Page 37 of Pierre
“Damn. I really am sorry to hear that,” said Ambry.
“Well, if there’s one good thing that came from this, it’s that they’re dropping the investigation into you,” he said. Marjorie let out a sigh of relief, emotions bubbling to the surface. “CID confirmed that you were never a part of this, and she did a good job of ensuring the cabinets always looked full, often replacing empty vials with ones that she’d filled with sterile water. She was clever. None of you would think anything was going on.”
“So, I’m good,” asked Marjorie. “I mean, my job isn’t in jeopardy?”
“No. However, your contract is up soon, so you’ll have a decision to make. I’d hate to lose you. Any of you,” he said, nodding toward Marjorie, Ambry, and Elliott. “You’re all coming up on the end of contract. If you want to talk about this, my door is always open.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Ambry. He nodded, walking away, then turned toward them.
“One more thing. You did a helluva job with all those kids. Many have families, many don’t, but we’re working with a reputable agency that will help to provide shelter for them. Probably not here, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.” Ambry nodded, looking at the others.
“No. Not a bad thing at all.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The team on the mountain continued to wait for the return of Sister Josephina, but she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to come home. When someone inside the church finally decided it was time to check on the kids, they had a big surprise.
“Anyone notice that little bastard isn’t carrying food or water with him?” asked Pierre. “They had no intentions of feeding those kids.”
“Which means, they hoped to have them prepared to leave today,” said Ham.
When the commotion started, no one moved, wanting to ensure that they were in full sight of everyone. The looks from the young soldiers told them that they were suspects, but they couldn’t figure out how they would have gotten all those children out of the house.
One of the men walked up to them, kicking the bottom of their feet with the butt of his rifle. Frank stood, taking a step toward the young man. His eyes widened in fear, and he stepped back.
“You hit me like that again, and you’d better be prepared to use that rifle,” he said in flawless Haitian French. The younger man’s eyes went wide, realizing that he understood everything they’d said.
“Where is the nun?” asked Frank.
“She is delayed,” said the boy. “Where are the children?”
“What children?” asked Frank with a sincere expression, tilting his head. “There were no children here last night. Only you and us.”
“There were children. In that house over there,” he said, staring at the men with suspicion.
“No children, my friend,” said Pierre. “Just us and, of course, the voodoo.”
All of the young men turned toward them, their eyes suddenly alight with fear. Shaking their heads, they backed away from the group of men.
“That got their attention,” smirked Ham.
“They’re always afraid of the voodoo,” said Pierre. “It’s something I remember clearly as a child. I’ve had about enough of waiting on Sister Josephina. I think it’s time we went on a manhunt. Or woman hunt, as it were.”
“I’m going to ask you one time,” said Frank, taking a step closer to the young man. He raised his rifle, nervous and shaking, pointing it at Frank. Frank just laughed, shaking his head. The rifle’s safety was on. He gripped the barrel, yanking it from the younger man’s hand.
“Don’t ever point a rifle at a man unless you plan to shoot. And damn sure don’t point it at a man who knows how to use one better than you do. Where is the sister?”
“I-I don’t know. We never know. We wait for her, and she tells us what to do.”
“Where were you to take these children?” asked Pierre.
“We don’t know. We never know.” Pierre turned to Butch and Tucker.
“Tie them up and leave them in the basement of the house. Make it really good. Lots of extra zip ties.”
Not one of the young soldiers thought to raise their weapons again. They peacefully set them down, afraid of the big men who’d touted voodoo as their protector. With zip ties at the ankles and wrists, they were left in the damp basement of the house, the floorboards replaced and nailed down, and the men went searching for Sister Josephina.
“Hiro, AJ, or Tanner, anything you can tell us that would help this little search?” asked Frank.
