-22-

"I never realized this type of work was so tedious." Aimee said as she scrolled through her phone. It has been two days since Fenton had dropped by to help make Chet's bait ad more appealing. They still had not received any replies. She smiled and tossed her phone on the bed. She and Chet laid against a couple of pillows propped up against the headboard. Chet glanced over.

"Nothing interesting in your social media world?" Aimee shook her head.

"Nope. Of course, I have maybe 7 friends so you might say I'm not exactly into that whole scene. How about you?" Chet was looking down at his phone.

"Oh, I haven't looked at my Facebook in six months. I have more than 7 friends. But most are boring as hell, so I never really get into all of that stuff." Aimee looked down at his phone and smiled. Chet was looking at a photo gallery. He looked through the many photos of his daughters with a goofy smile on his face.

"Oh, Maddie is so cute in that picture! How old was she?" She asked pointing at his screen. Chet tilted his head thoughtfully.

"She was about three in that photo. Just as cute as can be. I think I bought her a dress for every week of the year. She wore them all well." Chet smiled fondly at the memory. "That kid could run circles around me. Seems I was always chasing her." He placed his hand down on the screen and closed his eyes. "Hang on, baby." He sighed and clicked the phone off. He turned and wiped his damp eyes, then looked back at her. "Nothing like memories of your kids when they are young. Childhood is so precious." Aimee forced a smile and nodded. Chet closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Chet looked down.

"Just me and my big mouth. It just skipped my mind that not everyone had a precious childhood. Sorry about that." Aimee placed her hand on his face.

"You are so different than any guy I've met before." Chet shrugged.

"Not sure what you mean."

"It's just that your sensitivity. I mean you just caught yourself making a statement that you noticed triggered me a little and apologized. I don't think I've had a guy apologize to me about anything when they said something that bothered me like that." Chet glanced sideways.

"Well, I'm sorry about that. Maybe it's one of the reasons you are only in to girls." Aimee looked at him and smiled knowingly.

"What makes you so sure I am only into girls?"

"Well, I guess I don't when it comes down to it." Aimee nodded.

"That's right. You don't. Maybe I can make incorrect assumptions. Maybe you really only like guys."

"Haha!" Chet scoffed. "Nope. Can assure you that this guy is not into guys." Aimee gave a mock look of surprise.

"Oh? Well, I just wasn't sure."

"Well, I can promise you I'm not."

"You say so, Walter. But I tell ya. You are the only guy I've shared a bed with and not had sex with. Not that I am easy or anything. But it does make me wonder. Maybe I just don't float your boat." Chet flashed a nervous smile and managed a weak chuckle. Even though he was reasonably sure that she was just being coy and facetious.

"Well, I guess I'm just not myself these days. To be honest, as much as I've had these random passing thoughts... I don't know. It's just that I don't think I'm entitled to any enjoyment unless I know Maddie is safe." Aimee raised an eyebrow with an expectant look. Chet looked at her a little confused.

"What?

"Don't know. Just kind of figured you'd say something like Sorry, I'm married."

"Guess if I was to be honest, I'd have to say that the thought of that doesn't bother me. You see, I happen to know that my wife has been involved in a bit of an affair herself. And I guess I'm ok with that. But, my main problem is as I previously indicated. I just don't feel like I could be with her, or, well, anyone. Not with Maddie being out there somewhere. I just don't think it would be very pleasurable." Aimee smiled and looked at him with admiration.

"You are very honest. I like that."

"Well, I guess it's nice to be liked. Say, did Cal ever call or text you since Frank and Fenton were here?"

"She did. But it was just a hello, how is it going kind of chat. Why?"

"Eh, not sure. I just was curious if Frank had stirred the pot. That night they came here, I could tell he suspected more was going on here than actually was." Aimee giggled.

"Oh, when you answered the door in your shorts and I was wearing your shirt?" He nodded and grinned.

"Well, you have to admit, that did look a bit incriminating. And while Frank is a good friend to me, I still kind of feel he would not hesitate if he could make points with Cal." Aimee rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, if he's thinking about working his way back with her, he has a lot of work to do. Callie has never told me anything that would suggest she yearns for him in any way. Honestly, she just doesn't mention him much."

