Chapter 14

It was now 12:00 noon and still no ransom note, phone call, nothing.  All the procedures had been adhered to and everything  was ready, except, no contact.  Zac was not surprised, he'd seen the looks on the faces of the two people who'd taken Taylor and he could tell it was personal, but what could his easy going, soft spoken brother have done to these people to cause them to hate him so?  It was a mystery he didn't have a clue to.  All he could tell them about the car was that it looked expensive and was black or dark blue.  He'd only seen the front of it as it was parked behind the dumpster.  The man was shorter than him, but not much, his hair was brownish, he had a small beard, just regular.  The woman was smallish, but not tiny, brown eyes, brown hair.  Regular.

"Rriiiinnnggg!"  The phone caused everyone to nearly jump out of their skin.  The police gave the signal and Walker picked up the phone.  "Hello?"  Diana prayed it would be good news.  "Ike?  Who's calling please?  Lee?"

"Dad!  Tell her I'll call her right back."

Walker hung up the phone.  The disappointment in the room was heavy.  Diana had begun to cry and in turn Jessica also burst into tears.  Zoe who was on her mother's lap cried as well, not knowing why exactly, but knowing something was terribly wrong.  Zac, Avery, and Mackenzie had retreated to the boys' room a little while ago and so were spared the awful scene.  Isaac left as well and entered the room.  Sesame Street was on the television and all three were staring at the screen seemingly engrossed as Maria sang a song about the number 9.  Though he didn't move a muscle, Zac's eyes immediately went to the door where his oldest brother stood.  Their eyes met and Isaac shook his head.

Once again, Zac's heart sunk.  Isaac went over to the phone and picked it up.  He dialed the eleven numbers and waited til Lee's voice answered on the other end.  "Lee?"  Zac listened to Ike's end of the conversation.  "Well, actually, not too good...  Well, it's really important you not tell anyone, but I gotta talk to somebody..."

~~~~

At 6:14 p.m., more than 20 hours after their son had been kidnapped, Diana and Walker were startled once more by the ringing of the phone.  Walker picked up the receiver, "Hello?"

"Hello.  Who's this?"  The voice on the other end of the line sounded like an old man.

"This is Walker Hanson,  who's this?"

"Well, my name's Ed.  I got a boy here that got me to call you."

"Oh God.  Ed, please, is he alright?"

When Diana heard the words she was afraid she might faint.  Walker looked over at her.  Ed replied,  "His hands are cuffed behind him, they look pretty sore and I couldn't figure out how to undo 'em.  Are you his Daddy?"

"Yes!  Can I talk to him?!"

Diana was now crying and laughing at the same time.

"Well, I don't think he can talk much.  He's got laryngitis or something, he ain't made a sound.  But other than that, he looks OK.  Kinda skinny though.  Is he in trouble or somethin' ?"

"No, he was kidnapped last night and we hadn't heard a thing until now.  We were so afraid..."  Walker's voice broke.

"Walker?"  Ed was afraid he'd lost the connection and he knew this kid needed his folks.  He looked over at Taylor.  The kid was pale and shaky.  He was crouched down and he leaned his head back against the brick wall behind him.

"I'm sorry.  I'm here.  Where is he?  We can pick him up right now if you can tell us where he is."

"He's right here with me.  I'm using the payphone... uh...  at...  Magnolia and Center street.  It's by Top Hat Liquor store."

The police officers in the room nodded their heads.  "Ed, please stay with him, we'll be right there.  I don't know how to thank you.  You just don't know what this means to us."

"Oh, I can imagine.  Hey, what's his name?"

"His name is Taylor.  Please don't hang up, I'm on my cell phone and if you don't mind, would you stay on the line for awhile?  We need to tell our other children, we're on our way!"

"Sure thing."

Diana ran to the boys' room.  Avery and Mackenzie had fallen asleep in front of the television.  Jessica and Isaac were watching something and Zac was asleep on the other bed.

"Guys!  Ike, Zac, Jess!   They found him!  He's OK, they found him!"

Isaac and Jessica both jumped up and ran towards their mother.  "Where!?  Where is he?!"  Isaac couldn't believe his ears.

Zac sat up.  "Did she just say they found him!!??   Oh God!!  Thank You!"  He had begun to cry again, but this time with relief.  Jessica ran over and sat next to him on the bed and the two hugged each other.  Zac had been a basketcase since the night before.

"At some liquor store, a man called and said he was there..."

"A liquor store!  I don't get it..."

"I don't know Ike, I just know we're going to get him now!"

Just then Jason came in.  "Diana, do you want me to go with you or stay here with the kids?  The detectives said they should stay here."

"Oh Jason, would you?  Isaac, I know you're old enough, but I'd just feel better after everything that's happened..."

"Mom, we wanna see him..."

"I know, but we'll come right back and we need to do this how they want us to." She said.

Walker came in the door.  "Di, let's go.  Guys, we'll be back ASAP."  And with that the other six began their wait.

Once out of earshot of the other children, Walker looked at his wife.  "Diana, I'm really worried here.  Ed says Tay won't talk to him and that he seems like he's out of it or something.  Like he's been drugged maybe."

Diana looked up at her husband.  "He's probably just scared, don't you think?  I mean, he's still tied up, he's got to be hungry.  Who knows what he's been through.  He could be in shock maybe."

Walker sighed.  "Maybe."

They were now passing through the same door to the parking garage that Zac and Taylor had used the previous night.  There, an unmarked police car was waiting to take them to their son.

