“I can see you’re struggling with this, love, so I propose a compromise. We’ll call the police after we begin the search.”
I thought about it for half a second. “Okay. I’ll make the calls.”
The others agreed. The key would be in the timing of the phone calls. Our San Francisco detectives would need at least an hour to get up here, so I would alert them sooner. The sheriff was close enough to get here quickly, so I would make the call to him later.
With any luck, they would all descend on Dharma at precisely the right time to arrest and drag off to jail the vicious creeps who’d snatched Emily.
“Are you ready?” Derek asked as the sun set over the canyon ridge. He pulled his gun from the holster beneath his arm, slid the magazine back to double-check that it was fully loaded, then slipped the gun back into its holster.
Abject fear began to dance a jig on my nerve endings as I watched him. But I was just going to have to get over that.
“I’m ready,” I said, breathing deeply as I zipped up my Windbreaker.
“Hell, yeah.” Max nodded brusquely and raised his rifle to prove he was all set.
I grabbed a few handfuls of Hershey’s Kisses and shoved them into both of my pockets.
Gabriel grinned. “Ready to roll.”
“Let’s go.”
It was dusk as we drove into the parking lot behind Savannah’s restaurant. The place was closed, but she was in there, as always, working in the kitchen, preparing stocks and sauces for the week.
After a brief but emotional reunion between Max and my brother Austin, who, thank goodness, didn’t slug his old friend in the stomach, we all got down to business. There were twenty of us gathered in Savannah’s private dining room. It was odd to be sitting at this table, discussing what was essentially a covert operation, with my father and brother in the same room. I figured it had to be even stranger for them than it was for me.
This space also served as the wine cellar for the restaurant, so I was pleased to see that we were surrounded by thousands of dollars’ worth of excellent wines. Somehow that comforted me.
As a few of the men talked quietly, Derek pulled me close and said under his breath, “You’ll call Inspector Jaglom once the meeting starts.”
“Yes.”
“And the Sheriff’s Department once we’ve finished.”
“We went over this,” I said gently. “I know what to do.” Funny how he seemed more nervous about my making two measly phone calls than he was about a group of armed men traipsing in the woods, out to trap a killer.
Gabriel passed around the maps he’d copied to each two-person team in the room. Most of the locals knew their way around the Hollow, but it was still good to have Gabriel’s directions so they could all stay out of one another’s way.
Derek took his place at the head of the table and outlined the mission. He emphasized that no weapons were to be fired unless one of the teams found Emily and was met with resistance. The survivalists had trained themselves to attack first and ask questions later. Vigilance was essential.
The most likely place they would find Emily was somewhere near or inside Bennie and Stefan’s dwelling. Derek and Gabriel were the point men there. Max would be with them.
Solomon had disappeared but we knew he was the power behind it all. Wherever he was hiding, we intended to smoke him out.
My heart was pounding like a bass drum on speed. My muscles were stiff from clenching the sides of my chair. I was both scared spitless and so damn energized, I didn’t know whether to crawl in a hole or go bowling. My brain was spinning as I took it all in.
We were going to war.
After listening to Max describe the burgundy van he’d seen in the canyon that morning, Austin shook his head. “Sorry to be the wet blanket, but half the survivalists in the Hollow drive vans like that. Dark paint, nondescript. Some are camper conversions.”
Ray, another commune member, piped up. “That’s been the car of choice for the Ogunites for the past fifteen years or so. Most of them still drive ’em around. They’re used for everything from hauling lumber to clearing trees to taking their kids on vacations.”
“That’s good to know,” Derek said. “Narrows the search down to a few hundred suspects.”
There was general chuckling around the table from everyone but Max, whose patience appeared to be holding by one frayed thread. Derek noticed it, too. So after advising everyone in the room to turn their cell phones on vibrate, he gave me the heads-up to call the sheriff, signaling that the meeting was almost over.
Earlier, I’d called Inspector Lee, who, after grousing at me about staying out of police business, promised to get on the road with Jaglom immediately. I was hoping my call to the Sonoma sheriff would go better.
I got up and left the room, closing the door behind me. I walked down the short, dark hall toward the back of the restaurant to use the bathroom and make the phone call.
It was a warm night so the back door leading to the parking lot was open, but the screen door was locked. I’d checked it myself earlier.
As I neared the bathroom, a woman came up and peeked through the screen door, trying to see inside. She was outlined in silhouette by the light over the parking lot.
“Can I help you?” I said, and yeah, I was a little freaked-out.
She ducked back quickly out of the doorway.
“Hello?” I said, but nobody answered. Well, that was weird. Was she just checking to see if the restaurant was open or did she have something more sinister in mind? Was I being paranoid?
Probably. But I snuck over to the screen door to see if she was still out there.
“Help!” a woman cried, then let out an ear-piercing scream that filled the night air. A high-pitched shrieking sound that could have come from only one person.
“Minka?”
Oh, dear God. How? Why? What was she doing here?
I whipped open the door in time to see someone fifty yards away dragging a squirming, leopard-leggings-clad woman by the neck. That was Minka, all right.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Stop that.” I tore off running down the blacktop, shouting for the guy to stop.
