“Good. Stay right there.” Maude strode away.
It wasn’t like Skye could get away. She could slide off the tailgate and hop, but wouldn’t get far. The driveway to the nearest dirt road was at least three hundred meters long, and who knew how often somebody drove down that rutted road?
Skye’s trembling worsened.
The old bitch had parked midway between an old, two-story farmhouse and a teetering brown barn with a rusty metal roof. She strode toward the building. A side door’s hinges screeched as Maude opened it and disappeared inside.
The yard surrounding the house and barn was parched, bare dirt sparsely covered with weeds. The only trees were upright junipers about five meters tall. Skye had to wonder why anyone would think of trying to grow crops on such arid land. It looked like a desert without cactus.
Skye tried to catch her breath. Maude held all the cards, and nobody was coming to the rescue. Skye had to get control of herself. She had skills, including her Muay Thai training. Don’t even hint at fighting her until you’re sure you can escape.
The old woman returned with a cardboard box. She set it on the tailgate next to Skye.
“Let’s get one thing out of the way,” Maude said. “No, you can’t go home, no matter how much you cry. You’ll either work hard on this farm, or you’ll pay the consequences. This time of year, you and your two coworkers will spend most of your time in the greenhouse. In addition, you’ll need to take care of the house. That’s just the way it is around here, girl.”
Maude ripped the tape away from Skye’s face and neck. That pain was considerable, but it got even worse when she pulled the tape off of Skye’s long red hair. Obviously, the lunatic loved to hurt people.
Skye cried out and whimpered for a few seconds until she caught herself. Didn’t want to give the old hag the satisfaction of seeing how much she was suffering.
“Scream all you want now.” The old woman laughed. “As you can see, we’re out in the middle of nowhere. The only thing screaming will earn you is more pain. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Maude backhanded her casually, catching Skye’s left cheek and knocking her backward until she hit her head on the bed of the truck.
“The correct answer was, ‘Yes, ma’am,’” Maude said. “Treat me with respect or you’ll suffer, oh, I promise you will. Understand?”
Skye’s shivering stopped. Only the strong could survive on this remote farm. Skye needed to control her anger and save her pity party for later. Muay Thai taught patience as well as self-defense. “Yes, ma’am,” she answered with as meek a voice as she could manage while seething inside.
Maude removed a large shock collar from the box. Skye had seen them on dogs.
“You’ll wear this all day long. In fact, if you try to take it off before you go to bed, that will trigger an alarm. I’d be forced to use the cattle prod again. Understand?” Her voice sounded sarcastic, like the old witch was hoping Skye would rebel.
She forced her voice to be calm. “Yes, ma’am.”
Maude wrapped the Velcro collar around Skye’s neck and adjusted it until it was snug. The old hag’s hands were rough and scaly, like a snake’s skin.
Maude removed a device that looked like a garage door opener from a small holster on her belt. The controller contained three buttons. “Just so you know, this is what you’ll get the next time you annoy me.”
She pushed one of the buttons.
Sharp, biting pain tore through her neck, worse than the cattle prod. Skye couldn’t scream.
When the witch let go of the button, Skye gasped for breath again. Tears poured from her eyes. They wouldn’t focus. Were these shocks destroying her sight?
Skye panted and tried to control the shaking in her limbs. Oh, how she ached.
Maude stood relaxed, a smirk on her face. She was having the time of her life. Skye never imagined that a woman could be so vicious.
That realization helped her control her shaking, and she made herself a promise. If I ever get the chance, I will kill this witch without a second’s hesitation. As painfully as possible.
“Act smart,” the woman said. “If you do, that might be the last time you ever get shocked. But some girls are more stubborn than others.”
Skye pushed aside her pain. Her life was on the line. Her voice steadied as she said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Maude snickered. “Wise beyond your years? We’ll see. Roll over on your stomach.”
When Skye did, the woman cut the zip tie holding her feet together. “Don’t move.”
