Repo Chick Blues (The Leah Ryan Series - Book One)

by Sharp, Tracy

  “Can you get an address?”

  Her fingers danced across the keys again. She shook her head. “No address, but the place is ten miles from here to there and there’s nothing out in Hudson. It’s the boonies.” She pulled her eyes from the screen and looked up into my face. “It shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

  “You’re right.” I hugged her small shoulders tightly. “Thank you so much. I don’t think we’d have a chance in hell of finding him if it weren’t for you.”

  When I pulled away from her she was beaming. “It was nothing. Anytime I can help.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Okay,” Jack said. “Let’s roll.”

  We headed out in two separate cars. Jack and I took the Jeep with Buddy riding in the backseat. Although Buddy hadn’t chewed off any of Callahan’s limbs, Cal decided that he’d ride with Will, Patrick and Sharon. Jack was antsy about Sharon coming with us but it wasn’t safe for her to be alone in the shop. We considered leaving Buddy to watch over her, but I felt that we needed as much help as we could get. Buddy is a fierce opponent. And I had an idea brewing in the back of my mind of how he could fit into our plans.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  It seemed to take forever to get to the place. Chances were good that Woodard was there with Finn. I tried not to think of what they were up to way out there in the middle of nowhere. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be nice. I kept the faith that Jesse would be unharmed. I had to keep reminding myself that he was a smart kid and a survivor. If anyone could stay alive when the odds were stacked against him, it would be Jesse.

  We came to a fork in the road. We could either continue going straight or we could turn off to the right onto a dirt road which led into the woods.

  “We’ve gone about ten miles,” I said to Jack. “I think we should see where this dirt road leads us.”

  He nodded. “If there’s going to be a shack anywhere around here, I’d say it’d be on that road somewhere.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.” I turned onto the dirt road.

  The temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees, yet I was sweating and trembling just the same. I knew that Woodard and Finn’s shack was on this road. I could feel it. In my mind, I was preparing for the worst. My body was reacting to the fact that I might be about to enter into a battle from which I might not come out alive. My brother was in that shack. There was no way I wasn’t going in there.

  The further down the road we went, the narrower the road became, and the thicker the trees flanking the road seemed. Tall old maples hung their branches over us creating a canopy and blocking out the sky. It was so dark that without the headlights of the Jeep it would be pitch black.

  “Fuck, this is spooky,” Jack said.

  Squinting into the darkness, I wondered what creatures crouched behind the trees watching us. “You’ve got that right.” My fingers were almost numb on the steering wheel. I had the creepy sensation we were being watched.

  “How the hell are we supposed to find this place in this darkness?” Jack peered through the windshield. “You can’t see shit out here.”

  “I don’t know. There’s got to be lights on in that shack if Woodard and Finn are in there.”

  We came to another fork in the road where it branched off to the left, becoming narrower and more treacherous. From what we could see in the beams cast by the headlights, the terrain was rocky, uneven and full of huge potholes. I felt more than I could see that the edges of the woods dropped off sharply. It’s weird how you sometimes just know things. If the wheels went too far off the road, we were going down.

  “Great. Do you want door number one or two?” Jack said.

  “This is a Jeep. Hell, it’s a Rubicon. It can handle this road without a problem.” This was true, but I was still nervous about taking that road.

  “I hope to hell you’re right.”

  Will, Patrick and Sharon were behind us, their headlights bright in my rearview mirror. I got out of the Jeep and walked over to them.

  “We’re taking the road that forks off. You guys keep going on this road. One of us will come to the shack. Whoever comes to it will call the other. Okay?” I looked at Callahan. “You got your cell on you?”

  He nodded once and patted his coat pocket. “Got it.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bouncing into the collar of his shirt.

  “Good,” I said. “Okay, talk to you soon.”

  He nodded again, his eyes sharp and a little wild. “Be careful.”

  “Aren’t I always?”

