Page 9 of Justice
I stared into his eyes and I could see the determination there. He wouldn’t back down from this. I let out an uneasy breath. I could not tell him the whole awful truth, just some of it. I felt too ashamed of the entire horrible story. Looking around first, I wanted to be sure no one could hear us. “It’s my sister.”
Justice stared at me as he leaned close and whispered back, “What happened to her?”
“Well, I got a call from her a week ago and she said she was in terrible trouble but she refused to tell me what it was.”
“And that was it?’ Justice asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “I tried calling her back over and over, but it went to her voicemail then they said her cell phone was out of service.”
“So is that all you know?” Liberty asked.
“No,” Justice answered him. “She said someone has her.”
“Has her?” Liberty repeated.
Nodding, I explained, “I kept calling my mom and she never picked up. So I called her friend to go check on her and tell her to answer my calls. Tracy...her friend kept asking why couldn’t I go over there myself and that she could even give me a ride.” I stared at them. “I didn’t want to tell her about the Walker trouble, so I said I was out of town.”
“So, what happened?” Justice asked.
“Tracy went over there and the next day, my mom called my phone. She said someone took...Belle. She was hysterical asshe told me what they said. I asked her why and she explained that….Well, my dad…owes them money.”
“Owes them?” Justice stared at me.
I looked away. If there was something I had never been good at, it would be lying. But I wanted to keep this truth I lived with away from him. From us.
Grasping my hand again, Justice squeezed it.
I looked back over at him and gave them some more of the truth, “He owes them fifteen thousand dollars.”
“For what?” Liberty exclaimed.
I stared down at the table as I didn’t answer. I knew this would happen if I was confronted about this. That had been why I wanted to handle this myself.
“It’s okay, Scarlet,” Justice spoke quietly. “But we need to know what or who we are up against, so you need to tell us.”
I didn’t want to. It was a horrible thing. All I ever felt was shame for many years now. “My mom divorced my dad because of it.”
“Gambling debts?” Liberty suggested.
I shook my head.
“Baby, are these really bad men?” Justice asked softly.
Tears filled my eyes as I nodded. “Bad enough to take her hostage until they get paid.”
“So how are you going to pay them?” Liberty queried.
“I have savings.” At this question, I let my tears fall as this part was hard for me. “I saved all my money from the Cotton Candy...Um, job. I-it was for college. TWU in Houston. They have the best dance program and are in the top ten.” I reached up and swiped at my tears. “But Belle means more to me than anything.”
The two men sat there and now they looked angry.
“So, you have to clean up your dad’s mess?” Liberty seethed. “By using your college fund?”
I sat up straighter in my seat and told him, “Part of it, I have more than that. I can’t see how I will ever have all that I’d needed now. But I can’t even think about it like that. I want Belle to be safe.”
“Well, Icanthink about it.” Liberty looked pissed. “We need to track your dad down and then trade him for your sister.”
“They know he doesn’t have the money, I’m sure,” I reasoned. “Or they wouldn’t have taken Belle.”