~~~~

Ed walked over to Taylor.  "Son, your folks are on their way.  Your daddy seems like a nice man.  He sure sounded happy to know you were alright.  Don't tell him I told you, but, I think he was crying."

Taylor looked up at the man who had found him.  He had no memory of how he got to the alley behind the liquor store, only the man shaking him and patting his face to wake him.  The man who'd told him his name was Ed, had asked him his own name and he had tried to tell him but he couldn't.  It wasn't that he didn't remember, he knew perfectly well who he was and he desperately wanted to call his parents.  But when he tried to tell him, nothing came out.  And his throat felt like it was on fire.  Everytime he swallowed, the pain was unbearable, and he was doing a lot of swallowing as he felt he was going to throw up at any moment.  Everything hurt.

Finally, the man had asked him if he could call someone for him and he'd nodded.  With the help of Ed, he stood up but he immediately felt like he might fall over again, he was weak and dizzy.  They'd finally made it from the alley to the street where there was a rundown looking phone booth.  Ed would point at the numbers 'til Taylor would nod, and though it took a while, Ed was able to contact Walker.  He'd had to sit back down quickly as his head had started swimming and he was afraid he might pass out.  Now, Ed was just watching him.  "Your dad says your name is Taylor, that right?"  He nodded.  "Are ya OK?  You look kinda sick.  Are ya hurt anywhere?"  Taylor tried to show him his hands.  "Sorry I couldn't get them cuffs off.  That's a bitch ain't it?  I been in cuffs a few times myself."   He grinned at Taylor who just raised his eyebrows back at him.  It was dark out but Taylor and Ed were sitting under the lighted sign of the liquor store.

Those passing in cars just saw a couple of bums.  They, nor Ed, realized that the bedraggled boy was not only being looked for by all of New York's finest, but that he was a very famous, very valuable commodity.  To the occupants of the car that was speeding towards them now though, he was worth more than any monetary value that could possibly be placed on him.

Taylor and Ed both looked up to see Diana and Walker getting out of the car as two others pulled up behind them.  Taylor tried to stand and Ed tugged on his arm to try and help him but that seemed to cause him pain so he let go.  His parents both ran to him, his mother crying and his father smiling.  "Tay!  Oh God, we're so glad you're back!  Did they hurt you?"  His father asked.

The police were now questioning Ed and Taylor.  "Mom!"  He was saying it over and over but no sound was coming out.

"Please," Diana asked the detectives.  "Can you get these handcuffs off?!"

Immediately six officers were all getting keys out and looking, trying to decide which would unlock the cruel shackles.  "Can you stand up baby?"  His mother asked him.  She was getting frightened by now, realizing something was very wrong.  "What's wrong Tay?"

He was crying or laughing, she couldn't tell.  He was just silent.  The officers after a couple tries finally unlocked the hand cuffs.  For the first time in hours and hours he brought his hands in front of him.  His parents gasped.  His hands were covered in dried blood and his wrists were black and blue.  The white T-shirt he had on had specks of blood on it as well.  With the help of his father he got up on his feet.

"Mrs. Hanson, we've got an ambulance on the way."  One of the men told her.  She was looking at his face now.

"What happened, Tay?  Can you tell me?"  There was dried blood around his nose, he was sweaty and panting and he suddenly turned from her, he braced himself against the brick wall.  The nausea he'd been fighting had finally won and he threw up in the grass beside the building.  When Diana saw it she became hysterical.  It was nothing but blood.  The sound of a siren alerted everyone to the arrival of the ambulance.
 
 
 

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