by T. L. Haddix
“Stay here.”
Chase snorted. “Like hell.”
They eased into the apartment, and quickly checked the rooms. There was no sign of Beth. Looking around the open living area, Jason saw the drops of blood on the floor. He exchanged a look with Chase and urged his brother back out into the hall, pulling his phone off his belt as they moved.
“I’ll call it in. You call the folks?”
Chase moved away to make his call, and Jason dialed Wyatt’s number with shaking hands, not bothering with dispatch. When the sheriff answered, Jason explained the situation. “What do you want us to do?”
“I’ll head that way, and I’ll get everyone else heading there, too. Go ahead and start knocking on doors, see if someone might have seen something.”
Hanging up, Jason went to the apartment straight across the hall from Beth’s and leaned on the doorbell. As the door was answered, Chase and a concerned Raven Lynch came up behind him.
The woman who’d answered the door turned out to be Marilyn Smith, Marshall’s ex-wife. Jason explained that they were looking for Beth.
“I’m sorry, boys, but the only person I’ve seen was that handsome young man who just moved in down the hall. He was taking some empty boxes downstairs to throw in the recycling.”
Raven was instantly alarmed. “What young man? No one has moved in there. The owner’s still away in Europe and won’t be back for another six weeks.”
Jason felt a chill run down his back, and he sucked in a breath. “What did this guy look like?”
“Tall, muscular. He had a cap on over his hair. I’ve never seen him before.”
Chase frowned. “How big were these boxes?”
“Pretty big.” She gestured with her hands. “And it was one big box with some small ones on the top. He had it on a dolly.”
Jason cursed and turned away. The box would definitely have been large enough to carry Beth’s body. “What time did you see him? And did you actually see him come out of that apartment?” he asked as Gary Collins, a police officer with the city of Leroy, came to the door behind Marilyn.
“What’s going on?”
Jason told him about Beth’s disappearance as the elevator bell chimed. He glanced down the hall and saw Stacy Kirchner getting off the car with a crime scene specialist in tow.
“It was about - I don’t know, ninety minutes ago? And I didn’t see him come out of that other apartment, no,” Marilyn said slowly, remembering. “He was stopped in front of Beth’s door, and I assumed the boxes had slipped to the side or something. Oh, my God.” She pressed her hand to her mouth. “You don’t think he had Beth in those boxes?”
Jason’s voice was grim as he answered. “That’s what we’re hoping to find out.” He excused himself to go meet Stacy, who was questioning Chase about Beth’s recent activities.
“Has she had any problems with anyone lately? Other than the stalker and the thing with Ethan?”
Chase shook his head. “There were some issues with the articles about the animal shelter, but that was a couple of weeks ago. I think it’s pretty much quieted down.” He looked over to Jason, his face almost gray with shock. “Do you need me here? I’d like to head out to the farm, let the folks know what’s going on.”
“Sure, go ahead. Your parents are probably pretty anxious right about now,” Stacy told him. He thanked her and, taking the keys Jason handed him, headed down the hall. He didn’t wait for the elevator, but took the stairs instead. Jason winced as his brother hit the door to the stairs with enough force to make the floor vibrate. He felt Stacy’s speculative gaze and turned to face her.
“He’s taking this pretty hard, for something we don’t know that’s happened yet.”
“When he was in college, his girlfriend was kidnapped and murdered. I’m sure this is bringing back some of those memories.”
Understanding filled her expression. “Did they ever find out who was responsible?”
He shook his head. “Never did. It’s in the cold case files now. It happened down around Lexington, Kentucky.” Knowing that she would look into the case on the off chance it was related to Beth’s disappearance, he told her the basic information, including the girl’s name and which department had handled the investigation.
When the elevator bell chimed again, they looked up to see Wyatt and Marshall stepping off. As they approached, Wyatt spoke. “Jason, I thought Chase was with you?”
“He went out to the farm, Sheriff. I think he needed a little air.”
Wyatt turned to Stacy. “Show me what we have, Detective.” She led him into the apartment, leaving Marshall and Jason behind in the hall.
