Taken

CHAPTER ONE-5

“We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

“After you saw the man running what did you see?” asked the Chief.

“A van came down the street and stopped here, then turned right, and then I heard a lot of shots.”

“What happened next?”

“I ran inside and got in the shower with my wife.”

“Bet you had your clothes on, didn’t you?” said Marsha.

“You bet I did.”

“You didn’t see the man grab the lady and throw her in the van?”

“What lady?”

“I think that will be all,” said Marsha.

“What lady?”

“A lady was taken by the man in the green jacket,” said the Chief.

“Oh God,” said Mr. Tyson.

“I had no idea. Are those bodies y’all got covered up over there?”

“Yes Sir, and you didn’t see them get shot?”

“No, I had no idea all that was going on.”

“Ma’am,” said the Police Officer to get Marsha’s attention.

“Yes.”

“I went up on the balcony. The agency vehicles would have been blocking his view.”

“I understand. Mr. Tyson, thank you very much. One last question though, did the man you saw have a mustache?”

“No, he had a beard. I forget to mention that.”

“I understand. How long did you stay in the shower?”

“Until the policeman knocked on the door.”

“Thank you, Mr. Tyson. Chief can you give him one of your cards? Mr. Tyson if you can think of anything else please call the Chief.”

“I will.”

After Mr. Tyson left, the Chief asked Marsha, “You wanted me to give him my card. You didn’t want him to know you are Secret Service?”

“You’re right, I would like a few more minutes before the news media finds out about this.”

“Why?”

“Every nut in America will claim they have her and want ten million bucks. Besides, I don’t know if all the family has been notified.”

“He didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know did he?”

“Afraid not. I don’t think he saw the cane because it was in the man’s right hand. His body would have blocked the view from there.”

Alice Thomas Farmer, Beverly’s Mother, was visiting a sick friend in Kerney’s nursing home. The friend had told her there was also another friend in the nursing home. Alice wanted to drop in and visit her, too. She never made it. One of the Secret Service Agents said, “Ma’am we have to go.”

“I won’t be but a few minutes.”

“Ma’am, I am sorry, but we have our instructions and we have to go, now.”

“Right now?”

“Yes Ma’am, now.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

“Can’t or won’t.”

“We need to go, Ma’am.”

Alice Thomas Farmer was seventy. She was a widow. Her husband, Keith Arnold Farmer was a Sheriff’s Deputy who died in the line of duty a quarter of a century ago. She was fiercely independent. Of all the MacDonald family she felt the Secret Service agents encroached on her the most. The agents respected her because her husband had died in the line of duty during a botched bank robbery. He had sacrificed his life while saving a woman’s life instead of his own.

“Young man, you listen to me. I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s going on.”

“Ma’am, your daughter had been kidnapped.”

“Oh, My God!”

“This way Ma’am.”

Marsha Jefferson was pacing back and forth in front of the Thrift store.

“When is the Sheriff bringing the employee and the keys?”

“He’s trying to locate him now,” said the Chief.

“I’ll give him five minutes, then I am kicking the door down.”

She heard a siren. “About time.”

The Sheriff parked near the courthouse. Two men got out of the car with him and quickly walked across the street towards Marsha. When he was within earshot said, “He’s got the keys to the thrift store. Me and Allen are going in the Courthouse to get the surveillance video.”

Marsha gave the Sheriff the thumbs up. The man with the keys went to the door and unlocked it.

“Before we go in I would like to ask you a few questions.”

“Yes Ma’am, go ahead.”

“You were working this morning and up until one o’clock, is that correct?”

“My wife and I, there were no volunteers working with us today. All our employees are volunteers from our church. People donate things and we sell them to buy food for the food bank.”

“That’s very admirable of you.”

“Thank you, Ma’am. We try.”

“Did you turn the lights off when you left?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am positive of that.”

“Was anyone in the store at closing time?”

“No, our last customer left a few minutes before one.”

“Is there a back door to the shop?”

“Yes Ma’am, there is. The fire code requires that. There’s a lot of clothing racks in there. If there was a fire it would go up in a hurry.”

“Now, I want you to think real hard on the next question. Did you lock both doors? The front door and the back door when you and your wife closed the store?”

“Yes Ma’am, I am sure of that.”

“Is there a dressing room in there for trying on clothes?”

“Yes Ma’am. There is one at the very back of the store. The store has two rooms. One where everything is for sale and one room in back where we keep stuff we haven’t put out yet.”

“And the dressing room is in that back room?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“And there is a loading dock in back, is that correct?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Did you check to see if anyone was in the dressing room before you left?”

“Well, no Ma’am, I didn’t. When you turn the lights off in the back room the lights go off in the dressing room. If someone was in the dressing room I am sure they would call out.”

“No one called out, did they?”

“No Ma’am.”

“Could someone come in the back door without you knowing?”

“I suppose they could have.”

