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They picked up their pace as they advanced toward the auto body
shop. Inside the small customer service area, they encountered a guy
with the name STITCH sewn on a patch above his left breast pocket.
Babs snickered in spite of herself.
“We’re looking for
a Mason Aussman,” she said. “We were told he works here.”
Stitch cast a
glance at Dominik. “You friends of his?”
Dominik winced.
“Not necessarily. We just want to talk to him about a few things.”
“Employees aren’t
allowed to fraternize during working hours. His lunch break’s at
one, if you want to come back then.”
Babs saw her
husband start to move away and quickly intervened. “It has to do
with his children. We’re concerned for their health and well-being.”
Stitch narrowed
his eyes. “You from some sort of state agency or something?”
“No,” Babs
answered. “We live down the road from him, and we’ve noticed how his
kids always seem to be…” She wrinkled her nose.
“Like they’ve been
neglected?” Stitch filled in. “Yeah. I know what you mean. The
couple of times I had to go by there to pick him up and bring him to
work, I’ve seen them. So sad, but what can
I
do? So this is just a little humanitarian intervention thing you two
got going?”
“More like a
Christmas present for Harold and Aimee,” Babs implied. That last
little bit, including the fact that she knew the children by name,
was enough to convince the guy they were on the up and up, and only
meant well.
Stitch sighed and
drum-rolled his fingertips on the counter top. “Awright. Stay right
here. Oh, and good luck.”
Babs thanked the
man, who exited through a rear door. Glancing up at Dominik, she saw
him canvassing the place. “What?”
“Just wondering if
we should take this out back where there’s less chance of someone
overhearing.”
“The place looks
empty.”
“Right now, but
that doesn’t mean someone can’t come walking through that door.”
A soft ding-dong
let them know someone was entering through the rear entrance. A man
wiping his hands on an oil rag walked up to them.
“I’m Mason
Aussman. Whaddaya want to see me about?”
Babs felt a little
nudge against her back. She took the cue. “It’s about your children,
Harold and Aimee.” As she expected, the man automatically went on
the defensive. “Do I know
you?” “We live
down the road from you,” she continued, using the same line Dominik
had used. “And you
are?” She laid a
hand to her chest. “I’m Jessica. This is my husband, Tuffy.” “Tuffy, eh?”
Aussman grunted. “Like you’re some tough guy Santa, Tuffy Claus?”
His tone made it clear he wasn’t buying anything she was selling.
Dominik refused to rise to the bait, crossing his arms over his
chest instead. Babs lowered
her voice as she leaned over the counter. “Mr. Aussman, we’re
worried for your children.” The guy took
a step back. “I don’t give a fuck what kind of stories you’ve heard.
My kids are fine. Now go bother someone else.” Waving his rag at
them, he pivoted around and strode stiff-legged out of the customer
service center. “That went
well,” Dominik wryly remarked. “Now he’s on
the defensive. He’ll be on the lookout for others to show up.” “Well, he’ll
have to learn to live with disappointment,” he groused. “Let’s get
out of here.” “And go
where?” “To find
Harold Aussman.” “Why?” “The boy
told his teacher he was going to the bathroom, but he snuck out of
the school instead. They don’t know he’s run off yet. We need to
find him before they do. And definitely before they notify his old
man.” Putting his arm around her shoulders, he led her out of the
shop and back across the street to where they’d parked. Babs noticed
the sheriff’s car was gone as she threw a leg over the seat.
Glancing down at her display, she saw the little white dot that was
their next destination. “Gotcha,”
she heard Dominik confirm. “Any idea which direction he went when he
left?” “Negative,”
the elf working communications responded. She placed a
hand to the jingle bell transmitter in her ear. “Is this
Doodlepuff?” “Hey, Babs!
Yeah!” She kept her
eyes on the map. “Is that dot the school?” “Sure thing,
toots.” She mentally
rolled her eyes. Yes, that was definitely Doodlepuff on the comm, as
if the Brooklyn accent wasn’t already a dead giveaway. “Do me a
favor?” “Anything
for you, doll. Just name it.” “Throw up
the location of the Aussman home.” “What are
you thinking?” Dominik asked. She held up
a hand to stay his question as she waited for the next indicator
light to appear. As she’d suspected, it wasn’t too far from the
first location. “Thanks, Doo. Babs out.” She cocked her head at her
husband. “If you were a seven-year-old running away from school,
with the obvious intent of running away from home to escape the
abuse you’ve been suffering, where’s the first place you’d go to?” Confusion
crossed his face. “The kid’s heading home? Why?” “To grab
what he can’t bear to leave behind. We better hurry.”
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