“We’re fine,” she began, smiling, “just getting ready to head for home. There’s nothing to worry about.”
He nodded.
“You need to radio your chief for me. Tell him that Mrs. Southerland remembered a mountain cabin where her family used to vacation. It’s around here somewhere but she can’t recall enough details to get us there.”
A wily smile lifted the corners of the man’s mouth. “Oh, really?”
Samantha was about to reply when she saw him raise a gun and point it through the open window. At her!
Hands up, she took a step backward. “Hey! What are you doing? I’m on your side.”
“I doubt that,” he said, removing his glasses and pushing up the cap brim so she could see more of his face.
“You!” Aghast, she staggered backward. This was no police officer. This was one of the men who had taken Danny. But if he was here, then where was the boy? And what had become of whoever had been in the kidnapping car with them? There had to be at least two more thugs unaccounted for.
He gave a throaty chuckle and flicked the barrel of the automatic at the other car. “Ditch that phone, then yell for your passenger and get her back here, too. We’re all going for a little ride in the country.”
Although Sam did lower the cell phone and turn the lighted screen to her palm she didn’t sever the connection. Her gaze darted from side to side, seeking escape.
“Do you figure you can outrun a bullet, lady? ’Cause if you do, you’re crazier than I thought.”
“Who are you?”
“Obviously not who you’d expected. Now get your passenger to come over here or I’ll shoot you where you stand. And her, too.”
Given their tenuous situation Samantha saw no choice. At least not a sensible one. If she stalled, hoping that John or the police tail would soon arrive, she might still die for her efforts. If she went with this man, however, he could lead her to Danny.
“Just take me. Nobody else has to be involved.”
“Humph. You told me Southerland’s wife was with you. That means she has a ticket, too. Now, are you gonna wave at her or shall I?”
“I’ll do it.”
Mind reeling, body trembling, Samantha made a feeble gesture.
The passenger door of her car swung open. Lindy stood slowly, warily.
“Come here a second,” Sam called, hoping she sounded convincing. “And bring my purse, will you?”
“Why?”
The young woman was naturally leery. Anyone would be. Sam half hoped that she’d jump into the driver’s seat and speed away. She didn’t.
Bending and reaching for Samantha’s shoulder bag, Lindy also scooped up her own purse, slammed the car door and started walking toward their shared destiny.
All Samantha could do was stand there, helpless, and watch it happen.
* * *
John was beside himself. He radioed the scant information he had garnered before the signal from Sam’s phone had faded. His own lay on the seat beside him, still ostensibly connected to hers, while he used both hands to grip the wheel.
Rounding a particularly tight corner on the winding road he almost clipped the protruding rear bumper of a parked car. Samantha’s vehicle was positioned about fifteen yards ahead of it. If he hadn’t been looking for it he might have sailed right on past.
He swerved between the two parked cars, slid his pickup to a stop and grabbed his radio. “This is Waltham,” he said. “I’m on scene with the Rochard vehicle. I see Adelaide Crowe but there’s no sign of a driver or passenger in the other car.”
“Affirmative,” Levi answered. “Adelaide just told me the same thing. Put your heads together and get back to me with your plans.”
“Plans?” John stared at the handheld radio as if it were a poisonous snake. Taking his phone with him he began to jog toward the unmarked sheriff’s car.
Dark-haired, slim and ultra efficient, the female deputy met him halfway and nodded a somber greeting. “Motor’s still warm,” she said, eyeing Samantha’s green barge. “I couldn’t have missed them by more than a few minutes. Sheriff says you heard her being forcibly taken? Is that right?”
“Yes. She was talking to me.” He displayed his own cell phone. “I’ve lost the signal but if she’s still transmitting I may pick it up when we get out of this canyon. Any idea what direction they headed?”
“North. Into the back country.” Adelaide pointed at the laptop computer sitting open on the front seat of her car. “The tracking blip is moving fast so they can’t be on foot.”
“Okay.” John was circling to the passenger side of her car as she spoke. “Let’s go, then.”
“Can’t. The sheriff says I’m supposed to stay here and wait for backup.”
John tossed her a ring with the keys to his truck, then yanked open the patrol car’s door and slid behind the wheel.
“You have your gun and a radio,” he shouted. “Now you have wheels. I’m not waiting.”
“Hey! You can’t take that vehicle. It’s the property of the sheriff’s department.”
“I’ll settle with Harlan when all this is over,” John yelled through the open window. He gunned the engine, spun the tires and whipped out into traffic, leaving Adelaide standing there with her mouth open.
If this situation hadn’t been so dire he might have laughed at her incredulous expression. Instead, he immediately switched his concentration to the computer that was tracking Samantha.
He didn’t know how she’d managed to keep the bug with her when she’d left her car but she obviously had. Smart move. Smart woman. He just hoped she hadn’t stumbled into a deadly trap.
