The Perfect Solution-A Suspense of Choices Read online

  "No, Honey it's not JoJo. JoJo is at home just like you will be."

  "One more question before you leave, could you tell our television audience how you are feeling at this moment?" Someone from the crowd shouted out.

  "Yes, I can." Raking the fingers of her free hand through her hair, Catrine swallowed before answering."Right now I am extremely happy and relieved. I prayed and prayed that I would find Brhin safe. I thank God that it was this soon. My first reaction on hearing that my baby was missing was unleashed, uncontrollable fear. When I found out an adult entrusted with his care had given him to a complete stranger.... my God. I felt like hurting someone. You know, I have lived every day since Brhin's birth worrying about the terrors of sick child molesters when I should have been worried about the incompetent people that I pay to protect him.

  For weeks I had been analyzing the security at Brhin's daycare. The P.S. Center has a lot of potential, but it is just so easy to get in there. Being in the business of company security, I had been worried about the ease at which anyone could walk into a daycare center and had been making notes on how my company could help Brhin's center. I had no idea it would be needed so soon. Wrote them down and would like to share them."

  She dug through the pockets of her jacket before remembering the folded piece of paper was in her jean pocket."Maybe some of my suggestions will be able to prevent something like this from ever happening again. Bear with me. I tend to get on a soap box when it comes to security, especially when there are children involved." She began reading from the piece of paper."I think a soft buzzer should sound or a bell should ring when someone opens the door of any child care center and that mirrors should be placed in strategic areas and hallways so that they can be viewed from the office and rooms. I chose the childcare center I placed Brhin in because of the very first impression I received. Don't get me wrong. Beauty was not the only thing I saw. The center offers a great curriculum, computers, an enormous amount of play area and equipment, but when you walk in the door, the reception area is the biggest pull. The widest wall in the area has television monitors set in the walls so 'parents' could view all rooms and the playground at one time.

  Notice that I said 'parents'. The office staff could not see those monitors so they did not notice when the woman entered and turned them off. What real good are they doing? No one knew who took my son. The woman basically just walked right in, said I want that one and walked right out. When it comes to someone picking up your child, I think it would be great if each center distributed two security cards to each family. Each card's number should match the number that is on the application."

  Catrine switched Brhin to her other arm and looked around the crowded restaurant and continued talking.

  "This may seem extreme, but after having a sick person stalking a preschooler, I feel that a small system like could be installed near the office and require the number plus a personal pen number that was punched in would show on a computer system in the office along with the name of the child and pictures of the people allowed to pick up the child. If the wrong number is punched in, the person should be thoroughly investigated. This may sound very expensive but a child's life is worth more than a few dollars."

  She looked down at her list and then raised her head with a sheepish grin.

  "You all will probably think that I am a little bit paranoid in saying this, but I believe that no child's name should be labeled on tables or the backs of chairs. I know that this is a great way to teach the children their names, but it also does the same thing for anyone that walks into the room. That is another thing that bothers me. Why is it so easy for someone to walk into a classroom? If every classroom had observation windows as Brhin's center has then strangers would not have to walk into the class. But, as you know this didn't make the room safe. I believe that automatic locking doors that have code numbers like some car doors should be installed. These doors should be easily opened from the inside or from the outside with the code or a key that the teacher carries with her, centers would have a great advantage over potential abductors.

  If parents have a problem with the locked doors they can always view the rooms through the monitors set up in the entrance area or through the observation windows of the rooms. Parents shouldn't have the worry that the children will be locked in the room alone, because they are not supposed to be left alone. Observation is the key. It is the duty of the parent and people in charge of the children to pay attention.

  I hope that some of my suggestions will be taken into account so that no other parent will have to go through the nightmare that I have been through. This was my first time dealing with daycare centers and more than likely my last."

  "Ms. Teddi, would you tell us the name of center your son attended?"

  "It is…"

  "I go to The Perfect Solution Daycare Center," interrupted Brhin. "Momma," he pressed the palms of his hands on either side of her face. "I don't ever want to go there again."

