Chapter 7
Toph, Will and their brother Jimmie had the rope, the bag, and a ladder. Their intention was to grab Jeremy after the family was asleep. They watched and waited. They had been at the house making notes of when and where everyone slept. It was a big house and had several bedrooms, a den, and a few other places where children might sleep. On the first floor was Aaron's office. Candy and Aaron were there discussing the trial and the claim of the Harmon family. The boys were in the den on the first floor down the hall and next to the garage door. Jason was at the back of the stairway that led up to the other rooms of the house. He was listening in on his mother and Mr. Stemple's conversation.
"Candy, I am not sure that it is a good idea for you to go back to your apartment. I can go with you tomorrow and help you pack up your things and bring you back here. I think the boys will be safe tomorrow and we can manage the things they would need for about a month until this is over!" Aaron said as he sat across the desk looking at Candy. He had looked at the picture of Candy Pruitt from the early days. She too had had auburn hair and was very pretty.
"If I wasn't married already…" He thought to himself and then dismissed the thought and waited for Candy to respond.
"Aaron, I would like to bring Jason with us. He will be a big help in gathering things for his brothers." She said as she sat across from Aaron.
"Good then it is settled. Tomorrow we will go to your place. Jeremy and Joshua can stay here they will have the girls to entertain them, and Sarah has already said that you are welcome to stay with us." They both smiled, Candy thanked Aaron and left the office to go check on the children. She would sleep on the pull out in the open area between the office and the den. Aaron checked the door to the garage and made sure it was locked. Then said good night. Jason had already gone back and acted like he had just come from the bathroom. He lay down next to Jeremy's sleeping bag and soon fell asleep. Joshua was sound asleep as well. First, she gave Joshua a kiss, then Jason and then as she was about to give Jeremy a kiss, she screamed!
Aaron and Sarah came running down the stairs. Jason stood up and Joshua woke up as well.
"Where is Jeremy!" Candy shouted, frantically searching the room. The lights were on, but there was no Jeremy to be found. They searched behind the couch, under the couch, behind the TV and around every part of the room. Aaron went to check around the office and everywhere else. Sarah asked:
"Candy, does Jeremy sleep walk?"
"No, he never has, usually he falls asleep quickly and doesn't wake up until morning!" Candy said looking around the corners to make sure she did not miss him. Jason was upset as well. He thought if he had only been in the room he would have known where Jeremy was.
"Mom, mom!" said Jason.
"What is it sweetie?" Candy looked at him.
"I am sorry, I was hiding under the stairs and listening to your conversation with Mr. Stemple. It is my fault he isn't here!" He started to cry. Candy put her arm around him to comfort him. Sarah had gone upstairs and screamed next. Aaron ran to her. He saw that the oldest girl, Julie who was 8 that summer, was also missing. Sarah was beside herself and had Jennifer, who was only 3 in her arms, holding her tightly until she cried.
"Sarah, what do you mean Julie is missing?" asked Aaron who looked in the nursery. Julie and Jennifer shared the room. The next child in the nursery would be the new baby boy. His name would also be Aaron, but it would be the middle name. His first name would be Samuel!
"The first thing to do is not to panic! We need to call the police; I am sure they will help us. The second is to have all the children in one room and Sarah, you, and Mrs. Walton can be next to the nursery." Aaron said this as he picked up the receiver and dialed the number for the police station. Jason had come upstairs with Joshua, and both stood there waiting to find out what they should do. Neither boy wanted to be separated from their mother. Especially since their little brother was missing.
"Mr. Stemple, sir?" Jason said and again he said:
"Mr. Stemple is there anything we can do to help?" Candy was surprised that her oldest would ask a stranger but then she realized that he had gone to find a lawyer to help them anyway.
"I am not sure Jason, but I think staying right here and helping your mom will be a good thing to do. The police might want to ask you a few questions thought and if you heard anything I think you should try to remember that." Aaron said as he put his finger to his lips to shush the boys and spoke to the police station. He hung up and said that the police would be there soon.
