Theresa sat on a nearby bench watching her daughter, Emmie, play in the sandbox. Today was Emmie�s third birthday and for the first time the child seemed to understand the significance of the date. Emmie had asked to wear her new overalls with the teddy bear on the front pocket and her mother had indulged her.
So, with her mother watching, she poured sand into her little pail with a toy shovel, only to pour it back into the sandbox whenever the pail became full. Theresa smiled. After trying so hard to have a child, it seemed like she and Matthew had finally been blessed when Emmie had arrived.
She was a beautiful little girl, with curly red hair and sparkling green eyes. Emmie was always happy and active and it seemed, to Theresa at least, that she was smarter than most children her age were.
Theresa looked down at her watch. If they wanted to meet Matthew for lunch, they�d have to leave soon. Standing up, Theresa turned her back for a moment to find her car-keys. When she turned back around, Emmie was no longer in the sandbox.
�Emmie,� Theresa called. She glanced around frantically. Where could a small three-year-old girl go?
Squealing tires brought Theresa�s attention to the nearby parking lot. Flying around the corner, was a tan four-door car. Theresa�s breath caught in her throat when she recognized the little girl crying in the backseat as her daughter, Emmie.
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October 23, 2002
As Theresa Stamford finished relating what had occurred on the day nearly two years ago, Chris sighed. �Did the police get a make for the car?�
Matthew nodded. �It was a �99 Ford Taurus. Theresa didn�t see the license plate, so they didn�t have very much to go on,� he explained in a softly accented voice.
Chris nodded. �And no ransom was ever asked for?� As both parents shook their heads in dismay, Chris sighed again. �I can�t make any promises, Mr. Stamford,� he said softly. �But we�ll definitely do our best to find your daughter.�
�We would appreciate that very much, Mr. Larabee,� Stamford drawled softly.
Chris nodded again and asked, �Do you have any pictures of Emmie? We have access to a computer program that can age it so that we�d have some idea what she�d look like today.�
Matthew turned to his wife, who pulled a 4 x 6 photo from her purse. She gazed longingly at the photo; then handed it to Chris. �It was taken the morning she disappeared,� the distraught woman explained.
Chris nodded his thanks and looked down at the photo. It showed a happy, smiling three-year-old hugging a large stuffed rabbit close to her chest. Chris sighed again, thinking of his own son at that age; then glanced back up at the bereaved parents. �We�ll call you if we find out anything,� he said softly.
�Thank you,� Stamford replied, ushering his wife toward the door.
Once they had left, Chris sat down heavily at his desk. He shook his head in frustration. Today the little girl would be nearly five years old, if she were even alive. Either way, Chris vowed to find her so that the Stamfords could at least have some kind of closure in their lives.
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It was nearly time for the children�s parents to start arriving, but Ezra had enough experience with them to know that if they weren�t occupied in some way, they�d start tearing the room apart.
�Who wants to color?� he asked the excited group of kindergartners.
�Me! Me!� was the enthusiastic reply.
Smiling slightly, Ezra got them all seated and handed out Halloween coloring sheets. He checked on each child, to make sure that they had the crayons they needed; then leaned against the wall to watch them.
Although he�d been volunteering at the Youth Center for a few months, it still surprised him how different each child�s level was. Even though they were all the same age, some children merely scribbled haphazardly over the picture, others tried to stay inside the lines but colored blue or pink pumpkins, while still others carefully selected orange crayons and were very carefully following the outline of the picture.
�Mr. Ezra,� one child called, startling the southerner from his thoughts.
Ezra looked up toward the voice and smiled. �Yes, Kim?� he asked.
Kim beamed at him and threw a glance at her twin. Ezra was one of the few people involved in the after-school program who knew which one was who. �Would you color with me?� she inquired softly.
Ezra�s smile broadened as he settled down in the tiny chair beside her. �Certainly, Kim,� he answered. �Thank you for asking me.�
If the other LAW men saw Ezra sitting in a pint-sized chair coloring jack-o-lanterns with a group of five-year-olds, Ezra was positive he�d never hear the end of it. That was the main reason he had never told the others that he volunteered there in his spare time.
Ezra truly enjoyed the time he spent with the children. Perhaps it was because the children were completely non-judgmental about his past. Most of them knew he�d been in trouble with the police, but none of them cared. They only cared that he was fun to be around and found interesting projects for them to do.
While Ezra colored with Kim and Cassy, he also watched the door for parents and kept a close eye on the other children. He knew the twins wouldn�t fight with each other and Madison, Toby and Cody, who were cousins, would color quietly together, that was not the case with all the children.
Martin and Emily, while they both got along with the other children, frequently fought with each other. It seemed that the two could not share at all. Whenever Martin would decide he needed a green crayon, Emily would reach for the same exact one. Likewise, if Emily wanted to use the scissors, Martin needed them at precisely that moment. Never mind that there were more than enough scissors for each child, they would both reach for the same ones.
Invariably, they would tug and pull the object of dissention between them until Emily pushed the smaller Martin away. Martin would then retaliate by biting her or pulling one of her long red braids.
Before Martin�s mother had arrived to claim him, Ezra had resolved two such altercations, the latter one resulting in both children being sent to time-out in opposite corners of the room.
Martin, of course, acted as though he�d been there for hours and for no reason at all. However, Mrs. Gerrity was smart enough to know all of his tricks by now. She apologized to Ezra for his behavior as the southerner was seeing them out.
�I don�t know what it is between those two,� she exclaimed. �He never had this problem with other children.�
Ezra smiled. �It�s alright, Mrs. Gerrity,� he replied. �No harm was done and eventually they�ll learn to get along.�
Mrs. Gerrity thanked him softly and lead the boy out toward her car. Meanwhile, Ezra turned back toward the room and the only child still waiting to be picked up � Emily Cerruthers.
