Mistaken Identity

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

As darkness loomed over the Oregon sky, the street lights came on. Diane looked at her watch. It wasn’t like Stephanie to be late. It also wasn’t like her not to call. She had gone to the mall with a couple of friends six hours earlier and was supposed to be home by 5:00 pm. Since it was Sunday, the mall closed at 6:00 pm. It was now 7:00 pm.

“Paul, something’s wrong. She should be home by now.”

Paul picked up the car keys off of the counter. “I’m going to look for her. Stay here in case she calls or comes home.”

She felt helpless and empty. “Paul, what if you don’t find her?”

Paul took his wife in his arms and held her close to him. He couldn’t think that way. He refused to think that way. “Listen to me honey. Don’t worry, we’ll find her. Stay by the phone and keep the line open. I love you.”

Diane hugged him once more and watched him walk out the door. She walked outside and looked down the street. She looked left, and then right. There was no sign of her daughter anywhere. She had already called Stephanie’s friends. Jessica and Nicki told her Stephanie never showed up at the mall. Nicki told her she was getting ready to call to find out what happened. They were supposed to meet at the food court. They were going to get some chili fries and then go shopping. She called Stephanie’s boyfriend, Derek-he hadn’t heard from her either. Diane thought of the horrific news stories that she watched just two weeks ago. A young girl had been abducted from the park near her home. They found her body a week later, just blocks from the park. Chills went down Diane’s spine when she remembered that the girl went to Stephanie’s school. The killer was still at large. Diane tried not to think about it. Her baby would come home and she would be okay. She looked at the cordless phone she held in her hand and willed it to ring.

“Stephanie, where are you?” she asked, staring at the phone as if it held all the answers.

A few minutes later the door bell rang. It jerked Diane from her thoughts. She went to the door hoping it was Stephanie. Maybe she misplaced her house key. She always forgot where she put it. She looked out the window and saw it was Derek. Diane opened the door and told him to come in. “Have you heard anything yet?” the teenager asked her. “No, Paul is out looking for her now. He wants me to stay here in case she came home or called.” Diane said as she sat on the couch. She felt so helpless.

Derek wasn’t sure what to do next. He knew he needed to be here. He felt like he should do something. Stephanie’s mother looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon, Mrs. Ford.” He told her. Diane thought it was sweet that he came by and she told him so. “Mrs. Ford, I wanted to let you know that if there’s anything I can do, let me know. I have no idea how I could help, but all you have to do is ask.” Derek said.

An hour later Derek left. Diane promised him she would call him as soon as she heard anything. He promised her the same. There was still no sign of Stephanie. Paul had not returned. Diane’s mind started to race. She was thinking all sorts of crazy things. She had a diary, what was written in it? Did she meet someone online? She didn’t think so; she was too crazy over Derek. She walked into Stephanie’s room and looked around. She looked through her drawers and found nothing but clothes. Diane found her daughter’s diary on her dresser. She hesitated to read it, but did anyway. As she perused the pages, she found nothing in it that would explain what was going on. She had written cute little poems and talked about dates with Derek. She walked to the closet and opened the door. She looked on the floor through some boxes. Nothing there either but clothes Stephanie had outgrown. As Diane was putting the clothes back in the box, a baby blue blouse called to her. She remembered when she bought it for Stephanie for her 13th birthday. It was her favorite color. It also had butterflies embroidered on one side of it.

“Mom, it’s just what I wanted. I knew you would get it for me. Thank you so much.”

A smile formed on her face as she remembered the tight hug she received. Diane put the blouse close to her heart, and then laid it back in the box. She stood up and looked around the room. She bent down and looked under the bed. Naturally, she found nothing. Diane didn’t know where Stephanie got her neatness. It certainly wasn’t from her. She kept a clean house, but certainly not spotless. Diane teased her now and then about being a neat freak. She was about to get up when something shiny caught her eye. She lay down and scooted under the bed to retrieve it. It was a keychain with the zodiac sign ‘Libra’ written on it. Diane got up off the floor and placed the keychain on the dresser. What was she doing in here? What exactly was she looking for? Then the computer caught her eye.

Diane turned the computer on and waited impatiently for it to turn on. As she put her hand on the mouse, the phone rang. She jumped as the shrill of the ring frightened her. “Hello? Stephanie?”

It was Paul. “Diane, have you heard anything?”

Diane sank down in the chair. “No, I haven’t heard anything. I’m looking in her room searching for clues to what she could be up to, if anything.” Paul was silent for a moment. Diane could hear noise in the background. “Paul, where are you?” Diane asked.

“I’m at the police station filling out a missing persons report.” He informed her.

Diane’s head started to hurt. “They normally wait twenty four hours to do that don’t they?” she asked.