"Jason, Joshua, would you go downstairs and get your brother's jacket?" Aaron asked both boys to go down the stairs. They came running back up as soon as they had the jacket.
"Mom, Mr. Stemple, we found something!" said Joshua. Jason was carrying a piece of paper that he had found on the floor next to their sleeping bags. Aaron took the paper and looked at it. It was definitely not something he had in his home, but it was a prescription for medicine. This was something that he would show the police. The name was not on it, but the prescription number was. A knock on the door came and Sarah went to the door, but Aaron said that she and Mrs. Walton and the children should stay away from the door until he was sure who it was. He himself wasn't really sure but he did not want the women and children to be hurt.
"Hello, officers please come in." Aaron said as he stepped aside to let them in. They showed their badges, and gave their names:
"I am officer Jim Reed, and this is my partner, Pete. Did you say that two children are missing? Are they both yours? When was the last time you saw them?"
Candy was the first to answer and said that her youngest son Jeremy was missing and then Sarah said that her oldest daughter was missing. Then there were many questions and answers. The police officers called and since the children were under the age of 12, they had all cars looking for the children. The police left and said that a detective would be contacting them the next morning. Aaron thanked them and The ladies both went to sit in the nursery. Jason and Joshua did not want to go to sleep. They wanted to do something. Candy told them they had to go to sleep so they could help the next day. Sarah told Jennifer to lay down. Being three she fell asleep rather quickly. Jason and Joshua both sat up, Candy gave them some reading to do and soon they were sound asleep.
Jeremy wriggled inside the big cloth bag. Julie also was a bit wiggly but fell asleep soon after they had been placed in the car. Jeremy was afraid and could not fall asleep. He wanted to go home and be with his mom and brothers. He cried a little, but Julie had told him a little story to help him relax. She loved telling stories.
"Jeremy, it is okay, I will tell you a story about a fox who gets caught but gets away!" she had whispered to him. The tears in his eyes were big and wet. He looked at her and nodded okay. He was afraid to say anything because he was afraid that if he did, he would not be able to speak properly. Julie started her story:
"Okay, so once there was this fox, who was looking for something to eat. He saw a big juicy rabbit, or what he thought was a rabbit, he went over to where he saw the rabbit but as soon as he stepped close to smell it, a snap was heard, and he was inside a big box. He was a little confused at first then realized that he was trapped. Well, the trapper came to take his catch home so that he would have some fur to sell for the Rendezvous that summer. But when he got home, the fox in the box was put in the barn with all the other animals that had been captured." She stopped to see if he was asleep yet, but he was wide awake and he wasn't crying.
"Please tell me more!" Jeremy said.
"Okay, well, there was a little rabbit whose fur was just as white as could be. There was another fox, and also a few more animals who were sitting in large boxes. He kept thinking there must be a way out. He looked at the rabbit, it would have made a nice meal he thought, but then he thought again and said to himself 'I don't want to eat that rabbit under these circumstances. How can I get him to help us get out?' looked at the rabbit, and the rabbit looked at him. Then the rabbit said: 'Hello fox, If I help you to get out as well as me would you eat me or let me go?' Fox said: 'under these circumstances if we help each other, we owe each other a life!' The rabbit thought about it, then he made some noises to the other animals in the cages. They all agreed that they would help each other. So, the next day when the trapper came to kill them, it seemed that the barn was quiet. He didn't think much about it but all the same he wondered why they were not making animal sounds. He went to open one of the boxes and as soon as he did, all the animals who had found a way to get out of their boxes had decided to hide in the one box and attack the trapper. Well, they got away, and the trapper was no longer around. A year or two later, it was a very cold winter, and all the animals were hungry but when they got together, they remembered, so they found a way to help each other to eat. One of the animals had learned to forage for vegetables and had kept them hidden in a hole in the ground, the squirrels had lots of nuts to share and although some of the animals were meat eaters, they still lived on the vegetables and nuts until spring came." By the time Julie had finished Jeremy was sound asleep. The car they were in had reached a stopping point and the men were sleeping. So, Julie went to sleep as well.