“Wyatt’s looking at Ruby Sloane, and possibly at Ethan,” Marshall told him in a low voice.
“Looking at Ethan how? As a suspect?”
The editor nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Jason was stunned. “No, no. No. Ethan wouldn’t hurt her. He has feelings for my sister. Why would Wyatt think he had anything to do with whatever’s happened here?”
Marshall sighed. “Jason, you didn’t see the way he was at the boardroom meeting. He was so angry with her... you could see it in his eyes. If he could have gotten his hands around her neck, well... I don’t know what he would have done.”
Jason refused to believe Ethan had anything to do with whatever was going on. As Wyatt and Stacy came back out of the apartment, he asked the sheriff bluntly what he was thinking. “You can’t honestly believe Ethan did something to Beth.”
“I think it’s a possibility we have to at least consider. I know you all are good friends, but he’s had some serious issues with her in the last couple of weeks, and we have to look at that. I don’t like it, either, but he’s changed lately.”
Angry and scared, Jason put his hands on his hips and walked away from them for a minute, standing with his head bowed as he tried to make sense of what Wyatt had said. He ran his hands through his hair and yanked hard before he turned back to face the group, resigned.
“What can I do? Tell me what to do. Please.”
“Go back to the department with Stacy. Go over everything we have from the stalking incidents, and see if anything at all jumps out at you. Stacy, I’ll call Judge Nguyen and get a warrant, and as soon as I have it, you go to Ruby’s. I’ll head out to Ethan’s in a minute, see if he’s home. We’ll start there.”
He turned and went back into the apartment to speak with the crime scene tech and Deputy Robbie Bailey, who had shown up while they were talking. Stacy squeezed Jason’s arm reassuringly.
“I’m going to put together an APB while I wait for that warrant to come through and get the word out. We’ve got a couple of deputies coming over to interview the rest of the residents. Maybe someone else saw this man who was here this morning.”
With a nod, Jason followed her down the hall to the stairs. Pulling out his cell phone, he called the farm to let the family know the latest. He also started praying, harder than he had ever prayed in his life, both that Beth would be found safe and sound, and that Ethan wasn’t involved in whatever had happened.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Beth’s head was absolutely pounding. She was on a hard, gritty surface, a floor of some kind, and she had to struggle to open her eyes. When she tried to use her hands to push herself up, they wouldn’t cooperate with her brain. As she regained awareness, she realized they were tied in front of her body, and the hard surface was the floor of a vehicle, a van. Cold chills of fear started running down her spine. She was in serious trouble, and there was no clear way out.
The van was moving, with the hum of the road carrying throughout the vehicle’s body. She could hear the low murmur of voices from the cab, and she forced herself to breathe slowly, to try and stay calm. The more air she pulled into her lungs, the clearer her mind became, and she remembered how she had gotten into this situation to start with.
She had been letting herself back into the apartment after her morning jog when strong arms had wrapped aroun
d her from behind, and a sickly-sweet smelling cloth had been clamped over her mouth and nose. She had struggled, causing her attacker to curse viciously, and then everything went black.
Now, lying on the floor of the van, she tried to place the voices she heard. Because her attacker had come from behind, she didn’t have a clue who he was, only that he was strong and male. Suddenly, a woman’s laughter broke into the quiet conversation, and Beth saw a blurry shape stand up from the passenger seat of the van.
“Well, well, look who is awake back here.” As the woman drew close and squatted down, Beth saw that it was Ruby Sloane. When she saw the expression on Beth’s face, she laughed again. It was a cold sound that spread chills all over Beth’s body, and she flinched as Ruby shoved her over onto her back to jab at her with her long fingernails.
Beth tried to speak, but couldn’t get her vocal cords to cooperate. She swallowed and tried again. “Why are you doing this?”
To her surprise, Ruby grabbed a bottle of water and unscrewed the top, then reached down and supported her head while she drank. Beth was suspicious, but Ruby gave her little choice but to drink.
