Chapter 8

Natalie started to shake, she tried to run but he grabbed her, he was a big man. Over six foot and he was strong.

"Leave me alone.. My brother's on his way, " she said and the man grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth and dragged her out of the house.

Rex arrived at Nat's house and saw the front door wide open, he immediately took out his cell phone to call Bo as he searched the house, and he knew something was wrong.

John got a call from Bo and he rushed over to her house, blaming himself for leaving her, leaving her alone.

John walked into the house and he saw who he believed must have been Rex. He introduced himself and started canvassing the house looking for clues, for anything, anything to help him find her, find his angel. John walked around her house finding nothing when he walked up the stairs to her bedroom, he looked around and finally caught something out of the corner of his eye, it was the doll, the doll from earlier, it was on her made bed and when he got a closer look at it, it had writing on it, It said forever my Natty doll, John felt as if he was going to lose it, he had a sudden familiar feeling of loss come upon him but he brushed it away, he needed to be at his best, he needed to find her and quick, he needed to figure out what this was all about, he looked at the doll again and knew by it's writings this wasn't random, this man who ever he was wanted Natalie and only Natalie. John put his gloves on and took the doll down stairs to give it to one of the officers. As John was coming down the stairs he noticed some people he didn't know with Roxy and Rex, he assumed it was Natalie's family, he walked passed them with the doll and when Roxy saw him with the doll she got nervous, very nervous.

"Hey, man whatcha doin with that doll, where'd ya find it?" Roxy asked as she approached John

"You know something about this doll?" John asked Roxy

"Yeah, i know that doll, it was Natty's when she was little, give me it, I gotta get rid of it" Roxy said upset as she grabbed for it; john pulled it back before she got her prints on it.

"Roxy, I need to know everything about the doll? Everything" John told her and she started to explain.

" I wasn't much of a mother Okay, I mean.. I loved her but booze and casino's that came first,... and i ain't real proud of it, and maybe I should have taken better care of her but..."

"The doll Roxy, the Doll!" John yelled

"I had this boyfriend see, he was always nice to Natty, he always went out of his way to be nice to her, he bought her stuff, he was always watching her, I didn't think anything of it." Roxy explained as she saw John start to get anxious

"Did he buy her the doll?" John asked

"Yeah, he bought her the doll, bows, ribbons and so much more, he was always calling her his little Natty doll." Roxy said as Rex came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"What's his name? " John said and he saw her hesitate

"Roxy! What is his name?" John yelled as he went to her and grabbed her arms and shook her as if shaking the name out of her. John realized what he was doing when he looked at the tears in her eyes, and he let go of her and backed up a few feet.

"I don't know, but he went to jail" Roxy said with the tears on the verge of escaping.

"What did he go to jail for?" John asked still getting upset, upset cause he had seen cases like this, the scenario fit, it fit men who liked young girls, he saw Roxy struggling with the words and he knew what she was going to say but he needed for her to tell him. The cop in him needed to know all the facts, but on a personal level he didn't know how he wasn't going to kill this guy when he caught him, if it even was him, but his gut was telling him it was.

"Roxy what did he go to jail for!" John said getting impatient

"For trying to touch her, for trying to touch my Natty! ... Some cop and his son found her on the beach with him, the cops kid witnessed him trying and told his old man, they arrested him on the site, Natty never remembered it, but it can't be him he's in jail." Roxy said clearly shaken and Rex put his arms around her from behind.

John stopped for a minute, he heard her words, she said a cop, and his son saw it, saw Natalie about to be abused under the pier.

"Wait a minute, did it happen under the pier by the east end of the boardwalk?" John asked

"How'd ya know that?" Roxy said to John and John turned his back and went over by the window to try and remember. He was the son, the cops son, he remembered it, remembered it all, he was twelve, and it was right before his dad died. He had held her that day, she was only five, he and his dad were playing Frisbee on the beach and the Frisbee went under the pier, he went to get it and he saw her, a little girl with red hair and he saw a man attempting to touch her in a place he knew was wrong, that was when he screamed for his dad, his dad had the man arrested. It was all starting to make sense now, he had held her before, he had held her as a frightened little girl, that's why they fit, that's why it felt like it did, he had held her when she was a child, while they waited for the police to come.

John made a call on his cell phone to find out the man's name and if he was still in prison, he did all this while his heart was breaking, breaking for her, for her then, for her now, he needed to find her, he needed to hold her and make her feel safe again, make himself feel safe again.

A few minutes later John got all the information he needed about the man, his name was Louie and he had been in and out of prison for the last twenty years, he was just recently released this last time, about a week ago. John got information on where he lived but his gut told him there was something else, something else was nagging at him, he needed more information. He again turned to Roxy for it.

"Tell me everything you remember Roxy, every little detail, don't leave anything out." John told her as he and she took a seat in the kitchen away from everyone else

" I got it, his name was Louie"

"I already know that, his name was Louie Stokes and he's out on parole so it's more than likely he's got her, so help me figure out where he would take her" John said

"I just don't member much of that time," Roxy said and John decided to treat her like a criminal to pull the answers out of her.

"Was he ever alone with her? Did he take her places? Did she ever mention a special place he took her?" John almost choked on his words, just the thought of what this low life may have did to her was making him ill, just the thought of what this low life might be doing to her now caused his anger to flare up. He knew if he caught him and no one was around, he was dead; he'd kill him with his bare hands if he had to.

" No, that day on the beach, that was the first time he was alone with her."

"How can you be sure, sure that he was never alone with her, you were pretty much drunk all of the time weren't you?" John said it and he didn't mean for it to come out harsh, but the fact was if John and his dad hadn't been on that beach, on that day, Louie Stokes would have more than likely done something to Natalie, to a frightened five-year-old little girl.

"Roxy, think hard, is there anything you can remember?" John asked

" I don't know, all I remember is pizza," Roxy said and John moved closer to her

"What?" John asked

"Pizza he use to bring over pizza, lots and lots of pizza, he knew it was her favorite."

"Where did he use to get it from?" John asked knowing in his gut they were onto something, remembering the pizza that was sent to Rodi's.

" I think the place on the east end of the board walk over by the old ice cream shop"

" Alberto's?" John asked

" Ya, that's the one, that was where they were going that day, to pick up pizza" Roxy said and John ran for the door. He called the AC police to send a car over to the pizza shop to snoop around, he knew this was it, she had to be there, he needed for her to be there, if she wasn't than she was probably d.. dead. He fought back his feelings of loss again and continued on his way to find his angel.