I learned later Josie had called the house on the morning Alex and I were due to arrive home and found out the children were alone. Josie came to the house and told the children she had seen Hope near the nature center. They went with her willingly.
That first night, in the cave, they were terrified. Dane cried all night. But Josie cared for them. She was the one who had taken Hope. The puppy stayed with the children. Josie came two or three times each day and took the children and Hope for short walks. Anything they asked for, she brought, except, of course, what they needed most—me. It was only later that Caleigh realized Josie was the woman we had seen following us at Quarry Hill.
After Officer Anderson found them, Caleigh and Dane tried to pretend everything was fine for my sake, but nothing was really ever the same after that. A bond had developed between Josie and the children. They didn’t want to hurt me any more than I had already been hurt but they had begun to trust Josie. When the police put Josie in the squad car, I saw the tears of divided loyalties in their eyes. It was the Stockholm syndrome, the bond that develops between a kidnapper and his or her hostages, but it was painful nonetheless.
They know now that the loss they felt when Josie left our lives was normal. They had bonded in a way nobody can really ever understand. Dane was young and seemed to recover quickly, but for years, Caleigh suffered from flashbacks and debilitating anxiety.
As irrational as it seemed, they loved her. Josie did a terrible thing. She told them Alex and I didn’t want them anymore. She said she would raise my children and love them the way they deserved to be loved. Some days she told them she would convince me to leave Alex, who never deserved me or us, according to Josie, and they would raise us together. The only thing my children balked at was calling her Mommy.
Later, people made judgments. They asked why the children hadn’t tried to escape while on walks. What they didn’t realize was Caleigh and Dane were children and after a while, Josie was their only connection to love and security.
I lost a trusted friend and almost lost my children. I still wonder if it will ever be possible to wash away the stains of betrayal.
Grace Rendeau