  "Don't worry, Honey. You will not be going back there."

  "Dr. Sanchez, as the father, do you have anything to add?" The reporter extended the microphone towards Austin.

  "Not much, we would like to get this little fellow home and erase some of his horrible memories and I hope the police are successful in finding the woman who did this."

  "I know where she lives." Brhin raised his head again. "She lives right over there. Across the street in a yellow house that has a four and a zero on the wall. I don't wanna go there." He reiterated.

  "You don't have to, Sweetie." Catrine kissed his cheek and turned back to the crowd.

  "Thank you all. We're going to leave, now."

  Detective Serge stepped to the couple's side. "It’s our procedure to take a kidnap victim to the hospital for a routine examination. I think we should go there now."

  "Brhin looks fine." Catrine baulked at the idea of letting Brhin out of her sight for even a moment and clutched him closer.

  "You can accompany him of course. Its procedure we don't vary from and it's a good thing."

  "Okay." Catrine agreed. "Let's get this over with so we can get him to bed."

  "And you go home and have a good night's sleep little Brhin," put in Detective Williams. "The rest of the police officers and I will find the lady and she will not be bothering you again. Do you by any chance know her name?"

  "She said for me to call her 'Momma' or ‘Mona’. That's all I know," shrugged Brhin.

  "Oh, that's what the 'M' stands for." Catrine exclaimed in enlightened tones. "Brhin called home from the woman's house and her name came up on the identification box, her last name is Boots."

  "Thanks a lot. You were a big help, Brhin."

  Austin put his arm around Catrine's waist and directed her towards the restaurant doors.

  "I'm so glad this is over," Catrine whispered into Austin's ear.

  "No more than I. This has been a hell of a day."

  Looking over his mother's shoulders, Brhin smiled and waved at the crowd as he and his parents walked to the nearest exit... Everyone smiled and waved back, all except one person.

  Tightening the grip on his mother's neck, Brhin stared at the face of the lone figure sitting in the black hooded coat. She had squeezed herself into the corner of a cubicle and was slowly chewing on a French fry. When she noticed that Brhin had spotted her, she placed her finger to her lips. As his mother's steps moved him past the cubicle, the finger on her lips was shifted and repositioned to form a gun, pointed at him. The woman moved her fingers in the action of pulling a trigger and Brhin screamed in terror. Hiding his face in the side of his mother's neck, he screamed again and again. Burrowing deeper in her arms as if he thought he could hide inside her skin. Catrine stopped walking as the crowd rushed up and around her.

  "What's the matter? What frightened you? Detective Williams asked. She stood on the side of Catrine, touching Brhin on the back.

  "Brhin, what's wrong?" Catrine tried to hold Brhin at arm’s length, but he refused t
o loosen the grip he had on her neck. "Baby, come on. I can't breathe. Tell me what the problem is.”

  "Momma, she's over there." Loosening his grip, Brhin raised his head and pointed towards the cubicle that was now hidden by the crowd of people. "I can't see her, anymore."

  "Who's over there?" Detective Williams turned around and looked in the direction Brhin was pointing.

  "I can't see her anymore." Brhin repeated louder, and looked down at the detective and pointed his finger at her. "You said you were going to catch her and now she's gone. She did this to me," he mimicked the woman's threatening finger movements. "And now she's gone."

  "Did you see what she had on? Did she still have on her jacket? Did you see which way she went?"

  "She had on a black coat with a big hood on it. I could only see a little of her hair. It hung in her face like this." He opened his hand and rubbed his fingers diagonally across his left eye and face.

  "Hey." A woman's voice yelled from the crowd. "A lady ran out of the back door. She looked just like that. She just drove off."

  "I hear her. That's the lady, Momma."

  "That's what they say, Brhin." Catrine agreed.

  "But Momma she was the one...."

  "Don't let it worry you, Sweetie," Catrine interrupted, she rubbed his head in consolation. Just try and forget about it."