“Yeah, they do honey.” He answered. He didn’t want to tell her they were doing it because of the girl that was found near the park. “I convinced them that she’s not the type to just run off.” He assured her.
“Should I come to the station?” Diane asked him.

“No, they told me a detective was going to stop by. He wants to talk with both of us.”

Diane agreed to stay put and wait. It was official; this was the worse day of her life. She sat in the chair and stared at the computer screen and shook her head. She was not good with computers. Stephanie was the computer whiz. Diane worked at a clothing store. Until two years ago, her job duties seldom required a computer. She could help a person find the right outfit for the right occasion, but computers were a mystery. Diane remembered the short tutoring session she received from Stephanie when she tried to learn computer basics.

“Mom, computers these days are so user friendly. All you have to do is point and click. See?”

Diane took the mouse and directed the pointer over certain icons to open up different files. Files popped up like magic, but there was nothing there but school papers and some games. Another hour passed before the police came to the house. Diane noticed the police car coming up the driveway. Diane greeted them at the door.

“Good Evening, Mrs. Ford, I’m Officer Kaplan.”

Diane shook the Officer’s hand as she saw her husband coming in behind him. “Of course, come on in.” She expected to see the Officer in a uniform but he was in plain clothes with a tan trench coat. He reminded her of Colombo. She let go of the man’s hand and led him and her husband into the living room. Paul and Diane sat down together as the officer sat across from them.

Officer Kaplan took out a pen and memo pad from his jacket and asked questions. They ranged from “What is your daughter’s full name to “When was the last time you saw your daughter?” Paul and Diane answered all the questions. They last saw their daughter at 10:30 that morning. They started off telling her full name, Stephanie Gayle Ford, her height, 5’8”, brown hair and brown eyes. Storm High is the High school she attends. No enemies that they were aware of. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, pink blouse with butterflies on it, and white tennis shoes.

“Mr. and Mrs. Ford, I know this is difficult. I can see your pain and worry. I’m sorry to put you all through this, but I have to ask these questions.”

Diane looked at the Officer with determination and sternness. “Ask us as many questions as you like Sir, just find our baby.” Diane took a deep breath and doubled up as if in pain and sobbed. No pain could be worse than this. She wanted to be strong but felt so weak and helpless.

Paul put his arms around his wife to comfort her. Tears started to sting his eyes. “Yes Officer, ask us anything you need to.”

Diane straightened up and took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry Officer. It’s been a very bad day.”

Officer Kaplan sympathized with the woman. He had a child at home too. He made a mental note to tell his son he loved him when he got home that evening. “One last question, is Stephanie seeing anyone?”

Paul swiped his hand across his tearstained face and said “Yes, his name is Derek Johnson.”

Diane looked over at him in disbelief. In all of the twenty years they were married she never saw him cry. She was the emotional one. Paul always kept his composure. Right now, it was up to her to keep it together. If they both broke down, finding Stephanie would be impossible.

“Excuse me Officer. I’ll be right back.”

As Paul tried to compose himself, Officer Kaplan reassured him. “Mr. Ford, I won’t rest until Stephanie is found. I’m going to do everything I can to bring her home safely.”

“I’m going to get on the computer and make up some fliers. Diane and I are going to pass them around in the neighborhood.” Paul informed him.

“That’s a great idea Mr. Ford. Having more people look for Stephanie won’t hurt.” Officer Kaplan said in approval.

Diane got a glass out of the cupboard. While pouring the water in the glass she remembered something Stephanie said on the phone one day.

“I swear she’s got it in for me. She’d like nothing better than to hurt me.”

She asked Stephanie about it, but Stephanie just said she was blowing off steam. The overflowing glass drew her attention back. She turned the water off and poured some out and took it to her husband. “Here Paul, drink this.” Paul took the glass from his wife and took a sip.

“Officer Kaplan, I just remembered something.” Diane informed the Officer. “I remembered Stephanie talking on the phone to a friend. I heard her say “I swear she’s got it in for me. She’d like nothing better than to hurt me.”

Officer Kaplan wrote more on his pad. “When was this?” Officer Kaplan said still writing on his pad.

“It was just a couple days ago. I asked her about it, but she said she was blowing off steam.” Diane explained.

“Who was she talking to Mrs. Ford?” Officer Kaplan asked.

Diane couldn’t remember at first, and then it came to her. “It was Jessica Phillips. I think she’s in Stephanie’s English Lit class.”

Officer Kaplan asked for the girl’s number and address and wrote it down on his pad. “What about this Derek Johnson? Did your daughter get along well with him?” he asked as he turned the page of the pad.

