by D. K. Hood
The darkness had suffocated her but now her heart pounded with fear as she scanned the room in the dim light. The door was way across the other side of the room and there was no way she could get to it. A large plastic sheet, like the ones she’d seen inside the house when the men repainted the family room, spread out under her feet. To her right was a line of bunk beds, covered in a thick coating of dust; to her left a table and chairs. Piles of blankets sat on shelves alongside jars of brown preserves that looked like the specimens in the science lab at school. Dust-laden cobwebs hung like lace curtains from the beams above her head and the rustling sound of vermin came from the shadows.
Then she heard the footsteps.
Three
On the way back to the office, Jenna went down the list of Lindy’s close friends. All were aware she’d gone missing and were surprisingly helpful, but none of them knew of anyone she’d leave with in the middle of the night. She glanced at Kane. “We lucked out there. No boyfriend or anyone remotely close to Lindy, no crushes other than an ex-football player who works at the school but, her best friend told me, all the girls like him and he’s never paid any special attention to her.”
“Hmm.” Kane flicked her a glance. “Maybe we’ll need to find out who he is and pay him a visit.”
When they arrived at the office, Jenna made out Deputy Rowley surrounded by a crowd of people. He was handing out grid maps of the areas surrounding the Rosens’ ranch and giving the searchers stickers to display on their jackets. She waited for him to finish speaking, and then went to his side. “It looks like you have everything organized.”
“Yeah, search and rescue have a chopper in the air and we’ve a couple of park wardens leading groups of volunteers in both directions along the perimeter of Stanton Forest. Webber is out with another group door-knocking Glacial Heights, Maggie is manning the phones and Blackhawk is on his way.” He waved a hand toward a group of reporters. “They’re doing a live feed and asking for people to call in if they’ve seen Lindy, to check around their yards and volunteer to help.” His worried gaze scanned her face. “So far we’ve not had a single report of anyone seeing Lindy, not even the usual hoax calls.”
“That’s not good.” Jenna ran the list of men Rosen had given her through her mind; any one of them could have seen Rosen set the alarm. “I want to move fast on this case. I’ll leave you to handle the search and we’ll hunt down the tradespeople who worked on the Rosens’ ranch over the last couple of weeks. I’ll do background checks on the way.” She sighed. “Keep me in the loop via cellphone. I don’t want info leaking to the press via a police scanner.”
“Roger that.” Rowley turned and headed back to the crowd of people.
Jenna glanced up at Kane. “Okay, who do we visit first?”
The next moment her cellphone chimed a message. “This may be a lead.” She moved away from the line of townsfolk and led the way back to Kane’s truck.
Jenna leaned against the door of Kane’s truck and opened the message. Confused, she stared at the message with a video file attached.
Have you ever been afraid, Sheriff?
You should be.
I am the spider and I’ve caught a sweet fly in my web.
Now the game begins.
You have six hours.
Tick tock, tick tock.
A storm of mixed emotions rolled over Jenna. She swallowed hard. “Is this someone’s idea of a sick joke?” She held up the screen to Kane.
“Nope, that sure looks like a threat to me.” Kane frowned.
Jenna’s heart thumped in her chest as she stared at the cellphone. She had six hours to find Lindy and if she didn’t reach her in time – then what? If this lunatic had involved her in some crazy game and she lost, would Lindy pay the penalty with her life?
Four
Trying to formulate a plan to find Lindy was Jenna’s first course of action. She passed her cellphone to Kane, unable to look at the message a moment longer.
“There’s an attachment. Let’s see what he’s sent you.” Kane gave her the phone.
Unease slid over Jenna as she opened the file and shielded the screen to view the display. As the video file played, she stared at it in horror. “Oh, dear Lord, it’s Lindy.”
In a dark dingy room, Lindy sat tied to a chair. The young girl’s head hung down. Ropes bound her but Jenna noticed a slight movement of her head. “I think she’s alive. Someone is holding her prisoner. Holy shit, this place could be anywhere.” She glanced at her watch. It was nine-thirty.