  After the police and the thrill-seeking crowd ran past them and into the parking lot, Austin stretched out his arm to open the door for Catrine.

  "I think we'll just let them have a go at it," he said. "Let's get out of here."

  "Not with my son," An angry voice growled from behind.

  Turning slowly, Catrine and Austin stared at the woman facing them. She had thrown off the hood of the coat and her hair was all askance over her head. She looked at them through the blood shot defiant eyes of a mad woman. It was clear to see that she would not be an easy force to reckon with. The very real gun that she had placed to the back of Brhin's head shook slightly.

  "Step back, daddy or I'll shoot you," she ordered swinging the gun at Austin when he made as if to step between her and Catrine. "Give him here." She pointed the gun back at Brhin, "Or he dies."

  "How can you do this to him?" Catrine clutched Brhin closer to her chest. "How can you scare this child like you are doing? He is trembling so hard I think his little heart will stop. Please, don't do this to him. He's been through enough today. He's tired. I somehow thought that you loved him. You went through a lot to get him"

  "I love him enough not to let you have him back. I can take care of him as well as you can."

  "How do you expect to do that? By running around the country forever? Because if you take my child I promise you I will hunt for him, throughout eternity."

  "Don't threaten me, girl. You don't know who I am. I'll kill you right now. How are you going to hunt for him then? I can do for him as much as you can, probably even more. I have watched you two constantly. I know everything he likes and doesn't like. I know where you shop for groceries. I know the kind of things Brhin can talk you into buying and the things you never give a second thought. Do you realize how much that child wanted that remote control car you wouldn't buy him?"

  Catrine looked at Brhin in surprise when his head popped up and turned to look back at Mona.

  "Well, I knew." Mona thumped her chest with her free hand smugly. "And I bought it for him." She announced triumphantly.

  "I didn't buy him the car because I don't give him everything that he wants. I am his mother not his friend." Catrine stated deliberately bursting Mona's bubble of superiority.

  "Do you think you can raise a child by giving him only what he needs?" Mona stepped forward, putting her face closer to Catrine's. "Do you think he will grow up happy? Do you think he will grow up to love you?"

  "Listen, Lady." Catrine angrily stepped towards Mona until they were standing forehead to chin. Catrine being the taller of the two and completely ignoring the gun held in the woman's hand continued her tirade. "Don't stand there and try to tell me how to raise my child. If you cared for him, you would not be putting him through this."

  "You don't wanna be all in my face like that."

  Mona picked up the gun and smacked Catrine hard on the forehead with its tip.

  The sound of the thump echoing through the bones of her skull brought her back to her senses; Catrine took a couple of steps backwards. Bumping into Austin, she took a calming breath when he put his arms around her waist.

  "Relax, Catrine. It won't hurt to let her talk." Austin admonished her softly.

  "I'll try."

  "I know where you work and I have been there." Mona continued as if she had never gotten angry. "I saw you sitting behind your little desk, fiddling with your hair as you played on your computer. I must say I liked it better longer. Oh now you believe me, huh?" She added when she saw the look that passed between Austin and Catrine. "You never saw me, did you? I was always around. It made me sick to watch you with Brhin. Every time I saw you hug or kiss him, I wanted to rip off your damned head. You don't deserve him. You who seem to have everything, and now you have a gorgeous doctor standing next to you. You don't need Brhin. You could probably have another child to replace him in no time one that would probably look just like him. Even in that you have more than I ever had or will ever have.

  I love Brhin and know I can do a good job with taking care of him. I've visited his daycare and I even know where your bossy bitch of a sister lives." She tapped Brhin's head with the tip of the gun when Catrine jerked angrily at the criticism of her sister. "I have seen you all here and she runs you like a clock. How in God's name you let her tell you what to do all of the time I can't figure."

  "I have no problem with the relationship I have with my sister."

  "Phssst, you should." she snickered."Pass him over." She pressed the gun to harder to Brhin's skull causing him to press his head further into his mother's neck."

