A little girl screamed.
My whole body froze. Both standing still, Alexander and the deputy must’ve experienced the same shock too.
There, Brie Johnson stood in front of us, holding a doll. She was next to a small black and white television. No cord came out of the TV which told me it was one of those old battery-operated devices.
My heart hammered in my chest. “B-Brie, are you okay?”
She widened her eyes and nodded. “I want to go home.”
My eyes watered. My heart damn near stopped. Relief rushed through me. “We’re going to take you home. Don’t worry.”
Officer Grey and I lowered our guns.
Alexander scanned the space and kept his gun up. “Is Vernon here?”
Brie shook her head. “No. He said he’ll be back later with a cheeseburger.”
“Holy shit,” I murmured and went to her. “We’re going to take you home. Okay?”
Brie looked from me to Alexander and then Officer Grey as if unsure about leaving with anyone else anymore. “W-where’s my mommy?”
“She’s going to be at the police station to pick you up. Don’t worry.” I extended my hand. “Everything is going to be okay.”
It took some time, but Brie finally gave me her hand. I didn’t blame the seven-year-old for her reluctance. She’d gone off with Vernon and been tricked into staying in an abandoned church overnight looking at black and white tv shows. She must’ve been scared and cold.
I lowered in front of her. “Did Vernon hurt you in any way?”
She didn’t speak but shook her head.
“Officer Grey is going to take you to his car and drive you to where your mom will get you. Okay?”
Brie parted her lips as if no longer sure of anything anymore.
“It’s okay, Brie. We are going to get you to your mom. Trust me.”
She slowly walked over to Officer Grey.
I rose.
Alexander looked at him. “Please, get her to there as soon as you can. Her mom will meet us at the police station. Once she’s with her one of our agents will arrive to ask her questions. Until then, no one talks to Brie or comes near her. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Officer Grey walked away with her.
Alexander pulled out his phone. “Stein, we found her.”
So loud, I heard screams of joy on the other side.
“Calm down.” Alexander frowned. “We need a forensics team at the old church’s location. This is where Vernon brought the little girls. Yes. That’s right. The victim named him. Get a search warrant over to the Millers. Send cops over to grab Vernon, but not until we have the warrant. Do we still have eyes on Vernon? Okay. Stay at the high school.”
When Alexander hung up, I pulled my camera out. “We’ve got him?”
“I think so.” Alexander flashed the light over the room while I snapped pictures.
A small mattress lay in the corner of the room. A cooler sat next to it. I opened it. Food supplies, juice boxes, and ice filled it.
I shut it. “Vernon thought of everything.”
Alexander walked over to the other side of the room and flashed light on an orange pillow. “He sure did.”
I took a picture of everything. This would be the initial part of evidence. Forensics would do a more thorough job.
Alexander shook his head as he continued to take it all in. “Something is still bothering me.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I feel like we’re still missing something. Teens are smart in this age of time. But this smart?”
“They’re definitely smarter than we were at their age. They walk around with minicomputers in their pockets and the ability to find any form of information they want. I think this is a possibility.”
Alexander’s jaw clenched. “Is this what our newly budding psychos will be doing with technology?”
“I hope not.”
“Me either.”
We went over the old church some more. As we prepared to leave, tons of police arrived. News cameras came next.
We headed straight to the police station. The car ride was somber. We both barely talked. So much had just occurred. I surely needed to process it.
We saved her. No victim number seven.
When we made it to the station and walked inside, I spotted Vicky Johnson running into the station.
“I want to see my daughter!” Her fierce demand shook me to my core. “Where is Brie?”
An officer ran up to her. “Ma’am, please calm—”
She ran over to me. “Haven, do you know?”
I nodded. “Yes. Come with us.”
Little Brie sat in the back with Officer Vidal and Officer Grey sipping a juice box.
The little girl’s right hand was bandaged. She must’ve had a little scrap sometime during the kidnapping.
“I want my daughter!” Vicky moved me out of the way and hurried over to her. Once she got there, Brie was in her hold.
We all stood back.
Vicky wrapped Brie in her arms, and I swore she would never let her daughter go.
The moment was heavy to take in.
My eyes watered, but I wouldn’t let myself cry.
Meanwhile, Vickie cried tears of joy. Loud, shuddering sobs. It rocked me to my core. And we all stood there in silence. Many faces of agents and cops watched with somber expressions. It was as if this was our payday. This was the reason why we got out of our beds and chased after monsters.
This moment when someone won. When a child was saved, and a mother’s tears shifted from heartbreak to joy. And the world appeared better than what we thought. And there was this sign that God truly existed.
“Brie, I love you baby.” Vicky rocked her daughter in her arms. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Mommy.”
No one moved. To move would be to end it. And this had been a long depressing case. We had to get any joy we could.
“Thank you, Jesus,” Vicky whispered. “Thank you.”
A tear left my eye. I was so embarrassed, although I shouldn’t have been. My mother always said that tears kept the soul alive.
I should have asked her how.
I wiped it away.
Alexander and I walked over to her.
Vicky looked up at our approach.
Alexander flashed his badge. “Ma’am, I’m Special Agent Alexander King with the FBI, and I need to—”
The sobs stopped.
“You saved my girl!” She jumped up hugged him hard and then let go. “Oh my God! Haven, I knew you would find her.”
Alexander blinked with complete discomfort.
Vicky threw her arms around me and squeezed hard enough to take my breath away. “Thank you so much. If you ever need any legal advice or anything, call me, Haven.”
I regained my breath when she let me go. “I will.”
“We are happy we were able to save your daughter.” King’s smooth voice grabbed all of our attention. “And we will be even happier once we manage to apprehend the person who kidnapped Brie.”
“Yes.” Vicky wiped her face. “What can I do? What do you need?”
“We need to interview Brie.” I kept my voice calm. “With you present, of course. We have to find out who took her and how.”
“Yes.” Vicky nodded and returned to holding Brie. “Just give us a minute.”