“This is your home now, darling,” Krystal said, rubbing her hand where Trudie bit her.
She noticed something sticking out of Trudie’s pocket. Son of a bitch. Krystal picked up the prepaid phone and looked at it. “We can’t have this thing lying around here,” she said to an unconscious Trudie. “I’ve got to run an errand, darling.”
She walked out of the room, sliding the wall into place. The door would only open by remote control, and Krystal had the only remote. She slipped into her disguise again, and put the remote and the prepaid phone into her pocket and walked out the door.
***
“Louise, its Annie. I’m not sure what time it is there in Rome, but—”
“Καλημέρα. We’re in Athens now, dear, and it’s a little after five in the morning. How’s Trudie?”
“Louise, is your husband with you?”
“Yes, just a second, let me put this on speaker. Okay, we’re both on. We caught the interview and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that was a real proposal.”
“Actually, it was real, and she said yes.”
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks, um, I need to tell you something.” Annie took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Trudie’s been kidnapped.”
“Oh, no! Dear Lord,” Louise cried.
“Annie, we’ll catch the first plane back,” Troy said. “But tell me what’s being done to find my daughter?”
“The FBI is following up on every lead. I have to tell you that I think Noella is the stalker, and she’s the one who kidnapped Trudie.”
“Why do you think that?” Louise asked.
“Louise, we don’t have time to go into that now. Annie, have they checked Noella’s office, her house, and log cabin?” Troy asked.
“What log cabin?” Annie questioned.
“Trudie bought her a log cabin on Lake Maumelle after her book was turned into a movie,” Troy elaborated.
“Damn,” Annie exclaimed. “I’ll call the FBI as soon as I hang up. What else can you think of? Anything at all.”
“Well, this probably doesn’t amount to much,” Louise began. “But a while back Trudie got a call from her old neighbor saying someone broke into her house. She sent the police to check on it, and they didn’t find anything, just that the lock had been jimmied.”
“Wait. What house?” Annie queried.
“The house she had before she met Leigh. They lived together in that house before buying the condo. Trudie couldn’t bear to part with it after Leigh was killed, so she pays a neighbor to mow the yard and keep watch over it,” Louise explained.
“And whoever broke into it was stupid enough to do it at night, where the neighbor could see their flashlight,” Troy added. “The backyard has a six-foot wooden fence with an alley behind it.”
“That little mistake might just be the clue we need to catch the bastard,” Annie said. “Oh, sorry for cussing, Louise.”
“Don’t be sorry for being accurate, Annie,” Louise stated.
“What’s the address?”
“1300 Rodney Parham, there in Little Rock.”
“All right, thanks. I’ll check it out right away,” Annie assured them.
“Annie, please bring our daughter home,” Louise beseeched.
“I will, Louise. I’ll have her home before you get back.” Or die trying.
Annie paced for what seemed like hours, waiting for Jeff to get off work. She walked every square inch of the condo, then rode the elevator down to the dock and paced the parking lot. Each time, she looked for clues, rechecked the ones she knew about, and then did it all over again. Finally, Jeff arrived with a backpack full of equipment.
“I’m so sorry, Sarge,” he said the moment she opened the door.
Ignoring his gesture, she handed him the prepaid phone and asked, “Can you do it?”
He took the phone from her hand and said, “God, I hope so.” He ducked under the police tape across the door and went into the kitchen where he set up his laptop on the dining room table.
“Honey, it’s late, why don’t we order something to eat?” Annabelle asked.
“You go ahead, Mom, I’m not hungry,” Annie replied, not taking her eyes off of Jeff.
Annabelle pinched her lips together and looked at Donny, who patted her knee.
“Order some pizza,” he told her. “She’ll eat when she’s hungry enough.”
“How’s it coming, Davis?” Annie asked, hovering over his shoulder.
“Sarge, I only just sat down. You gotta give me a minute, all right?”
“Yeah, sorry, man. Just anxious, you know?”
“I can imagine. I promise I’ll go as fast as I can.”