“Yes, they got along fine. He’s a very nice boy. He’s been calling and asking about her. He was supposed to go with them but his Dad told him he had to help in the yard. He came by for about an hour tonight. He left just a while ago.” Diane said. Diane gave the Officer the boy’s phone number.

“Okay, I think that will be all for now from me. Do you have a recent picture of your daughter?” Officer Kaplan asked as he got up from the couch. Diane quickly got up and took her school picture off the mantle.

“Here, this was just taken a couple of weeks ago.” Diane said, looking at the photo.
Officer Kaplan took the photo from the distraught woman. “Thank you, we’ll keep in touch.”

Nighttime came, but sleep didn’t. Paul lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. He looked over at his wife and could tell she was awake too. His thoughts went back to the time he taught Stephanie how to ride a bike. She was seven years old.

“Don’t let go of me Daddy.”

They bought the bike for her for Christmas. She couldn’t wait to ride it. He remembered how excited she was when she finally rode without help. She was such a cute little girl. She wore her hair in ponytails with red ribbons. He remembered her squeals as she flew down the sidewalk.

I’m doing it; I’m riding all by myself. Look at me Daddy!

The sun was glistening through the trees and it was a beautiful day. The ribbons in her hair were navigated by the wind.

He thought about last year on Mother’s Day when the two of them went shopping to buy Diane that special gift. Paul eyed a blouse that was displayed on a mannequin that he felt would look good on his wife.

“Dad, you do love mom, right? If you get that for her, divorce will be just around the corner.”

The thoughts just made him miss her more than he already did. As an executive in the advertising business Paul traveled a lot. Sometimes he was gone four days out of seven. When he was home, he practically lived at the office. He made a silent vow that his priorities would change. He would be home more with his family.

Diane lay in bed and watched her husband. She could see this was killing him. She always felt like he was the Rock of Gibraltar. As they both lay there in their thoughts, the phone rang. Both jumped to grab it. “Hello?” Paul answered frantically. It was a wrong number. Paul looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was only 3:00am. “Who would call at this time of night?” he said as he sat down on the bed. Diane got up and sat beside her husband. No words were spoken at first. She took his hand in hers and they prayed.

Stephanie woke to find herself lying in the back of a car. She tried to get up, but it hurt her head. The last thing she remembered was walking in the mall parking lot. She felt dazed and confused. She saw trees passing by very fast outside the window and knew she was in danger.

She tried to look to see who was driving, but couldn’t see over the seat. “Please God, help me. I don’t want to die.” She prayed. As she lay there, she started looking around the car; she noticed the interior was gray and red. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Soon the car came to a stop. Stephanie’s heart started to pound. She realized she had been hit on the head. She closed her eyes and waited. She heard the car door open. She felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched.

“It’s okay; I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you sweetheart. Let’s get you in the house. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Stephanie relaxed for a moment. It was evident that she was not in immediate danger. From the sound of the person’s voice, she could tell it was a woman. As she got up and got out of the car, she could see it was someone she knew. “Mrs. Fletcher?” Stephanie said in shock.

“Megan, why would you call me Mrs. Fletcher?” the woman asked Stephanie. “I’m your mother.” She announced.

Stephanie knew the woman. It was Delores Fletcher, her English Lit teacher. Her daughter Megan died in a car accident last year. It happened on the way home from school. Megan’s boyfriend Eric offered to take Megan home and she had accepted. They were a few miles from the school when a drunk driver plowed into the car, killing them both. The injuries were so severe that the bodies could not be viewed at the funerals. Stephanie had taken Megan’s death so hard that her parents took her to grief counseling. She and Megan had been best friends since first grade. She was just beginning to heal and hoped Megan’s mother was too. Apparently she was mistaken. She thought about reasoning with the woman, but wasn’t sure if that was the safest thing to do. For now, the only thing to do was play along. Stephanie rubbed her head, then walked up to the woman and hugged her. “Mom, let’s go inside, okay?” Mrs. Fletcher put her arm around Stephanie and walked her into the house. Stephanie looked at her surroundings and realized they were in the country. “Uh, Mom, where are we? I don’t remember this house.”

Mrs. Fletcher opened the door and motioned for Stephanie to go first. “We’ve moved sweetheart. We now live in California. I had to bring you here because they took you away from me once. They will not do it again. They won’t find us here.”

Stephanie looked around the house. She needed a plan. She knew her parents would be worried sick. She had to get away from here. “Who are they, uh, Mom?”

The woman looked frustrated. She put her arms on Stephanie’s shoulders and looked in her eyes. “The police told me you were dead, but I never saw your body. They would not let me see you. They said I would never get over it. At first, I believed them and it hurt so badly. My heart actually felt like it was breaking, Megan. Then I realized that you were not dead. Your father’s family took you from me. They never thought I was good enough.”

