Ridley could return in an hour or a day, but when he did, he’d be ready for him.
He laid down atop the sofa in the home’s office, and drifted off to sleep within minutes.
***
Two hours later,
Trevor Randolph stood on the dock at his beachfront home and studied the damage he’d done to the exterior of his boat the night before.
The damage occurred as he docked during the height of the storm, when the waves smashed him against the dock. There was a long gouge in the side, and it was just luck that it wasn’t deep enough to break through the hull, still, repairs would cost him thousands.
It was his own fault and he knew it was. He should have stayed where he was or left earlier.
However, if he had done either of those things, then, he wouldn’t have found the mermaid.
“Good morning, lover,”
Trevor looked up at the rail and saw Angie Ward smiling at him, and she was as naked as she was when he plucked her from the sea.
He looked around, while wondering if any of his neighbors were watching them with binoculars.
Let them look, Trevor thought.
Trevor was on the wrong side of forty, balding, and could stand to lose twenty pounds, but if his big mouth neighbor Larry saw him with a woman like this, it would raise his status for years.
“Do you have any coffee, lover?”
“Um sure, but don’t you want to go up to the house first and call someone. Your friends probably think you died when you fell overboard.”
“They probably didn’t even notice. We were all wasted.”
Trevor gazed at her.
“I can’t imagine not noticing your absence.”
Angie smiled.
“Aren’t you sweet, all right, I’ll call.”
“There’s a jacket on a hook by the door there, put that on.”
Angie pouted.
“Why, you don’t like what you see?”
“No, no, I love it, but... my neighbors might see you.”
Angie looked around and saw large homes to the right and left, but they were at least fifty yards away.
“They’re going to spot me from way over there? And besides, I can’t be the first naked girl you’ve had on this beach.”
“Actually, you are,”
Angie put on the jacket.
“I’m just kidding, let’s go.”
They entered the home and Trevor input the alarm code.
“The phone is on the table there, and while you make your call, I’ll go into the kitchen and make a pot of coffee.”
“And after that?” Angie said, and let the jacket hit the floor.
Trevor shook his head in admiration of her body.
“Jesus... I’ll uh, I’ll be right back.”
The instant Trevor was out of sight, Angie headed up the stairs and looked for the master bedroom, when she found it, she searched the bedside table first, before moving on to rummage through the closet.
She found what she was looking for in an old shoebox on the closet floor.
The gun looked new, and it was. Trevor had bought it for home defense six months earlier after a string of home invasions in a neighboring town made him nervous.
A freaking Colt Python, Angie thought, and when she held it, it barely fit her small hand.
“What are you doing?”
The question came from Trevor, who was standing in the bedroom doorway.
Angie raised the gun with both hands and fired.
The recoil bucked her backwards and she wound up laying atop a pile of shoes on the closet floor.
“Holy shit!”
When she scrambled to her feet, Trevor was nowhere to be seen, and in her mind’s eye, she saw him rushing back downstairs to grab the phone.
However, the truth hit her as soon as she rounded the bed.
Trevor was on the floor, lying face down, unmoving, with an exit hole in his back that she could fit her fist in.
Angie returned to the closet, donned a pair of running shorts that reached her ankles, and matched them with a T-shirt that was four sizes too big.
Trevor’s shoes and sneakers were useless, but she grabbed a pair of red flip-flops and headed to the kitchen.
Over a cup of coffee, she cut the back three inches off the flip-flops with a carving knife and then found something to eat. As she chewed, she went over a checklist in her head.
Find Trevor’s car keys, wipe the house for prints, then, return to the boat and do the same. Also, the sheets on the boat had to be destroyed.
She looked up at the clock and figured her time was still good.
Boone had dragged her along on his fishing trips four times in the past, and every time he dropped anchor in a cove and didn’t return home until the following afternoon.
She could get to his house, take care of the tall man that left her to drown like a rat, and clear out without Boone ever knowing she talked.
Angie’s eyes fell on the gun and she remembered the power that exploded from it with a pull of its trigger.
Yes, she would take care of the tall man, and then, just maybe, she’d take care of Boone as well.
The phone rang, startling her, it was the home’s landline, and after four rings, the answering machine picked up.
“Hi, this is Trevor, I can’t come to the phone, but please leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”
The machine beeped, but no message was left.
At the table, Angie was laughing so hard she spilled her coffee.
“No, Trevor can’t come to the phone; he’s too busy being dead.”
She was still smiling when she drove away in Trevor’s car.
CHAPTER 26
Summer parked her rental in the driveway of a house she once lived in with Todd, and the place that Todd still called home.
They had rented it at first because of its proximity to Jessica White’s home, while Summer was deep in her quest to outdo the famed profiler, as she, and not Jessica figured out who was the local arsonist burning down vacant buildings, and thus, gain notoriety.
And the means she and Todd employed to do this?
They set the fires themselves, or rather, Todd did so at Summer’s urging, and to make sure that people were paying attention, Todd set one building on fire while a vagrant was inside, and killed the man. Afterwards, they framed another man for their crimes.
That episode was listed as Chapter 48 in Todd’s Table of Contents.
When Todd answered her knock, Summer couldn’t help but display her shock at his appearance. She expected the wheelchair since the man had no legs from about the knees down, but she wasn’t prepared for the scruffy beard, the unruly, oily hair, and the gleam of pure hate in his gaze.
