Red Sneakers and Hidden Lies

(sensitive topics include mentions of kidnappings)

Red, dirty sneakers thumped against a gravelly forest road at a steady pace, the surroundings were practically silent however the earphones secured in the brunette woman's ears blared loud music, enough for it to drown out her own thoughts.

All she needed to focus on right now was running, pretending like she could run away from every problem she'd ever had in her life.

The tall stocky built woman was the only one in the dense forest, she enjoyed the solitude, even if it was only for a thirty minute jog.

She made it to the end of the track and took a moment to catch her breath, taking out one of her earphones.

As she did she heard the sound of running, she never ran into anyone on this track, her training from years on the force kicked in as she straightened her back and turned around, suddenly alert like a wild animal sensing danger.

Her dark eyes glanced over every single rock and leaf in the area, noting every single access point someone could attack her from.

The running became louder before she saw a young blonde girl running out of the forest.

"Help me!" The girl screamed, sending a shiver through the woman's body.

The scream for help was like nothing she had ever heard, terrified and desperate.

The girl ran up to her, bloodied and in a panicked state, her clothes ripped and dirtied.

"It's alright, it's okay. What's going on?" She asked as the girl who couldn't be any older then fourteen cried her eyes out.

"He's after me, please I have to get out!" The girl screamed in hysterics, constantly looking around as if someone was following her.

"Tell me what's going on." The ex policewoman said in a calm tone, trying to settle the girl down.

"I had to run away from him, I've been trying for so long. Please, he'll get me!" The terrified girl screamed, her pale body shaking in fear.

"It's alright, I'll help you, okay? My name is Lana, can you tell me your name?" She asked, gently placing her hand on the girls shoulder.

"It's Grace." She responded, still crying and hyperventilating.

"Alright, let's get you out of here. Stay close to me, alright? Is there someone after you?" Lana asked, as she took the girls hand and scanned the area for any kind of dangers.

"He's tall and he's bad and he's kept me." Grace stuttered out, not making any sense.

Lana pulled out her phone and sent her location to a few friends, knowing it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Stay close to me." Lana demanded as the horrified girl nodded and stuck close to her while they went back down the dirt track.

Lana could sense the overwhelming fear practically radiating off Grace as they walked down the quiet and eerie track.

After what felt like an eternity they made it out of the dense forest and back to Lana’s car.

“Let’s get to the station, I know almost everyone down there. You’ll be in good hands.” She reassured the young girl, opening the passenger door for her.

She noticed how Grace faltered, staring at the car in fear.

“I know you’re afraid, but I promise I’m only here to help…here.” She muttered pulling out her phone and dialing the emergency number.

She handed it to Grace without pressing call.

“You hold onto this while I drive, if you feel scared of me at any moment you just have to hit call, okay?” Lana said, keeping her tone as calm as she could.

“Alright.” The girl whispered before caustiously getting into the black SUV with Lana.

Lana sat beside her, starting the car and trying everything in her power to not terrify the skittish girl any further.

"We'll get down to the station and everything will be okay." Lana whispered, she wasn't sure if she was talking to Grace or herself.

They drove in silence while Grace stared at the trees passing by, her thumb ready to press dial at any given moment.

There were so many questions that Lana had but she knew better then to question Grace before they'd even got to the station.

After a short drive they finally made it to the station, Lana opened Grace's door for her and watched her wearily step out of the car and hand the phone back to Lana.

They walked side by side into the station to see a shaggy haired man at the desk who looked up and smiled.

"Well, if it isn't Lana Halse, what brings you here?" He said with a smile, she wouldn't admit it but she had missed her friend's at the station.

"This is Grace, could you call Martha in and get the Captain?" Lana asked, the man's smiled faded as he quickly nodded.

Anytime Martha was mentioned everyone knew it was serious, she was a forensic psychologist.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'll get them now." He muttered as Lana nodded, she took Grace over to a small seating area and sat her down.

"Are you hungry or thirsty?" She asked as Grace looked at her and nodded a little.

"I'll go get some food and water, alright? Just stay here." Lana said, offering her a kind smile before handing her the remote to the small TV across the room.

"I believe channel ten is the cartoons." She said with a smile before seeing the small positive reaction in Grace's eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered before Lana left to the break room.

Usually they wouldn't let someone who wasn't an officer in but once upon a time Lana was in charge of everything here.

She grabbed various snacks and a water bottle before heading back out to Grace to see her sitting on the floor watching cartoons.

She smiled and sat on the floor beside her, placing the snacks in front of her.

"I wasn't exactly sure what you liked so I got everything I could." She said seeing Grace smile a little, despite how terrified she was.

They waited together, eating a few snacks while watching TV in silence before Martha and the police Captain showed up.

"Lana, good to see you." The Captain said, her long brown hair put up into a tight bun like usual, no matter what, she was always dressed perfectly for her job.

She knelt down to Grace and smiled kindly.

