“Wait until you see the acreage of this place, perfect for a winery.” said the realtor excitedly.
Melissa knew it was an intentional attempt to change the focus from the picture back to the farmhouse.
“You go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute,” said Melissa with a spurious smile.
When they were out of sight Melissa used her sleeve to dust off the glass covering the picture.
The heavy portrait shifted on its nail and slid sideways. A small plaque dislodged from behind its frame and fell to the floor.
The Caplin Family – March 1975
Melvin and Loretta with our kids: Jimmy, 19 and Amy, 6
Melissa straightened the picture and studied the family in the photograph. She shuddered at the sight of Melvin with his horn-rimmed glasses and Jimmy the slender young man from her vision.
The face of an older woman with a solemn expression appeared to stare straight through her. The couple seemed more like grandparents to the children.
“This can’t be….,” Melissa recognized Amy. It was her ghostly companion.
She shoved the small plaque into her coat pocket and ran to the front porch. She abruptly interrupted the realtor, as he was pointing out the Queen Anne posts lining the porch.
“We need some time to think about the house, we’ll call you,” said Melissa shooting a look at her husband.
“Well…James...thanks for the tour,” said her husband awkwardly.
With a stunned look from the realtor, they got into their car and left.
“No…No…LET ME GO,” yelled Melissa waking out of her sleep in a cold sweat.
Every night that week she was wrought with nightmares of Amy’s abduction. Sometimes, Melissa felt she was being pulled into the dark abyss of the van.
Flashes of the older man and woman, the dusty room, the street corner, the two men arguing, and Amy plagued her every thought.
Still exhausted from lack of sleep, Melissa got into her car and drove back to her hometown.She pulled into the Johnstown library’s parking lot just as the doors were being unlocked. She rushed past the security guard and went to the third floor.
She researched the library’s digital archives and found several articles regarding the 1975 abduction. To her surprise, that’s not all she found.
February 21, 1975
Amy Davis Abducted in Broad Daylight
February 28, 1975
Eight Abductions in Two Years: Police Suspect Link
April 2, 1975
Three Suspects Arrested in Cambria and Centre County Abductions
April 4, 1975
Amy Davis, Who Helped Seven Children Escape, Still Missing
Melissa printed each article, but before she could read them Amy’s ghostly image appeared through a reflection in her computer screen.
She turned and saw the little girl standing in the stacks. Amy giggled and then ran away. Melissa followed.
“WAIT! I want to help you!”
Amy ran right through a door in the library’s backroom.
Melissa opened it.
A tiny hand reached out, grabbed Melissa’s arm and pulled her through the door. It slammed shut behind her.
She was in the secret room of the farmhouse again. It was now furnished with seven tiny cots. Several children were playing tag and two were hiding in under a bed.
“Meli, come play with us,” said a small boy.
“Meli?”
No one called her that for years.
“You can see me?” Melissa asked.
“Of course I can silly-willy. Tag…you’re it!”
Just then, Jimmy the slender young man entered the room.
“Go to bed! You got lots to do on the farm tomorrow!”
The children scrambled to their beds.
“Come on Meli, lay down before you get in trouble.”
That’s when she noticed her tiny, little feet peeking out from under her long nightgown.
“What happened to me? I’m a child!”
“Oh no..!” Melissa started to remember the childhood nightmare she blocked out years ago and now she was reliving it.
Melissa ‘Meli’ Stewart was abducted at age 7. She was one of the seven children in the secret attic.
Then his familiar face flashed in her mind.
Jimmy, the slender young man, was James Caplin, their realtor. Did he remember her?
Melissa had to find Amy.
Where could Amy be and why was she in the Caplin family portrait?
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