Her hooded assailant continued lugging her toward a waiting car at the far end of the parking lot. Minka was not going quietly. She squirmed and screeched the whole way. But her captor was too big and strong and mean for Minka to fight off.
“Drop her,” I shouted, but I was too far away to do anything except watch as Minka’s attacker physically overpowered her, punching her in the stomach and tossing her into the car trunk.
The thug jumped into the driver’s seat and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.
I dashed back to the restaurant door just as Derek and Gabriel and some of the men came running out.
Derek grabbed me. “Was that you screaming? What happened?”
“He’s taken Minka,” I cried.
“Minka?” Derek looked as stunned as I felt.
“This can’t be a coincidence,” I insisted. “It has to be connected to Emily’s disappearance. That guy was following us and Minka got in the way.”
“But what is Minka doing here?”
I shook my head, still flabbergasted. “I don’t know. She probably thinks I’m up here working on some special bookbinding project that should’ve been hers.”
“What about her assailant?” Gabriel asked. “Was it Solomon?”
“I couldn’t tell. He was tall and wore a ski mask or some kind of hood.”
Gabriel took off sprinting all the way to the far end of the lot, then ran back. “I know where they’re going,” he said, then darted over to his black BMW and started the engine. He backed out of the space and shouted, “Get in.”
I hopped into the passenger’s side. Derek opened the back door but stopped when someone called out his name.
Austin came running over “What’s the story, man?”
“We’re going after this goon,” Derek said, deadly serious as he morphed into full co
mmander mode. “You lead the rest of the men to the Hollow. Follow the original plan, but I want you and your father to go after Bennie and Stefan. Solomon, too, if you can find him. Take Max with you. Be careful.”
Austin took his new role seriously, giving one grim nod. “Got it.”
“My phone’s on,” Derek said. “Keep me posted.”
“Likewise,” Austin said, and ran back to give instructions to the others.
Derek jumped into Gabriel’s car and we went racing after Minka’s kidnapper.
Chapter 25
“How do you know where they’re going?” I asked.
Gabriel whipped around another curve and I had to grip the grab handle above my door to keep from toppling over.
“Sorry, babe,” he said, grinning tightly. “I saw them turn up Isis Way.”
“So they’re headed for Charity Mountain,” I guessed.
“Bingo,” he said, then flashed a quick look at Derek in the rearview mirror. “I’ve driven up there. The road winds around for an hour, and once you’re on the other side of the hill, you’re overlooking the Hollow.”
“Interesting.” Derek leaned forward from the backseat. “Are there more survivalist types up in those hills?”
“Yes,” I said, looking over my shoulder. “They’re scattered all over that area, even though most of them live down in the canyon. The real estate is cheaper there.”
“Ah,” he said, then glanced at our driver. “Can you still see their car?”
“Yeah,” Gabriel said. “Every so often when they go around a curve. He’s got one taillight missing.”
Turning in my seat, I said, “I heard glass break while they were struggling. Maybe Minka kicked it out.”
“Good girl,” Gabriel said.
“It would be the one smart thing she’s ever done,” I admitted. “And she probably didn’t do it on purpose.”
“No, but she might’ve saved her own life,” Derek said. After a few seconds, he asked, “What’s on Charity Mountain?”
“There used to be a Catholic convent up there. The Sisters of Charity. Now it’s been turned into a winery, naturally.”
“Anything else up there?”
“Some homes,” I said. “It’s very isolated. Lots of nooks and crannies, dead ends. It’s where some of the local kids used to go to make out.”
“Make out? You mean snogging?” Derek sounded amused. “Do you know the area, darling?”
I slanted a look at him. “Well enough.”
Gabriel chuckled, then stepped on the gas as we rounded another curve.
Every minute or so, as we drove higher and deeper into the wooded hills, I could catch a glimpse of the car with the broken taillight. It had to be at least a half mile ahead of us. I marveled at the fact that, accidentally or not, Minka had managed to do the one thing that might save her life. The only unfortunate part was that I would be a member of the Minka LaBoeuf rescue party. Again. It wasn’t as if she would thank me for it.
A full minute passed as we climbed higher. Tree branches hung heavily over the road and the number of houses grew even more sparse. Around one turn, a dirt road led off to nowhere that I could see.
“Are they going to the winery?” Derek asked. He was leaning forward far enough that he could have been sitting next to me. “I’ve lost track of the single taillight.”
“I haven’t seen it for a few minutes,” Gabriel conceded. “It’s disappeared.”
“It’s got to be up ahead somewhere,” I said, staring into the woods in hopes of catching a glimpse of red brake light. “There’s only one road up to the winery and we’re on it.”
“What about the turnoff we passed?” Derek asked.
“It doesn’t go anywhere as far as I know,” Gabriel said, and glanced at me.
“Yeah. I think it’s another dead end.”
“Then they must be up ahead somewhere,” Derek said.
Gabriel slowed down and turned off the headlights. “I’ll wait for a minute until our vision acclimates to the dark.”