"I wouldn't expect her to. Back in the day when she parted ways with him, it wasn't exactly the warmest of circumstances. He had taken up with my old girlfriend, who later became his wife. I took up with Callie a day later. And then later on down the line, the shit hit the fan for both Frank and I when it came to our love lives. Then the night Maddie was taken, Cal and I reunited. Obviously, before we were aware she had been taken." Aimee looked at him and smirked.

"Ha! I knew she would end up in the sack with you when she said she wanted to go along on a parent's night with Maddie." Chet shrugged.

"Wasn't really a plan or anything if that makes a difference. Just kind of evolved as the evening wore on." Aimee shrugged.

"I'm not worried about it. I guess it was a relief for you though. I mean being able to reconnect." Chet looked thoughtful as he stared into space a moment.

"I thought it was. But honestly, I am not all that sure. Like I said, with all this happening, my relationship status is not really a focus or concern. I thought maybe Cal would talk to me more as all this plays out. But, I guess we are both dealing with it in our own way."

"More than likely. I suppose she has Iola there to help support her during this time. She may take more comfort in that relationship." Chet gave a sad smile and grunted.

"Probably far less complicated a relationship than the one she has with either of us." Aimee shot him a sideways glance and wry smile.

"Not exactly flattering, is it?" Chet briefly shrugged.

"Nope. But, what can you do? You can't force that kind of thing. Either happens or it doesn't. I don't chase people. I don't try to make them be in love with me. I don't want to delude myself." He glanced back at her. "How's that for brutal honesty?"

"Pretty straight forward." Chet stretched his arms out and gave a long yawn. "Guess it's once again time to check the computer. I'm sure there are a few more gross webcam invites to delete." Aimee rolled her eyes in disgust at the thought.

"Yeah. I just wish we could throw a net over the whole lot of them. Just depresses the Hell out of me thinking about all those kids. Either with being taken and held somewhere. Or they have horrible parents that make them do disgusting things!" Chet nodded slowly.

"Just doesn't seem right. How some people get dealt a bad hand." His sobering tone resonated through the empty room. He slowly shifted his legs over the side of the bed.

A few minutes later he was tapping on his laptop keyboard to wake it up. He was not particularly enthused with this new habit. Logging in to the perv site as he preferred to call it. Checking for new messages several times a day. Aimee chose to lay in bed and page through her phone. As boring as that was, at least she didn't have to put her eyes on photos of children being abused.

Chet brought up the window on the perv site and went into the message tab. He refreshed the page, and sure enough two new messages were waiting in the inbox.

"Let's see what we have tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Message from some guy who calls himself Easy Rider" Aimee rolled her eyes as she listened. "Well, he can hook us up on a live feed with twin eleven-year-old sisters. I'd say that's a definite delete. Goodbye, Easy Rider. May you rot in Hell." Chet muttered. "And next up, a message from someone called S357, at least your ID isn't perverted sounding..." Chet fell quiet. A moment later Aimee glanced over at him.

"What's up? Mr. 357 offer us video of triplets?" She asked dismissively. Chet shook his head.

"Well...no." Aimee pivoted out of bed and leaned towards the computer screen. Chet pointed to the text field. There were simply the words: I HAVE WHAT YOU NEED. REPLY WITH TEXTABLE NUMBER.

"What do you think?" Aimee asked with a perplexed expression. "Troll?" Chet shrugged.

"Only one way to find out." he said hitting the reply button. "Luckily we have a burner phone for just such an occasion." He proceeded to type in the number of the spare disposable phone he had. He glanced up to Aimee nervously. She nodded. He hit the send button. He inhaled slowly through his nose and looked up to her. "Guess we shall see what happens."

"Should we contact Fenton?" Aimee asked a bit nervously. Chet thought a moment and shook his head.

"Not yet. We don't know anything just yet. This person may just be a troll as you speculated. Or maybe just wants to communicate with us to try to push webcam crap off on us and thinks if they text us we will be more receptive. I honestly don't know."