“Annie, dear, why don’t you join us in here and give Jeff time to work?” Annabelle suggested.
“I’ll behave, Mom. It’s okay.”
“But I wanted to talk to you about my ring,” Annabelle said sternly.
For a moment, Annie felt like a little girl about to be punished by her mother. She walked over and sat down by Annabelle.
“Honey, I was surprised when you proposed to Trudie for real, and I could tell, she was even more surprised. “You can’t know how happy I was when I saw you put my ring on Trudie’s finger.”
“So, then, you approve?” Annie asked hesitantly.
“Oh, yes. She’s a wonderful woman, and I can see how much she loves you.”
“Not as much as I love her, Mom.” Annie lowered her head, restraining her tears. “I have to find her, Mom. I just have to.”
“And you will, Annie, just try to be patient with those who want to help find her, too.”
Annie looked over at Jeff, wanting desperately to ask if he had something yet, but then she looked at her mother and nodded. “I’ll try, Mom, but I’m not making any promises.”
Annabelle laughed just as Jeff shouted, “Found it!”
“Let’s go!” Annie bellowed, rushing to the door. When she opened it, several people stepped off the elevator. “Oh, shit. The party.” She turned back to her mother. “Mom, let them know the parties canceled,” she instructed as she bolted through the stairwell door.
*
“It was nice of you to invite us along, Ms. Nichols,” Agent Rogers said snidely.
“I just want to find Trudie, and I found the best lead you have,” Annie replied stoically.
“I should lock you up for withholding evidence,” Rogers chastised.
“Look, I need to be there when we find her. I can calm her down and hopefully avoid a panic attack when she sees all the cops.”
They were in a non-descript FBI car, heading west out of the city, with sirens blaring and lights flashing. Rogers glanced over at Annie, and then back at the road. “You’re staying in the car, understood?”
“Whatever,” Annie said, knowing they would have to handcuff her to the steering wheel to keep her from going with them.
“Stop!” Jeff demanded from the back seat. He looked down at his laptop, and said, “We’re almost on top of the coordinates.”
Rogers pulled the car over, and everyone got out, including Lucy. She was on a leash in the backseat with Jeff, and wagged her tail excitedly when she jumped out of the car. Annie took her leash and led her down the side of the highway. Lucy picked up a scent familiar to her and took off running, pulling Annie with her. The dog led her right to it. Hidden in the tall grass was Trudie’s prepaid cellphone.
“Trudie! Trudie!” Annie screamed. “Trudie, where are you?”
Lucy laid beside the cellphone and again, whimpered.
“She’s not here,” Rogers said.
“We have to look, damn it,” Annie insisted.
“And my team will do just that. They’ll use metal detectors and real ground-sniffing dogs, but they won’t find anything. The kidnapper obviously tossed the phone from their car. I’m sorry, she’s not here.”
“Damn it!”
***
“I’m back, darling. Did you miss me?” Krys
tal asked as she opened a capsule and poured the sleeping pill into a quarter cup of water. Then she sat down beside Trudie and lifted her head up. “I’ll let you wake up in the morning, but for tonight, we both need a good night’s rest. She put the cup to Trudie’s lips and poured the liquid in.
Trudie sputtered, but was too groggy to fight it and swallowed most of the liquid. In between twilight and consciousness, she called out, “Annie?”
“Annie’s forgotten you, darling.”
“No, you’re wrong,” Trudie said, looking drowsily at Krystal. “She’ll come for me.”
“Not if she thinks you’re dead already,” Krystal said. “And she will, very soon.”
“No. Please, let me go,” Trudie begged, rolling her eyes to try and stay awake.
Krystal brushed across Trudie’s breast as she reached up to stroke her cheek. A shudder ran through her, one that she enjoyed, but restrained. She would not rape Trudie in her sleep, no matter how badly she ached for her. She wanted Trudie to come for her in the throes of passion. In her mind, they were madly in love and their lovemaking consummated marriage.