“Why am I doing this? Because I can. Because you need to be brought down a notch or two. Because Ethan Moore is tired of you traipsing around after him, and it’s ruining our sex life. Are those good enough reasons for you?” Her words grew angrier with each sentence.
“Is that Ethan?” Beth nodded toward the van’s driver, devastated.
Ruby howled with laughter at the question, and the man in question answered with derision in his voice.
“No, I’m not your beloved Ethan. Sorry to disappoint.”
Ruby gave another chuckle, truly amused. “You don’t recognize his voice, do you? It’s Dr. Chad.”
Feeling her eyes grow large, Beth froze, a million thoughts racing through her brain. Ruby patted her forcefully on the leg.
“You understand. Good girl. Although, I must admit I didn’t expect you to suspect Ethan might be in on this. Saves me a lot of trouble, I suppose, not having to convince you just how much he loathes the very thought of you.” She drew back and pulled a large hunting knife out of a sheath on her side. Helpless, Beth cringed as Ruby bent over her, grabbed her ponytail, and yanked, opening Beth’s throat up to the edge of the blade. She tried to hold still as possible, and she hated the thought that Ruby could see the fear on her face, but she couldn’t hide it.
Running the blade down her neck, Ruby dug in a little at the hollow of Beth’s throat. Despite Beth’s best efforts, a few tears sprung to her eyes. When Ruby held the knife back up, Beth saw that a tiny droplet of her blood clinging to the sharp tip. To her horror, the other woman moved the blade to her mouth and kissed the droplet. She smiled, her lips stained with Beth’s blood. Quick as a flash, she bent over and sliced off Beth’s ponytail.
“You won’t be needing this anymore, not where you’re going.” Ruby held the hair up like a trophy, and the triumph in her eyes made nausea curl in the pit of Beth’s stomach. Without another word, Ruby made her way back to the passenger seat of the van with the hair clutched in her hand.
As Beth lay on the floor of the van with her mind reeling, the knowledge that Ethan might possibly be involved in her abduction shattered her. She knew that she probably wouldn’t make her way out of this. Whatever Ruby and Chad Ormsby had in mind for her wasn’t going to be pleasant, and it took everything in her to hold back tears of pain and fear.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Ethan had just stepped out of the shower when he heard the banging on the front door. Cursing, he grabbed his jeans and dragged them as he stumbled through the bedroom and into the hall. He hurried down the steps and yelled at whoever was banging on the door. The sound was echoing through his head like the pounding of a thousand drummers.
“I’m coming, already.” He yanked the door open, the snarl dying on his lips as he saw Wyatt standing on the porch with a wary Robbie Bailey a couple of steps behind him. When he saw Robbie’s hand hovering over his weapon, he let the door swing open, showing the men that he was unarmed.
“What’s going on?”
“Mind if we come in?” Wyatt asked.
Ethan stepped back and let them pass, leaving the door open. He watched as they glanced around, obviously looking for something. After glancing into the kitchen, the sheriff turned around to face him, studying his face. “Are you here alone today?”
Arms crossed over his bare chest, Ethan nodded as he leaned against the newel post at the foot of the stairs. “I am. Why are you asking?”
Wyatt met his stare without blinking. “Beth is missing. There are signs of a struggle in her apartment, and a strange man was seen wheeling out a large box this morning.” He watched Ethan’s face carefully as he spoke. “Have you seen her?”
It didn’t take long for the meaning behind Wyatt’s words to sink in, and as they did, Ethan straightened and dropped his arms. He was incredulous, and not a little hurt. “You think I had something to do with this? You’ve got to be kidding me. She’s making this stalker crap up. You know what Mick Helton said, and what Ruby said.” Shoving past Wyatt, he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. He turned back to the two men who had followed him and shook his head. “You need to check the house?”
Wyatt nodded.
“Have at it, then.” Twisting the cap off the bottle of water, Ethan drank deeply, then slammed it down on the counter. He pointed to the room that opened off the kitchen. “Start in the laundry room, Robbie. I need to get a shirt out of the dryer.”