"Yeah, you're probably right. No point in setting any alarm off just yet."

Chet reached into his bag and pulled out the burner phone and made sure it was fully charged. Upon confirming the battery had power and the volume was up, he placed it on the table. The pair exchanged glances.

"Kind of makes me nervous now. The not knowing." Aimee said uneasily.

"Time will tell. Order some pizza. Might be a long evening." Aimee couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Gas station pizza again. Life being undercover. I never thought it would happen to me." Chet grunted as he twisted the cap off a bottled water.

"Could be worse. You might be over at that fancy place where Cal and Iola are staying. Going through the long list of pervs that Fenton had sent over. But at least you'd get some nice food. Eating room service, a nice bottle of wine. Maybe end the night with one of those all chick threesomes." Aimee made a face and gave Chet a mock shove.

"Oh, please! I'll have you know that after that first night in Atlantic City, there were no more all chick threesomes as you put it. I slept with Cal and Iola on completely separate occasions after that." Chet smiled and shook his head.

"Didn't know Iola was living life dangerously. Joe was always irritated enough knowing she and Cal had something going on the side. Can't imagine how he dealt with her branching out when you moved to town." Aimee returned an irritated look.

"Well, the more predictable guy in you comes out a little, I see." She said in a disapproving tone. "Believe it or not, I have had just two occasions since moving to Bayport where I was with your sister. Once about 7 months ago, and the other last week. And as you might recall, Iola was feeling pretty low last week. Those occasions were just two lonely people distracting the other. Kind of like when you get a lap dance from a babysitter." Chet closed his eyes and nodded.

"touché. I am sorry. That was crass of me." Aimee nodded her agreement.

"Yes, it pretty much was. I am sure a lot of people who got Joe's version of things a year back probably thought I was Cal and Iola's little play toy. That I probably hooked up with Callie because of her money. There are a lot of false stories. A lot of people don't seem to understand that Cal and I had this connection. We had something that seemed pretty special." Chet raised an eyebrow.

"Had?"

"What?" A look of confusion painted on her face. Chet gave a casual shrug.

"Nothing, you just said had and seemed. You used past tense." Aimee's eyes shifted back and forth. She hadn't really realized she had said it that way.

"Well, maybe I misspoke. You know what I mean." Chet gave a slight nod.

"Maybe." Aimee shifted her view abruptly and she retrieved her phone off the bed

"Sorry, I don't want to argue or anything. I'm going to order our dinner." Chet saw she was clearly flustered and chose not to press it.

"Ok, sounds good. Thank you."

About an hour later they had eaten and were sitting at the table playing cards. They had each consumed a couple Corona Extras. Both kept looking down at the burner phone periodically. Expecting it to buzz at any moment.

"We may be waiting a while." Chet mused as he tossed a card down. Aimee took a long swig of her beer, and nodded.

"I've got the time. I just hope this wasn't some guy yanking our chain." Chet nodded as he looked at his cards, pondering.

"Well, hopefully they are real and contact us. Not sure I want to keep a steady diet of cold pizza. Not to mention that mattress sucks. But there have been perks." Aimee picked up a card and glanced up.

"Oh? What perks could this room offer a guy who probably has a beautiful view from his Long Island king size bed?"

"Well..." Chet tilted his head as he arranged his hand of cards. "The last couple nights I've spent here on that rotten mattress have been some of the nicest I've spent."

"Oh? Do tell about how you managed that." Chet looked across the table at Aimee and smiled.

"Maybe I had this incredibly sweet, smart and beautiful woman lying next to me. Maybe she made those nights bearable. Without her, I would no doubt be screaming into the night. Bawling my eyes out, begging to the good lord to help return my child. Maybe I have felt a warmth and compassion that I didn't know existed in my other bed. And maybe I have discovered, even if it is only to be for a short time, that I don't feel so empty." Aimee looked a bit choked up from his statement. She set her cards down and got up from the table and walked over. Chet glanced up at her for a moment. Her warm smile and expectant look prompted him to get up himself. She wrapped her arms around him and Chet smiled and returned the embrace.

