Chapter 15
"Okay, Cap. We're on our way over right now. You can tell Maryann that we'll be there in about 10 minutes," Bobby told the Fire Captain, hanging up the phone.
"Well?" Melanie asked him.
"Maryann from next door to the firehouse is watching Joey in case the company has to go to a job. I told the Captain that we'd be there in about 10 minutes so let's hit the road," Bobby told her.
"Thank God they found them. Did Jimmy say everyone is okay?" Melanie asked him, afraid of what Tony might do to them. After all, she experienced it first-hand.
"I didn't get that far. Bosco and Faith were waiting to give them a ride over to the gas station," Bobby told her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bosco? What's going on?" Jimmy asked as he noticed the look on his friend's face. He tried not to sound worried because he didn't want to worry Charlie.
"Jimmy. C'mon over here for a minute. Faith will take care of Charlie - get her an ice cream," Bosco said, smiling down at the little girl.
Faith brought Charlie over to pick out what kind she wanted from the freezer section of the store and Jimmy walked over to the opposite end of the store with Bosco.
"I don't like the sounds of this Bos," Jimmy said, trying to make eye contact with him.
Bosco looked around, sort of like he was looking for something. He was looking for the words to break the news to his friend.
"Jimmy. There's a problem," he began. Jimmy started to say something, but Bosco held his hand up and continued on. "Kim isn't in the room that Charlie said she was in. They checked all the rooms of the motel and she isn't in any of them," Bosco explained, watching the look on Jimmy's face grow more worried.
"What the hell are you talking about, Bosco?" Jimmy said, not understanding what he was saying.
"I'm saying that somehow, in the time between Charlie making it to the store and the police being called, Tony managed to disappear - with Kim," he finished with a sorrowful look on his face.
Jimmy ran a hand through his hair, unable to believe that this could get any worse. He looked across the store to his daughter who was intently licking a Popsicle as it dripped down the front of her shirt. At least SHE was safe.
"So, what do we do now?" Jimmy asked Bosco who had put a hand on his shoulder.
"The guys of the 6-5 are canvassing the neighboring rooms and area to see if anyone saw anything," Bosco explained the procedure to him. "They're good guys here, Jimmy. I know most of them and they know that you're family. They're gonna turn over every stone until they find them," he said trying to reassure himself and Jimmy at the same time.
"Did the policeman bring Mommy over here yet?" asked Charlie, suddenly at Jimmy's side.
"Not yet, honey. They're working on it though," he tried to explain. "Aunt Mel, Uncle Bobby and Joey will be here in a few minutes and they're gonna take you home with them until I can bring Mommy home," Jimmy said, bending down to one knee so that he was eye-level with her.
"I want to wait here for Mommy," Charlie said indignantly.
"I know, honey, but it may be a little while and you need to go home and have a nice warm bath and some dinner. You can help Aunt Mel and Uncle Bobby take care of Abby and R.J.," he suggested with a smile.
She smiled at the thought of taking care of her new cousin and seemed happy with that arrangement. Jimmy let out a sigh of relief.
"Jimmy," Bosco said quietly to him. "I told the guys from 6-5 that I'd talk to Charlie to see if I can get any information that could be helpful in finding them. I figured she wouldn't be as shy with me," Bosco said.
Jimmy chuckled slightly, "Charlie? Shy? You're kidding, right?" He nodded for Bosco to go ahead.
Bosco sat down on the floor and motioned for Charlie to join him. She did and in the process got sticky Popsicle all over Bosco's sleeve. He winced slightly but shrugged it off. "Charlie, Daddy's gonna go talk to Officer Faith for a minute and you can stay with me, okay?"
"Okay," she replied.
"Great. And then you and me can talk a little bit too. Would that be okay?" he asked her.
"Okay, Officer Bosco," she replied, looking up at her father.
"Be right back, honey," Jimmy said, walking away and over to Faith.
"So, Charlie. How are you doing? You didn't get hurt or anything, did you?" Bosco asked her, easing into the conversation. She shook her head no. "Well, that's good to hear," he said. "Can you tell me anything about what kind of car Tony was driving? You know, the color of it or if there was any dents or anything that you noticed?" he gently prodded.
"It was dark brown," she said. "And it smelled like cigarettes inside," she said making a disgusted face. "Mommy and Daddy said that smoking is yucky and can make you really sick," she informed him.
"That's right. It can. So, I don't ever want you to even try it, okay?" he confirmed and Charlie nodded.
"So, what else can you tell me? Did Tony mention anything about where he might take you after you left this place?" he asked.
