, Channing asked, "Is there a private room we could use?"
With Sandy carrying Lark, Nodinens led them to a door on the far wall. Inside, a child-sized table and chairs took up part of the room, but there was also an adult seating area. Channing and Sandy left that for Nodinens, and they sat on the floor with Lark and the playthings.
Nodinens said, "I bet you would like to play with your new friend Shannee, would you not, Lark?"
Lark glanced up at Channing, a merry sparkle in her brown eyes. "Play game, Shannee."
"That sounds like fun, Lark." Channing smiled and pushed the small doll toward the little girl. "This is you, and this is me." She pulled the Indian princess toward her. Then she placed the teddy bear near the plastic tunnel, but didn't mention what that was for yet.
"Do you remember the day you first saw me?" Channing asked, walking her doll toward Lark.
Lark stared at the princess doll with a frightened expression. "Don't wanna play this."
Channing quickly drew the doll back. "My doll wants to say she's sorry, Lark. Sorry she hurt your daddy. Can you tell your daddy that for her?"
"You was mean," Lark said.
"I know." Channing picked the doll's arms up and rubbed them across her eyes. "See? I'm really sorry. It makes me cry to remember that I was mean to your daddy."
"You sorry?" Some of the fear eased from Lark's expression.
"Very, very sorry," Channing assured her.
"Mommy say listen when people sorry. I tell Daddy."
"Thank you so very much, Lark. Now, do you remember when we went for a walk, just you and me?"
"Walk," Lark agreed. "It cold."
"But I kept you warm, didn't I?"
Lark nodded, then picked up her doll and walked it with a rocking motion toward the princess doll Channing held. "I scared then, too."
"Were you scared the whole time you were with me?" Channing asked.
Lark shook her head, loose tassels of hair from her pigtails brushing her cheeks and forehead. "You give me pop." Then she looked over at her mother and said, "Oops."
Sandy pushed the hair back behind Lark's ear. "It's all right, sweetie. You know you're not supposed to have pop unless I give it to you. But this time it's all right."
Channing set her doll beside Lark's and wobble-walked it towards the tunnel. "It took us a long time to get to where your walk ended, huh?"
Lark frowned. "No. Ran fast. Like wind."
"Oh, I forgot," Channing said. "You're right." She pulled the tunnel toward them and laid it over both dolls. "We went inside here, right? Inside a cave?"
"Uh huh." Lark pushed the teddy bear in with the dolls. "Warm. Cookies, too, and toys."
Lark frowned, then rearranged the toys. She laid her doll down beside the teddy bear and propped the princess at the entrance.
"We talked, didn't we?" Channing asked.
"Funny talk," Lark said, smiling. "Me talk loud. You say here." She pointed at her head. "Funny
words, but I know some. Daddy teach me 'Jibway words."
"You're very smart, Lark," Channing said. "Are you sure you aren't ten instead of two?"
Lark held up three fingers. "Free in …." She looked at her mother, who held up five fingers. Lark tapped one after the other of Sandy's fingers. "One, two, free, four…." She looked back at Channing and shouted with an excited grin, "Five! I have party in five days. Be free years old. Presents!"
"Three, sweetheart," Sandy corrected as she kissed Lark's forehead. "And you're making me really proud of you, remembering how to count. And also telling Shannee what you remember about being with that other lady."
Lark grinned up at her mother.
"Do you remember what I said in here?" Channing poked Lark's head gently.
"Uh huh. You say bad man want hurt me. You hurt him first."
"Did I tell you anything else about this man?" Channing asked.
Lark cocked her head, a look of intense concentration on her face. Then she said to Channing, "You say. You don't 'member?"
Channing shook her head slightly. "I am old. I forget things."
Lark stared over at Nodinens and Channing had to muffle a chuckle. It nearly slipped out as she and Sandy shared a glance. Lark surprised them, though.
"Grandmudder not forget. She good 'membering."
Nodinens broke out into delighted laughter and stroked Lark's cheek. "Thank you, Lark. I think I will have to get something special for your birthday gift."
Lark clapped her hands, and since Nodinens had her attention, she said, "I was not in the cave with you, so I do not know what the lady said. Can you tell me more?"
Lark pursed her tiny lips, then said, "She say bad man not find me here. She go look for him at big house."
"Did she tell you where the man lived?" Nodinens asked.
Pigtails bobbed back and forth. "She not know," Lark said in an exasperated voice. "I tell you. She not know."
Lark yawned and looked up at Sandy. "I seepy now."
Sandy stood and picked up her daughter. "I better take her in for her nap. If you want to talk to her later, I'll be home after six."
"I do not think that will be necessary," Nodinens told her. "Thank you for allowing us to …." She smiled at Lark. "…to play with Lark. We had a fun time."
"A wonderful time," Channing said.
"Come to party?" Lark said, then yawned again.
"I wouldn't miss it," Channing said.
After Sandy carried Lark out of the room, Channing sighed. "I guess that was a waste of our time."
"Not at all," Nodinens said. "We know for sure now that he is a tribal member, not a white man."
"How do we know that?"
"She said Nenegean was looking for the bad man at the big house. The children call our tribal headquarters the big house. It is where we have gatherings at times. Birthday parties, for one thing."
Chapter 37
When Nodinens bypassed the entrance to Bear Bay Resort on the next leg of their journey, the bodyguard behind them flashed his headlights.
"He's trying to get our attention," Channing said with a chuckle. "Maybe we should have told him we were going to your house."
Nodinens drove serenely on. "He will not dare try to cut me off and stop me. We will talk to him when we get home."
Eyes on the rearview mirror, Channing reported, "He's on his cell phone, probably calling to tattletale on us."
"I do not feel like a criminal. Do you?"
