“It’s not safe.” I can all but see his mind working hard to find a solution.
When we take the next corner, we come to the turnoff to Gateway and drop deeper into the bush again. We don’t want them to catch us now that we’re almost in the clear. Scott signals me to wait. When he’s convinced the coast is clear, we dash across the turnoff and continue along the highway.
Loud humming announces a caravan of at least ten vehicles, cars and armored trucks with blue emergency vehicle lighting comes rumbling around the corner. Scott pulls me back, but it’s too late. The first car stops. A police officer accompanied by an officer with an armored vest steps out, followed by a person in civilian clothing.
“Hello. Stop. Please identify yourself.” He pulls out an ID card. “I’m Detective Sergeant Fischer.”
My glance flies up to Scott. I swallow hard. Is that the end of the road? The end of our freedom? Are these people in Raymond’s pocket? Are they here to catch us? He gives me a reassuring nod and I try to control my shaking voice with clearing my throat.
“My name is Elisabeth Seagar, and this is my partner Scott Thompson.” Rena must have noticed my tension and burrows between Scott and me.
“How do you know Officer Blake?”
I stare at him. Officer Blake? Can it be?
“You heard from Officer Blake?” A sob tears from my lips. “He helped me when I was kidnapped a year ago.”
“You emailed him a large file a few hours ago?”
I can’t believe what I hear. He knows about the file.
“Do you mean you got my file?”
DS Fischer laughs and nods. Then he turns to Scott.
“You are wounded.”
“Yes I am, but it’s not serious. A flesh wound.”
“Well, your face tells a different story. But let me see.” The man in civil is getting his cell phone out. “Our doctor will look after you.”
“John, we need you here,” he calls out to the man with a doctor’s bag and points at Scott. Then he turns to me. “The files went to officer Blake, who didn’t lose any time informing us that we had to lose no time and assist you.”
I can’t believe it … Officer Blake deserves a place in Heaven … I mean not right now, but when his time comes. He’s the last one I wish dead. He’s an angel. I fight back my tears. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to find a Guardian Angel. Never.
“Don’t cry.” Rena’s tiny hand grabs mine and she clings at my side.
“It’s okay, poppet. I’m not sad. These are tears of joy. You cry them when a person surprises you with kindness and caring.”
“Like I did when you said that I might run away with you?”
“Yes, poppet, just like that.”
“And who is this young lady?” DS Fischer squats down to Rena and looks at her. Despite the warm tone in his voice, Rena’s face turns ashen. Her lips tremble and she grips my hands. I can read her body signals as if she is one of the Tribe. And just as I defend them, I’ll protect her. I put my arm around her shivering body and pull her closer to me.
“This young lady is the hero of the day. Without her, we would not have escaped. We don’t know her full story yet, as you can imagine, we focused on getting away.” I kiss her forehead. “Say hello to Officer Fischer. He’ll make sure it all ends well.”
Rena doesn’t lose her shyness and half-hides behind my leg while watching the doctor clean up Scottie’s face and bandage his arm.
“I don’t need all this fussing about. Why we are still here instead of moving in on Raymond Feldman.”
It’s impossible to miss Scott’s frustration as he ducks away from the doctor’s hands. It’s too late to warn them that he’s a lousy patient. We all but had to tie him up when we first met him and Lilly pulled him out of his truck.
“We planned to storm in, but running into you is a blessing. Your hands-on experience will be useful in determining our strategy. If you don’t mind, how did you get free?”
Scott and I give him the short version and Rena explains how she ran to the white house when she saw the men in nurse’s uniforms loading us into the ambulance.
“We thought we had to use armed force to release you from the compound. I’m glad we don’t need to do that.” DS Fischer looks relieved.
“I’m afraid you still have to expect the worst. Rena told us that some kids are like her, afraid, abused and without their parents. They may hold others against their will. The problem is the place is huge with plenty of places people can hide and plan an ambush from. If you pass me a pen and paper, I can sketch you a rough map.”
Scott outlines the village, the sprinkled about Swiss houses, the Community Hall, and the big white house with the tower on the opposite end of the park.
I point to the white house. “I think they have the heart of their organization in this building. There are also the rooms they held us captive in. Like a prison hospital. I’d say that’s where all the nasty stuff happens; it’s where Scott got his bruised face.”
“What can we expect at the compound?”
We now had DS Fischer and a handful of his men surrounding us waiting for what we can tell them.
“How many people are we dealing with?”
“They take their meals together so most of the people must have been present at lunch. I’m guessing at least fifty families are living in the community. Two adults plus children would make approximately two hundred people. Half of them children.”
I’m surprised how much Scottie found out in the hall while I had focused on how harmonious the children were singing. He’d appeared impressed with the set-up, but it is clear, he’d never lost his critical eye. I should kiss him for
