In the back of his mind, Jed was worried that he only saw the one man. The other intruder could be anywhere.
As the man vaulted the neighbor’s stone wall near the road, Jed was right behind him. They ran down the road at full speed.
Jed was running so fast, that he didn’t hear the car coming up fast behind, until it was almost on him. Realizing it was probably the missing partner, Jed searched frantically for somewhere to take cover.
Seeing a deep ditch to the side, Jed pumped his legs and dove into the ditch, praying as he went down. Luckily, the driver decided it was too risky and at the last minute swerved away from the ditch.
Jed watched, his chest heaving, as the car stopped a hundred yards up the road, and the other intruder jumped in. The car sped off with a loud squeal of its tires, before Jed could get the license plate.
Dejected, he climbed out of the ditch, dusted himself off, and headed back to the Barton’s house. Kent was waiting in the driveway for him, with a phone in his hand.
“Are you alright?” he asked, “That guy just missed you.”
“No kidding,” Jed muttered, still trying to catch his breath. “I was hoping you wouldn’t have noticed.”
“Kind of hard to miss,” Kent said, “You were lucky, man.”
“Don’t tell your sister, ok,” Jed said, slapping him on the back as they headed back into the house.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Kent agreed.
“Are the police on their way?” Jed asked.
Shaking his head, Kent said, “They are going to be a few minutes. All the available officers are tied up with a bad accident on the freeway. A lieutenant came on the phone and told me you could handle things for a while. That was after I told him the men had driven off.”
“Ok,” Jed said, “let’s go tell the girls, and find a way to clean up the mess and seal the door off.”
“I’ll grab a tarp out of the garage, and some duck tape. That will have to do for now.”
“They probably won’t come back, but we need to leave and go somewhere else.”
When they went in the house, they weren’t surprised to see Nora and Charlotte peeking down the stairs from the landing.
“They’re gone,” Jed said,” You can come down.”
“We heard a gunshot. Are you both ok?”
“We’re fine. They shot out the door though,” Kent said gesturing to the door.
I can’t believe that men came into our house and shot Kent and Jed.
“They just left?” I asked, “How did you chase them away?”
“Ummm... Jed scared them off and then chased them down the road,” Kent told us.
Looking more closely at Jed, I saw the grass stains and rip in his dress pants.
“What happened?” I asked.
Jed looked at Kent and then looked back at me and said, “I slipped in the grass and fell into the ditch.”
Why did I get the feeling that wasn’t the whole story?
“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt,” I said walking towards him to inspect him more closely.
“We need to get this cleaned up and then get out of here,” Jed said, heading towards the broken glass.
We all pitched in. Charlotte and I swept up the glass, while Jed and Kent taped the tarp up.
“We leave in three minutes,” Jed said, “Grab whatever you need.”
Charlotte and I rushed around grabbing a few things, like coats, blankets, water, and snacks and whatever else we saw, while Kent fixed the side door.
Jed had the car idling as we ran out and climbed in.
I was glad I had remembered the new Country Club directory that had just come out. I had seen it sitting on the counter by the phone book.
Pulling it out, as Jed drove, I flipped it open.
Charlotte leaned over with her small flashlight and we scanned the pages one by one, looking for anything that would give us a clue as to who might have Ollie, or where he could be.
As I flipped over the next page, we both gasped. Standing in a picture with the former president, were Ms. Morley and Judge Freeman. Underneath the picture, the caption read. ‘President Bilton, with his arm around daughter Jill Morley, looks on as brother-in-law Judge Freeman retires.’
“Judge Freeman,” I said. “He’s the former president’s brother-in-law. He has a big farm way out in the country towards, Clyde.”
“What do you mean?” Kent asked, turning around.
“Here is a picture of President Bilton before he died. He is standing with Ms. Morley and Judge Freeman. If Ms. Morley is involved, it seems to me, that a perfect place to hide someone would be out at her uncle’s farm.”
“You could be right,” Jed said, as his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw that it was Mike.
“What have you got for me?” he asked.
“We have a man on the way to the Barton’s house. I assume you already left.”
“Yeah, we’re in the car, heading west. We haven’t heard from the kidnappers again.”
“Well, I think I’ve found a tie to Ms. Morley. When her dad died, she was left with her mother’s share of a big country estate out near Clyde. Her uncle just moved out there after he retired, to look after it full time.”
“Let me guess,” Jed said, “Judge Freeman is her uncle.”
“How did you know?” Mike asked surprised.
“Nora just figured it out,” Jed told him. “We think they may have taken Ollie there. We’re going to go check it out. Any movement from Ms. Morley?”
“Not yet, but we’re still watching. Don’t do anything rash. I’ll head towards you now, but I’m probably twenty-five minutes away. If those men you scared off are headed that way, it’s not going to be easy.”
“Keep me posted. I’ll check in with you, after I do some preliminary surveillance. Don’t come in with your lights on and alert them,” Jed told Mike.
“Will do, I’m on my way.”
“Thanks man,” Jed said hanging up.
“We are going to checkout this farm,” Jed said, “Tell me everything you know about it.”
