Thanks to counting games with playing cards and the alphabet countdown with road signs, as well as reading through the half-dozen books they had purchased at a store in St. Louis, Meeker and Rose had fully bonded on their trip from Koshkonong to Oakwood. During those long hours of games and stories, the child opened up, and from her own young perspective, she told Meeker about her life clear back to the day she was taken.
The little girl remembered two men. One was Burgess or Burton. He’d taken her from the shop. But she’d only seen the other man a couple of times. She couldn’t remember what he looked like, but she did recall that his words hurt. She couldn’t put it any clearer than that, so Meeker didn’t fully understand what she meant, but whatever he’d said, the tone he’d used had obviously had a profound effect on the girl.
Rose said Burgess was the man who had given her to Hooks, the woman she had been told to call Mommy. But Rose wouldn’t do it.
“She hit me,” Rose announced, “when I wouldn’t call her Mommy. But I didn’t care. I just kept saying, ‘You’re not my mommy.’ ”
And she seemed to understand where she was going. She remembered her parents. She could describe them in detail. She also remembered her room and a laundry list of other facets of her life. Best of all, she was excited to be going to Oakwood. Even though Oakwood was where the nightmare had begun.
Reese parked the ‘42 Ford in front of the flower shop. The motor was still idling when Meeker opened the door, stepped out into the sunshine, and then turned and reached for the little girl’s hand.
Rose took in the sight of the flower shop. She smiled and hopped out into the street, tugging on Meeker’s arm as they headed to the front door. They didn’t have to open it; Carole did that for them.
The next moment was like nothing Meeker had ever witnessed. The fact that it happened at Carole’s Flowers was so appropriate.
As quickly as Meeker let go of Rose’s hand, the child jumped up into her mother’s arms. There was no hesitation. Rose knew she was home. As the child and mother drew each other close, Helen saw her own mother longing for a moment like this that never came. And as Carole began sobbing, it was the child who offered words that summed up the whole episode.
“It’s a happy time,” Rose scolded her, wiping her tears. “Mommy, it’s a happy time.”
Kissing her daughter’s cheek, Carole whispered, “Yes, it is. Yes, it is!”
Standing at the counter, his eyes filled with disbelief, was a man in an Army uniform. He was just days from being shipped overseas. The little girl lifted her head from her mother’s shoulder. No one had to tell her who he was.
“Daddy!” Rose screamed.
Rushing to his wife and child, George wrapped them both up in his arms. “My baby,” he whispered.
“I’m not a baby anymore,” Rose corrected him.
After stepping through the open door and into the shop, Helen Meeker stood to one side silently watching the reunion. She didn’t know what to do or what to say. It was all so overwhelming. The moment she never actually believed would happen had happened.
She sensed her partner’s presence behind her. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, “Look outside.”
Meeker glanced over her shoulder and out the window. A hundred people where watching through the glass. Many were crying, some were praying, and no one was saying anything. Maybe it was because, like Meeker, they couldn’t figure out what to say.
“With all the uncertainty in this world,” Reese quietly said, “with so many of their husbands and sons fighting in a war, these people needed to know that someone could safely come home. You’ve given them that.”
“We have,” she corrected him. “Even if J. Edgar never admits it, ‘The Great Experiment’ worked!”
He nodded and whispered, “And everything’s set for tonight. Everyone will be here. Are you sure you won’t tell me what you have planned?”
“No.” She smiled. “Let me have my moment and put the cap on this case and my career with the FBI in my own way.”
“I owe you that much,” he assured her.
“Are the technicians going to be able to hook up the special equipment I need?”
Reese nodded. “They’ll have it ready. Listen, I need to get into Danville and make sure everything you and I need has come in.”
“You’ve got my list,” she whispered. “This is my show. What do you need?”
“That’s my surprise,” he answered. “Consider it a thank-you for a couple of times you saved my life. I’ll see you later.”
Reese opened the front door, the bell rang, and he stepped out. As he disappeared, Meeker turned her attention back to the reunited family. In a short while she was going to have to push that little girl into a place where at least one more bad memory was going to bubble to the surface. She prayed that not only would Rose be strong enough to handle it, but that she would be strong enough to help her uncover the complete truth.