Something metallic clinked as Maude lifted it out of the box. It sounded like links of chain. Skye glanced back and spotted a set of shackles. Soon, she was wearing them at her ankles.
“That’s to keep you from running off. For a while, you need to be careful while you walk, or you’ll fall on your face.”
Skye held back the tears that threatened to restart. Her situation kept getting worse and worse.
Maude said, “Roll over and sit up again.” Like she was commanding a dog.
Easier said than done because Skye’s hands were still bound behind her, but Maude helped.
Skye peered down at her legs. She was like a slave on an old Southern plantation.
“Do I need to zap you again to remind you to behave yourself?”
That was one question Skye could answer with complete truthfulness. “No, ma’am.”
Maude cut the zip tie that bound Skye’s wrists. The hard plastic had cut into her skin, so she rubbed her wrists.
“So, let’s go inside. I’m sure you’re anxious to meet your coworkers. They’ve been locked up since last night. The poor dears missed breakfast while my son and I were away looking for you. I’m sure they’re furious.” She laughed.
Maude obviously relished making those weaker than her suffer. On the plus side, it sounded like Skye wouldn’t be stuck alone with this monster.
For the first time, Skye got a good look at the house. Dirt coated the white clapboards, and the paint had peeled in many places. The windows and insect screens looked like they hadn’t been washed in years. The covered front porch was dark and dreary.
As the two walked up the steps, the golden retriever puppy ran up to them. When he tried to go inside, Maude gave him a swift kick in the chest that sent him tumbling.
Chapter 4
Athena’s ranch, near Ward
Athena used her hacking skills to get a leg up on the investigation into the missing coeds. She infiltrated CBI’s servers and quickly located the investigators’ files for the two women who’d been snatched earlier in Boulder.
The first had been grabbed in mid-January while shopping at a popular outdoor mall. The victim’s name was Dawn Miller, a twenty-three-year-old communications major at CU. At 9 a.m., she’d exited a bakery after eating a quick breakfast. Dawn never made it to the mountain bike she’d locked in a bike rack thirty feet away from the bakery’s door. The shop didn’t have external video.
According to Dawn’s friends, she was outgoing and charming. Her favorite winter hobbies were backcountry skiing and ice climbing. A picture in the file showed that Dawn was a rare beauty, a blonde with a movie star’s face and a curvaceous figure.
The CBI investigators had initially suspected a lover’s quarrel with her boyfriend, but he had a great alibi. He’d been in class with two hundred other students at the time Dawn disappeared. And all Dawn’s friends assured the cops that Zack was nuts about his girlfriend. Plus, several jewelers confirmed that he’d been shopping for an engagement ring.
A month later, Isabella Costa was grabbed early in the morning outside a Boulder health club, and the cops noticed a developing pattern of vanishing coeds. Isabella Costa had been working towards a bachelor’s degree in visual arts at Naropa University. Between high school and college, Isabella had spent a few years in the Coast Guard to help pay for her education.
Other students at Naropa had told the CBI tha
t Isabella was tall, willowy, and introverted. No recent love interest. Her photo showed a lovely brunette with silky hair and a shy, innocent smile.
After the second kidnapping, the Boulder cops had worked even harder to find both women. Unfortunately, no one had noticed any suspicious characters hanging around the bakery, the health club, or either woman’s residence.
When the Boulder cops had failed to make progress, the CBI took over the case. They’d enjoyed no better luck. No ransom demands were ever made, and their bodies hadn’t been found.
As far as Athena was concerned, the most useful information in the files was the photos. Given how gorgeous both women were, it seemed likely they’d been kidnapped to become sex slaves. That was a world Athena had learned a lot about over the previous six months.
She opened the Tor browser on her computer and began surfing the Dark Web for hints of Dawn’s or Isabella’s whereabouts. God willing, finding them would help her also find her cousin.