Stephanie winced as Mrs. Fletcher tightened her grip. The woman let go, sat down and continued with her story. “When you were a baby, your grandma came over and criticized everything I did for you. I didn’t hold you right. I didn’t feed you enough. Your clothes weren’t clean. Your milk was too cold. She said I was unfit.”

Stephanie stood there frozen listening to the story.

“Your father always stood up for me. He told them I was a wonderful mother and they were to leave me alone. When he died, I moved as far away from them as possible. I knew they would do whatever they could to take you from me and I was not about to let that happen. When I saw you outside the mall, alone, I called out your name. When you didn’t respond, I knew they brainwashed you against me. I waited for the right moment and took you. Now you’re with me where you belong.”

Stephanie sat down in the chair beside the woman. She had to find a way to get through to her. “I didn’t respond to you because I’m not Megan. I’m Stephanie, Megan’s friend. Do you remember me? I used to spend the night with Megan on Saturdays and you would bake us cookies. We would watch cartoons. You always liked the Foghorn Leghorn one. Don’t you remember?” she watched as the woman got up to walk away. “Don’t you remember the fashion show Megan and I put on for you?” When she called her Megan she realized she wasn’t getting through to her. She lost her patience. “Look at me Mrs. Fletcher! Your daughter had curly blonde hair with blue eyes. I have straight brown hair and brown eyes. Look at me!”

The woman put her hands over her ears. She stood up and began pacing the floor frantically. “No! I will not listen to you. You are my daughter. I know it!” Mrs. Fletcher was sobbing and breathing heavily. After a few minutes, she calmed down. “No more nonsense about you not being my daughter young lady. I will show you where the bathroom is. You need to freshen up while I fix you dinner. You must be famished.”

Mrs. Fletcher walked Stephanie to the bathroom faster than she wanted to walk. She shoved Stephanie into the bathroom. It caused the young girl to stumble. Mrs. Fletcher closed and locked the door. Stephanie frantically looked around and saw there was a window, but it was too small to crawl out of. She patted the back of her head and checked her hand for blood. “I’ve got to get out of here.” She whispered as she turned on the faucet.

The next day, Officer Kaplan sat at his desk and looked at Stephanie’s picture. He placed the picture on his desk and reviewed his notes. As he read the notes, he realized he still hadn’t spoken to Jessica Phillips about the comment.

As he was about to leave, Lieutenant Harold walked up to him. “Any leads on the missing girl Jack?” the lieutenant asked.

Officer Kaplan turned around in surprise. “You’re back from vacation already? How was it?”

“It went by way too fast. What’s going on with this missing girl? Talk to me Jack. Do you have any leads?”

The Officer handed the photo to his lieutenant. “I have a few leads to go on. I’m on my way to see Jessica Phillips. Mrs. Ford overheard her daughter talking to her on the phone. She told her someone was out to get her.”

The lieutenant looked at the picture and laid it back down on the desk.

“Maybe they did. Talk to me Jack. I can see the wheels turning in that head of yours.”

Officer Kaplan sighed. “I’m hoping for a happy ending, that’s what I’m thinking. I couldn’t give the Bright family one. I just hope I can do that for the Fords.” Officer Kaplan said as he wiped his brow. It had been a long day and it was only 10:00am.

“You did everything you could, you know that don’t you?” the lieutenant said.

“Yeah well, tell that to Don and Carol Bright. I’ll let you know how it goes.” He left the precinct and drove by her house but no one was home.

As he checked his watch, he saw a young girl walking up to the house. He thought about approaching her, but he felt her parents should be home too. He looked at his watch once more and realized he needed to act now. “Miss, can I have a minute of your time?” he said as he showed her his badge.

The young girl looked startled.

“Are you Jessica Phillips?” He asked waiting for an answer.

“Yes Sir, what can I do for you?” she asked nervously. She wasn’t used to cops approaching her.

“Do you know a Stephanie Ford?” Officer Kaplan asked while showing a photo.

Jessica took the photo from him and looked at it. “Yeah, she’s a friend of mine.” Jessica said, and then gasped. “Oh my God, Stephanie’s dead isn’t she?” Jessica said with her hand over her mouth.

The Officer ignored her question and explained the situation. “Stephanie never came home from the mall. In fact, from what I gather, she never made it to the mall. What I need to ask you is about a comment she made to you.” Officer Kaplan informed the young girl.

“Okay, come on in.” Jessica said, motioning him into her home.

“No, why don’t we sit on the porch?” Officer Kaplan said as he sat on the glider. It wasn’t appropriate for him to be alone in the house with a young girl. As they sat on the porch, Officer Kaplan got his information. Stephanie called Jessica because she was very upset over a bad grade on a paper. The teacher, Delores Fletcher, called her out several times in class for crazy reasons such as sitting up straight, or her hair was in her face. “Do you think this woman could hurt Stephanie?” he asked the girl.

