Page 20 of Innocence

“Did your daughter ever express any concerns about her surroundings? Maybe someone was following her, harassing her in some way,” asked Trak.

“Nothing. She seemed happy. She didn’t date at all that I know of. She was focused on school, and that’s it.”

“Her mother?” asked Ghost.

“I couldn’t tell you. She left after that night, and I never saw her again. She never called, wrote, sent gifts, nothing. I tried to be mother and father for Tracy, but you can’t be both parents and provider and protector.” Trak took a step toward the man, looking down at his rough face.

“You could have tried. That’s all she would have wanted.” He turned, leaving Ghost to finish with the man.

“He’s intense,” said Bingham.

“He is that. If you think of anything, Mr. Bingham, please call us.”

“Sure,” he nodded.

“Oh, one more thing. Were you aware that your daughter had a fear of being tied up?”

“No, but it doesn’t surprise me. She was tied up in her bed the day I found her. She was so little I didn’t think she remembered. Maybe she did.”

Back on the chopper with Doug, the two men barely said a word. Doug couldn’t stand the silence and called them to the front to take the spare seat and the jump seat.

“Not everyone is like all of you,” he said calmly. “Not every man has the fatherly gene, and not every woman has the maternal instinct. God knows we wish they did. It would make our lives much easier. I got the feeling, since I was listening, that he tried to be the father he thought he needed to be. There’s no crime in that.”

“If he’d been closer, he may have known something was wrong in her world,” said Trak.

“Maybe. Or maybe she didn’t want him in her world. Maybe it was something completely different.”

“Maybe. I just know that girl deserves justice, and I want to get it for her,” said Ghost. Trak nodded.

“And we will.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“So, the old man was cold as ice,” said Nine.

“Colder,” frowned Ghost. “It was as if he were talking about a stranger.”

“Maybe he was,” said Bree. “He said that he worked all the time, and she’d learned to be independent. I would suspect that they lived very independent lives, living more as roommates than father and daughter.”

“That’s not right,” frowned Nine. “I’ve got a daughter. I worked a lot as well. I found time to spend with her, to be with her. I can’t imagine that kind of relationship.”

“It’s what was right for them, Nine. It might not be perfect, but Tracy was thriving in her environment. She had learned valuable skills.”

“None that helped her live,” said Ghost.

“You’re right. But maybe there weren’t any skills that could have helped her live. Maybe even the most experienced person would have failed, given the circumstances.”

“I know you’re right, Bree. It just feels wrong,” said Nine. She kissed the cheeks of each of the senior men and nodded.

“Come and see me if you get in a funk.” She stopped at the door and turned to look at all the men. “I mean it. Come and see me.”

Bree left the men alone with their thoughts, but the thoughts weren’t good ones. There was something drastically wrong with the entire series of events beyond what they were seeing.

“Where now?” asked Gaspar.

“I still feel as though some of those students knew more than they were letting on. I didn’t get that feeling with the professor, but maybe someone else needs to talk to him,” said Ghost.

“No. I agree with you,” said Trak. “I don’t think he had anything to do with this, but the students bothered me. These weren’t children. They were young adults still making fun of others, bullying.”

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