Chapter 9

On the ride to the dock, Tracy put her hand on my thigh and squeezed. Then she asked me why I had given the Police Officer the name I did.

"I think, Tracy Miller, is your real name. I do not doubt that. I know you have dim memories of that, but if I had given them Tracy Miltner, then they might have taken you into custody. I didn't want that.

"Also," I told her as I put my hand on top of hers, "They verified who you are and your story."

She lifted my hand and kissed the back of it and said, "Thank you.

"It has been hell being Tracy Miltner."

"That's over now," I told her.

When we got to the Water Taxi dock there was a Police Car there already. After we parked and walked to the Taxi, a woman in plain clothes showed us her badge and introduced herself.

"I'm Detective Foster. I assume you are Tracy Miller and you are Guy Thomasin."

Looking over at Maggie who had just arrived at the parking lot and gotten out of her car, she said, "And I assume you are Margaret Frank."

"That's right," I told her.

"I hope you don't mind but it is important to get the facts as quickly as possible before they become distorted by time.

"If it is OK, I'll ride over with you and we can take Tracy's statement and take some pictures.

"It's OK with me," I told her. "Tracy, is that OK with you?"

Hesitating a little, because as she had told me she had a few run ins with the police and they were not good, she looked at me for support.

"Tracy, I think this is a good idea and it might put these guys away for a while so they don't hurt anyone else."

Looking over to the Detective and then back to me, she hugged against my right arm and whispered, "If you think it will help, then, OK."

We all were fairly silent on the trip back to the island and the four of us headed for my home. Inside, we settled around the table and the Detective began to ask a few questions.

Tracy started at the beginning with the death of her parents when she was ten, the series of Foster Homes she had been shuffled through as Tracy Miltner and the differing birth certificate information.

She told the Detective the continual abuse and the plethora of rapes she had been subjected to ending with her subsequent escape with Sandy.

She explained that because she couldn't see very well, she had little idea where she had been held or much about the foster homes she had been in.

When she came to the part about being left on the beach by Sandy and the guys who picked her up, she gave more detail.

She even remembered what they called themselves; Bo, Steve, Harry and Jude. She gave a very sketchy idea of how big the boat was and that it had a motor inside and not those motors that hang off the back that make a 'Put-Put" sound.

All along the Detective had been recording the conversation on a mini-recorder and taking lots of notes. When Tracy came to the part where she had been stripped and beaten, the Detective looked very ashen.

Then when Tracy told her she had been thrown overboard because they thought they had killed her, the ashen color got pure white and I thought the Detective might pass out.

Detective Foster stopped taking notes and put the palms of her hands on the table to steady herself and took several deep breaths before her color started to return.

"Tracy, I'm so sorry that all of this has happened to you.

"I don't know if you realize how serious the charges against these men is. First off, they start with Attempted Murder, Class A Felony Assault, multiple counts of Class A Felony Sexual Abuse and Kidnapping for starters."

Tracy's jaw dropped and she turned white. She was shocked at what the Detective was saying.

I reached over and drew her into my lap as she began to sob against my shoulder. Maggie moved over to my side and she stroked Tracy's hair and back.

After a few moments, Tracy calmed and the sobs lessened. "I thought no one would ever care what happened to me."

"Also," Detective Foster said, "There are charges that will be filed against the Department of Social Services representatives and the Foster Families who abused you too.

"We will find out where you were staying and everyone who was involved. This will lead to a huge investigation.

"Seeing this is a sexual crime, your name will be kept out of it. But you might be called to testify in court. If you are called, then your identity will also be protected and no one will see your face or know your name.

"Does that sound OK with you Tracy,"

Again Tracy turned her head around to look at Maggie and then looked up at me.

I kissed her on the lips and told her, "I'd go along with what the Detective wants. No matter what, I will be by your side. You can bet on that."

"OK," she said. "I'll do it. They all deserve to be punished for what they did to me."

Detective Foster took out her camera and asked Tracy if it was OK to take pictures of the injuries. She added that they could be taken in private but Tracy laughed and said it wasn't necessary. "After all, Guy and Maggie have both seen me naked."

Tracy got up and was reaching for her top to remove it and Detective Foster told her to wait a minute and asked me if I had a dark sheet we could hang somewhere so the place where the pictures were taken could not be identified.

Maggie said sure and went into my bedroom to retrieve a sheet. We quickly hung it over the wide doorway to the Atrium and the Detective asked Tracy to stand in front of it.

She took some pictures of Tracy clothed from all sides, and then some close up photos of her face and eyes.

When she asked Tracy to take off her top, she gasped when her body was visible. Again she took pictures from a distance and close up of the bruises and bite marks on her breasts and abdomen.

The Detective seemed finished when Tracy told her there was more and took off her shorts and thong.

Even though Tracy had told Detective Foster about the punch she had received to the pelvis that had knocked her out from the pain, she gasped and sat down for a moment.

"OH, my God! I know who did this to you.