“Should we wait?” Mom sent a concerned look my way. “We don’t want him to call off the wedding.”
“Why would he do that?” He wouldn’t, would he?
“Because of all the headache you cause him.”
Seriously? The man loved me, faults and all. Sure, I frustrated him, but that wasn’t reason enough to call off our engagement. “Let’s try to find out where Sadie is being held, then we’ll wait.” Knowing where my baby was and not being able to snatch her back would kill me, but for the sake of love, I could control myself.
Knowing from past experience that it was best to stick together in dangerous situations, we headed around the perimeter of the shiny new fence and looked for a way in. There had to be one. Maybe Cheri could climb over if she had to, but Sadie couldn’t. Unless…I handed my phone to Dakota. “See if you can find out whether Boyd Industries owns this building.”
“Yep.” He handed the phone back.
Great. Cheri must have gotten a key to the padlock. I planted my fists on my hips and looked up at the curving spiked wire lining the fence. “Anyone have any gloves?”
“I am not climbing the fence.” Mom shook her head. “There’s a saw in the van. Cut the lock.”
“Why didn’t you say so before we wasted time?” I marched back to the van and stared at the empty back. “Where?”
“There are all kinds of tools under the mat. They came with the van when I bought this old thing. It must have belonged to a mechanic.” Mom lifted the mat, revealing wonders of wonders, some heavy duty bolt cutters.
I grabbed them. “This is great!”
“Do you know how to use them?”
“What’s there to know?” I marched up to the gate, applied the bolt cutters to the padlock, and ended up on my rearend in the gravel. “It’s electrified?”
“Obviously a low voltage or you’d be dead.” Mom glanced at Dakota’s rubber soled shoes. “You try.”
The dear boy didn’t hesitate. With my heart in my throat, and my hair standing out around my head in a red halo, I watched as he stepped forward and placed the cutter against the padlock. He shook the entire gate and made a strange “uhhhh” sound.
I yanked him back.
He doubled over in laughter. “Got you. I didn’t feel a thing.” He dodged my fist aimed at his shoulder and cut the lock.
“Not funny at all.” I took a deep breath and willed my heart rate to go back to normal. “Your mother would kill me if you died helping me.” Not to mention I’d never be the same.
“Cut the shenanigans,” Mom said. “We’re going in.”
I pulled my weapon from my waistband. “I’ll be first.”
Neither of them argued, although Mom did dig her own pistol from her giant purse.
I stepped through the gate and stopped to listen. No gunshots rang out, no threatening words were shouted. No dog barked.
“Maybe they aren’t here,” Mom said.
“They’re here.” Where else would they be? If not here, I was back to square one and teetering on hopelessness. Please, God, lead me to Sadie.
The closer we got to the warehouse, the more my apprehension grew. The last time I’d been there, the building a few doors down had had a sex-trafficking ring operating there that had almost been the end of my family. I prayed we wouldn’t have to go to that particular building. Those were memories I’d rather not have to relive.
A large steel door sat open a few inches. I put my eye to the opening. Nothing but a dark corridor greeted me. Well, and a musty smell. “Sadie?” I whispered. No answering whine. We had to go in. I waved to the other two to follow me.
The door pushed open with a shrill shriek. I paused. When nothing untoward happened, I stepped into the dark and pulled by cell phone from my pocket to use the flashlight app.
“Use this instead. It has fresh batteries.” Mom pulled a small flashlight from her purse.
“What all do you have in there?” I peered inside the cavernous bag. Extra ammo, a Tazor, granola bars, a bottle of water, and…what in the world? “Are those dog bones?”
“Sadie might be hungry.”
I blinked back tears. “You really are the best mother in the world.”
“Thank you, dear. Now, let’s keep moving.” She patted my cheek. “It sure is cold in here.”
