Missing

They Know Something

  Pots and clanging and the smell coffee filled the air and woke me. A quick survey of the room sent a small wave of panic over me. I'm going to be in so much trouble. I pushed myself up sleepily and smiled seeing that neither of us had moved at all. The crocheted throw blanket slipped down my shoulders and the warm smell of pancakes filled the air as my stomach growled. Quickly I shook Liam awake and he sleepily smiled at me and stretched

"Morning"

"My parents are going to kill me you know."

"Mmmhmm" he nodded while yawning

"You should've made me go home!"

"Didn't want you to."

"Um...do you think that maybe...um...that breakfast in there is for us too?"

He laughed and shrugged "I dunno, but I'm fucking hungry. Lets go find out"

We walked into the kitchen and I hid shyly behind him. I was expecting him to get in trouble and I was expecting it too. It's not like this was something we'd ever done before, but it was also something we both knew we weren't supposed to do.

"Good morning. Impromptu sleep over?"

His mother raised an eyebrow at us while pouring batter onto a griddle pan. Liam pulled out a chair at the bar and motioned for me to do the same. I sat down and looked around. I always loved coming over to their house to eat. The kitchen was warm and inviting. His mom was always changing things around and putting out something new to discover. She says they're a good conversation starter. The dark granite counter tops offset the white cabinets that stood out against the polished cherry hardwood floors. His house never seemed to be messy or in disarray, but I guess it's easier becase Liam is an only child. His mom set out small glasses of orange juice for us and I smiled taking a sip

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Not to worry Mary. Your parents know you're here."

"They do?"

She nodded setting a plate of pancakes in front of me. I was lucky that our parents were good friends. I think if it had been anyone else I'd be in a lot more trouble. I waited for Liam to start eating before digging into mine. I was trying to be polite and remember my manners, but I was starving. The feeling of being watched took over and I glanced to see Liam laughing quietly at me as I horsed down the food. Embarrassed I set the fork down and sat with my hands in my lap.

We finished our breakfast and I followed Liam to his room and sat on the edge of the bed while he pulled out his lap top. He pulled the small paper clipping from his jeans pocket and typed Sierra Good into the browser. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly

"Nervous?"

I nodded "Nervous. Anxious. Scared."

"Hey. No matter what I'm here. And really Mary, no one ever said that you have to call this number or do anything even if it is you. Right?"

He was right. Even if it was me I didn't have to turn myself in. I didn't have to call. But I wasn't sure I could go the rest of my life knowing while this family sits at home in pain not knowing.

"Oooookay lets see....Sierra Good....went missing from Meadows Mall 12 years ago. Blah...blah...blah....seen on survelience video willingly leaving with an unknown woman....yikes. Pregnant mother and older sibling were elsewhere in the mall. Father was occupied and turned away for a few minutes and didn't see her leave. Wow..great parenting."

"Does it say who the woman is?"

"Nope. Not in this article. Here's what looks like a family picture"

I stared at the photo for what seemed like forever. There was no mistaking it was me. I scanned the photo taking in the people I didn't know....my family. I half smiled sadly and looked over at Liam handing back the lap top. The big mystery of it all is who is the woman and how did I end up in Montana with my parents? He took the computer back and scanned for more articles as I wringed my hands nervously

"Um....hmmm...looks like the father was under suspicion for a while."

"Why?"

"I guess police thought he was in cahoots with that woman who took her. It's implied that there were marital issues and the wife suspected he'd maybe slept with her. It's kind of weird. This woman supposedly was following them all over the mall and was overly interested in the little girl. That's creepy"

"Who is she though?"

"I honestly don't know Mary. I'm not finding...wait...one sec"

He scanned an article and then looked at me confused and started closing the lid of his lap top. I reached out stopping him

"NO...don't...tell me....what?"

"I don't want you to freak out. It's...scary"

"I won't freak out. Please tell me. What??"

