Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen
Todd was ready to drive back to the house. I followed him through the court building without need of instruction since I had become used to doing just that.

Todd asked, “Are you relieved that that part of the trial is over?”

I replied, “I am not sure if I will ever be relieved again. What is the next step?”

Todd replied, “We have to wait for a while yet. If there is a conviction then we are done but if something happens and there is a mistrial and we have to start again then you will be needed for the next round.”

It was depressing to think about having to start over again. Todd told me the jury was expected to get the case tomorrow and nobody knew how long it would take to get a verdict. To me it was a pretty simple case but the defense always tries to establish reasonable doubt. 

When we got back to the house, Lincoln was sitting at a table with my mother and Bryntley coloring pages of a coloring book to kill time. They looked up from the coloring book and Bryntley asked how it went.

I replied, “I am done for now and the rest is out of my hands.”

Bryntley said, “That is a good attitude. Not much else to do now but wait.”

I said, “I have been a ball of nerves through the whole ordeal. If John McKinley is convicted would there still be a reason to come after me?”

Bryntley replied, “That is a good question. It depends on the gang. Some of them want to make an example out of witnesses to discourage testifying in the future. We don’t know a lot about the gangs that come from Middle Eastern countries, but they are pretty big on saving face and making examples out of those who testify. They want to protect what they have built and insure they have that asset in the future and fear is the biggest thing they have going for them to discourage those who interfere with their business.”

I knew first-hand what kind of people we were dealing with. I knew what lengths they would go to, just to send a message. They were a savage bunch without a speck of empathy. I finished my testimony and I felt good about not letting them get away with their plans. 

Todd said, “If you need some form of inspiration to motivate you to keep going with the case you should listen to the testimony from the little girl who was kidnapped”

I asked Todd, “Are you allowed to let me hear her testimony?”

Todd replied, “Technically no, but I think since she wasn’t exactly in the courtroom I can legally say she didn’t testify in court, it was in the doctor’s office.”

Todd sent me a file of the recording from the court where it was played for the jury. I clicked on the link and the video opened and started to play. The video was recorded with a child psychologist asking her questions in the psychologist office.

She sat in a chair holding a stuffed puppy. It was so cute and really demonstrated her youthfulness. I can’t imagine the jury watching her and not shedding a tear. 

The psychologist asked her to tell in her own words what happened to her. Because of her age they never revealed her name. She was only referred to as the victim.

The victim recorded, “My mom picked me up from school that day and we were laughing because that was what we always did when she picked me up. She had finally let me ride in a regular seat since I had outgrown my booster seat.”

Watching the girl testify put a lump in my throat. I couldn’t imagine anyone callous enough to want to hurt a sweet child. 

The victim continued, “Mommy drove slowly because there were so many cars there at the school but we finally made it to the highway. We were going for ice cream before going home. She was careful but when we got close to the ice cream shop we got into some more traffic and then a car pulled out in front of us and mommy had to slam on her brakes to keep us from having an accident. There was a driver in the front of the car but two men got out of the back and they walked back to where we were parked. We parked there to avoid the wreck.”

I pause the video trying to think for a moment. There are a lot of people involved with this kidnapping than are being charged with the crime. I needed to hear more details so I pressed play again.

The video played the victim’s statement, “Mom couldn’t go anywhere because she was surrounded by cars and the men made us get out of our car and ride with them. They drove all the way to the house where we were finally rescued. The older man said I should call him pops but I really didn’t want to. I didn’t like him, he was mean. They said we were just going to stay for a few days in that house and then we would be joining some others who would be my friends. They would be young like me. ”

The tears ran thicker down my cheeks as I watched the recording and listened to this little girl recount the most tragic day of her life. I continued to hit play and she continued to tell her sad story.

The video played more of the victim’s statement, “Mom kept trying to figure out how to get us free from the house but they kept us locked up and chased mommy when she got loose. When they finally caught her, they took her away. They took her down the stairs while one of them stayed with me. I kept hearing my mother yelling at them and then finally heard a loud screaming and I never saw my mother alive again after that. They kept her in the basement after that day and took me to see her body. I was told that was what happens to people who can’t obey. I was so scared I never wanted to make them mad at me.”