I was glad I had grabbed a hoodie. The cold was damp and the sound of dripping water mingled with the increasing order of mildew led me to believe Cheri wouldn’t inhabit this particular building if she could help it. I handed Dakota my cell phone again and asked him to find out which warehouses Boyd Industries owned that were close by.
“They own this entire strip,” he said. “This is going to take all day.”
“Sadie is worth the search.” I continued down the hall, glancing into empty rooms big enough to hold semi trucks. Perhaps they once had, but this building looked as if it had been unused for a very long time.
After a fruitless search, we moved outside and to the next building. Each time we had to do that would take us closer to the nightmare from months ago. Angela, Maryann, and I had even gone as far as to try and pretend to be homeless teens so we could be adopted. No one believed our poor disguises. It wasn’t until I’d gone to an abandoned motel and found Cherokee that the trouble in the warehouse really went down.
I shook off the bad memories and pushed open a peeling, red, sliding door. This one moved on well-oiled hinges. I glanced over my shoulder and held my finger to my lips. “Be ready to call the cops if anything bad happens.”
Mom nodded. “Got ‘em on speed dial.”
They stayed so close to me, one of them stepped on the back of my Converse gym shoes. I kept going, stepping out of the shoe and into a puddle of water. There was no water dripping. Someone had recently hosed down the floors.
I shoved my foot back into my shoe and did my best to keep my gun hand steady. This was no abandoned building. Someone did business here. The question was…what kind of business and was anyone there right now? I hadn’t seen any cars, but we hadn’t checked the back.
“Dakota, go back to the van.”
“No. I can help.”
“We don’t know what we’re up against.”
He crossed his arms. “Then we should all go back and wait for Matt.”
I agreed. I thought we would find an empty building, one woman, and a dog. We might still, but we could also find much more.
Something dropped, or fell, with a thud in a room down the hall. I hesitated to check it out, but what if it was Sadie and she was injured? “Y’all stay here,” I whispered. “If I need you, I’ll yell.”
“No, way. We stick together.” Mom slid her arm through mine.
I shook her off. “I have to be able to use my arm.”
“Right.” She placed her hand on my shoulder.
I really hoped she didn’t shoot with her gun that close to my ear.
Dakota put a hand on my other shoulder.
Together, we shuffled toward the sound I’d heard.
I plastered my back against the wall, the other two copying, and peered into the room. A cat cleaned itself from a desktop. On the floor was an empty rubber cup for holding pencils. A computer sat on the desk and on an opposite wall was a bank of hard drives. We’d found the heart of something…maybe Boyd Industries. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere but where we were.
I straightened. “I don’t think Sadie is here. She would have smelled me and barked.”
“Unless she’s muzzled,” Dakota pointed out.
Great. We had to keep going.
We came to a T-junction. Right or left? I closed my eyes and waited for guidance, really wishing I’d waited for Matt or Wayne. I chose left.
Somewhere down the hall, footsteps scraped. We froze. The footsteps stopped. Someone was following us and didn’t want us to know they were there. I pushed open a door and shoved Dakota inside. “Stay there and lock this door.”
“No. It looks like a prison cell.”
; It did, holding nothing more than a cot and a small end table. The bed was made and an empty beer bottle was on the floor. Someone spent time in there recently.
“You listen to me, young man.” Mom stepped forward. “You stay put like—”
I pushed her inside and locked the door from my side. “I’m sorry.” I raced away, hoping they’d have the sense to stay out of sight. The moment Mom wanted to come along, I should have ditched her and Dakota. But, I’d seriously thought we’d find Sadie in a cage, I’d punch Cheri in the face, and we’d be gone before she picked herself up off the ground. Sometimes, I was an optimistic idiot.
The footsteps came closer and faster. I needed to find a place of my own, and fast.
I turned another corner and came to a dead end. A room branched off of each side of the hall. The door on my right was locked. I charged through the one on my left, slapped the automatic light off, and squatted in the corner, my gun at the ready.
