"Daddy, they took her." Maggie pushed away her father's probing hands as he kept trying to touch the butterfly sutures closing the broken skin on her face.
She hadn't been paying attention when Beth had been pushed inside. It wasn't until she heard the sound of engines rumbling around the lot, surrounding her, that she climbed into the back seat and ducked her head. She pulled out her phone and dialed the police. Dropping it into the floorboard, she snuck out of her car, weary of the one man left outside to guard the lot. She had always been sneaky, preternaturally so, but today she took great pains to conceal herself in the shadows beside the building. Without a pause, she had jumped the man she thought was carrying her sister. Instead, she went head to head with the devil. As she was clawing lines of crimson into his face, a man came up behind her and bludgeoned her. She pried herself off of the ground, but not before taking a couple of kicks to the face. Running behind the truck, she screamed out her sister's name until her voice ran hoarse and she fell to the ground in despair.
The cops had been shamefully slow in getting to the scene. When they came across Maggie Greene, she made them sorry for their delay. She was wild, restless and spiting venom. The EMT that patched her up had the worst job by far, taking him and two patrolmen to hold her to the stretcher. The adrenaline didn't dissipate until she had almost made it back home to the farm, several hours after the event had transpired. She was going to have to tell her daddy what happened. It was going to kill him. Ever since Beth was born, Maggie had the sneaking suspicion that she was daddy's favorite. They indulged her, sometimes treating her like blown glass, but she had to believe that little Bethy would be tough enough to survive what was in store for her now.
"Daddy, they took her." She looked at her father's crumbling face. "There was a bank robbery and they took her hostage. The cops ain't heard nothin' yet and they can't match the truck based on my description." Maggie's legs gave out underneath her and she crumpled to the floor at her father's feet. Hershel put a hand on his older daughter's head before stepping outside on the porch.
A police car pulled up close to the house and Hershel descended the stairs to meet his guest. The officer looked several years older than he must have been. His eyes were weary as he took in the visage of the grieving father. He had seen too many missing girls of late. Whoever had moved into town was bad news. Real bad news. Rick Grimes stretched his hand out towards the weather beaten man in front of him.
"You Mr. Greene?" Hershel took his hand in a light, but firm handshake.
"Yes I am. Is there a reason you're here on my farm and not out lookin' for my little girl?" He gave Rick a very pointed look before turning his back and walking towards the house.
He paused only once to gesture for Rick to follow him. Maggie was no longer crumpled on the floor. He suspected that she had snuck out back and into the hayloft. She and Beth went there a lot as children, thinking that him and his wife didn't know. They did, but didn't want to discourage a little sisterly bonding. If they were going to sneak out, it was better they did so on the farm than anywhere else. He walked into the kitchen and pulled two glasses out of the cabinet and went to the refrigerator to fetch some tea. By this time, Rick had taken a seat at the family table, waiting patiently until Hershel's gesture of hospitality was complete.
"Thank you. We need to get a few details, something to help us find your girl. Was she seein' anybody or mention talkin' to anybody new at the bank?" He had pulled out a small notebook and pen, waiting for the older man to divulge any details that could turn the case for them.
"As far as I know, my daughter wasn't involved with anybody. Not seriously anyway. Now, she did mention that the bank had hired a new office manager. I can't recall her name. Bethy was quite fond of her though." Hershel took a small drink of tea and a shadow briefly graced his features. Standing up suddenly, he walked out of the kitchen. A few moments passed and Maggie came in behind him to fill his seat. She looked at his tea glass along with the pitcher sitting on the table.
Taking her daddy's glass in her hand, she swirled the contents around for a moment before looking at the officer. "My sister made it this mornin'. The tea." Maggie dropped her gaze for a moment and placed the glass gingerly back on the table.
Rick lifted his abandoned glass and took a drink. Maggie peered up at him through short dark hair, looking hesitant. When she had entered the room, he noticed her carrying a small photograph. She now placed it on the table and slid it across the top to him. He looked at the two girls in the picture, smiling and happy.
"That's the most recent picture. In case she can't identify herself when you find her." Maggie dropped her head down to the table. Miserable.
"I'm sure she'll be able to identify herself just fine Ms. Greene. If she's anything like you than she'll be plenty spirited. Sometimes that's all it takes to make the difference."
"How would you..Oh, you were there at the scene."
"Not til later, one of my officers said you were somethin' of a hellcat. Took three of them in total to get you fixed up. Said you ran after the abductors on foot. That takes guts and I can see you've got em in spades. I'm sure Beth does too." Rick placed the picture into his shirt pocket, careful not to bend either of the faces.
"Is there anything we can be doin' in the meantime, other than dwelling on her not bein' here? Should I make posters or somethin'?" Rick looked at her and shook his head.
"Until we figure out the nature of the kidnapping, we don't want to give them any reason to get jumpy and do somethin' stupid. Tell your circle of friends, have em keep a eye out, but let them know to be discrete. But the best thang you can do is just be patient. I'm not gonna stop looking for her, she's my priority." He extended his hand out and Maggie shook it.
After seeing the officer out, she went to find her father. It wasn't difficult. She found him sitting on her sister's bed, holding a small stuffed bear that her first boyfriend had won her at a fair. He didn't last, but Sparkles did. Maggie had named it, it was more of a joke but somehow it stuck. She moved to the foot of the bed and sat down next to her father. Gently, she placed her hand on top of his.
