The Line: The Complete Series

by Nikki Rose

  “Then what is it?”

  I turned to her and took her hands in mine.

  “There’s something I might have to do today and you’re not going to like it.”

  She pulled her hands out of mine and studied my solemn expression. “What is it?”

  “I may need to hide you for a while today.”

  “Hide me? Why?”

  “There’s someone who might be coming over who can’t know you are here for obvious reasons. I have a hidden room with a television, couch, and mini-fridge so you’ll be comfortable enough.”

  “How long will I have to be in there?”

  “I’m not sure. I have people watching out so we’ll have a little notice and once we’re clear I’ll come get you.”

  “So, who will I be hiding from?”

  I tilted my head and raised my brow. She should know better than to ask.

  Addy let out a sigh but the look on her face told me she was giving in. It was just one day and she was only trading one room for another.

  My phone rang and I answered it on the second ring. “Chris?”

  “Hey man, he just passed our checkpoint. You’ve got about forty-five minutes before he’s there.”

  “Damn it. How the hell did he get the okay to search my place?”

  “I don’t know but you gotta get her to that safe room now. Call me as soon as he leaves.”

  “I will.”

  Addy waited until I hung up the phone. “I’m guessing it’s time?”

  “Yeah. Let me show you the way.”

  Addy started toward the door. She clearly thought we would be leaving the Master bedroom, but instead, I headed for the closet that could barely be called a walk-in. She stood back, puzzled as I stepped into the closet and separated the clothes hanging against the back. It looked like a typical wall until I grabbed hold of an almost invisible ledge and slid it open like a sliding glass door.

  The space was barely big enough to fit the small couch, T.V., and mini-fridge inside and the idea of being in that tiny space for hours made me anxious. I couldn’t imagine how it must have looked to her.

  She stepped back from the door. “I can’t stay in there. It’s tiny.”

  “I know it’s small, but it won’t be for long and you can watch t.v. while you wait. It will be over before you know it.” I urged her to follow me.

  “Please, I can’t.” She stepped back as panic took over.

  “Addy.” I used my firm tone. “You have to. We don’t have long, now get inside.” It wasn’t often I had to take on that commanding tone with her anymore but when I did, she knew there was no point arguing. She could either go inside the easy way or the hard way.

  I moved aside and she stepped into the small space. I was proud of how she held back her panic though it was still clear in her eyes. I kept my eyes on hers as I slid the hidden door back into place. Don’t think about her right now. I had to focus on dealing with this detective and getting him out of my home as soon as possible. Then I could go back to Addy and get her out of that tiny room.

  I adjusted the close to cover the back of the closet once again. I rearranged my shoe rack so that it blocked a portion of the walkway to look less conspicuous.

  I checked the clock. I didn’t have long. I quickly switched out the deadbolt. And removed the two window bars leaving the same bolts in place so that I could easily put them back once he was gone.

  I had just removed the last window bars from the bathroom when the doorbell rang. I quickly hid the bars in the subfloor hiding space under my bed before rushing downstairs to meet with the detective.

  I wasn’t supposed to know he was coming so I plastered on my most convincing puzzled expression as I opened the door.

  “Hi, may I help you?”

  “Mr. Wright, I presume?

  “Yes?”

  He flashed me his credentials and badge. “I’m Detective Stevenson. I was wanting to see if I could come in and ask you a few questions.”

  “Certainly, please come in.” I stepped out of the doorway and allowed him entrance even though he had yet to show me a search warrant. Innocent men don’t think much about asking for warrants, they just want to be helpful. Guilty men do.

  “Do you drive a silver Corolla, Mr. Wright?”

  “I do. What’s this about?” I motioned for him to sit and he took a seat in a side chair while I sat on the couch.

  “I’m sure you’re familiar with the unsolved murder of Judge Andrews several weeks back.”

  “I think I heard something about that on the news. But, what does that have to do with me?”

  “We have a video showing your car leaving the area surrounding the judge’s murder.”

  “Leaving the area around the murder? That sounds vague.”

  “Perhaps, but we are investigating all possible leads.”

  “I see. And you’re sure it was my car? It’s a rather common model. Where was this video taken?”

  “Near 5th only minutes after what we can deduce was the time of death.”

  “Well, I can’t recall the specific night but I can tell you I sometimes drive through there as a cut-through to get home.”

  Detective Stevenson paced my living room making me uneasy but I refuse to show it. “Do you mind if I take a look around?”

  “What are you looking for? I might be able to help.”

  “Anything tying you to the murder.” He was blunt. I’d give him that.

  “I’m afraid you’re wasting your time Detective.”

  “Well, it is mine to waste.”

  “Yes, but mine is not. Without a search warrant, I’m afraid you won’t be searching my home today. I know my rights.”

  “Lucky for me I have a warrant.”

  “Then why bother asking my permission?”

  “Trying to be polite.” His expression told me being polite was not on his agenda.

  “What possible reason would you have to get a search warrant for my house? Just that I drove by the area of a crime? No judge would sign that.”

  “You’re welcome to look over the warrant but I have every right to be here. If you will please move out of my way.” Detective Stevenson moved past me and began searching my home.

