Second Chance

Seventeen: An Unfortunate Twist

Seventeen: An Unfortunate Twist

Emily drummed her fingers against the metal arms of the park bench. To anyone watching her, she would seem like a bored woman waiting to meet someone. She smoothed the nonexistent creases on her dress, and brushed a strand of her hair back. Her eyes peeled out for every passing person, young, old, man, or woman. Some of them met her gaze and nodded subtly. She let out a whoosh of air. Even with this many agents, she still did not feel safe. God knew what kind of person the caller was. She wasn’t even sure if he would personally meet him.

“Emily?”

She jumped a mile, spinning around.

“Bessie? What are you doing here?”

She looked taken aback, and the smile froze on her face. “Jogging?”

Emily smiled apologetically though Bessie didn’t look too convinced. Their town was a rather small town. It was pretty common to run into familiar people. As a result of her edgy state, she wasn’t even able to think properly. “Bessie, do me a favor and leave this park. Don’t come here for at least a few hour.”

“Huh? Are you all right, Emily? By the way, where is Ciara? I tried calling her yesterday but -”

“Bessie! Listen carefully, leave this park okay? I’ll explain to you later.”

Her gray eyes clouded with confusion, but she nodded nonetheless. As she turned to leave, she managed to muster a small smile. “Don’t forget to tell Ciara to call me back.”

Emily reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.

“This is Emily.”

“I hope you didn’t tell your friend anything.”

Emily stiffened. She scanned around the area, searching for anyone talking into a phone. She couldn’t find any.

“No,” she said. She was not in the mood for longer replies, and who would ever worry about manners when the person on the other side of the phone kidnapped your daughter. “Where is Ciara?”

“Don’t worry, your daughter is safe. Go to the fountain to the west.”

The line went dead, and Emily stood up. She prayed to whichever deity there was and hoped Ciara was safe.

The falling water soon came into view. Even though she was in public, the amount of people around her made her feel slightly claustrophobic. She desperately wanted to warn everyone to leave this place, but she knew it was impossible without the kidnappers noticing anything. Her guess for the reason why they chose such a crowded area was so that they could take hostage if they needed. Around her, she could see a few disguised officers follow her movement. Her phone rang once again, and she quickly brought it to her ears.

“I’m the man with the black coat. Give me the money, and I will return your daughter.”

She struggled to contain her temper. “I need to see her.”

“Do as you’re told.”

She cursed aloud and resisted the urge to throw her phone against the concrete. She was going force the police to take extra security against abductions in town once Ciara returned to her.

She adjusted her shades. Indeed, there was a man with black coat—the only one in fact. She took confident steps towards him. He looked up from the newspaper. He looked like any other man from town. Emily frowned slightly, fearing that she’d gotten the wrong person. Her worry was erased as he nodded curtly at the black suitcase in her hand.