Gone without a Trace

by Patricia Bradley

“It was right after I arrived in Logan Point, around the fifth.”

  “Well, I remember Timothy saying he saw Samantha Jo Sunday morning, but let me make sure.” Livy flipped back to the first of the month. “Here it is.” She raised her head. “He definitely said he saw her Sunday morning. But he couldn’t have if he was on the road.”

  Alex picked up the sketch Abby had drawn. “You know, Timothy Nolan has narrow shoulders, and he’s skinny too.”

  She stood. “I think I want to ask Mr. Timothy Nolan where he was earlier this evening.”

  “I think that’s a good idea, partner. Are you going to tell Ben?”

  “I’ll call him on the way.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Livy pulled into Timothy Nolan’s farm.

  “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home,” Alex said.

  The house was dark. And it surprised her that Timothy didn’t have any security lights. At least the skies had cleared and a half moon gave a little light.

  “Are we waiting for Ben?” Alex asked.

  “Jason’s farm is thirty minutes from here. It’ll be another fifteen or twenty minutes before he can possibly get here. I say we knock on the door and see if Timothy’s mother answers. He says Mrs. Nolan never goes out anymore.” She took a flashlight from the console before she stepped out of the SUV. With the light shining in front of them, they approached the front door through a row of hedges that circled the house.

  “Livy.” Alex’s voice was low, intense. “Someone’s in the trees on your left.”

  Her heart pounded against her ribs as she pulled her SIG from the holster. She wished for her vest. “Do you have a gun on you?”

  “Yeah, my Glock.”

  “Stay here and back me. I’m going to circle around behind him.”

  “Got it.”

  Using the hedge as a blind, she crouched and eased along the side of the house. Leaves rustled. Whoever it was had moved and seemed to be approaching the front of the house. She slipped through a break in the hedge and a shadowy figure stood just beyond her with what looked like a pistol in his hand. She swallowed. Or was it? Blood pounded in her ears. A band squeezed her chest, cutting off air. Justin Caine all over again.

  No! She had a job to do. “Drop your gun.”

  He whirled around.

  “Drop it, or I’ll drop you.”

  He dropped the gun and stepped out of the shadows. “D-don’t shoot.”

  “Jason Fremont? What are you doing here?”

  “L-looking f-for S-samantha Jo.”

  Alex appeared from the shadows and picked up the gun. “Why are you looking for her here?”

  “Samantha Jo showed me the card some nut sent her. And tonight Timothy dropped this.” He reached toward his coat pocket.

  “Stop. Keep your hands where I can see them.” Livy kept her gun trained on him. “See what he’s talking about, Alex.”

  Alex pulled a small card from Jason’s pocket and held it up in the moonlight. “It’s gray like the others and looks like the same card stock.”

  Livy took out her cell phone and called Ben again. “Jason is here at Timothy Nolan’s house.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Looking for Samantha Jo, he says. He has a note card similar to the others. Says he picked it up after Timothy dropped it.”

  “I’m ten minutes away.”

  Livy slid her phone into her pocket and turned to Jason. “You come with us while we see what Mrs. Nolan knows.”

  They climbed the steps to the front door, and Livy rang the doorbell. No one came to the door. She tried the doorknob. “It’s unlocked.”

  “Going in?” Alex asked.

  “Mrs. Nolan has to be here, and she’s not in good health. We need to check on her—she could have fallen.” She pushed the door open. “Mrs. Nolan. It’s Livy Reynolds. Are you okay?”

  Silence answered in the dark room. Livy felt for a light switch. “If you find a switch over there, flip it on.”

  “Got it,” Alex answered.

  She blinked as light flooded the room. “What—”

  Sheets draped every piece of furniture.

  “Think he’s planning on leaving?” Alex folded back the cotton muslin covering a sofa and coughed. “No, it’s been here a while.”

  Why would all the furniture be covered? “Maybe it’s their parlor,” Livy said. She turned toward a door she supposed would lead to a hall and opened it. “Mrs. Nolan. Are you here?”

