Taken For Granted, page 5
Her license plate was gone. He looked at the cars surrounding hers and they all had their license plates. That was weird.
Then, someone had taken out the entire backseat. Ethan looked from side to side. What the hell? Where was he gonna sit? The glove box and center console had both been opened and ransacked. His mom’s tissues, gum, random napkins, lip gloss and registration papers were all over the floor. What the hell were they looking for? And, he noticed late, they took the change his mom kept in the ashtray. That was just low.
Ethan looked up to see Aiden on the passenger side, eyebrows furrowed.
“Who would’ve done this?”
Ethan shrugged. “And what were they looking for?”
Natali stood with the back door open, scooping up all his mom’s things into a plastic bag she’d found. She stopped moving and stared at the floorboard. “What’s this?” she asked, holding a picture.
Ethan took it. It was the picture Grams took of he and his mom staring into the sunset at the beach. It was right after their divorce. He stared at it for a beat.
They’d stood, his arm around her shoulder and propped up on his tiptoes so he would be as tall as her and her with her arm around his waist. Grams took the picture from the back, so their faces weren’t visible, but he knew they were smiling. He closed his eyes. He could feel the warm salty breeze and his mom’s arm around his waist. She’d worn her favorite flowery blue dress, that made her blue eyes stand out. He barely remembered that beach trip. Only that he and his mom had snuck off to fish off the pier while Grams napped one afternoon then they’d jumped the waves.
His mom had been his best friend. It was a good memory. But it made his heart ache both for how he’d acted every day since and the fact she was gone.
When he looked up, Natali watched him.
“You miss them.”
Ethan shoved the picture in his back pocket and nodded.
“We’ll find em,” she said, staring into his soul.
“Yeah,” he said, but he wasn’t exactly sure.
“Uh…guys?” Aiden’s voice trembled.
Ethan followed Aiden’s line of sight. A dog had crept up and stood guard behind the car while they’d been rooting through it.
They all froze. A low growl escaped the dog’s teeth. He stood in an attack stance and the fur on his backbone stood on end. He was almost all black except right around his snarling mouth was white. He was old. But protective.
Natali was closest to the dog. She whispered back toward Ethan, “What do we do?” Her voice was shaky and high pitched.
Ethan remembered the treats he’d stashed. Two meat sticks. Slowly he put his hand inside his pocket. The dog’s dark eyes followed his every move. When he began to pull the sticks out, the dog crept toward him cautiously. Maybe if he could toss them a few rows over, it’d give them time to run back to their car.
Natali whimpered a little as the dog passed her to get to Ethan.
Ethan held the sticks out, making sure the dog saw them and then threw one as hard as he could. The old dog watched exactly where it landed, then turned back to Ethan.
“Grubby old thing go…chase the meat stick!”
The dog stared and took another slow, cautious step toward him. He was in biting range now. Greedy. He wanted both sticks. But what if he didn’t run after it and just wanted a hunk out of Ethan’s leg?
Ethan chucked the other meat stick in the opposite direction but just as far as the first one. The dog turned his head and watched where it landed and turned his body as if he were going to go get it. Natali let out another whimper. The dog’s yellowed teeth were inches from her bare leg. The dog stopped, remembering his purpose, and stared up at her.
Ethan wasn’t going to let this dog bite anyone, especially her. He put his hands out and crouched a little, ready to pounce on the dog.
A whistle rang out from the other side of the lot.
The dog sprinted to the first meat stick. As he ran toward the second one, Aiden, Ethan and Natali ran toward the hole in the fence as fast as they could. Natali reached the torn place in the fence first. Ethan had never seen her move so fast. She practically dove though the hole, landing on the grass on the other side. Aiden followed, less gracefully than she’d done it, then Ethan dove through. The jagged fence caught his shirt and skimmed the photo from his back pocket back onto the gravel lot.
He reached back in, just as the dog came barreling toward him, teeth bared and barking his fool head off.
