It was the first funeral they had attended since the pandemic restrictions had relaxed. Most of the town had turned out to pay respect to one of their own, who through his act of protecting them, had died.
The Whitecap Pavilion on the lakefront was reserved for Wayne’s funeral, and as Simon looked out over the crowd he smiled. He knew Wayne would be looking down and laughing at the standing-room-only crowd, shoved shoulder to shoulder, and joked that they had all showed up by mistake.
But it was no error. Everyone in attendance would brave their fear of being in a crowd and next to so many people as they honored Wayne’s memory. Simon knew everyone pushed aside their appointments and work schedules because it was the right thing to do.
It was during funerals that family and friends learned a lot about each other. Many people hadn’t been aware that Wayne was a key member of the Human Trafficking Task Force and that he was responsible for saving many young victims. It was the memory of the ones who he didn’t save that haunted him. He was a regular volunteer at the Red Cross Blood Bank, and after Dominique was born, Wayne made a donation in her name to the Children’s Hospital.
The crowd was filled with neighbors Wayne knew since he was a child. Teachers who once admonished him for his immaturity in their classrooms had grown to respect the man who became a leader in their community. A collection of fishing buddies, friends he played hockey with, and especially the few close friends he considered family.
Oliver, Kerry, Simon, and Dominique sat alongside Josh, Thomas, and Lucia. They were now each other’s family, perpetually connected by Wayne. Lucia busied herself adjusting Dominique’s hat, looking up she smiled at Kerry and said she was practicing to be an older sister. Kerry looked at Josh who slowly shook his head back and forth while Thomas tried not to laugh.
Carly was sitting a few rows behind with her husband and refused Kerry’s offer to sit with the family. Her emotions were stretched to the edges, and Kerry wasn’t even sure how much sleep Carly had the night before. Simon was relieved that Carly’s lawyer was able to have her released on bail, and although everyone who knew her believed she was innocent, she spent most of the day with her head held down.
The rows directly behind them were reserved for the people Wayne would want to have next to his family. They were filled with the individuals who he had rescued. Some came with family or friends, but all came for the same reason.
Joining the group were the five survivors that were finally free from Benji Jones and Alex Johnson.
Wayne would have joked that the hour-long service was an hour longer than necessary. But when she stood to join the crowd of friends at the back of the tent, she knew he’d be wrong.
Kerry spotted Jenna Bean, who was standing next to her mother, their arms wrapped around each other while they spoke with Russ and Callie at the back of the tent. Away from the crowd.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Kerry said as she walked up beside them. Dominique had fallen asleep and rested her head on Kerry’s shoulder.
Jenna reached up and stroked the back of Dominique’s head, “She’s so cute!”
Everyone, Russ included, couldn’t help but gush over the sleeping child in Kerry’s arms.
Kerry was overcome with emotion as she stood next to Jenna and Russ. They were children themselves. Kerry told them how brave they were, and how proud she was of them for coming forward in the end.
“It was hard, but we owed our lives to Wayne,” Jenna said. “I was just so terrified of what might happen if we did.”
“But not everyone was so lucky,” Russ said, and Jenna seemed to lean close to his body as they remembered the pain they shared.
Jenna’s eyes widened, “But some did escape. Especially a few girls who were there before us. I think one of them was pregnant when she got away.”
“That’s right,” Russ said. “I remember hanging onto that story and hoping it would be me one day.”
“Amy knew her,” Callie tapped a finger to her chin and she closed her eyes, deep in thought. “What was her name?”
“Was it Katie?” Russ spoke up, remembering the same story.
“That’s it!” Callie slapped her hand on Russ’s shoulder. “Katie.”
“Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one who found themselves with a baby,” Russ said, in a low voice. “That’s why some of the kids were kidnapped in the first place, to have babies.”
Kerry had heard about the underground baby mills and instinctively pulled Dominique close to her chest.
“But that’s not what happened with her,” Callie said.
Kerry listened and as Callie spoke she realized something they missed in the timeline. Either that, or one of the five survivors wasn’t telling the truth. Kerry excused herself from the group and found Simon in the middle of a conversation with Mrs. Marsh.
Kerry tugged Simon’s elbow, pulling him away from the group he was speaking with. She stood out of view of the crowd and made sure she was far away from where anyone could hear. Especially out of earshot of the one person she needed to tell Simon about.