Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

Chapter Thirteen

Scarlett, Wade, and Ella sat around the table in the compartment eating supper while the twins sat on the floor. Scarlett gave Kenny everything she gave Gerry to eat. She had decided she was going to treat Kenny the same as Gerry until she knew differently.

As Kenny was eating his supper, he was mad. His father had lied to him about his mother and his brother. His mother was very much alive, and he already had a brother. He actually had two brothers and a sister. He was wondering what else his father had lied about.

Scarlett said, "When we get to San Francisco, we will have to get some fabric to make you some clothes. I was in such a hurry to catch our train, I forgot to go to your townhouse, Kenny, and get your clothes. Luckily, you and Gerry are the same size."

"I like green, blue, and yellow. I like red also, but Daddy doesn't let me wear red."

"I am happy with you wearing red. You can wear it until Daddy catches up with us."

"Great. Do you know of a good seamstress in San Francisco? Daddy has had a hard time keeping a good seamstress."

"I know one of the best. Me."

"You know how to sew."

"Yes, my mother taught me."

"Will you teach me?"

Scarlett started to say, 'Men don't sew' then she remembered that men did sew. They were called tailors. She said, "Yes, I will be happy to teach both you and Gerry."

Ella said, "Me too, Mama."

"Yes, you too, Sweetheart. Maybe, Wade, also."

Wade smiled at the statement. If Mama wanted him to learn to sew, he would learn to sew. She was so much better of a mother than she had been before Aunt Melly's death. Nowadays, she was truly a good mother.

Frank returned to Rhett's townhouse. Jonathan informed him that Mr. Butler was out. Frank said, "Will you tell me his son's name?"

"Yes, Kenny. I hope you find him. He really is a sweet little boy."

"Is there anything you think would be of importance to the investigation?"

"No, sir. Good evening."

Jonathan Higgins shut the door in Frank's face. There was a lot Jonathan could add to the investigation, but he valued his job too much to say anything.

Frank left the townhouse and headed towards 173 W. Desmond St. For all he knew Anna kidnapped Kenny and just hadn't gotten around to sending the ransom note.

Frank arrived at Anna's home, and he was thinking more strongly about her being involved in the kidnapping. The house was a shack. He could understand someone being driven to break the law. They just wanted some of that money. He knew he was a cynic, but it had served him well in his profession. Frank knocked on the door. Frank was not wearing a uniform, so he wasn't worried about frightening anyone. If possible, he would speak to Anna alone.

Eliza's husband, James Millard, answered the door. Frank said, "I need to talk to Miss Leonowens. Is she here?"

"Yep. Just a minute." James turned away from the door and yelled, "Anna." He turned back to Frank and said, "She will be right here."

Anna entered the foyer, and hesitantly while looking at Frank said, "Yes."

While looking at James, who was making no move to leave, Frank said, "Can you step outside?"

Hesitantly Anna said, "I would rather not. I don't know you."

"Frank Columbo. I am a policeman."

"I would rather talk right here with my brother-in-law to protect me."

"Very well. I am investigating the disappearance of Kenny Butler. I understand you were there were a strange woman took the boy."

"No matter what Mr. Butler says it wasn't my fault. She said she was his mother and their eyes matched. Then there was the twin."

Frank interrupted Anna to say, "Wait. Wait. I don't know what you are talking about. Mr. Butler is convinced you aren't involved."

"That's good."

"Tell me all about it."

"I will tell you in the order that I discovered them although I didn't realize the significance of them at the time."

"Go on."

"About a week ago, Kenny started playing with this one boy. On the way home, Kenny told me that the boy was his twin. I had seen the boy and he had black hair which was the same color as Kenny's. They were the same height. The next day as we are walking to the park, Kenny is all excited. He is talking about his twin and hoping he is at the park also. The other little boy was there. This went on for about a week with Kenny talking more and more about his twin."

"Did he call the other little boy by his name?"

"No. Kenny just called him my twin. I was happy for Kenny that he had another little boy to play with. Kenny had told me that he didn't have any friends and he didn't know why. They would play with him one time, but they would never come back. I suspected that it had to do with Kenny being an only child and his father giving him everything he wanted."

"Would you say the boy was spoiled?"

"Definitely. Kenny was sweet and charming, but it was plain to see he always wanted things his way.

"Go on with your story."

"So yesterday, Mr. Butler took Kenny to the park. I think it was to meet Kenny's twin. I don't know why, but I never thought to go see how much the boy looked like Kenny. I guess I was just happy he had someone to play with. Also, he had been so happy since he had met his twin. He had also told me that he had a brother now and he had always wanted a brother."

Here Anna paused as she thought about the events of the last week. Frank said, "Go on."

"This morning almost as soon as we got there a little boy ran over to us. When I saw his face close up, I knew why Kenny was calling the boy his twin. At the time I didn't know how, but the boys looked exactly alike. The boys ran off, which wasn't unusual. I wasn't paying that close of attention."

Frank thought, 'She was probably happy for a breather from the little boy.'

Anna went on, "All of the sudden, I heard a woman calling for someone named Ella. It surprised me how quickly the girl had started running to the woman. When I looked at the woman, I saw Kenny and the other little boy. When the girl reached the woman, they started walking away. I knew she was planning on taking Kenny with her because she was holding his hand."