"You know, I am just blown away by you. You are so very unlike any guy I've ever encountered. And if I may say, beyond that being a most wonderful compliment. That I too, also feel much less empty. She ran her hands along his upper arms while he continued to hold her waist.

They stood in silence for some time.

Both their minds raced as their eyes locked. Without any consideration for being rational, or what made sense, they found themselves moving closer. Aimee tilted her head as their heads came closer together. Their eyes closed. When it seemed like just seconds away from their lips meeting...

BUZZ...BUZZ...BUZZ...

Their eyes both opened instantly and immediately shifted to the phone on the table.

BUZZ...BUZZ...BUZZ...

The follow up alert sounded

"Guess we better, uhm, check that out." Chet said calmly. Which was a miracle in itself given the amount of adrenaline that was coursing through his system. Aimee's expression of desire melted back to apprehension as she looked back down at the phone.

"Yeah... guess so." Her disappointment evident.

Chet and Aimee slowly sat down next to each other at the table. Chet picked up the phone.

"Well, here goes nothing." He said activating the screen. They both looked down. The text was brief.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

"Let the games begin." Chet said and began typing.

'WALTER & BRANDY' he typed. They waited. But not long. -BUZZ-

'ARE YOU COPS, FEDS OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT?' Chet grunted

"What is this, a terms disclosure? If we just say nope, he will trust us?"

"Not likely." Aimee muttered. "Probably thinks he can't be entrapped this way. Not sure how stupid he is." Chet shrugged and nodded.

'NO WE ARE NOT' he typed.

"Definitely seems the paranoid type." Chet commented. -BUZZ- They looked back down.

'ARE YOU SECURING PRODUCTS FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE?' Chet glanced at Aimee.

"What do you think? Go with what Fenton said? Business?" Aimee looked hesitant.

"Not sure. It might be a trick question." Chet nodded.

"True." He started typing.

'BOTH' he entered.

"Hope that was the right answer." Chet muttered. -BUZZ-

'HOW MANY UNITS ARE YOU NEEDING?' Chet rolled his eyes.

"Units? Disgusting isn't it? Just like buying appliances."

'24-36. MOST FOR EXPORT. WHAT IS YOUR RATE?' he entered.

"Most?" Aimee questioned. Chet nodded.

"Got to make him think we are keeping some for us."

"That's right." -BUZZ-

'THAT QUANTITY IS POSSIBLE. RATE VARIES $35K - $150K NO DISCOUNTS FOR MULTIPLE UNITS.'

'WHAT DETERMINES RATE? DO YOU HAVE A CATALOG?' Chet typed. He glanced at Aimee tensely.

"I'm just winging this." Aimee ran her hand along his back.

"You're doing fine." -BUZZ-

'RATE DEPENDENT ON PRESENTATION AND PURITY OF PRODUCT. $35K FOR WELL EXPERIENCED UNREMARKABLE. $150K FOR WELL DEVELOPED PPFV.'

"Well experienced unremarkable?" Chet repeated. Aimee smirked.

"Maybe plain Jane, flat chested girls who have been passed around." Chet sighed.

"Guess that makes a sickening degree of sense." He started typing.

'THIS IS ACCEPTABLE IF PRODUCT IS AS REPRESENTED. DO YOU HAVE A CATALOG?'

They waited a few minutes before the phone went off again. -BUZZ-

'FULL CATALOG NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL IN PERSON VERIFICATION AND CASH DEPOSIT MADE.' Chet sighed.

"Wonder if this is just a shake down." He mused.

"Shake down?" Aimee repeated. Chet nodded.

"Like promises us the world. Meets long enough to take our cash and leaves us hanging." Aimee frowned.

"Never thought of that. But makes sense. I better posture a bit."

'I NEED A SAMPLE FROM CATALOG AT THE VERY LEAST. CONNECTED TO US AS THE PERSPECTIVE BUYERS. THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT MEETING AND OUR OWN VERIFICATION.' He hit send.

"We have to put the pressure on them to put up or shut up. Otherwise we may be dealing with a shake down artist." Aimee nodded pensively. Looking at the phone in anticipation. Five minutes later the phone buzzed.

