Taken?

"I certainly think I've found a few things that may help us. This weekend I happened to vacuum my daughter's room, and found a folded up grocery store receipt that doesn't belong in our house." Rob handed a copy of the receipt to Maki, who looked at it very carefully.

After looking at the receipt for a couple of minutes Maki said, "This is dated June 1 of this year. According to my calendar there, that was a Sunday, just over a week before your daughter went missing."

"I hadn't noticed the date, just the name of the grocery store. On Sunday I drove all the way up to the border and back, confirming that that store is not along Highway 61. I've made a list of the towns and cities in Minnesota that have the word Falls in their name, and my brother-in-law is trying to track down the store, starting this morning. Hopefully today we can find out something on that."

Maki thought about it for a moment and then said, "You know what, I can send out a request to the State Police that will go to every one of their offices around the state, asking if any officer knows of a grocery store by that name. The state police don't have offices in every town so it is possible that they may not pick up on the name, so what your brother-in-law is doing will also be helpful."

John thought about this new method of locating the grocery store and said, "I'll let my brother-in-law know what you're doing, and maybe he should hold off phoning for a day, until you hear back from some of the State Police."

"Don't do that. The State Police officers may or may not get back to us right away, and if he should happen to locate that store before we do hear from them, it could save some time. The time and expense for him to make a few phone calls may be more than offset by the fact that we may get better information, and quicker," Detective Maki said. "Was there anything else that you found? You mentioned finding a few things."

"One of my neighbors saw Katy leaving with a man at around 9:30 on the day she disappeared. The height and hair color were about the same as the other two descriptions, but she also confirmed that he was white, slender and wasn't wearing glasses. She told me that his car was a brown Toyota Corolla."

Detective Maki made note of the information, and then got the name of the neighbor from Rob. "We'll get in touch with her and show her some pictures of different years and body styles, so we can get a more accurate description of the car. Our sketch artist may even be able to get a bit more information from her on what this guy looks like simply by giving her examples to choose from. This new information may be more valuable than you realize. Was there anything else?"

"I brought the receipt in hoping that they might be able to get some fingerprints from it, so I'm wondering if you would be able to check with them and see if they've done that yet. They've had it since yesterday. Actually they've had it since Saturday night when I brought it in. Do you think they would've had enough time to check it for prints?"

Maki picked up the phone and called the technicians downstairs. He had a long conversation with them, and made a few notes as he spoke. When he got off the phone he said, "They were able to get prints of three different people from that slip of paper. One was you, and I guess we're not surprised by that. Another was an unknown, and they've checked the nationwide database and it doesn't show up at all. The third print will probably surprise you. It was from your wife." Maki looked at Rob with a puzzled look on his face. "That seems a bit strange to me."

Rob was also puzzled. Erin had been gone for almost three months before that receipt was even created. He looked up at Maki and said, "It means she is still alive, and also, it means that the man who took her is the same one who took Katy. It's always been sort of coincidental that they both disappeared in the same way but now it has been proven. They were definitely taken away by the same man." Rob sat quickly in that chair beside Maki's desk as his legs felt weak. Knowing his wife and daughter were together was a relief, but he was no closer to understanding why they had been taken away from him.

"We're learning something about this guy that took them though. There's a partial description, we know a bit about his car, and if we can find this grocery store we may find the area where he lives. We also know that for some reason he has taken both Erin and Katy. We can be fairly sure that he passed through Grand Marais with both of them. We know that somehow he convinced each of them to go with him, either by force or by somehow convincing them to go. We may have one fingerprint from him. Is there anything else you can think of Detective Maki?" Rob waited expectantly for the detective to answer.

Detective Maki sat quietly, obviously thinking about what Rob had just said. Finally he replied, "I think you have pretty well covered it to be honest. There is one thing I have thought of though. Up until now we've just plain assumed that they were here in Minnesota. As you know, if you keep on going up Highway 61 past where you feel sure both of your loved ones have been sighted, you come to Canada, the Province of Ontario to be specific. Should we not assume that he could just as easily have gone to Canada? It may explain why they seem to have vanished into thin air."

