by Cari Cole
Mae didn't say anything else.
Lucy studied the ledge for a few more seconds. "Okay," she said. "I've got this." She reached out to a small rock about head high. "One step to the middle." She put her left foot on the ledge and brought her right foot to join it. "And one step to the other side." She put her left foot on the far side of the hole, pushed off the wall and across. "See? No problem."
Lucy pulled enough rope out of the hole to make an easy toss.
Mae caught it. "We'll be waiting."
"I'll send help," Lucy said.
She trotted to the cave entrance surprised to find the late afternoon sun shining. The pop-up thunderstorm had passed, but not nearly as many hours had ticked off the clock as it felt like.
She glanced at her watch before starting the climb down to the creek. Five o'clock. Plenty of daylight left to get help for Mae and Jane.
She climbed down and followed the path Dawson had jogged up a few minutes earlier.
###
The van was right where they'd left it. She ran the last few steps, shed the top half of her coverall and dug the keys out of her jeans pocket.
Dawson couldn't be too far ahead of her and there was only one practical way back to civilization. With luck the cops would catch up to him before he could get to Belle and hurt her.
She threw herself into the driver's seat and jammed the key into the ignition and started the van. She grabbed her cell phone out of the center console and dialed 911. Putting the phone to her ear she reversed around and stomped on the gas throwing gravel and fishtailing a little. Who knew the minivan could do that?
"Nerves of steel," she told herself. No worries about getting a ticket. A cop appearing was her fondest dream right now.
"911 what is your emergency?"
She rocketed down the gravel road.
Good question. "There's a man with a gun on . . ." What the hell was this road? Think! "He just left the parking lot by Breakleg Creek in Cohutta. Call Ranger Leonard. Tell him Lucy Deen . . ."
She realized there was another vehicle up ahead.
Maybe it was Ranger Rick making his rounds.
"Ma'am?" The 911 operator tried to get her attention.
"Hold on."
When the gravel road dumped out onto a two lane asphalt track the car ahead turned left. Not the ranger's pick-up truck. It was a late model SUV.
It had to be Dawson.
How had she caught him so fast?
It didn't matter.
He was about to learn he'd fucked with the wrong woman.
"The man is driving an SUV. A silver one. I don't know what kind. I'm behind him on Bear Ridge Rd."
She pulled onto the asphalt road and stepped on the gas, intent on catching him.
"Ma'am you don't need to follow him. I have an officer in route."
Lucy ended the call and concentrated on getting herself under control. Dawson should probably hope the police caught up quick.
He wasn't driving fast, apparently not having the same feelings about police intervention as Lucy. She pulled up to his bumper within a few seconds.
She smiled maniacally when she saw his eyes widen in shock in his rearview mirror. Evidently he hadn't expected any of them to make it out so soon.
He picked up speed.
She kept pace, gripping the steering wheel until her hands hurt and struggling to maintain her nerve as the road twisted and curved its way down the mountain.
He glanced into the mirror again and this time Lucy saw fear.
She couldn't blame him. Rational behavior didn't seem to be her strong suit at the moment.
Dawson's brake lights flashed.
Lucy was a fraction of a second slow to respond.
The van tapped the SUV's bumper at an angle as they entered a curve. The SUV spun. Metal screeched as the passenger side of the van and the rear bumper of the SUV slid across each other.
The SUV skated off the road.
Lucy fought the van and managed to bring it to a stop with the right wheels in the dirt.
Saying a prayer of thanks for her automatic seatbelt habit, she turned to see Dawson was moving around in the driver's seat of the SUV.
Lucy realized things could get ugly very fast.
She struggled free of her seatbelt and shoved the flopping top half of her coverall aside to reach the gun tucked in her climbing harness.
Gun in hand, she threw open the van door and climbed out. "Don't move!" she yelled. "I have a gun! The police are on the way!" She threw in the last in the faint hope he'd believe it was possible.
She stepped up into the doorway of the van and braced the gun on the roof, pointing it at Dawson. He was still trying to get free of the SUV. Would he shoot?
With multiple millions of dollars at stake--probably.
The SUV door opened.
"I said don't move!" Lucy shouted. "I swear I'll shoot you."
Lucy couldn't see Dawson's hands.
His answer was a laugh. "Only people who won't pull the trigger say that."
His hand appeared around the edge of the SUV's door and he fired.
The back window of the van exploded.
Lucy flinched and fired back.
Her position, braced on the roof of the van made her aim better than his.
Dawson went down.
Shaking, Lucy deliberately moved her finger away from the trigger of the pistol and waited.
Dawson didn't move.
What the hell had she done?
The Cavalry
Lucy watched for a few more seconds but Dawson stayed put.
"I'm coming over there to see if I can help you. If you even twitch I'll shoot you instead."
He didn't respond.
Lucy stepped down and walked around the front of the van keeping her eyes glued to Dawson. She couldn't be positive but it looked like his gun was on the ground just out of his reach.
