by Lynn Bulock
“He said you could do anything you wanted? It must really be love,” Sara teased Holly as they both stood in her office. “Seriously, though, is Jake going to totally lose it when he finds out you’re switching jobs with me? What if I mess up?”
“I’ll be just down the hall, Sara. You can ask me any questions you like, and I’ll come in as often as you need me to translate any Jake-isms you have trouble with. Honestly, it won’t be so bad,” she said, as much to reassure herself as Sara. Holly was sure this was the right thing to do, but at the same time she was going to miss her days in the same office with Jake. They’d grown so comfortable working together.
She knew even more certainly that she would enjoy dating Jake more, and probably even marrying him if things worked out. The Jake Montgomery that she’d seen for the last few weeks looked like a man she could think about marrying. What an amazing transformation. But then, Holly reminded herself, they served an amazing God.
“I’m planning to have lunch with Jake today, and I’ll break the news to him that way. I’m also going to put everything in writing, just to make it all legal and tidy for the bureau,” Holly said. “In fact, I’ve been working on the letter on my computer, and once I hear from Jake and get ready to go to lunch, I’ll print it out and leave a copy on his desk, and drop off one for you.”
“I’m excited about this,” Sara said. “A little nervous and scared, but excited, too. If anybody can mentor me into trying to decide whether or not to go for the next step and apply to be an agent, it would be Jake. I’m afraid that Bob and Donna just don’t see me as agent material.”
Holly had to admit that her friend’s desire, when she’d shared it with her, had surprised her too, but she could imagine Sara making it through the rigorous training and doing it well. “It could happen,” she told her. “Now go make sure everything’s organized for me so that I can take over your job on Monday, and I’ll see you soon with that letter.”
“Great. I’ll get to it.” Sara had a definite bounce to her step when she left the room, and Holly found herself humming again as she worked, an indicator of her happiness with this whole decision.
It didn’t take long to get everything in shape so that Sara could walk in on Monday and replace her. She hoped Jake truly meant what he’d said about letting her do whatever she wanted. This might not be what he had in mind, but Holly had to believe that once he knew the purpose behind her decision he’d be happy.
As if he knew she was thinking about him, the phone rang and it was Jake on the other end. “Hi, there. It looks like I’m on track to be done here soon. Do you want to meet me at the Stagecoach in thirty minutes? I’d come back to get you, but I’d be afraid we’d get tied up in the lunch rush that way.”
“I can meet you there. We have plenty to talk about during lunch,” she said.
“I can hardly wait. See you then,” Jake said, his intimate tone of voice making her cheeks flush.
Holly hung up the phone and went straight to her computer, called up the letter she’d told Sara about and printed out two copies.
Naturally the printer chose this time to jam, and she spent ten precious minutes untangling the paper, putting fresh stock in and finally printing out the copies she needed. In more of a hurry now, she took the first copy, signed it with a flourish and put it in the middle of Jake’s empty desk.
She shut down her computer and the offending printer, deciding she wouldn’t miss that particular thing about this office at all. Jotting a couple sentences on a sticky note about the printer’s quirks, she stuck it on the letter. Picking up the letter and her coat and purse, she flipped off the office lights and headed down to Sara’s office to explain the awful machine and give her friend the letter before heading off to the lunch that would start a new phase in her life with Jake.
“Have a good time at lunch. Are you doing anything special tonight?” Sara asked a few minutes later. It took a moment for it to dawn on Holly that it was New Year’s Eve.
“I honestly hadn’t planned anything,” she admitted. “I’d been so focused on this since yesterday that it slipped my mind. The church has a games night usually with all kinds of board games and popcorn, and silly paper hats for midnight. But I’m not sure I can see Jake agreeing to that. I have a feeling he’s used to a different kind of New Year’s Eve party.” Even as she said that, Holly thought that the new Jake might be just as happy at Good Shepherd wearing a funny hat. She’d have to mention it at lunch and see.
She looked at her watch, surprised at how much time had passed while she explained the printer to Sara. “I really have to go now, anyway. If I don’t leave soon, I’ll be late and we’ll have to wait for a table at the café. Besides, I’m parked out on the overflow lot outside instead of in the garage, and it’s hard to get out of there this time of day.”
“Go on, then. See you later. And Holly, thank you so much for giving me this chance.”
“It’s a chance for both of us,” Holly said, smiling. “I’ll see you Monday.”
She went to the elevator, focused now on getting to the café the quickest way possible so that she could arrive before Jake and secure a table before everything filled up.
She sprang out of the elevator, slipping her coat on and heading out the front door of the building, her keys in hand. Holly could see her Jeep in the lot ahead of her when someone grabbed her elbow roughly. “I thought you’d never leave that building alone again,” he said in a growl. “Now walk to your truck and get in. No screaming. I have a gun and I’ll use it, understand?”