There was a slight chance that Lindy Southerland was as big a criminal as Ben was. In that case, Sam might be in even more trouble than anyone thought.
The flashing red blip on the computer screen was bearing to the right. John calculated the approximate distance ahead and slowed so he wouldn’t accidentally drive into view. It was hard to convince himself to bide his time but he knew he must.
If whoever was with Samantha suspected she was being followed, it could cost her dearly.
He tried to swallow. His throat was so dry he coughed, instead. His fists clenched on the steering wheel, his foot wanting to override his sensibility and depress the gas pedal as far as it would go.
Instead, he cried out to God in a wordless prayer that came from the depths of his soul.
He set his jaw. Squinting into the dimness of the sunset-painted forest, he was able to make out few details. The wind was rising. A storm was brewing.
Only one other thing could have made things worse. Threat of a tornado.
* * *
Samantha clutched Lindy’s hands as they huddled together in the back of the nondescript sedan and tried to keep from being tossed around when it bounced over massive bumps or dropped into one of the many potholes dotting the dirt track.
The enclosed space reeked of stale cigarette smoke and rotten food. Judging by the fast-food wrappers littering the floorboards, this car served as someone’s home away from home—and he was a lousy housekeeper.
“Do you remember any of this terrain?” she asked Lindy in a whisper.
“I don’t know. I’m too scared.”
“It’s okay. They’ll find us. I know they will.”
The other woman sniffled and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. “I just want my baby back.”
The driver snorted derisively. “Your husband should have thought of his family before he double-crossed us.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know where Ben is or what he’s done. I just want to take Danny and go home.”
“Yeah, well, that ain’t gonna happen unless ol’ Ben get
s his act together and brings us what we want.”
“How is he supposed to know what you want?” Samantha demanded. “Nobody has seen hide nor hair of him since he assaulted a police officer at the hospital and took off.”
“Well, you two ladies had better hope he got the word someway because if he doesn’t show up with the boss’s missing money and prove he’s still on our side, he’s gonna pay a real high price.”
Sam bit her lower lip while Lindy began to sob. There had to be something they could do to escape other than leap from the moving car. Even if they managed to land without injury there was still the problem of eluding an armed man. Plus, they were in the middle of a forest with no map and no idea in which direction safety lay. Fleeing blindly, they could just as easily end up running to trouble instead of away from it.
There was only one sensible course of action. Do nothing.
She laid a hand lightly on her purse and prayed that her phone and the tracking device were both working. If not, they were headed for oblivion.
Samantha did believe in God and in the wonders of heaven. She simply wasn’t eager to see either in person. Not just yet. Not until she had at least had one more chance to confront John Waltham.
She didn’t care how irate he was the next time she saw him as long as there was a next time. God willing, she was going to ask John if he still cared as deeply for her as she did for him, then stand back and see what happened.
Yes, it galled her to admit to those tender emotions. And yes, it would mean swallowing a boatload of pride to speak up. But she had to. She just had to.
Beyond that, she prayed that she’d have enough time left to do everything she’d planned before her captors lost patience and carried out their deadly threats.
A shudder zinged through her, head to toe, and her pulse raced, pounding in her temples until her head felt as if it was about to explode.
I’m not ready to give up, Lord, she prayed silently. And I’m not asking just for myself. Please protect Danny and Lindy.
A heartbeat later she added, And Ben. It’s not my place to judge, even if I don’t like the man—and I sure don’t. Forgive me for that and be with us all. Amen.
SIXTEEN
The blip on the computer screen suddenly stopped moving. John eased the “borrowed” patrol car to a stop and killed the engine so he could listen for distant sounds of human activity. There were none.
Overhead, the sky was rapidly darkening and filling with roiling, black and gray clouds. Not only that, the wind had risen even more, bringing with it a foretaste of the storm to come. Once that arrived he’d be fortunate to hear himself think, let alone pick out voices above the echo of booming thunder.
There was one advantage, however. Although he couldn’t hear as well, Sam’s abductors would also be far less likely to detect his approach. The biggest question was, where had they taken her and how was he going to steal her back?
One last check of the computer confirmed her stationary position. He checked his phone, found they were still in a dead zone and tossed it aside. It had been clever of her to stay connected. Unfortunately, the trick had failed when the mountain ridges had interfered with transmission. Although that problem was a common one in the Ozarks, it added another dimension to John’s distress and made him wish he’d picked a phone service that operated off a satellite feed rather than ground-based towers.
He crouched low beside the sheriff’s car and used the radio to report in.
Chief Kelso was not in the best of moods when he realized who was broadcasting. “Are you nuts, Waltham? If you get one scratch on that car it’ll come out of your wages. Harlan is on the warpath.”
“I have more important things to worry about right now,” John said, cradling the microphone so his voice wouldn’t carry. “The tracking software shows that our bug is no longer moving. I’ll leave this radio on so you can home in on this car. I’m going the rest of the way on foot.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going to stay right there and wait for backup. Adelaide and the others are on their way.”