Channing laughed gaily. "A little bit. But it feels better than I thought it would."
A few moments later, Nodinens turned into a driveway. It curved around a stand of blue spruce and a beautiful stone and windowed house loomed. She pushed the remote button for the garage and drove in, but left the door open. By the time they both got out of her pickup, the man assigned to protect them was in the garage. Channing recognized him as the man who had spent the night at her cabin, Dan Walking Eagle. The change of guard must have happened while they were at the casino with Sandy's daughter.
"Grandmother—" Walking Eagle began.
Nodinens held up a forestalling hand, and the man cut off his comment, but kept his worried gaze on her.
"You have done nothing wrong," Nodinens assured him. "I will call Gagewin when I am inside and let him know we have moved here instead of the resort."
Walking Eagle nodded, then asked with a teasing twinkle in his brown eyes, "Did you win any money at the casino?"
Nodinens smiled and patted his cheek. "For me to know and you to find out."
Channing followed the elderly woman through a door into the house. Nodinens paused to lower the garage door, and as it was coming down, she told Walking Eagle, "Park your truck and come in the front door. You will be more comfortable inside."
She led Channing into a huge, spotless kitchen. It appeared to be specially designed for Nodinens, who was shorter than many women. The counters were a few inches lower than normal, which would make it easier for her to prepare meals.
She didn't stop there, however. Instead, they walked into a large family room just as the doorbell rang. While Nodinens let Walking Eagle in, Channing stared at the view through an entire glass wall on her right. There must have been at least two acres cleared, a wooden rail fence surrounding it. The ever-present woodland spread beyond the backyard. Snow covered the ground, and Channing studied it for tracks, by now an instinctive move.
"I am going to make coffee and decide what we will have for dinner," she heard Nodinens tell Walking Eagle. "You can have the second room on the left upstairs."
"I'll be staying down here, Grandmother," he said. "To keep watch."
"As you wish," she said.
Channing turned from the view, nodded to Walking Eagle and followed Nodinens back to the kitchen.
"I just thought of something. I guess you're planning to stay here, and I was so happy to escape our prison, I didn't bring a change of clothing or anything else with me."
Nodinens poured water into a drip coffeemaker. "There are various sized clothes in one of the guest rooms you can use, the first one on the right upstairs. Sometimes my sons' wives leave things."
"I'd really rather have my own clothing and toiletries," Channing said.
"Then we can go to the resort after we eat or you can call someone and give them a list of what you need. Have them go by the resort and deliver it here."
"No offense to whoever you'd choose to play delivery man or woman, but it sort of gives me an ugh factor thinking of someone pawing through my things."
Nodinens said agreeably, "Then we will go back after we eat."
"What can I do to help?"
"There are salad things in the refrigerator. Fix more than enough for just us three. You never know who will come by."
"Especially after they find out we've flown the coop … or the resort," Channing said, laughing.
"Yes." Nodinens glanced over her shoulder as the coffee began to fill the kitchen with its warm, delicious aroma, a twinkle in her eyes.
She was right, too. The doorbell rang an hour later, as they were getting ready to sit down to a dinner of salad and a pot roast Nodinens had taken from the freezer. She winked at Channing and left the kitchen, but Channing heard Walking Eagle tell her that he would answer the bell.
Channing removed the rolls from the oven and covered them with a dish towel in case Nodinens was delayed by her visitor. Just as she tucked in the towel, her cell phone rang. Caller ID indicated Dr. Russ Densmore, and she answered, then walked over to a corner of the kitchen for some privacy.
"Hi, Russ. How did it go?"
"They'll be coming back up there tomorrow," Russ said. "But Mrs. Walker did let me talk to her daughter, Grace. Just for a few minutes, and that was only because your friend up there called and asked Mrs. Walker to do that."
"Nodinens called her," Channing said. "She's someone the people respect, and obey. I'm back up here with her, staying in her home right now. Did you find out anything?"
&n
bsp; "We talked about movies kids watch," Russ said.
Channing nodded to herself. She used the same tactic to sidetrack her small patients at times.
"We eventually got around to what characters in movies scared us," Russ continued. "Grace said she really didn't like Captain Hook in Peter Pan. That he frightened her, like the bad man who hurt her."
"Rose watched that," Channing mused. "I thought it was a nice idea for her to see good characters overcome the bad guy. But now that I think of it, Peter Pan wasn't one of the movies she wanted to see a second time. That DVD just gathered dust. I'm trying to remember what Captain Hook looked like."
Russ grew silent for a few moments, then said, "I agree with where you're going, and that's what I was trying to get to, also. In a round about way that didn't traumatize Grace even more. I accessed a trailer of Peter Pan to update my own memory. He's tall and broad-shouldered, long black hair. There's the hook on his hand, but that probably has no significance. If the man who hurt Grace looked like Captain Hook, then you have a description to give the authorities."
"The problem is, we have a lot of large men around here with long dark hair," Channing said with a sigh. "Hundreds of Native Americans. None of them I've seen are missing a hand, though. That would be too easy."
"You're forgetting the profile that fits these evil sociopaths," Russ reminded her. "Personality traits."
"I think we already know his personality," Channing said.
"Not necessarily. You know I worked with the FBI a few times, which is how I met Grant. You'd be surprised what their profilers can come up with, just by studying how crimes are committed. They've learned over the years that some of these monsters have similar traits."
"You think the FBI might be able to help us identify this person?"
"Haven't they already been called in?" Russ asked.
"Not that I know of. It's only been a few days since they discovered all this. Although with this latest child, the local sheriff might be considering it."
"I guess I hadn't realized it had all happened in that short time period. Well, let me think what I can recall from similar cases I worked on."