  "All right, all right just back away a little. The child is afraid." Catrine hastily agreed. "Let loose, Brhin."

  "No." Brhin whimpered and clutched his mother's neck tighter.

  "Roosevelt, don't try and be a hero." Mona yelled at the teenager as he came running from behind the counter. "Boy, I already feel like killing you for the last little superman stunt you pulled. You may have pulled a fast one on me earlier tonight, but I be damned if I give you a chance to do it again."

  When Roosevelt halted, she made a motion with the gun for Catrine and Austin to follow her as she backed down the narrow isle between the booths towards Roosevelt.

  "Take it easy, Catrine. Stay calm," Austin instructed under his breath.

  "She had better." Mona, obviously hearing Austin’s instructions, seconded the instruction.

  "I would hate to use my little sedative to calm her down." She wiggled the gun at them.

  "Roosevelt is your little boss back there?”Good," she remarked at his affirmative answer. "Get those keys from your boss and lock that door." Shouting her order, Mona pointed to the exit that Catrine and Austin had been about to go through.

  'Who are you trying to fool?" She yelled at Roosevelt when he moved towards a second door after locking the first. "Just use the key on that door. You know all of those doors are locked." She turned and smirked at Catrine and Austin. "They locked the damn doors to keep me out, stupid cops. How you gonna lock out someone you've never seen especially when she's already in the building."Bring me those damned keys." she demanded to Roosevelt.

  When Roosevelt had come close enough to put the keys in Mona's hands, Mona slammed the butt of the gun into his head, knocking him unconscious. Catrine screamed and hugged Brhin close. She pressed his face into the material of her coat to hide the violence of the situation from his view.

  "Back off." Mona shouted and pointed the gun at Austin when he made a move to jump at her. "Do you wanna die? Do you wanna act superior, like you're some kind of superman and die in front of your son? Just follow me and no one will get hurt." She press
ed the gun into the back of Brhin's head. "You understand?

  Catrine nodded in the affirmative and followed Mona's lead.

  "Yo, Mr. Manager," she shouted. "You take your little crew and go lock yourself in your freezer." She ordered when the sweat glistened manager appeared at the counter.

  "Slam the door so I can hear it. And don't try to play me, 'cause if I come back there and you've tried to fake me out, I will kill you all."

  "Yes, Ma'am." He and the other workers practically ran to the freezer. After a few minutes, the loud slam of the door was heard.

  Switching her total attention back to the couple, Mona smiled menacingly.

  "Now, I don't have time for this long drawn out goodbye. The police are out there holding their little guns and waiting for a clear shot, no doubt. So I will need cover. Let's see what you two can do for me?" She pointed her index finger at them in total attitude. "Brhin, come to me. My car is around the corner and it is going to take a bit of maneuvering to get us there. I'm pushing it as it is."

  "Lady, I don't wanna go with you. I wanna stay with my momma. Go get your own little boy."

  "Sorry, Brhin I choose you. I've watched you for months. There is nothing I will not do for you. Your momma and your good-looking daddy can just have another baby. I can't. I love you, boy. I will not do anything to hurt you."

  "You hurt Roosevelt." Brhin pointed to the boy sprawled unconscious on the floor. "You're not nice." He accused candidly.

  "He was a different story. I truly care for you. I have the little car waiting in the trunk of the car for you. Remember how much fun you had playing with it?"

  "I don't want a car, I want my momma." Brhin clutched Catrine's neck and hid his face in the collar of her jacket.

  "Tell him to let go," she ordered Catrine.

  Catrine rubbed Brhin on the back and talked to him softly.

  "Sweetie, please look at me," she said softly, continuing when he did as requested. "I want you to go over to Mona."

  "Noooo." Brhin moaned softly, tears rolling down his face. He shook his head in the negative and placed his little hands on each of Catrine's cheeks and looked sadly into her eyes. "I don't want to leave you. I don't wanna go with her. I want you."