  It didn’t take him long to clear the downstairs and move up to the second floor. No matter how trained you are your nerves still react when someone is getting close to something you’re hiding. Someone like me isn’t taught to reject those feelings but instead to hide them from even the most discerning eyes.

  Detective Stevenson walked into my bedroom and looked around. He even checked my closet but only lingered for a moment before closing the door.

  As he eyed the dresser drawers panic rose up in me. I had been so focused on making sure Addy was okay in that room I hadn’t even thought about the drawers of her clothes right there in plain sight.

  I rushed past the detective in an attempt to distract him.

  “Detective, I’m not sure what you’re looking for here but as you can see there is nothing here. I’m pretty sure that warrant was uncalled for and a stretch of the law. I think it’s time for you to leave.”

  “I think you’re right but I want you to come down to the station with me and answer some questions.”

  “I’m not going down to the station. I can answer your questions here. I have things to do.”

  “You can either come willingly or I can put you in handcuffs and take you down to lock up until we sort this out.”

  Fury bubbled inside me but I had to force it down. I couldn’t risk being held overnight and leaving Addy in that room the whole time.

  “Very well let’s go to the station. If I can just make a call to my friend and let him know I won’t be meeting him for lunch.” I pulled out my phone to call Chris.

  He snatched the phone from my hands. “You can make a call from the station.”

  I climbed into the back of the police car with one last glance up at the master bedroom window. The local police station was only 3
0 minutes out. I could call Chris and tell him about Addy within an hour. I was sure she’d be fine for that long.

  Thirty minutes came and went. I tensed as we passed the local police station. “Where are we going? You said we were going to the police station.” I demanded

  “We Are. We’re going to my station back in the city.”

  “What the hell? That’s four hours away.” I roared.

  “Yes, it is. I suggest you get comfortable.”

  “I need to make that call now.”

  “I told you. You can make a call once we get to the station.”

  “This can’t wait.”

  “Sit back and shut up or I will cuff you.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Addy

  Hunched over on the couch, I tapped my fingernails on the coffee table. There was no clock in the tiny hole in the wall. But I knew I’d been stuck in there for three hours based on the shows I’d watched. There was nothing else to do and I needed to keep my mind busy. Whoever I was supposed to be hiding from should have been gone. Hunter made it sound like it wouldn’t be that long. Maybe that was just so you wouldn’t fight it.

  The nervous tapping wasn’t helping. It was hard to breathe and my chest felt like it was closing. I needed to move. I jumped up from the couch and paced in the small walking space behind the couch.

  How stupid could I have been? This man kidnapped me then because he was nice to me, I let him lead me right into this tiny cell. Maybe he planned to keep me in here instead of the Master bedroom.

  “Maybe this was his plan all along. First, lock me in his bedroom to get me used to being locked up, then put me in this even smaller room as my permanent home,” I muttered to myself before plopping back onto the couch.

  I held my head in my hands and continued the conversation with myself. “How could I have been so stupid? I let my guard down and allowed myself to get close to him—to have sex with him—a murderer.”

  I couldn’t stand to stay in that room long term. I’d go crazy. I was already talking to myself. It was a short jump to crazy from there. I couldn’t stay still. I was too on edge. I needed to keep moving—to burn off some of the nervous energy. I grabbed another soda from the mini-fridge and paced along the small walking space again.

  What if something had happened? What if Hunter wasn’t coming back? I needed to take charge of the situation and find a way out for myself.

  I couldn’t wait for someone to come save me. I needed to be my own white knight.

  The room was dim with only a small lamp and the T.V. to offer light. I felt along the line of the hidden door until I felt the smooth metal keyhole. I gripped the small ledge on the side and pulled but it wouldn’t budge. Of course, he had locked the door. I was his captive after all. I searched the side table where the lamp sat. There was a small drawer but it was stuck. I wiggled and pulled without any luck. Changing positions to give myself better leverage, I pulled with all my strength. The drawer released and I flew backward as the contents scattered on the floor. Inside was a pack of cards and a copy of The Art of War. There was no key. Nothing that would help me open the door.

  I went to the mini-fridge and searched for anything I could use to pry open the door but there were only a few snacks and drinks inside.

  A toilet behind a hanging curtain caught my eye and I hurried over to it. I lifted the tank cover and was happy to see the long thin metal arm attached to the handle. If I could get that loose, I might be able to use it to pry open the door.

  As a little girl, I was practically glued to my father’s side. I wanted to do everything with him. One evening after work, my mother was complaining that the toilet wouldn’t flush. I’d helped my dad change out the old toilet arm and handle. I didn’t have the wrench like my dad used but I had to try.

  I struggled with the nut for several minutes but finally, when I thought I couldn’t do anymore, I managed one last burst of energy and the nut slipped loose. I finished unscrewing it and removed the thin metal arm.

  I couldn’t stay in there for another minute. I ran to the invisible door and wiggled the arm between the door and the wall. I slid it up and down, feeling for the lock. Once I’d arranged the arm in the right place, I used it as a lever to pry open the door but instead, the metal arm snapped.