“Did anyone donate anything today that would have been necessary to use the back door?”

“Yes, a man and a woman brought a lot of items around lunch time. They said they were moving and had to get rid of some stuff.”

“Were you or your wife in the back room when they were there?”

“No Ma’am.”

“Did you recognize him or her?”

“I’d never seen either of them before.”

“Did they say where they were moving from or moving to?”

“No Ma’am, they didn’t say.”

“Do you know how long they were back there?”

“No Ma’am, I would say at least a half an hour. The van

they were in was packed.”

“They were in a van?”

“Yes Ma’am, a white van.”

“Can you describe either one? Let’s do the man first.”

“Well, he was about my size.”

“So, he was 5’10” and 195 pounds?”

“Well, yes he was. That was a pretty good guess.”

“I wasn’t guessing.”

“Oh.”

“What else can you tell me?”

“He had a beard.”

“A full beard?”

“Yes Ma’am, dark brown, same as his hair.”

“Anything else?”

“He was wearing wrap-around sunglasses. You know the type they give you when you have cataract surgery.”

“What kind of clothes was he wearing?”

“A green jacket. It wasn’t an Army field jacket, but similar, you know, big pockets. And, he was wearing faded blue jeans and black work boots.”

“Anything else?”

“A black cowboy hat, that’s about all I remember about him.”

“And the female, what can you tell me about her?”

“She came up to about his shoulder. I can’t guess like you can. I would say medium build. She was also wearing sunglasses and she was also wearing a green jacket. Same style as the man. She also was wearing faded jeans and black work boots.”

“What color was her hair?”

“Brown, came down to the small of her back. It wasn’t curly, just straight like the hippies wore in the sixties and seventies.”

“Sir you have been most helpful. I would appreciate it if you would stay out here while the Sheriff and I go inside.”

“I am the Chief of Police.”

“Sorry, no offense.”

“None taken.”

Marsha handed the Chief a pair of latex gloves and they entered the Thrift store. The first thing they looked at was the inside door knob.

“He stretched a baby sock over the door knob so he wouldn’t leave any fingerprints.”

“These people knew what they were doing, didn’t they?”

Marsha nodded her head.

“Let’s look in the back room.”

“Ma’am, he could have hid behind any of these clothes racks until the advance team went by.”

“You’re right, I think he turned the lights on after they went by.”

“Why wait until after? Why turn them on at all?”

“Two teams might have noticed. The advance team is trained a little differently. If the lights were on and the door was locked the advance team might not have given the all clear.”

“But why turn the lights on at all?”

“Maybe to confuse the escort team for a second or two, throw them off rhythm, to slow them or cause them to pause.”

“Why?”

“Easier target.”

“I see.”

“Where is the light switch out here?” asked Marsha.

“There’s one by the door going into the other room.”

“Not one by the front door?”

“This is an old building. Probably built before the town even had electricity.”

They went into the back room. They looked in the dressing room first. Marsha said, “I don’t think he hid in the dressing room.”

“Why do you say that?”

“No baby sock on the door knob.”

“Look at all this stuff. He could have hidden anywhere back here.”

“Could have had the woman cover him up with some of these clothes.”

“You want to bring the employee in and see if he knows what they delivered? He might can tell us.”

Marsha nodded her head before saying, “Let’s look out back.”

Out back was an eight by ten-foot loading dock. It was only two feet high, same as the sidewalk out front. Marsha knew it was built long before tractor-trailers became common. There was nothing on the loading dock. As they turned to go back inside the Chief stopped Marsha and pointed at the door, “what’s this?”

“Looks like a circle with a tree inside. Looks like it was done with a green magic marker.” Marsha took a photo of it with her phone.

“You think it’s fresh?”

“I think so,” said Marsha.

“There is something I have been thinking about.”

“What’s that?” asked Marsha.

“Before the guy went outside why didn’t he start a fire in here? The place would have burned down in two minutes.”

“I’ll ask him that when I find him. The FBI will look into all that when they get here. I want to look at the courthouse video. I’ll only have a few minutes to do that.”

“Why?”

“The entire team will be relieved pending a complete and thorough investigation. That’s standard policy.”

“Like when a cop shoots someone and they are put on administrative leave?”

“Yeah,” answered Marsha.

Lewis and the Secret Service were five miles from the ranch when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and it was Deborah.

“Hello.”

“Dad, have you found Mom yet?”

Lewis didn’t answer.

“Dad, did you hear me?”

“Yes, I heard you. I knew something was wrong, but they have not told me what yet.”

“Dad, the Secret Service Agent with me said she had been taken. I am packing now and headed home.”

“You be careful, I love you.” He ended the call and said, “take me to Kerney.”

“Mr. President.”

“Take me to Kerney.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Beverly was sitting on the bed. She was praying. She had not heard a single sound since the last metal door slammed shut. She wondered if they were coming back.