Into Thin Air

by Karen Leabo

  “Well, last time, Terri threw a pork chop at Odell. That made her pretty mad. And Jenny—she’s not with us anymore—she started punching this other girl.”

  Amanda resisted the urge to ask just exactly where Jenny was.

  “But what are you gonna do about the dogs?” Henry asked. “Phoebe probably wouldn’t hurt you, but that Bella is mean.”

  Amanda already knew that. Apparently the German shepherd had attacked Terri during one of her many foiled escape attempts. “Could you bring the dogs inside?” Amanda asked hopefully.

  He shook his head. “Bella won’t obey me, only Aunt Odell. And I don’t aim to get my arm bit off, no thanks.”

  “Well, I’ll think of something. You just work on those bars...please?” she added quickly, so that Henry wouldn’t think she was bossing him around.

  “I’ll try,” he said.

  * * *

  Austin was feeling pretty pleased with himself. Chief Raines had jumped at the chance to take some sort of positive, dramatic action toward catching a serial kidnapper. He was pleased that Austin had found ways to implement the plan for less money, and he’d okayed the overtime with hardly a blink. After the meeting, it had taken less than two days to get everything in place. Virginia had left the message, and Odell had returned her call right on schedule, less than an hour ago. The psychologist had informed Odell of a patient named Marie Plummer, using all of the details Austin had supplied. Austin had listened to the taped conversation, and Virginia had done a damn good acting job.

  Now all that remained was to wait for Odell to take the bait—admittedly the iffiest part of the operation. Despite Chief Raines’s enthusiasm, he would give this operation no more than a few days to produce results. The budget simply couldn’t bear more than that.

  Austin watched as Caro took a tour of her new digs.

  “Not bad, not bad,” she said, raking her finger over a countertop and inspecting it for dust. Her cat, which she’d insisted on bringing with her to the rental house, jumped onto the counter and butted his head against her arm. She petted him absently. “All in all, this isn’t bad for an undercover assignment. But I have to tell you, I feel ridiculous in these clothes.”

  “You look terrific.” He had taken her to Northpark Mall and dragged her into a store that specialized in teen fashions, then picked out several outfits for her to try on. She’d bucked and hollered the whole time, but in the end she let him buy her a few things that would supplement her own wardrobe, to make her look a little more youthful. He’d purposely chosen some items that showed off her figure—more so than those oversized sacks she was so fond of. It was that, more than anything, that she was uncomfortable with.

  Austin couldn’t imagine why. She had a lean, supple-looking body a lot of women would kill for. But given the way she underplayed her natural beauty, he suspected she had problems dealing with her more feminine side, especially working in such a male-dominated field. She probably spent a lot of time defending her abilities to the various rednecks and chauvinists she encountered.

  “Yeah, I’d say it’s a pretty cushy assignment,” he said. “You get to watch TV all day, eat food provided by the police department....”

  Caro wasn’t listening. She was busy inspecting the kitchen. “Okay, who bought this food?”

  “I did.”

  “I should have figured. Frozen pizzas, frozen burritos, microwave popcorn, three flavors of Doritos, and enough Hostess snacks to give the entire Dallas Cowboys a sugar high. Do you ever eat anything green, Lomax?”

  “I like guacamole.”

  She made a sound of definite disgust. “Never mind. You said I would have two detectives guarding me at all times. Who’s the other one?”

  “He’s on his way. We’ll both work a twelve-hour shift. At night you’ll have Penny Hart with you. Raines didn’t think it was necessary to have two people at night.”

  Caro smiled in obvious pleasure. “Oh, good, I like Penny. I was afraid you would stick me with some old fogy who wouldn’t be any fun. Sometimes the most dangerous aspect of an undercover assignment is the possibility of dying of boredom.”

  “Not while I’m around,” he assured her. He opened the case he’d brought with him from home. “Videotapes, everything from Casablanca to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I also have Nintendo, Game Boy and, if you’re not into electronics, a couple of decks of cards. It’ll be like a regular vacation.”

