Page 37 of Two Weddings and a Shoot Out

Blake scrunched her nose up and opened her mouth, then paused and closed it again, shaking her head no.

“You said you’d talk. You and Benji are the ones that it happened to. Ezra and I are moral support,” Phoebe muttered.

“Happened to? Do I need to get Rascal to listen too?” Meg questioned.

Blake and Benji shook their heads.

“Well, if not, then tell me what happened. So, it’s easiest to tell me if you hit all the points a newspaper story does. Tell me who, why, where, what, when, and sometimes how. You may notknow the why, so tell me who was involved, where did it happen, when did it happen, and what happened,” Meg said.

“Who is me and Benji and a man we didn’t recognize. Well, I didn’t. Benji thought he looked familiar but wasn’t sure,” Blake said.

“Where is we were over near the edge of the park, close to the pickleball courts. The man was over near the bathrooms for the courts,” Benji said.

“That’s very good. Now, can you tell me what happened?” Meg asked.

“We were tossing a ball back and forth, and it went into the street between the park and pickleball courts. It’s blocked off, so everybody said we could go in the street,” Blake said.

Benji nodded. “When I grabbed the ball, a guy called my name and said, ‘Come here.’”

“I didn’t know the guy, so I ran to Benji and grabbed his hand and told him he should come back to the park,” Blake said.

“I wasn’t going to go to him. He was by the restrooms but standing where it was darker. I got that bad feeling in my tummy,” Benji said.

“That bad feeling in your tummy, or sometimes I get a little weird feeling on the back of my neck is instinct. It’s the same type of thing that helps soldiers on the battlefield. You were smart to listen to that bad feeling. Then what happened?” Meg asked.

“We ran back to the park with the guy yelling, ‘Benji, come here.’ I turned around to show Phoebe and Ezra who it was when we told them the story, but he was gone,” Blake said.

“How come nobody heard him yelling at Benji?” Meg asked.

“It was while the band was playing. At least that’s why Ezra and I think we didn’t hear it because we were close by,” Phoebe said.

“So now that I know all the particulars, I’m going to say not only do we need to tell Rascal, but we need to tell Locks, Hope, and a couple others. You guys are getting bigger, so I’m going to treat you like older kids. My neck gave me that funny tingle when you were telling me because he knew your name and wanted you to come to him. So we need a couple other people to help us,” Meg said.

“See, I said it was a Code Ross,” Phoebe said, patting Benji’s shoulder.

“Yes, I’m sending a Code Ross but also stating who I need since we don’t need everyone quite yet. Okay, sent. Let’s just sit here, waiting,” Meg said.

Locks’ watch and Hope’s phone went off with a Code Ross text saying it involved Benji and listing the other kids. He grabbed Hope’s hand, and they ran to where Meg directed them.

His heart pounded in his chest when he saw Benji’s name, along with the other kids and Code Ross, in the same sentence. He and Hope converged on the group at the same time the others did.

Locks listened, holding onto Hope’s shoulders while the kids and Meg recounted what had happened. He let go of Hope and bent down to Benji, pulling him into his arms.

“I’m so proud of you and Blake. You kept yourself safe and told an adult right away. We’ll try to figure this out, but I think thekids need to have an adult with them or be in an area where we can keep an eye on whoever is close to the kids.”

Locks could feel Benji trembling in his arms.

“Benji, you mentioned he looked familiar. I thought I saw one of your dad’s friends earlier but then told myself I was imagining it. If I showed you a picture of him, do you think you’d recognize him?” Hope asked.

Benji nodded and looked at the picture Hope showed him.

“Hey, he was in the tattoo studio earlier asking about what time the presentation was tomorrow,” Sprite said, her arm around Blake.

“I think we need to send out a notification to everyone with his information and what happened. I think it wouldn’t hurt to include a couple of the clubs that are here who are allies,” Winnie suggested, her arms around Phoebe.

“I’ll walk over and tell War in person, and Winnie can get Sarah and Scoop on sending that out. I agree that the kids need to be in groups and have an adult who is in charge of at least keeping them in sight within an area,” Bear said.

Locks agreed with everything, but he was still worried. Their weekend had exceeded their expectations. They didn’t have just hundreds of attendees. The attendance was in the thousands. There were campers and RVs, along with tents in multiple areas that had been loaned to Bluff Creek from area farmers and property owners. The property owners were receiving compensation from the attendees, but Locks knew it would be impossible to find this guy if he didn’t want to be found. Although the compound was wired with cameras and some motion detectors, the whole town wasn’t. Their businesses in town were. It was a mistake Locks would be suggesting they correct.

---