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Sawyer is going out of his mind. So many different, horrible things are playing out in his mind about the fate of Hannah. The parlor is full of cops, his friends, and customers who have grown to love the sweet, quiet girl. He didn’t grasp the impact she has made in everyone’s life after so little time.
“Sir, do you have a picture of this Hannah so we can start having our officers canvas the area?” the officer, Merritt asks. Sawyer shakes his head and pulls out his cellphone. They had just taken a selfie together the previous night, after they revealed their true feelings for each other. The genuine smiles on their faces in the photo is painful for him to look at. Officer Merritt takes the phone from Sawyer’s shaky hand. Bryce and Shelley step over to Sawyer to try to comfort him.
Everyone in the parlor has been exhaustively questioned. None of them can name anyone who would want to harm their Hannah. She is the only person they can think of that when anyone met her, they instantly loved her. Their thoughts are interrupted when the officers are called outside to fingerprint and photograph the apartment. Sawyer feels as though his heart is being stabbed repeatedly. How could she be gone? Did that man come back for her? How am I going to go on without her with me?
Scot comes up to him with a look of concern on his face. Sawyer expects him to say something of a comfort to him but is surprised.
“Get off your butt and go look for her! Sitting around isn’t getting anything done. We have all of these people here that heard something happened to her and they want to help. We are her family, and family doesn’t give up. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and think of her. She is probably scared out of her mind, wondering when you are going to come get her.”
Sawyer looks at the man before him, dumbfounded. Every word that he just said was the absolute truth. He is behaving in a purely selfish manner. Sawyer rises from the chair and marches out the door. Everyone stands where they are and stares after him. He turns around, “Well, are ya’ll coming or not?” With that, all of the employees and customers scurry after him to listen to his plan.
“Can we get groups to go to every business to see if anyone saw anything that was out of place or anyone that looked shady? Let’s check back with each other here in about an hour. Let’s go people!” Sawyer orders as he, Shelley, and Bryce walk across the street to the café to question the people there.
***
HANNAH BLINKS HER EYES and tries to stretch out her sore limbs. She quickly opens her eyes when she realizes that she can’t straighten out her arms or legs. She looks down to see her legs bound with rope and her arms tied to them behind her back. There is a rag that is taped in place to her mouth to muffle her cries. She is in a dark room on a dirt floor. It is cold and musty. The smell of gasoline and mold is strong in the little room. She remembers Beau shoving something in her face, then only blackness after that. Why had Beau taken her? What could he possibly want with her? Is this all because of the night in the pool hall or because of Sawyer firing him? Hannah is busy thinking about this when the door to the room opens, allowing sunlight to illuminate her surroundings. She is able to look around, then realizes that she is in some sort of gardening shed. She is laying on the floor beside a lawnmower. She glances around and sees a box of trash bags, a box of gloves, and two shovels against a wall. She then looks toward the door to see Beau leaning against the frame, smirking at her.
“Well, hello baby doll. You don’t look so happy to see me. Don’t worry, once you get to headquarters and get cleaned up you will feel so much better. Did you know it is almost exactly two months until your birthday? You know what that means don’t you, baby? It means that you will then become Mistress of Salvation. That’s exciting, right? There are lots of people waiting to meet you. We will leave in a few hours, until then why don’t you go back to sleep.” Beau saunters over to her with a rag as he places it over her nose again. She fights him the whole time, but it is futile as she is tied up. Blackness overtakes her again.
***
EVERYONE IS WAITING for Sawyer’s group to come back to the meeting place. Once they get there, Elise tells them what they had found out.
“A man at the shoe store said he came out for a smoke and saw a short, dumpy guy with a black ski mask coming out from the back of his older model car. He then walked across the street toward the parlor. He said he didn’t think much about it since it was kind of cold this morning. He went back in his shop before he could see the guy again. He did say that the man took weird, short, quick steps. I don’t know if that helps. Sawyer, do you know anyone like that?”
Sawyer’s mouth drops open in shock. The description sounds like the man Hannah has told him about. The man that took her and her mom. The man that kidnapped them so long ago. “Yeah, it does. Excuse me guys, I think I need to talk to the officer now.” He turns on the heel of his boot and swiftly walks back into his parlor.
Officer Merritt was inside, going through his notes and witness questioning. Sawyer strides to the officer and requests that he go to the office, to which the man obliges.
“Do you have some time? Hannah told me some stuff about her past yesterday, and I think you need to hear it. I was hoping that she would have been the one to tell you, but I don’t think it can wait,” Beau states to the officer.
Officer Merritt agrees, and retrieves his notebook from the top, left pocket of his uniform. He nods his head at Sawyer when he is ready. Sawyer begins recounting everything that Hannah had told him. Throughout the lengthy story, Officer Merritt transcribes everything. At the end, Sawyer tells him about what Elise was told by the shoe salesman.
Officer Merritt places his notebook down and leans back in his chair. “So, are you telling me that you had a woman here for over six weeks that was a kidnapped child for fifteen years and no one thought to report this to us?”
Sawyer dumbly shakes his head. “In all fairness, she said that he had warned her that no one would believe her and that he had erased her existence. She was scared that she would have to go back to him, I felt I had to protect her.”
“Well, that was stupid.” Officer Merritt stands up and walks out the door. Sawyer follows him. The officer quickly gets on his radio and gives them a description of the suspected attacker. The officer relays all details about the house and bunker to the dispatcher as well. He then walks over to his captain and fills him in on what Sawyer has just unloaded on him. The captain looks at Sawyer in surprise, then quickly pulls out his phone.
Sawyer stands back and watches the men in front of him begin to frantically call others and fill out paperwork. Another officer comes in with a laptop which the men huddle around. After about thirty minutes, they call Sawyer over.
The captain speaks first. “Son, I’m Captain Lee. I hear that you gave quite a report to Officer Merritt. I have had my men look into this and based what you told us, we have been able to find out more information. We got in contact with a James Randoff of Burkburnett, Texas. He fully backs up what you told us about his wife and child disappearing about fifteen years ago. He said he was working at Fort Sill doing contract work at the time. My men also found the pictures that were released when they were reported missing and compared those to the time lapse photos from the lab. The picture you gave us is almost identical to the picture that was created. I have sent some of my men to the areas around this part of town to trace her steps as she escaped from wherever she was held at. They are also on the lookout for an older model car, with a man fitting the description the guy from the shoe store gave. We are going to watch this Beau Campbell character also, to make sure he checks out. What I need you to do is wait here for James Randoff. He is on his way here to wait for information on his daughter. He doesn’t know anything about his wife yet, I want to try to find her remains first or have Hannah tell him when we find her.” With that, the Captain turns and walks away. When he leaves the parlor, the others rush back in.
Sawyer tells Shelley and Bryce in private what he relayed to the officer. They are astonished that so much has happened to their Hannah. They are now more determined than ever to find her. Sawyer also tells them that her father is on his way. The pair then decide it is best to wait with Sawyer. Bryce tells the others that Hannah’s father is on his way. They are confused but don’t ask any questions.
Sawyer locks himself in his office to wait for Mr. Randoff. Bryce and Shelley try to keep their friend’s morale high. The business owners from the street bring food to the parlor and wait with everyone else that has assembled there.