  “Yeah, except you don’t have to wear this body mike with all this itchy tape. Where did you get this historical artifact, anyway?” she asked, gingerly touching the microphone beneath her shirt. “Why couldn’t I get one of those new mikes, the all-in-one jobs that look like beepers?”

  “Blame it on Narcotics. They get all the good, new techno-stuff, and we have to beg for their cast-offs.” Actually, he didn’t mind that they were using the old-style microphone, especially since he’d helped to install it on Caro’s body. How else would he ever get a glimpse of her bare midriff, or any excuse to touch her there, even if it was only to wrap tape around her? There was little chance they would need the mike, anyway. He didn’t intend to let Caro far out of his sight during the day, and it was doubtful Odell would actually attempt to break into the house at night.

  The doorbell rang, and Caro went to answer it, with Austin just out of sight, listening intently. It was extremely unlikely that Odell would strike this soon, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

  “Tony!” Caro exclaimed, opening the door wider. “Don’t tell me you’re my other watchdog.”

  “You were expecting maybe Chief Raines himself?” Tony sauntered in, grinning, as Austin relaxed and stepped around the corner. “My first day on the job in CAPERS and what plum assignment do I get?” He let the question go unanswered.

  “It’s about time you got here,” Austin said, letting his irritation show. Despite his teasing Caro, he was nervous as hell about the outcome of this plan. If it succeeded, he would have firmly established his reputation. If it flopped, he might spend months, years, redeeming himself.

  “Hey, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Tony said. “I wasn’t about to leave you two alone in an empty house for long. You might get distracted and forget all about catching a kidnapper.”

  Caro hit him on the arm—and it wasn’t just a friendly little punch, either. “Cut it out, Villaverde,” she said, her face turning pink. “I’ve had enough, okay?”

  Tony winced and rubbed his arm. “Okay, I get the message. What’s the game plan?”

  Austin was quick to take charge. “One of us will be stationed in a back bedroom, keeping an eye out the window at the street and monitoring the microphone, if necessary. If anyone approaches the house, I want to know about it in plenty of time. The other will keep Caro company.”

  “I think I can manage to keep myself entertained, thanks,” she said, looking down her nose at them.

  “All right, then, the other will patrol the house, checking all of the windows regularly and keeping the undercover officer in visual contact at all times,” he said, falling back on impersonal jargon. No matter how pleasant a diversion this operation might be, it was still dangerous, especially for Caro, and he didn’t intend to take his responsibilities lightly. “We know that at least one of the girls, Julie Yates, disappeared from her home, so it’s not unreasonable to expect Odell to show up here. Two of the girls, however, were apprehended when they were away from home. So if nothing has happened by tomorrow, we’ll venture out in the van.”

  “To the grocery store,” Caro added. “That is, if we’re not all dead from junk-food poisoning by then.”

  Tony, who seemed a little wary of Caro’s less-than-cheerful mood, not to mention her punches, volunteered for the first shift in the back bedroom, leaving Austin alone with her. Although Austin had been hoping for an opportunity to spend some time with her and explore the real reasons she wanted to keep him at arm’s length, he wasn’t sure this was the best time. Caro seemed antsy, unable to foc
us on anything for very long.

  He tried to teach her how to play a Mario Bros. video game, but she gave up in frustration after only a few attempts. Then they tried poker—which he’d sworn he would never play with her because she was so good at hiding her feelings—but she lost almost every hand and gave up on that, too. Television proved to hold just as little interest. Her attention span didn’t stretch even to a half-hour game show, and before long she was pacing the house like a caged cat.

  “Anything wrong?” Austin asked.

  “I guess I’m not very good at sitting around and waiting,” she said. “Even when I was an undercover prostitute, I was doing something.”

  “Yeah?”

  She flopped down in an old recliner. “You know, walking around, talking to people, fending off johns and trying to make it look believable that I didn’t want a new customer. I told them I was already booked and I was waiting for my next appointment.”