  The house smelled musty. Alex found a light switch as Livy opened a door off the hallway. A room with more sheets covering the furniture. Another door in the hall revealed a bedroom. This one without sheets. Livy stepped inside as light from the hall illuminated a figure in the bed with long, dark hair splayed across the pillow. She heard Alex fumble for the light. “Mrs. Nolan?”

  No movement; she walked closer. Light flooded the room, and Livy gasped.

  “Oh no.” Alex echoed her feelings.

  “I told you he was crazy,” Jason said.

  Livy swallowed the revulsion in her throat. The dark red hair framed a skull. And in the middle of the forehead was a hole the size of a bullet.

  Timothy nudged Robyn with his foot. Out. Just as well. He grabbed her arm and pulled her limp body where he could slip his arm around her and hoist her over his shoulder. He’d let his guard down again. He should have known better than to put the two women together. At least he should have gone inside the barn with his gun ready. Who would have thought she could climb out of the cage? Not many women could have done it.

  He dumped Robyn in the passenger seat of his pickup. She should be out long enough for him to get rope from the house, and then he would bind and gag her before putting her in the semi. Samantha Jo would be fine in the cage for now.

  Maybe he’d take them to a wilderness area. Yeah. Maybe the hills of East Tennessee. People minded their own business up there. And he knew exactly how to control Robyn. When she came to, he’d show her the photo on his phone of her little girl. If Robyn refused to cooperate, he’d make sure she knew how easy it would be to grab her child.

  Timothy glanced toward the house and froze. Why was his house lit up? He never left lights burning. He scanned the drive, and his heart almost stopped. A white SUV sat near the porch.

  Livy Reynolds drove a white SUV. More lights came on.

  They would find Mother.

  Timothy pressed his hands to his head. He was trapped.

  His boat. It was the only way out.

  The women. What would he do with them? Samantha Jo could walk, but he couldn’t carry Robyn all the way to the river. Maybe he could drive—no, the January rains had washed out the road. He’d leave her behind and take Samantha Jo.

  He ran to the barn door to get his ticket to freedom if they caught up with him before he made it to the river. But he needed a diversion. Like setting the barn on fire. A two-gallon can of gas sat in the back of his pickup, and he grabbed it.

  He dragged Robyn out of the truck and inside the barn and left her lying near the door where she could be discovered. If given a choice of saving her or coming after him, he figured Livy Reynolds would save her cousin. Then he doused the hay with gas and found his acetylene torch and set it near the hay.

  “What are you doing?” Samantha Jo screamed.

  Timothy turned to her. “You want to come with me or stay here and burn up with your friend?”

  “You can’t kill her like that.”

  “I can and I will. Which is it?”

  “D-don’t leave me here. I-I’ll go.”

  “That’s a good girl.” He pulled the gun from his pocket and waved it at her. “Just in case you change your mind when you get outside.”

  He lit the torch and set it a foot from the hay, then unlocked the door and grabbed Samantha Jo by the arm. At the door, he grabbed his .22 rifle and the night goggles.

  The hay whooshed into flames just as he stepped outside with Samantha Jo in front of him.

  Robyn struggled to free hersel
f from the darkness that held her captive. Her nose burned. What was that crackling? She tried to turn over . . . too hard. Heat wrapped around her. The acrid scent of something burning forced her eyes open. Flickering shadows. The crackling grew louder. Almost a roar. She heaved herself to her knees.

  “No!”

  Flames licked the wall. Over her head, the loft burned. She stood, and dizziness overcame her.

  Gotta get out . . .

  25

  A quick search revealed Robyn and Samantha Jo were not in the house.

  “There’s a barn out back,” Jason said.

  Outside, a puff of wind brought the scent of burning wood. Livy turned toward the barn. Flames lit the night sky. “He set the barn on fire.”

  She raced toward the barn, but Alex beat her. The whole building was engulfed.

  “I see Robyn. On the floor.” Alex dashed through the doorway just as a beam dropped from the loft, barely missing him.

  She started in, and Jason grabbed her. “No, you stay here. I’m going in. Samantha Jo may be in there.”

  Livy followed him through the door. The heat hit her like a wave. Alex had lifted Robyn and stumbled toward the door. She swept her gaze around the barn. The only part not engulfed was where they stood. If Samantha Jo was in the barn, it was too late. Flaming boards dangled from the roof. She yanked Jason back.

