Unclutter, page 30
“There is no need to wait to report a missing person,” Winona said. “In fact, the earlier it’s reported, the better. I wonder why the police said that.”
I sighed. “I tried calling the special helpline that got me through to Officer Hussein last Friday. But the line was busy all the time.”
“Yes, there must have been an increased report of accidents and other emergencies during these unfavorable weather conditions,” Nate said.
“Still, the police should have taken down Amanda’s complaint,” Winona insisted. “I smell foul play here.”
“We had listed Affy as the person with the highest stakes in this case. If they press charges against Nicholas, he is done for. A sexual abuse case against a minor will remove all his chances of getting bail from the court,” Jai reasoned.
“We need to find Affy as soon as we can,” I said, wearing my jacket and getting my car keys. “I’m going to start searching right away.”
AA sighed sounding exasperated. “We cannot go on a wild goose chase. Let’s decide a plan of action first.”
Ekon took my hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. I sat down next to him reluctantly.
Nate shared his laptop screen on our conference call. “So, this is the map of Strollfield. Let’s mark all the areas that are closed because of the storm.” He pointed his cursor at the center. “This is where Affy currently stays with their foster family.”
We eliminated the closed routes and were left with only two possible roads where Affy could have been taken.
“Okay, now, we need to find out which of Nicholas’s underlings live on these routes,” Winona said. “Let’s pray that Affy was not taken to some other unknown place.”
“That’s highly unlikely,” AA replied. “Both roads that are still open lead to residential areas. Lady Luck is on our side today.”
I crossed my fingers and hoped that AA hadn’t spoken too soon.
“Okay, let’s mark the addresses of all of Nicholas’s underlings,” Nate said. “Do we know how many are there?”
“I know the thirteen names. But I have no idea where they live,” Jai said.
“Wow, what a fantastic memory,” I exclaimed.
Nate cleared his throat. “I could get into the university student database—”
“Wait,” Ekon interrupted him. “Tina, do you remember the registration database for the SCF fundraiser last year? All performers and volunteers had to input their addresses. We could find some in that if we still have access.”
I hugged Ekon and kissed his cheek. “You’re brilliant.”
I logged into the spreadsheet on my phone, thankful that I still had access to it. Jai rattled the thirteen names off, one by one, as Ekon and I searched for the addresses. By the time we were done, we had three possible addresses where we suspected Affy could have been taken—Pete Hilton’s, Sudesh’s, or the home of someone I didn’t know named Sam Carson.
“Pete lives with his family. Besides, I think he left Strollfield after getting expelled. Let’s eliminate him for now,” I said.
“Okay, then let’s try the other two. AA and I will see you and Ekon there,” Winona suggested.
“And I’ll try to get an ambulance and medical help ready,” Jai offered. “I’m sure it will be a challenge to get timely healthcare right now with the current situation.”
“Can I try to track Nicholas’s and Affy’s phones?” Nate asked.
“Alright, but nothing extreme,” Ekon replied.
“Be careful team. Good luck,” AA wished us all.
***
Ekon and I drove to Amanda’s place to get something belonging to Affy. We hoped to get Ribster and Dexter’s help to find them. Without any questions, Amanda gave us their hoodie. Affy had left a set of clothes at Amanda’s house since they stayed over often. Seeing her bloodshot eyes, I hugged her and assured her that we would find Affy soon. Amanda wished that she could help us, but her parents had forbidden her from going out in this weather. I gave her Officer Hussein’s card and asked her to keep trying that number until someone answered and to contact me immediately when she was able to get through to the police.
We parked my car at the end of the street and waited for Winona, Ribster, and Dexter. I hugged the two lovely dogs when they arrived and made them sniff Affy’s hoodie. Immediately, they ran toward the only non-lit house in the residential area, belonging to Sam Carson.
We stood behind Sam’s place not sure what to do next. Ribster and Dexter barked loudly, but thankfully, no one came outside. One part of me wanted to risk everything and break into this house to search for Affy, but the other rational side knew it was a dangerous idea. I kept calling Officer Hussein’s number but could not get through.
I stuffed my phone back into my jacket. “This is terrible. What do we do now?”
“AA and I will distract whoever is inside, while you and Ekon search for Affy,” Winona replied.
“No way. That’s too risky,” I exclaimed. “If we get caught, Affy’s life could be in danger too. We need to wait for the police.”
“But we’ve been trying to reach them for so long,” AA argued. She was shorter than me, leaner, and wore a black mask, sunglasses, and a black cap to cover her face. “We need an alternate plan. Besides, Win and I can fight anyone if they try to attack us.”
Winona wore her cap, mask, and sunglasses. “We’re going in. I’ll signal to you, and then you can come in through the window. We might look suspicious in case there is a security camera at the entrance if too many of us go in. Affy is definitely in the vicinity. Look at the way Ribster and Dexter are going berserk.”
“What’s your plan?” I asked.
“AA and I will ring the doorbell and request for donations. If no one answers, we’ll let you and Ekon know,” Winona replied. She pointed toward two people walking toward us. “Look, Nate and Jai are here.”
