by Tami Kidd
“Mara, I can’t believe you hired a private investigator!” he cajoled.
His tone threw her off. “What—I—how—”
“He called me today and asked to meet with me. I met him at Starbucks outside the front gate. He gave me the third degree! Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”
Mara stood there, shocked.
His tone softened as he continued. “Let this go. This isn’t going to bring Thomas back. It’s not going to do anything but hurt you. Please, I’m begging you, just let it go.”
“Nathan, is there something you want to tell me? If you know something, tell me now and I’ll drop it. Case closed.”
He dropped his head and then looking her straight in the eyes, he said, “I don’t know anything. I hate to see you put yourself through this. I hate to think this guy may be taking advantage of your vulnerability.”
“First of all, Nathan, he’s not taking advantage of me. Second, I can take care of myself. I’m not some weak little woman who has to be coddled. I appreciate your concern, but I’m not dropping this. I have to know, one way or another. I thought when we had lunch the other day you understood how I felt.”
“I knew you were hurt, but I never dreamt you’d take it to this level.”
Mara looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. “Let’s go inside and we’ll talk.”
“No, I have to go. I really wish you’d drop this, Mara. I have a bad feeling.”
For a split second, Mara thought she saw fear in Nathan’s eyes. Squeezing his arm reassuringly, she said, “Nathan, it will be fine. No matter what the outcome, I will be okay. I promise.”
Shaking his head, Nathan didn’t say a word as he turned and got into his car.
She watched him drive away, wondering what just happened. Why is he so agitated?
Mara called Alex back as soon as she got inside. She kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the couch. After several rings, he picked up.
“Hi, Mara. How’s your day going?”
“Well, it was great till a few minutes ago.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Nathan was in my driveway when I came home from a lunch meeting. He was very upset with me for hiring you. He begged me to drop the case. What happened when you spoke to him?”
“I did sense a little hostility with him, but he answered my questions. It’s not unusual for people to get a little defensive. It’s kind of like talking to the police. Even though they may not have done anything wrong, they’re afraid you might think they did something. So, they put up their guard. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“You’re probably right, but I get this strange feeling he knows something.”
“Maybe he does. But most likely he’s only worried about you. Try not to read too much into it.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” Mara changed the subject. “So, what did you find out today?”
“Well, as you know I spoke to Nathan, and he confirmed what he told you. I also visited Jack and Kay; again, they told me the same thing they told you.” He hesitated a moment before continuing. “I also went to the bank. I did get a positive ID that your husband opened the account himself on the date they gave you.”
After a pause, Mara finally asked, “Where do we go from here?”
“Find out more about Rebecca Kincaid. I need to check her background, her routine while she was in Riverside. Where she went after she left here and where she may be now.”
“Sounds like a plan. When will I hear from you again?”
“I’ll give you daily status reports, but remember—”
Mara broke him off mid-sentence. “I know. If I think of anything in the meantime, let you know.”
“Right, and if you have any questions you can call me—”
“… anytime, day or night,” Mara finished for him
“Hey, you’re good!”
Mara imagined those cute little dimples lighting up his face. “Well, don’t forget a certain PI and I have spent many hours together, so she’s bound to have taught me a few things.”
“That’s right! I keep forgetting about the infamous Alex Strange.”
In mock disappointment, Mara said, “She’ll be so hurt to hear you’ve forgotten her.”
“I’ll make it up to her.”
“You’d better,” Mara teased, “or she’ll never forgive you.”
Alex laughed. “I know when I’m beat. I better go and get some work done. I have a tyrant for a boss.”
“Poor thing. You’d better go then. Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Till tomorrow.”
Fourteen
Mara slept peacefully until the sound of music roused her. She realized it was her cell phone. Ugh, who’s calling me in the middle of the night? Reaching for the phone and rubbing her eyes, she stared at the number. It was Alex. What does he want at this hour?
“Mara, I’m sorry to call you at this hour, but this is important.”
She sat up. “What? What is it?”
“Someone broke into my office a little while ago. I received a call from my security company. I’m at the office now with the police, but I wanted you to know they were after the letter.”
“What?” Mara jumped out of bed. “Did they get it?”
“No, they got the envelope with a blank piece of paper inside.”
“I’m not following you. Why was there a blank piece of paper in the envelope?”
“I didn’t want to keep the letter here. People sometimes try to break into my files to steal evidence, so I put the letter in another location. Don’t worry, it’s safe.”
“Thank God!” Then an alarming thought popped into Mara’s head. “You know what this means, don’t you? When they find out they have nothing, they’re going to look in the next logical place. Here!”
“I know; that’s why I called. It won’t take long for them to figure it out. You need to get out of there. Go to a hotel, a friend’s house, anywhere, just get out!”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. Mara took a duffle bag out of the closet and started stuffing anything she could find into it. “I gotta get off. I’ll call you when I get to a safe place.” She threw the phone in the duffle bag. Just as she turned around, everything went black.