"You could be right, Detective Maki. It makes sense, and it certainly might explain a lot of things. How would we be able to find out about that, unless someone was to go to Canada to look for them? Do you think that's the next step for me?"

"It could be the best thing for you to do. We could also have our department fax the Provincial Police up there, as well as the police department in Thunder Bay. They might have something that would help. I just don't know whether there's any way to guarantee that going up there will do any good or not. Even if you don't find anything they could still be there." Detective Maki looked a little unsure as he spoke to Rob.

"You know what detective, I have an appointment this afternoon, and we don't know yet whether my brother-in-law has found out anything about the grocery store, and whether it's located in one of the Minnesota cities. How about you notify the State Police and the Canadian police, and we'll see if any of them know of the grocery store. Depending on how all of this turns out I can decide whether I should go visit Canada tomorrow or Wednesday. One other thing, I've completed the course for the right to carry permit. Is it possible for you to see whether the permit process can be expedited? If I'm getting this much closer to this guy perhaps I should have the permit, so that I can purchase a handgun."

Detective Maki looked over at Rob, and then picked up the phone and made a call. Rob couldn't hear what was said as the detective turned away from him as he spoke. A couple of minutes later Maki hung up the phone and turned back to Rob. "You're in luck. To be honest we did a pretty extensive search on you, and your background, when you first reported your wife was missing. It's pretty common for the husband to be involved when a wife goes missing, so we checked up on you pretty well. We did a second check when your daughter went missing. As a result, everything that is required for your permit has already been done, so getting the paperwork signed is really all that is necessary at this point. If you can come back here later this afternoon I'll have the permit for you."

Rob thanked the detective for his assistance, and told him he would be back around four o'clock in the afternoon. The two men shook hands, and Rob left the office. When he got back to his car he decided to drop by at his brother-in-law's home, to see how he had made out with the phone calls. Rob also wanted to let Jim know what the police department was doing to help locate the grocery store, and he was hopeful that perhaps they would be able to check all of the locations in Minnesota by the end of the day. He didn't see much sense in going to look for Erin and Katy in Canada, if the answer was here in Minnesota.

It was just a few minutes before 10 a.m. when Rob pulled up at Jim's home. He had stopped to pick up a couple of coffees for the two of them on the way over, and carried them in when Jim answered the door. He handed his brother-in-law one of the cups and said, "How are you making out in the search for that grocery store? Have you had any luck at all?"

Jim thanked him for the coffee and then said, "Well, I've phoned all of the Chambers of Commerce in the larger cities and towns and none of them could help me with the name The Falls Grocery. There are still five of the smaller locations for me to cover, and I intend to get them done today."

As the two men sat in the kitchen with their cups of coffee, Rob filled in Jim with the current state of the search for Erin and Katy. Jim was quite surprised by the fact that Erin's fingerprint had been on the grocery store receipt that Rob had found. Like Rob, he was sure that it was a good sign that Erin was still alive. He was equally surprised when Rob told him he might have to go to Canada to do the next part of the search. Before he left, Rob asked Jim to call him on his cell phone as soon as he had completed his calls in the search for The Falls Grocery. He was anxious to get on with the next part of the search, no matter where it may lead him.

Rob still had time to go home and have lunch before his appointment with Gloria Baker. When he got there he checked his messages, and found he had a couple of them from people who claimed to have spotted Erin. One was from in Duluth itself and the other from Hinckley, but when Rob got the people to give him details of their supposed sightings, both were obviously cases of mistaken identity. While he was at home he took the opportunity to call Katy's school to speak with the principal. He wanted to be assured that when he got Katy back she would be able to either complete her year by writing makeup exams in the summer, or would be given credit for her work throughout the year. He knew it was being optimistic to feel that way, but he felt it was something he had to do for the sake of his own sanity, as well as in his daughters' interest. He was pleased to find out that Katy's work throughout the year had been excellent, and they would allow her to continue on with her classmates in the fall.

