Chapter 6: Runaway

Footprint

Gee went to the woods Saturday morning seeking both the camaraderie of his team and the peace of the Forest. The long day Thursday, waiting for Ben to die, followed by the long day Friday, dealing with the funeral and family, had been mentally and emotionally draining.

The weather was crisp but the sky was clear. He thought it might make it above freezing by mid-afternoon.

“We only have two crews today, Gee,” Jessie said. “Jonathan is sick in bed. That means I’ll probably be sick in bed tomorrow since we share everything. We’ll split his crew between us and try to get as much done today as possible.”

“What should we work on?” Gee asked.

“I think we should go back out and trace the paths from the fence Jonathan and I found. We should widen them and look for any sign of side trails.”

“Sounds good. Gear up, team. We’re off to the woods.”

Drake Oliver had become a permanent part of Gee’s crew, joining Alyson, Shannon, Jeanie, and JD. The boy’s brawn was a significant help in cutting and hauling brush. Gee cautioned his team to proceed more slowly since they were specifically looking for signs of another trail. It was backward from the way they had worked in the past. The girls and JD moved in front, searching for trails, with Drake and Gee and two boys from Jonathan’s team following behind to widen the path and remove the brush. This trail seemed to naturally pass near some of the larger trees so they could force their way off the path to measure and chart them.

They’d worked most of the morning and were planning to head back to the cabin to warm up and eat lunch when Shannon stopped everyone.

“Gee, we need you up here,” she said. The others pressed back so Gee could join the smallest member of their team. She had moved to the left off the path toward another tree that looked to be about eighteen inches in diameter. Gee moved to where Shannon had stopped. She pointed. In the clear space around the base of the tree, snow had sifted into an even layer an inch or two deep. Unmarked, except for one small footprint. Gee pushed Shannon back toward the others on the path and pulled out his cellphone. He didn’t press farther toward the tree but snapped photos of the print and the area around, even up the side of the tree to the lowest branches, about six feet above the ground.

“Let’s move back,” Gee told the team. “I want to consult with others before we decide what this means.”

“It means someone is out here,” JD said firmly. “Another lost child. We should be searching everywhere.” He stomped on the trail as they made their way back to the cabin, showing his anger with every step.

“JD, look,” Gee said softly, leading him to an open area near the cabin. “Do you see the snow cover here?”

“Yeah.” He was still scowling, but focused on what Gee was saying. Gee broke a bit of icicle from the eaves of the cabin and threw it into the branches of a tree. A shower of snow from the branches fell in clumps on the snowfield below. The others gathered near him as he pointed to the various indents in the snow.

“Look. That dent over there looks almost like the one we just found,” Gee said. “We jumped to the conclusion that it was a footprint. It could have been a print made by a falling clump of snow. That’s why I want other trained eyes on it before we start tromping around out there.”

“I see,” JD said glumly. “Who do we call?”

“Sheriff first and then Jessie.”

Work slowed and people got cold. They went into the cabin and started the propane heater while the sheriff, Jessie, and Gee returned to the print. Jessie’s team joined the kids and they talked about the recent discoveries.

“I don’t know,” Ryan said. He’d been working with Jessie and she’d held as tight a discipline on her team as Gee had. “As much as I want to discover something and think we’re being of use, I don’t want to discover that there’s someone out here. A child like the little ones Gee is helping in the hospital. I mean, if they’re here I want to find them but I don’t want them to be here.”

“I got really mad at Gee,” JD confessed. “It seemed so obvious that we should search for whoever it was and help the poor kid. I don’t think it was a falling clump of snow.”

“You have to admit, though, that it was strange to see just one footprint,” Shannon said. “How did someone get there to leave it? Fly?”

“We were being really careful looking for signs of a path but we could have missed other footprints,” Alyson said. “We might have buried them because that wasn’t what we were looking for.”

“That’ll change from now on,” Jeanie said. “I’m just beginning to realize how big a job we volunteered for, you know?”

“It makes me sick,” Viktor said. “If Jessie will have me, I plan to be out here every day during winter break. It’s two weeks away and already I feel like it’s too late.”

