Monday Morsels: Kept Hidden

KEPT HIDDEN

by Leigh Fleming

Chapter One

Sweat rolled between Vanessa Barczak’s breasts as she held up her cell phone for a tight shot of the Tolbert County crest. Ninety degrees with equal percentage of humidity, the sun sizzled in the cloudless sky. Who would’ve thought it could be this hot in Brookfield? The high elevation and forested mountains should’ve supplied some cool relief. It was downright hot, but not the kind of heat she’d felt before leaving Dallas . . .

She’d been assigned a story on West Virginia’s historic courthouses, and with Channel 10’s limited budget, she was forced to video her own footage. This segment wouldn’t make for gripping news, but then again, not much excitement happened around here. She’d had enough excitement when she messed with the wrong guy back in Texas. This slow, sleepy place hadn’t been her choice, but at least she had a job.

As the traffic light turned green, she ran across Main Street to get a better angle of the domed building which had sat on this corner since 1872. She turned to capture the surrounding businesses when a blue car streaked by, blasting through the red light and sending up a plume of burnt rubber as it screeched to a stop.

A man jumped from the car, wrenched a little girl off her bike, and sped away. Quick, efficient, and unbelievable. Vanessa careened into a street sign, looked down at her phone clutched tightly in her shaking hand, and realized she’d gotten it all on video. Fumbling her phone back into her tote bag, she dropped her head against the pole and sucked in the moist, heavy air.

It couldn’t be real.

Her imagination had played its dirty tricks.

It was all an illusion.

A little girl hadn’t been taken.

Limbs trembling, she pushed away from the sign and smoothed a hand over her hair, looking for anyone who would confirm what she’d thought she’d seen. “Did you see that?” She directed her question to a woman now standing next to her, as plump and round as she was tall, who had reached out to catch Vanessa’s hand. “That little girl—”

The lady twisted Vanessa’s hand against her ample belly. “Oh my God.”

Strained voices, people running, some crowding the corner as Vanessa’s gut churned. “Oh my—”

“Am I seeing things? Did a man just snatch that little girl off her bike?” She turned to the woman whose body quivered as she wrung Vanessa’s hand until it was numb.

“He took her!” The lady’s eyes were wild with fear.

All at once loud, ear-piercing sirens swallowed the chaos around them, and Vanessa wrenched her hand from the woman’s grip. “The police are coming.”

“They have to catch that horrible man,” the lady said, color rising back in her cheeks.

Tires squealed and doors slammed as law enforcement burst onto the scene, stopping traffic and cordoning off the area. Dazed and muddled, Vanessa wandered down the sidewalk, away from the action, until she came to a bench shaded by a brick building. She needed time to get her emotions in check. Witnessing a kidnapping wasn’t easy—especially the second time around—but this abduction had been more frightening.

Her cell phone buzzed with her station manager’s number on the screen. “Vanessa, we just had word there was a child kidnapped a few minutes ago in Brookfield. Are you still there?”

“I am.”

“Great. Sam’s on his way. He’ll film your story for this evening’s broadcast.”

“Now? But I’m—” How could she possibly stand in front of a camera and relive the harrowing nightmare without falling apart?

“You’re the only reporter we have in the area.”

“I’m not dressed for the broadcast.”

“I don’t care what you’re wearing. Get that story.”

With her hands shaking and her mind in a whirl, she didn’t think she could handle anything more dramatic than her courthouse story. She had on a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers instead of her usual on-air attire of a dress or skirt. Her hair was unwashed and pulled back in a pony-tail.

Why was she talking herself out of this?

She had more experience than all the other reporters combined at Channel 10. What just happened was right up her alley, a typical story she might have covered back in Dallas. A golden opportunity—though harrowing—had been dropped in her lap. It was time to ignore the memories, get her act together, and get that story, so she could get the hell out of West Virginia.

###

Recently fired from a Dallas TV station, reporter Vanessa Barczak’s career languishes in a small West Virginia town until she witnesses an abduction—a child is snatched directly in front of her. She desperately wants to get back to the big time, and this story might be the one to do it. But the crime stirs up past memories she’d hoped were long buried.

Up for a promotion in Chicago, FBI Special Agent Bo Azar needs to solve this case. Vanessa Barczak gets in his way, insinuating herself into the investigation and into his head. After she witnesses a second abduction, he realizes she knows more than she’s letting on. Now he’s forced to depend on her to help catch the kidnapper, but she’s not talking.

Determined to get justice for the young victims, Vanessa and Bo grow closer as they unravel the truth behind the crimes. Through the mountainous terrain and surrounding forests, they stumble onto a scenario neither could’ve imagined, forcing them to open up to emotions they’ve Kept Hidden.

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