  He gave a crazy, high-pitched little laugh. “Right.”

  I grinned at him and headed back toward the Jeep.

  I did drive slowly, the needle barely hitting twenty miles an hour. I watched the road carefully. I didn’t need a deer or raccoon darting in front of the Jeep and startling me.

  But something did. A pale shape came running at the Jeep, wild and shrieking. I slammed on the brakes and the Jeep skidded, almost hitting her.

  She waved her arms, screaming and crying. She wore no clothes and her skin was covered with cuts and bruises. Her black hair was tangled and dirty.

  Jack and I both jumped out of the Jeep and went to her. Her nose was bloody and a long stream of spit and blood hung from her mouth. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and sobbed. “Please help. Please. Help.”

  We got her into the back of the Jeep. There wasn’t much room with Buddy back there but she was so tiny and she’d obviously been starved, her ribs were outlined clearly against her pale skin. Jack took off his coat and covered her with it.

  “It’s okay,” I said to her. “You got away. Where are the other women?”

  She pointed toward the road. “Back.”

  “It’s down that road,” Jack said. “Keep going.”

  “He’s killing them,” the woman cried. “Choking … shooting.”

  I got on my cell and called Callahan. “It’s down this road,” I said. “It’s a slaughterhouse. Move it!”

  Buddy licked her face.

  We could barely see the shack from the old dirt road, but we could make out the small squares of light which that the windows. Jack and I both had our pistols ready before we even got out of the Jeep. I told the woman to stay in there.

  “Watch over her,” I told Buddy.

  He may not have understood the words but dogs have a keen sixth sense and I knew that he understood. Again, he licked the woman’s face and she wrapped her arms around him and held on to him tightly, Jack’s coat shaking around her.

  Will, Cal, Patrick and Sharon had already gotten out of her car. Sharon carried a .38 caliber. It looked large in her tiny hand. She was such a small woman, but looking at her standing there with that gun and a dark look of determination on her face, it was clear that she had strength in her which isn’t obvious when you first meet her.

  She headed toward the Jeep. “I’ll stay with her.”

  I thanked her. “Buddy’s fierce, but he doesn’t have a gun. You know?”

  She nodded and opened the driver’s side door, hanging on to the wheel and hoisting herself onto the seat.

  “If it looks really bad, you just go,” I told her. “Don’t hesitate. Just get the hell out of here, okay?”

  “I know. I will. Don’t worry. They’re safe with me. I’m tougher than I look.” She grinned. “You know. Full of surprises.”

  “Apparently.” I smiled back at her. “Thanks.”

  “Christ, I don’t even know how to work this thing.” Will was looking at the gun in his hand as if it would bite him. “I’ve never even done target practice. I don’t even remember how to shoot a water pistol.” His voice was panicked.

  “Point and shoot,” Jack said to him. “It’s not rocket science, man. You’re just a back-up anyway. Don’t use it unless someone’s coming at you or you see someone coming at one of us, got it?”

  Will swallowed. “Yeah.”

  “Why don’t you just stay with Sharon and the other woman?” Ca
l asked him. “If you’re that intimidated by the gun, you’re going to end up shooting yourself or one of us.”

  “No.” Will shook his head. “I’m helping. I’ve never really done anything worthwhile in my life. This is it. This is where I step up to the plate.” He nodded. “I’m going with you.”

  Jack looked up at the shack, then back at us. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

  I stepped up beside Will and touched his arm. “Hey. We’re all scared. Only psychopaths and other assorted nut-bars aren’t shaking in situations like this.” As if people were confronted with such situations on a daily basis.

  “Yeah,” he said. “It’s cool.”

  I looked up at the shack, just as Jack had moments earlier, and fear clutched at my stomach. I smiled then, fighting down what I knew would be a bad case of the giggles. “Okay. Thanks for being here. I really appreciate your help.”