“We have only been there a few times,” I told him. “A few years ago, Judge Freeman hosted a Christmas party out there, and we went with our parents.”
Kent and I tried to remember every detail that we could, as we got closer.
“Here it is,” Jed said pulling over to the side of the road. “I’m going to go see if I can find out anything. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. If I am not back by then Kent, tell Mike where I went and then get the girl’s out of here.”
“What if they see you?” I said anxiously.
“They won’t,” Kent told me, “Jed’s good at this kind of thing.”
Jed nodded his thanks, felt to make sure his gun was secure, and headed out.
Chapter 28
Jed was thankful that he was blessed with good night vision. The moon was not out, and the night was very dark. Kent had given him as many details of the layout that he could remember before Jed left. From what he knew, Jed decided that the best place to hide someone on the property would be the barn farthest from the house. According to Kent, a driveway near the house, led to the pole barn, which was set in a clearing in the woods. It housed the tractor and other farm equipment needed to keep the small estate running.
Judge Freeman had taken some of the men out to see his new antique sleigh during the party.
Jed snuck as silently as he could towards the house, staying in the woods. As he approached the house, he could see that it was dark. The Judge was either not there or asleep. There were no lights on outside either, so all Jed could make out was that it looked like a large ranch house. Jed had to get closer to tell if there was a car in the garage or not. As Jed headed closer, he could hear voices talking from somewhere in the woods behind him.
Realizing that they must be near the barn Kent had been talking about. He quickly strode over to peer in the garage window. It was empty. So whoever was here must have parked at the barn.<
br />
Jed headed in that direction. The small driveway had to be about one hundred yards long, he estimated. Trees on either side lined it. As Jed got closer, the voices stopped talking. Jed crouched down low to the ground as he came around the corner. It was a pretty large pole barn with a big barn light on each corner. The front had a huge sliding door that was probably ten feet tall and a regular entrance door to the side.
A big black sedan with tinted windows was parked in front. It was probably the car the secretary saw Ollie get into. Jed surveyed the area. Sending Mike a text that the perpetrators were in the barn, he waited several minutes looking for any type of movement. Whoever was here must be inside.
Creeping closer, he counted to ten and then ran at a low crouch to the car. Using it as cover, he waited a few more minutes and then moved to the entrance door. Pressing his ear up next to the windowless door, he listened. It was silent. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. Something didn’t seem right.
He checked the time on his watch and saw that he only had two minutes before he had to check in. He could either run back to the car or take his chances without involving civilians, without involving his friends and Nora. Especially Nora. It didn’t take him long to decide. He reached into his waistband and pulled out his gun.
Slowly reaching for the door handle, he quietly turned it and then taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, his gun up and ready.
He knew immediately that it was a trap. Ollie sat in the middle of the room tied to a chair. A man stood next to him with a gun pointed at Ollie’s head. Ollie’s eyes were bright with fear.
Jed quickly scanned the barn. There was no one else inside. Jed had heard talking, so he knew that there had to be another man. He would bet his job on the fact that they were the same men who had tried to break into Nora’s house. Only one was missing.
“Put the gun down,” Jed said, his hands never wavering. Outwardly he appeared calm and in control, but inside he was practically shaking with anger. How dare they threaten kids! How dare they threaten people he cared about. The missing man worried him, his neck was positively itching.
“I don’t think so,” the man said, his eye darting behind Jed. He looked nervous.
“You ok, Ollie?” Jed asked.
Ollie nodded.
“Where’s your partner?” Jed asked. As soon as he asked it, he knew the answer. He could see the relief in the other man’s eyes. His partner had arrived.
“I’m right here,” a man said from behind Jed. Jed winced as a man stepped through the door, a gun in his hand.
“Put your gun down,” he said, then sneered. “You made a mistake coming here alone.”
He walked toward Jed, his gun pointed at Jed’s head. When he was right next to him, he said, “Drop it slowly.”
Jed knew he had no chance of saving Ollie, let alone himself. He was out numbered. His hand was literally itching to raise his gun and take out the man with the gun to Ollie’s head. If Jed had been alone, he would have gone for the shot. He didn’t want anything to happen to Ollie, or to the others. Knowing he had no other choice, Jed slowly dropped the gun and took a step back. It was up to Mike and the group now.
“It’s been over fifteen minutes. He’s not back. Something’s happened,” I said, starting to panic.
“Calm down, Jed’s friend Mike should be here any minute. Oh, here he comes now,” Kent said, watching a car approach from behind them.
The car cut its lights, just like Jed had done, as it got closer. Then it pulled in behind Jed’s car. They had parked the cars on the road just past the Judge’s house. They were around a corner, so that anyone coming down the road toward the house wouldn’t see them.
“Stay here. Let me go make sure it’s Mike.”
We watched as Kent climbed out of the car, and walked toward the man getting out of the other car.
As they shook hands, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Mike came around the side and got in the passenger seat as Kent climbed in the driver’s side.
