Page 38 of Gabe

However, as soon as Gabe and I stepped onto the street in question, we were immediately brought to a halt by the sight of a familiar face.

Posters with Senator McLeod’s image on them were plastered everywhere. Based on the information printed on the poster, it seemed the man was up for reelection, and was trying to advertise his best qualities.

So, of course, “Leader of a Pedophile Ring” was nowhere on the list.

“The timing of this is concerning,” Gabe said as he inspected one of the nearest posters. “Although, I’m not sure what this would have to do with Miss Bell’s son.”

“Yeah.” I narrowed my eyes at the Senator’s printed grinning face. “If I were the leader of a pedophile ring running for reelection, I’d want as much space between those two parts of my life as possible.”

At the front of the street, we came upon a booth that seemed to be the source of the posters. There were several people manning the booth, speaking with passersby about Senator McLeod’s accomplishments, and handing out flyers to anyone who would take one.

Gabe seemed happy to watch the campaign efforts from afar, so I stepped up to the booth to see what information I could learn.

“Hello,” one of the men running the booth greeted me.

The man’s nametag said Ozias. It was an old-fashioned name for a young man, but I’d heard worse.

His face was just a little too plain to be handsome, but he had a boyish quality to his smile that could be called attractive.

“Are you interested in Love Without Limits?”

I tried to keep the suspicious look off my face. “I’m afraid I don’t know what that is.”

Rather than be put off by this, Ozias’s eagerness only grew as he shoved several pamphlets toward me. “It’s our new charity organization. Love Without Limits is Senator McLeod’s newest effort to help the community. Its aim is to help women and children, especially those that come from disadvantaged situations. See, here.”

He pointed to something in one of the pamphlets, but I didn’t have time to read more than two words before he started talking again.

“Our first goal is to set up pop-up stands in major cities where expecting mothers can come for free health evaluations and prenatal care. There are also plans to eventually set up more affordable childcare services, as well as promote awareness for the needs of new mothers. It’s a great cause.”

“I see,” I said absently as I scanned through the pamphlets. “And this is a new charity.”

“Brand new, so we need all the help we can get. I can take down your information if you’re interested in volunteering.”

The man already had a pen and clipboard in his hands, poised and ready to write. For the sake of keeping the conversation going, I gave him a fake name and phone number, and prayed he wouldn’t try calling the number before I was able to leave.

Ozias was still writing my information down when I decided to try another line of questions. “I actually know some people who might benefit from a charity like this. What should I tell them to do? Can they just show up at one of these pop-up stands, or do they need to apply to something?”

As soon as he finished writing, Ozias used the pen to point at another pamphlet. “Anyone can show up to the pop-up stands where they can speak with one of our volunteer healthcare workers. Well, not anyone. They would need to be either an expecting mother, or a mother with young children since those are the patients that the pop-up stands are for. However, if your friends need more specific services or supplies, then there are a few different things they can apply for. There’s a general list right here, and you can find more detailed information on our website.”

“Right.” I waved the pamphlets in front of me as if showing them off. “Thanks for the info. I’ll be sure to tell my friends about it. I know a few of them could definitely use the help.”

“Great,” the man smiled again, but this time it seemed distracted as he was already switching his attention to the next person. “We’ll reach out to you with volunteer opportunities, and I hope we hear from your friends soon.”

I stepped back from the booth and used my shorter height to my advantage in order to disappear among the crowd around the booth. I’d barely taken a few steps away when Gabe’s hand snaked back around my waist and pulled me to the less crowded side of the street.

When I showed him the pamphlets and explained the new charity Senator McLeod had apparently started, a deep scowl furrowed Gabe’s brow.

“This really isn’t good.”

“I know, right.” I tried to keep my voice down despite the noise of the city, for fear of being overheard. “Like, this kind of charity would sound great if I didn’t know about the guy’s other interests. But for the leader of a pedophile ring to start a charity specifically focusing on mothers and children… Do you think this is some sort of cover for them to get their hands on new kids.”

“Possibly.” Gabe nodded as he looked up the charity’s website on his phone. “It could be a way for them to find women interested in giving up their kid for adoption without the need to use hospital administrators.”

“Could?” I studied his face for a moment and could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “You think it might be something else?”

“Look at the website. There is a bigger emphasis on mothers than children. If they just wanted to get their hands on more kids, then that’s what they would focus on.”

Gabe handed me his phone, where I quickly scrolled through the website’s pages. “While there are services offered that help kids, there was definitely a much bigger focus on helping mothers. Specifically, disadvantaged ones, such as single mothers, and women from poorer income homes.

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