Ethan snatched the picture and rolled back onto the grass.
It was then he noticed the shadow.
Someone on the outside of the gate stood over them.
Chapter Eight
Ethan didn’t have time to react, except to stand upright, still clutching the picture of his family. The sun was at the man’s back, which blacked out his face. Ethan squinted.
“Ethan,” a voice said, even-toned.
“Kris?”
It was then he noticed the dog at his side, glaring at the junkyard dog, who was still barking.
“Tobias!” Kris yelled, “go!”
Upon hearing his name, the old dog stopped barking and stared at Kris. The cop pointed, adding, “Now. Go lay down.”
The old dog glared at the three trespassers, picked up the two meat sticks he’d dropped and crawled under a car to find some shade and eat his snack.
Aiden had stood, staring at the cop, but Natali still sat on the grass, staring into Crash’s panting mouth.
When she spoke her voice shook. “You’re not gonna let him hurt us, are you?”
Kris looked from her to Crash like he didn’t understand. Then it seemed to click.
“No, Crash isn’t mean. He’s just a puppy. And I never unleash him unless I need to.”
Natali stood on shaky legs and brushed herself off.
Kris turned his attention back to Ethan.
“So…you’re in a stolen vehicle an hour from home, underage driving without a license and now breaking and entering into a closed lot. I thought you wanted to be a cop.”
Before Ethan could answer, Natali’s high voice screeched, “It’s not stolen! This is my car, given to me by my—”
“Your father,” Kris interrupted, his eyes pinning Natali, jaw tight and angry. “Same guy who just filed a missing person’s report for you, your brother and your boyfriend. As well as a stolen vehicle report.”
Natali scoffed and dropped the plastic bag with all his mom’s junk in it.
“No way. No way he did that. That can’t be. It’s my car. Ask Aiden!” Natali had completely forgotten her fear of the dog and placed her hands on her hips. Ethan was simply happy she hadn’t corrected the boyfriend jab.
Aiden spoke up. “It’s true, sir. My dad gave that car to her, but he also said she couldn’t drive it because she—” Natali shot daggers at Aiden, who just shrugged his shoulders and went silent. Honesty was one of Aiden’s superpowers.
Kris cleared his throat. “Listen. You’re on some sort of mission. I can see that. I need for you to come clean with what’s going on.”
Natali, Aiden, and Ethan all clammed up. What were they going to tell him? Ethan couldn’t trust anyone. What if this was like the crime novels his grandma used to tell him about. What if the whole small town was in on it, even this guy. But something about Kris seemed honest.
Something about his demeanor and his eyes. He seemed about his mom’s age and similar somehow.
Lying on the fly had never been Ethan’s strength. He couldn’t make up a believable story if his life depended on it. Both Natali and Aiden knew this.
Aiden began, “See, we had to get some very important things out of Ethan’s mom’s car.”
Kris’s eyebrows furrowed as he held his hand out for the plastic bag by Natali’s feet. Natali rolled her eyes at Aiden and handed over the bag. When Kris finished looking through it, he shook his head. “Nope. Try again.”
Natali began, “Well, we came to see Ethan’s grandma, too, not just to empty the junk out of his mom’s car.”
“Where’s his grandma?” Kris asked.
Natali stuttered, “Uh, I can’t remember the name of the old folks home…Ethan?”
Kris pinned Ethan with his eyes. He knew they were lying.
Ethan stepped toward Kris and handed him the picture. Kris studied it for a beat then looked up.
“We came down yesterday for the lacrosse tournament and our car broke down.” He pointed at Aiden. “His dad picked me up and took me to the game and when we returned, my mom and grandma were gone. They didn’t come home.”
Kris watched Ethan for a beat. “You’re Ethan Campbell? I called your house today but got no answer. You get a text asking for money?”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “Yeah,” he answered, almost in a whisper.
“Have you filed it with the Knoxville Police?”