She moved faster, keeping her gun trained on him praying he wouldn't move. Praying even harder that he was still alive and could tell her where he was holding Belle.
He moaned when she got to him. The gun was indeed on the ground. She kicked it out of reach just like she'd seen on TV and looked him over to try and see where he was wounded.
Blood covered the right side of his body but the way he was laying she couldn't tell if he had a chest wound or an arm wound.
He moaned again and squinted up at her. "You're crazy."
"Me? I haven't kidnapped anyone. Where's Belle?"
He moaned again but didn't answer.
"If you live and she dies I'll make it my life's mission to make sure you get the death penalty."
"House. Cooper Lake. End of Pinestraw Lane."
"Excellent. Now, if I get close enough to help you are you going to try something stupid?"
He shook his head.
"Well, since I don't trust you, I want you to roll onto your back and spread your arms and legs out wide."
She eased past him to take a quick glance into the SUV.
The jar was on the passenger side floorboard.
Dawson was spread-eagle on the ground and Lucy could see that her bullet had taken a chunk out of his upper arm. It was still bleeding but apparently the pressure of him lying on it had slowed it down some.
"Stay still while I find something you can use as a pressure dressing."
She walked around to the passenger side of the SUV, opened the door and pulled the jar out. There was a lightweight jacket on the seat. She grabbed it too.
"I thought you were going to help me," Dawson said as he watched Lucy go back to the van.
"I'll get around to you." First things first, his injuries weren't life threatening. She put the jar on the passenger seat of the van and went back to him.
She folded the jacket but left the sleeves dangling and knelt next to him. "Try anything and I'll make you wish for the death penalty."
He just shook his head slightly.
Lucy almost felt sorry for him. He'd lost all h
is bravado and looked more like a scared librarian than a badass kidnapper. What the hell had possessed him to go to such lengths?
She pressed the folded jacket to his wound and used the sleeves to tie it around his arm. "That should hold you until the cops get here."
"You're not going to leave me here?"
"Oh yeah," Lucy said. She took the keys to the SUV out of the ignition, pocketed them and picked up the gun. "Wouldn't want you getting any ideas about not waiting for the police."
She headed back to the minivan then turned to ask, "I'm not going to have to shoot any partners in crime at your house am I?"
"No."
"Good. The cops should be here any second."
###
She pulled back onto the road and headed out of Cohutta at a much more sedate pace. Well, maybe not sedate but not suicidal. At this point it was more important that she get to Belle and send help to Mae and Jane than it was for her to save a couple of minutes driving too fast.
She tried to dial 911 again but realized she must be in a dead zone.
Lucy hoped Dawson hadn't been lying about the partners in crime. The last thing she needed was to shoot anyone else. The police might not understand.
And speak of the devil. Just look at who was coming her way--
She waved and pointed for him to pull over.
He did and they met on the shoulder of the road behind the van.
"Ranger Leonard! Just the man I wanted to see."
"Ms. Deen? What the hell happened? And where are your cohorts?"
"We ran into a little trouble."
He pushed his hat back on his head and rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
She gave him a very brief rundown of the day's events along with the GPS coordinates for the cave and instructions for finding the opening. "Do you want Dawson's gun before I leave?"
"Where are you planning to go?"
"To get my aunt out of Dawson's house at Cooper Lake."
He was already on his radio calling the county cops and various rescue personnel. He shook his head while talking to someone on the radio.
Lucy didn't argue. She retrieved Dawson's gun off the front seat of the van and took it to Leonard.
"You need to let the police handle this from here on out," he said.
"If they can get to Pinestraw Lane before me, they're welcome to the glory but I'm not waiting." She turned and walked back to the van.
"Hold on a second," he said to the person on the other end of the radio conversation. He stomped up behind Lucy as she opened the van door. "I could arrest you."
"You could but you'd look like a damn fool when the truth comes out."
"Would that be the truth where you were hunting artifacts on Federal property? Where you shot a college professor? Where you--"
"Hey! I told you he shot first. Look at the van windows. And we didn't move a single pebble looking for my family's heirlooms so there certainly wasn't any digging. Now, I'm leaving. I'll expect a call as soon as my friends are safe."
###
Pinestraw Lane was in Mountain Water, a new vacation development on Cooper Lake. Lucy was familiar with the area near Belle's home because she'd spent a couple of hours checking it out during one of her weekend visits with Belle.
Belle had been predictably enthusiastic about the possibility of having Lucy close by at least part time.
Gary had nixed the idea without really listening. Now Lucy knew why.
Mountain Water was exclusive. The lots were large and private. There were two completed homes on Pinestraw Lane, both with direct access to the lake. In front of the first house an elderly woman in a large brimmed straw hat knelt by a flower bed, garden trowel in hand looking like she knew what she was doing among the growing things Lucy couldn't even name.
The second house looked deserted.
Lucy pulled into the second driveway.
No gun-wielding co-conspirator burst out of the front door.
Lucy took this as a good sign.
She got out of the van and peeked into the garage.
Belle's car was on the other side of the glass.
The front door was locked.