"How old was the girl?"

"Ten, maybe eleven."

"What did you do then?"

"I ran over there to stop them. That is when I found out that the woman was Kenny's mother. She had the same green eyes as Kenny and the other little boy had. I tried to tell Mr. Butler all this, but he was too busy yelling at me."

"Are you telling me that Kenny was kidnapped by his mother?"

"I wouldn't say kidnapped. He went willingly with her. She was his mother. She had Kenny's twin."

Frank skipped the semantics because Anna was right. As long as Mr. And Mrs. Butler were still married it wasn't illegal for a mother to take her child. He said, "I thought she was dead."

"That's what I said to her."

"What did she say?"

"Obviously not. She was very sympathetic to my plight, but she was taking Kenny with her. She called him her son."

"Can you describe the woman?"

"She was in her early thirties. She wasn't very big. She was shorter than me. She had black hair and very green eyes."

"What did you do then?"

"I watched them walk toward that big hotel on School St."

"Were they staying at the hotel?"

"I don't know. I think so. Wait. Yes. I heard her say to the children, 'Let's return to the hotel.'

"One more thing. Was there anyone else with them?"

"Just the girl."

"Can you describe the girl?"

"Not really. I didn't really look at her."

"All right."

"She had red hair, though."

"Was there a man there?"

"No man."

Frank questioned Anna for a few more minutes then said, "Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome. I hope you find Kenny."

"Me too."

As Frank drove his buggy to the Kilmer House on School St., he wasn't very optimistic that he would find Kenny. If his mother had taken him, the woman would have left Boston as soon as she had the boy in her possession. This was strange to Frank. Why would Mr. Butler tell the world his wife was dead if she wasn't? How had this come about? Were they still married or divorced? If they were still married, then Mrs. Butler hadn't done anything wrong. She could legally take her son with her. At least here in Massachusetts she could.

Frank was now convinced that nobody, but Mrs. Butler had anything to do with the boy's disappearance. He just needed to verify that there really was a Mrs. Butler. After all, he just had Miss Leonowens' word for it.

Assuming there was a Mrs. Butler, his only question was – Was this planned or a spur of the moment decision? He was leaning towards spur of the moment. He would find out when he got to Kimpton Marlowe House.

After Frank arrived at the hotel, he went to the front desk and introduced himself. The evening desk clerk, Hal Larson, was happy to help the police.

Frank said, "Is there a Mrs. Butler registered here?"

"There was, but she checked out this morning."

"Can you describe the woman?"

"Easily. She is the kind of woman a man remembers. Yes, sir, indeed. She is a very striking woman in her thirties with green eyes and black hair. That is about all I can tell you. Unfortunately, I really didn't have that much interaction with her."

"Can you tell me her first name?"

"Scarlett. The name fit her."

"Did she have children?"

"Yes, two boys and a girl."

"Was one of the boys five years old?"

"I don't know how old he was, but he was around that age. The people who work in the daytime could tell you more."

Frank pulled the picture of Kenny out of his pocket and showed it to Hal. Frank said, "Did the little boy look like this?"

"Yes, sir. How did you get a picture of him?"

"Never mind. There was just one little boy?"

A puzzled Hal said, "Yes, sir."

"Very good, I will be back tomorrow morning."

"One other thing, Sir."

"Yes?"

"She was from Georgia. Atlanta, I think. You could tell it when she spoke. She had the most delightful accent."

"Thank you."

Frank waited to see if Hal was going to share any other information. It was plain to see the man had a crush on Mrs. Butler. When Hal didn't say any more, Frank decided to go home. Mrs. Columbo was waiting for him. The boy was not in danger. He had not been kidnapped for money. He had been kidnapped for love.

Frank could continue the investigation tomorrow morning. Everyone he needed to talk to was not there. He knew without a shadow of a doubt, Mrs. Butler was halfway to somewhere by now. The missing boy was someone else's problem. Mrs. Butler and the boy were surely out of his jurisdiction by now.

Frank considered telling Mr. Butler what he had learned but he decided that arrogant bastard could suffer for at least the night. Besides, Mr. Butler's townhouse was in the opposite direction from his home.

Rhett really was suffering that night. He was filled with despair. Why had the kidnappers not sent him their demands. Money was no object where Kenny was concerned. What if the person who took Kenny, just wanted Kenny. Could Scarlett have learned of Kenny and stolen him away? He didn't know how she could have found out, because everyone thought the baby had been dead. He hadn't told anyone in the South about Kenny's existence, not even his mother.

Rhett wondered, "Had Scarlett come looking for him?" No, Cambridge was the last place she would think he would move to. Besides, if Mr. Powe had given Scarlett his address, he would have told Rhett. No, Scarlett wasn't that smart. She didn't have what it took for that kind of long-term planning. No, it wasn't Scarlett. She was in Atlanta with Mr. Wilkes and Tara. Besides, he knew she would have just shown up at his door and yelled at him.

Rhett had gotten drunk rather quickly. He had not drunken that much whiskey since Kenny had been placed in his arms. If he didn't have Kenny, he didn't have anything. He guessed he could return to Scarlett. He didn't know. The police just had to find Kenny. That is just all there was too it. He couldn't bear to lose another child. The only thing keeping him going is the hope he would be able to get Kenny back.