While watching the video, I cried out loud and couldn’t imagine anything more horrifying than the story this girl was telling. My heart ached for her and I remember the look on her father’s face when I saw him outside the courtroom. He put his head in his hands several times and he must have heard the story she was telling. He had to be in so much pain to hear what his daughter was telling the jury.

The video played the next segment of the victim’s statement, “After my mom was gone and it was just me, I cried a lot at night. The men would bring in clothes for me to wear. It was usually some kind of thin underwear and they would pose me and take my pictures. They kept telling me I was going to be in their catalog but I never understood what they were talking about.”

I pushed stop and had to regroup myself and control my feelings. I was so mad at what was done to this child, I couldn’t see straight. Any jury who watched that video had to find the guy guilty and then how do we catch the rest. All of these guys were guilty and they needed to be punished. 

I just had to calm my nerves a little before I watched the rest of the recording. The fear this little girl faced was monumental and somehow she survived. I had a little to do with helping the authorities find her but her desire to live was strong enough to overcome anything. 

I pressed play one last time and listened to the rest of her story, “They kept telling me a new guy was coming to see me. I didn’t know who they were talking about, but they called him the groomer. I thought maybe he was going to do my hair. I told them that and they all laughed at me when I said it.”

The victim continued, “There were a couple of women who dropped by for a few minutes but they never stayed and they just said to do what I was told and I would live. I kept thinking, Duh, I figured that one out on my own. The women would leave and I would be alone in that locked room pops would keep me in. I never told him about the day someone tried to talk with me through the window on the backside of the house. I never said anything to whoever it was because I was afraid I would make them mad and I would wind up like my mom. I couldn’t even sleep at night because I was worried about doing something wrong.”

That was the end of her testimony. Lucky for her we caught them before they finished moving her to her permanent living hell. Todd had watched every emotional minute of me playing the testimony. I was glad I watched her testify. It made me glad I testified and proud I got involved enough to catch the guy responsible. 

We would be eating dinner in the house again, it was far too dangerous to go anywhere. We knew there were gang members scattered all over the city. Bryntley and Todd had both proved to be very capable hands at meal prep. I had offered many times to help but the offers were always rejected. 

I was tired of waiting but the next part of the trial was the most important, it was jury deliberation. I didn’t know where my future would lead me but I would be glad I helped save a little girl from hell on earth. It was worth it to set her free. 

I knew until the jury came back we would all be confined to the house. It felt like we were in jail and the criminals were all roaming free. 

After an amazing dinner made by Todd and Bryntley I put Lincoln to bed and then my mom and I came back into the main living room to sit and talk with our host.  

I asked Todd for an opinion of the trial and he said, “The prosecution put on a good case. I think personally they proved it beyond a shadow of doubt.”

We all seemed lost, just waiting around to hear some kind of word from the jury room. Time felt like it was standing still and we were just going through the motions of life and I guess technically that was exactly what we were doing. 

We were just killing time or letting it die of natural causes. Lincoln was watching TV with mom while waiting for time to go to bed. I was just sitting and staring into space like a zombie. I was lost in the thoughts of the little girl who was kidnapped. I couldn’t imagine a more horrifying experience. 

Todd and Bryntley were sitting in the same room, both were armed and both seemed to be listening for any kind of movement outside. Occasionally if there was some kind of noise outside, one of the agents would go out and check with the outside agents to make sure everything was okay.

They would always come back in with a statement of “false alarm”. Their job couldn’t look more boring. There was always more excitement in the movies when the feds were guarding someone. Thank god it was getting closer to bedtime. I went in to put Lincoln to bed knowing it wouldn’t be too long until I would be joining him. I was tired, it had been a long day and I was afraid it would take me forever to fall asleep. 

I finally bid goodnight to my host and took Lincoln in to put him to bed. I always had to insist he go to the bathroom first before going to bed and he always wanted to argue about it. He always said he didn’t need to go or he had just gone, neither of which would be true.