“Let’s not really make ourselves sick,” Rebecca said. “I’d like to stay and help, but I’m a boarder at Flor. Even though they don’t want me around most of the year, my parents require my presence during Christmas.” Jeanie hugged her classmate.

“At least you have parents,” she sighed.

“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Rebecca said. “There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you all.”

“Let’s make a pact,” Shannon said. “If there is a child in the woods, we will find and rescue him or her. We won’t quit until we know they’re all safe.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m down with that.”

“Count me in,” Gee said from the door of the cabin. The kids spun to look at him. “For now, let’s turn the heat off and pack out. We’re done for today.”

“What was the decision?” JD asked as they hiked out of the woods. Gee hadn’t said much.

“Inconclusive,” he finally answered. “We didn’t find any more prints. There was no sign of life.”

“What do you think, Gee?” JD asked quietly.

“I’m with you, son. I think someone is hiding out there.”

Fired

What they had and hadn’t found weighed heavily on Gee as he made his way to the hospital to visit the children. He was greeted with hugs and smiles now. As he played and told stories, he heard their laughter. It refreshed his soul.

Promptly at five-thirty, the door opened and a plump woman with gray hair and an apron rolled in the tray of food. She was jovial and Gee could only think she was like Mrs. Claus.

“Oh, Mr. Gee,” she said. “We weren’t expecting you for dinner tonight. I’ll call for another meal to be brought up.”

“That’s not necessary,” Gee said. “I just stopped to see the children and give them a hug. I met you once before, didn’t I?”

“Oh, I’m just Grandma Sue,” the woman said. “I’m Dr. Salinger’s mother. I’m here for dinner and bedtime with the children on the nights that sweet Laura Lazorack is off. After dinner and baths, we’ll have story time and some music. Then I’ll tuck them in and sleep on the bed over there.”

“I’m so glad the children have a Grandma,” Gee said. “It’s a comforting thought.”

“I practically had to beg my daughter to let me help.” She bustled around getting the dishes on the table. Gee got a hug from each of the children before he left. He paused at the observation window and watched as they sat at the table and bowed their heads for a prayer.

The crew seemed more dedicated than usual Sunday. Jessie, true to her own prediction, was sick in bed.

“You know what this means,” Gee said. “We’re working without a forester today. What’s that mean, JD?” The boy blushed at being singled out after his confrontation yesterday.

“It means proceed with caution. Be watchful for any sign of a path or habitation. Don’t disturb anything that might be a clue. Anything might be a clue,” he answered.

“Take the lead of Team 1, JD. Viktor, take Team 2.”

“Gee, with all due respect, Rebecca is a better choice for that than me. I’m a little reckless at times and she’s more observant,” Viktor said. Gee looked at a blushing Rebecca.

“Rebecca? It seems that Team 2 is yours. Same paths we were working on yesterday. Gear up.”

It was a long six hours working in the woods, even with the half hour they took at noon to warm up and eat in one of the cabins. They were disappointed that nothing had been discovered when they hiked out at the end of the day.

Monday, Gee and Karen began the long task of preparing to move. They decided to tackle the big task first and took boxes into the study to pack her ancestors’ notebooks and library and Karen’s notebooks and research. Hers was neatly ordered in three metal filing cabinets. Her great-grandmother’s and great-great-grandfather’s notes were in boxes, desk drawers, shelves, and stacks in the cluttered room. It would be a major task to unpack and organize them in the mansion library.

“Will we have to move into Ben’s bedroom?” Gee asked.

“Hmm. I guess that depends on what you mean. If you are referring to the room he died in, no. The suite downstairs was all remodeled for handicapped access and Ben moved into it years ago when it became hard for him to make it upstairs. The real master suite is upstairs. I don’t think we’ll have any difficulty moving into that. No ghosts from at least the last three generations live there.”

“I’ll leave it to you, then,” Gee laughed. “I just didn’t want his ghost leaning over our shoulders while we’re making love.”

