Fiction: Missing – by Niles Reddick
Missing
by Niles Reddick
ā9-1-1. May I help you?ā
āItās the missing girl from Facebook. Sure is. I see her coming and going out of the housedown the road. I had to get my glasses to make sure.ā
āTell me your name and address.ā
āThis is Hilda Davis. Iām over here on Morgan St. 311.ā
āWhatās the address for the missing girl?ā
āI donāt know all the house numbers, but itās three down from mine on the other side of the street.ā
āI see and do you know the name of the missing girl? Where is she missing from?ā
āI donāt know. I just know she looks just like that girl on Facebook they keep posting.ā
āWho is posting the missing girl?ā
āI donāt know. I just keep scrolling and seeing her over and over. Plain looking. Stringy brown hair. Space between her front teeth. Freckles. Cute, just plain. Looks country in the outfit, not a city girl.ā
āI can send an officer over there to check. He may want to interview you.ā
āThatās fine. I knew something was going on in the house. Thereās a van over there with tinted windows. Thatās how they get them, you know. Pull up to next to their car or their friendsā cars. Slide that door open, give them drugs and pull them into the van. Next thing you know, they are addicted to drugs, getting raped from drug dealers and pimps.ā
āHave you seen or heard of that sort of activity over there?ā
āNo, but the van comes and goes. Saw her going in the house and saw her coming out and getting in the van with a man. Looks like a pimp. Then they came back a few hours later and there was another girl going in with them. I think that blonde one has worked her way up. She probably doesnāt want to help them steal other girls. Just threatened with being killed or forced to help to keep the drugs coming.ā
āThank you for the information, Ms. Davis. How do you know how sex trafficking works?ā
āI saw that on a police show once and in a movie. Both had the same kind of story.ā
āThe officer should be almost there.ā
āOkay, Iāll keep a look out. Thereās the car. He doesnāt have his lights on.ā
āWell, heās just investigating. Heāll call for back-up if he needs it.ā
āOkay, I see him on the porch. Theyāre opening the door for him. Heās going in.ā
āWell, thanks again, Ms. Davis. Do you live alone?ā
āNo, my son is living in the basement. I donāt see him much since he got out of prison.ā
āWhy was he in prison?ā
āI donāt know, but I picked him up when he got out and let him come home. Probably shouldnāt have. He was such a good boy when he was little. I donāt know what happened.ā
āDoes he treat you well?ā
āYes, he treats me well, but I donāt know about others. Sometimes, I hear things, but I think heās just watching crazy TV shows in the basement.ā
āWell, I think Iāll get the officer to come over and check on you.ā
āThat would be nice and then he can give me an update on that missing girl.ā
āThank you again, Ms. Davis. Youāve been very helpful.ā
Once they disconnected, Hilda continue to watch from the kitchen window and saw the officer get in his car, sit for a few minutes and pull away. He pulled next to the curb in front of Hildaās and she met him at the door and asked if the girl was the one posted on Facebook. The officer told her it wasnāt and Hilda seemed disappointed.Ā
āWell, Iād hoped it would be her.ā
āShe probably looks like her,ā the officer said, ābut the ladyās son is visiting with his two daughters. Theyāre from out West.ā
āOh, I see.ā
āIs that your sonās van with dark windows in the back?ā
āYes, it is. I told him I donāt like him parking out back, coming and going at all hours from the basement door.ā
āWhereās your son, Ms. Davis?ā
āI imagine he is still sleeping in the basement. He doesnāt start making noises until after lunch. Usually I tap on the door if I need him and he comes up the steps. I canāt do the steps anymore. Do you want me to tap on the door?ā
āYes, but donāt tell him Iām here.ā
āOkay,ā she said and walked down the hall, the officer close behind. She tapped on the door several times, and they could hear the footsteps on the stairs. The officer drew his pistol and
when the door opened, the son saw the officer and said, āDonāt shoot.āĀ
He turned around and the officer cuffed him, made him sit on the floor of the hallway. The officer turned on the basement lights where he discovered a young girl tied to a bed, the same young girl who had been missing for a couple of months and whoād been snatched in broad daylight from the Wal-Mart parking
lot.Ā
The officer radioed for back-up, and when the officer came back up the stairs, Hilda told him heād been a good boy when he was little, that she didnāt know what happened.
About the author

Niles Reddick is author of the Pulitzer nominated novel ‘Drifting too far from the Shore’, two collections ‘Reading the Coffee Grounds’ and ‘Road Kill Art and Other Oddities’, and a novella ‘Lead Me Home’. His work has been featured in eleven collections and in over two hundred literary magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, PIF, New Reader Magazine, Forth Magazine, Cheap Pop, With Painted Words, among many others.
Website: http://nilesreddick.com/
Twitter: @niles_reddick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niles.reddick.9