  Austin smiled. He would’ve liked to see Caro dressed up like a hooker, just for the novelty. “Well, I can’t provide any activity quite that interesting, but if there’s something else you’d rather be doing...” He knew what he’d rather be doing. He’d like to give that body mike she was wearing a real good test. When she didn’t reply, he turned off the TV and added, “We could just talk.”

  She surprised him by agreeing. “Okay. You want something to drink?”

  “Yeah, I’ll make some coffee. And I bought you some of that herbal tea you like.”

  She actually smiled at him. “Thanks.”

  As they puttered around in the kitchen, Caro’s nervous chatter was incredibly revealing. Austin learned about her small-town upbringing, her law-enforcement parents, the tough time she’d had in the police academy, always trying to look harder and meaner than anyone else to make up for her small size.

  Noticeably absent in her dialogue was any mention of romantic liaisons. Austin decided he couldn’t let that go unchallenged. “You ever been married?” he asked.

  “No, have you?”

  “Who’d have me?” he quipped.

  “Oh, I expect if you really had your mind set on hearth and home, you could trick some poor, unsuspecting female into marriage. After all, you’re over thirty, gainfully employed and not painful to look at. Any single woman of a certain age will tell you, those credentials are pretty impressive.”

  He took inordinate pleasure in the compliment, though it had been delivered with tongue firmly in cheek. “Okay, so maybe I don’t really want to be married. What about you?”

  She shrugged. “I came close once. And I’m not even sure why I chickened out, except it just didn’t feel right. The idea of spending fifty or sixty years with the same person is a little daunting. Of course, the older I get, the shorter that future gets. Maybe by the time I’m eighty, marriage won’t seem so scary.”

  “I hear you.” He toasted her with his coffee. “Do you still see the guy?”

  “Oh, God, no. He was pretty ticked off about the whole thing.”

  “Are you seeing anybody?” he couldn’t help asking.

  Wariness immediately showed in her eyes. “No.” She quickly changed the subject. “I’m going to take Tony a cup of coffee. While I’m gone, you might be thinking about your life story, because I intend to give you the same type of grilling you just gave me.”

  He watched her sashay out of the kitchen. Grilling? He’d thought he was just making conversation. Well, okay, so he was asking most of the questions and she’d been providing the answers. Maybe if he reciprocated, giving her the scant details of his mostly routine and unglamorous past, she wouldn’t be so afraid of letting him into her life.

  * * *

  Amanda’s stomach was so tied up in knots she could hardly eat her roast beef and mashed potatoes. But that was all right. She had other plans for the meat. While Odell was occupied cutting her own slice of beef, Amanda rolled hers up and stuck it up the sleeve of her sweatshirt. The ham from her lunch sandwich was in the front pocket of her jeans.

  All the planning she and Terri had done during those late-night Morse code sessions, all the brainstorming, all the preparations, boiled down to this evening. What she accomplished during the next few minutes might well determine whether she and the other girls lived or died.

  Henry had informed her this morning during exercise that everything was ready. The basement window security bars were loose, the hole under the fence had been dug. He’d told her that if she headed due east she would arrive at a town called River Rock, although it would be a good ten-mile hike. He had agreed to meet her at the Dairy Queen the following day, give her a little money and help her find a place to stay. Not that she intended to get anywhere near Henry once she was free of this place!

  Now all that remained was to set her escape in motion. And that meant relying on her limited acting abilities.

  At least one thing was working in her favor. Odell was already in a foul mood. She’d been gone most of the day, leaving Henry in charge, and when she returned she’d been wearing a black scowl. Amanda wondered if she’d been on a kidnapping mission that had gone awry. Ever since the day Heather had miscarried and subsequently disappeared, Odell had been more on edge than normal.

  But she wasn’t so preoccupied that she couldn’t deliver her nightly sermon. Tonight’s lesson was Brotherly Love. How ironic.

  Amanda knew that if she put it off much longer she would lose her nerve. After taking a deep breath, she pushed herself away from the table and lurched to her feet. “Stop kicking me!” she screamed at Terri, who sat across the table.

  Odell stopped talking midsentence, and everyone stared in astonishment. After her first couple of days at the home, Amanda had been notoriously mild-mannered.

