Vegas Lies ( Lies Mystery Thriller Series Book 3)

by Andrew Cunningham

  I heard a noise behind me. It was the girl. She had put on the remnants of her shirt.

  “Thank you,” she said. At least, I thought that was what she had said. She was so hoarse that very little voice had actually come out.

  Water. She needed it as much as I did. I got up and looked through the guy’s car, hitting the jackpot—water! He had a small cooler with a half dozen plastic bottles.

  They weren’t particularly cold, but I didn’t care. I handed one to the girl, then ripped the cap off another one. I consumed it in about ten seconds. I was aware that I probably should have drunk it slowly, but my mind and my throat weren’t on the same page. The girl was reading from the same script and had hers finished a few seconds after mine. There were four left. I gave one to the girl. I was tempted to drink another myself, but decided to hold off. We might need them and my thirst was temporarily quenched.

  The girl was drinking her second bottle slowly, seemingly savoring every drop. She was sitting on the ground. I motioned for her to stay where she was.

  Now feeling almost refreshed, I went around to the driver’s side and sat in the seat. The keys were still in the ignition. I tried the car, mentally crossing my fingers. The engine caught. Yes! And then about five seconds later, it died. I tried it again but it wouldn’t turn over. I got out and that’s when I noticed the smell of gasoline. I walked around to the rear of the car. My observation from the desert had been right. The ground was stained. At one time it had been wet, but now it was just a stain in the sand. When I escaped, one of the goon’s wild shots must’ve put a good-sized hole in the lower part of the gas tank for it to all drain out. I scanned the skies. It would’ve been nice to have seen a plane. Nothing. How about one of those sightseeing helicopters out of Vegas? Why take people out to see the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam, when they could have a spectacular view of the endless parched desert … and me?

  I saw a glint of light on the ground. It was the cellphone the guy had thrown down in frustration. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but thought it was worth a try. Besides burning my fingers when I picked it up, it was worthless. When he had thrown it down, it hit a rock, which had done a number on it. Even if there was cell service way out here, I’d never get it on his phone.

  I walked back to where the girl was sitting. She had moved over to the one small patch of sort-of shade created by the car. For having almost been raped, she was surprisingly calm and seemed strangely unafraid of me. I sat down next to her, relieved to be off my feet. Every muscle in my body was screaming out in pain.

  “My name’s Del.”

  “I’m Emma.” There was a quality about her that I couldn’t pinpoint. It was a certain level of maturity that belied her age. Then it hit me. We were near Vegas. Was she a prostitute? A runaway who had come to Vegas to seek her fortune only to get caught in the age-old trap?

  “So what are you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?” I asked.

  That’s when the mature façade cracked and she began to cry. It was a quiet cry. There were tears, but probably not as many as there would have been had she not been so dehydrated. I was trying to decide whether to put my arm around her to comfort her, but decided that the physical contact might not be appreciated. Finally, I lightly touched her shoulder, but when she winced, I instantly removed my hand.

  A couple minutes later she took a sip from the water bottle and started to speak.

  “This man and two others kidnapped me a few days ago. I don’t really know how many days anymore. They took me and four of my friends when we were coming home from a movie.”

  A light bulb switched on in my head. I thought back to the news report about the five missing girls.

  “Are you from Oregon?”

  She looked up, surprised at my comment.

  “Yes. How did you know?”

  “Your abduction has been all over the news. Where are your friends?”

  “I left them behind,” she said, pausing to fight back more tears.

  She then proceeded to tell me a horrifying story of the five friends being tricked, grabbed, and transported from Oregon to Las Vegas in the back of a van, and of being held in a basement somewhere downtown. She told me that they took pictures of her and her friends naked and told them stories of selling them to some rich people in a foreign country. She got the feeling it was somewhere in the Middle East or Africa, but she wasn’t sure. Then she said that they were being transported to somewhere else out in the desert when she escaped.

  “You were very brave to do that,” I said.