“When we got home, yeah.”
Kris scratched his jaw. “I grew up in South Knoxville before my mother moved here during high school. Where do you guys live?”
“North,” Aiden answered. “We all live in Sterchi Hills.”
Kris nodded. “Nice area. I grew up on the other side of the tracks.” Quickly, he changed the subject. “So, what did KPD say?”
“They came to my house and took a report but said they couldn’t do anything until they’d been gone twenty-four hours.”
Kris shook his head and exhaled deep. Sadness washed over his face.
“Y’all hungry?” he asked as he turned his back on them to unhook Crash and put him in the back of the unmarked car.
Aiden nodded yes, while Natali shook her head in a great big no toward Ethan.
“We could eat,” Ethan answered. Natali mouthed, “We don’t know if we can trust him!”
Ethan nodded, then said to Kris, “Do you know where they took my family?”
Kris shut the door and turned toward them. “I think I have an idea.”
Chapter Nine
Kris’s instructions were for Natali to follow right behind him, not speed, all to wear seatbelts and don’t collide with anyone. In that order.
Ethan was grateful for her phone’s GPS. They’d taken more turns than a roller coaster. No way in Hades would they find their way home. And to beat it all, they were in what appeared to be homeless central at some diner that looked like the kitchen of a shelter.
Kris hooked up Crash and walked inside, smiling. They all knew him by name—from the waitress behind the long counter, to the cook wearing his white coat, and all the other patrons. All of which, Ethan noticed, were of different races. It looked like a commercial for equality.
Kris sat in a half circle booth on the outside, with Crash at his feet.
Aiden, Natali and then Ethan all scooted around on the cracked plastic seat. Aiden shot Natali a warning look when she wrinkled her nose at the menu. She nodded understanding.
Kris ordered them all waters when the waitress came for their drink order.
“My treat. No arguing.”
Aiden smiled and scoured the menu. Natali stared at him for a beat, picked out her lunch and then sat. Questions brewed in her eyes. But Ethan struck first.
“So, what do you know about the people who took my mom and Grams?”
Kris pulled out the picture that he’d kept of Ethan’s and stared at it for a beat.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but even from the back, your mom is pretty.”
Ethan nodded. He knew that. Everyone told him so all the time.
Kris continued, “We have a problem in this town. Pretty women passing through who end up going missing.”
Natali gasped then whispered, “Human trafficking?”
Kris nodded and lowered his voice. “Being such a small town, it should be easy to spot, but it’s not. We track them to a certain point and it’s like they just disappear.”
The waitress came back with their waters and took their order. Ethan tried to swallow what they’d said. The hairs on his arms automatically stood on end.
When the waitress came to him, he ordered his usual at pretty much any restaurant—a massive cheeseburger with onion, mustard, ketchup and no green stuff. Kris, he noticed, ordered his, the exact same way.
“Do you have any leads?” Natali whispered once the waitress left with their orders.
According to Aiden, Natali spent most of her time looking at her phone or reading crime fiction novels. He figured she got the lingo from them.
“They could be anywhere. Crash and I have been scouring a few areas but nothing so far. Our leads have run dry. Until you guys showed up.”
Natali spoke up. “Why only pretty women?”
Kris looked from her to Ethan and back. Natali swallowed hard and then nodded understanding. “Sorry.”
But Ethan still had questions. “I don’t get it. Isn’t human trafficking where they take kids and babies and sell them?”
Kris sighed and lowered his voice. “I’ll explain later, kid.”
Just then, a cop car pulled up. Kris watched the thin, dark headed cop open his door, stretch, and saunter toward the diner. For a beat, Kris’s eyebrows shoved together like he’d tasted something bad.
Kris didn’t like this man. Ethan saw it written all over his face.
The cop wore a blue uniform. He opened the glass door and removed his sunglasses. He didn’t get the same warm welcome Kris had gotten. When his eyes landed on Kris, a half-grin crept at the corners of his mouth.