Derek sat back and opened the left-side window.
The air in the car instantly chilled and I shivered, but it was more in fear than anything else. With the headlights off, we seemed more isolated up here in the dark. But I reminded myself that I was with two fierce warriors, so I shook off my nervousness and concentrated instead on the passing landscape, looking for any kind of inlet or turnoff or light somewhere in that deep, rugged woodland. But it was difficult to see anything beyond the line of trees growing so thickly along the road.
Gabriel slowed down even more to allow us to better scrutinize the interior of the woods.
“There’s a dirt road,” Derek said. “Looks like a house light a few hundred yards in.”
“I thought I saw a light flicker,” I said, “but I didn’t see a road.”
“They’re too damn well hidden,” Gabriel muttered.
“We’ll find them,” Derek vowed.
And from the determined tone of his voice, I wouldn’t want to be the person standing in the way of his goal.
Another minute later, Gabriel said, “We’re getting close to the winery.”
“I’m not sure they’ll go onto the winery grounds,” I said, taking an educated guess. “The whole area is well lit, and there’s a family who lives on the property. I think they’ll pull off into the woods.”
“Yes, I agree,” Derek said. “This is survivalist territory. They’ve got to have a place up here. They wouldn’t come up this way otherwise.”
“We’re all agreed,” Gabriel said, peering into the woods as he took another curve. “And we’re clearly at a disadvantage, because they probably know every inch of this hill and these woods.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Derek said grimly. “Nothing’s changed. If they’re out there, we’ll track them down.”
He kept repeating that vow, as if he would make it so by simply saying it. And, frankly, knowing Derek, I wouldn’t have been the least surprised to find out he had that kind of power.
So I wasn’t about to speak aloud my real worry, that we might find and rescue only Minka and not Emily. I knew the Sisters of Charity wouldn’t be pleased with me thinking that way. It wasn’t my most charitable moment, but I couldn’t help it. So I kept my mouth shut and continued searching the woods.
Gabriel brought the car to an abrupt stop.
We all stared at the heavy chain that barred the entrance to the long, winding tarmac drive leading up to Charity Mountain Winery.
“That settles that possibility,” Gabriel muttered.
I sighed. Derek squeezed my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. Bitterly, I looked at either side of the chain barrier. There was no room for a car to have gone up and around it and onto the property. So we really were at a standstill.
But not for long. In silence, Gabriel made a three-point turn around the dead end, then, keeping the headlights off, drove slowly back down the road.
With all the lights near the winery’s entrance, it took a minute for my eyes to readjust to the darkness. Gabriel stopped anywhere there was a break in the heavy growth of trees that might be wide enough to fit a car through.
Long minutes later, we rounded the curve and drove past the point where I’d seen the light flickering.
“Stop,” Derek said.
“Did you see something?” Gabriel asked.
“That light is still on in there,” Derek said. “And there’s just enough of an opening to squeeze through.”
Gabriel turned in his seat. “I’ll drop you off and find another inlet farther down the hill to hide the car, then double back on foot.”
The sound of Derek sliding the magazine into his gun made me jump. Then he murmured, “Turn off the interior light.”
“Got it.” Gabriel flicked a switch. “You’re good to go.”
“I’m going with you,” I said.
There was a pause. “You’ll do everything I tell you. No discussion.”
“Of course.”
/>
I thought I heard him snort, but I could have been mistaken.
We both got out of the car and closed the doors as quietly as we could. Then Gabriel drove off. The moon and stars were blocked by clouds and the darkness was almost absolute.
I grabbed for Derek’s hand, then flinched when he whispered in my ear, “Stay behind me. Let’s go.”
We snuck through the line of trees and were instantly enveloped in woods. Leaves slapped at my face as we made our way toward the meager light a few hundred yards away.
Finally we reached the edge of a clearing and saw a small, rustic A-frame log house situated at the foot of a steep incline. The car with the broken taillight was nowhere in sight.
“Shall we?” Derek whispered, tugging at my hand.
“Shall we what?” I said in a hiss. What did he have in mind?
He didn’t hang back to chat about it, but edged closer to the house. Somehow, he barely made a sound, while my feet were like jackhammers as I trod over fallen leaves, twigs, and dried-out flower beds someone had once cared enough to plant.
Is he going to knock on the door? Well, why the hell not? We’d done stranger things, and maybe the A-frame owners had seen or heard something.
But Derek skirted the steps up to the front door and crept around the side, where he peered into a window, then walked on toward the back of the house. I was making too much noise so I waited for him on the side of the house, pressing myself against the wall to avoid being seen.
“Hhrrmmmmrup!”
I jolted nearly a foot! Then I stumbled back against the rough log exterior, scraping my back. It hurt, but I tried not to moan out loud since someone else out here was in worse shape than I was.
Derek dashed around and found me. “Was that you?”
“No. It sounded like someone trying to call for help.”
I scanned the woods before grasping the fact that the cry had come from inside the house. “Someone’s in there.”
Derek took the front steps in one hurtle and grabbed hold of the doorknob. I scurried after him.
One Book In The Grave Page 24
