Free Taken by Virginia Rose Richter Page B

baby is, but, please, Detective Olson. We have to hurry.”
    The detective headed down a hallway, “Follow me.”
    Jessie and Bryce hurried after him to a room with a metal table and chairs.
    Detective Olson closed the door. “Tell me exactly what happened.” He pulled a notebook and pen from his jacket pocket.
    Jessie explained as fast as she could talk. She hardly took a breath. About the dogs and the bracelet. The ride in the sleigh past the house. The baby crying inside.
    “How did you know where the dog lived?” asked Detective Olson.
    “Buster has a rabies tag. Bryce called his vet, Dr. Carter. He gave us the address.”
    Detective Olson stood and hurried from the room. Three or four minutes later he returned and said, “Okay. We have to get a judge to approve a search of the house. Then a police detail will go there and check it out.”
    “What about Buster?” said Jessie.
    “Someone’s picking him up. He’ll go to a private foster home for a while,” said the detective.
    Tears welled up in Jessie’s eyes.
    “Don’t worry,” said Detective Olson in a kind voice. “They’ll take good care of him.”
    “May we go with you?” asked Bryce.
    “Absolutely not, this is very delicate and could be dangerous,” said the detective. “We’ll keep you informed. Stay here.”
    Jessie and Bryce went back to the waiting room. Phones were ringing. Police were everywhere. Patrol cars were lined up at the curb.
    “I hope it works out,” whispered Jessie. “Or my names’s Mud.”
    Bryce said, “Don’t worry. I have a good feeling about this.”
    “We got an okay from the Judge Parker,” called the sergeant to the gathered policemen.
    “Okay”, said Detective Olson. “We’ll swing past Parker’s house and pick up the order on our way out. Let’s go!”
    “Wow!” said Bryce. “That was fast!”
    “They’ve been looking for a week,” Jessie said. “They probably were ready to act when they got a lead.”
    The police station emptied and the patrol cars headed through the snowy streets.
    A woman came into the waiting room. She looked around, spotted Buster lying between Jessie and Bryce and walked to the bench where they were sitting. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Norma Cole. Is this Buster?”
    “Yes,” said Jessie. “He’s shaking. I think he’s cold and scared, but he’s very sweet.”
    Mrs. Cole sat on the bench next to Jessie. “I’ll take him home and feed him and get him into a warm bed. Look how cute he is.”
    “May I visit him?” asked Jessie.
    “Sure.” The woman took a sticky note pad and pen from her pocket, wrote something on it, pulled the sheet from the pad and handed it to Jessie. “Here are my phone number and address. Call me or come on over for a visit.”
    Jessie looked at the note and slipped it into her pocket. She lifted Buster from the bench and handed him to the woman. “Please take good care of him.”
    Mrs. Cole cuddled the little dog. “I promise. See you soon.” She carried Buster through the doors.
    Jessie and Bryce were quiet for a few minutes. Then Jessie stood and started pacing. “You know, Bryce. Buster’s house isn’t really very far from here.”
    “That’s true,” said Bryce. “We could probably walk to it.” He stood and looked out the window, then at his boots. “The snow’s pretty deep but we have boots on.”
    “We do have boots on,” said Jessie.
    He grabbed her hand. They pushed through the entrance doors and ran down the sidewalk.

Chapter Twenty
    The deep snow slowed them down. But fifteen minutes later, they could see the little yellow farmhouse. Hiding behind a grove of evergreen trees, Jessie and Bryce peeked through the branches. Patrol cars lined the country road along with an ambulance.
    “Oh no!” whispered Jessie. “What’s an ambulance doing there?”
    Bryce shook his head.
    The front door opened and the “grocery-store woman” appeared with her hands behind her back. A policewoman held the woman’s arm and