“I don’t know. Ever since her daughter Megan died she started acting weird. One day she called out Megan’s name while pointing at Stephanie in class. She didn’t just say it; she screamed it. She screamed it so loud that the teacher next door came over. Yeah, now that I think about it I would say she could have done something with her. She had it in for her.”

Officer Kaplan shook the young girl’s hand and thanked her, then left. His next trip was to see Delores Fletcher. He went to her house and found she wasn’t home. He took a peek into her window and found the house to be empty. He then called the school and left a message for the Principal to call him back. He looked at the photo of Stephanie and hoped she was still alive.

He and other officers went to Harmony City Mall and asked about Stephanie. No one had seen her. They checked all of the surveillance tapes for that day. She wasn’t on any of them. He was pretty positive that Stephanie never made it to the mall. He picked up the phone and dialed the Ford’s phone number. He had a couple more questions. After one ring, Diane Ford answered. “Hello, Mrs. Ford, this is Officer Kaplan. Could I stop by for a few minutes? I have a couple more questions to ask. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Yes, come on by. We’ll be waiting for you!” Officer Kaplan agreed to come by in an hour. With that said, he hung up the phone. He needed to know how Stephanie got to the mall and who took her.

“Paul, Officer Kaplan just called. He has some more questions to ask us.” Diane said.

Paul was in Stephanie’s room looking through her desk.

“Sweetheart, what are you looking for?” Diane asked.

“I don’t know, something, anything to explain why she never came home.” Paul said in anguish. “There’s nothing here but school work and silly doodling about Derek.” Paul said as he put everything back.

Diane was about to say something about the mess he had made when she heard a knock on the door. “That should be Officer Kaplan, I’ll get it.” Diane said, walking out of the room. “Hello Officer Kaplan, please, come in.” she said to the Officer. She motioned him into the same room he had been in before.

“Is your husband home Ma’am?” he asked.

“Yes, he’ll be right out, please have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?” Diane said as he sat down. He told her no. Diane went back into Stephanie’s room. “Honey, he’s here. He wants to speak with us both.”

Paul closed the last drawer of Stephanie’s desk and walked out of her room. Diane came in first with Paul behind her.

“Have you found out anything yet?” Paul asked excitedly.

The Officer nodded and motioned for them to sit down. As he looked at them he noticed how tired they both looked. “We’re pretty sure your daughter never made it to the mall. We looked at surveillance tapes and she’s not in any of them.” He informed the couple. “I need to know what arrangements she made to get to the mall.”

Paul was about to say something but Diane spoke first. “She took the bus, as always. She walked out of the house and just down two blocks to catch it. It’s an express bus that goes right to the mall.” She said, pointing in the direction of the bus stop.

Officer Kaplan wrote this down on his pad. His next stop would be the Harmony Public Transit downtown. “Thank you, I’ll keep in touch.”

Harmony Public Transit was busy this time of day. He had a hard time getting anyone’s attention. He shook his head and pulled out his badge. The badge always got their attention. He saw a gentleman who had a navy blazer with a “Harmony” patch on it walking in his direction. “Excuse me, Sir?” he said as he flashed his badge.

The gentleman stopped in his tracks and looked at the badge. “Yes sir, may I help you?” the gentleman asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, you can help me find a missing child.” With that said, the gentleman quickly escorted him to the Director’s office.

“Please wait here. I’ll get Mr. Farrow for you.” The gentleman said excitedly.

Officer Kaplan sat down in a chair outside the office and waited. It took a few minutes but the Director finally came out. Officer Kaplan looked up to see a short chubby guy in a suit coming toward him.

“I’m Jake Farrow, what’s this about a missing kid?” the chubby guy asked the Officer.

“I’m Officer Kaplan; I’m looking for a teenager who may have been on one of your buses yesterday. Here’s a picture of her. I’m going to need to speak with the driver and look at any security tapes you may have.” Officer Kaplan said with authority.

“Let’s discuss this in my office, okay?” Jake Farrow said. Officer Kaplan followed the chubby guy into his office and stood.

Jake Farrow walked over to his desk and looked through his rolodex. “I’ll call Mike Dickerson; he’s the surveillance guy around here. Can I see the photo of the girl?”

Officer Kaplan handed the photo to the man. He stared at it for a minute then dialed the phone. “Hey Mike, I need you down here in my office pronto. We have a serious problem. No, it can’t wait, now!” Jake Farrow said and slammed the receiver down.

While he waited for Mike Dickerson to come in, Officer Kaplan sat in the plush chair across from Jake Farrow’s desk.

