Betsy's California schedule coupled with the time difference precluded us from conducting any midweek session. She flew directly to Boston on Friday and I met her at Logan Airport at six. We were picked up by Martha and arrived just as Quinn and who'd ferried Howie pulled in behind us. Instead of dining out, we ordered a couple of pizzas. Howie was anxious to start a session. We completed one before bedding down just before midnight. It was a simple runaway.
Over breakfast I filled in my associates on my discussion with agent Brennan and what I hoped to obtain from him. Howie was reluctant to demonstrate his abilities to yet another person but the four of us persuaded him, provided Brennan was able to get the ear of the right person. The test would be something similar to what Howie ran with us.
Saturday and Sunday were both productive days with four sessions taking place each day. Our successes consisted of the location of a lost girl, two more runaways, and the identification of a pedophile who attempted to abduct a young boy. We tried to help with the South Carolina abduction of a girl taken from her bedroom. Unfortunately, it occurred over night and we couldn't fix the time in spite of three attempts to do so. The kidnapping was particularly egregious so we broke our self-imposed rule against staying away from case where precise times are not known. The abduction bore a strong resemblance to the Delaware case of Marcia Stonehurst where Howie had just missed securing valuable information.
Getting cases that fit our criteria remained difficult and we looked forward to Brennan providing better and timelier information. Directing our tips was not an easy chore either. While some missing children reports listed a call number, many required a search that took valuable time.
A snow storm cancelled our return flight Sunday. Howie insisted we rent a car at his expense. We did so although the driving was downright dangerous for the first fifty miles.
"We can't keep up this schedule," Betsy sighed as we crossed into Connecticut. "We're not being fair to our employers. It's so frustrating! What we're accomplishing with Howie is vital; we can't stop doing it. We're a house of cards in a windstorm, held together by God knows what."
"Let's see what Brennan can do for us. I feel like I'm on a carousel that won't stop but we have to slow it down." A full week passed before we had our answer.
When I spoke to the now retired agent he was ecstatic. "I spent forty minutes alone with the director and related all the situations where your uncanny tips were involved. I told him I had no idea how you accomplished what you did but you were a crystal ball of an asset to us. He was incredulous as a Missouri cynic but interested. Our nailing Otto Rudman on your tip impressed the hell out of him. He agreed to keep our conversation limited to the two of us and is willing to listen to you."