by Jonas Saul
"Close to you emotionally or in proximity?" He smiled and then asked, "What if we get this guy right now? He's supposed to be in the cabin, right?"
"When I first mentioned the cabin, I said we had to work fast because the perp was planning to leave or was leaving at that very moment."
"Are you saying he's gone?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Why would certain information be blocked from you, but other snippets come through? Don't you usually get enough of the picture to be more than fifty percent right?"
"Usually, but I'm being blocked this time."
"Blocked? How does that happen? And who would block you? Or better yet, who would have the talent to know how?"
Dolan shook his head. He shrugged his shoulders like he just lost a baseball game. Oh well, no big deal, his expression said.
Well it was a big deal, Sam thought.
Someone whistled outside. He looked up as one of McKinley's men waved them in.
Sam turned the car on and drove down a gravel road, until he took the left hand turn onto the cabin's private drive. He parked and then he and Dolan exited the vehicle.
McKinley walked up to him. "Sam, we're too late. Looks like they were here recently though. Come inside, I'll show you what we've got."
Sam nodded and looked at Dolan. He was staring off at the trees. Sam followed his gaze and saw nothing there. A soft rain started to patter down around them.
"You coming in?" he asked.
Dolan shook his head. "Just get it over with. I've got some thinking to do."
Dolan stood under a tall pine tree watching McKinley's men coming and going through the cabin.
He considered that maybe everything seemed different this time because the person he was trying to locate also had a psychic talent. Could it work like repelling magnets?
He didn't want his colleagues thinking he couldn't produce results. Yet he knew there would be signs in the cabin to show that Sarah had been here; signs that would vindicate him as a psychic.
He reasoned this would probably be a good time to get more involved in the investigation. Get more hands-on so it would appear to everyone that he was trying to solve this thing too.
He stepped out from under the pine tree and into the light rain. The air held a faint wet wood smell which made him think of the Sky Blue motel.
He stopped halfway to the cabin. Sky Blue? He looked up. Rain came from darkened clouds with no blue sky anywhere. Motel?
Where did that come from?
He trudged up the steps of the cabin. The kitchen area held minor details of residency; utensils in disarray, scraps and crumbs on the counter top, chairs left astride the table.
He could hear McKinley talking about Sarah in one of the back rooms. He headed that way and peeked in. The men were standing by a small desk with books scattered on top.
McKinley turned to him. "It looks like you are good at what you do. Fingerprints in this room at first glance appear to be Sarah's. We'll have confirmation shortly. Now, if you could just lead us to where she is and not where she was."
Dolan nodded at him, turned around and walked out of the cabin. The rain had subsided to a gentle mist. A soft breeze wafted through the trees causing them to serenade him with a billowing leaf hum.
Someone shouting caught his attention. It looked like McKinley's men had stopped a car from entering.
Then he recognized Caleb's voice. What was he doing here? Was Amelia with him? He would have to deal with this. They would want to know where their daughter was. Why wasn't she where he said she would be? Was she still okay? It would all boil down to one thing, was there still any hope?
He hurried up to the road. Sarah's father was out of the car, using his arms to illustrate his frustration at being denied access to the cabin.
Caleb saw him and called him over.
"Did you find Sarah? Is she okay?"
His face looked desperate. Since Caleb hadn't seen his daughter yet and he wasn't allowed on the premises, Dolan figured Caleb was thinking the worst.
"She's gone. We missed her. I'm sorry."
Caleb gasped. A small yip came from inside the car.
"I mean she's not here. There is evidence she was, but we're too late."
Caleb frowned, holding the open door of his car with both hands. "So she's...whoever was here has left the area?"
"Yes."
"I thought you'd done this before. I thought you were the best. What went wrong?"
"Nothing went wrong. The information isn't absolutely accurate all the time. I'm not a fax machine. I don't receive a detailed list and then we all follow the instructions. Only God knows everything." He realized his tone came across harsher than he intended, but everyone needed to take a step back.
"What are you talking about? Either you see things or you don't. These are people's lives you're dealing with. You can't send everyone on wild goose chases."
"It's not that simple. I wish it was, but it's not. She was here, but she isn't now."
One of McKinley's men stepped up between Dolan and Caleb. He told Caleb he would have to clear the road. Get back in his car and move it to the highway.
Caleb mumbled under his breath and leaned down to get in his car. He put it in gear and started to back out.
Dolan turned towards the cabin to see Sam coming out the front door. He was talking on his cell phone. A moment later he flipped it shut and beckoned Dolan over.
"A woman by the name of Denise Hall is being rushed to Liberty Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to her ankle. Emergency crews found her alive along with three dead bodies at an abandoned motel called the Sky Blue."
Dolan stared at him. Sky Blue Motel.
"What's up? You look surprised."
Dolan realized his mouth was open. "I'm not used to having information given to me this way."
"What way?" Sam mocked exaggeration.
