Justice for Lindsey-Prologue

By Christina Siwik

This book is dedicated to my late mother who instilled a love of reading and writing in me at a very young age.  She was always my inspiration. The following story is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.  Any similarity to actual people, places, agencies and or events are purely a coincidence.

“There are more truths in twenty-four hours of a man’s life than in all the philosophies.”—Raoul Vaneigem

Stephen could not stop his hands from shaking and gripped the steering wheel even tighter.  It was too bad what had started out as a promising day had turned so disastrous.  He took a quick look at the three-year-old child sitting in the back seat of his car. She had her angel rag doll hugged to her chest. Her long auburn hair partially covered her face but he could still see the scared look she had.  Looking at her now, he noticed how much she was already beginning to resemble her mother.  She had the same creamy skin and hazel blue eyes.

He turned his attention back to his driving but kept running the events of the day over and over in his head.  When he had walked into the house and saw Lindsey tumbling down the stairs he had been in total disbelief.  Everything from that point on seemed to take place in slow motion. He knew he should have gone to the police but all the people involved were very influential in the community. He could not take the chance that they would not tell the police that he had pushed her. He had been scared to death and had been instructed, “You and the child are to disappear. I don’t care where you go but it had better be far, far away from here.  If you don’t, then we will see to it that you ‘disappear’ forever.  We will take care of disposing the body, but mark my word, if you try going to the police or ever show up here again, it will cost both yours and the child‘s life.” 

So, he had done as he was instructed. He knew he was a coward, but he also knew he needed to protect the child at all costs and see to it that she was safe.  He owed Lindsey that much. 

He had driven around for several hours trying to decide what to do.  His one and only goal now was to get the child to safety.  He had formed a plan and he hoped it would work.  Their destination was two hundred miles west. He had only been there once but knew the people were not only kind but were also very rich and powerful.   He would leave his car at the mall and take a cab to the Amtrak station and the train to Chicago.  The only thing driving him now was to get the child to Chicago.  The people in Chicago would know what to do to protect her and, hopefully, him as well.

Luckily, Lindsey’s husband and his father were not due back from Washington D.C. for a couple of weeks.  There was no likelihood the husband would call to see how she was doing.  From what she had told Stephen, the two of them rarely talked at all any more, and apparently, he had never developed a bond with the child either.  That was one of the reasons she had wanted to go away now. 

“The way I look at it, Stevie, now is the perfect opportunity to get away from this family.  I may never get another chance like this,” she had told him.  “Just say you will help.” 

Since she had figured she could get far away before she would be missed, in the end, he had agreed to help her. He was counting on this and, because of it, believed he had time to get the child to safety.           

When the cab dropped them off at the station, he realized they were in luck.  The schedule board outside showed the next train was leaving in thirty minutes.  The last thing he wanted to do was spend hours sitting around as people might start asking questions and, with his current luck, he might run into someone he knew. He grabbed their luggage from the trunk of the cab, took the child by the hand and went into the station to purchase their tickets and wait for the train. 

He was exhausted and could tell the child was confused.  He was fortunate she hadn’t asked too many questions and he needed it to stay that way.  She had asked about her mother only once since leaving the house.  He told her he was taking her to her mother and that seemed to satisfy her.  Stephen had read somewhere that a child’s long-term memory does not fully kick in until sometime during their third year.  He hoped that was true as she had turned three only a few months ago.   He prayed the events of this day would be erased from her memory forever.  That was why the sooner they got to Chicago, the better it would be for both of them.

__________

Amtrak arrived in Union Station at 10:30 p.m.  The child had slept for much of the trip.  Stephen had tried to sleep but was haunted by dreams of the past ten hours.  He found a pay phone and, with shaking hands, deposited the coins and punched in the numbers to make the call.  He knew it was late but prayed she would be there. The phone at the other end was picked up on the third ring.  He supposed it was the butler that answered and was told the woman he wanted to speak to was out for the evening and he was not sure when she would return.  The man must have sensed panic in Stephen’s voice and told him to hold and that he would put the lady of the house on the phone.  Stephen had only met her once and knew she was a kind and understanding woman so he felt he could trust her.  When she came on the line, Stephen gave her a quick run-down on why he needed to speak to her daughter-in-law.

“Where are you and the child?” she asked.

“We are at Union Station in the Great Hall,” he told her.  “We have no place else to go.”

“Stay where you are.  I am sending the limousine for you.  It will take about thirty minutes.  Under no circumstances are you to go outside the station.  My chauffer will come in for you.”  With that she hung up.

• 

It seemed like the longest thirty minutes Stephen had ever experienced. Even though it was close to eleven o’clock at night, there was still a lot of activity inside. Every time one of Chicago’s finest walked by, Stephen was sure the officer was looking for the child and him. 

The child was quiet again.  He was very worried about her.  What she had seen today had to be very traumatic and there was nothing he would not do for her to make it all go away.  He still wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing by bringing her here.  If all turned out as he planned, she would have a new life and the memories from the past would be forgotten. He was thinking about just this when a man wearing a traditional chauffer’s uniform approached him.

“Are you Stephen Parker?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Stephen replied with relief in his voice.

“Come with me, sir.  You and the child will soon be in good hands.”

The chauffer took their luggage and led them outside to where he had parked a sleek black Bentley.  He put the luggage in the trunk and Stephen and the child settled themselves in the back seat.  Stephen had never ridden in such luxury but, with all that was on his mind, hardly noticed. 

Once again, the child snuggled up against him for the drive which took less than thirty minutes but to him seemed like a life time.  The mansion was in the historic Oak Park area.  As the chauffer turned into the drive, Stephen remembered the first time he had been here. It had been a much happier occasion.  The darkness prevented him from seeing the house until they were fully in the drive.  He had forgotten how impressive looking the house was. 

The chauffer stopped in front of the three-car garage and got out.  He came around to the passenger door and opened it for Stephen and the child.  The child had finally fallen asleep so Stephen got out and took her in his arms.  He walked up the path and carried her up the steps of the well-lit covered porch. The front door was opened for him and he was greeted by the butler.  Once inside, he was again overwhelmed by the vastness of the grand reception hall. 

Even at this late hour, the lady of the house was there to meet him, as were her son and daughter-in-law.  By then the child had awakened.  She squirmed to get down.  As soon as she saw the young woman she ran toward her yelling, “Mommy, Mommy.  Where have you been?”

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