Innocence Taken by Janet Durbin Page A

had gone, after the news people interviewed whoever would talk to them, after Spangle had departed, Westerly opened the camper and got in. Nature was lying on the bench, curled under a blanket.
    "We found her where you said. She's been taken to the morgue.” He sat on the edge of the bench. “Spangle told me they arrested the uncle. He confessed. He may not have been the man we were after, but at least he won't be able to hurt another girl again.
    Nature listened. She heard his words, yet they did not help. What she needed was a scalding hot shower. She missed her home. She missed Sandy.. She missed Brad. She felt her resolve give. The tears flooded from her. She reached up, causing the blanket to fall away. She pressed her clenched fists into her eyes. Westerly glanced over his shoulder. He saw her tears. He felt his heart rend. Ignoring caution, he scooped her up into his arms and hugged her close.
    He didn't try to kiss her, he only held her tight. She didn't resist. She clutched his shirt, pinching the skin underneath. He said nothing. She sobbed like she hadn't done in a long time, not since Brad's death. Finally, after she had no more tears to shed, she calmed.
    "Can we go home now?"
    "Yes. If Spangle needs more information, he knows how to get hold of us."
    "Can we stop at a music store?"
    "Of course, anything you want.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “We have to go by the motel before we hit the road. We left our stuff there."
    Pulling away, she rose to her feet. She stepped into the open air, its gentle breeze caressing her skin.. Stretching her arms wide, she began to spin. Westerly leaned against the camper, arms folded, and watched. He saw her face relax. She had returned to herself once the spinning was complete. He opened her door and shut it after she sat. He got in and drove the camper toward the motel. He looked forward to going home. He missed Montana with its wide-open spaces. He missed his quiet life.
    When they pulled into the Best Western, they were surprised to see a police car. Spangle got out after they parked. He came up to the driver's side. He leaned onto the window frame. They could tell by the look on his face, he was not in a good mood. They never expected what he said.
    "The police from Cocoa Beach just reported a missing person. A family was at a real estate agency, looking for a house. Their eighteen-year-old daughter became bored so she went to the beach. Several eyewitnesses remembered seeing her a short while later with a man. They don't remember seeing her after that.
    "How does that involve us?” Westerly questioned.
    "They don't remember what the man looked like, but they do remember seeing a plain brown van drive away."
    Three words in his statement made both occupants sit up promptly. They looked first at each other, then at the man leaning against the camper. Those three words, words said after a previous session, were ... plain brown van.

Chapter Seven
    "Shit"
    The man saw the sign over the highway. It was the sign used in Florida for amber alerts. It told people about someone missing. Right now, it told of a missing girl. It also told of a plain brown van. He knew it was talking about his van. He had been careless in his venture to get The One.
    He had to get back to the cabin in a hurry so he could find out if she truly was the one he sought. Deep inside, he knew this girl was The One. He saw it in her eyes, or at least thought he had when they were last opened.. They remained closed. In his enthusiasm to get her, he had hit her head against an oil drum. She was still unconscious.
    He was close to the state line. He hoped that once he crossed it, he would be okay, that he would not have to ditch the van. He liked it. It suited his purpose well. Twenty minutes later, he passed the Georgia state line. He relaxed a little, but not much. He still had a long way to go. He decided to take the other route home, the one he traveled on less frequently. It would take him