Holly’s heart was beating so fast she could barely stand upright, much less think about making noise. Nodding, she went exactly where the man was steering her. While she walked across the lot she wondered how she could possibly get word to Jake or to anyone else that they’d been wrong all along about the man making their lives miserable. The stranger who had been stalking them wasn’t working for Barclay. It was Victor Convy. He must have learned a few things in prison, because he wasn’t giving her a chance to escape. He forced Holly into the passenger side of the Jeep and through to the driver’s side where he pulled out a set of handcuffs. Smiling coldly he cuffed one of her wrists to the steering wheel. “Now we’re going on a trip. I still have the gun, so don’t try anything.”
Holly wasn’t sure what she could try while handcuffed to the wheel. She forced herself to concentrate and attempt to stay calm. It was a losing battle, but one she knew she had to keep fighting if she wanted to see Jake, or anyone else she cared about, again.
Chapter Twelve
I should call Holly again, Jake thought as he stood in front of the court documents section near the district attorney’s office. When he’d called before, he thought this would be a two-minute stop on his way out of the building. Now it looked like it would be ten or fifteen minutes at least before he could sign the forms that Rose had told him to finish before he left.
Before the clerk could find the necessary paperwork, there was a flurry of activity behind them. Jake turned to see Alistair Barclay being escorted through the hall. He expected the man to ignore him, but to Jake’s surprise Barclay stopped with his guard and looked at him. “You’re Montgomery. That computer expert. Nasty bit of good work you did, I have to admit.”
“No thanks to you. You’re lucky I didn’t press additional charges,” Jake said, unable to keep silent.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Barclay said blandly.
“Of course you don’t. That guy who nearly ran down my assistant was working for somebody else altogether.”
Barclay’s eyes widened. “That’s absurd. Surely you don’t think I would have ordered something like that? I’d already been charged with enough. No sense to add something as unnecessary as manslaughter. To be honest, I didn’t think you were good enough to break the code.” The sneer he finished with was more the expression Jake expected from Barclay.
“Have it your way,” Jake said with a shrug. It didn’t matter that much.
He and Holly were both safe, and Barclay was going to prison for a long time. Another charge now wouldn’t keep him there that much longer and there was no way to prove anything, now that the guy doing the dirty work had slipped back into the woodwork.
The clerk still hadn’t found the right paperwork and Jake was getting anxious. He was going to be late for lunch and it was the last thing he wanted to do. Suddenly Rose D’Arcy was next to him. “Forget about the paperwork. You need to go back to the office now. This minute.”
Her tense expression made Jake wary. “Why? Half an hour ago you said this was vital.”
“Well, I’ve found something more important. I just got a call back from the Ohio Department of Corrections. I don’t know why we didn’t know before this, but Convy was paroled almost a month ago. And to make matters worse, his parole officer hasn’t seen him in more than three weeks.”
Her expression said this wasn’t the end of the story. “What else?” Jake prompted.
“They talked to his last cellmate yesterday. He said Convy had talked a lot about going to Colorado when he got out. Something about evening the score.”
Jake felt a chill up his spine. He pulled out his phone and called Holly’s cell phone. It was turned off. “Maybe she’s already at the café,” he said. “I’m heading back to the office to try and catch her if she’s there. You call Lidia at the café and see if Holly’s there. I hope and pray she is.” Just knowing that their mystery assailant could be the man who had gone to prison for Holly’s rape gave him a terrible feeling.
He made the drive from the courthouse to the FBI office in record time. When he got there, he didn’t even have to go inside before he started to panic. Outside on the sidewalk, a uniformed Colorado Springs police officer was talking to Sara Phelps. “Jake, you’re here. Something awful just happened to Holly, and this guy won’t take me seriously.”
“All you’re telling me is that you think you saw your friend get into her own car with a man you don’t know. Do you know everybody that Ms., uh, Vance is friends with?”
“There’s reason for concern here,” Jake barked. “What did he look like?” he asked Sara, ignoring the officer’s protests about who was running this investigation.
“Brown hair, in his thirties, maybe, medium height. Pretty nondescript. I was just coming out to tell Holly she hadn’t signed the copy of a letter she gave me, when I saw this man steering her to the Jeep. He had her by the elbow, and it didn’t look friendly. He pushed her in the passenger side of the vehicle, and then they took off.” Sara, Jake thought, was observant enough to do this officer’s job better than he was doing it himself.
“Could he have had a gun?” Jake was praying he wouldn’t get the answer he expected.
Sara nodded. “I think he did, even though I didn’t see it. Holly wouldn’t have gone with a stranger like that unless he was armed.”
“If you really think this is something, let me take the license number of Ms. Vance’s vehicle, and get information on which way they went,” the officer said.
“You’ll do that, and we’ll do more, immediately. Because I know this is something,” Jake said. He pulled out his cell phone again, calling a number from his address list.
“Peter? It’s Jake. That tracker you gave me? We need to start tracing it now.” Of all the times Jake had been glad to be friends with Peter Vance, he thought he had never been as glad as now. And he was especially glad that his old friend was back in Colorado Springs, having joined his brother in his security firm.
“Putting a tracker on somebody’s car isn’t legal without a court order, or at least their knowledge,” the police officer said, as if that was going to be news to an FBI agent.
