Mrs. Finnemore and April entered, both in tears, both smiling. Mrs. Boone could not restrain herself and gave April a long hug. “We’re so happy you’re back,” she said.
Detective Slater introduced himself to April, who was exhausted and unsettled and a little embarrassed by all the attention. “It’s great to see you, kid,” Slater said.
“Thank you,” April said softly.
“Look, we can talk later,” the detective said as he faced Mrs. Finnemore. “But I need to spend about five minutes with her right now.”
“Can’t this wait?” demanded Mrs. Boone, taking a step closer to April.
“Of course it can, Mrs. Boone. Except for one small matter that I need to explore now. After that, I’ll get out of here and leave you alone.”
“No one is asking you to leave, Detective,” Mr. Boone said.
“I understand. Just give me five minutes.”
Theo returned, and the Boones left the den and headed for the kitchen, where the thick smell of sausage hung in the air. Mrs. Finnemore and April sat on the sofa and the detective pulled a chair close.
He spoke in a low voice. “April, we’re thrilled that you’re back home, safe and sound. We’re looking at the possibility of kidnapping charges. I’ve discussed it with your mother, and I need to ask you a couple of questions.”
“Okay,” she said timidly.
“First, when you left with your father, did you agree to do so? Did he force you to leave?”
April looked confused. She glanced at her mother, but her mother was staring at her boots.
Slater continued: “Kidnapping requires evidence that the victim was forced to leave against her will.”
April slowly shook her head and said, “I was not forced to leave. I wanted to leave. I was very frightened.”
Slater took a deep breath and looked at May, who was still avoiding all eye contact. “All right,” he said. “The second question-Were you held against your will? Did you want to leave at any time, but were told you could not do so? With kidnapping, there are rare cases where a victim went away without objection, without force, sort of voluntarily, but then as time passed the victim changed her mind and wanted to go home. But her captor refused. At that point, it became a kidnapping. Is this what happened?”
April crossed her arms over her chest, gritted her teeth, and said, “No. That did not happen to me. My father was lying the whole time. He convinced me that he was in contact with my mother, that things were all right here, and that we would come home. Eventually. He never said when, but it would not be long. I never thought about running away, but I certainly could have. I wasn’t guarded or locked up.”
Another deep breath by the detective as his case continued to slip away. “One last question,” he said. “Were you harmed in any way?”
“By my father? No. He might be a liar and a creep and a lousy father, but he would never harm me, nor would he let anyone else. I never felt threatened. I felt alone, and scared and confused, but that’s not unusual for me even here in Strattenburg.”
“April,” Mrs. Finnemore said softly.
Detective Slater stood and said, “This will not be a criminal matter. It should be dealt with in the civil courts.” He walked into the kitchen, thanked all the Boones there, and left. After he was gone, April and her mother joined the Boones around the kitchen table for a hearty breakfast of sausage, pancakes, and scrambled eggs. After the plates were served, the food properly blessed, and everyone had taken a bite or two, Ike said, “Slater couldn’t wait to get out of here because he’s too embarrassed. The police spent four days playing games with Leeper, and Theo solved the case in about two hours.”
“How’d you do it, Theo?” his father demanded. “And I want the details.”
“Let’s hear it,” his mother piped in.
Theo swallowed some eggs and looked around the table. Everyone was looking at him. He smiled, at first a nasty little grin, then a full-blown, ear-to-ear blast of orthodontic metal that was instantly contagious. April, already beyond braces, flashed a beautiful smile.
Unable to suppress it, Theo started laughing.
Detective Slater drove straight to the jail where he met Detective Capshaw. Together they waited in a small holding room while Jack Leeper was startled from his sleep, handcuffed, and practically dragged down the hall in his orange jumpsuit and orange rubber shower shoes. Two deputies hauled him into the holding room and sat him down in a metal chair. The handcuffs were not removed.
Leeper, his eyes still swollen and his face unshaven, looked at Slater and Capshaw and said, “Good morning. You boys are up mighty early.”
“Where’s the girl, Leeper?” Slater growled.
“Well, well, so you’re back. You boys ready to make a deal this time?”
“Yep. We got a deal, a really good deal for you, Leeper. But first you gotta tell us how far away the girl is. Just give us some idea. Five miles, fifty, five hundred?”
Leeper smiled at this. He rubbed his beard on his sleeve, grinned, and said, “She’s about a hundred miles away.”
Slater and Capshaw laughed.
“I say something funny?”
“You’re such a lying scumbag, Leeper,” Slater said. “I guess you’ll lie all the way to your grave.”
Capshaw took a step forward and said, “The girl’s home with her momma, Leeper. Seems she took off with her father and spent a few days on the run. Now she’s back, safe and sound. Thank God she never met you.”
“You want a deal, Leeper?” Slater said. “Here’s your deal. We’re dropping all charges here, and we’re gonna speed up your shipment back to California. We’ve talked to the authorities there and they’ve got a special place for you, as an escapee. Maximum security. You’ll never see daylight.”
Leeper’s mouth opened but no words came out.
Slater said to the deputies, “Take him back.” Then he and Capshaw left the room.
At 9:00 a.m., Sunday morning, the Strattenburg Police Department issued a statement to the press. It read: “At approximately six o’clock this morning, April Finnemore returned to Strattenburg and was reunited with her mother. She is safe, healthy, in good spirits, and was not harmed in any way. We are continuing our investigation into this matter and will interrogate her father, Tom Finnemore, as soon as possible.”
The news was instantly broadcast on television and radio. It roared through the Internet. At dozens of churches, announcements were made to applause and thanksgiving.
The entire town took a deep breath, smiled, and thanked God for a miracle.
April missed it all. She was sound asleep in a small bedroom where the Boones sometimes kept their guests. She did not want to go home, at least not for a few hours. A neighbor called May Finnemore and relayed the news that their home was under siege from reporters, and said it would be wise to stay away until the mob left. Woods Boone suggested that she park her ridiculous vehicle in their garage; otherwise, someone would likely see it and know precisely where April was hiding.
Theo and Judge took a long nap in their upstairs bedroom.
Chapter 22
When the students at Strattenburg Middle School returned to class on Monday morning, they expected a little excitement. This would not be a typical Monday. A dark cloud had hung over the school since April’s disappearance, and now it was gone. Just a few days earlier everyone presumed her dead. Now she was back, and not only had she been found, she’d been rescued by one of their own. Theo’s daring mission to Chapel Hill to pluck her from her father’s captivity was quickly becoming a legend.
The arriving students were not disappointed. Before daybreak, half a dozen television vans were parked haphazardly around the wide, circular drive at the entrance of the school. Reporters were all over the place, with photographers waiting for a glimpse of something. This upset Mrs. Gladwell, and she called the police. A confrontation took place; angry words were exchanged; arrests were threatened. The police eventually moved the