“Show me.” Kane took her cellphone and replayed the video. “Dammit, it’s a private number, probably a burner. If we take it to Wolfe, he’ll check it out and be able to enhance the video. He might find something in the background to link to the kidnapper. What the hell does he mean by, ‘you have six hours’? Is he giving us a time limit to find her?” He handed her back the phone. “And if we don’t?”
“I don’t know but it sure doesn’t sound good. I don’t like playing games with kids’ lives.” She stared at the TV crew. “I’ll make an announcement only the kidnapper will understand. I’ll say we’re open to negotiation for Lindy’s safe return.”
“Yeah, if we get a dialogue going we’ll know what kind of a person we’re dealing with.” Kane followed her to the TV crew. “Make sure you keep using her name. To him she’s a commodity and her life’s worth nothing.”
Jenna explained to the reporters what she needed and made the statement live to air. She walked away from the persistent questions and went to Kane’s side. “I hope I’ve gotten the message across.”
“You did great.” Kane led the way to his truck.
“We’ll know if he calls again. Come on, we need to get this video to Wolfe; the clock is ticking.” Heart racing, Jenna pulled open the door to Kane’s truck. “I’ll call Wolfe. I gather he still has his tech gear at home?”
“As far as I know.” Kane slid behind the wheel.
Jenna nodded. “Do you still have some of Lindy’s clothing for a scent for Duke to follow?”
“Yeah, in an evidence bag in the back.” Kane patted Duke on the head. “He’ll find her if we get close to her location.”
Panic rose in Jenna’s throat. Lindy could be anywhere in the vastness of Black Rock Falls. In spring, the air temperature was cold to freezing. Patches of snow still lay in the forest and covered the mountains. Intricate patterns of frost swirled over the windows each morning. The kidnapper had taken Lindy hours ago; she was alive but dressed in PJs and with nothing on her feet, she could die of exposure. “Drive.”
“From what I can see, the kidnapper’s holding Lindy in a disused cellar or old building.” Kane started the engine and turned onto the busy main street. “When you’re chasing down the people who visited the Rosens’ home, find out if they own any old properties.”
“There are hundreds of possibilities in town and in the forest. I’ll call Wolfe, then Maggie. I’ll ask her to make up a list of any possible places and we’ll search them first.” Jenna listened impatiently for Wolfe to pick up then brought him up to date. “How long will it take you to finish up? We need info on this video yesterday.”
“I’m on my way.”
Mind reeling, Jenna turned to Kane. “Give me something, Kane. I’ve never dealt with this kind of crazy before; if he doesn’t call back, how do we negotiate with him?”
“We can’t. His message only gave us a time limit to find her. You’ve offered negotiation and we’ll have to wait and see if he responds.” A nerve in Kane’s cheek twitched. “My first instinct would be to divert the volunteers to the old buildings as well but that might cause a problem. We don’t know what game he’s playing.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Right now Lindy’s alive, and if a search party stumble over his hiding place he might panic and kill her. It’s a catch-22 situation. I suggest you make it clear the teams must approach all suspicious places with caution.”
Worry for Lindy’s safety cramped Jenna’s stomach. The image
of the poor girl flashed through her mind in a constant rerun. “The kidnapper would’ve already seen the search and rescue chopper in the air, so it’s a bit late to worry about that now. I’ll send Rowley and Webber out with them. They’ll be able to reach more properties in the shortest time.”
“As long as they have a place to land.” Kane took a backroad and accelerated, bypassing downtown and heading for Wolfe’s house. “We’ll need more information to pinpoint the location. It’s almost noon now. I hope Wolfe finds something we can use.”
