Floyd laughed loudly and held out a hand for Jason who took it. Once Floyd pulled him to his feet, Jason turned to Karen and kissed her.
“I’ll be back as soon as we figure something out.”
They were driving down the lane toward the county road when Floyd finally spoke. “All kidding aside, Jason, you are not to do much of anything today. If you start to overdo it, I’ll just take you back out to the farm.” He laughed and jerked a thumb to the rear. “Frankly, I’d rather have you mad at me than either one of those women back there.”
Jason fought back the angry retort that popped into his mind then said, “Okay, but I’m not going to set back and not help you out if you need it.” He patted his handgun on his belt for emphasis.
Floyd snorted and said, “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” He blew out a breath. “Let’s go to the PT clinic first to see what this Ben Winslow has to say.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were back in Floyd’s Tahoe.
“Well that wasn’t a total bust.” Floyd took off his hat to wipe his forehead. “Ben Winslow not showing up for work today is probably a good indication that he’s involved in all this.”
Jason shook his head. “You might be right, but it’s still a little too early to tell for sure. Let’s go check out his apartment.”
They went to Ben’s apartment but no one answered the door. There was no car in the driveway but they couldn’t see into the garage.
Once they were back in the vehicle, Jason leaned his head back on the headrest, and closed his eyes.
Floyd noticed and said, “Maybe I’d better take you back to the farm so you can get some more rest.”
Jason almost shook his head before he caught himself. “No, I just need to rest like this for a minute every once in a while. Then I’ll be fine.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jason could tell that Floyd wasn’t too convinced. But he didn’t say any more on that subject.
“Now what?”
Floyd shook his head and pounded the steering wheel. “I called the judge earlier but he won’t give us a search warrant yet. He said that as soon as we could tie these guys to something then he’d give us one but not until.”
Jason blew out a breath. “So we have absolutely nothing and absolutely nowhere to go.”
Floyd shook his head. “No I don’t think we’re quite that empty handed just yet.” He pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll get someone over here to watch this place.”
After making his call, Floyd said, “About the only thing we can do for now is hope that someone catches sight of one of their cars. I’ve got the descriptions out to everybody including the highway patrol.”
He thought for a second and said, “Yeah, I even contacted SPD to watch for them too.”
“I know I’m repeating myself, but what do we do now Floyd?”
Floyd shook his head and said, “The only thing I’ve been able to get on this Dan Winslow is that he lives in Pittsburg, Kansas where most of his family lives. I’m still waiting for the Crawford county sheriff to call me back. So I don’t know much about the guy except he doesn’t have any kind of record.”
Jason sank back in his seat with his head against the headrest trying to think but his head was starting to hurt again.
“Floyd, do you think you could stop somewhere for me to get some water to take a pain pill.” He held up his left hand between them. “And no, I’m not going back to the farm yet.”
Jason watched Floyd out of the corner of his eye as Floyd glared at him. Finally, Floyd grunted, put the vehicle in gear, and drove to the nearest convenience store.
As Jason was taking the pill, Floyd frowned at him and said, “How much does that thing affect you?”
Jason knew where he was going with that question and also knew what he had to do. He took his handgun out of its holster and handed it to Floyd who placed it in the compartment between them.
“Thanks Jason. I’ll feel better with it there and just in case you do need it, it’ll be handy enough right there.”
Floyd drove out of the parking lot and said, “If you’re up to it, why don’t we cruise around a while looking for those varmints too.”
Jason didn’t think that question needed an answer. So he tried to rest a little less conspicuously as Floyd began to drive around town.
* * *
Karen and Granny were finishing cleaning the kitchen after lunch when she turned to the dear older woman and said, “Granny, I only brought a few of my own clothes with me the other night since I thought I’d be wearing my scrubs most of the time. I need to go back to my house and get some more.”
Granny nodded and said, “You might as well get enough for a week or more. Who knows how long you’re going to need to stay out here.”
Karen leaned toward her and said, “I’d love to stay out here permanently Granny. That hike Jason took me on Saturday was so beautiful. I simply love it out here.”
Granny pulled her into a hug. “You know Dear that I’ve been thinking about moving into that place where all of my friends live in town.”
Karen was shocked. This was the first she’d heard about Granny maybe moving.
Granny stepped back and placed her fingertips on Karen’s cheek. “Don’t worry Dear, I would never sell this old place. Too many memories here of my Hank. And besides that, it’s been in his family for a hundred years. No, I won’t be selling it but it would thrill my soul if you and Jason would live here after you get married.”
Karen was overwhelmed. “But what do you think Jason would say about that?”
Granny chuckled. “I think he’d love to live out here again. Only reason he ever moved into town in the first place was to have his independence as he called it. That’s all.”
“Oh Granny. In that case, you don’t have to move into town. Jason and I could still come out here to live with you. I know I would love that and don’t you think he would too?”