Mara had no idea how long she had been out. She woke to a throbbing in her head like she’d never felt before. Disoriented by the swaying motion, she determined someone had deposited her inside a moving vehicle—a van. As she lay on her side, the cold hard floor rattled her bones with the vibration of the road. Her hands were bound behind her back with a zip tie. Trying to wiggle them free only made the plastic cut into her wrists. Her ankles were also tied together. She tried to open her eyes, but the blindfold wrapped tightly around her face prevented her lids from opening. A cloth was shoved in her mouth so deep, she thought she would gag.
Thoughts of dying consumed her mind. I’m going to die. Tears welled up in her eyes. Stop this! Mara demanded herself. This isn’t going to help. Crying will only make it harder to breathe. Every time she cried, her nose plugged up. Mara tried to stay focused. Think. What can I do? Using her senses, she tried to determine her surroundings. Inhaling deeply, she sniffed. The van smelled old and musty with a hint of motor oil. Highway noises came to her, muted. We’re on a freeway.
After she assessed her predicament, Mara decided to try scooting down to where she hoped to find the door and kick it open. Escape or not, either way her outcome looked bleak. Mara managed to inch her way down until the bottoms of her bare feet touched the cold metal surface. She pulled her knees as far up to her chin as she could and then jammed her legs into the metal door with all her might. Pained radiated all the way through her legs and spine. She tried again and again, but she couldn’t kick the door open and even if she did, what was she going to do? Jump onto a busy freeway, blindfolded? Get run over by oncoming traffic? Jumping out would be better than dying at the hands of a crazed kidnapper. At least she’d have a fifty-fifty chanc
e of surviving a fall to the road.
She tried to stand up next. Maybe if she stood, she could shove the door open with her shoulders. Worth a shot.
Struggling to get into a kneeling position without the use of her hands was one of the hardest things Mara had ever tried to do. She rolled over flat on her stomach. Using her shoulders as leverage, she slowly pulled her knees up under her body. Mara wished she’d had time to get out of her pajamas before being abducted. The thin cotton fabric did not provide enough cushion. The metal ridges in the floor hurt her knees. Determined, gritting her teeth, Mara ignored the pain. Finally, she got to her knees. Thank God for those crunches. But she should have done more. Now that she was kneeling, she could bring herself into a standing position, or as much as the low ceiling of the van allowed.
Just as she’d made it, the van lurched to one side. Her body slammed against the wall of the van. The van lurched in the other direction. She stumbled back against the opposite wall and fell hard on her back, crushing her hands and wrists under the weight of her body. She screamed. Blinding stars and blackness filled her vision. She feared she would pass out.
The van slowed as it pulled to a stop. Mara’s heart raced as her body tensed. Two doors opened and then closed. She heard the crunch of heavy footsteps on gravel. The back doors of the van opened and Mara felt a rush of fresh, cool night air. No sounds, other than the breeze blowing through the trees and her pounding heart, reached her ears.
The floor of the van shifted under the weight of someone climbing in with her. She felt a large meaty hand pull her up as if she were a sack of feed. She tried to wiggle free from his grip but faltered on her bound feet. Someone shoved an arm against her back, and she flew out of the van landing hard on her side. A cloud of gritty dirt mushroomed up around her, making her sneeze.
“Hey, watch it, dumbass! You hurt her and the boss is going to be pissed at you,” a man said in a thick, deep voice. He sounded like a giant who commanded obedience with his intonation alone.
“Tho what? Who gives a thit? The’s just a thupid bith,” another man said with a voice that sounded like he had the mother of all stopped-up noses.
“You’ll give a shit when he whacks off your balls!”
“Oooo, I’m real thcared!”
One of the men picked Mara up by an arm and stood her on her feet. She felt a cold metallic object placed between her ankles. She heard a snip and the zip tie fell away.
The man’s grip tightened. “If you try to run, you’re dead. Understand?”
Mara nodded and mumbled, “Uh huh,” through her gag.
“Good. Walk.”
Though her feet were no longer bound, she found it difficult to keep up with the man as he dragged her. The gravel and dirt beneath her feet turned to soft, cool grass.
“Step up,” the giant said.
Mara stepped. Underfoot was smooth wood.
“Again,” he said. “Once more.”
On the fourth and final step, they reached the porch. She heard a door creak open and then he pushed her inside. Cold and dank, the room smelled of body odor and stale cigarettes. Someone shoved her into a hard, straight-backed chair.
“Think we thould tie her up?”
“Nah, where’s she gonna go? She’s blindfolded and we’re out in the middle of nowhere.”
“If you thay so. What do we do now?”
“We wait for the boss, that’s what. He’ll be here soon. In the meantime, be quiet. The less you run your mouth off the better.”
“Ath-hole.”
After a minute, Mara heard a match striking against a hard surface and the crackle of burning tobacco. Smoke filled her nostrils. She also distinguished the sounds of two men walking around the room. Then she heard liquid pouring into a glass. The distinct sting of whiskey assailed her nostrils. Wonderful! Now there’re going to get drunk and do God knows what.