'STAY BY YOUR PHONE. SUPPLIER IS SECURING SAMPLE NOW AND WILL FORWARD TO ME. COMING SOON. IF ACCEPTABLE YOU WOULD NEED TO MEET IN VA TO SCREEN AND MAKE DEPOSIT.'

Chet set the phone down and turned to Aimee.

"I guess we will see what they are up to soon." Aimee placed her hand on his and nodded. She knew Chet was nervous. She was too.

The minutes ticket by slowly. A series of thoughts ran through their minds as they pondered what the next move would be. Another 35 minutes wait and the phone buzzed again, almost sending them both jumping from their seats. Chet took a deep breath and picked the phone up. He activated the screen which indicated a photo file was waiting. He glanced quickly to Aimee, then opened the message.

The photo appeared. Chet and Aimee both looked wide eyed when they first viewed it. The picture of a young girl, perhaps 13 or 14. She had golden hair, wire rimmed glasses and small chest. She held up a hand printed sign made from a white strip of cardboard. The sign had today's date scribbled on it, as well as the names: Walter and Brandy.

A cold sweat came over them both. While the photo was not of Maddie, it still proved that the person on the other end of the phone was not playing games. Chet thought quickly. Something about the photo stuck out to him. He looked over to Aimee.

"Does she look familiar to you?" Aimee had already reached for the backpack that held photos of all known kidnap victims. She pulled out a manila folder and opened it. With nervous hands she started placing copies of the victims missing posters on the table one at a time. After placing the sixth one down Aimee's eyes widened when she looked at the next poster. She eagerly grabbed it and slammed it on the table.

"Bingo!" She exclaimed. Chet immediately looked down. The poster showed the same girl that was in the text!

"Rhiannon Willow Stevens. Aged 14. From Greensboro North Carolina! We have our connection, baby!" She said putting an arm around Chet.

"My God! We do at that!" he said, daring to feel a bit of hope that his daughter was alive for sure. The kidnapper was indeed a trafficker! He exhaled slowly and picked up the phone. He pondered what to say.

'VERY NICE INDEED. WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO VIEW FULL CATALOG?' Chet was really wanting to see the other girls.

"I really hope the screening process isn't too difficult." he said nervously.

-BUZZ- Chet swallowed hard and picked up the phone.

'YOU WOULD NEED TO COME IN PERSON TO ANY OF THESE TOWNS...SILER, WHITE HALL OR MARLBORO. SCREENING IS MEETING YOU TO BE SURE YOU ARE NOT L.E. IF YOU ARE, COUNT YOURSELVES AS DEAD. DEPOSIT WILL BE 10,000 CASH + HALF OF YOUR OFFERED 25K PREMIUM. ONE UNIT SOLD IN FIRST TRANSACTION. 25,000 PAYABLE AT PICKUP + SECOND HALF OF PREMIUM. IF WE ARE BOTH SATISFIED, NEXT TRANSACTION WILL BE FOR A MINIMUM OF 6 UNITS AND APPROPRIATE DEPOSIT.'

Chet looked at Aimee.

"What do you think?"

"Probably best to contact Fenton." Chet nodded.

"Got to agree. We can't have a misstep. Though I better confirm my willingness."

'AGREED. ADVISE WHEN AND WHERE TO MEET IN MARLBORO.'

Aimee reached over and grabbed Chet's regular phone and handed it to him.

"Here you go, sweetie." She offered with a smile. Chet smiled back and nervously accepted it. "Chin up." she rubbed his arm affectionately.

"Thank you." He said and looked down at his phone. He put in a text to Fenton and advised him of the recent progress.

An hour later Chet, along with Fenton's help via text had finalized a meeting where Chet and Aimee would go the following night to the nearby town of Marlboro Virginia. They were to go to the Sands Motel and go to room 11. At which point they would be contacted. Aimee had written down a list of things while the plan was laid out.