“Which bus line are we talking about Officer?” Jake Farrow asked as he looked through his bus schedules.

Officer Kaplan looked at his notes and told him it was the express bus that went to the mall.

“Which mall Officer? We have a couple in this city that we pick up and drop off at.”

“It’s Harmony City Mall.” Officer Kaplan answered.

With that information, Jake Farrow retrieved the driver’s name from one of his bus schedules. “Okay, here it is, the driver’s name is Paul Holton, and he’s been with us for ten years. Was this girl a regular on this bus? If so, Paul will probably know her. He’s been doing that route a long time according to this schedule.” He said while dialing the phone to retrieve the driver.

Officer Kaplan told him yes and waited for the video tapes.

Jake Farrow sat down at his desk and nervously wiped his brow. He heard about the dead girl on the news just last night. The killer was still at large. “Do you think there is a connection between this girl and the one that died?”

Officer Kaplan nodded. “Between you and me, I do.”

Jake Farrow picked up the phone and called Mike Dickerson again. “Mike, I need you down here yesterday!” he yelled into the phone.

Officer Kaplan was looking at the bus schedule when a man barged into the office. “Okay, I’m here Jake, what’s so important that I had to rush through my lunch to get here?” blasted the man.

“Mike, this is Officer Kaplan. We have a missing kid that we need to find. Is that important enough?” Jake Farrow blasted back.

Mike Dickerson apologized to both men and shook the Officer’s hand.

“Mike, we need yesterday’s surveillance tapes for the express bus to the Harmony City Mall. A young girl got on that bus and is now missing.” Jake ordered.

Mike stood there in silence for a minute. He felt like a fool barging in the office like that. He knew about the girl that they found, he hated to think it was happening again. “I just got those in this morning. I was getting ready to put them away. I’ll go to my office and get them and bring them back here.” Mike said as he rushed back out the door. While both men waited for Mike Dickerson to get back, the bus driver walked in.

“Mr. Farrow, you wanted to see me?” the driver said with concern in his voice.

Officer Kaplan could tell the man wasn’t used to being called into the office. He was an older black gentleman with slight gray in his hair. He still had his work uniform on.

Jake Farrow directed Paul Holton to a seat. “Mr. Holton, this is Officer Kaplan, he needs to ask you some questions about a passenger that was on your bus yesterday.” Jake Farrow said.

Paul Holton turned to the Officer. “How can I help you Officer?” the driver said while twisting his hat in his hands. He had never been in this office except to get his evaluation and that was enough.

Officer Kaplan held out a photo of Stephanie. “Do you remember seeing this girl on your bus yesterday?” he said, handing the photo to the driver. Without hesitation the driver recognized the girl.

“Yeah, she gets on almost every weekend. She’s a real sweet girl, always polite. She was running a little late yesterday so I waited a minute. I knew she’d be there. Sure enough, she came running down to get on the bus. She thanked me for waiting.” The driver answered.

“Did you take her all the way to the mall, Mr. Holton?” The Officer asked.

“Of course, that’s the route. It goes straight to the mall.” He informed the officer. “She got off at the mall. I know, I remember her. She usually sits right behind me and talks with me. She didn’t yesterday because her seat was taken. I know she went to the mall, because I talked to her for a minute before she got off of the bus. I told her not to spend too much of her momma’s money. She laughed and said she wouldn’t. Then she got off and I waited for the rest of the passengers to get off before I drove away.”

Mike Dickerson came back with tapes in hand; Jake Farrow took them from him and put them in the player.

“Mr. Holton, what time was this girl on your bus?” Mike Dickerson asked. The driver told him it was 11:00 am.

The Officer watched as the film fast forwarded, stopped and fast forwarded some more. Then the film stopped whirring and played. As he watched, he saw people getting on and he watched carefully to see if Stephanie was one of them. “Can you rewind that just a little? I want to see those people again.” The Officer asked.

Jake Farrow did as he asked and watched the people again. “There she is, right there!” he said with excitement. All four men pointed at the girl on the film as they leaned toward the screen. They watched her walk down the aisle and sit two seats behind the driver.

“Mr. Holton, does this express bus make any stops before getting to the mall?” Officer Kaplan asked in anticipation.

“Not from this point it doesn’t.” The driver said.

Officer Kaplan came to a very important conclusion. If the surveillance tapes at the mall didn’t show her and the bus to the mall did, and then she had to be taken right in the parking lot. “Mr. Farrow, I’m going to need a copy of that tape.” A thought he had stopped him in his tracks. He saw tapes from the inside of the mall, but not outside. He grabbed the phone and called the main office at the mall. They directed him back to the people he spoke with before. They too realized they didn’t give him the outside view. He ended the conversation and thanked the gentlemen for their time. He was back where he started, the mall.