“Copy. That’s good to hear.”
Kelso’s tone moderated. “Hang in there, okay?”
Thunder crashed and boomed, bouncing off the hills and creating a nearly continuous rumble. A flash of lightning made the radio crackle as the bolt shot to ground nearby.
“Sorry, chief, you’re breaking up.” John grabbed a handful of dry leaves and crumbled them close to his face to add further background noise. “Can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
He tossed the radio microphone back into the car and took a few seconds to check his temporary replacement for the stolen Glock, just as he always did before going into battle. That was exactly what this was, too. They were at war with evil. And he was a soldier on a mission—to rescue at least one special hostage and maybe more.
He wasn’t foolhardy. If the situation appeared to require more than one officer he’d wait for help. Unless he thought that doing so would cost someone’s life. There were times when a man had to do what he knew was right, no matter how great the likelihood he’d die trying.
John had no death wish. Far from it. But he was not about to sit idly by while Sam remained in jeopardy. His mind might insist that that was the smartest thing to do. His heart disagreed.
He followed his heart.
* * *
Samantha could see why these criminals had chosen this particular cabin as their hideout. It was perfect: isolated, hard to reach and impossible to see until you were almost on top of it. Plus, it looked abandoned. If they had brought the car here that they’d used to abduct Danny, they’d hidden it well because she saw nothing to indicate that there was anyone else in the area.
The armed man parked, got out and jerked open the back door. He gestured with the gun. “Out. Both of you. And no tricks.”
Samantha moved slowly, purposefully, while her mind continued to search for some logical means of escape. If she’d had only herself to consider she might have made a break for it in the hopes that the thick forest would have given her refuge.
Since she had both Lindy and Danny to think of, she knew better than to try. Even if she did manage to escape, the kidnappers’ wrath would surely descend on the remaining captives and Samantha was not willing to put anyone in more peril than they already shared.
As if that were possible, she mused, picking her way across the rock-strewn clearing in the near darkness. Not only was the sun below the horizon, storm clouds had gathered and drifted across the face of the moon, casting a shroud of impending doom as if the entire mountain range was caught up in her personal struggle for survival.
A nearby flash of lightning was followed mere seconds later by a boom that made Sam jump and prickled the fine hair on her arms and at the nape of her neck.
“Get a move on,” their captor shouted, “before we all get toasted.”
“It would serve you right,” Samantha grumbled without stopping to censor her reaction.
The man huffed. “Very funny. Now stop giving me lip and get in the house before I shoot you where you stand.”
Slipping the strap of her purse over her shoulder, she raised her hands enough to demonstrate compliance. She might be too outspoken at times but she was no fool. This was not the time to exert her independence.
The wooden steps creaked as the three climbed them. The door swung open. Bright light from inside made her squint.
Samantha instantly recognized the burly, unshaven man who admitted them. This time, his attitude was even more menacing than it had been when she’d kicked him. Considering their recent confrontation, it wasn’t too surprising that he was holding a grudge.
He pointed with the barrel of the small-caliber rifle in his hand. “Inside. Hurry it up.”
Th
at was when Samantha looked past him, spotted the little boy and stepped out of the way so Lindy could see him, too.
Danny screamed and ran to his mother the moment he saw her. “Mama!”
Tears gathered in Samantha’s eyes. Lindy was clinging to her son and weeping while raining myriad kisses over his face and reddish hair.
“Thank You, Jesus,” Sam whispered. The seriousness of their shared situation should not have called for levity, yet she felt a grin begin and let it blossom. Even in such dire straits there was reason for joy, for praising the Lord, and her heart swelled with thanks that the child was apparently unharmed.
Someone gave her a hard shove from behind. Staggering and almost falling, she dropped her purse. It fell to the bare wood floor and spilled some of its contents.
That was enough to cause one of their captors to grab the bag by its bottom seam and upend it. Out slid her cell phone—still obviously connected to her last call!
The man who appeared to be in charge stepped forward and used the heel of his heavy boot to grind the little plastic device to pieces before turning his anger on the one who had brought them to the cabin. “Idiot! Didn’t you check? Who was she talking to?”
His cohort shrugged. “I don’t know. What does it matter. Ain’t no signals up here, anyway.”
“For your sake I hope not.” He rounded on Samantha as he kicked the contents of her shoulder bag aside. “I’ve had just about enough from you. One more stunt like that and you’re history, got that?”
She nodded, mute. Her jaw was clenching so hard her teeth were starting to ache. Her cell phone lay in splinters. The bug the police had given her was probably still secure but if anyone actually searched the little pockets inside her purse and found it she was going to be in big trouble—whether it was working or not.
Edging closer to Lindy and the boy, Sam slipped her arm around the other woman’s shoulders, drawing moral support as well as giving it. These two brutes were running out of patience and it was only a matter of time before one or both of them snapped.
Threat of Darkness Page 16
