Page 4 of Colorado K-9 Rescue
“Hi, Ms. Hendrix,” the sheriff said. “Thank you for meeting us tonight. I know this is hard, but this is Agent Knox and he’s going to be helping with this case. We’re fortunate he’s involved. The FBI’s resources will be a big help.”
“Thank you,” Ms. Hendrix said, stepping inside. “Please come in and just call me Brenda. I’m Lily’s mother. Autumn’s parents and little sisters are inside. Autumn is Lily’s best friend, so we’re all like family. We’ve known each other since the girls were in grade school together.”
Mckenna would guess that she was normally quite attractive, but the stress of the situation was already taking its toll. And this was the beginning. Mckenna’s mom had told her about not being able to sleep, the worry, the crying and the anger—the strain on the entire family.
They all sat down, and Autumn’s two younger sisters asked to pet Mocha. Mckenna gave them permission and they squealed with delight as he licked their faces. For a moment they could forget that their sister and her friend might not be coming home.
She heard Agent Knox take the lead in asking questions, but one of the fathers interrupted. “I want to hear from her. I want to know what she thinks.”
Mckenna realized that he was pointing in her direction. Everyone was staring at her, and she froze. What did he mean he wanted to hear from her?
“Sir, I don’t understand,” said Agent Knox.
“I don’t either,” said Mckenna. “What do you want to know from me?”
“You’re, you’re that girl who was kidnapped, but you came home. You survived. My daughter can survive, right?”
Mckenna swallowed hard…memories of her own nightmare, when she had become a victim, came flooding back.
I had been to a party. Drank hard, had a good time, had been saying goodbye to my high school years before I was about to go to college. Getting Cassidy to cover for me at home with Mom and Dad, the big sister telling me to be careful, but have fun.
Then nothing.
Until I woke up and didn’t know where I was. My shoes and jacket were gone. I was in an old building. I could hear a creek and there was a terrible smell—like rotten eggs. I huddled in the corner, shaking, wondering when my parents would realize I wasn’t home. Would Cassidy be in trouble for covering for me? She didn’t really know where I was going. I only told her about a party. But I left out the part about it being a secret party that only a few kids knew about.
He came into the room where I was. I was already crying, but the fear made me start sobbing. He’d come over and crouched down, a mask over his face. He’d taken a finger and wiped away my tears. Then he’d said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m going to let you go. I promise. There’s nothing better than a good game of catch and release.”
There was a water bottle that he left behind. I drank some of the water and fell asleep again. When I woke up it was early morning and there was a window. I took an old chair in the room and hit the window until it broke.
I shimmied out and gashed my side, but I didn’t care. I’d run track in high school and at this moment, I knew I had to run hard and fast—this was the race for my life. There were weird trees, but I couldn’t stop to comprehend what made them odd. My feet pounded and I heard laughing. I think he was on an ATV, shooting and coming after me. I slipped and then changed direction. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew if I had any hope of surviving, I had to hide until he gave up looking.
But who was she to say if their daughter would or wouldn’t come home? How could anyone answer that question?
“We have no idea if your daughter’s case is like mine,” Mckenna gently answered. She could see the fear in his eyes. The waves of anxiousness sweeping through his body. Brenda cried and folded her hands in her lap. They wanted to hear an answer Mckenna couldn’t guarantee. The other girl’s parents stared blankly. When a trauma occurred, reactions were so different for everyone.
The father spoke again, “We want to know what your experience was like. What are they going through right now? How scared are they? We need answers. Your kidnapper was just released. Do you think it could be him?”
“Sir.” Mckenna gathered her wits and found the deep spot inside her where she had discovered strength before. “I can’t answer those questions. This isn’t about me. This is about your daughters—” she glanced at her notes “—Lily and Autumn. This is about bringing them home. You need to let the sheriff and Agent Knox interview you and your family. I’m here as a victim specialist. I’m here to help you with resources so you can learn more about your rights. I’m not here to tell you about my personal experience. Please, let Agent Knox ask you some questions.”
Mckenna thought the man would argue, but he nodded and turned and waited for Agent Knox to speak. Silence filled the air and then Agent Knox cleared his throat. Mckenna caught him staring at her again, only this time there was a look of curiosity on his face. That’s the way it always was with guys.
They became curious when they found out that she was “that girl” from aDatelineor20/20episode. She’d discovered the hard way that the interest in her wasn’t about her as a person, but rather to have an inside look at a terrible story. It was almostodd to Mckenna that she had gained celebrity status for a while. She’d worked hard to “disappear” and not be hounded by the media.
Agent Knox now gazed at her as if he recognized Mckenna. She didn’t like it and, apparently, Knox was no different from everyone else. To them she was a specimen to be studied rather than a human being.
He thought of her as another case. One he could learn from or something. She’d encountered that too. Law enforcement always wanted to use her case to “teach” officers better response tactics. Mckenna was sick of it and vowed she would have very little to do with the agent once this case was over.
For now, she was stuck with him.
CHAPTER 4
Evan had to tear his eyes off Mckenna and focus back on the investigation and the questions he needed answered. From what the sheriff had told him, he doubted the families knew much about the abduction, but anything he could learn about the two girls would help. The sheriff had mentioned the girls had grown up in the community, graduated from the local high school with honors and completed their first year of college. They were home for the summer and getting ready to leave in a couple of days to go back to school for the fall semester.
But what was all this about Mckenna Parker being kidnapped? He never was into office gossip, but this time he regretted it. Maybe if he opened up more, he would know more about Mckenna. He found himself intrigued. This revelation explained so much about her. He forced himself to get back to the interview.
He flipped open his memo book and started with the usual questions. When did they last see the girls? Where were they going? What were they doing? Did they know of anyone contacting them through social media? Had they ever run away before?
The families gave the usual answers. They were good kids and students. Autumn was a great older sister. She and Lily didn’t stay out too late and all that jazz. Evan had heard it all before and, unfortunately, he knew from experience that once he started digging, there was always something the family didn’t know. There could be someone grooming them on social media, or they could be dating someone who had ulterior motives.Usually, the victims went from low-risk “good girls” to higher-risk “we didn’t know our daughters were doing that.”