Stephanie ate very little of the food that was served to her at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. All she could think about was her parents and how sick with worry they must be.

“Megan, you’re not eating sweetheart. You need to eat or you’ll get sick.” Mrs. Fletcher said as she caressed Stephanie’s hair.

“I’m not hungry, may I be excused?” she said as she laid down her fork.

Delores let go of her hair and led her into her room and locked the door behind her. Stephanie lay on the bed and waited for the right time. She could hear Mrs. Fletcher walking around the house. She heard the woman’s footsteps come down the hall. She knocked on the door and told Stephanie good night. Stephanie responded and waited some more. An hour passed before she decided to try the window. She knew that Mrs. Fletcher would think of the window, but she had to try. She walked up to the window and looked out. It was pitch black outside. She took the chair and stood on it. She tried to push the window open but it was stuck. Her heart was racing and she swore she could hear it pounding. She got down from the chair and put it back in its’ place. There was nothing she could do now while she was locked in this room. Mrs. Fletcher thought of everything. She was locked in a room which had a window that was apparently locked from the outside. For some reason, the dresser caught her eye. She walked up to it and opened up the drawers to see its’ contents. As she pulled out different items, she knew she had seen them before. Her eyes widened when she realized that they were Megan’s clothes. ‘She’s trying to turn me into her dead daughter.’ She thought to herself. Stephanie sat down on the bed and sighed. As she sat there with her stomach growling, she had a flashback of her mother fixing her favorite dinner for her birthday.

It’s just how you like it sweetie, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy.

Stephanie collapsed on the bed and silently cried.

Officer Kaplan found himself back at the mall. He passed all of the stores and wondered which ones Stephanie shopped at. He met Kyle Jenkins, head of security who led him into the surveillance room.

“Officer, you’re not going to believe what we found. I can’t believe we didn’t pick it up as it happened.” Kyle Jenkins announced.

This comment made the Officer curious. He sat down at one of the chairs and watched a wall full of monitors. As the video played, he was shocked at what he was seeing. Stephanie’s kidnapping was caught on tape. It showed a woman walking up behind her and hitting her on the head with what looked like a small baseball bat. Then the woman dragged her out of the camera’s view. Another view of the lot showed up on the screen. It showed the woman placing the unconscious girl in the back of her car, then getting in the front seat and driving off.

Kyle Jenkins handed the Officer the copies of the tapes, knowing ahead of time the Officer would need them. “I feel horrible about this. I don’t know why no one saw this. I don’t know what to say.” He said with his head hung down.

“Just pray we find her in time.” Officer Kaplan said as he rushed out.

As Officer Kaplan arrived back at the precinct, he found a man waiting for him by his desk. When he walked toward the man, the gentleman stood up and introduced himself.

“Hello Officer Kaplan, I’m William Schwartz, the principal at Storm High School.” He said while extending his arm for a handshake. The two men shook hands and sat down. “You left an urgent message that you needed to speak with me. What’s this all about Officer?” the Principal asked.

“Do you have a Mrs. Fletcher teaching at your school?” The officer asked.

“I did, but not anymore. She quit yesterday. She didn’t give an explanation, she just quit. I asked her why, but she wouldn’t say.”

Officer Kaplan was intrigued by the information. The teacher quit the same day that Stephanie Ford disappeared. He was writing this down when the Principal spoke up again. “Why are you looking for her Officer?” He got up from his desk and asked the principal to follow him. Officer Kaplan asked one of the other officers for a TV/VCR. A few minutes later, the two men were in a separate room watching the video.

“Mr. Schwartz, do you recognize the woman in this video?” asked the Officer.

The principal was silent for several seconds. His mouth was open and his eyes stared at the screen. “That’s Mrs. Fletcher, the English Lit teacher at my school.” He whispered.

Officer Kaplan decided to go ahead and tell him about Stephanie. He found people cooperated more when the crime involved a child, especially those who worked with kids. “A fifteen year old girl that attends your school is missing. She’s in Mrs. Fletcher’s class. I was told that the teacher didn’t like the girl. From what I see in this video, if I find the teacher, I’ll find the girl. The girl’s name is Stephanie Ford; she’s the one being attacked in the video, by your teacher.” He handed the man the photo of Stephanie. “Do you recognize her?”

The principal took the photo and glanced at it. As he looked at it he was reminded of the girl that died a week ago. She had been missing too.

Officer Kaplan noticed tears forming in the man’s eyes.

“Yeah, sweet kid, very nice. I wish I had a whole school full of kids like her.” The principal said as he handed the photo back to the Officer.