My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out all sound. I was blind and deaf with someone chasing me, and I was cornered. I’d have to shoot my way to freedom. Please, God, don’t let me die.
My pursuer stopped in the doorway. It was a big, hulking man, his face in shadows. He carried a hand gun.
What was he waiting for? Maybe he would move on and I wouldn’t have to shoot. Oh, please, please, please…no such luck. He stepped inside.
I kept as still as possible. Maybe he didn’t know I was in there? No, he had to know. There was nowhere else. Yes, I could have gone into the locked room. I could have been the one to lock the door. Was it possible if I made no sound he would think that very thing?
No. He took another step inside. “I know you’re in here. Come on out.”
I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.
“What the hell, Stormi?” Wayne dove to the side.
“What are you doing here?” I rushed to turn on the light.
“Trying to find you and provide backup to a woman with no sense.” He got to his feet. “Matt said to tell you to wait. He’ll be here in an hour.”
“Did you see the computers?”
“Yeah. Good find.”
A scream came from down the hall.
23
Wayne and I rushed to the room where I had locked Mom and Dakota. I pressed my face against the window in the door. “What’s wrong?”
“I heard a gunshot. I thought someone had killed you.” Mom rattled the door handle. “Let us out.”
I flipped the lock. “I almost killed Wayne, but it’s all good now.”
“Speak for yourself.” He glared and shook his head. “Dakota, without argument, I want you to take your cell phone and—”
“I don’t have a cell phone.”
“Why doesn’t this young man have a phone?” Wayne glanced at me.
“I’m not his mother, and she refuses to spend the money.”
“You have plenty of money. Get him a phone.” He dug a phone out of his pocket. “Take this to the van and lock yourself in. No arguing. I need eyes out there. You call me if you see anything at all. We don’t want to be caught by surprise.” He put a hand on Dakota’s shoulder. “Can you do this?”
Eyes wide, Dakota nodded.
“Good. Now, be careful not to be seen and go straight there. Text your aunt when you’re locked in.”
Dakota took off like a flash.
“I wish I had somewhere to send you, Anne, but I don’t. Stick close to me.” Wayne exhaled sharply. “I give up on Stormi.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Mom showed him her gun. “I’m ready for whatever comes.”
“Lord, spare me from the Nelson women. I’m dating the only sane one.”
That was debatable. “What now?”
“I don’t think your dog or her abductor are here. We check the next building.”
The one I dreaded stepping foot inside of. I took a deep breath. I could do this.
Staying to the deepening shadows, we skirted the building and headed for the largest warehouse in the line. I knew the secrets the walls held, the rooms underground, the evil soaked into the bricks and mortar. My skin crawled the closer we got, and my steps lagged.
“Come on,” Mom whispered. “Do you want to be left behind?”
I shook my head, almost saying yes. Wayne could handle things from here. Matt would arrive soon. There was no need for me to go into that place. I grabbed Mom’s arm. “Let Wayne handle it.”
“Alone?” She frowned. “I thought you wanted to rescue your dog?”
“Yeah, but that building…”
“It’s okay. Those things aren’t happening in there anymore. It’s just an empty warehouse.”
“Right.”
She patted my cheek. “You’ll be fine. We have God on our side.”
“Yes.” I squared my shoulders. “I’m ready now.”
“That’s my girl.”
Wayne had waited for us at the corner, ready to dart across the open space between the buildings. To me, it looked the size of a football field, but was more like fifty feet. If anyone was watching, they’d spot us for sure and we would lose the element of surprise.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from Dakota letting us know he was in the van and hunkered down in the front seat. Good. If we needed to make a fast getaway, he could drive up and get us.
Wayne started making sign gestures with his hands.
“I have no idea what you’re trying to say,” I said. Maybe I should learn cop sign language, but I didn’t have time then.
“Good grief. We’ll go across one at a time. Don’t go until I wave you across. Be as silent and as fast as possible.”