  “But I left my friends behind,” she said, her voice cracking. “They probably hate me now.”

  “You did what you had to do. If you hadn’t done it, there would be no chance any of you would escape. Now there is a chance of saving them.” I looked around. “Assuming, of course, that we can find our way out of here.”

  “What about you?” she asked.

  I liked this girl. She had qualities of bravery and caring. She was afraid, but was using that fear to propel her along. Sabrina had told me about that, back when she was teaching me how to fight. So, I told Emma about our trip to Vegas, Peep going missing, and then Sabrina, Mo, and me getting abducted.

  “Your girlfriend is Sabrina Spencer?” she asked. “The author?”

  “You know of her?”

  “My mom reads her books.”

  “The head of all this is named Ludwick,” I said, “and when I…”

  Emma interrupted. “Ludwick? That’s the name of the man in charge of this guy and the others. We saw him a couple of times when we were in the basement.”

  “I guess he’s going to have a lot to answer for,” I said. I stood up. “If we can get out of here. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m good. I just want to find my friends and go home.” She slowly and painfully stood up.

  I searched the gorilla’s car for a map of some kind … any kind … just to try to get a sense of where I was. No map. I turned on the battery, hoping the car had GPS. Nope. A Mercedes without navigation? Understandable, I guessed. Ludwick had probably had the GPS disconnected from all of his cars to keep the cops from tracking them. Plus, most people just used their phones now for navigation. So, in this world of cell phone apps, paper maps had gone the way of the dinosaurs. Unfortunately though, when you didn’t have cell service, a paper map could really come in handy. I decided that my only choice was to walk back along the sort-of-road we had come down and hope that it would lead me to the sort-of-main road we had traveled on for so long.

  I ran across a short-sleeve t-shirt advertising some bar, and gave it to Emma, seeing as how her shirt was badly ripped. It was enormous on her, but she seemed appreciative of getting it.

  I heard stirring. Gorilla was coming to. I picked up his gun and sat on a rock in front of him—but not too close—and pointed it at him. He woke up and tried to open his eyes, but the blood had caked over them. Finally, with the help of his fingers, he managed to open one of them a crack. When he saw me sitting there pointing a gun at him, he gave a little sigh and closed the eye. When he opened it again a minute later, I said. “Still here and still pointing your gun at you.”

  He grunted.

  “That was intelligent,” I said.

  He grunted again.

  “We have a dilemma,” I said. He just looked at me through the crack in his eyelids. “The car won’t work and your cellphone is shit. I need to get back to Las Vegas to save my friends—and apparently four other girls—from your boss, which means Emma and I have to hoof it out of here. You’re going to tell me which way to go.”

  He grunted, but this time it was more of a chuckle. And then it dawned on me that if I was going to walk, he could walk out too. I didn’t want him trailing me. The fact that he could walk out on his own also gave him no incentive to tell me which way to go. I waited for him to close his eye, and then I motioned for Emma to look the other way—which she ignored—and then I picked up a softball-sized rock and brought it dow
n on his kneecap with all my strength. He let out a blood-curdling scream. I didn’t blame him. That probably really hurt. Emma didn’t even flinch.

  I let him scream and cry for a few minutes.

  “Sorry about that,” I said. “I couldn’t have you following us. I also need you to tell me the correct way to get back and you need a little incentive. If you don’t give me the correct information you will probably die out here. If you do give me the correct information and I actually make it back alive, I will send someone out for you.”

  “Yeah, right,” he mumbled. He had to mumble. His lips were a mess from my fists.

  “Hey, I’m not like you. I don’t kill people for the fun of it. If I say I’ll send someone, I will. On the other hand, if you don’t give me the information I need, I will shoot you in the leg and let you bleed to death. You people made a big mistake by taking Sabrina.” I looked at Emma. “And another in taking five young girls, you sick bastard. I have no qualms about killing you, and Ludwick, and Dickie, and anyone else who stands in my way.”