“Do you know where I can find Mrs. Fletcher?” the Officer asked the principal.

The principal shook his head then remembered she had a summer house in California. “I remember her talking about it in the teachers’ lounge once. As I recall, another teacher visited her there. Let me call the teacher and get the address.” The principal took his cell phone out of his jacket and made the call. He asked for Darlene Padgett to be paged. “No, I won’t wait Sylvia; I need to speak with her now. It’s urgent!” he said frantically into the phone.

A few minutes later Officer Kaplan had a California address in his hands. Officer Kaplan thanked the principal for his help and then called California State Police. He gave them the information and emailed a picture of Stephanie to them. He just hoped he wasn’t too late. Afterwards, he called the Fords to let them know he was coming by. He let them know that there were some strong leads in the case. When he arrived, they were waiting at the door.

“Come on in and tell us everything!” Diane said as she motioned them in the house.

Officer Kaplan noticed her hands shaking as she sat down on the couch. Her husband sat down and put his arm around her. Officer Kaplan told the couple everything they knew. All they could do now was do what they had been doing for two days….wait.

The next morning Stephanie woke to a headache. At first, she thought she was in her own bedroom, but a knock on the door brought her back to reality.

“Get dressed, I’m fixing you breakfast and you’re going to eat.”

As she got out of bed, her head pounded. She lay back down on the bed getting up slower this time. She looked at the window and thought she saw a flash of something. She walked over and looked out the window and saw a man in uniform. Her eyes widened and she wanted to scream. Instead she frantically looked around for a pen and paper. She snuck around the room so she wouldn’t make too much noise. She slowly opened the desk drawer and found a marker but no paper. She sighed heavily as she slowly shut the desk drawer. She remembered seeing a white t-shirt in one of the dresser drawers. She wrote the word “HELP” on the t-shirt and walked back over to the window. She looked out and saw the man was hiding in the bushes. She placed the t-shirt in the window hoping and praying he would see it. She took it down after a minute and looked out to see the man nod at her. It was a different man in uniform. She knew then the men were there to rescue her. She gave a sigh of relief.

She sat down on the bed and waited. She could hear footsteps in the hall outside the bedroom. Stephanie could feel her heart in her throat as the footsteps stopped at her door. Just as the woman was about to unlock the door, there was a knock at the front door. She heard the footsteps going in the other direction. Stephanie put her hand to her heart and prayed. “I want to go home. Please God, I want to go home.” She cried.

As she sat there in prayer, she heard Mrs. Fletcher scream “No!” She stood up and put her ear to the door. It was silent at first. She then heard footsteps coming back in a faster pace. Stephanie backed up and hid behind the door. Her hands were shaking and her head was throbbing. She heard Mrs. Fletcher yelling “you’re not taking my baby!”

Stephanie experienced fear like she never felt before. She had been afraid before when she had her tonsils taken out as a child. Her parents were right there to comfort her. This time she was all alone, locked up in a room. Silence fell over the house for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly she heard a light tap on the window. She looked over to see a man motioning her with his hand to come to him. She slowly walked over to the window and looked at him. She saw him using a tool to unlock the window. He worked it as fast as he could without making any noise. The window had been nailed from the outside. Finally, he got the last nail out and opened the window. As the man helped Stephanie out, there was a gunshot. When the man heard the shot, he pulled Stephanie out faster than he wanted to.

The man introduced himself to Stephanie as Officer Mark Burgin. He took his radio off his belt clip and turned it on. “Zack, talk to me, I heard gunfire.” He said as he spoke into the hand held radio. Several seconds went by when he finally got a response.

“We shot the woman. We had no choice. She had a gun pointed at one of the men. She was about to shoot.”

Stephanie started crying when she heard the news. She didn’t want this to happen. She just wanted to go home.

Officer Burgin put his arm around the girl and walked her to the patrol car. “It’s over Stephanie; everything’s going to be alright.” He said as he helped her in the car.

Three hours later Stephanie was at the hospital getting a clean bill of health. Other than a bump on the head and a growling stomach, she was fine. As she came out into the hall she saw her parents waiting for her. They all ran towards each other and hugged and cried.

Officer Kaplan went to California to help the Fords pick up Stephanie. He smiled as he watched a mother hugging her child, letting go only so her husband could take his turn. As he watched the happy reunion his cell phone rang. “Hello?” he said into the mouthpiece.

“Jack, Harold here, everything going ok?” Lieutenant Harold asked. “Yeah, they’re finally reunited. Thank God we found her.” Officer Kaplan sighed.

“Well Jack, you got what you wanted.” Lieutenant Harold announced. “You got your happy ending.” Officer Kaplan agreed and said his goodbyes. He walked up to the Fords and they soon boarded a plane back to Oregon.