She nodded and pointed to a dress that lay on the floor.
"Good, then let's get you dressed, and I'll take you to Geo. He's waiting for us to get back. What's your name?" Kacey moved around the bed and picked the dress up off the floor.
"You really have Geo and Lenora?" She hugged the sheet to her chest.
"Yes, he's safe at our home. He's got pizza waiting for us when we get home. Lenora and Andy are with Eric at another home where they're safe and playing video games all day." Kacey had no idea if that was true, but it sounded like something that might get this girl to trust him. "What's your name? Geo told us there had been another girl, but the police took her. I'm guessing that's you?"
"Tera." Xander smiled at the girl. "Right? That's what Geo told us."
"Yeah." Her eyes widened.
"Tera, we're going to get you out of here and make sure this man never hurts another child again. Get dressed and we'll go out to the living room while my friend deals with him. Then we'll leave here and go see Geo. You can talk to Lenora when she wakes up in the morning. Sound good?" Kacey prayed they weren't making a mistake taking the kid with them. They'd always left victims behind for the police to deal with. But Xander was right, with Roger being a police officer he probably had others working with him who were aware of the trafficking and taking part or at least helping to cover it up. They had to make sure the girl stayed safe. He trusted Parson to find a good home for these kids once things calmed down.
The poor girl looked petrified but reached for her dress and slid it over her head. She looked as if she wanted to run but had nowhere to go. Kacey could only imagine the fear she felt, wondering if they were going to hurt her the way Roger Carson had.
"It's okay. I promise. I know you're scared, but we really going to take you somewhere safe so you can be with Geo. Tomorrow you can talk to Lenora." Xander stood beside Roger. Not that the man could move or say anything. "Get your shoes and go out into the living room with my friend. I'll meet you guys there."
She hesitated, then slid from the bed. She slipped on a worn pair of tennis shoes, grabbed a small backpack, then nodded to Kacey.
"Good girl." Kacey smiled. "It's dark out there, so stay close so you can see where we're going." He turned on the pen light and headed out of the room, leaving the job of castrating Roger to Xander.
Once out of the room, he closed the door and led her down the hallway to the living room. He kept his voice low. "Have there been other kids here with you?"
"No, just me, but he's got pictures of a lot of other girls in the basement. He took me down there and took pictures of me. The kind that slides out of the camera and you can watch them appear."
"Polaroids?" He had the urge to run downstairs and look for more evidence, but it would be better to let the police find it. Hopefully, whoever showed up here wouldn't be dirty and try to hide everything to save a fellow officer.
"I think so. He's got hundreds of them on the walls down there." She hugged her backpack to her chest.
"I'm so sorry he did this to you." Kacey glanced around. "Do you know who any of his friends were? Did other men come here?"
"No, but he talked to people on his laptop. Like Facetime, but on the computer, not his phone." She pointed to where a laptop sat. "He kept telling me he was going to sell me to someone, and I'd make them very happy."
Kacey went over and grabbed the laptop and opened it, praying there wasn't a password. It would be better to leave the computer for the police to find, but if he could download the information, it might give them a lead to others involved in the trafficking ring. To his surprise, the laptop was on and all he had to do was touch the spacebar to have it come to life. He quickly pulled out one of the extra thumb drives they always carried and stuck it into the slot. Praising Carter and Trenton for training him how to download a hard drive, he quickly clicked the keys he needed to and started the download. He glanced over to see Tera standing against the wall, tears still streaming down her cheeks. He hated how scared she was and that there was nothing he could do to ease her mind. "Tera, I swear this nightmare is over. Nobody is going to hurt you again. You're safe now."
She nodded but didn't look any calmer.
"Is there anything else of yours here?"
"No."
"Okay, I'm just going to look around a bit while we wait. It won't be long. Once we leave, we'll walk to the car, then we'll take you straight to Geo. Do you need a doctor? Are you hurt anywhere? I know you're embarrassed, but it's important you see a doctor if you need one." He hated that the women were gone now. Hopefully, she'd be honest with them.
"My cheek hurts where he hit me, but that's it." Her voice was just over a whisper.
"We'll look at it when we get home. Maybe get some ice on it, or better yet, ice cream might help."
She nodded, but still kept her arms wrapped tightly around the backpack.
While he waited for the computer, he used the penlight to look around, mentally yelling at Xander to hurry so they could get out of there. They'd drop Tera off at the house, then go back out to dispose of the knife and other items they used.
Xander walked out a few minutes later. "It's done."
"You killed him?" Tera's voice squeaked.
"No, no." Xander went and knelt in front of her. "I just gave him some medicine that will make it so he can't hurt little children anymore. He's alive and will be just fine."
"You should kill him." Her voice was stronger now.
