On the rest of the drive, to the hospital, they both sat in silence as they wondered what this turn of events would bring. When they pulled into the hospital parking lot, they saw the patrol car drive up with Brian and Cheryl Afton.
“Hurry up Rick; I want to be there with them when they see Joey.”
They both got out and ran to the door where the Afton’s were about to enter the hospital. Mac could see the joy on their faces as they walked through the doors, and she prayed that Joey would soon be able to go home with them.
Rick and Mac caught up with them as they waited for the elevator. Cheryl turned and saw them as they approached.
“Oh, Detective Mackey, they’ve found my Joey!” Cheryl cried, holding her arms open for Mac. “Brian told me how you promised him that Joey would be home soon, and you kept your word, thank you!”
Mac embraced Cheryl. It took everything she had not to cry, but Mac knew she needed to remain professional. “Let’s go see Joey. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Mommy! Daddy!” Joey cried out when Brian and Cheryl walked into his room.
They both ran to him, showering him with hugs and kisses and crying tears of joy.
Mac felt the tears streaming down her cheeks, and when she looked at Rick, he was wiping his tears as well.
“Come on Mac, let’s leave them alone, and go talk to the kidnapper. I would hate for him to die before we get the opportunity to question him, and learn what his part was in all of this.” Rick smiled and slowly backed out of the room.
Mac nodded her agreement and said a silent prayer of thanks. She had to admit there was a part of her that had wondered if he would ever come home alive. John Cooper had said Erebus would kill a piece in his game without a second thought, so to see Joey alive was a blessing.
Officer Jake Preston stood outside the door, and Mac noticed this reunion had affected him as well. “Hey Jake, what direction is ICU?”
“Go down this hall, make a right, and then take the first left, you can’t miss it. This sure was a pleasant surprise, wasn’t it?” Jake looked at the family, still huddled together.
“Yes, it was. Now we just need to tie up a few loose ends,” Mac followed Rick down the hall toward the ICU and prayed they would get some answers.
Mac and Rick knew which room the kidnapper was in, by the armed officer standing outside the door. They walked up to the room, showed their badges, and informed the officer they were there to question the suspect. Once they were inside the room, they walked up to the bed and looked down at the figure with all the wires and tubes attached to his body.
Mac noticed that he had two broken legs, a broken arm, and he wore a neck brace.
“Well, I guess we wait, and see how long it takes for him to wake up,” Mac groaned, pulling a chair next to his bed. “I have no intention of leaving here until I get a statement from this guy!”
Rick knew he would never change her mind. “Well, I’ll go get us some coffee because it looks like we may be here for a while.”
The long hours passed with only the sound of the heart monitor beeping with each strained heartbeat. Rick wondered if their wait would be in vain as the doctor had said that his chance of survival was slim.
Rick had just about given up hope when he heard, “Jenni, please forgive me.”
Mac leaned forward and whispered, “Who’s Jenni, and why does she need to forgive you?”
“She’s my sister. He took her and made me do terrible things. He said he would sell her to terrible people if I didn’t do what he said,” Tyrone’s voice was barely a whisper, as he fought for every breath.
“Who took your sister?” Mac felt the excitement growing inside her.
I have the link I needed to tie Erebus to this; she thought to herself.
“She’s going to die because I betrayed him. He won’t be happy that I brought the boy to the hospital, but I couldn’t let him die. I have done a lot the bad things in my life, and I know I’m not worthy of forgiveness, but I know Jenni would never want me to sacrifice his life for hers. Please tell my grandmother I’m sorry for everything I did, and I pray that somehow Jenni will come home soon.”
Tyrone felt himself grow light, as though he could float out of the room, and he felt a strange feeling wrap around him like a warm blanket. His grandmother often spoke of how the angels would come to get you when it was your time to die, but he was sure with all he had done in his life, no angels would come for him.
“Mama, is that you?” With those words, he took his last breath.
“Oh, my God, Erebus forced him to kidnap Joey to save his sister. Now we have a new problem; where is his sister, and how do we get her back to her family?” Mac looked at Rick with a new fear growing inside of her.
“Have they figured out who he is yet?” Mac asked the officer standing outside the door.
“Yes, ma’am. He had some ID on him, so we were able to learn who he was, and where he lived. Detective Sherman is going there now.
***
Erebus watched the announcement, which played on every News channel of how the kidnaped boy was found alive, and how his kidnapper while trying to escape got seriously injured, and was not expected to survive.
“Well, this changes things. At least he saved me from having to kill him myself,” he chuckled.
To have something like this happen was a new development for Erebus. In all the times, he had played The Game in the past; a piece had never destroyed a perfect move such as this one had.
“I’m sure you’re pleased with this, Lucinda, and I’m sure you’re curious what I will do because of it.” He smiled, as the vision of her beautiful face flashed in his mind. “No matter, we still have much more to do before this game is over.”
***
Mac and Rick pulled up in front of the small house and noticed a crowd gathered in the front yard. Detective Sherman noticed them once they got out of the car.