�Well, my dear,� he said softly. �Would you like to help me put away the crayons and scissors?�
Emily nodded and hopped down from the �time-out� chair. �I sorry, Mr. Ezra,� she said, locking him with sad green eyes.
Ezra sighed. �Thank you for apologizing, Emily, but now you need to try to correct your actions.�
�How?�
�Learn to share with Martin,� Ezra said quietly. �You can�t shove him, he�s smaller than you. You might hurt him and it causes him to retaliate.� Seeing her confused expression, he explained, �It makes him want to hurt you.�
�Don� like Martin,� Emily pouted. �Don� wanna share!�
Ezra sighed again. �Emily there are lots of crayons and lots of scissors, you don�t have to fight over them,� he explained. �I don�t want you to fight with Martin�understand?�
She nodded seriously.
Ezra locked eyes with her and asked, �Do you promise to try to share with Martin?� At her nod, he added, �Remember to use words, Emily. Shoving people only results in you being punished.�
�I�ll try, Mr. Ezra,� she answered.
Ezra grinned and said, �That�s all I ask, darlin�.�
By the time they finished putting the room back in order, Ms. Cerruthers arrived. As far as Ezra knew, there was no �Mr. Cerruthers,� and he wondered if it was hard on the young woman to raise the precocious child on her own.
�Sorry, I�m late,� she said immediately.
�That�s alright, Ms. Cerruthers,� Ezra replied. �It gave me a chance to discuss something with Emily.�
The young woman smiled and brushed her red hair out of her face with one hand, while taking Emily with the other. �Come on, honey,� she said. �Say �good-bye� to Mr. Standish.�
�Bye, Mr. Ezra,� Emily called as her mother lead her outside.
Ezra waved and glanced around the room quickly. Satisfied that everything was exactly as it should be, he locked the room up and headed out as well. A quick glance at his watch told him that he would arrive at the Saloon a little later than usual.
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Ezra walked into the already crowded Saloon and quietly made his way toward their usual table. The others were already gathered there and the grim expression on Chris�s face told him that they had a case he wanted to discuss.
�Hello,� he greeted softly, dropping into the chair between Buck and Ashley.
Chris nodded a greeting and said, �About two years ago, Emmaline Stamford was kidnapped off a local playground.�
�I remember that case,� Ashley stated softly. �They never found her.�
Chris blinked and nodded. �Her parents have hired us to try and find her.� Handing out files to each of them, he said, �Here�s what we know: the mother claimed she saw her daughter in the back of a tan �99 Ford Taurus as it sped away. She wasn�t able to get a license plate number and that�s a fairly common color and make.�
Chris handed a file to each person before turning to JD. Scowling slightly, he said, �The photo was taken the morning of the kidnapping. I want you to age it so we have an idea what Emmie would look like now.�
Ezra looked at the picture in the file and frowned. There was something familiar about the child, but he couldn�t quite place what it was. Glancing at JD, he said, �You might want to see what she�d look like with straight hair. Sometimes children are born with curls, only to end up with none later on.�
Vin nodded in agreement. �More curls on the ends,� he said, nodding at the picture.
�Okay,� JD replied.
Chris nodded and turned to Josiah and Nathan. �You two look through the hospital or mortuary records from the past two years,� he said. �See if there were any unidentified bodies found that match her description.�
�Right,� Nathan said grimly. Although none of them wanted to think about the possibility that the child was already dead, it would be irresponsible of them to ignore it all together. It would also be of no help to the Stamfords if they were to gain the closure they needed. �Can you get me the original police records? Maybe there�s a clue they missed,� Nathan said hopefully.
Chris nodded and pointed at Ashley; then he turned to Buck. �I want you to question help me question the people the police and FBI originally talked to,� he said. �Maybe if we ask someone the right question, they�ll recall something we don�t already know.�
When Buck nodded in agreement, Chris turned to Vin and Ezra. �I want the two of you to check through police records, accident reports, anything you can think of that might five us an idea why this girl was taken.�
Vin nodded, but Ezra was staring at a photo of the Stamfords. Suddenly, he said, �She doesn�t look like them.�
Chris frowned. It was true that both parents were blondes and had blue eyes while Emmaline had red hair and green eyes. She looked more like she could be Ezra�s daughter than theirs, but Chris also knew that Ezra�s mother was also blond with blue eyes. �You don�t look like your mother,� he reminded the southerner.
�That�s true, Mr. Larabee,� Ezra agreed. �However, I do look like my father.�
�What are you saying?� Nathan asked softly.
Ezra shook his head and shrugged. �I don�t know,� he answered honestly. �Ashley, could you check and see if Miss Emmaline has a record with child services?�
�Sure, Ez,� the young lady answered.
�You thinkin� she was adopted?� Vin asked.
Ezra shrugged again. �It would explain the lack of a family resemblance and it would give us a motive for the kidnapping.�
�The mother changed her mind?� Josiah asked.
Ezra nodded and Chris frowned. �Check for those records, Ash,� he growled.
�You got it, Cowboy,� she answered, already moving toward the boarding House.
Chris turned to the others and said, �Do what you can tonight; then go home and get some rest. We�ll start bright and early chasin� down what leads we can.�
The others nodded and broke up into small groups, heading toward the Boarding House to get started. JD caught Ezra and said, �Hey, Ez, what�s on your sleeve?�
Ezra frowned and looked at his arm. There, on his sleeve was a bright yellow blotch of color. The southerner smirked and said, �Just tempera paint, JD. It�ll wash right out.�
�Isn�t that the stuff that kids use?� Buck asked.
Ezra beamed at the ladies� man and hurried into the Boarding House, ignoring his question.
