Oh, my God. They were going to drug her again. And this time she was trapped. She wrapped her arms tightly around her legs in an attempt to protect herself.
The driver appeared a moment later with a small vial in her hand.
“It didn’t work,” the woman explained. “Do it again.”
The driver grinned at Toni and she felt sick with fear. If she fought back, she knew they’d kill her.
Toni met the driver’s glare and she knew she was done for. What choice did she have? She figured her only chance of survival was the passage of time. Time for Boggs to find her. The drug would take at least fifteen minutes to kick in, or would it? She noticed the driver was filling a syringe from the vial. She cringed and closed her eyes. She could feel Jan walk toward her but she kept her eyes tightly closed. In less than thirty seconds she felt the stab of the needle. It’s done. Now all I can do is pray.
“If she gives you any problems, just yell. I’ll be downstairs.” Jan left and Toni noticed it was her gun and holster on the woman’s waistband. That bitch.
She turned her attention to the gun still leveled at her. For the first time, she noticed the laptop. One window was open on the screen. She leaned a little closer. What the hell? That was their study, she realized. In their new place! Holy shit. That’s how she’d been tracked. She felt violated. Toni closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her legs again. She was going to be raped, she thought, shuddering. And when it was over, she’d be handed back to the driver, that Jan woman. And God only knew what torture Jan would inflict. God, please help me. She was going to die. Jan was going to kill her. She opened her eyes and glanced at her watch. Only got ten more minutes. She felt sick. Her mouth was dry and she felt a lone tear roll down her cheek. I love you, Boggs. I love you, Mr. Rupert.
Boggs watched Vicky dig through her backpack for Karen’s address before she started driving. She was frantic. “Can’t this thing go any faster? We’ve lost too much time.” Maybe it’s already too late.
“I’m driving as fast as I can without killing us,” Vicky said.
As they turned onto the street, Boggs yelled for her to stop.
“What?” Vicky screamed as she slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the curb.
“Look,” Boggs said, pointing ahead. “There’s the car. The old Honda Civic. That’s the one they took Toni in.” She opened the door to get out. She had to get to Toni.
“Wait a minute,” Vicky said, grabbing her arm. “Let me call Johnnie and Patty.” As she quickly filled them in, Boggs started to get out of the car again. “Hold on a sec. I’m calling the judge.” She quickly dialed the number and told Judge Crayton that they’d spotted the kidnapper’s car. She thanked her and closed her phone. “We now have a search warrant. Johnnie and Patty are on their way, but—”
Boggs didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence. She was already out the door with her gun drawn, running down the sidewalk toward the house. Vicky caught up with her at the driveway.
“Wait here and watch the front door,” Vicky said. “I’m going to circle around the back so we know all the exits, okay?”
Boggs was crouched down by a bush. “Go,” she whispered.
She spotted Vicky on the other side of the house two minutes later, giving her the go-ahead sign. They both approached the front door.
“This door is too sturdy for us to break down,” Boggs said. “I say we ring the bell and see what happens.” And she’d shoot whoever got in her way. She rang the bell and put her ear to the door. “I hear movement.” She and Vicky stood on either side of the door and waited. Nothing. Boggs rang the bell again. Answer the damn door. I know she’s in there.
Toni heard the sound of the doorbell, but it didn’t make sense. Her entire body felt fuzzy. Did I drink too much? She looked at the woman sitting at the desk and noticed that her entire body had stiffened at the sound. Why was she pointing a gun at her? she wondered. Where am I?
The door to the study opened just a crack. “We’ve got company,” Jan said. “Stay in here.” The door closed quietly.
“What’s going on?” Toni asked.
The woman put down her gun and went to Toni. She offered her hand and led Toni over to the couch on the far side of the room. Toni felt confused but went willingly. The woman sat next to her and put her arm around her. Then she kissed Toni’s neck. This feels wrong but I don’t know why. Toni scooted away and looked at the woman. “Karen? What’s going on?”
The sound of a single gunshot made both of them jump.