"No, he just yelled at Mommy. He was pretty mad. He said that Mommy is the reason he went to jail and couldn't see Abby anymore," Charlie said. "But, my Mommy wouldn't do that," she insisted.
"Nope, she wouldn't. Not unless the person was a very bad person that SHOULD be in jail," Bosco agreed with her. "So, nothing more you can tell me about the car, huh?" he asked again.
"Nope, but it sure was long. And it was a lighter color brown on the roof," she added.
"Okay, thanks for talking to me, Charlie. Look, I think I see your Uncle Bobby and Aunt Mel coming," Bosco said, pointing in the direction of the door.
Charlie jumped up and ran over to her Aunt and Uncle and actually got a hug from Joey. Bosco stood up and walked over to where Jimmy and Faith were standing.
"Anything?" Faith asked.
"A little. She said it was a long, brown car with a light brown roof, that smelled like cigarettes inside," Bosco recited back to them. Bobby came over and asked what was going on. Bosco and Jimmy explained it to him.
"Unbelievable!" Bobby said. "So, what now?"
"Now we get out there and look for a long brown car with a light brown roof, that smells like cigarettes," Bosco said as the clerk walked by.
"Did you say a brown car with a tan roof?" asked the clerk, stopping when he heard the officers talking.
"Yeah," Faith said. "Do you know anything about it?"
"Well, after the little girl came walking in and told me that she needed the paramedics because someone took her and her Mom, I walked over to the door to lock it so no one could come in if they were still looking for the girl," he explained.
"As I was locking the door, I remember seeing a large, dark-colored car with a light-colored roof pull out of the motel lot. It looked like an older model Cadillac or something. I saw the first couple letters on the plate," he said, looking at everyone that was staring at him.
"What were the numbers you saw and where were they in the plate number - you know, beginning, middle or end?" Bosco asked slightly excited.
"Um, let's see," said the clerk as he closed his eyes trying to mentally picture the license plate.
"The letters were at the front of the plate. It was a B and an F," he said. "And, I think there might have been an O or a 0 at the end of the plate. Does that help at all?" asked the clerk hopefully.
"Yeah, it helps a lot," Bosco said, slapping the clerk on the back as he went over to the Commander to relay the information.
"Okay, Cap. We're on our way over right now. You can tell Maryann that we'll be there in about 10 minutes," Bobby told the Fire Captain, hanging up the phone.
"Well?" Melanie asked him.
"Maryann from next door to the firehouse is watching Joey in case the company has to go to a job. I told the Captain that we'd be there in about 10 minutes so let's hit the road," Bobby told her.
"Thank God they found them. Did Jimmy say everyone is okay?" Melanie asked him, afraid of what Tony might do to them. After all, she experienced it first-hand.
"I didn't get that far. Bosco and Faith were waiting to give them a ride over to the gas station," Bobby told her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bosco? What's going on?" Jimmy asked as he noticed the look on his friend's face. He tried not to sound worried because he didn't want to worry Charlie.
"Jimmy. C'mon over here for a minute. Faith will take care of Charlie - get her an ice cream," Bosco said, smiling down at the little girl.
Faith brought Charlie over to pick out what kind she wanted from the freezer section of the store and Jimmy walked over to the opposite end of the store with Bosco.
"I don't like the sounds of this Bos," Jimmy said, trying to make eye contact with him.
Bosco looked around, sort of like he was looking for something. He was looking for the words to break the news to his friend.
"Jimmy. There's a problem," he began. Jimmy started to say something, but Bosco held his hand up and continued on. "Kim isn't in the room that Charlie said she was in. They checked all the rooms of the motel and she isn't in any of them," Bosco explained, watching the look on Jimmy's face grow more worried.
"What the hell are you talking about, Bosco?" Jimmy said, not understanding what he was saying.
"I'm saying that somehow, in the time between Charlie making it to the store and the police being called, Tony managed to disappear - with Kim," he finished with a sorrowful look on his face.
Jimmy ran a hand through his hair, unable to believe that this could get any worse. He looked across the store to his daughter who was intently licking a Popsicle as it dripped down the front of her shirt. At least SHE was safe.
"So, what do we do now?" Jimmy asked Bosco who had put a hand on his shoulder.
"The guys of the 6-5 are canvassing the neighboring rooms and area to see if anyone saw anything," Bosco explained the procedure to him. "They're good guys here, Jimmy. I know most of them and they know that you're family. They're gonna turn over every stone until they find them," he said trying to reassure himself and Jimmy at the same time.