Rob made himself a sandwich for lunch, and was able to finish the morning paper before it was time to leave for his one o'clock appointment. Over the course of the last two days he had made himself a small list of items that he wanted to bring up with Dr. Baker. He made sure he brought that with him, as he felt he was going to need the information she could provide him, on the subjects that he had written down. With all of the new information that had been discovered in the last few days, Rob felt the most confident he had in the two weeks since Katy had disappeared.

Rob rang the doorbell at Dr. Baker's home exactly at 1 p.m., and was let into the house a moment later. When the two of them were comfortable in her office, Rob took out his list and explained to the Dr. that this time around he wanted to cover some specific items, things that he felt he would need the answers to, before he went out again looking for Erin and Katy. He proceeded to explain to the Dr. that there was proof that Erin was alive a week before Katy disappeared. His first question was, "Since Erin is apparently alive, what kind of a mental state is she likely to be in after three months with the man who took her?"

Dr. Baker thought about his question for a moment and then said, "That is very hard to say. It all depends on the circumstances in which she has been with this man. Obviously if she chose to be with him she will be in fine condition, but I doubt that you would be able to get her to leave. If you are right, and she was taken against her will, she is probably very upset and worried, and her health may have suffered from the situation. Another option is that she could suffer from what is called 'Stockholm Syndrome'. That means that she may have begun to relate to her captor. Any of these are possible and I suppose there could even be other options, depending upon the circumstances that she has been held in."

Rob hesitated before he asked his next question. "What about if she has been assaulted? I need to know what kind of psychological effect that may have had on her."

"Any kind of a traumatic experience will have affected her, but the degree to which she has been affected could vary. It may not have any serious effect on her at all, or she could be severely traumatized. There's no way to predict that. How strong a person is your wife?"

"She has always been very strong as far as that goes, and the same with Katy. I would like to think that they could survive pretty much anything that would happen, but I just wondered if you can give me any advice on how to deal with some of these situations if they should come up. I'm trying to be prepared in advance for whatever I run into."

Rob checked his list and said, "I guess my last question is; would I be able to ask you to help my wife and daughter if they need psychological assistance after I get them back? I know you are probably thinking that I'm being way too optimistic about finding the two of them, but I guess I'm an optimist at heart. My fears that they could have been killed are nearly gone, considering that Erin was still alive three weeks ago. If she is still alive then there's no reason to think that Katy wouldn't still be alive. I'm really feeling hopeful that this cash register receipt I found may lead to something. Mind you, we have to figure out where the store is. If we can't find it in Minnesota, I may be leaving for Canada in the morning to look there."

The doctor immediately answered, "There is no problem whatsoever for me to say that my door will be open to both of them if you should happen to find them. In fact, if you locate them and have any concerns about how they are feeling, phone me immediately and I'll see what I can do for them, and you, over the telephone. Sometimes just a quick suggestion can help."

These were the primary questions that Rob had, and after having received these answers, he and the Dr. completed the appointment by having her speak to Rob about his own feelings about the situation. When the appointment was over Rob left with a new feeling of confidence about how he could handle the situation for himself, and for his family, when he finally located them. He headed back home so that he could make a few phone calls to friends and relatives, to tell them of some of the new developments.

At four o'clock Rob walked into the third floor offices of the Duluth Police Department. Detective Maki saw him coming, and waved him over to his desk. He had a smile on his face, and was holding up several pieces of paper for Rob to see. When he got to the desk Rob accepted the papers from Maki, who seemed anxious to give them to Rob. Rob could see that the top piece of paper was a permit allowing him to carry a handgun.