  “Fuck off!” It sounded more like “fuff off” through his mangled lips, but I got the gist of it.

  I pulled back the slide of the semi-auto. It makes a really cool threatening sound, letting your adversary know you are serious. Unfortunately, there was a round in the chamber, which was ejected and landed at my feet. So instead of looking like a someone who meant business, I looked like a complete moron. If the guy could’ve moved his lips, I was sure he would have been laughing at me.

  I nonchalantly reached down and picked up the bullet, then pressed the button on the side of the gun and the magazine slid out. I added that bullet to the ammo already in the magazine, which amounted to one. So now I had two bullets in the magazine and the one in the chamber that had replaced the one that I'd ejected. Hopefully I wouldn’t need more than three.

  “You know what?” I said. “I’ll find my own way back. You can sit here and bleed to death.” I pointed my gun at his one good kneecap.

  “Wait. I’ll tell you.” At least, I think that’s what he said. He pointed in the direction we had come. “Two miles. Hit a road. Turn left. About sixty miles.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I threw him one of the water bottles. “Stay cool.”

  As we got up to leave, Emma walked over to him and very matter-of-factly kicked him hard in the balls. He screamed. Without a word, Emma started up the road. I was thinking that there was a history there, much more than what I'd seen.

  We started on our way with the gun and two bottles of water.

  I thought back to my threat to leave him with a bullet hole in his leg. Would I have really shot him? Yes, I think I would have.

  Chapter 35

  Sabrina watched with tears streaming down her cheeks as the black Mercedes with Del imprisoned in the trunk drove out of sight. She had screamed his name again and again, with no response from inside the trunk. Del was going to die. She could feel it.

  Sabrina had always heard that two people in love could have a bond so strong that they could feel each other’s presence, no matter where they were. In fact, she had used the concept in one of her mysteries. It was all bullshit. She couldn’t feel Del’s presence at all. He was gone from her life forever. That’s what she felt. Sabrina knew what they were doing. They were taking him out into the desert, where the big guy driving the car would put a bullet in Del’s head. Maybe it was better that way. Sabrina and Mo, and maybe Peep, if she was still alive, would be drugged and shipped off to God knows where, and they would spend the rest of their short lives as receptacles for sleazy men to get off on.

  No! That wasn’t going to happen. She would die first, but she would die inflicting pain on her captors. She glanced over at Mo. Mo’s expression told Sabrina that they were thinking similar thoughts.

  “Well girls, how about we introduce you to your new home for the next few days,” said Ludwick. “And don’t get any heroic ideas. My men will shoot you. I don’t need you that badly.” He motioned with his head. Sabrina was grabbed from behind by her hair. She let out a cry of pain. Her captor’s free arm came around her throat and he held her tightly against him. There was no way she could move. A second man tied her wrists behind her back. The same had been done to Mo. Then they were herded to the back of the white van and unceremoniously shoved in. The doors were slammed behind them.

  Sabrina felt the tears returning.

  “We’ll get out of here,” said Mo quietly.

  “It’s not us I’m crying about,” answered Sabrina.

  “Let me tell you something about Del,” said Mo. “I’ve known him a long time and for most of that time he was pretty inept. He was good at his job, but it was an office job he spent about ten hours a day in. His biggest adventure was to go to Fenway Park by himself. The transformation I’ve seen in him since he met you has been nothing short of miraculous. He’s confident and willing to take chances. He loves you so deeply. I can guarantee that his only thought right now is escaping and finding you. So don’t count him out yet.”

  Sabrina was embarrassed. That’s exactly what she had done. But Mo was right. Del had drive and he had courage, but most of all, she knew he loved her with a burning love. Maybe that was all he needed.

  They were alone in the back of the van. A wall separated the back compartment from the front, and there were no windows.

  “There’s got to be something here to use as a weapon,” said Mo, “or to pry the door open.”

  But there was nothing. Other than a cheap blanket thrown on the floor, the space was completely empty, devoid of anything that could prove useful.