Jake closed his phone. “I didn’t put it on for evidence. I put it on in case we needed to save a life. And it looks like now we do, because the man who abducted Holly has no intention of leaving her alive.” He willed his voice not to shake as he admitted what terrified him now. He wondered if prayer came naturally enough to him yet that he could pray and work at the same time. He was about to find out, because he was ready to use every resource he had to find Holly before Convy hurt her again.
The farther out Highway 24 Convy forced her to drive, the more worried Holly got. Unless they went all the way to Cripple Creek near the ranch, nobody would be looking out here for her. Of course it would be hours before anybody would be looking for her, period. Once she didn’t show up for lunch, Jake would wonder where she went, but no one would expect this.
Her heart sank even further when Convy ordered her off the highway at Manitou Springs. There were so many places out here where side roads could lead to relatively isolated territory as easily as they could a subdivision or a tourist attraction. And Convy seemed to have scouted out the area, because in a matter of moments they were driving on a narrow strip of asphalt that could hardly be called a road.
“Pull off there.” He gestured with his gun hand at a break in the fence line. Another couple minutes of driving and they were surrounded by trees on a bluff that looked as remote as anywhere Holly had ever been. She looked around, wondering if she’d ever see another place.
Once the car stopped, Convy confiscated the keys and released Holly’s wrist from the wheel. She looked for a chance to bolt, but he always had the gun trained on her. Stumbling along, they headed for the thickest growth of pine trees. When they reached it, Convy halted her and Holly fought her emotions so that she wouldn’t break down. “Please…I want a chance to pray.”
“Oh, you can pray all you want, for all the good it will do you. I stopped that nonsense a long time ago, but if you want to spend your last few hours that way, be my guest.” His voice chilled her with its matter-of-fact tone.
“I would have thought prayer would be a comfort in prison,” she said, trying to keep him talking about faith. She’d gone to plenty of seminars the Bureau held, and keeping your assailant or abductor talking almost always made him focus on the fact that you were a human being. Holly prayed that Convy still thought of people as special.
“There are no comforts in prison, especially when the other people there think you’re a rapist. The only thing that could have been worse on me was if I’d been convicted of messing with little kids,” he said. “And it’s all your fault, you and those high, phony morals of yours. Take off your coat,” he barked abruptly, making Holly question his sanity with his quick change of topic.
She didn’t argue. Sliding off her right sleeve was difficult, because the handcuffs still dangled from her wrist, but she complied. He tossed the garment away from her, and then working quickly, snapped the cuffs so both of her wrists were shackled. Pushing her roughly against the nearest tree, he pulled a length of rope out of the backpack he’d been dragging along since he got into Holly’s Jeep. Soon she was bound to the tree firmly at the shoulders, waist and thighs.
“I should have left you free a little longer, to share one last gift with you,” he taunted. “But if I leave any DNA they’ll link me to your death, instead of thinking it’s just the tragic suicide of a troubled young woman. Your church buddies will say bad things about you, won’t they, Holly? I went to church long enough to know that suicide is a bad thing.”
Holly shivered uncontrollably now, between the evil of Convy’s ranting and the cold penetrating her body. “They’ll find us before I freeze to death or you untie me, Victor. And when they do you’ll go back to jail for good. You’ll spend the rest of your life there unless you let me go now.”
“I can’t let you go. The only thing that kept me alive and sane in that place was thinking about what I’d do to you once I got out. And nobody’s going to find you out here.”
She was so afraid that he was right. “Aren’t they looking for you anyway?”
He gave a mirthless laugh. “Not yet. I’m out on parole, Holly. You’re looking at a model prisoner.”
She wanted to tell him that she was looking at a horrible person, far from a model of any good behavior, but it would
only make him angrier. Besides, she reminded herself, everybody is redeemable in the eyes of the Lord, even people as far gone as Victor Convy. It was difficult for her to imagine Convy as redeemable right now, but she knew that God did.
She felt her body sag against the ropes and realized that she was beginning to lose focus, maybe even consciousness now. Holly could hear Convy talking to her, and knew that while she struggled for consciousness, he’d been talking for a while. “It took a while to trace you, too. There are a lot of Vances out there, and you don’t have a phone listing in your own name, or any Internet accounts, anything like that.”
“So how did you find me?” Holly pressed her back against the tree, trying to make less of a target for the wind.
“I got a hint about where you might be by reading my own trial transcripts. It took ten or twelve times going over them before I picked up your one brief reference to being from Colorado. Even then it took another six months to find you. They don’t give prisoners nearly enough unrestricted computer use.”
Convy’s grin was feral, bordering on crazed. Holly tried once more to make peace with the fact that she might not leave this place alive. It didn’t seem right or fair, especially if Convy’s plan worked and she appeared to be a suicide. Putting that thought aside, Holly willed herself not to cry and chill her body even further. She focused on the fact that whatever happened, Convy would eventually answer to a higher judge than the court system. Right now it was all she could do not to lose consciousness. Convy’s voice droned on while Holly struggled to keep alert.
“You should wait for the local cops to catch up with you.” Travis Vance’s voice was sharp in Jake’s ear, and even though the man couldn’t see him answering, Jake shook his head.
“That will take too long. Besides, we have a suspected abduction by a possibly armed and dangerous felon. There are reasons for FBI presence.”