"Did the policeman bring Mommy over here yet?" asked Charlie, suddenly at Jimmy's side.
"Not yet, honey. They're working on it though," he tried to explain. "Aunt Mel, Uncle Bobby and Joey will be here in a few minutes and they're gonna take you home with them until I can bring Mommy home," Jimmy said, bending down to one knee so that he was eye-level with her.
"I want to wait here for Mommy," Charlie said indignantly.
"I know, honey, but it may be a little while and you need to go home and have a nice warm bath and some dinner. You can help Aunt Mel and Uncle Bobby take care of Abby and R.J.," he suggested with a smile.
She smiled at the thought of taking care of her new cousin and seemed happy with that arrangement. Jimmy let out a sigh of relief.
"Jimmy," Bosco said quietly to him. "I told the guys from 6-5 that I'd talk to Charlie to see if I can get any information that could be helpful in finding them. I figured she wouldn't be as shy with me," Bosco said.
Jimmy chuckled slightly, "Charlie? Shy? You're kidding, right?" He nodded for Bosco to go ahead.
Bosco sat down on the floor and motioned for Charlie to join him. She did and in the process got sticky Popsicle all over Bosco's sleeve. He winced slightly but shrugged it off. "Charlie, Daddy's gonna go talk to Officer Faith for a minute and you can stay with me, okay?"
"Okay," she replied.
"Great. And then you and me can talk a little bit too. Would that be okay?" he asked her.
"Okay, Officer Bosco," she replied, looking up at her father.
"Be right back, honey," Jimmy said, walking away and over to Faith.
"So, Charlie. How are you doing? You didn't get hurt or anything, did you?" Bosco asked her, easing into the conversation. She shook her head no. "Well, that's good to hear," he said. "Can you tell me anything about what kind of car Tony was driving? You know, the color of it or if there was any dents or anything that you noticed?" he gently prodded.
"It was dark brown," she said. "And it smelled like cigarettes inside," she said making a disgusted face. "Mommy and Daddy said that smoking is yucky and can make you really sick," she informed him.
"That's right. It can. So, I don't ever want you to even try it, okay?" he confirmed and Charlie nodded.
"So, what else can you tell me? Did Tony mention anything about where he might take you after you left this place?" he asked.
"No, he just yelled at Mommy. He was pretty mad. He said that Mommy is the reason he went to jail and couldn't see Abby anymore," Charlie said. "But, my Mommy wouldn't do that," she insisted.
"Nope, she wouldn't. Not unless the person was a very bad person that SHOULD be in jail," Bosco agreed with her. "So, nothing more you can tell me about the car, huh?" he asked again.
"Nope, but it sure was long. And it was a lighter color brown on the roof," she added.
"Okay, thanks for talking to me, Charlie. Look, I think I see your Uncle Bobby and Aunt Mel coming," Bosco said, pointing in the direction of the door.
Charlie jumped up and ran over to her Aunt and Uncle and actually got a hug from Joey. Bosco stood up and walked over to where Jimmy and Faith were standing.
"Anything?" Faith asked.
"A little. She said it was a long, brown car with a light brown roof, that smelled like cigarettes inside," Bosco recited back to them. Bobby came over and asked what was going on. Bosco and Jimmy explained it to him.
"Unbelievable!" Bobby said. "So, what now?"
"Now we get out there and look for a long brown car with a light brown roof, that smells like cigarettes," Bosco said as the clerk walked by.
"Did you say a brown car with a tan roof?" asked the clerk, stopping when he heard the officers talking.
"Yeah," Faith said. "Do you know anything about it?"
"Well, after the little girl came walking in and told me that she needed the paramedics because someone took her and her Mom, I walked over to the door to lock it so no one could come in if they were still looking for the girl," he explained.
"As I was locking the door, I remember seeing a large, dark-colored car with a light-colored roof pull out of the motel lot. It looked like an older model Cadillac or something. I saw the first couple letters on the plate," he said, looking at everyone that was staring at him.
"What were the numbers you saw and where were they in the plate number - you know, beginning, middle or end?" Bosco asked slightly excited.
"Um, let's see," said the clerk as he closed his eyes trying to mentally picture the license plate.
"The letters were at the front of the plate. It was a B and an F," he said. "And, I think there might have been an O or a 0 at the end of the plate. Does that help at all?" asked the clerk hopefully.
"Yeah, it helps a lot," Bosco said, slapping the clerk on the back as he went over to the Commander to relay the information.