  “Amanda, sit down,” Odell ordered.

  “Not until you make her sit somewhere else,” Amanda said, pointing at Terri. “Every meal she kicks me, and I’m sick of it.”

  “Sit down!” Odell repeated, more forcefully this time. “I don’t want to hear another word from you.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well, too bad. I’m sick of being quiet, and I’m sick of your Bible lessons and I’m sick of this whole place!” With every word Amanda shrieked a little more loudly, as if she were losing control. She flipped over her dinner plate, spilling gravy and peas everywhere. When Odell tried to grab her by the arm, Amanda eluded capture just long enough to pitch her glass of milk into Odell’s face.

  Odell was so shocked that for a moment all she could do was stare in open-mouthed horror. Amanda took the opportunity to strike again, leaping on Odell and wrapping her hands around the old woman’s throat. She felt a surge of power flow through her. She was no longer acting. Her hatred toward Odell flared all around her, a palpable force, and if Henry hadn’t pulled her off she could have done some real damage.

  She fought against Henry, too, until she realized that if she made Henry mad he might foil her plans. So rather than punching or kicking, she resorted to verbal abuse. “Let go of me, you big ox!” she screamed.

  He held her arms fast, and Odell delivered a stinging slap to Amanda’s face. “What’s gotten into you, child?” Odell demanded.

  “The devil,” Amanda replied, her eyes watering from the slap. “You’re the one who called me a sinner.”

  “But I’m giving you the opportunity to atone for your sins,” Odell said, sounding more bewildered than angry now.

  That wasn’t what Amanda was after. Grappling with her courage, she spit on Odell. “There’s your atonement.”

  Odell closed her eyes, her hands bunched into fists, as if she had to control the urge to beat some sense into her wayward sheep. “Henry, take her to her room.”

  “No! I won’t go to my room.” Amanda renewed her struggle, although she was careful not to do anything that would actually hurt Henry.

  Henry spoke up for the first time. “Aunt Odell, do you want I should put her in the basement?”

  Amanda held her breath. Henry couldn’t have delivered a bet
ter line if it had been scripted and rehearsed. At that moment she could have kissed him.

  After a tense moment, Odell nodded. “Yes, that’s an excellent idea.” She looked squarely at Amanda. “I think you’ll benefit from some quiet time to contemplate your sins.”

  “Why the basement?” Amanda asked, feigning alarm.

  “Oh, you’ll like the basement,” Henry said as he started to drag her away, one of her arms doubled behind her back. His grip was painful, and she wondered if he wasn’t enjoying his part in this drama a bit too much, but she couldn’t really complain. He’d done his job well.

  The basement stairs were off the kitchen, within hearing distance of the dining room, so Amanda put up a believable fight. “Wait a minute. Why do I have to go in the basement? Hey, it’s dark down there. Can’t you turn on a light?”

  Henry very nearly pushed her down the stairs and then slammed the door, leaving her in absolute darkness.

  Chapter 15

  Amanda’s heart felt like a jackhammer inside her chest. She’d done it! Stage one of her plan had proceeded without a hitch. She hadn’t counted on the total darkness, however. She groped along the wall for a light switch. Finding none, she felt her way gingerly down the unstable wooden steps. Basements weren’t common in Texas, so she’d never been in one before and, in fact, hadn’t ever seen one except in movies and on TV. She could easily give herself a first-class case of the willies.

  No, that was ridiculous. She’d come this far. She could handle a little darkness and a musty smell.

  Her next step was to locate the window. Was there more than one? She hadn’t thought to ask Henry that. She might have to try several before she found the one with the loose bars. And it was so damn dark she didn’t know where to start. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the blackness, she should have been able to discern faint exterior light through the windows—moonlight, starlight, something. But she might as well have been submerged in a bucket of tar for all she could see.

  She knew the wall to her left faced the dining room; obviously it wouldn’t have a window. So she groped along it until she came to a corner, then began exploring the new wall with her hands, running them along the grainy concretelike surface from chest level to as high as she could reach.