-o-o-o-
Maude Gacy’s farm, Weld County, Colorado
To Skye’s surprise, Maude’s house reeked of pot. But she supposed she’d have to get used to the stink because she’d be going to school in Boulder for four years. The rooms were dark, and some of the faded wallpaper was peeling. The carpets were threadbare. But the small rooms they walked through were clean.
They proceeded to a long hallway that led to the back of the house. Along the way, they passed a small kitchen with a tall brick hearth and old appliances. Again, it was remarkably clean considering how dirty Maude’s clothes were.
At the end of the hallway, Maude removed a key from her pocket and opened a door that contained a deadbolt lock.
She yelled down a flight of stairs while holding her pistol at the ready. “Come up slowly and separately. I have a new playmate for you.”
A black-haired, pale-skinned woman in her early twenties climbed up a series of creaking steps from what had to be the basement. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt with holes at the elbows and badly worn blue jeans. Her black work boots seemed ready to fall apart with the next step. She was tall and lovely, despite a complete lack of makeup.
“This is Heather Lloyd,” Maude said. “She was our first guest and still my favorite.”
Without being asked, Heather took a dog collar resting on a shelf near the door and detached the collar from its charger. She strapped it on her neck as though it was meaningless.
“We’re very hungry, ma’am,” Heather said to the old woman. Then, Heather looked at Skye and shook her head.
“Go make breakfast. I’m starving.”
Heather passed Skye and briefly patted her bicep, but Skye had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
A second woman climbed the stairs, this one was short, blonde, and curvy. She also wore a ratty gray sweatshirt and old jeans. But her boots looked newer.
“This is Dawn Miller, our second guest. At first, she turned out to be a surly wench with a biting tongue, but I cured her of that. Isn’t that right, Dawn?”
She seemed as meek as a mouse. “Yes, ma’am.”
Dawn grimaced as she passed Skye, but Maude was behind her and couldn’t see. Skye was catching on to how important it was to keep up appearances in front of the evil hag.
They followed Heather into the kitchen where she set out eggs and potatoes. Without a word, Dawn began peeling the potatoes while Heather busied herself making toast.
Maude turned to Skye. “What is your name, girl?”
“Skye Dunbar, ma’am.”
“That’s ridiculous, naming somebody after the air.”
“It’s Skye with an E at the end. Scottish.” Then, she remembered Maude’s eagerness to take offense. “Scottish, ma’am.”
The old woman snickered. “That was a clever save, so I won’t shock you…this time. Don’t forget again, you little slut.”
Heather took a package of bacon out of the refrigerator and put several strips into a frying pan.
Maude smacked her lips. “Four pieces. I feel like celebrating our new arrival.”
One piece per person didn’t sound extravagant, but Heather shrugged. Skye realized all four pieces were for Maude.
Heather asked, “Skye, are two eggs okay?”
She wasn’t the least bit hungry. “None for me, thanks.”
Maude moved to the other side of the kitchen to look out the back window.
Heather whispered, “Hey, here’s a tip. Eat every chance you get. We miss a lot of meals.”
That made sense. Skye needed to keep up her strength. In a normal voice, she said, “I’ll have what you’re having.”
“Two, scrambled, it is,” Heather said.
“Skye,” Maude said, “make coffee for you girls. I’ll have a Heineken.”
Unfortunately, Skye was a Brit. She didn't drink coffee. Neither did her parents.
Dawn seemed to recognize her confusion. “Maude, ma’am, I think they drink tea in Scotland. Do you mind if I show her how to make coffee?”
The old woman cackled as she continued looking out the window. “Dumb as a rock, isn’t she? My finger is going to get tired of pushing the button.”
Dawn mouthed, sorry, and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Skye followed Dawn to the end of a counter where two coffee makers sat side-by-side. The blonde whispered, “Our coffee comes from a can. Maude’s comes from a pod. I’ll show you how to do each.”
She did, and the process was simple. Skye was sure she could do it on her own the next time.