The rest of the week found Gee cold and alone as he worked in the woods. On Friday, he had lunch with the children and then spent the afternoon hauling a sled down the paths and collecting cut brush to haul back out to the chipper. Saturday, he would have a full crew again and they’d start working down the fence line to clear a path and check for evidence that the other farms had accessed the Wild Woods. He found the simple drudgery of loading and dragging the sled to be a kind of meditative activity that allowed him to consider all the pressing problems in his life.

The three most important on his mind were the children, the Wild Woods, and his upcoming marriage to Karen with all its attendant complications. She was the new leader of the Roth Family. Leah and Don immediately raised issues of property ownership and a prenuptial agreement. They were surprised to find the extent to which Gee and Karen had gone to create their partnership before Harvest began. Now they were insisting that the partnership be voided and property equitably split before a new prenuptial agreement was signed and in force. Karen, of course, was angry about it and at the moment there was a stalemate. The LaCoes were being consulted. Opinions were pending.

The children were doing well—better than expected. Dr. Salinger was now observing just once a week and had high words of praise for the work of all three primary caregivers—Gee, Laura, and Grandma Sue. All agreed, however, that they needed to expand the children’s socialization. Gee planned an outing with all the children the following Wednesday to the library for reading time. Both Colleen Zimmer and Wayne had agreed to spend a few hours with the children over the weekend to help engage them in some typical school activities for their age group. They had agreed that both coloring and puzzles were good activities, but there was a need to assess the children more thoroughly to see what they were capable of as opposed to what they were willing to do.

With all that on his mind, Gee hung his equipment at the foresters’ office and headed home to make Friday night dinner for Karen. It brought a smile to his face.

Karen, on the other hand, faced Cameron LaCoe over the desk in Axel’s office Friday evening. The staff had just been informed that the newspaper was hiring and would be moving to daily publication instead of Tuesday through Saturday. The new schedule would go into effect the first full week of January, meaning their first Monday edition would be released on January seventh.

That was not the news Cameron was giving Karen, though.

“You know it’s for the best, Karen,” he said. “Neither of us want this but we have to go with it.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Karen said. “Just hurts a little, you know? I’ll miss writing and editing but I’ve also found I have a lot more responsibility I wasn’t expecting now that Ben’s gone. I was thinking about resigning anyway.”

“I know what you mean,” Cameron said. “Grandfather laid down the law to me, as well. He said that if I wanted to be the Family heir, I had to back out of the role of publisher and hire someone to take it over. My responsibility, now that I did Axel’s job and fired you, is to simply hold the ownership in trust, not to publish the paper.”

“I think Family heads and heirs in high profile jobs in the City is a thing of the past. For now, at least. We’ve had too much publicity in the past months. I think I’ll consider writing that book we discussed a while back.”

“And I’m going to be a productive member of my parents’ law firm and start learning the broader management of our Family businesses,” Cameron added. “For a while, at least. I’m thinking of taking the quartet on a tour. Elaine really blossoms when she can sing. I’ll tell you this, Axel is relieved to have me out of his thinning hair.” They laughed.

“You have to admit we all gained a much higher profile during the campaign for annexation than any of us intended.”

“If the Families recede into the background, they have you to thank for it,” Cameron chuckled. “The article you wrote for Election Day was a pretty heavy indictment regarding the secrecy and dealings of our local power structure.”

“I don’t have a problem with that. If they do, they should take it to the City Champion,” Karen laughed, just as her cellphone chimed the distinctive notes of Gee calling. “Yes, Darling. I’m ... What?— No. Just stay with her. I’ll make the calls. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Karen thumbed her phone and flipped through her contacts. “Sorry, Cameron. Family emergency. I’ve got to run. Good luck.”

She dashed out the door with the phone to her ear.

Waif at the Door

Gee stomped the snow off his boots before removing them and hopping in his stocking feet through the open door. The effort was vain as a gust of wind blew snow in behind him. He slammed the door against the frigid blast.

Once he’d changed clothes and had dry socks and slippers on, he headed to the kitchen. Karen would still be a couple of hours and he could get stew started. He made a short detour by the sitting room to start a fire and then happily started cooking.