"The name of the motel came to me ten to fifteen minutes ago, but that's all I got. Nothing else. Now you come up and tell me things I should've known. It seems to be happening too fast."
Sam flipped open his notebook and scanned down some of the notes he'd made.
"Apparently she owns the building and was recently renovating it. The three dead men were security, although word is they were heavily armed and two of the dead may be attached to the Ward family. The bad news is yet to come."
Dolan nodded for Sam to go on.
"It looks like the FBI has an interest in the Ward family. One of the two dead was an informant. He was one of theirs. And get this. Denise says a teenage girl with missing hair was taken by the guy who shot her ankle."
Dolan was struck with a thought. "What was the woman's name again?"
"Denise Hall."
Dolan snapped his fingers. "That's Esmerelda's daughter. Sarah said something to Mary Bennett about Esmerelda's daughter; something about her getting hurt. So she is psychic." He said this last part to himself.
"Here's why they called us. They found a cop car at the back of the motel. It was stolen earlier in the morning. Local police knew that we're looking for the guy who killed the cop on the side of the highway and stole his car. They wanted to give us the head's up. But they also had a message from this woman. She said the perp told her to tell the police that he was going to finish things his way now. She said the guy told her whatever she tells the police, his boss would hear it too."
Dolan watched Sam as he wiped the edge of his mouth twice. He looked disturbed, bothered.
"What's got me is the message from the kidnapper. If his boss will hear whatever Denise tells the cops, then that would lead us to believe that his boss is in our ranks. The media is concentrating on the cop killer case. There hasn't been media frenzy on the kidnapping so the only people who would be privy to Denise's comments would be everyone working directly on the kidnapping of Sarah Roberts. I'm also concerned about the dead informant, not to mention the Ward family connection. This case is becoming something much bigger than it alread
y is."
Dolan looked away, thinking about Esmerelda. The rain started again. He heard Sam's cell ring. He felt Sam stepping away from him to get out of the rain.
Dolan walked over to a large pine to find a moment's shelter.
The whole time he felt Sam's eyes on him. Things were going wrong fast.
And now everyone on this case was going to be suspicious of each other.
Dolan wondered how he'd get out of this and keep his hands clean.
Chapter 40
Sarah opened her eyes and then snapped them shut. Her tongue lolled around in her mouth like a foreign snake. She lowered her head closer to her hand so she could massage the right temple. Heat from the sun bathed her skin. It made her think she was lying in the desert.
Through half closed eyes she could see her only company was garbage. A gentle breeze pushed a newspaper past chunks of broken glass. Candy wrappers littered an area that looked like a trash bag had been upturned.
She managed to get her eyes open past slits, even as the light from the sun hammered at her head.
She was in what looked like a rundown building that appeared to be abandoned. The windows were gaping holes where glass used to be. Graffiti covered the walls.
She moved both legs back and forth and was elated to find them free, untied. She looked at her hands and found only her left wrist had a leather strap tied to it and bolted. She rolled onto her back. The sun hit her face full on, making her shut her eyes hard.
When she tugged with her left wrist, it caught in mid air. She turned her head to the wall behind her and saw the leather strap was tied with rope to a pipe that protruded from the wall. Like her wrist, it was bolted to the pipe. She tugged again and watched the pipe waver where it was connected. She yanked harder causing the pipe to shake more, bits of the wall falling loose.
She looked around. No one in sight. Her head still pounded, but some things were more important.
In a sitting position, she used both hands to yank on the strap. More drywall crumbled away, but the pipe stood firm. She examined the knot and the thick lock it was bolted with. Coiled as it was, she found it too difficult to pry in her weakened state. A smaller lock kept the leather strap on her wrist. It made her think of some kind of bondage apparatus.
When was the last time she had anything to eat? Her tongue moved through an arid existence, sticking to the inner edges of her mouth.
With both feet placed against the wall she yanked again, using resources she didn't know she still had.
Nothing.
The pipe remained fixed to something behind the wall.
A cooling breeze from the nearest window sailed across her face. She heard footsteps. Someone was coming. She turned around and leaned back, sitting up.
"You're awake."
Her captor walked over to her and sat two bottles of water by her feet. She lashed out, unscrewed the white cap and guzzled almost half the bottle, spilling some down her chin. The water was cool. She felt it hit her stomach, enjoyed the cold feeling in her throat.
She touched the back of her neck where she found some hair. A feeling of ease came over her.
She could handle this.
He was here again. She hadn't gotten away, but she could handle this. Everything was right back where they left off at the motel when she'd given him the slip.
She wondered if her stomach would ever be the same. That nervous pang. The constant butterflies. Could she get an ulcer from being nervous?
"This will all be over within days."
Did that mean he was going to let her go? She didn't think so. He sat down on the floor across from her.
"Do you fear death?" he asked.
Sarah didn't respond. She picked up the water bottle and drank from it again. She didn't know when she'd get another chance. Her fingers seized and pulled hard on the hair nestled in the most sensitive spot at the top of her neck.