  “Shit,” I yelled out and threw the piece of metal across the small room. I let out a loud roar and banged on the door with both fists.

  Finally, I dropped my arms to my sides. They felt like lead and my hands throbbed with pain I hadn’t noticed before. I fell to my knees, holding my face in my hands as I cried.

  I cried until there were no tears left. Finally, I got off the floor and brushed myself off. Why was I letting myself get so upset? If Hunter thought he could keep me locked in that tiny room he had another thing coming. When he came back to get me, I would make a run for it.

  I needed something to defend myself with just in case. No matter what it took I had to get out of here. I couldn’t keep living as a captive. I was not an animal. I was not a criminal. There was no reason to have me locked up, leaving me wondering when or if he would even come back.

  I sat on the couch and shuffled the stack of cards. I sat playing my hand at solitaire, staring at the cards. I’d worked myself into a stalemate and couldn’t find a way out of it. Fitting. As my eyes scanned the cards once more, I noticed a card I’d overlooked and started playing again.

  Sometimes the answer is right under your nose. It might seem silly, but that little card game victory gave me new hope to find a way out.

  I stood and scanned the room again, looking for anywhere I hadn’t looked before. I looked over at the couch, the cushion slightly askew from where I’d been. I remembered back to when my brother and I used to dig through the couch cushions for our parents’ loose change for ice cream money.

  I lifted the cushions off the couch. Interestingly, it was a pull-out sofa bed. A person’s feet would practically be against the television with how small the room was, but I suppose that was better than sleeping on the narrow couch. I scooted the coffee table out of the way and pulled the lever to unfold the bed. Just as the mattress began to fold out, there was a loud clunk from underneath the couch.

  I reached my arm between the metal bars and my hands landed on a small tin box. I lifted it and was relieved it wasn’t locked. Folding the couch back, I sat down and opened the box. A loaded pistol sat on top of a small picture album. I took a deep breath and put the gun to the side before thumbing through the album. Inside were pictures of who I assumed was Hunter as a young boy. His mother held him on her hip while a stern-looking man stood nearby.

  She was a beautiful woman with curly, dark hair pulled up in a neat ponytail. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes and there was clearly a faint green and yellow bruise on her cheek. I studied the man I assumed was Hunter’s father. He looked mean and I wondered if he was the cause of that bruise on Hunter’s mom’s cheek. Maybe that was why Hunter never mentioned him.

  I sat the album to the side and dug through the box. There was a small velvet pouch and a few papers and a passport. I sat the papers aside and emptied the pouch. A female wedding ring set fell into my hand along with a single key.

  Hope swelled in my chest as I put the rings away and gripped the key as though it were my lifeline. I ran to the door and tested the key in the lock. It slid in and with a little jiggle, the lock turned and clicked into place. I slid the door open slowly, peering out at the now dark closet and through to the dark bedroom passed it.

  I grabbed my shoes and put them on once I was free from the room. I was free, but where was Hunter? He could still be in the house. Or he could have left Chris behind. I had to be careful. The full moon’s light streamed through the windows, giving me enough light to find my way down the stairs and into the near pitch-black living room. My jacket hung by the door and I grabbed it just in case. Hunter always kept the front door locked, but as I slowly twisted the doorknob, it opened. What could have been so urgent that Hu
nter would have left the door unlocked?

  A jolt of panic ran through me. What if something had happened to Hunter?

  “This is the same man who tied you up and held you prisoner for three weeks,” I whispered to myself.

  Holding my breath, I stepped outside by myself for the first time in weeks. I put on my coat as I crept down the steps and into the yard. Once I was off the creaky steps, I bolted toward the main road. I had no idea where I was going, but I needed to get as far away from that house as I could.

  Hunter left me locked in that room for hours. It was late by the look of the abandoned road. I ran for nearly half an hour before headlights in the distance caught my eye, growing closer as they neared. A flash of worry struck as I thought of the possibility it could be Hunter or Chris returning, but as the lights grew closer, I recognized the shape of an eighteen-wheeler.

  I waved my hands in the air and prayed it wouldn’t be some crazy person. The truck came to a stop and to my surprise, a middle-aged woman stuck her head out the driver side window.

  “Hey honey, what are you doing out here this time of night?”

  “I was hoping to get a ride.”

  “Sure thing. Hop on in. It’s freezing out there. You’re gonna catch a cold.”

  “Thank you.” I climbed up into the cab of the truck and buckled up.

  “What’s got you out here in the middle of the night?”

  “A guy.” I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her but I also didn’t want to involve her in the full details. She might have thought I was crazy.

  “Say no more.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Men.”

  I gave her a smile and we started down the road.

  “So where are you headed.”

  “Anywhere but here. Preferably somewhere with a phone at some point so I can call someone to pick me up.”

  “There’s a truck stop about ten miles up the road. I plan to stay there for the night. You can make a call there and have whoever pick you up from there.”

  “Thank you. That sounds perfect.”

  Ten miles later, we pulled up at the truck stop and I found a payphone to call the only person I could think to call. I was just about to give up and end the call when there was the click of the call connecting.