“No, no Dear, I wouldn’t want that. You see, I really do think I might like living near all my friends.” She chuckled again. “As long as I have a place for my two rockers, then I’ll be okay. And those places either have a balcony which I wouldn’t like as well or they have a patio. Now that patio would be perfect for Hank’s rocker and mine too. Don’t you think so?”
Karen had tears in her eyes now. “Oh Granny. I love you so much. I wish I’d had a granny like you when I was growing up.”
“But you do now Dear. You’re already like a granddaughter to me. And as soon as you and Jason get married, I’ll be your Granny legally too.”
“Oh Granny that will be simply wonderful.”
All the way into town, Karen thought about what Granny had said. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. She and Jason would probably be starting out their married life at the farm. She couldn’t wait.
As she drove, she was so deep in thought about their future together that she barely remembered the drive.
When she pulled her car into her garage, she didn’t close the garage door. She just sat there with her car door open for a moment completing those wonderful thoughts. She was so happy.
Then all of a sudden, a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled out of the car. She couldn’t see who had her but it was a man and he dragged her back to the rear of the car. As the back door opened he shoved her in.
Just as she opened her mouth to scream, another man who was sitting on her other side, covered her mouth with his hand while the first man pulled her hands behind her and tied them together at the wrists. She was able to see the second man’s face but she’d never seen him before.
She couldn’t get a good look at the first man’s face before he finished with her wrists and slipped a blindfold over her eyes. Next, they tied another cloth on her mouth to gag her.
Now she was really scared. She was tied, blindfolded, and gaged. What were they going to do to her now?
She heard the garage door going down then one of them pulled her out of the backseat and dragged her
toward the rear of the car. She felt hands all over her picking her up and laying her into what must have been her trunk.
They closed the trunk lid and then she heard the garage door open as the car motor started.
At first, the ride was smooth and seemingly level but not for long. They must have driven out of town and were now on one of the curvy, hilly county roads. She was tossed from side to side with every curve the car took.
Finally, the car stopped. Now what?
The trunk popped open and then the hands were on her again lifting her to her feet. She was dragged a ways then lifted again and apparently placed into the trunk of another car.
Her only thought then was that now Jason would never be able to find her. They would be looking for her car but when they found it, she wouldn’t be in it.
She tried to collect her thoughts. She had to get control of her wildly out of control emotions. She lay there being tossed around while trying to take deep breaths through her nose to calm herself down.
Finally, she was able to think. What could she do to help Jason and the others to find her? She had to take inventory. Yes, her hands were tied behind her back. Yes, she was blindfolded. Yes, she was gaged. So she couldn’t pull the trunk release she knew was near the latch. She couldn’t see where she was. And she couldn’t call out for help.
But, her legs and feet weren’t tied. If they stopped, she could only hope other people were nearby. If so then she could kick the trunk lid and hopefully make enough noise to attract someone’s attention to her.
The longer the car kept going, the lower her spirits sank. Not only would she not be able to attract attention but she had a feeling they were planning on taking her far away from Crowleyville. Now what could she do?
* * *
After a couple of hours of riding with Floyd as they looked for either of the Winslow’s cars, Jason was about to fall asleep even though he was fighting it.
Floyd stopped the vehicle and turned to Jason. “I don’t want any argument, Jason. I’m taking you back to Miss Hattie’s right now and you’re going to get some rest.”
Jason didn’t argue. He couldn’t. He could barely keep his eyes open. In fact, he was dozing by the time Floyd pulled up at the farm.
Jason dragged himself into the house and collapsed on the couch first thing. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said to whoever was listening. “Where’s Karen?”
Granny came into the room just then and said, “She left here better than two hours ago to get some more clothes from her house. She said she’d only be gone less than an hour and I’m starting to get a little worried about her.”
Jason shot up to a sitting position as Floyd said, “Call her cell phone.”
Jason quickly punched the speed dial number for Karen’s cell phone. He hung up when he was immediately routed to her voicemail.
He said, “It’s turned off. It went straight to her voicemail.”
“You got her plate number?”
Jason shook his head and Floyd got on his cell phone to call it in. As he talked, he pulled out his notebook and wrote the number down.
When he disconnected, he said, “This is the number and dispatch is getting it out to everyone. If she’s having car trouble, somebody will find her.”
Jason slowly pulled himself to his feet but Floyd said, “Oh no you don’t. You need your rest.”
Jason struggled to stand up right in Floyd’s face and said, “Don’t even think about trying to stop me Floyd. I’m going back out there, with you or without you. That’s Karen out there.”
Floyd ran code all the way to Karen’s townhouse along the route they were sure she would have taken. But they didn’t see her car anywhere.
When Floyd pulled into the driveway, Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a key ring. “I’ve got her spare door key. She gave it to me the other day so I could get something she needed from the house.”
Once inside Karen’s house, they searched the each room careful not to touch anything. But they saw nothing suspicious.
They wound up in the garage, which was empty. Jason gave a shout just as Floyd was about to close the door.
“Wait Floyd.”