The blanket of heavy wet snow they’d received made any outdoor activity difficult and Gee considered canceling his crew in the morning and just staying home. His contemplation of the tasks remaining continued during dinner preparations. Hearty root vegetables were placed in the cooker with browned beef cubes and sautéed onions. The welcoming aroma of the stew soon filled the kitchen.

Gee boiled water for a cup of tea and had just poured it when he heard the front doorbell ring. He wiped his hands and went to answer it.

A girl—or perhaps a young woman—stood on the lower step looking up at the house. When Gee opened the door, she took a step back as if preparing to flee.

“Hi. What can I do for you?” Gee asked lightly. She looked half frozen in tennis shoes and a windbreaker. She was not dressed for the weather at all.

“Is this where Karen Weisman lives?”

“Yes, it is. Are you here to see her? You look cold. Come inside.”

The girl took another step back and looked around as if weighing her options. “Will you let me leave?”

“Of course! But you look half frozen. There’s a fire burning in the sitting room and I was just making tea. Or would you prefer hot chocolate? Come in. Come in.”

The girl visibly shivered and stepped inside only far enough for Gee to close the door.

“I’m Nina. Miss Weisman said ... She said if I could get to Rosebud Falls ... She said I could stay with her.”

The effort of coming inside, the sudden warmth of the room, and exhaustion all seemed to catch up with the girl at once. Gee caught her as she collapsed and carried her to the sofa, feeling her cold sodden clothes. He quickly pulled a blanket over her and grabbed his cellphone.

“Julia, it’s Karen,” she said as she hurried up the street toward home. “One of the runaways I interviewed in the city has just shown up on our doorstep. Gee says she’s wet, cold, and passed out. I need help to get her into something dry and warm. I don’t want her to think Gee is helping get her undressed.”

“I can grab Ellie before she leaves. Her shift just ended. As soon as I can get free, I’ll be there. I’ll tell Adam.”

“That’s as far as it should go until we know more. It’s possible she’s being followed. If she’s sick instead of just exhausted, we’ll get her to the hospital right away.”

“You need to report her,” Adam said. “I don’t see anything physically wrong with her other than exhaustion and exposure. She has a mild fever but that’s to be expected. When she wakes up, feed her and keep her warm. She knows you, Karen. You should be close when she wakes up if possible. Otherwise, I’d like to run a full physical on her next week to make sure there’s nothing else.”

“So why do we need to report her?” Karen said. “She looks to be over eighteen and she’s been alone and living on the streets for at least six months. She came here to be safe.”

“Is she really eighteen? We can’t know anything for sure. She may be a missing person. The law is pretty specific about what a doctor has to report,” Adam said.

“There’s no reason we need to do anything before Monday,” Karen said. “I met her in the city and invited her to visit. She came. All we have at the moment is a houseguest who wasn’t feeling well. Right?” Adam nodded his head reluctantly.

“Just call if she gets sicker. I don’t think there’ll be a problem but don’t waste time if it looks like there is. Call me.” He and Julia said their goodbyes and headed back to the hospital. Ellie lagged behind.

“Do you need any help, Karen?” the nurse asked. “I don’t have anything pressing.”

“Really, Ellie? I heard you had a boyfriend.”

“Oh, God! Having Julia around is faster than a telephone,” Ellie sighed. “I’m dating a guy, okay? But we don’t usually go out in the evenings. It’s unusual for me to have a Friday night off but he never does.”

“Well, stay and have dinner with us then,” Gee suggested. “I’ve been suffering from smelling it all evening.”

“It does smell appetizing. If you’re sure it’s okay,” Ellie responded.

The three sat at the kitchen table with bowls of stew and crusty bread from the market’s bakery. Karen and Gee teased the story from Ellie. Gee recognized the man, Evert Krumb, the bouncer/bartender at the Pub & Grub. No wonder he wasn’t available for dates on a weekend night. Their conversation was interrupted by a sniffle from the kitchen door.

“Nina!” Karen exclaimed. “Are you feeling strong enough to be up? Come have a seat and let’s get you some food.”