The man turned and walked right up to their table, eyeballing first Crash, then Kris and then he, Natali, and Aiden. Even Aiden watched this guy with a bit of disdain.
The man looked down at Crash whose tail flopped twice, then rested. “Hi Mutt.” Then he said to Kris, “Brother.”
“John,” Kris said, jaw tight.
Ethan looked from one man to the other. They looked nothing alike. Kris looked like an older version of Ryan Reynolds—tall but thicker around the middle. And he had sandy brown hair. This guy was tall, thin and had jet-black hair, dark eyes, and even darker skin. Maybe one of them was adopted.
The man looked at everyone at the table. “Well, my brother never had good manners. I’m John, Kris’s younger, better looking brother. And you are?”
Natali piped up, “from the boys and girls club. This officer is our mentor.”
John’s eyebrows shot up, while Aiden stared at Natali like she’d just sprouted wings.
“Ah. Always the Boy Scout, this one was,” he said as he slapped Kris on the back, hard. Then to Kris he added, “So nothing from last night?”
Kris didn’t even blink. “Nope. Nothing. But I’m gonna keep trying.”
Just then the waitress, carrying several plates, cleared her throat behind John. The diner wasn’t big, and she was trying to get the order to another table. Ethan watched as John scooted back with his arms up like he was being robbed and yet his eyes quickly descended upon the waitress’s body.
When John scooted back to the table, Ethan noticed the gold band on his left hand and couldn’t help himself. “So, you’re divorced?”
John stared at Ethan for a beat, then narrowed his eyes at Kris and answered Ethan’s question. “No. Married…happily married.” His voice held a touch of irritation.
Ethan picked up his water and took a long sip. “Oh, okay.”
John looked around the table and added, “Not everyone in our family is a cheater.”
He looked pointedly at Kris and walked away.
Kris looked like he could spit nails. Ethan watched him. Anger and sadness both filled his eyes. Was he a cheater? Ethan stared at his left hand. No ring and no tan lines where there’d been a ring. Maybe he was talking about another family member.
A few moments later, their food was delivered, and they all dove in. Between bites, Kris filled them in on what he knew. Even with his brother’s insinuation, he seemed honest.
Told them that several missing persons reports had been filed at the local level, but that they were the second ones who’d come in from out of town looking for someone. He said his leads were running dry and he was concerned that they were either getting better at hiding in plain sight or someone on the inside was helping them.
When he said this last part, he turned and stared at his brother for a beat.
~*~
After lunch, Ethan was grateful as they walked outside. First and foremost, for the full belly and that neither Natali nor Aiden had mentioned the slip of paper that the blue-eyed lady had put in his hand.
He wasn’t entirely convinced he could trust Kris. Something seemed very honest about him, but John had planted a seed that he might be a cheater. And after his own parents split for the same reason, and Aiden and Natali’s dad seemed to be a serial cheater, he just couldn’t be sure.
Aiden and Natali thanked Kris for lunch and got in the car. After Kris explained to Natali that she was to obey all traffic laws and made her promise to go straight home, Ethan walked Kris to his unmarked car. Kris unhooked Crash and guided him into the backseat.
When he shut the door, he put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and let out a deep breath. “Look. I know it shouldn’t matter what an out-of-town kid thinks of me, but I want you to know that I’m not a cheater. My step-brother is an ass.”
Ethan watched his demeanor then nodded. There was more to the story, he could tell, but for now at least he knew the guy was telling the truth.
“And,” Kris went on to say, “we don’t know for certain that your mom and Grams were taken by these people. But, by the text you received, I’d say they did. I can’t do much for you, except to say that I’ll keep looking. If you get any other information, here’s my number.”
Kris handed Ethan a card with his rank and cell number. Ethan had to ask the question he really didn’t want the answer to.
“What will they do to my mom?” His voice cracked at the end.