My heart beat in my throat, the sound of it loud enough to drown out all other sound, if there were any. Instead, a pall of heavy silence hung over the property. I kept my eyes glued on Wayne’s back, wishing with all in me that Matt was standing by my side. No one’s fault but my own. If I’d waited, he would be next to me.
Wayne reached the shadow of the other building in seconds. The sun had gone completely down, leaving us only star light to see by. A full moon would have been nice.
“Go, Mom.”
“You first.”
I shook my head. “I’ll bring up the rear. Go!”
She raced away, fast for a fifty-year-old woman. Fear did that to you, set wings to your feet.
All too soon it was my turn. I took several deep breaths and ran, my legs bumping. I passed Wayne and plastered my back to the cool cement wall. “I made it. That wasn’t so bad.”
“Stay close.” Wayne led us to a back door. The door squeaked as it opened. The same door that led to the same hallway I’d pretended to be a runaway teen and lived in for a night. The same hall that held the room where Cherokee had been drugged and held prisoner. The same hall in which I witnessed Matt’s beating.
I stood in the doorway and listened. No sounds alerted me to anyone’s presence. No cries of abducted girls or gleeful taunts from perverted men reached my ears. Some of my tension resided. Mom was right. It was nothing more than a building.
Our footsteps echoed in the empty space. Wayne, glancing in each room we passed, stayed in front, leading us in a fearless march onward. What was it about him and Matt that gave them the courage to head into dangerous situations? With Mom, it was sense of adventure, me a drive for justice, both misguided most of the time.
Wayne held up his hand. “It’s the main room. There is a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. We can see, but visibility is limited. Same procedure as outside. Try not to stomp your feet.”
Mom gripped my hand. “There’s no party to cater this time.”
No, things could get very real. If Cheri had Sadie within these walls, she’d already proven she had no qualms about killing. We could be picked off as we crossed that room.
Wayne didn’t run this time, instead he seemed to pick his steps, moving like a ghost across the dust-covered floor. Mom copied him, waving at me when she reached the
other side.
This was it. I took a step into the room.
A shot rang out from above us, kicking up dirt and chipping the floor at my feet. “Welcome to my humble abode. Drop your weapon and kick it away from you.”
“Cheri, I want my dog.” I didn’t move.
“I want those account numbers. Let’s make a trade. Now, drop the gun and your friends will live.”
I dropped the gun and kicked it two feet away, then pulled the papers from my pocket and waved them in the air. “Come and get them.” I hadn’t been aware the building had an upper floor that looked down to where I stood.
“So that brute of a cop can take me down? I don’t think so. Leave them there and go back the way you came. I’ll release the dog. She’ll find you.”
Wayne motioned for me to keep her talking, then slipped into the opposite hallway.
“You don’t get anything until I see for myself that Sadie is unharmed.”
“You really aren’t in any condition to make demands, Stormi. I could shoot you where you stand, take out the other two, kill your dog, and take the papers.”
“You could.” I glanced at Mom. “Do you have a lighter in that bag of yours?”
“Of course, I do.” She dug it out and tossed it to me.
Miracle of miracles, I caught it in my left hand. I ignited it and held it a few inches from the paper in my hand. “You could shoot me, but I’ll set these on fire and you’ll be back to square one.”
She cursed. The sound of pounding feet told me she’d gone.
I almost sagged with relief. I thought for sure she’d call my bluff and leave me lying in a puddle of my own blood.
Wayne yelled from somewhere within the recesses of the building. A door slammed, then pounding.
Mom raced to my side, grabbed my arm, and yanked me into the hallway we’d left. We huddled together, waiting for some sign Wayne was all right. From the yells and curses echoing through the building, we knew he wasn’t dead.
“Did she trap him?” Mom’s mouth fell open. She snapped it shut. “How does anyone get the drop on that man?”
“I don’t know. Let’s head outside and wait for Matt.” At least we knew Sadie was close. My cell phone alerted me to a text.
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 88
