Chapter 5 the hungry girls and the search begins
(Flash Back)
A couple of weeks before the kidnapping, Kathy and La Croque met at a small café. Both ladies were very good friends, but they had not seen each other in a very long time and had much to catch up on.
"Yeah, I have been pretending to be the aunt of these two horrible twins ever since they were three. But what else was I to do? After all, I took them from their parents in Texas," said Kathy.
"What made you kidnap the twins?" asked La Croque.
Kathy growled. "Well, they were born at the hospital where I was a nurse. Their mother passed away after the they were just born. Their dad was the one who named them Riley and Madeline- awful names, don't you think? Riley was healthy and strong, but Madeline was born small and had some issues.
"I see," La Croque said.
"Since Madeline was in the hospital, I saw her dad a lot. He was so cute!" Kathy continued, "I thought, since Paul was now a widower, he would want to start dating again. He turned me down when I tried flirting with him however, but I kept trying. I even tried taking Madeline for some fake tests to see if he would get with me."
La Croque nodded, absently stirring her now-forgotten expresso. Her friend's story was very interesting!
"However, after Madeline had recovered enough to be given normal treatment, I found out that Paul had fallen in love with my former coworker- how dare he?! What was it that he saw in Amy that he didn't see in me?" Kathy fumed. "Anyway, I wasn't going to let him get away with it, so I waited three years and then went to the twins' house where he had another shock waiting for me. Not only had he rejected me, but he had also married Amy! I saw those fools talking about me, so I decided to get my revenge then."
"I found out that Paul was a very rich man, so I tiptoed upstairs and found the girls' room where they were playing." Here, Kathy laughed evilly. "With them only being three, of course they didn't know I really wasn't their aunt, so it was the easiest thing in the world to tell them that we were going on a little trip. After I packed their bags and made sure they left behind the dolls their dear father gave them, I went into Paul's room, took his late wife's necklace, and blamed it on Amy. I wish I stuck around long enough to see that fallout of that. Well, I took the twins and went out the side door. It was easy to make up some fake IDs, so no one questioned me when I took them all the way to Paris."
"And the parents didn't come looking for them?" La Croque asked.
Kathy laughed again scornfully. "Do you think they would? Paul was most likely fighting with Amy when we left the States, so what time would he have had to go looking for his brats?" she said. "As soon as we arrived, I rented a house and told the girls that their parents had died, so I was given custody to have them live with me. How they cried, but they believed me quickly enough. I worked in a doctor's office and took care of them, and once they turned five, I took them to Miss Clavel's boarding school. Of course I took them home with me some days just to keep up pretense, you know. But for the most part, they've lived with Miss Clavel since then. They're now seven and don't suspect a thing."
She sighed heavily, "I've had to be nice to them for so long, and they most likely will never understand what a trial it has been for me, ugh! Riley had her tonsils removed and it was so hard to be nice to her while she was in the hospital. It didn't help that she is much too clever for seven years old and that she and Madeline are always together. I just wanted to get my final revenge on their father, but they have given me too much trouble to enjoy it properly!" Kathy said with another growl.
La Croque nodded again. "Hmmm, you know, I could help with that."
"You can?" Kathy asked.
"Oui. I suppose kidnapping is something we have in common. I've acquired some girls over the years to make lace for me, and I need one more girl to make ten. I also have a friend who helps me. His name's Henri. I can tell him everything you just told me, and he can act as the twins' uncle. It won't be difficult to convince them that there's an opening at a finishing school here in Vienna that doesn't even exist, and he could bring them to us without anyone noticing."
"I like that!" cried Kathy delightedly, "But have him only take Madeline. If Riley finds out, this whole plan will be ruined! Oh, I also heard by hiding a small device in a wall of the boarding school that the twins' cousin came for a visit and gave them their toys from when they were little. He gave Riley a toy called Polly Locket and gave Madeline her Baby Anne doll. So make sure you tell this Henri about those as well. It will make his story more convincing if he knows about the gifts."
"Oh, don't worry, my friend. I'll sort out everything. Here's his number," La Croque said, giving Kathy a small card. "You just relax and join me in a few days at the factory. I'll have Henri bring that little brat in a couple of weeks."
Kathy grinned. "Sounds like a plan!"
After paying the bill, the two wicked ladies left for the night, thinking about what was about to happen.
…
Back in the present day at that miserable workshop,
Fifi timidly said, "Madam Kathy, may we please have our breakfast now?"
Kathy huffed. "No, you may have it later. I'm sorry, girls."
At this, the girls all groaned, but Kathy ignored them.
"Now, there's a rush order of lace that you gotta finish. You'll eat after you're done- that's if you do a good job," she sneered.
The poor girls went back to their tables, their stomachs growling with hunger. Madeline looked up and saw Henri, Kathy, Noah, and La Croque enjoying a nice hot breakfast.