“Detective Mackey, I was told you were on your way here. From what I have learned, this is his grandmother’s house. Apparently, she raised him and his younger sister after their mother was murdered. He has been in and out of the house the last few years and has been in quite a bit of trouble with the law. The grandmother is currently in the hospital. She had a stroke just before Thanksgiving, and no one here knows where the younger sister is. You know none of this makes any sense. I don’t understand why he would kidnap the kid, demand a million dollar ransom then threaten if they didn’t pay the boy would die; only to turn around and bring the kid to the hospital. Surely, he must have known someone would recognize the kid, right?”
Mac looked at Rick and gave him a knowing smile. “Maybe when the boy got sick he had a change of heart. I know his parents are thrilled that he’s safe and will be home soon. What hospital is the grandmother at? I think we need to drop by and have a little visit with her about her grandson.”
“She’s in the Memorial Hospital just a few miles from here. I am not sure how much information you’ll be able to get from her because apparently she had an acute stroke and is still unconscious. The grandmother’s name is Maybelle Gables, and his name was Tyrone Beltan. The younger sister’s name is Jenni, but she’s been missing for over a week,” Detective Sherman shook his head in disbelief.
He had been in this line of work for many years, but cases such as this one had always bewildered him.
Mac worried what Erebus would do to Jenni once he learned that Joey Afton was safe, and Tyrone was dead. “Thank you for the information, but I still think we need to go see her. Come on, Rick.”
***
Ruth sat in stunned silence as she watched the news report of the kidnaped boy taken to the hospital by his kidnapper. The reporter then went on to say, the kidnapper died while trying to escape. When the newscaster announced the name of the kidnapper as Tyrone Beltan, her heart sank.
“Dear Lord, how could Tyrone have done that?” She knew Tyrone had done many horrible things over the past few years, but never in her wildest
imagination did she think he would be capable of kidnapping an innocent boy.
“Praise be that you’re not awake to hear this, Maybelle,” Ruth cried while holding Maybelle’s hand in hers.
Ruth sat for several moments when a terrifying thought entered her mind, Where’s Jenni?
Mac and Rick pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked the car. They sat for a few moments, neither one of them looking forward to meeting Tyrone’s Grandmother under these circumstances. Rick was the first to speak, “Well, I guess we might as well get this over with.”
On the drive, over, they had learned Mrs. Gables was in room 406, on the fourth floor. When they arrived at the room, they heard a woman’s voice and wondered if his grandmother was awake, but they soon realized it was only her friend. They stepped inside the room and waited until she noticed them.
Ruth was not surprised to see them walk in the door. She knew it was only a matter of time before the police came to question Maybelle about Tyrone. Ruth looked up at them, as she reached out and gently touched Maybelle’s forehead, “She’s still unconscious, which is a blessing because this news would surely kill her. You know she always had faith in him, even when he ran the streets and did all sorts of horrible things. She would always say deep inside she knew he was a good boy, and someday he would find the right path again,” Ruth wiped a tear from her eye and exhaled before she continued.
“I always knew he was capable of doing some bad things, but I never thought he would kidnap a small boy. I’ve been friends with Maybelle for many years, and I have watched her shed many tears over Tyrone. I’m only thankful that she doesn’t know she shed all those tears in vain.”
Mac saw the pain etched across Ruth’s face. “I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Detective Mackey, and this is Detective Jameson. We’ve been working this case from the beginning, and we had hoped Mrs. Gables might have some answers to help us tie up some loose ends. May I have your name, please?”
“My name is Ruth Davidson, and I’ve lived next door to Maybelle for going on thirty years now. Detective, I have a question. Has Jenni contacted your office? Tyrone said she was staying with friends, and I figured with the announcement on the news of his death she would have called, but I’ve not heard a thing from her. It makes no sense that she would not call. If something’s happened to her as well…,” Ruth was too upset to finish her statement.
“No ma’am, we haven’t heard from her. Do you know which friends she would be staying with?” Rick and Mac knew Jenni was not with friends, but not wanting to upset Ruth any more than she already was they decided to keep quiet. Besides, even though everyone else believed this case solved, they both knew better. Erebus still had Jenni, so to prevent him from doing anything rash, they needed to be careful.
“Well, we had hoped we would be able to ask Mrs. Gables a few questions, but we can see that’s going to have to wait for now. Here’s my card, when she regains consciousness would you, please call me?” Rick handed her one of his cards.
Mac was grateful Rick was there to handle things because her mind was spinning. John Cooper never mentioned how Erebus would use people to do his dirty work, but maybe he never knew.
Suddenly a new thought slammed into Mac’s mind. Oh, my God, how many people did he involve in this game?
Rick noticed how quiet Mac had become, and turned to see the look of fear on her face. “We would like to thank you for your time, Mrs. Davidson, but we need to get going. Please remember to call when Mrs. Gables wakes up, or if you hear from Jenni.”
They walked back out to the car without saying a word. Once they were in the car, Rick turned to Mac, “All right, I know something’s wrong...talk!”
Mac was not sure if she wanted to share her fear with Rick. She sat in silence for a few moments then realized he ought to know.