  “I don’t think we are the first ones to be transported in here,” said Sabrina. Getting no answer from Mo, she continued. “Do you think we have a chance of getting out of this?”

  “Look at us,” said Mo. “I live for the martial arts, and I’m fucking good at what I do. You spent six years in prison with a bunch of bad-asses, and you survived. Nothing to sneeze at. Oh yeah, we’ll get out of here and we are going to make them regret ever taking us, because by doing so, they brought down the wrath of the gods on themselves. We might have to bide our time and wait for the perfect moment, but it will come. I fucking guarantee it!”

  The van drove for many miles. They heard very little traffic and the road was not smooth like a highway. They were in the boonies. They tried to get a sense of turns the van was making, but there were almost none.

  Finally, after nearly an hour, the vehicle slowed down and made a right-hand turn. The road they were now on was rough, and Sabrina and Mo bounced around the back of the van. After a few minutes of that, they stopped.

  The back doors opened and Sabrina saw four men with guns.

  “Let’s go,” said one.

  Sabrina got out and looked at the surroundings. They were in the middle of the desert. Were they going to be killed?

  One of the men walked over to a rock and pulled up on it. A trapdoor magically appeared on the desert floor.

  “Welcome to the Marriott, Miss World-famous author.” The men all laughed.

  Sabrina and Mo were herded down a set of stairs leading into the earth. When they got to the bottom, they were directed through a doorway on the right. If it hadn’t been set under the ground, Sabrina felt that they could have been in a cheap tract house or a mobile home.

  They were directed through one room and across to a door. One of the men took out a set of keys and unlocked the door. He opened the door quickly and as he pushed first Sabrina and then Mo inside, he sliced through their bonds with a knife. He pulled the door shut behind them.

  It was a small room, not more than 12x12. A closet had been converted into a small bathroom consisting of a toilet and a tiny sink. Sitting against one wall in the room were four teenage girls.

  Peep wasn’t there.

  Chapter 36

  Mo ran over to the small bathroom. No Peep.

  Dejected, she turned to the girls against the wall and asked, “Was there another woman he
re? Short? Curly hair?”

  “You mean Priscilla,” said one of the girls timidly.

  “Yes.” Sabrina could see hope spring up in Mo’s eyes.

  “She’s gone. They took her a few hours ago.”

  “Noooo,” Mo wailed.

  Sabrina thought to herself that no matter what Mo thought of Peep now, they still had a history together and it must’ve been eating Mo up inside. It wasn’t as if they would have been able to do anything about it if she were there. They were captives too. But after so much searching, they had come so close, only to miss her.

  Mo leaned against a wall and wordlessly slid down into a squatting position, staring into space. Sabrina knew how she felt. Her own insides were twisted in knots from thinking about whether or not Del was still alive. She knew she had to find a diversion.

  She sat down in front of the girls. They all looked terrified.

  “You must be the girls from Oregon.”

  As she said it, their eyes lit up.

  “Weren’t their five of you?”

  “Emma left us,” said one of them. “She doesn’t care what happens to us. She took off.”

  Sabrina quickly read the situation.

  “Emma was able to escape?” she asked. A couple of them nodded. “Then that’s a good thing,” Sabrina said.

  “But she left us,” said the girl.

  “What’s your name?” asked Sabrina.

  “Lucy.”

  “Well Lucy, Emma escaping is the best news I’ve heard all day. If she hadn’t gotten away, she’d be stuck in here with the rest of us. At least she has a chance to get help.”

  “But we’re way out here in the desert,” said Lucy. “How can they find us?”

  “Once they know that you girls are somewhere around Las Vegas, this whole area will be crawling with police. Where did she escape?”

  “Out in the desert. They looked for her for a long time, but couldn’t find her.”

  Great, thought Sabrina. A teenage girl lost in the desert, most likely without water. Her raised hopes from a moment before were suddenly dashed. But she kept up a positive front for the girls. They needed something to keep hope alive.