"Oh, we have to get out of here!" Fifi moaned, "Madeline, any ideas?"
The girls were so hungry however that no ideas could be thought of. Only the thought of food was on their minds.
"I wish I could have a waffle with strawberries and whipped cream," Madeline sighed dreamily.
"I wanted a big bowl of oatmeal," said Kelly.
"Yummy!" the rest of the girls exclaimed.
"And for dessert, ice cream!" Madeline added.
"And a giant piece of Peach Pie!" Claire crowed.
"Now I'm even hungrier," Madeline said sadly.
"So am I," Fifi agreed.
The girls tried to resume their work, but they were so hungry that they could not make any progress. Finally, Madeline threw down her bobbins and cried, "Oh girls I'm afraid we will be here forever making lace!"
This made the girls groan again as they thought about the food they couldn't eat. Suddenly the harsh snapping of scissors brought the girls out of their gloomy thoughts.
"Why aren't you working? Do you think this is a holiday!?" La Croque demanded.
"N… no, Madame!" Fifi squeaked.
Madeline still had a little bit of courage and stood up on the workbench. "How can we work when we're so hungry?'' she snapped.
La Croque was seething. "Oh, so you girls are too hungry to work?" she asked.
The girls meekly nodded.
"Well then how about this, NO FOOD FOR THE WHOLE DAY OR FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK!" La Croque roared as the rest of the adults smiled in cruel amusement.
The girls started groaning louder, and La Croque snapped her scissors again. "GET BACK TO WORK BRATS!" she yelled as she made her way back to the front of the room.
All of the girls sighed and got to work while La Croque, Kathy and Henri went upstairs, leaving Noah behind. The rest of the day passed slowly, and finally after many hours of working, the factory bell chimed.
The girls gathered their work and made their way up to the front. While waiting in line, Madeline sneaked some bread crumbs from the table and hastily hid them in her apron pocket. The other girls noticed what Madeline did and gave her a small smile.
Once all the work was given to La Croque, the girls made their way to the back room to get ready for bed. Madeline was locked back in her usual dungeon, but she managed to give a bread crumb to each of the girls through a hole in the wall.
After eating the crumbs, Madeline said confidently, "Girls, tomorrow we will find a way to escape. I think I have an idea!"
Meanwhile in the hotel in Paris
It had been a long day for the Fogg family. They had spent the whole day talking back and forth to the police. Hoping to get some more results on where Madeline was, and hoped that Riley was with her as well. After Amy had gotten ready for bed, she went into the bedroom to read a story to Alice and Maxwell. Paul was just finishing getting for bed himself. After brushing his teeth Paul closed his eyes and sighed.
Then Paul said out loud to himself "Oh Mary I wish you were here to help us find our girls.
Paul then felt a coolness come over him. looked up to see the spirit of his first wife looking down at him with a smile.
The spirit of Mary said "Don't worry Paul you and Amy will find our daughters.
Paul said "Oh I hope so our family just doesn't feel complete without them.
The spirit of Mary said "Don't lose hope my darling. With that she disappeared.
…
Back in Vienna
... The next Morning. after the 12 little girls along with Steven and Pepito wake up and had gotten dressed. the group went downstairs for Breakfast while eating,
Danelle asked. "Riley, when are we going to the bad part of town today?"
Riley looked at her friends and said well I was thinking, that we should look around this part of town first to see if we can find any clues around this area first.
...the other nodded as they agreed with their friends. as soon as they were done eating, the group began their search. the girls look Hight and Low. during the search the group found a fancy looking school. Which Riley think that her sister would be there instead of the lace shop that Baby Annie had said in the first place. Riley took a deep breather as she and the girls walked up to the front desk in the school the lady was shocked to a see a huge group of kids in front of her. but she smile and said. "Can I help you?"
Riley said "Yes my friends and I were wondering if you have a little girl with red hair here as one of your students?"
The lady asked "I don't believe we do, however what is the little girl's name?"
"Her name is Madeline." Riley said.
The lady typed something on her keyboard and then looking at the group she said "I'm sorry we have a Maddie but not a Madeline."
Riley said " Ok well thank you very much.
... She and the other then left the school to continue with their search. After many hours of searching and not fining any clue, the group of children went back to the hotel with heavy heart. after bidding Steven and Pepito good night, the girls want back to their hotel room After girls got ready for bed,
Chole said "Riley I think we should just give up, we will never find Madeline all by ourselves."
Riley was shocked and jumped out of bed saying "Give up?! There is no way we are giving up this quickly.
Riley then added "We will start searching again tomorrow on the other side of town, Madeline would never give up hope and neither should you." remember we are friend for now and forvore
The 11 girls nodded as they fell asleep. Riley climbed back into bed as she said to herself don't give up hope Maddie, We're coming to get you. Riley then fell asleep with a determined smile on her face.