  “It’s coming down. Get out, Jason! She’s not in here.”

  Livy stumbled out into the barnyard and sucked in fresh air. She knelt beside Robyn. “Are you all right?”

  Robyn nodded. “Where is Samantha Jo?”

  Jason dropped beside her. “Was she with you?”

  “Yes. He must have taken her.”

  Timothy’s truck sat ten yards away, so he was on foot. “How far are we from the river?” Livy asked Jason.

  “Not far. I think he has a jon boat.”

  Sirens sounded faintly in her ears. Ben was on the way, but she couldn’t afford to wait. “Alex, stay with Robyn until Ben gets here. I’m taking Jason and going after him.”

  “Let Jason stay here.”

  “No, he knows the woods and how to get to the river.”

  “Let me go in your place, then.”

  What if she froze again? Livy knew that’s what he was thinking, because she was thinking it too. “I’m the cop here. Call Ben and have him alert the Coast Guard that he may be on the river.” She turned to Jason. “You okay with helping me?”

  “You couldn’t keep me from it. I’ve hunted this land. Shine your light so we can find the road that leads to the river.”

  She scanned the woods and saw an opening. “There it is.”

  What little light they’d had outside the barn disappeared under the canopy of pine trees. She plodded behind Jason, letting him take the lead. “How far do you think it is?”

  “Not more than a half mile,” he said.

  What if Timothy doubled back and ambushed them? She pushed the thought from her mind. He had Samantha Jo with him. Maybe she would slow him down.

  They came to a fork in the road. “Which way?”

  “I don’t know. Let me have the flashlight.”

  He took the lane to the left. In less than a minute he was back. “No signs that he went that way. Let’s try the right lane.”

  She followed him.

  “Look, here’s a broken limb,” he said. “And another one. Maybe Samantha Jo is leaving clues.”

  “How much farther to the river?”

  Gunfire answered her question.

  “Get down!”

  Too late as Jason crumpled to the ground.

  Timothy laughed under his breath when the detective dashed behind a tree. She could run but she couldn’t hide from him and his night goggles. He fired again, and bark split away from the tree. That ought to hold her until he could get away. He would have already been in his boat if it weren’t for Samantha Jo slowing him down. He crawled back to where he’d left her hog-tied and gagged.

  When Timothy reached her, he pulled the slipknot that was behind her back, releasing her legs. “Give me any trouble at all, and you won’t live. Got that?”

  She nodded, her eyes wide.

  A twig snapped, and he whirled around.

  Livy Reynolds was walking toward him.

  Gunfire rang from the woods.

  “Go after her, Alex,” Robyn urged. “I’ll be all right.”

  He hesitated. He’d moved her well away from the burning barn, but what if Nolan came back? The faint wail of sirens reached his ears.

  “Go!” she said. “I’ll be okay until Ben gets here.”

  “Tell him I’ve gone to the river to help.”

  He took off running where he’d seen Livy and Jason enter the woods. Once under the trees, pitch dark surrounded him. A branch slapped him in the face, stinging his cheek. He needed a flashlight. Cell phone. He slipped his phone out and tapped the flashlight app. Light flooded his path.

  Another gunshot rang out. With his Glock in one hand and the phone in the other, he raced in the direction of the gunfire. A fork in the road. Which way? A groan to the right settled it. He rounded a curve in the lane and almost stumbled over a body. His heart plummeted, lifting only slightly when he realized it was Jason. He knelt beside him and put his fingers against his neck. Fast but strong. Jason’s eyes fluttered open. “Where are you hit?”

  “Shoulder. Help Livy.”

  Alex punched off the flashlight and tried to call Ben. No service. “Do you know which way she went?”

  “To the river . . . just ahead.”

  “Ben should be here soon.”

  “Go back to the fork and take the other road. Should bring you out above where he keeps his boat. Maybe you can get him from the rear.”

  “Thanks.” Alex patted his shoulder, and then tapped the light app again. He backtracked to the fork and took the other road. When he came to the river and the trees no longer blocked the moonlight, he turned the app off. No need to broadcast where he was. He jogged along the rocky bank, looking for where Nolan kept his boat. Voices around the next bend reached him, and he froze.