Mike said hello and then got down to business. “Knowing Jed like I do, because he’s not back when he said he would be, he’s in trouble. I just got a call from the officer watching the Morley house. A van with three men just picked her up and they are headed this way. That means that we have about fifteen or twenty minutes before they get here. If Jed was caught in there somehow, we need to get him and Ollie out before reinforcements arrive. The police are following them at a distance, but it’s only one car. Not a lot of back up. It’s up to us. Are you in?”
We all looked at each other and nodded.
“Good. Here’s the plan. Jed sent me a message about ten minutes ago saying that they were holding Ollie in the barn. Kent and I are going to sneak up. If Jed got caught, that means either they had a lookout or there was a motion sensor somewhere along the way. The girls are going to drive the car up the driveway pretending to be lost and looking for directions. That will set the alarm off or distract the guard, giving us time to approach. Do you think you can handle that?”
“I can do it,” I said.
“So can I,” Charlotte seconded.
“Ok. Give Kent and me a few minutes head start and then slowly approach. Kent, pop the trunk. Jed keeps a few supplies in there, just in case.”
“What do we do when we get there?” I asked as Kent popped the trunk.
“Just try to distract them as long as you can. Then get out of there. These guys are dangerous. Go up to the road and wait for us. We need to be ready to get out of here as soon as we can. Things will get much more complicated, if that van of accomplices gets here, before we have a chance to get to Jed and hopefully Ollie.”
The guys got out and went around to the back. Charlotte and I climbed into the front of the car. When the truck shut, Mike held up three fingers as they headed off.
Three minutes. I turned the key forward and looked at the clock. Charlotte and I sat silently and watched the three minutes tick by. It seemed to drag on forever. It was probably the longest three minutes of my life. I just wanted to get in there. Everyone I loved was in danger. Looking at Charlotte I said,” Do you mind if I say a prayer?”
“Not at all,” Charlotte said.
Taking her hand, I bowed my head and sent a quick prayer to heaven, asking God to surround us with angels and bring us out safe. Charlotte gave my hand a squeeze as I said, Amen. We continued to stare at the clock willing it to change. The second the clock changed, marking the three minutes, I turned the car on, put it in drive, and slowly started down the driveway. My hands were sweaty as I gripped the steering wheel tightly.
When we got to the house, I turned left down the drive that led to the barn. When we approached, a man walked out into the lighted area surrounding the barn. Rolling down my window, I yelled out. “Hello! Can you help us? We must have gotten turned around back there somewhere and can’t figure out where we are?”
He nodded at us and yelled back, “Just a minute,” before leaning back in the barn. He was probably telling someone inside, that he was going to be helping us.
From the swagger in his walk as he came toward us, I could tell that he was more interested in checking us out, than in helping us with directions.
As he got closer, I could tell that he was grinning. “How did two beautiful girls like you get lost way out here?” he asked with a teasing chuckle.
“I don’t know?” I drawled in my best flirty voice. “It is so kind of you to help us.”
Charlotte nudged my knee, and motioned with her finger toward the barn. I glanced over out of the corner of my eye, in time to see Kent and Mike sneak behind the black sedan.
The clouds made eerie shadows dance across the clearing and over the pole barn. I don’t know if it was because I hadn’t slept much and there was a slight chill to the air, but chills practically crawled up my spine.
I knew I had to keep the guy talking.
“Do you mind taking a look at the gauges, while you’re here?�
�� I asked, trying to get him to come closer, so that he wouldn’t hear the guys.
“I think something might be wrong with the car,” I said, with as welcoming of a smile as I could manage.
“It would be my pleasure,” he said, swaggering closer. He was of medium height; with close cut average brown hair. He had an unkempt sort of scraggly appearance. His plaid flannel shirt and ripped blue jeans, only added to his unruly appearance.
I rolled the window down further and turned on the overhead light, as I snuck a look toward the barn. Kent and Mike were just sneaking through the door. Ah Oh. I thought they were going to wait for us to leave. What were we going to do now?
There was shouting and a large banging noise from inside the barn. The man by our car, looked up sharply and said, “What was that?”
Thinking quickly, I grabbed the door handle and pushed open the door as hard as I could toward him. I had seen a similar move in the movies and it had worked well. I heard a thud as it connected with some part of his body. I couldn’t tell in the dark. It didn’t knock the guy out, like it did on TV, but he did yell out in agony and stumble backward. Not quite what I had been hoping for.
“What now?” Charlotte yelled, as the man tried to regain his balance and stay on his feet.
“Hand me the bat, Kent threw in the back seat. We have to stop him.”
Charlotte reached behind her and grabbed the bat. Taking it, I jumped out of the car, grabbed my handbag, and ran toward the man. I could hear Charlotte right behind me.
I felt really bad about it, but I closed my eyes and swung the bat at his knee and followed it with my handbag into the side of his head. He howled and went down.
Raising the bat, I hesitated. I just couldn’t bring myself to finish him off. The barn door flew open and Jed, Kent and Mike came running through the door. My knees almost gave out with relief. I was more than happy to turn him over to the guys. I don’t think I am cut out for this kind of thing.
“That’s my girl!” Jed shouted proudly, flashing me a huge grin.
“Good job you two!” Kent told us, running up. “I knew that old bat would come in handy.”
Undercover Justice Page 30