“It would sure make life easier.” Jenna scrolled through her list of contacts on her cellphone. “I’ll tell Maggie to feed the list of suspect properties to the search parties as she finds them – it will save time – then I’ll call the FBI and see if they can send assistance, but we’d be lucky to get one field officer at such short notice.” She made the calls, then sucked in a deep breath and contacted Mr. Rosen. “Mr. Rosen, this is Jenna Alton. I’m afraid to tell you we’ve received a video of Lindy from her kidnapper. She’s alive and we’re doing everything possible to discover her location.”
“Oh my God.” Rosen cleared his throat. “Did he make any demands?”
“Not yet.” She glanced at Kane. “I’ll contact you the moment we know anything.” She disconnected. “You know, this case seems familiar to me in an odd way. I worked a case involving a drug dealer. He’d send images of himself in a Halloween mask selling drugs outside cop stations, schools and churches. It was as if he wanted us to catch him, and then one day it all stopped. We never discovered his identity.”
“Classic narcissistic tendencies. He wanted to make sure he received all the attention so he made a game of catch-me-if-you-can with the cops. He would’ve loved being mentioned in the media, it fed his ego.” Kane pulled up outside Wolfe’s home. “Likely he overdosed on his product.”
Jenna sighed. “Maybe, or escalated into something else.”
“Possible.” Kane turned in his seat. “Ah, here’s Wolfe. If there’s anything on that video, he’ll find it.”
* * *
Huddled around Wolfe’s desk, Jenna and Kane watched Wolfe manipulate the film. His equipment came straight from the FBI and was the latest design with all the bells and whistles. Jenna listened intently to Wolfe’s narration.
“There’s not much to see. The camera is on a tripod angled down to give the narrowest of images. With only one small dim light source the background becomes pixilated.” Wolfe zoomed in on the floor. “Plastic sheeting on the floor and the chair is straight-back wooden, like one found in most homes. It’s reasonably old, maybe twenty or more years.”
Jenna peered at Lindy. “Can you see if she’s injured?”
“There’s no apparent bloodstains on her clothes and her face appears untouched. From what I can see, her lips aren’t blue. The ligature marks on her ankles and arms indicate the ropes around her are very tight but, where her arms are bare, she doesn’t have goosebumps.” Wolfe glanced at her. “So we’re looking for an occupied house or one with heating.”
“Can you isolate the background sound?” Kane leaned forward. “I thought I could hear machinery.”
Moments later, the humming sound of a motor came through the speakers. Jenna listened intently. “Generator?”
“I don’t think so.” Wolfe’s brow wrinkled into a frown. “More like an air conditioner used to heat the cellar and change the air, so this place is used frequently.”
“Maybe not.” Kane pointed at the screen. “Look at the rungs on the bottom of the chair. If someone had sat on the chair recently, there wouldn’t be dust on them.” He moved his attention to Jenna. “Most kids would put their feet on the rungs, this makes me believe she was unconscious when he placed in the chair and tied her up.”
Jenna reached for her cellphone and called Rowley. She could hardly hear him with the noise of the chopper. “We believe the building where the cellar is located is occupied.”
“It’s hard to hear you, ma’am.”
“I’ll text you.” Jenna thumbed in a message and waited for him to respond. Once his reply came through she looked at Kane. “They’re doing a grid search north of Stanton Forest and working back to the Rosens’ property. The wardens are working through the forest checking cabins heading north and they have two rangers on horseback heading south. Blackhawk and a team are heading west.” She scrolled through the file Maggie had sent to her earlier. “We’ll head south into the grasslands, I have a list.”
“Roger that.” Kane pushed to his feet. “Come on, Duke, let’s get that nose of yours working.”
Jenna stood and turned to Wolfe. “I’ll leave you to it. If you find one shred of evidence to narrow this search, call me.”
“I always do, Jenna. I’ll keep the track on your phone as well but I doubt he’ll use the same burner twice. Finding him via the calls will be impossible but I’ll keep trying.” Wolfe frowned. “I suggest you put out a media report saying you want people to call in if they live in an older home with a root cellar and you’re sending out deputies to check each one.” He shrugged. “You’d eliminate a whole bunch – no way would the kidnapper be calling from his hideout.”