  Will saw something in my face and it was his turn to touch my arm. “We’ll get Jesse back, Leah. Might be a little messy, but we’ll get him back.”

  “Oh, it’ll be messy,” Jack said. “It’s gonna be really messy.”

  “Let’s go.” Callahan’s arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes still held that wild look. He couldn’t stand still, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He was wound up tight but he was maintaining his cool.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s rock.”

  Crouching low, we started our way up to the shack.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The shack was an old camp. It was built completely of old wood, and was leaning visibly to the right. It wasn’t safe for anyone to be in, let alone a bunch of illegal Asian women, two sociopaths and my brother.

  We kept low, making our way up to the side of the old shack which was facing the road. Jack and Patrick went around the other side.

  We had to case the place before we went bursting in. Time was short. I wanted to go in right then. “Hurry.”

  There were four windows, two on the second floor and two on the first. I carefully peeked into one of the bottom ones while Callahan peered into the other. Music blared from within the house. Even from where I stood outside, I could barely hear myself think.

  There were about ten Chinese women sitting on the floor of the room with their hands and feet bound with rope. Some were moaning and crying but there were others who seemed resigned to the same fate of the ones who’d been murdered. They were waiting to die.

  Jesse wasn’t in the room. I felt a mix of relief and fear twisting my stomach. Where was he? I hoped to God he’d escaped.

  Callahan came up beside me and I almost screamed. I hadn’t seen him move.

  “Jesus!” I hissed at him. “You scared the hell out of me!”

  “Sorry. That window is open. The woman who escaped must’ve somehow gotten loose of her binds and crawled through it.

  “Why aren’t the others following?” I looked through the window again. “Why are they just sitting there?” I already knew the answer to my question. They were paralyzed with fear. Too terrified to move. “We’ve gotta get in there. He’s killing them one by one in another room.”

  “Go get Jack, I’ll get the other women through the window,” Cal said, making his way back to the open window. “Hey,” he stage-whispered into the room. I could see the shock appear on the women’s faces as I moved away from the window. Just before I took off to find Jack, Patrick and Will, I could hear Callahan gently coaxing the women to come to the window.

  “Come on, it’s okay. Can you hop over to the window? Be careful. We’re going to get you out of there.”

  As I made my way around the shack, I felt a quick jab of shame for the way I’d been treating him. He was a gentle person who was willing to risk his life for me. Or at least for the women and Jesse. And as thankful as I was to have him there helping me, I felt that I didn’t deserve him.

  Jack and Patrick were moving around to the back of the house when I found them. Will stood outside one of the windows, pacing back and forth. “Oh, shit,” he said. “Oh, shit.”

  “Will!” Jack whispered. “Get a grip!”

  I was about to look into the window when I heard Jack whisper my name. I looked over at him. In the shadows I could see him slowly shaking his head, no.

  “Don’t,” he said.

  A vise gripped my insides. “What?”

  “Don’t look in there. It’s where they’re dumping the bodies.”

  My stomach turned.

  He motioned with his hand. “Come on. There’s no time.”

  I grabbed Will’s arm and we followed Jack and Patrick to the back of the shack.

  There were no windows at the back of the building. We rushed around back to the other side where Callahan was helping one of the women through the window. His hands were wrapped around her shoulders and he was lifting her out easily. Like the other women, she was severely underweight. Woodard and Finn had obviously given them only enough food to survive. Two women sat on the grass watching us.

  “How many are left?” I asked him.

  “Seven.”

  Jack cursed under his breath. “We’re not waiting. He could kill a couple before we get them all out of there. Let’s go.”

  Will hesitated. He looked nauseous.

  “Stay here,” Jack said to him. “Cal needs help. Cut those ropes off, okay?” He motioned to the women on the grass.

  “With what? I don’t have a knife.” Will’s voice was shaky.

  I reached down and grabbed my knife from where it was strapped to my lower leg. I walked over and handed it to him. “Be fast.”