  “Drop your gun, or I’ll shoot her.”

  He recognized Timothy Nolan’s voice. He crept around the bend.

  Nolan held a gun on Samantha Jo.

  Livy slowly walked into the clearing. Near the riverbank, Timothy held Samantha Jo in front of him as a shield. He wore some sort of glasses. Night goggles. So he hadn’t been shooting blindly, but now that they were out of the trees, he’d lost that edge. She estimated the distance at forty feet and moved in closer. She would only get one shot, and she needed every advantage she could get. But what if she froze when the time came? She brushed the thought away. This wasn’t a dark alley, and Timothy Nolan wasn’t some seventeen-year-old kid with a toy gun. But he was a living, breathing soul. Could she pull the trigger? Even to save Samantha Jo?

  “Stop where you are, or I’ll shoot her.”

  “Give it up, Timothy. We found your mother. It’s over.”

  “Leave my mother out of it.”

  “Why did you kill her?” she asked, edging a little closer. Keep him talking, give Ben and Alex time to get here. Where was Ben, anyway? It seemed like this situation had gone on for hours. But in reality, she realized it hadn’t been more than ten minutes since they’d found Robyn in the burning barn.

  Timothy took a step back, taking Samantha Jo with him. The girl yelped, and he drew his arm tighter. “Shut up.” He turned to Livy. “Don’t come any closer.”

  “Do what he says, Samantha Jo.” The girl stood rigid, the whites of her eyes showing. Livy needed her to relax, to remember the self-defense course she taught for the women at church. With her gun trained on Timothy, she moved to the left where the girl partially blocked his view of Livy. “Samantha Jo, it’s going to be okay.” She locked eyes with her. “Remember what I told you at church—”

  “You shut up too.”

  “Sure, Timothy.” Samantha Jo kept her eyes on Li
vy. “You never told me why you shot your mother. She was a sweet lady.”

  A strangled cough came from his throat. “Sweet. About as sweet as a rattlesnake. Sharon Nolan was evil. Pure evil. Locked me in closets when I was a kid. Beat me. People knew what she did, and nobody cared. Nobody tried to save me. She never even remembered my birthday.”

  “When is your birthday, Timothy?”

  “January thirty-first.”

  That explained the dates some of the women were kidnapped. The notes had said something about taking care of the children. He thought he was saving the kids. “Is that why you sent the notes?”

  “They didn’t listen to me. If they’d quit their jobs, I never would have taken them. All they had to do was stay home and take care of their kids.”

  “But I don’t have a kid!” Samantha Jo struggled to get loose.

  He jerked her back with his arm and tightened it around her neck. “Yes, you do!”

  He’d choke her to death if she didn’t do something.

  “No, Timothy. She doesn’t.”

  In the pale moonlight, his brows lowered and uncertainty crossed his face. He relaxed his arm, and Samantha Jo took a breath.

  “Yes, she does.” Timothy’s voice went up an octave.

  He didn’t sound too sure. She didn’t want to shoot him. If she could just talk him into giving up.

  “You’re wrong. You took someone who is a child herself.” She kept her voice calm. “What you’ve done to her is as evil as what your mother did to you. Did you mean to do that?”

  “No! I just want to save the children.”

  “Then start with her. Let her go.”

  “Never!”

  A rock sailed from somewhere to her right, hitting Timothy on the shoulder. He turned and fired.

  “Drop, Samantha Jo!” The girl fell like a hundred-pound bag of feed.

  Timothy swung his arm around, and Livy squeezed the trigger.

  “You did great.” Livy wrapped her arms around Samantha Jo’s shivering body. Three feet away from them lay Timothy’s gun that he dropped when Livy’s bullet hit him.

  “Is it over? Really over?” Samantha Jo’s lip quivered.

  “Yes.” She’d done her job. Stopped a murderer. But knowing that didn’t ease the tension of having to shoot him to do it. She looked over the girl’s shoulder for Alex. He’d climbed down the rocks to the river’s edge, where Timothy’s body had landed.