While the deputy moved toward the laundry room, Ethan turned his back to them and stood glaring out the kitchen window. Wyatt walked up to stand beside him, his concerned gaze taking in the large number of empty beer bottles scattered throughout the kitchen. His voice was quiet when he spoke.
“What’s going on with you? The last few weeks, you’ve been acting like that angry young punk I threw in jail all those years ago. What’s eating you?”
Ethan just snorted and shook his head as Robbie came out of the laundry room and headed down the hall toward the back porch. “You’re looking through my house, thinking I’ve done something to Beth Hudson, Wyatt. What the hell do you think I’m upset about? You know me, damn it. You know I wouldn’t do something like that. Furthermore, you know she’s just making all this up, all this stalker business.”
“I don’t know who you’ve been listening to, but aside from that bag of underwear, which I don’t think for a minute Beth dropped off at the thrift store, there isn’t a shred of proof she’s had anything to do with this. I can’t imagine why you think she has.”
Without bothering to respond, Ethan headed into the laundry room and took a clean sweatshirt out of the dryer, pulling it on. He knew that Wyatt wasn’t going to let him off without an explanation. “You think all this evidence Ruby’s brought us is made up, then? Why would she do something like that? What does she have to gain from it?”
The sheriff just stared at him and shook his head. “Ruby Sloane is trouble, always has been. She’s out for Ruby and no one else. I thought you had better judgment than to trust a woman like her. What exactly has she been saying?”
Ethan shrugged. “This and that. And Beth’s behavior backs up Ruby’s claims. She’s everywhere I go, everywhere Ruby goes.”
Robbie interrupted them. “Sheriff, the downstairs is clear. I’m heading upstairs.”
Wyatt waved him on and kept his gaze steady on Ethan. “How could you get as far as you’ve gotten and be so damned clueless? Ruby’s jealous of Beth, always has been. Anybody with half a brain can see that you’re in love with her. For some reason, Ruby’s set her sights on you now, and it serves her purposes to make Beth look bad. Makes her look better in comparison.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
“I sent Stacy over to Ruby’s with a warrant. There’s a good chance she’s up to her neck in whatever has happened with Beth.” He turned and walked toward the living room.
“Get your coat, Ethan. We’re going to head down to the department, take another look at some things.”
Ethan stood frozen against the counter. The shock of Wyatt’s words still held him in place. When he didn’t follow, Wyatt stopped and turned. “What are you waiting on?”
“What gave you - I’m not in love with Beth.” Ethan shook his head. “Where did you get that idea?” Shoving away from the counter, he stalked past Wyatt and went to the closet to grab his coat as Robbie came downstairs.
“All clear, Sheriff.”
“Am I riding with you, or are you allowing me to drive in on my own?” Ethan asked as they stepped out onto the porch and he locked the door behind them.
“Robbie’s going to head back out on patrol, and I’ll ride in with you.” Wyatt’s tone was stony, broking no argument. With a careless shrug, Ethan led the way to his truck and unlocked it. Wyatt climbed into the passenger seat with a slight groan, and as they started down the driveway, he pulled his cell phone off his belt and made a call.
“Yeah, Jason, it’s me. I’m leaving Ethan’s now and we’re heading back into town.” Wyatt paused while Jason said something on the other end, rubbing his neck with his free hand. “No. He’s clueless, in more ways than one. We’ll find her, Jason.” He returned the phone to his belt and studied Ethan, whose hands had tightened on the steering wheel.
“Tell me everything Ruby told you. Don’t leave a single detail out, hear me?”
“You really think Ruby’s done something with Beth?” Ethan asked.
Wyatt just looked at him. “Yeah, son. I do.”
Ethan swallowed. “Then I’ve really screwed things up, haven’t I?”
“I’m afraid you have.”
It was all starting to sink in - that Beth hadn’t invented the stalker, that Ruby had played him to get to Beth, and that Beth was in real trouble.
Wyatt laid his hand on Ethan’s shoulder, and neither man spoke for a long minute. “Tell me what you know, and let’s go see what we can come up with. It’s all we can do right now.”
