Chapter 3
All at once there was a flurry of noise and activity, as JJ came bursting through the door with a cast member.
"I knew you would be here, Mommy, Papa!"
"Oh my gosh, my baby! Are you all right?" Amanda scooped JJ into her arms.
"Thank you so much for finding her." Amanda's voice cracked as she spoke to the young woman.
"JJ where were you? You know better than to wander off." Relief flooded over Lee's face as his baritone voice bellowed throughout the room.
Philip set Mattie down. She cried, "JJ" and grabbed her legs which were dangling from her mother's arms.
"I was with Goofy and Steve. They weren't very nice," she huffed.
The cast member whose nametag read 'Ann' replied, "Your daughter was very brave. She ran to me and told me she was lost and to please take her to her parents."
Lee waved his hands in the air. "Whoa, whoa, wait, JJ. Who's Steve?" Lee inquired.
"Steve is Goofy's friend. He told Steve to take me to the special princess party," JJ answered.
Peter came back from the other room after sending the alert. "It looks like you found your daughter."
Lee was puzzled."Yes, but JJ was telling us Goofy has a friend named Steve. Tell us more JJ. Why did you wander away from your mother?"
"Goofy and I were talking. He saw my Belle shirt and asked me if I wanted to see her at a special princess party. He was holding my hand and walking. I didn't know we had left where Mommy was. I told him my Papa calls me his Bomber Princess. Then he said, if I was a princess, I should go to the party. I tried to tell him I can't go without my Mommy or Papa."
Peter and Ann eyed one another baffled. Peter stated, "Mr. and Mrs. Stetson, our characters are not supposed to talk."
Irritated, Lee responded, "Evidently, this one does, pal!"
JJ scrunched her face and appeared to stiffen when she heard the tone in her father's voice. She hesitated before speaking again.
"Tell us more, sweetie." Amanda encouraged JJ after seeing the look on her daughter's face.
JJ visibly relaxed after being reassured by her mom and continued, "Well, Goofy said meet my friend, Steve. He's gonna take you to the party and then Goofy left. I got mad because you always tell us not to go with a stranger who doesn't know our safe word. I tried to get away, but he was holding my hand really tight. It was hurting me." JJ's eyes teared up at the thought.
"Oh my gosh!" Amanda started shaking. Her eyes met her husband's gaze and they both shared a silent agreement, knowing a tragedy had been averted.
"Go on, Princess." Lee's jaw began to twitch in anger.
"Steve tried to pick me up and I kicked him in his privates and knees." Looking at the two cast members, JJ added matter-of-factly, "That means nuts, but my Mommy says the polite word to use is privates. Papa doesn't use the polite word."
Amanda buried her beet-red face in her hands. Philip gave a loud snort.
Lee tried to hide his smirk with his hand. "She certainly is her Mother's daughter. She never leaves any details out."
Amanda backhanded Lee in the belly. "Oof." Lee rubbed his stomach.
JJ continued, "Then I ran away and found someone with a name tag like you told us to do and I saw her." JJ pointed to Ann. " I told her I was lost and she took me here."
Lee smiled with pride. "You did a good job, Princess. You remembered what to do when there is a stranger. Can you tell us what Steve looked like?"
JJ thought for a minute. "Umm…he was wearing dark glasses. And had on a Disneyland® hat and t-shirt."
"That's just about anybody in the park, Lee," observed Amanda.
Lee nodded. "Anything else you can remember, Princess?"
"Oh, and a grey jacket. He sounded like you when you have a cold Papa," added JJ.
Visibly shaken, Lee turned to Peter and Ann. "What will the park do about this?"
"Uh, Mr. Stetson, do you think your daughter may have gotten things mixed up?" Peter asked.
Lee was immediately filled with anger. "My daughter doesn't get mixed up. I want to talk to the head of security, NOW! " He discreetly pulled out his federal ID, shielding it both from Mattie and JJ's view. Both cast members' eyes widened, followed by Ann excusing herself, saying she had to get back to her job station.
Peter exclaimed, "Yes, sir!" He left the room and came back immediately with the head of security.
The man looked to be in his late fifties. His hair was thinning, and what was left had streaks of grey. He was lean and medium in height. He greeted Lee and Amanda. "I'm Calvin. How can I help you?"
Lee stood with his back to his daughters, and flashed his badge carefully, hiding it from view while placing a finger over his lips to emphasize secrecy.
"I want you to listen to my daughter's story. JJ, tell this man what happened, please."
JJ recounted the events to the head of security and when she finished, the officer appeared to be physically shaken.
"Safety is our number one priority here in Disneyland®. May we speak privately, Mr. and Mrs. Stetson?"
"Thanks, I was just going to suggest that." Lee ordered Philip, "Take the girls outside and don't take your eyes off them. Do you understand?"
"Sure, Dad." Philip took Mattie and JJ's hands and left.
Lee and Amanda followed Calvin to a back office, where they all took a seat before Calvin began to speak.
"Agent Stetson, I'm so sorry this happened. As I said, safety is paramount at Disneyland®, and we take it very seriously. I was contacted about a month ago by the FBI here in Los Angeles, informing me there had been various disappearances of children at theme parks all across the United States. They're concerned a child trafficking ring is behind these incidents. I was briefed by the agent in charge of the investigation that I should contact them if anything unusual happens here."
TBC