“Someone’s coming,” Boggs whispered, hearing footsteps from behind the heavy door. They both had their weapons down by their legs. “I know she’s in there. I can feel it.”
“Who is it?” a voice called from inside.
“Police,” Vicky said. “We’ve got a gas leak down the block and we’re evacuating. We need all occupants to leave immediately.”
“I’ll stay,” the voice answered.
“I’m sorry but the order is mandatory,” Vicky said.
The door opened slightly and Boggs moved forward. She saw the flash and was blasted backward, a searing pain shooting through her shoulder. Vicky got to the door too late. It had already been slammed shut. Boggs grabbed her shoulder. “Shit. The bitch shot me.”
Vicky pulled her away from the front door, flipped open her phone and called for help. She yanked off Boggs’s outer shirt and tied it around the wound, leaving Boggs in only a tank top. Her shoulder was throbbing.
“I’m fine,” Boggs said. “We’ve got to get in there.”
Just then Johnnie’s car pulled up. Jessie disappeared around back. Johnnie and Patty ran quickly up to the front. Vicky filled them in. A radio crackled and Johnnie pulled her walkie from her pocket.
“The back door isn’t secure,” Jessie said. “We can get in.”
Boggs attempted to get up. She had to get to Toni.
“Forget it,” Vicky said. “You and Patty stay here and watch the front door. We’ll hit the back.”
Johnnie handed her radio to Boggs before they ran around back.
The door to the study opened again and Jan ran in, slamming the door behind her. “Cops are here. And all because of this bitch.” She spat the last words out. “And you haven’t even done anything with her.” Jan crossed the room and yanked Toni’s T-shirt, ripping it down the front.
Karen pushed her away. “Get your filthy hands off her. She’s mine.”
Jan glared at her. “We need to get out of here. I’ve already shot one cop.”
“But I’m not ready,” Karen said quietly. She stroked Toni’s arm.
Toni blinked several times. None of this was making sense. Did that woman say she just shot someone? God, I feel sick.
“We don’t have time for this crap,” Jan said. “We’ve got to go now before the place is littered with cops.”
“And whose fault is that?” Karen asked, her tone cold. “If you’d done as you were instructed the first time, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“If you weren’t so fucking obsessed with this bitch, we wouldn’t be in this situation. You and your damn rituals.” Jan was screaming now. “That ridiculous hair thing and refusing to drink your Scotch unless you’ve got three fucking ice cubes and you’ve stirred it just right.” She laughed. “You’re fucking nuts.” She turned toward Toni and raised her gun. Toni’s gun. “And you’re just a pain in the ass. I should have taken care of you the first time.”
The door to the study crashed open at the same time a gunshot rang out. Toni felt a burning sensation in her left shoulder. The pain coupled with her nausea caused her to double over, just as another shot was fired. Karen leaned over Toni in what seemed like an odd attempt to protect her.
Vicky’s gun was pointed at Karen as she kicked the weapon away from Jan’s body. “Get away from her,” she snarled at Karen.
Karen scooted away. Johnnie also had her gun trained on Karen, and Vicky rushed to Toni’s side. Jessie threw Karen to the floor and han
dcuffed her.
Johnnie was standing over Jan’s body. “Looks pretty dead,” she said to Vicky. “Nice shot.”
Toni could hear sirens approaching. “Where’s Boggs? What happened?”
“She and Patty are out front,” Vicky answered.
Boggs appeared a moment later. “Babe, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” She stared at her torn T-shirt and the blood.
Toni reached up and touched her arm. “I’m okay, I think.”
By now several officers had come into the room and Karen had been led away. Jan’s body remained on the floor. An EMT tried to look at Boggs’s shoulder but she directed him to Toni. “And she was given that date rape drug, I’m sure of it,” she told him.
“It’s not bad,” the EMT said as he bandaged Toni’s shoulder. “You need to be looked at.”
Boggs wasn’t changing her mind. “As soon as you’ve taken care of her.”
Toni moaned and threw up in the trash can.
“Can’t you help her?” Boggs was now sitting next to Toni on the couch.
“The more she throws up the better,” he said. He nodded to his partner, who’d just brought in the gurney. “We’ll start an IV on the way to the hospital.”