  He nodded quickly, seeming to get a hold of himself. He had a task to do. He could handle it. “Okay.” He moved to one of the women, squatting down to start on the rope tying her ankles together.

  Jack, Patrick and I ran to the front of the house, guns ready.

  “There’s no basement. They’ve gotta be killing them in that other room,” Patrick said.

  “I didn’t look in the other window. You didn’t see anything?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “They have something over it. A blanket or something. It was ripped but it was hard to see. I saw a hand and black hair.”

  “That’s all you need to see.” Jack’s face was somber.

  Numbness began spreading over me. “Oh, God. Come on, let’s get in there.”

  Jack didn’t hesitate. He kicked he door in easily. The wood splintered and fell inward. It had obviously been rotting for some time. Jack walked quickly into the place and Patrick and I followed, guns held in front of us. I could feel a sense of dread in the air all around me. It soaked into me, through my clothes and into my skin until I felt it inside of me.

  The place smelled like terror. The smell of sweat, copper and mold filled my nostrils, but beneath all that there was another smell. Sweet and fetid. When I realized what the smell must be, I gagged, placing the back of my hand over my nose. I wondered how many bodies were stashed around the place. I thought of the two missing girls whose cars were found abandoned on the highway.

  There was a set of decrepit stairs going up to the second floor. Many of them were sagging and some had fallen in.

  “I’ll check it,” Patrick said.

  I nodded. “Careful.”

  He began his way cautiously up the staircase.

  Jack had gone ahead of me. He was further up the hallway, kicking a door in. I came up beside him. It was a bathroom. My breath caught in my throat. The scene was gruesome.

  Blood was spattered on the walls and covered the tub, dripping slowly into the drain. There was darker, dried blood beneath it. This was a slaughterhouse.

  “Jesus Christ,” Jack breathed. “What the fuck’s going on here?” Then he was gone, back down the hall to the next closed door. He kicked it open.

  The room was empty except for a man with a gun crouched on the floor. He aimed for Jack. Jack and I already had our guns trained on him. We pulled our triggers simultaneously. The man’s body jerked s
everal times. He fell onto his knees and lifted his arm, pointing his gun at Jack again. I aimed for his head and shot him above the right eye. He fell sideways onto the floor, eyes staring blankly at us.

  I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Patrick came down the hall toward us. “There’s nobody up there. Looks like they’ve been sleeping up there though. There’s old mattresses and blankets on the floor.” He looked into the room and his eyes fell on the dead guy on the floor. “Oooh. Head shot.”

  “Where the hell are they keeping Jesse?” I said.

  “We’ll find him,” he told me.

  I kept hearing those words. I hoped they were true.

  Jack headed down the hall again. We crossed the room the women had been in, which had once been a living room. I stopped and looked in to see how many women were left. There was only one. She was standing near the window, hands bound behind her, waiting patiently for her turn to escape. I saw another woman’s legs go through the window. The woman standing turned to me as if she were asking permission to go. No wonder. I had a gun in my hand. I dropped my hand to my side and used the other to motion toward the window. “Go. Hurry.”

  She turned and calmly moved her head and upper body through the opening for Cal.

  I headed down the hall toward where Jack and Patrick had gone. The room was a kitchen area. There wasn’t much there. An old table surrounded by three chairs. A porcelain sink, which had long ago rusted into brown, held dishes covered in a substance which I hoped had once been food.

  Off the kitchen were two rooms. One with an open door, the door to the other was closed. That was the room with a blanket covering the window. A long streak of blood ran along the floor from this room to the other. This was the room where the bodies were stacked. A high-pitched shriek rang out above the music, freezing us all to the spot for a moment. Every hair on my body stood on end.

  Jack ran to the closed door and kicked it in. He stood in the doorway for a moment, obviously shocked. Then his shoulders started shaking. At first, I thought he was crying, but when he turned his head to look at me, I was surprised to see that he was shaking with laughter.