They shifted around the table to make room for the waif next to Ellie. Gee brought her stew and a glass of milk. She ate rapidly, a tear escaping from one eye as if she had not eaten in a long time.

Flight of Terror

“I saw him on the street, looking for me,” Nina said when Karen asked her why she had run away from her during their interview in September. “I can’t go back there. They’ll kill me.”

“Really?”

“I heard Sir on the phone. He said I was too old for his market and if he couldn’t find a buyer, he was sending me to the kennel for sale or snuff.”

A shudder ran through all the adults.

“It’s been three months,” Karen said. “How have you survived? I was afraid you’d even lost the card I gave you.”

“I went back to Janie. When I explained what happened, she hid me for a couple of weeks and taught me how to make money. She said everyone pays their way and my body was my bank account. She was very nice.”

“That bitch!” Karen breathed. “She told me she was helping girls she found on the street. Helping them be better prostitutes!”

“Oh, God,” Ellie moaned. She put a hand on Nina’s.

“I can earn my way here, too,” Nina said. “I know how.”

“No!” Gee said immediately. Nina shrank into a little ball and Ellie put an arm around her, scowling at Gee. He calmed quickly. “Nina,” he said softly, “there will never be a reason for you to pay your way with sex as long as you are with us. We—Karen and I—will provide anything you need and will help you learn other ways to make a living. You will never, ever be forced to sell you body for sex while you are with us. Never!” His voice was quiet but forceful. Nina looked up at him, fear still showing in her eyes as she glanced at Karen.

“That’s right, Nina. Gee didn’t mean to frighten you, nor did I. What you were forced to do with your sir and madam or with Janie is no longer necessary,” Karen said. “Gee and I are about to move to a big house across the street and there will be a room just for you with your own bathroom and no one can go in it without your permission. We’ll get you clothes and find a teacher for you. You will never be hungry.”

“Bigger than this?” Nina said as she looked around.

“That was my reaction, too,” Gee laughed.

“I’m so glad you followed the directions on the card and came to us,” Karen said.

“I couldn’t,” Nina said. Gee looked at her thinking she was turning down their offer but Nina plugged on. “I don’t know how to read. I showed your card to Janie and she explained what it said. When I left, I had to ask people to read the directions to me.”

“I wish Janie had just called me. I would have come to get you,” Karen sighed.

“She tried and said your phone didn’t work. She said she knew someone else who would take me in and protect me on the street. I slipped out that night and ran away again,” Nina said. Karen pulled her phone out of her bag.

“I’ll call Janie and...” Gee placed a hand on hers and she caught his eye. “Maybe not. I should cool down.”

“The time when your phone was crushed in the woods,” Gee said quietly. “I didn’t get you a new phone for several days and it had a new number. We got the old number forwarded to it.”

“Oh, dear. How long have you been on the road since you left Janie’s?” Karen asked.

“A long time. I get confused with days. They’re all the same. I fell asleep in a truck that gave me a ride. He made me stay there for three days to pay him. When he let me out, I was in a big city ... bigger than where Janie lives. It took me a long time to find which direction to go next.”

“You poor child,” Ellie said. “You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

“I’m very sleepy now. As soon as I wash the dishes, may I go to bed?”

“Honey, you don’t have to wash dishes. Let’s find you a toothbrush and get you to bed,” Karen said.

Gee was preparing coffee to take to Karen in the morning when he heard steps behind him. He turned to find Nina a few feet away. Her eyes were cast down with her head slightly bowed. Her hair was still wet from a shower and she was dressed in the track suit Karen had given her the night before. Nina was five or six inches shorter than Karen, so the hem of the trousers dragged on the floor around her feet. Karen had promised a shopping trip this morning.

“Do you want me this morning, sir?” Nina asked.

“Good morning, Nina. Of course we want you this morning. Nothing has changed,” Gee answered. Nina unzipped the sweatshirt and knelt on the floor.

“How would you like me, sir?” she asked, tugging at her sleeves.

“Wait, wait, wait, Nina!” Gee said. Catching the shirt and pulling it back around her shoulders and closed. “Please zip your shirt. We told you last night you would never have to earn your way with sex again.”