“I’m riding with you,” Boggs said.
Vicky ended a call to Captain Billings. “He’s got a warrant out for Detective Johnson now,” she explained. “But I don’t understand how these creeps knew that the furniture would arrive today at ten.”
Johnnie was standing behind the desk, looking at Karen’s computer screen. “Hey, look at this.”
“They were watching us,” Toni said. Her head was spinning and she thought for sure she was going to lose her breakfast. She needed to lie down.
Vicky looked at the laptop. “That’s their study,” she said. “What the hell?”
“Shit,” Johnnie said. “Toni’s place was never bugged. It was the damn laptop. That’s how they knew what was going on.”
Vicky, Patty and Jessie stared at the screen. “But how in the hell did they do that?” Jessie asked.
“Must be the webcam,” Johnnie said. “Damn. That’s pretty slick.”
Webcam, Toni thought. The damned webcam. Shit.
“Pretty freaky,” Vicky said. “I don’t think I’ll ever use my webcam again.”
Finally the EMT had Toni on the gurney, and she closed her eyes, the voices around her fading. She couldn’t believe she’d survived this ordeal.
Chapter 27
It was nearly five o’clock when Vicky and Patty brought Toni and Boggs home from the hospital. They’d been sewn up, bandaged and given prescriptions for painkillers. Toni was still woozy but was grateful she and Boggs had only received flesh wounds.
“I guess our work is done,” Vicky said as she put on the last pillowcase. She and Patty had stayed long enough to help them assemble their bed and put the sheets on. “I suppose we won’t know who all is involved in this crap until the tech guys finish with Karen’s computer.”
“What about the guy who helped Jan? The other delivery guy?” Toni asked, nursing a bottle of lemon water. They’d hydrated her at the hospital, but she was still thirsty.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Captain Billings called while you were in the hospital. They found him, the truck and the two regular delivery guys at a crappy motel on the edge of town. Apparently they were all in a room drinking beer. The guy—I think his name is Billy something—told the cops that Jan told him to kill the guys, but he couldn’t. He thought they were too nice, so he bought beer instead. Those two delivery guys are damn lucky they were dealing with Billy instead of Jan.”
“But how did Jan and Karen know about the delivery?” Toni asked. She had only a vague memory of something about her laptop.
Vicky filled them in about the webcam.
Toni was shocked. “I can’t believe they tapped into my webcam,” she said. “That’s so creepy. To think that someone could watch everything you do in your own house.” She shuddered. “And they did watch.”
“I know,” Vicky said. “Makes me think twice about having one. Are you guys okay being alone? Do you want us to stay?”
“We’re good now,” Toni said, looking at Boggs, then smiling at Vicky and Patty. “But thanks.”
“Okay. Oh, yeah. Mike Johnson is apparently cooperating. He’s blaming everything on Jan and Karen. I’m sure he’s looking at a boatload of time.” She smiled. “Okay, guys. We’re out of here. Hey, you’re not going to work tomorrow, are you?”
“We decided to take vacation days the rest of the week,” Boggs said. “I had to beg Toni, but after we called Anne from the hospital, she insisted. Said we needed time to settle in and stuff.”
Toni nodded. “Yeah, I think it will be good for both of us. We need some time to heal and I want to unpack.”
“If there’s anything you need, please call, okay?” Patty hugged them both.
After Vicky and Patty had left, Toni turned to Boggs. “I don’t remember everything that happened.” She was sitting on the couch in the living room with her knees drawn up and her arms draped loosely around them. Her shoulder was still so sore. “Was I . . . did they, um, hurt me?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Boggs scooted closer to her and put her hand on her knee. “No, babe. The doc said they didn’t hurt you.”
“Are you sure?” She couldn’t allow herself to believe it until Boggs told her again.
“Positive, babe. Your shirt was ripped, but that’s all.”
Relief washed through her and she crawled into Boggs’s arms, careful of both of their injuries. “Thank God. I was so scared, but I was more afraid of what I wouldn’t remember.”