"Ok, so if I got this all down right, Fenton suggests the following: Keep backup guns in the car. Do not take our regular phones, just burner phones. Do not obviously carry any ID on our person or in the car. Stash our computers, IDs and all records of the case in a unlikely hiding spot like the old duct work of this room. Do not use names if asked who we are brokering to. Be prepared to use terms that might otherwise disgust us. To be prepared for unusual requests to prove we are not law enforcement. To give an impression we live a lifestyle that would be normal for someone with a deviant sexual behavior? That his nice way to say we need to come off as disgusting and lecherous?" Chet nodded.

"Pretty much. And let's not forget that Fenton and Frank will be conducting surveillance. He wants to take photos and see if he can get an ID on whoever it is that we meet."

"So, they aren't going to follow them?" Aimee asked looking a bit perplexed.

"No. This is likely just a broker or agent who handles screening or transfers. In fact, Fenton said that it's unlikely they even know the location of the kidnapper as quite often they meet in neutral locations to protect each other's privacy. So, following this person wouldn't really get us a location for where the girls are kept. And if they get spooked, it could nix the whole plan."

"Ah, that makes sense then." Chet put his hand on her face and smiled.

"We got us a solid lead, sweetness. You think you will be ok and ready for this?" Aimee nodded.

"Yeah. I want to do anything I can if it helps the chances of us finding Maddie."

"I thank you for that." Aimee wrapped her arms around him.

"Anything I can do, just name it. Let's get some rest. Tomorrow will be the biggest day yet." Chet nodded nervously.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's hit the bed."


Fenton sat on the sofa in Callie and Iola's suite looking down at the photo Chet had forwarded. The four were conferring on the best way to approach the new lead. Fenton, had of course felt obligated to tell Callie the news. that Chet had essentially made contact with the handler who likely represents the kidnapper.

"So, this is definitely a strong indicator that this guy is indeed a trafficker?" Iola inquired. Fenton nodded.

"Based on the fact that Rhiannon Stevens kidnapping profiled with the same similarities as Maddie's. But let us not draw absolutes." Callie smiled back at him.

"I know you are just giving out the usual caveats, Fenton. But, as far as I'm concerned this is solid news. We have something to work with and with this conformation we are now more certain than ever that this ring is operating hereabouts." Fenton took a deep breath. He didn't mean to knock Callie off her high.

"It's a step, my dear. But it doesn't mean Maddie is necessarily being kept in the immediate area. It more suggests that the broker or handler is. And it would also correlate to Heather Norton showing up here. At this point we do not know if the broker took Heather to her fate in the woods. Or if the kidnapper himself knows the area and placed her here. But it does lend to developing some theories for sure. We just need more data to fill in the blanks."

"I know what you're saying. I'm just going to be the optimist here."

"Fair enough." Fenton countered. "Iola, how goes the analysis on the records you two have been working on?"

"Well, we started out with over 1200 and are down to about 300. Of course it would be sweet if you can get an ID on the handler tomorrow. Might wipe away a lot of work to be done if you can pull it off."

"Well, it is my hope. Let's see what happens tomorrow." Frank looked up with a questioning expression.

"You know, dad. We do have a positive ID on Rhiannon Stevens. Are we not obligated to convey that data to authorities in Greensboro?" Fenton shook his head.

"Not if the publicity, even at law enforcement level could jeopardize this investigation. We do not have a location. We just have a photo. As much as I'd love to contact the Stevens family and at least advise them that their daughter is still alive, the information could reach the wrong party and this whole game would be over." Frank nodded.

"Well, I see the point. Even if it is not entirely by the book." Callie shook her head.

"Frank, quit thinking like a cop. While an official member of law enforcement is indeed obligated, those who operate with a private ticket have some discretion."

"Alright, point taken. No need to raise a fuss." Fenton looked at Iola and Callie.

"You two need to keep this totally under wraps as well. This can't go any further." He looked down at his watch. "Well, I know it's time for bed as far as I'm concerned. I just knew the news was important. So, until tomorrow I bid you goodnight." Frank got up as well and offered the girls a casual wave.

"Callie, Iola, will see you in the morning. Night all."

"Goodnight, Fenton, Frank." Callie said with more hope in her voice than she had had for the last week. "See you all in the morning."