Rubbing Trudie’s forehead, Krystal said, “Sleep, darling. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
Trudie’s body begged to sleep and she succumb to Krystal’s request. Her head fell to the side, and she slept.
Interesting that she didn’t panic this time. This is better than I had hoped for. She seems to handle things much better in a semi-conscious state, so tomorrow I’ll half the dose and see how she does. If I can get her past her panic disorder, I know she will want to be with me. But first, I’ve got to get us away from here. Krystal checked the list of things she’d need to do to get Trudie on a private plane to Agadir. She’d picked Morocco for its beauty, its beaches, and the fact that it had no extradition treaty with the US. They’ll never find us there, and if they do, there isn’t jack shit they can do about it.
If it hadn’t been for Annie, none of this would have been necessary and life would had gone on as it was, with everyone blissfully unaware. As it was, things were getting too crowded for Krystal, and she decided it was time to take Trudie away. But Annie’s impromptu wedding proposal accelerated her timetable. The moment she saw Annie in that bookstore instead of Trudie, Krystal knew that Trudie obviously didn’t love Annie, or she would have found the strength to leave her condo. Then, when Krystal watched Annie take Trudie back to her bedroom earlier, she almost lost it. It was enough of a shock to remind her of her plan to take Trudie to Morocco. A few quick phone calls, an extra incentive to rush things, and now Trudie was hers.
***
Against his better judgement, but bowing to the pressure, Agent Rogers included Annie in the strategic planning. After all, she dug up the most clues, although he assured her that the FBI would have done the same, given enough time. They had to follow protocol, Annie didn’t, he told her, and that’s why she was able to circumvent procedure and go straight to the sources. Annie laughed. All she had done was call Trudie’s parents.
The FBI plotted out a one-two punch attack, hitting Trudie’s old house approximately ten minutes before they hit Noella’s house and her cabin in Maumelle. At dawn, the SWAT team planned to surround the house and lob some tear gas through the windows. Annie reminded Rogers about Trudie’s panic disorder and that she could have a bad reaction to tear gas. She didn’t want his men shooting the wrong person because Trudie became uncontrollable. For once, Rogers agreed with her.
“All right, we’ll try negotiating first,” he decided.
“Noella hates me, perhaps I could be the bait?” Annie suggested.
Rogers looked at her, ready to say no, but he felt she had a prepared argument if he did. He didn’t have time to play that game. Every minute that the kidnapper had control was a minute to long. “Let’s see how it goes, all right?”
Annie nodded. At least he didn’t say no.
It was finally time to move out. Rogers gave Annie a protective vest and told her to keep her weapon holstered. They rode in a black van with the word SWAT in large white letters on either side. They wanted the kidnapper to see them coming; it was more intimidating that way.
“This is the FBI, come out with your hands up,” Rogers shouted into a bullhorn. “You are surrounded, come out now.”
There was no answer from the house, but the neighbors came out of their homes. They were quickly cordoned off at a safe distance.
“We’re going in. Stay here,” Rogers commanded.
Annie did as she was told, as much as it irked her to do so. What seemed to her to take hours was only a few minutes. The SWAT team entered the house, and she could hear them calling “clear” as they searched each room. Then suddenly she heard Rogers screaming “Everyone out!” and saw them running out the front door. She took a step forward just as the house exploded into a million splinters of wood. Someone had set off a trip wire in the basement, and the bomb had nowhere to go but up.
***
“This just in, a bomb blast in west Little Rock kills a police officer, and mortally wounds a civilian. Annie Nichols, a US Air Force Staff Sergeant, who had just announced her engagement to Trudie Youngblood, author of the Southern Belle series, was killed this morning while assisting with the FBI’s investigation into Ms. Youngblood’s kidnapping. An unidentified body, believed to be Ms. Youngblood, was found in the basement where the blast took place.”
Krystal turned the radio off and clapped her hands. “Isn’t it amazing what money can buy these days? Oh, déjà vu.” Laughing, Krystal scooped the hot oatmeal into a cup and poured a little bit of milk into it. “By the time they figure out that body was stolen from the morgue, we’ll be in Morocco,” She added a generous amount of sugar and stirred it. Then she opened a Doxepin capsule and sprinkled one half of it over the oatmeal.