I looked at the two dogs who were barking continuously as Ekon tried to calm them down. When Jai and Nate arrived, they took over Ekon’s position.
“We have to call emergency to get an ambulance. I couldn’t arrange one,” Jai said. “I’ve got my first-aid kit just in case.”
“I tracked Nicholas’s phone, and it hasn’t moved from his house since yesterday,” Nate informed us. “He may have been carrying a disposable phone.”
“How do we know he did this himself?” I asked. “He could have made someone else kidnap Affy.”
“Affy went missing in the middle of the snowstorm when there was a citywide power outage. I don’t think anyone would have risked their life for Nicholas. There’s a high chance he did this himself,” Jai reasoned.
Nate nodded. “Besides, he probably didn’t carry his phone with him was because he was scared of being tracked.”
“Okay, what about Affy’s phone?”
Nate sighed. “That one’s not possible to track without some ‘advanced techniques’ that you guys have banned me from using.”
Jai and I laughed, and Nate stuck his tongue out at us.
“Tina, come quickly. Winona signaled us to go in,” Ekon called out to me. “She asked us to go in through the front door since there are no security cameras.”
I hurried to Ekon’s side. We entered the house and Winona gestured us to go directly to the bedroom as she and AA dealt with the person in the living room. The bedroom was dirty and stank badly. Clothes and opened food packages were strewn on the floor. But there was no furniture. There was a small walk-in closet, and it took every ounce of my willpower to tiptoe in there to look for Affy. Holding my nose, I did a quick search.
Ekon raised his eyebrows asking me if I found Affy, but I shook my head. He had stood near the room door all this time waiting for the next signal from AA or Winona. We saw AA walk toward us.
“We found that the front door was unlocked and let ourselves in when no one answered the doorbell. There’s only one person in the house. He’s passed out in the living room, and his breath smells of alcohol. Winona is keeping a close watch on him, so hurry and try to find Affy while you can.” She turned to Ekon. “You can stay here with Tina, and I’ll guard the front door.”
I went into the kitchen as quietly as possible and opened all the cabinets, the refrigerator, and the oven. It was filthier than the other room and rats roamed around freely. I tried not to scream as one of the rodents climbed up my shoes. I shook it away and ran to the other bedroom.
This room had a bed and a table, nothing else. Something caught my eyes, and my heart stopped for a moment. I placed my hand on my chest because I could feel a panic attack forming. I started hyperventilating, and my vision became blurry. My stomach started churning, and I felt like I was going to throw up.
I was about to collapse on the ground when I heard my inner voice.
I’m here to rescue Affy. This is not about me or my unpleasant memories. I have a chance to save someone. I need to act fast and do my best.
I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down. I yanked off the sheet and mattress covering the bed so that I could see the wooden frame and the base of the bed, which were actually two doors with small handles on them. With all my strength, I forced one of the doors open, and it fell on the other side with a loud thud.
I wept silently, relieved that Affy was there. They were unconscious but seemed to be alive.
Ekon called the emergency number and requested an ambulance right away. We set Affy on the floor, gently shaking them, but they did not stir. Jai arrived immediately and performed CPR. We could hear AA and Winona fight the guy who lived here—who must have awoken—and lock him up in the other room. Ekon held my hand tightly as Jai tried to get Affy to breathe again.
“I can feel a pulse, but Affy needs to be rushed to the hospital immediately.”
Tears were streaming down my face, but I did not attempt to stop them. My heart went out to Affy, who was battling for their life through no fault of their own. I couldn’t control the nausea that doubled me over, and unwanted, unpleasant memories cluttered my mind. I tried to shake off the gory flashes of the abuser demons hiding in my storage bed at night when I was a child. This was the very reason I still slept only on a mattress at night.
Soon, an ambulance arrived, and they rushed Affy to the hospital. Jai broke down, unable to control his emotions any longer. His body shook as he wept uncontrollably. I collapsed next to him and put my arms around him, sobbing. We slowly got up, still not letting go of each other.
Ekon put an arm around both of us and hugged us tightly with his eyes welled up.
When we were about to pull away, I saw AA and Winona holding hands and crying. I gestured for them to join us. Winona threw her arms around us, but AA hesitated. Her face was still fully covered.
“Guys, look what I found.” Nate came running into the room but stopped mid-sentence and looked down uncomfortably. “Oh sorry.”
“Come on Nate, AA. I think we can all use a group hug,” Winona said.
Nate walked toward us and patted each one of us on our backs. Ekon thumped his back and squeezed his shoulder. Nate gave her his rare, childlike smile and a big thumbs up.
AA removed her hat, sunglasses, and mask slowly and finally joined our group embrace. Tears laced her beautiful light brown eyes as she looked down, still trying to hide her face. I tapped on the squad founder’s hand and mouthed, “Thank you.”
She shook her head, her short wavy hair bouncing, and smiled at me, whispering, “No, thank you.”
We stayed huddled close together for a long moment, our minds still whirling because of the emotional roller-coaster ride these past few hours. But we were all grateful that we had each other’s backs—and I knew we always would.