Lucy picked up an ornamental frog doorstop, tossed it through the glass sidelight, reached through and turned the knob. Lucky for her, Professor Dawson hadn't heard about using keyed deadbolts to keep this kind of thing from happening.
No alarm sounded when she opened the door. Since the police should be on the way she was just glad not to have to listen to some loud nerve-jarring horn while she searched for Belle.
"Belle!" Lucy called. "Can you hear me?"
Silence.
Lucy started to call out again when she heard a low sound of fear or pain from the interior. She went through the sparsely appointed living room, surprised at the tattered, outdated furniture. It looked out of place in an expensive new house. Maybe Dr. Dawson had overreached in buying this--presumably--second home.
The distressed sound came again and Lucy pinpointed the source behind a closed door at the end of a short hall.
Caution wasn't high on Lucy's list of priorities at this point. She flung the door open and rushed into the room expecting to find Belle gagged and bound.
"Don't hurt me," the woman in the room begged.
The Why Of It
Lucy stared at the woman on the hospital bed for several seconds before responding to the woman's obvious fear. "I'm not going to hurt you."
The woman didn't look entirely convinced and Lucy realized she must be quite a horrifying sight. Especially in the sterile surroundings of this bedroom turned hospital room.
The woman on the bed looked like she was closer to death than life. "Mrs. Dawson?"
"Do I know you?"
Her voice was weak and dry.
"No," Lucy said. "I know your husband. He told me you'd been ill. I just didn't know . . ."
The woman managed a weak smile. "James likes to act as though I'm going to respond to my latest treatment. I've seen every specialist in the country and tried every treatment protocol available."
Lucy realized the woman must be pretty heavily sedated. It would explain her odd emotional shifts. And the specialists and treatments meant money which was probably the motivation behind Dr. Dawson's actions.
"Where is my aunt?" Lucy asked.
The woman looked confused. "Who? I'm afraid you must be confused. James and I are the only ones here. Where is James? I think it's time for my medication."
"I promise, someone will explain," Lucy said. "But I have to find my aunt. Is there a basement?"
"Yes, a walk-out that opens lakeside."
Lucy left before the woman could ask more questions. She felt bad about the poor woman's situation but surely a man as smart as James Dawson could have found a better way to solve his money problems.
She found the stairs leading to the lower level of the house and pounded down with approaching sirens wailing in the background.
Downstairs she found a media room with no media, two empty bedrooms and bathroom. A third door led out of the media room deeper under the house.
Lucy went through door number three, into a basement storage area and found yet another door with a crudely added padlock.
"Belle! Are you in there?" She pounded on the door and rattled the knob.
"Belle?"
Lucy put her ear to the door and held her breath, listening. She was almost sure she heard a groan and a croaking whisper that could have been her name.
She looked around the storage area for something she could use to knock the lock off the door but aside from some camping gear and a couple of fishing poles, the room was empty. She was about to leave to search the rest of the house for a hammer or a pry bar when she saw a key dangling from a nail in the wall next to the door.
Once she managed to control her shaking hand, the key slid into the lock without a hitch and the lock popped open. She tossed the lock aside and pulled the door open with a racing heart.
; A dirty, bruised figure squinted up at the light streaming in from the storage area.
With a small cry of distress, Lucy dropped to her knees and brushed a careful hand over Belle's face. "Are you okay? Are you in pain?"
"I've been better but the damage is minor." Belle said. Her lips were cracked and dry and she looked frail for the first time in her life. Her clothes were filthy. She had several ugly looking scratches on her arms and a bruise along her jaw-line.
Lucy ran her hands gently over Belle's arms and legs searching for injuries and finding nothing more than the obvious.
Shouts came from upstairs.
"Police!"
"I have to let them know where we are," Lucy said, hugging Belle and reluctant to let her go. They were both crying "I was so scared." Lucy opened her arms and eased back.
Belle nodded wiping her face. "I'll be fine now."
Lucy gave her a reassuring pat, wiped her own face with the back of her hand and went to the bottom of the stairs from the main level. "Down here!"
A police officer appeared. "Are you Mrs. Deen?
Lucy nodded. "We need paramedics down here. My aunt isn't doing well."
"Is there anyone else in the house?"
"Upstairs. Mrs. Dawson. She isn't well. I'm not sure what her diagnosis is. She might need medical attention too."
Lucy went back to Belle and held her hand until the paramedics took over.
Aftermath
"You'll need to make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon," the ER doctor said as he smoothed the last of the ace bandage into place. "This arm will probably require surgery." He wrote something on a prescription pad and handed the sheet to Jane. "No driving. And if I may offer a suggestion, no more caving without a guide." He looked around to include Lucy and Mae in this last instruction.
"Don't worry I think our Indiana Jones days are over," Jane said.
"You're good to go," he said.
Jane thanked him and he left the three of them alone.
They were all wearing scrubs generously donated by the hospital after having their scrapes, cuts, gunshots and broken limbs seen to.
The tally wasn't as bad as it could have been.