He set the computer on my lap and hit the play button on a video report of the article he was reading:

Promising developments in a 10 year old kidnapping case end in disappointment. WNBC 7 reporter Jim Bowers has the details:
10 years ago 3 year old Sierra Good was seen on survelliance video leaving willingly with an unknown female. Her mother and brother shopping in a store just 2 doors down. Her father turned his back for just a moment not realizing she was gone. Unwilling to give up her parents have pressured police to keep the investigation open and to follow any and all leads. The case had hit a dead end almost immediately with no witnesses and a scratchy, zoomed out survelliance video. Until last week when police picked up 37 year old Mary Andrews at a local 7-11 causing a disturbance

"We picked up Ms. Andrews at approximately 9PM on Wednesday for disrupting the peace and trespassing. She displayed concering behavior and was transferred to the county hospital on a 51-50 hold"

When police made the arrest she was found carrying a backpack. A search of the backpack revealed a disturbing find

"Arresting officers searched the belongings and found a childs dress, hair bow and a lock of hair in a baggie. It was promptly handed over to investigators"

Handed over to investigators who had been working on the long cold case of missing Sierra Good.

"We were shocked and concerned by what we found. Obviously she was alone so finding out exactly what happened to the little girl was crucial"

But Ms. Andrews was far from forthcoming about any information.

"We were unable to obtain any useful information regarding the disappearance of Sierra Good. The only real information we could get out of her was her obsession with the child's hair. The case remains open, but there are no useful leads as the the whereabouts of the child"

Disappointing for investigators, but more disappointing for the young girl's parents who have pushed hard to keep the case open

"I won't give up until I know what happened to her. I turned my back once...I won't ever do it again. I'm obviously upset that they couldn't get anything out of that woman, but I know my daughter is out there somewhere. Dead or alive I won't stop until she's home"

I closed the lid and handed the computer back to Liam. I couldn't watch anymore. I promised I wouldn't freak out, but it was becoming unbearable. The stress, the anxiety, the fear...it was taking over and all I knew how to do was cry. Liam set his computer on the floor and held me close as I cried. I couldn't remember the last time I cried like this. Free falling tears and sobs as I held onto to him tight.

"It's going to be alright Mary"

"Don't call me that."

"You're going to have to keep going by your name as long as no one knows that you know. You need to come up with a way to talk to your mom and dad about this. Because either way..this can't go on. It's going to eat you inside if you don't say something. I don't mean call the 800 number or anything. But sit down and find out the truth."

"But what if I have to go away?"

"You won't. It's been so long there's no way anyone could expect you to just pick up and go back. Plus I think you should get a say. Anyway I think you should go home and start asking the right questions...don't accuse...OK?"

We got up and he walked me home. I stared at the front door, my heart pounding. I was terrified to be in the house. Not because I thought they'd hurt me, but because I had this secret and I didn't know what to do with it. Liam hugged me tight and kissed my cheek as I opened the front door. The house was quiet and smelled of cinnamon. My mom was making cinnamon rolls again....her Sunday staple. Quietly I walked into the kitchen and found my mom rolling up dough and cutting it. I sat at the bar and watched silently.

"Your room is a mess"

"I know. I'll clean it."

"What's gotten into you Mary?"

"Nothing. Just...a lot on my mind."

"We have time while these rolls bake. Tell me."

"Uh. Well. I'm doing a project for English class and I needed a baby picture. How come you don't have any baby pictures of me?"

She sighed "We just don't Mary. You know after five kids you just kind of get tired of taking photo after photo. You've already seen the milestones 5 other times. You know?"

I nodded and half smiled looking down at the bar.

"Just use one of those really adorable photos of you I saw on the bed. I think they'll do just fine. Maybe tell your teacher that your infant photos were lost." she shrugged "In the meantime how about you go clean your room. Your father is going to need some help clearing out the leaves from the gutters before the next storm hits."

"What about Chris?" I started to protest

"He's not home. He stayed the night at Colton's house and this can be your punishment for disappearing last night without telling anyone."

I got up from my seat and went down the hall to my bedroom and started cleaning the mess. I lazily shoved everything into my closet and sat in the middle of my bedroom floor. I was in no mood to help clean out dirty, messy rain gutters. I was still pretty drained and exhausted and confused.

"She's starting to ask questions. What do I tell her?"

My ears perked up hearing my parents whispering to each other in the living room. I never understood why they always thought that by whispering we couldn't hear them.

"Well, if she asks we'll sit down and tell her the truth. She was going to find out eventually"

"But, I'm not ready to tell her"

"We always knew it was a possibility. It doesn't really change anything does it?"

I quickly backed away from the door and grabbed my phone

Liam!! My parents were just whispering in the other room about me. They know something