"Why are you pulling your hair?"
After she didn't answer, he shrugged his shoulders and sat back, leaning on his outstretched arms.
"I'm surprised you haven't broken yet. I guess some girls take longer than others. Some things are scarier than just losing your life, you know."
Sarah watched him from the corner of her eye.
"I've decided I need to kill someone from your family."
She jerked her head around causing her headache to flare.
"I see now I've got your attention."
She wondered if he was serious or just taunting her. He'd already done so much damage to her family. Her mother would be worried about her and her father was probably pacing back and forth trying to figure out what to do.
"I think I will execute your mother. Then we'll be even. I'll use a car to run her down in the road like you did to my brother. What do you think? Would that be fair?"
"You can't be serious," she said, her hand tightening on the water bottle. Her voice surprised her with its sandy grate.
"After you're dead, I will kill your mother." He did an exaggerated nod of his head, his eyes wide. In that moment she could see the craziness behind those eyes.
Sarah used all the leverage she had to swing the water bottle. It made perfect contact with his cheek, before bouncing off and sliding away on the floor.
She got in a defensive stance. Her breath came out in pants, matching the throbbing in her head.
"You think you're tough? Is that it?"
He got his feet under him and stood up. She eased back against the wall as he walked away from her. He pulled out his cell phone and held it up. It looked like he was checking for signal strength.
"I'm waiting for a call. In the meantime, let me tell you about murder." He turned back to her. "Everyone who dies is making room for the rest of us. Humans are at the top of the food chain. We aren't hunted by anything or anyone other than ourselves. If people only died from old age, the world would be over populated way before now. That's what murder does. That's why we have World Wars; population control."
Sarah slinked back down against the wall. She opened the other water bottle and drank from it. She wondered what her parents were doing right now. Were they close? Would the police rescue her? She didn't have much faith in them, especially after what this guy told the woman when he stole her SUV at the motel. It was looking more and more like she was going to have to get out of this on her own.
She tried to tune him out, but he kept on going.
"Believe it or not, I'm doing something for the greater good when I kill people. Trust me when I say, I will kill you and we'll all be better off."
She understood that he was gone; completely out to lunch. She watched as he frowned, rubbed an eyebrow and turned in a half circle. He lifted his arm, checked the watch on his wrist and then swore to himself.
After clenching his fist a couple of times, he flipped open his cell phone and walked away. A moment later he rounded the corner at the end of the room and left her alone.
She grabbed the rope and started to pull with renewed fervor.
***
Gert hit redial and put the phone to his ear. It rang three times before his employer picked it up.
"What's up?"
"Tell me how close the police are. What's my next move?"
"There is no next move. You've gone too far this time. You're on your own. And don't call me again."
"Wait! What're you talking about?"
"How many people have we murdered in the years you, your brother and I have been doing this?"
"I don't know. Maybe two?"
"Right. You killed three more people at the motel. Not to mention the cop you almost killed when you hit him in the throat. That would've been two cops dead. As it stands, they might be organizing some kind of manhunt. I'm thinking the FBI will be getting involved soon. This is the kind of thing you escape by leaving the country, fuck head."
Gert listened to all this while he leaned against one of the buildings walls. He turned towards it and started to tap his forehead back and fo
rth against the chipped paint.
"My advice is to find out what this girl can do psychically, and then see if you can use it to your advantage. You should keep her alive until you get somewhere safe. They won't hesitate to shoot you if you're alone, but if they know you have the girl, everyone will be more cautious. That's all I can offer you."
Gert's forehead was hurting now, but he kept it up. Life was so frustrating.
"Are you banging your head against the wall again?"
"Yes."
"Why do you do that?"
"Because I like the feeling when I stop."
"You're fucked. I'm hanging up and burning this cell phone. You will never be able to reach me again. Don't forget, no one will believe you if you tell them I was involved."
"I've got proof of your involvement. I go down, you go down too," Gert flipped his phone shut.
He moved away from the wall. He had to think. There was always a way out. He could choose death by cop. Kill as many as he could get before they took him. Besides, he wanted to see his brother again. He was sure, after death, wherever he was going, his brother would be there waiting.
But what was he going to do about the girl? He cursed under his breath. Now he was getting angry. If she hadn't meddled in their affairs, everything would be fine. His brother would still be alive.
He realized more than ever this was past saving. There would be no going back to the old way of life. It was time to start thinking about what country he was going to live in. Mexico, Cuba, somewhere in South America? An image of murder/suicide crossed his mind. Sarah splayed out, blood all over her while he put the gun under his chin. That would have to be a last resort.
He knew the public never really had any idea how many unsolved murders and missing persons were out there. As long as he didn't get arrested for anything or fingerprinted, he was pretty safe.
Although, the police wouldn't stop looking for a cop killer.
He headed to the SUV for a pen and paper. A minute later he walked back into the room that housed his prisoner.
She had been busy. The pipe she was attached to was bent and sticking halfway out of the wall.