“I know, babe. But you’re safe now. And everything is okay.” She kissed her gently.
Toni looked at the new cat carrier sitting on the floor. “Are you feeling up to getting our new kitten? I hate to think that he has to stay any longer than necessary.”
“I’m good.” Boggs was grinning. “Let’s go.”
They arrived at Stray Rescue a little before six thirty and were greeted again by Harriet.
“Oh, my goodness! What happened to you two?”
“A little work-related mishap,” Boggs explained. “But luckily we’re both right-handed.”
“So, you’re ready to take your little gray guy home?” she asked.
Toni held up the carrier and grinned.
“Come on back.” Harriet led them back to the cat room and took the tiny kitten from his cage.
Toni and Boggs each held him for a moment then put him in his carrier. “Thank you so much for taking care of him, Harriet,” Toni said. “We’ll give him a good home.”
“I know you will,” Harriet said. “And if you decide you want another, just let us know. Or maybe even a dog?”
“We will,” Boggs said.
When they arrived home, Toni set the carrier down in the mudroom off the kitchen. The little guy poked his head out and trotted over to the litter box. Toni had scooped out the box before they left. The little guy hopped in and rolled around on his back, kicking litter everywhere. Then he used the box and hopped back out.
Toni laughed. “Well, that was unique.” She showed him where the food and water bowls were in the kitchen. He took a quick drink, then rubbed against Boggs’s leg.
“Time for him to meet his big brother,” Toni said, calling out for Mr. Rupert.
He appeared a moment later and stopped ten feet short of the little gray ball of fluff and stared. The tiny kitten was batting a piece of cat food across the kitchen floor. It stopped in front of Mr. Rupert’s paw. The kitten ran straight for the food and skidded to a stop just inches from Mr. Rupert. He looked up and squeaked. Mr. Rupert thomped him on the head with his huge paw. The little guy had a shocked expression on his face and he cocked his head to the side, then lifted his own paw in the air. Mr. Rupert meowed loudly, then wrapped his big arm around the boy and licked his head before strolling away. The tiny cat trotted off behind him.<
br />
“I think they’ll be okay,” Toni said. “Mr. Rupert let him know he’s the boss.” She watched Mr. Rupert hop up on the ottoman and stare at his fishtank. The little guy climbed up the ottoman and sat beside him.
“We need to think of a name,” Boggs said. “He’s such a little tough guy.” She grabbed one of the toys, a long stick with a feather attached to one end, and went into the living room. Toni followed and they sat on their new sofa.
“Hey, little toughie,” Boggs said, wiggling the stick. “Come here, buddy.”
The little gray cat tumbled off the ottoman and jumped for the feather. Toni smiled while the woman she loved played with the newest member of their family and she and Mr. Rupert watched. The kitten jumped and crashed into furniture but kept coming back.
“I think he is a tough guy,” Toni said. “Maybe we should call him Mr. Tuffy.”
“Hmm. Maybe.”
After about ten minutes of playing the little tough guy crawled into Boggs’s lap and promptly fell asleep. Boggs petted him for just a couple minutes before she too fell fast asleep.
Chapter 28
Two weeks had gone by and they’d finally settled in. Toni’s stitches had been removed from both her forehead and her shoulder. They’d unpacked everything and shopped for a few new items. There was a brand new flat-screen television hanging over the fireplace and one in the game room downstairs. The fridge was stocked with beer, wine and burgers waiting to be grilled. Several salads were already made and the counter was full of bowls containing several different kinds of chips and dips. They’d borrowed Vicky’s huge cooler, which stood full of ice and soda on the deck. The Fourth of July party was about to begin.
Vicky was the first to arrive with her date, Dr. Claire Henson. Next came Jessie and Helen, followed by Johnnie and Patty. Anne Mulhoney and her husband, Bill, arrived with Sam Clark and his wife, Betty. Aunt Francie came with her new beau, Howard, and Toni’s parents arrived with Aunt Doozie and Uncle Tom at the same time. Judge Crayton knocked on the door carrying a huge bottle of wine. Harriet from Stray Rescue arrived with cat toys.
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