author Therese A. Kraemer

Heartbreak

( this is only a part of the first story )

Abducted

Three forty-five. Ginny was already fifteen minutes late. Today was her friend’s turn to ride the school bus home with her. Booth girls took great care in this friendly practice of taking turns playing at each other’s house until supper time. The bus stopped around the corner so I had no way of knowing if it was late or if my daughter’s friend had missed it. I hoped for the latter. Four fifteen. Even if they walked, they’d be here by now. I was beginning to tremble inwardly.

“Hello…this is Ginny’s mother, Isobel Cummings. Is this Mrs. Henning?” The voice on the other end of the line answered in a cockney accent, identifying herself as the Henning’s maid. She asked if she could be of service since the Henning’s were not in.

“Yes, please. By any chance is my daughter, Ginny there?” My words came out breathless. “You see she and Nettie were supposed to come here, to my house, but they never showed up. I thought maybe they changed their minds for some reason or another and went to Nettie’s home instead.”

The maid apologized saying that her Ginny wasn’t there and that Nettie didn’t go to school because of a cold. I returned the receiver to its cradle quite shaken. Where could she be? I searched my mind trying to find a logical answer to allay my worries. I could not. Something awful had happened. As I headed for the front door to search for her, the phone rang.

“Yes, this is her mother….Yes, I’ll be right over.”

Mrs. Henning didn’t say clearly why she wanted to see me, but she said she might have some information on Ginny. The maid with her English accent and her clean and starched uniform led me silently to the living room. I found the Henning’s nervously pacing the floor; this whole scene only added to my uneasiness. I scanned the room slowly, studying the new surroundings. The room was large, painted with a peasant warm color that ran its way to the carpet. The furniture was carefully selected; antique pieces that gave a frail and unsteady appearance.

“Please sit,” Mr. Henning waved limply in the direction of the sofa. He appeared to be Karl’s age, if my husband were still alive. But, Karl was thinner and better looking, by far. My stomach tuned as I watched the man wipe his brow with a neatly folded handkerchief, as if he had saved it for an important emergency such as this. I hadn’t noticed the red backpack until I was almost on top of it. It was Ginny’s, but how did it get here? I picked it up, feeling the warmth in the coarse fabric, and I started to cry and sat paralyzed with shock.

“What happened?” I cried, fearful of the answer.

“My dear,” the wife said dolefully. “I’m sorry, but it seems this whole thing looks as if it could be some horrible mix-up. You see I found Ginny’s backpack lying in our driveway when I returned home. Apparently, she came to visit Nettie, probably curious to why our daughter missed school.” Mrs. Henning, she sat beside me to console me stroking my shoulder. This did not reassure me or make this whole nightmare easier to bear. Mr. Henning poured himself a drink then addressed me.

“Only moments before we called you, we received a strange call from a man threatening Nettie’s life if we didn’t come up with two hundred thousand dollars. I explained to him that I didn’t have the foggiest notion what he was talking about and that our daughter was safely asleep in her bed. I’m afraid that I hung up after that.”

I sat dumbfounded looking into space and telling myself that couldn’t be happening. I’d wake up and find her home safe. But the phone rang and snapped me out of my wishful thoughts. Mr. Henning answered.

“Yes…I see…No! Please. I’ll come up with the money. She’s just an innocent child…please don’t harm her.” His face became as gray as clay that molded into a look of horror. He laid the receiver down gingerly in its cradle and said, “That was the same man again. He insisted he’d kill the girl if I didn’t come up with one hundred grand, instead of the original two hundred thousand. He figured she’d be worth at least half as much.” He let out an exasperated breath and sat heavily on a chair making it creak.

“Oh, no” I screamed, clutching the backpack. “What will I do? I…I don’ have that kind of money. We barely get by with my salary.” I was on the verge of hysteria as I struggled helplessly inside. Adrenaline coursed wildly through my body and my mind felt like a rocking horse of confusion

To me Mr. Henning said, “Mrs. Cummings, everything will be all right, I promise. My conscience would never permit me to ignore your child. It could have been my daughter instead of yours if she hadn’t been sick today. So, I feel an obligation to her and to you.” He came over and patted my hand. “I was warned not to call the police, and I don’t intend to do so. I feel we can handle the matter ourselves.” My hand received a tight reassuring squeeze by his wife. He walked back to his chair, swallowed his drink and said, “I think for now you can rest better at home since there’s nothing more none of us can do. The kidnapper said he’d call in the morning with instructions.”

One again I was properly escorted to the door by the maid. I was trembling so much it took me awhile to get the key into the ignition and I drove home in a fog. My cellphone rang when I entered.

The next day I returned to the Henning’s early in the morning, still feeling very frightened and tired from lack of sleep. The maid annoyed me with her chipper greeting and she led me into the living room where Mr. Henning was waiting and welcomed me wearing a silk robe.

“My wife’s still sleeping,” he informed me nonchalantly, but I saw the fatigue pull around his eyes. He gave me the alibi that the misses had a fitful night and woke with a splitting headache. “I felt better that she went back to sleep,” he added.

I fixed him a hard stare waiting for him to plunge into a conversation regarding Ginny, but he paused for what seemed as eternity until he finally spoke. His left eye displayed a minuscule tick as he explained that the man had called early with the instructions. And that the kidnapper now insisted on the whole amount, two hundred, thousand dollars or the girl’s body parts will be all we get.