"I love you daddy."
"I love you too magpie."
Rick met his partner at the station. Shane had been the slowest to arrive on scene, stating that he had run into some personal problems at home. Rick didn't question him too hard. He had been noticing more and more that his partner's demeanor was changing. He was becoming too aggressive out on call, starting to become more of a liability than an asset. If it wasn't for the long history they shared, Rick would have put him on a desk or let him go. He hadn't told him that he was going out to talk to the Greene family, he figured that Shane's presence would be none too comforting.
"Has there been any news for me?" Rick continued walking to his office while Shane fell into step beside him.
"No man, they're just gone. I don't know how long we'll be able to keep this out of the papers." Shane didn't meet his eyes. He started forward as their strides began to increase in length.
"We need to get in front of this. Keep out the details of the kidnapping. That'll at least give her a chance." He looked at the side of his partner's face.
"You don't believe that. That girl is already dead and you know it. Just like the other ones that've been popping up all over the county."
"We've got not reason to believe that case is connected with the robbery. Wouldn't make any sense, someone takes girls and then also robs a bank." He reached the door of his office and pulled his keys from his pocket. He had taken to locking it recently.
"And you think there just happens to be two crews of bad guys lurking around the countryside?"
"Abductions don't have to be a group effort. It could be one man responsible and then an entirely unrelated crew for the bank job. It would make more sense. Why keep someone around who will draw attention?" Rick finished unlocking his door and walked inside. "Let me know if something comes up. I'd like to stay abreast of the situation."
Shane walked away and Rick followed his retreating form with his eyes. He would be involving the FBI soon. His little band of merry men would be woefully insufficient to solve this thing by themselves. They didn't have the manpower or the cooperation needed. He dipped his hands into his drawer and pulled out his address book. He flipped it open and pulled out a yellowing business card. Before he could get settled and figure out what in the hell to say, someone began shouting in the main office. He jumped out of his seat and hustled towards the noise.
"Chief, we got a call. It's about the girl. Beth Greene." The blonde handed him the phone and he looked at her, aggravated that she hadn't given him more details about the caller.
"This is Rick Grimes"
"Good to know, now everyone will know who is responsible if you don't follow my instructions exactly. There are rules officer. If you play by em, then we won't have any problems. If you don't, we'll have to teach ya." Rick listened carefully to the man's voice and to the noise in the background, hoping to hear something to tip him off on location.
"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
"You can call me Joe. You ready for my instructions officer?" Rick grunted, indicating that he should continue. "We're sensible men officer Rick, we know that the girl probably comes from good god-fearing farm folk, so I'll be reasonable. I'd like 250,000 for her safe return. By what I understand, the father has a nice sized estate and veterinarian clinic, if he liquidates some of that then he'll be good for at least that much, hell maybe more. I'm not interested in the more."
Rick stopped scratching his instructions onto the paper. "Is that it? What about the timetable?"
"We're in sort of a crunch for time, but I'll allow the family a week to get everything together. I'll be in contact soon to let you know when the drop is to take place. If you call your little friends at the FBI though, I'm afraid Miss Greene wont be making it home to see daddy."
Rick stared at the phone after the man hung up, looking around the room he noticed that his partner was once again missing. He returned to his office and stared at the yellowed card. Not this time. He took it off his desk and nestled back inside his address book. He placed it inside his desk and slammed the drawer. He needed to call his wife, talk to her and his son. Tell them how much he loved them. It wasn't until days like this that he really truly regretted the rift that had developed between him and Lori. Instead, he slowly rose from his chair and grabbed his keys. He locked the door on his way out to speak with the new office manager, Carol. He had found her name after reading over the statement she had given. She seemed to be on the up and up, but you could never really be sure about people anymore.
She was the only one left at the bank after the events of the day. They were still scrubbing the bank manager's blood off of the floor and she was considering just putting out the money to replace the floors altogether. Not like it was necessary, considering that nobody would want to set foot in that branch of the bank after a day like this one. Rick approached her slowly, making a noise low in his throat to get her attention. She jerked her head up in surprise, her nerves still frayed from earlier. Rick quickly apologized and extended his hand to her.
"I'm Rick Grimes, and I know you've given a statement already, but I have some followup questions about an employee. The one that was taken." Before he could continue, Carol interrupted him.
"Beth Greene. She was a good girl." Carol looked at him with troubled, but beautiful blue eyes.
"Did you talk to her any that day, about anything? The weather? Boys? Anything bothering her?" Rick looked at Carol and waited for her response.
"Beth's a grown woman, boys wouldn't be something she discussed with her manager, officer." She narrowed her eyes at him for a minute. "As for there being anything bothering her, not that she told me. She was happy. Sang at church and occasionally at this little bar downtown. Her daddy doesn't know that though so lets keep it between us."
"Is it the type of place that bank robbers might frequent?"
"I'll admit it's a little rough, but nothing that a smart and capable woman couldn't handle. It's where she found me, Beth is the reason I have this job to start with." Carol drew her arms up and crossed them over her chest.
"Is there anything else I should know, anything that might come up later if this investigation ever goes anywhere?" Rick looked at her, open, honest and without judgement.
"My ex-husband was a mean bastard, but there isn't any chance that he's connected with what went on here today." Rick nodded and bid her farewell. He wrote down directions to the bar, intent on going and asking around once he was in his civilian attire.