The police arrived a few minutes later and arrested Sam Carson for keeping Affy hostage.
“You’re not allowed to snoop around people’s houses like this. That’s privacy breach,” one of the police officers lectured us. I had never seen her before.
“And it’s okay if the police don’t register a missing person’s complaint, even after multiple calls?” Winona fired back.
“What if it had been too late before we found our friend, Affy Rodriguez? Would you have taken responsibility?” AA retorted. “They are barely alive right now.”
The officer walked away without responding. I tapped my feet impatiently as I tried the police helpline number for the umpteenth time. We really needed someone helpful to show up and investigate properly.
“Miss Lauren, you need to leave this place now. It’s a police-only investigation area,” a female voice called out.
“Officer Hussein, finally, you’re here.”
She gave me a quick smile. “I’m sorry about your friend, but you all need to leave now. And I apologize for not picking up your calls, and on behalf of the team that did not register the missing person’s complaint.”
I nodded. “Thanks for coming.”
“I’m glad you found your friend. Please call the helpline and report any further details about this case,” she said.
I cleared my throat. “I suspect the involvement of Nicholas Parker in this kidnapping incident, Officer.”
“We need evidence. Mere suspicion is not enough,” she replied.
“I understand, but the only person who would benefit from the disappearance of Affy right now is Nicholas. They are a major witness in his case, and may press charges against him for sexual assault,” I reasoned.
“Officer Hussein, I found something in the trash can,” Nate added. “Can you please come to the backyard?”
We followed the police outside and saw what Nate was pointing at. It was an old single-use cell phone that had keys. It could only be used for calling or texting.
“These phones are not good evidence in my experience,” Officer Lee said, joining us to peer into the garbage can. “They don’t have anything useful other than the victim’s phone number. Still, we can keep it.”
She picked it up carefully with her gloves and placed it in the evidence bag. “Anything else you want to add before leaving?”
“See if you can find any pieces of nails,” I said. “Nicholas has the habit of biting them and spitting them out all over.”
I knew it was almost impossible to find evidence like that in such a big area. But it had also been almost impossible to find Affy today. We did because our lucky guesses worked.
Who knew? Maybe, Lady Luck would favor us again today.
***
By the time I got back home, the sun was shining bright and smiling on all of us again. I took a relaxing shower and had a cup of Ekon’s special hot chocolate to comfort myself after the events of the day. I unlocked my phone and saw a lot of messages on the AA Squad group.
Jai
Affy is out of danger. If all goes well, they’ll be discharged tomorrow.
AA
That’s great news. Great job, squad. Particularly Tina.
Winona
Yes, that was really quick thinking, Tina.
Nate
I would have thought of looking under the bed, never inside it.
Ekon
Not everyone is Tina Lauren.
Me
Guys, it was a lucky guess. Besides, all of us worked together to save Affy. Three cheers to us!
I smiled as each one of us typed “Hip Hip Hooray!” in the squad group chat. My heart burst with pride and affection for all my comrades-turned-friends.
Just when I was about to set my phone aside, it buzzed again. This time it was a text from Amanda.
Amanda
Soul has been invited to perform at SCF this year. The JustCooking post with our music went viral. So did the one in the plant lovers group. They are saying that our music helps plants grow. Who knew, right? Thanks for working your magic again. You’re the best!
I squealed joyfully and called Amanda, congratulating her. She and Yash were in the hospital with Affy. All three of them thanked me profusely a million times for being there for them. They promised to treat me to a pizza party when Affy was discharged from the hospital.
After hanging up with Soul, I wore my jacket, took my car keys, and headed to my car. Now was the right time to do something I had been dreading for the last five years.
Before I changed my mind, I drove to my favorite furniture store in Strollfield. Within minutes, I’d purchased the queen-sized bed I had been longing to get for so long. Later that evening, when it was installed and ready, I sent a selfie of myself with my new bed frame to my parents. They called me immediately, and we chatted about my upcoming trip to Birch Town to meet them. Nobody said anything, but I knew that my parents were ecstatic that I had finally overcome my fears and bought a bed after five long years.
That night, I opened my notebook, striking off more items from my wish list. I was proud of the progress I had made.
I had made progress by uncluttering everything.
I had uncluttered my life—and obtained real friends.
I had uncluttered my fears—and attained peace.
I had uncluttered my mind—and found my inner voice.
If I hit rock bottom again, I shall bounce back ten times higher.
Because I have something priceless with me always—my inner voice.
Epilogue
A Few Weeks Later
I rollerbladed to the Strollfield Cultural Festival auditorium, controlling my speed and being careful not to collide with the other students. I knew I was late to Soul’s concert, but I couldn’t miss Ekon’s food truck wars either. When I reached the entrance, I took off my skates and ran into the venue, where Jai and Rory were waiting for me.
“T, you’re late,” Rory scolded me. “Look, they’re closing the doors.”
“Tiara was with Ekon on the other side of the venue,” Jai told his roommate, referring to me by my newly changed name. He was one of the few people who remembered to do that. “Cut her some slack.”