"You must be Grace. I'm Captain Lance, but you can just call me Miah." The Captain said, her tone kind as if not to scare Grace.

"I'm going to leave you here with Martha, she's just going to ask you a few questions, alright?" Miah continued as Grace glanced at Lana for reassurance.

"It's alright, Martha is a good friend of mine. You're in safe hands." Lana reassured her as Martha sat on the ground in front of Grace.

"Lana, a word." The Captain said as they walked away from the girl.

"I just need a statement from you and then we can handle the rest." Miah whispered as Lana sighed, she didn't love the fact that she couldn't be involved in this investigation, she was just a civilian now.

“Of course.” She whispered, trying to hide her disappointment.

Lana sat at home that night, staring at the tv that was playing some kind of reality show.

She had been a cop for a long time, she had dealt with a lot of cases like this but for some reason this one affected her so much more.

But, unfortunately she would have to be okay with the fact that she might never find out what happened to the terrified girl she found in the forest.

A few weeks later Lana heard a knock at the front door, causing to her jump in shock out of her thoughts where she stood in the kitchen with a cup of coffee that had grown cold, she hadn’t stopped thinking about Grace.

She opened the door, expecting someone selling something but her blood ran cold when she saw the Captain and two other officers.

“Lance, what’s going on?” She muttered, trying to hide her nervous voice.

“Lana, I need you to come with us to the station.” The Captain replied, Lana knew something was wrong by the tone of her voice, it was the same tone the Captain used if she ever had to tell someone the terrible news that their loved one had died.

Sitting in the back of the police car, Lana’s mind went wild trying to figure out what was going on.

Finally they made it to the station and Lana followed Miah into a private room.

“Usually this goes a little different, but you’re my friend and I can’t pretend you’re just another civilian. Have a seat, I need to ask you some questions.” She said as Lana sat down and tried to control her breathing.

“Miah, what’s going on? Is this about Grace?” She asked as the Captain sat down across from her.

“When was the last time you saw your father?” Miah ignored Lana’s question and asked her own.

“About ten years ago, he cut off all contact to me and everyone he knew and moved.” She explained as Miah nodded a little, Lana could see the sad look in her eyes.

“Grace is back with her parents, she’s well and healthy.” The captain said making Lana sigh in relief.

“Thanks to Grace we found and arrested the man who kidnapped her.” She continued as Lana looked at her in confusion.

“Why are you telling me this?” Lana asked, she knew this wasn’t protocol.

“The man we arrested is Ronald Halse, he has already confessed to the kidnapping.” Miah explained as Lana froze and stared at her.

Her skin went pale as she heard her father’s name leave Miah’s mouth.

“My dad?” She whispered in disbelief.

“Yes.” Miah replied as Lana stared down at the metal table, thoughts rushing through her mind.

“That can’t be true, my father is kind and loving.” Lana whispered, feeling tears in her eyes.

“Lana, do you remember anything before age five?” Miah asked as Lana rubbed her face and tried to set aside her shock.

“Just my aunt and uncle, I stayed with them a lot I guess.” She responsed as Miah pulled out some photos.

“Is this who you remember?” The Captain asked as Lana nodded.

“Lana, these are your parents.” The woman whispered as Lana stared at them in shock.

“What? No, they’re my aunt and uncle.” She muttered in disbelief.

“After Ronald admitted to Grace’s kidnapping he also admitted to another one. A girl named Katy Belle.” Miah continued as she pulled out a photo of a young girl, Lana knew that photo.

“That’s me, I don’t understand.” Lana said as Miah put the photos away and looked at Lana.

“Ronald is not your father, Lana. Ronald killed your parents and kidnapped you when you were five years old.” Miah said, her tone serious and unwavering.

Lana felt tears in her eyes as her entire world came crashing down around her. The entire life she had known was a lie.

Now it made sense why Ronald cut contact and left when Lana became a cop.

Happy memories of her father soon turned to nightmares, instead of seeing a loving father getting her gifts on Christmas she saw a monster manipulating a child.

“No… No, that isn’t true. There’s a mistake, okay? There’s a mistake!” Lana yelled as Miah looked at her sadly.

“I can’t even imagine how this must feel, but he confessed to all of it. All we need now is a DNA test and he’ll be in prison for the rest of his life.” Miah explained as Lana just stared down, memories and strange moments from her childhood were starting to finally connect.

"I'm sorry, Lana... I really am." The Captain whispered standing up and placing her hand on Lana's shoulder.

“We have the confession if you want to see it, whenever you think you’re ready. The next years of your life isn’t going to be easy, you know more than anyone what it’s like to go through the justice system. You’ve got everyone here at the station standing beside you.” Miah whispered, squeezing Lana’s shoulder a little in an effort to comfort her.

On the plus side Grace was back with her family safe and sound, Lana had found out what she had wanted but it came with a huge cost, one she wasn’t sure if she was better off knowing or not.

The Captain was right, this wasn't going to be easy.