He went into the garage and motioned for Floyd to follow. He pointed down at a woman’s shoe, which was lying in the middle of the garage floor.
They looked at each other, neither one wanting to say what they were thinking.
“Floyd! They’ve got her. She probably struggled and lost a shoe and they didn’t notice it because it must have fallen under the car.”
Floyd frowned. “I’m afraid I’m thinking the same thing.”
They went back out to the Tahoe and Floyd called it in and changed the search for the three vehicles to possible kidnapping.
They had only driven a few blocks from Karen’s house when a deputy called dispatch on the radio and said she’d found Karen’s car out on a lane off the county road south of town.
Floyd flipped the lights and siren on again and raced that way. Jason had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. What had him worried was what the deputy didn’t say. She didn’t say that she found Karen, only her car. If that was the case, then where was Karen?
When they arrived, Jason jumped out of the vehicle and moved as fast as he could to Karen’s car, which was in a ditch down a lane that went to a farm. He wondered how the deputy ever saw the car.
As if in answer to his question, the first thing the deputy said to them was, “I pulled into this lane to turn around and the sun glinted off the rear window way down here.”
Pulling on a pair of gloves, Floyd reached in through the open driver’s side door and pulled the trunk latch.
When it popped open, Jason was there to look inside. She wasn’t there but . . .
“Floyd, she was in here.” Jason held up the matching shoe to the one they’d found on her garage floor.”
Floyd got on the radio and confirmed that it was now a kidnapping.
Jason had to sit down before he fell down. His head was now throbbing almost as bad as it had yesterday. He moved slowly to Floyd’s vehicle, holding his head with both hands. Then he almost fell into the seat.
His eyes were closed when he heard Floyd’s voice very near his right ear.
“We’ve asked the highway patrol to put a copter in the air to help search for them.”
Jason opened his eyes in time to see Floyd take off his hat and wipe his hand through his crew cut red hair.
“My bet is that they’re heading south for Arkansas. We’ve got to get them before they get that far. Things will really get messy then if they do.”
Jason looked up at Floyd. “I don’t care where they take her, Floyd. I’m going after her, wherever it is.”
Jason heard the driver’s side door open and then Floyd’s voice next came to him from that side.
“I’m with you Son officially or unofficially, we’ll both go after her.”
Jason’s thoughts were just starting to settle down along with his headache when he thought of what he had to do.
“Floyd, is there any chance they’ll let me on that copter?”
With his eyes still closed, Jason could tell that Floyd was thinking by the way he was shifting around in his seat. He mentally crossed his fingers until Floyd finally answered.
“I think they might. We can only try. You sure you’re up to it?”
“Yeah, I’m sure I am. It’s been long enough since I took that pill that I should be okay now.”
With that, he opened his eyes, took his handgun out of the armrest, and slipped it back into his holster.
Floyd was on his cell phone and Jason had a hard time following the one-sided conversation. But when Floyd disconnected, he was watching the big sheriff’s face.
He knew as soon as Floyd grinned back at him. “They said for us to meet them at the hospital so they can use the landing pad there.”
Jason was grinning now too. “Well, let’s get going.”
* * *<
br />
Jason had never ridden in a helicopter before but that was the farthest thing from his mind as he climbed aboard the HP copter at the hospital.
It took the two-man crew a few minutes to get him situated. He’d given the pilot his AR while that was going on but now it felt good to have it back in his hands as he sat the stock on the floor between his feet. Now he was ready.
The pilot looked at the other guy who gave him a thumbs up as he settled into his front seat. The noise of the motors revved up considerably and they began to lift off the ground. That was when it really hit Jason that he’d never been in one of these things before. But he didn’t have time to worry about that right now. He had to find Karen and he had to do it fast.
The first time one of the others spoke through the headphones, it startled Jason. The sound was loud in his ears. He wondered if there was a volume control on his headset. He just hoped his headache wouldn’t come back before they found Karen.
The pilot’s voice came over his headset again. “We’re going to do a sweeping pattern from west to east, go a little ways south and go back the other way. Until we have a better idea of where they are, that’s the best we can do.”
“Okay.”
Jason was trying to look out both windows at once then he realized that since he was on the opposite side from the co-pilot or whatever he was, then he should just concentrate on his side.
They’d been in the air about thirty minutes when the HP radio came alive. It was Floyd on their frequency.
“Our little girl is something else Jason. She still has that digital recorder I gave her around her neck. Somehow she just activated it and it also sends out a GPS tracking signal. They’re fifteen miles south of town on County C about to turn onto D and it looks like they’re going to head for State road 5 and then head for Arkansas like we thought.”
The pilot acknowledged that and turned the copter back to the southeast to head them off.
Floyd came back over the radio. “As soon as you’re close enough, we’re going to try to pull them over with only one vehicle to see if we can separate the suspects from their car.”
Jason thought that sounded reasonable enough. He just hoped . . . and prayed that it would work.
Another Solution (Crowley County Series Book 4) Page 22