The four of them ate at an old dining room table. Skye received scrambled eggs and home fries, and she washed the food down with well water that tasted bitter and salty. It was probably contaminated by fertilizer and pesticides that had leached into the ground over the decades.
Skye forced the food down into her roiling stomach and struggled to keep it there. She didn’t want to get shocked for losing her lunch and thereby wasting food.
After the meal, Skye washed everyone’s dishes by hand. No machine. As the new slave, she expected that would be her job from now on.
After smoking a joint, Maude led them outside past the barn to an old glass greenhouse. It was about thirty meters long and ten wide. At the entrance, the old bitch stopped suddenly.
Skye’s momentum carried her forward, but Dawn grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “We’re not allowed to get within an arm’s length of Maude without her permission.”
The hag laughed. “So many rules! Ladies, toss them out for the idiot girl as we go along. Skye, I worry that if you get too close, you might become tempted to try something stupid.”
Actually, attacking Maude was a terrific idea, but Skye would have to pick her opportunity carefully. If she struck and missed, Maude would probably kill her. But farms were usually filled with lots of things that could be used as weapons.
Skye glanced around. No obvious weapons yet.
Maude entered the greenhouse. The others followed. A concrete walkway about two meters wide ran the length of the building. Half of the place was already filled with various vegetable seedlings resting on grates held knee-high off the floor with cinderblocks turned on their ends. Hundreds of flats had already been planted, and there was room for hundreds more. One of the far corners contained several dozen marijuana plants about a meter tall.
Because it was a sunny day, a large, noisy fan forced cool air into the building. Even so, the room smelled strongly of pot and cow manure. Were they adding cow shit to the potting mix they used to grow the seedlings?
Dawn handed Skye a dirty, wide-brimmed straw hat and a pair of filthy cotton gloves with holes at the fingertips.
“You know anything about gardening, girl?” Maude asked.
Actually, she did. Her mother loved to garden, and Skye had spent countless hours digging and planting with her. And her father’s father owned a farm forty-five minutes from Edinburgh. She’d worked for Granda on many weekends and full-time durin
g the summers.
Thinking of her close relatives choked her up. Plus, playing dumb seemed to be the smarter approach. She coughed several times to clear her throat. “No, ma’am.”
“I told Rufus you were worthless,” the woman said, “but he insisted on taking you. Now, you’ll have to earn your keep. For starters, understand one crucial point—this is an organic farm, so be sure not to use any nasty chemicals. We kill the weeds the old-fashioned way, with hoes and cultivators and tilling. But for the next few weeks, we’ll be working mostly in this greenhouse.”
She paused as though expecting some response. To stay on her good side as much as possible while waiting to attack, Skye said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“I have a stupid-simple job for you, namely putting potting soil into these small plastic seedling cells. Heather and Dawn will follow behind you and plant the seeds because they know the right depths. When they’re through, you’ll water everything. Use the fertilizer mixture from this container.”
She pointed at a large, beige plastic tank that probably held a thousand liters. The water inside was dark brown, probably manure tea.
That sounded easy enough. “Yes, ma’am.”
The hag strolled to the far end of the greenhouse and sat in a recliner. Then, she pulled an electronic tablet and a pair of earbuds out of a bag she’d brought along to watch some movie or video.
Luckily, the ventilation fan was loud enough to mask the sound of normal conversation among the slaves.
“First things first,” Heather said. “This is hell on earth, and it’s run by sick, twisted, and evil people. Dawn and I have been through so many horrors.”
Skye froze.
“Always keep working,” Dawn said, “or she’ll zap you right from her seat. No warning given. We’re allowed to talk with each other as long as our hands stay busy.”
“Got it.”
“So,” Dawn asked, “how did they get you?”
Skye explained how Maude and her son had grabbed her in Denver then drove north in the pickup. When she got to the part where the cops pulled Rufus over and didn’t bother to look for her, Heather patted Skye’s back.
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