As usual, Wolfe’s cool-headed way of looking at situations gave her an advantage. “Sure, I’ll call it in now.” She put through the call and updated her team with the new situation, then hurried to Kane’s truck.
She climbed inside and explained. “I figure calls will start coming in real fast.” She glanced at her watch. It was close to two. “We’ll head south and wait for Maggie to update the list.”
“Roger that, where to?” Kane started the engine, and then frowned. “I think Emily wants a word with you.”
Jenna buzzed down her window and smiled as Emily, Wolfe’s eldest daughter, ran toward them. “Do you need to speak with me?”
“Yeah.” Emily handed a Thermos and a brown paper sack to her. “Turkey on rye and coffee. I figured, like my dad, you all won’t have eaten since breakfast.”
Jenna gladly took the offering. Kane’s stomach had been rumbling for the last hour. “Thank you so much. We’ll see you later.”
“Thanks, Emily.” Kane smiled at her. “Don’t forget to feed your dad.”
“As if.” Emily gave them a wave and headed back to the house.
Jenna’s cellphone beeped a message. It was from Maggie. She scrolled through. “No list of possible residences yet but the mail-truck driver called the hotline with a lead. He noticed a pickup on Goldmine Road heading toward the old brickworks around two this morning. Apparently, there is an old manager’s house out there. It was rented by a recluse who died three months ago and likely has a root cellar.” She added the coordinates to the GPS. “Okay, let’s go.”
Five
He cracked open a bottle of beer and took a long drink as he watched the live news coverage of Lindy Rosen’s kidnapping. He grinned at the sheriff’s pleas for negotiation. “Huh? As if I’d be so stupid. The idea is for you to find me. Tick tock, Sheriff, tick tock.”
The cops were running around like ants after honey and moving in different directions with no clue to where he’d hidden the girl. They’d nothing to go on, no description of his truck, not one fingerprint, zip, nada, and why? Because he was a master of deception. Having the talent of being able to merge into the community without a hint of anyone discovering his secrets made him special, like a super-villain in a comic book.
He liked that he blended in, he was ordinary; it made the game of deception so much sweeter but messing with the sheriff’s mind was the bonus. Sending her the clip of Lindy all trussed up was only part of his plan to outwit the sheriff and her bunch of deputies. He’d watched them strut through town like they were superior, but he was the special one. Not many had a mind like his, or the smarts to keep one step ahead of law enforcement. This wasn’t his first kidnap. It was too easy and in Black Rock Falls, he wanted to up the ante. He needed a challenge, a buzz of excitement to add to the thrill, and with Sheriff Alton b
atting a thousand since taking office against the other so-called serial killers she might supply what he craved. Hey, any fool could kidnap and murder but he’d twenty-seven notches on his belt and wanted to make his score at least thirty by summer.
He sipped his beer, and then replayed the video of Lindy. When she’d woken, he’d seen fear in her eyes and loved the way her bottom lip trembled. They were all different – some cried and begged and others spat and screamed at him. Others were quiet, as if they’d accepted their fate. He grimaced. The passive women gave him little pleasure and he preferred the ones with attitude. Hell, Lindy had been terrified of him in her bedroom and the frightened ones always promised a good fight.
Excitement fluttered in his stomach. The lead-up to the kidnapping had been exciting, walking into a house and taking his prize divine – but the kill… He moaned in ecstasy, sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a low whistle. The kill he savored.
Six
Sinister shadows bathed Stanton Forest by the time Kane drove onto the on-ramp to the highway. He glanced down at the GPS and flicked on lights and sirens. Until they got within a mile of Goldmine Road, he needed to haul ass. He hit the gas, enjoying the way the engine roared into action, the front lifting with the power and the tires gripping the highway as they accelerated to eighty then cruised at a hundred mph.