Using the remote, she slid the wall back and walked into the small room.
“No, Krystal. Let me go,” Trudie pleaded. “Please, just let me go. I promise I won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Oh, darling. There’s no one left to tell. Annie is dead.”
“No, you’re lying!” Trudie screamed, fighting against her restraints.
“Here, my love, drink this before you have another attack.”
“No, get away from me!”
As Krystal tried to hold her head down, she spilled the oatmeal on the floor. “Damn it! Now I have to make some more.” Krystal left the wall open as she walked down the hall and back into the kitchen. Unlike Trudie’s home, Krystal’s condo had walls separating the kitchen, living room, office and bedroom. She stood over the stove, grousing to herself waiting on the oatmeal to heat up. She had to get Trudie under control before they left tomorrow for Morocco. Soon, my darling. Soon we will be sunbathing on the beach without a care in the world. How wonderful that will be. As she stirred the oatmeal, she checked her cellphone. And there it is. Confirmation on our trip.
“My darling, I have good news,” she said as she walked back to the bedroom carrying the cup of oatmeal.
“And I’ve got some damn good news for you, too, bitch,” Trudie said angrily, as she tried to sit up in bed. “My knight in shining armor is right behind you, and she’s about to beat the ever loving shit out of you.”
Krystal laughed. “I’m your knight in…” Trudie pointed a finger at something behind Krystal and she turned to see Annie step out. “No! Get out!”
Annie clenched her jaw, and railed, “That’s my woman, you son of a bitch!” Then she reared back with her hand in a fist and hit Krystal square on the jaw. It was the last thing Krystal saw.
“Wake up so I can hit you again, bitch!” Annie scowled. She stepped over Krystal’s unconscious body and rushed to Trudie’s side. “Baby, are you all right?” she asked, as she hurriedly unlocked the handcuffs.
“I am now, honey,” Trudie sobbed, the tears running down her cheeks.
Rogers and his team came rushing in, their guns drawn. After Krystal had set the trap at the other house, they
came up with the plan to make her think Annie was dead so she would let her guard down. She didn’t hear them coming.
“Clear!” Annie shouted, letting them know it was safe.
“How did you find me?” Trudie asked.
“Actually, Noella told us,” Annie explained.
Rogers elaborated. “When we hit the cabin we found Ms. Rutherford in a room with no windows, blocked off by furniture against the door. I don’t think the kidnapper wanted her to be found, because there was no food or water in the room. She told us the last thing she remembered was arguing with Krystal Anderson, and then she woke up bound and gagged in her cabin.”
“Oh, poor Noella,” Trudie mumbled.
“Ms. Rutherford is a little dehydrated, but she’ll be fine. We took her to the hospital to get checked out,” Rogers stated.
Trudie began to shake. “Please, get me out of here. I’m starting to feel anxious again.”
“It’s okay, baby. Just try to concentrate on my voice,” Annie suggested and then looked at Agent Rogers. “I need to get Trudie home.”
Rogers nodded. “Go. I’ll be up in a minute to take her statement.”
Annie scooped Trudie up in her arms and walked into the foyer, pushing the up button on the elevator. Trudie was showing signs of anxiety, so Annie began telling a story in soft tones. “There once was a beautiful princess named Trudie, who lived in a glass tower overlooking a little rock…”
*
And hour later, Trudie still clung to Annie even as she sat in Annie’s lap on the couch. When the doorbell rang, she jumped and held on tighter, burying her face in Annie’s shoulder. Lucy growled as Donny answered the door and let Agent Rogers in. He walked over and sat down across from Trudie and Annie.
“Krystal Anderson is in custody and won’t bother you anymore, Ms. Youngblood.”
Trudie looked at him and smiled, the anxiety melting from her body. “Why would Krystal do that to me?” Trudie asked. “She was always there for me after Leigh was killed.”
Breaking into Prison Page 27
