I asked the lady as I watched my son play with the rest of the kids at the park.
“My brother took him to the washroom. They’ll be back in a bit,” she replied with absolute certainty.
Though she sounded familiar, I didn’t remember her face. We had had a couple of conversations about our children, a little politics, and how school services were going through the roof before her brother came along with her little boy.
“There he is. Come and say hi to my new friend. Maybe he and your son can be friends,”
She said as she fixed her boy’s shirt. Her son looked alright, but her brother, on the other hand, seemed off. He was dressed casually. Too casual. Almost like it was picked to look normal, yet meant for a particular occasion.
Throughout our chat, I noticed her gaze was fixed on the couple at the far end and so was her brother’s. At the same time, the elderly man behind us, holding an umbrella despite the cloudy season and no chance of rain, was also watching the couple strangely. Then it dawned on me. They were undercover police officers.
I called out and signaled for my son to come quickly without raising suspicion. I made up an excuse and left the lady behind. On our way to the car, we saw the rest of the police officers lying in ambush outside. They told me to leave quietly. I drove away, checking the side mirror to make sure they weren’t following us.
Later that night, the local news reported a failed police attempt to apprehend a notorious kidnapper, whom intel believed was planning to snatch another child at the park. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked my stars. The entire ambush was meant for me but because their information had been misinterpreted, I escaped, even after engaging with them.
I remembered the lady from the park a few days after moving out of town. She was one of my victims. One who, quite frankly, made me the determined person I am today. The price of her children was generous enough to help me level up my game.
But enough of the past. There are new towns to see. New kids to pick. And with my son by my side to lure them in, we’ll do just fine this picking season.
