Traffic

Ch 27: Suspense

        The days in their new home dragged on. They had one phone call a week from the police where they had lived, giving them updates on Kelly's whereabouts. Mrs. Domonic, or rather, Paula Banner, would cry during every phone call. The updates were usually short, sounding something like this:

        "We've tracked them a little farther, to a warehouse in Willow Grove, a small town in Texas. We have to fight for jurisdiction, but we're slowly managing."

        "We're doing all we can, Mrs. Banner. We're going over that warehouse with a fine-toothed comb, and we're searching hard for evidence, but so far..."

        "Mrs. Banner, please don't cry, we're really doing everything we can. We'll call you when we have something substantial. I have a feeling these little updates aren't doing you, or your family, any good."

        And thus, the phone calls ceased. For weeks, going on months, they ceased. Francine, now Marie, had all but lost hope of every finding Kelly again. Tyler, once known as Trace, was constantly either at work in a small diner he'd managed to get hired at, or in his bedroom, mentally battling with himself. No matter where he was, though, he could never shake the feeling of disaproval from his mother. He had once told her he would look after Kelly and never let anything happen to her, especially at the hands of their father.

        He wished there was something he could do to help find Kelly, but he also had responsibilities to his mother and sister. He had to protect them, even if that was the whole point of witness protection, he had to remain there and keep them safe. And so, he refused to go back to College, as his mother was advising him to do; he refused dates initiated by girls at work, even though Marie said it would be a good idea; and most of all, he refused himself food. It wasn't really that he refused to eat food, but more that he couldn't eat. He was too far gone to even think about food.

        Marie, on the other hand, was able to eat in small portions, only when her mother told her that she had to eat or she would surely die. Marie didn't want to die. She wanted to live to see Kelly safely returned home, where she belonged. Most of all, though, she wanted to live to see her father imprisoned for life. Either that, or sentenced to death for all the horrible things he'd done to the family, most recently being: kidnapping Kelly.

        This is how they lived for near to three months after the police stopped calling. They found it almost worse that they stopped calling, for the thought crossed their minds that the police had forgotten. Either that, or found Kelly dead.

        Their suspicions were put to rest, however, when they received a phone call from their hometown police station. It went much like this:

        "Mrs. Banner, I apologize for such a long wait between calls, but we hadn't really found anything substantial until now."

        "W-what did you find?" Mrs. Banner asked, pressing the phone to her ear with a vengence, hanging on every word.

        "After searching the warehouse for two weeks, finding nothing incriminating, we gave up on that lead, deciding to go through what we already had in evidence. During a late night at the precinct, a fellow officer came bursting in with some important news."

        "Please just tell me, don't sugar coat it, don't try to make it sound nice, just lay it on me. I can handle it, I promise."

        Upon receiving the go-ahead, the officer began to tell Mrs. Banner what he'd found, "The warehouse isn't only used for storing food for the town, as we had once believed. It doubles as an auction house."

        "Auction hosue?"

        "For girls. Young girls."

        Mrs. Banner sunk to the floor where she had once stood. Tears dripped down her cheeks, but she remained silent, allowing the officer to finish.

        "We sent in an undercover man, posing as a buyer. He came out with a girl aged around nineteen. He brought her back to the precinct and asked her to tell us about that warehouse. She told us she's been in that sort of system for four years. She'd been with many men, away from her family, and scared for her life every single day. We're housing her currently and when she's ready, we're going to have her call you."

        "Why call me?"

        "Mrs. Banner, we believe that Kelly was taken from Mr. Brown and sold at an auction in that building. We believe she is lost somewhere in human trafficking."

        Polly Banner hung her head, openly crying now. She finished the call with the policeman and hung up the phone, rocking back and forth and crying. Marie joined her in crying when she heard the news, almost having fits she was so upset. Tyler, on the other hand, after allowing a few tears to snake their way down his cheeks, made a pact. He made it with himself, then went downstairs to inform his mother and sister of it.

        "Mom, Marie, please listen to me for a minute." After a pause, he continued, "I've decided to go looking for Kelly. Don't you dare try to talk me out of it, or tell me that's the police's job. I don't CARE. She's my sister and I'm going to find her, even if it kills me."

        Mrs. Banner slowly stood, walking up to Tyler, putting her hands on his cheeks, "I trust you. Go do whatever you think is best. We'll be here when you return."

        Marie shouted from where she sat, still in a fit of pain, "You find her, Trace! You find her or don't come back!"

        Tyler nodded. She only called him by his real name when she was very, very upset. He packed a small backpack of essentials like food and water, and left without another word.