"You got it for me! Thank you so much detective, I wasn't sure you'd be able to do this so quickly. After I leave here I'll go to a sporting goods store that I usually deal with, and see what they have in the way of smaller sized handguns. I do have another question for you though. Will this cover more than one handgun? The reason I ask is that I have an old one of my father's. I don't think they covered this question in the class, or if they did, I missed it."

Detective Maggie smiled and said, "Your welcome, Rob. By the way, please call me Eric. We've seen so much of each other lately that we've got to get rid of this Mr. and Detective business. As for your gun, this license will cover both; you just can't have both on your person at the same time."

"Again, I want to thank you, Eric. You've been extremely helpful, ever since you realized I didn't cause the disappearance of my wife and daughter." Rob had a small chuckle at the detective's expense with that statement.

"You are right; we did suspect you in the beginning. You have to realize though, that in this business suspecting the husband and father is usually the way to go. I wish it wasn't so, but unfortunately, that's the way the world works. We did check you very thoroughly, and nothing we've found supports a theory like that in your case."

Rob thought for a second and then said, "Thank you for telling me that. I'm glad to hear that you did check me out completely, because I'm anxious that you, and the rest of the department, spend all of your time that's available on this case, looking for my wife and daughter. I haven't heard anything more back from my brother-in-law, but he had done most of the checking of the towns and villages in Minnesota when I saw him this morning. Have any of the State Police departments called back with any information on The Falls Grocery?"

"We've heard nothing from anybody at all. Between your brother-in-law and our faxes, it is beginning to look like a trip to Canada is most likely in your future. I've faxed the police departments up there, but I haven't heard anything back from them. Since it's not one of their residents that has gone missing, it's hard to say how much actual help we'll get. Only time will tell on that, I'm afraid," Maki said.

"Well, that's even more that I have to thank you for, Eric. I think I'll leave now and go get that gun purchased. From there I'll drop in at my brother-in-law's, and confirm my suspicion that he has found nothing. He may not be finished though, since he hasn't called." Rob stood, and the two men said goodbye to each other, as Rob turned and headed out of the office.

Rob went straight to Fred's Sporting Goods, and was able to pick out the small .25 caliber automatic that he felt would be a good protection weapon. He also purchased a secure box to keep it in, a box of ammunition and some cleaning equipment. He also decided to pick up some ammunition for the old .38 that his father had owned, in case he was able to get it cleaned up and operational. Once his purchases were safely locked in the trunk of his car, the gun and ammunition secure within his new lockbox, he headed to Jim Prentice's house to see how he was making out, and whether he would need any help with the phone calls.

When Jim met him at the door his first words were, "I was just going to call you. I made the last calls in the last five minutes, and have struck out completely. Nobody I spoke with had the faintest idea of where The Falls Grocery was located."

"Well, thanks for trying. It looks like I'm going to have to take a drive north to Canada. The police haven't found out anything about The Falls Grocery either. I'll check with them again in the morning, but if you haven't found anything I certainly doubt that they're going to. How about I take you out and buy you supper for your efforts. Are you interested?"

Jim smiled and said, "I'm never one to turn down a free meal. Where would you like to go?"

The two men finally settled on The Red Bull Steakhouse, and left almost immediately so they could get a seat before it got too busy. It was only a ten minute drive, and there was no wait to get their seat once they arrived. They were soon enjoying a cold beer while they waited to receive their food menu. They weren't in a rush to eat, so they spent the free time in a discussion of the disappearance of Erin and Katy.

Rob hadn't yet told Jim about his gun course, or the fact that he had intended to purchase a handgun. Jim was quite surprised by that, but he understood Rob's reasoning for doing so. There was no way to tell what kind of person had taken the two women, and the gun could mean the difference between success and failure, if Rob tracked him down. Rob explained that he didn't intend to go after the man with a gun in his hand, but rather he felt that having one with him made sense. His first choice would be to have the police look after it, but if that couldn't be arranged, then he would have to look after things himself.