Minutes later, Mara heard crunching gravel outside. A car slowly approached along the driveway. Her heart began to race. Could it be help? Or is it the boss? Stay calm. Footsteps stomped up the porch and paused at the door. The two men inside didn’t make a sound. Mara held her breath. What would happen now?
She could tell by the footsteps that only one man had entered. As he walked over to her, her nerves turned into ice. She felt his hot breath against her ear.
“Mrs. Byrne, I’m going to remove the gag from your mouth. If you scream, I will put a bullet in your head. Do you understand?” He spoke with a smooth, deliberate emotionless voice, his words refined and sinister.
They chilled Mara to the core. Fear paralyzed her.
“I repeat. Do you understand?” he said melodiously.
Mara managed a nod.
“Excellent. It would be futile for you to scream anyway. We’re so far removed from civilization, only the coyotes and jackrabbits would hear you.”
Mara felt the gag loosen and fall around her neck. The relief was immeasurable. She coughed a few times in an effort to not choke on her own saliva.
“Restrain her hands in front instead of behind her.” The man snapped his fingers. “That must be extremely uncomfortable.”
One of his minions, his breath reeking of alcohol, cut the zip tie, and just as quickly, he tied her hands in front. Relief filled her shoulders and arms.
“Better?”
“Yes, very much.” Mara’s dry tongue didn’t allow her to speak with much volume.
“Would you like some water?”
Mara nodded. Fingers snapped again. The sound of water filling a glass never sounded so good. After the same man shoved the vessel into her hands, she raised the glass to her lips. The water felt glorious trickling down her dry, parched throat. Then the same man took the glass from her.
“Better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Excellent. Now, I have some instructions to give you. This is how it’s going to work. First, I ask a question and you answer. You will not speak unless you are answering a question. You will not ask questions of me, and more importantly, you will not whine, whimper, or cry. I absolutely detest emotional displays. We are civilized human beings and should conduct ourselves in a civilized manner.”
How civilized is kidnapping someone, asshole?
He paced the floor behind her. She imagined him walking back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
He continued his lecture. “If I suspect you are lying to me, you will be punished. You will conduct yourself in a manner becoming of a lady.” He stopped pacing and stood directly behind her.
Her body tensed when she felt his eyes bore into the back of her head.
“Obey my rules and we will get along quite nicely. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Mara tried to project strength in her voice, even though she didn’t feel very strong.
“Excellent!” A finger snapped in front of her. Mara heard someone slide a chair to her right. Again, she felt the hot, moist breath on her face as he leaned in close. She turned away.
“First question. Where is the letter?”
Mara thought she would play dumb, but then she heard his voice in her head reminding her that he would punish her. “I don’t know.”
“Now, see, already we’re off to a bad start,” he said in disapproval. “Let me approach this in a different way. Is the letter in your possession?”
“No.”
“Did she have anything on her when you picked her up?” he asked the other two men.
“Yes, sir,” the giant said. “She had a partially packed duffle bag.”
“Where is it?”
Mara heard the thud of the duffle bag as it landed on a surface. Someone unzipped the bag and rummaged through it.
“Well, is the letter inside?”
“No, sir.”
The man leaned in and whispered in Mara’s ear. “Common sense tells me that if you had the letter in your possession, it would have been the first thing you packed in your attempt to get away. Since it’s not in the bag, I b
elieve you indeed do not have the letter. Thank you for your honesty.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you know the location of the letter?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”
“Who has the letter?”
Mara held her breath. Please, God, help me. What am I going to do?
“Let me remind you that you must answer my questions or you shall be punished. Do you remember the rules?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Who has the letter?”
“Alex Strange,” Mara said as she hung her head in shame. Forgive me, Alex.
“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” His mawkish words almost made Mara sick to her stomach. “Do you know where he hid it?”
“No.”
“Well, we know it’s not in his office. Mr. Strange is a clever fellow. He fooled us.”
Mara felt she had nothing to lose, so she decided to ask her own question. “Why do you want the letter?”
A clammy hand patted her cheek condescendingly. Mara turned away.
“Tsk, tsk, that’s against the rules. No questions. I’m the only one who asks questions.”
Mara’s throat constricted. She tried to swallow the lump. Tears threatened to spill.
Another snap and the boss barked out orders. “Go to Strange’s house. Find the letter. Don’t leave any stone unturned. And don’t come back until the letter’s in your possession. Kill him if he gets in the way.”
The breath caught in her throat. Mara didn’t dare let it out. “Please don’t hurt him!” she begged.
“Isn’t that touching? You care for Mr. Strange’s wellbeing. He must have made quite an impression on you. I’m somewhat disappointed. But I’d guess enough time has passed, so you’re no longer the mourning widow, Mrs. Byrne. Would your husband agree to you moving on if he were alive? I guess it’s a good thing he’s not, isn’t it?” The man gave a curt laugh.
The two minions left, opening and then slamming the door shut. The van started up, slinging gravel as it sped away. That left just the two of them. Mara preferred the odds of one on one better than three against one. The boss might have made a fatal mistake. Fifteen hundred dollars for self-defense classes might finally pay off. All she had to do was bide her time, pay attention, and strike when he least expected.