“I’m afraid to admit that I’ve underestimated Erebus. After I had learned what he did to John Cooper, I had always assumed that Erebus did everything himself, but now we know that’s not true because he used Tyrone Beltan to kidnap Joey. Rick, how many other people has he forced to do his bidding in this game?”
“You know, I’ve wondered that myself. We need to be very careful from now on, and not always trust what we see. Erebus is more dangerous than either of us believed, and if we aren’t careful, he just might win his game again. We do have one thing on him, though; we know about his cameras.”
***
The anger burned inside of him like a raging wildfire. Not only had he lost an important piece to The Game, but also the fool had lived long enough for Lucinda to interview him.
“This will most definitely change how I had planned this move. Alas, I know how to regain control, and to be honest this new move will be much more fascinating,” he laughed to himself.
***
It had been a long and exhausting day, so Mac was glad to be in bed. With everything that had to be done, they had returned home late. The girls were in bed, but Sharon stayed up to wait for them. She had offered to fix them something to eat, but Mac was too tired and told her she just wanted to go to bed.
As she lay in bed going over the day’s events, she was surprised at the range of emotions surging through her. She was pleased to know Joey was safe and back with his parents. However, she could not deny the fear growing inside of her at what Erebus would do now that he no longer had Joey to use in his game.
She thought back to Tyrone’s dying words, He made me do it, or he would kill Jenni.
What would happen to Jenni now that Tyrone was dead? Would Erebus let her go, or would he kill her? Mac knew Jenni’s life was in danger, and that Erebus would kill her as quickly as you would a fly on the wall.
“I only pray we can find her before it’s too late,” she pulled the blanket up around her and drifted off to sleep.
***
The darkness wrapped around her with the promise of death if she did not escape its clutches. As she fought to free herself, she heard voices from off in the distance, “Help us! Please help us! We will die soon because he’s angry!”
She fought with all her might, but the darkness was too strong. “I can’t see you! Where are you? She cried out.
“Please hurry, or we will die!” The voices pleaded.
She fought with all her might, but the darkness tightened its grip on her, crushing all hope. “Let me go! I need to save them!” She cried out, fighting to break the hold the darkness had on her.
Then out of the darkness came a voice, which made her blood turn to ice. “Why do you fight me, Lucinda? You must know you will never win. I know you believe you have won this move, but I must warn you not to forget I am always one-step ahead of you. I have played The Game many times, and I NEVER lose. You will end up like John, and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. Enjoy this moment, Lucinda because tomorrow will bring a new twist to our game.”
***
Mac sat straight up in bed, shaking with fear and sweat pouring from her body. She knew it was a dream, but she wondered what it had meant.
Why do I keep having these dreams? Joey is safe, so it can’t be his voice in my dream, she thought as she closed her eyes, trying her best to remember the voices.
She remembered it had been the voices of two small children, but she could not for the life of her figure out who they were. She knew one was more than likely her imagined idea of Jenni, but who was the other one?
Mac picked up her cell phone to see the time, “Damn it, it’s only four o’clock.” She knew she would never be able to go back to sleep, so she decided to get up and get ready for work.
Mac walked into the bathroom and started the shower. As she waited for the bathwater to get warm, she looked in the mirror and saw a worried face looking back at her. How can I save Jenni when I had no idea where she is, or if she’s even alive?
“Damn you, Erebus! I have to stop you before an innocent child dies, but I don’t know how.”
After her shower, Mac walked back into her bedro
om and sat on the edge of the bed. She knew everyone else would be awake soon, and busily getting ready for the day. “No sense in putting it off, I might as well see what today brings.”
Mac decided to start a pot of coffee, so she walked to the kitchen. As she waited for the coffee to perk, she looked out of the window above the sink to see the glow of the morning sun.
She knew she ought to be relieved that Joey Afton was back with his parents, but she could not help but wonder about Jenni and her fate. The coffee had finished brewing when she heard someone enter the kitchen.
“Well, aren’t we up early?” Rick yawned as he walked to the table and sat in his chair.
“Yeah, I woke up early, so I decided to start the coffee,” she smiled, then pulled two coffee cups out of the cabinet and set them on the counter beside the coffee pot.
Rick knew what was bothering Mac because he had the same fear. “You’re worried about Jenni, aren’t you? I’m worried as well. I sure hope Erebus didn’t kill her once he realized Tyrone is dead, and Joey is back with his parents.”
“I know I’m supposed to go about my duties today like nothing is bothering me, but I don’t know if I can.” Mac filled one of the coffee cups and handed it to Rick.
Rick took the cup of coffee from Mac and set it on the table in front of him then he paused a moment before he spoke.
“Mac, you have to act as though everything is fine now the Joey is safe. The only way we will be able to capture Erebus is if he believes we have no knowledge of his cameras, or of him using Tyrone in his game. You need to put on your game face so we can stop this guy before he destroys any more lives!”
Mac knew he was right. She must keep her emotions from getting the best of her. She had to be careful to keep Erebus from learning that they were on to him. “You’re right; I need to be strong, and not give into my fears.”
Mac poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table without saying another word. She knew Erebus would finally meet his end if everything went as planned, but she could not seem to shake the horrible feeling that something else was about to happen.
A New Game Page 15