“Hi, Todd, it’s ah, it’s good to see you.”
“Get your ass in here you lying bitch.”
Summer entered and found that the home matched the man. There were newspapers and pizza cartons scattered about, along with too many empty beer cans to count. The TV was on in the living room and a late-season hockey game was playing.
“Did you bring the money?”
Summer reached into her purse and took out an envelope that Todd snatched from her hand.
“What the hell is this? There’s only six-thousand dollars here.”
“I know, but it’s all I can afford to give you.”
“Bullshit! Where’s all the money you’re getting for the book?”
“I haven’t gotten any yet. The contract says that they’ll pay me one third upon completion of the first draft, the second third after they make revisions, and the final third when they publish it, and they say the whole thing could take a year.”
“So you haven’t made a penny yet?”
“No, they gave me money for signing the contract, but that was only a little and my agent got fifteen percent of that.”
“When will the first draft be done?”
“Soon, I hope, and when I get it, I’ll give you half.�
�
“No. I want every goddamn penny of it, and you can figure out how to pay your agent too.”
“But, what would I live on?”
Todd laughed.
“The same thing you’ve always lived on, that sweet face and body of yours. Hell, Summer, you can make money anytime you want, but look at me. Who’s going to hire a cripple?”
“It’s not that easy, Todd, and now that I’ve given you all my cash, I’ll be living on credit cards.”
“Boo fucking hoo, go cry somewhere else and let me give you something to think about.”
“What?”
“Unlike you, I’ve finished my book. I’ve got the whole thing written down, and if I don’t see more cash soon, and I mean a whole lot more cash, I’ll sell the damn thing to the highest bidder.”
Summer wiped away a tear.
“Don’t, we would both be in so much trouble.”
Todd spread his arms wide.
“Look around, Summer, how much worse can it get for me? The only thing that keeps me from blowing my brains out is knowing that I’ll soon have enough money so I won’t have to live like a bum. Now get out of here, and don’t come back unless you’re willing to pay real money.”
Summer returned to her rental, where she sat and cried. Todd wanted money, but she saw something else in his eyes. He wanted to hurt her, and money or not, he couldn’t be trusted not to ruin everything.
Summer wiped her eyes free of tears and started the car. Todd would have to be handled, and this time, she might have to do the dirty work herself.
***
Jack Beck left the cab and was greeted at the door of the vacation home by Jessica. Keri was also there, and the two were introduced.
Beck had been released from the hospital and Jessica insisted that he stay with them and then they could all fly back home together. His right wrist was in a cast, but other than that, he was recovered from his ordeal at sea.
Keri shook her head in amazement when she heard his tale of survival.
“You must be in excellent condition, Mr. Beck; I doubt I would last two miles.”
“I try to stay in shape,” Beck said, and while he spoke, he took in Keri’s figure, and although she was nowhere near as sleek and sensual as young Jen Ward, Beck still thought that Keri Taylor was a beautiful woman.
They went into the kitchen and Beck greeted Amanda with a kiss on the cheek, before they all settled at the table for coffee.
Jessica informed Beck about their decision to buy the home and told him that he and his daughter Heather were welcome to use it when they wished, and also informed him that Keri would be the home’s caretaker.
Beck looked over at Keri, who sat across from him at the table.
“You’ll be living here full time?”
“Yes, and I’m still amazed by Jessica’s offer, but I’ll also be going back to work as a nurse soon, luckily for me, the local hospital is hiring.”
“I’m not surprised. The one I was just released from is short on staff as well, I heard the nurses there discussing it.”
“How old is your daughter, Mr. Beck?”
“Heather just turned eighteen and she’s headed off to college soon, and please, call me Jack, Mrs. Taylor.”
“All right, Jack, and I’m Keri.”
A small voice came from the baby monitor and Amanda stood.
“It sounds like the twins have finally woken up. I think all this salt air makes them sleep sounder.”
“I’ll give you a hand,” Keri said, but Beck asked Jessica to stay so that he could discuss her husband.
“Is there any word, Jessica?”
“Yes, he called and left a message. He’s waiting for Boone Ridley to return home.”
Beck tapped the table with his fist, as he felt frustration.
“I hate that he got dragged into this. I should have handled things myself.”
“You were outnumbered and taken by surprise,”
“Still, but tell me, what’s the story behind your friend, Keri?”
Jessica filled him in on Keri and Autumn. Autumn, who was off with Maggie and Cole at the beach,
“That’s tough, and God knows that I would move heaven and earth if Heather ever went missing, but you say that Jace is out looking for the man Rachel was last seen with?”
“Yes, and he’s with two others. Hopefully, they’ll find Rachel.”
“Your husband said the kid had skills.”
“Yes, and if Rachel can be found, Jace will find her.”
***
Jace, Cassandra, and Kelly, had gotten up early and left a note saying that they had gone out for donuts.
They went to the donut shop, but their real intention was to have a meeting to discuss what to do next.
Chip planned to take the boat out, which was fine with them, because they would need privacy when they forced the man and his companions to talk.
Their main goal was to find out what happened to Keri’s daughter, Rachel Taylor, but Cassandra brought up something else with Jace and Kelly.
“You think he’s done this in other places?” Jace said.
“Yes. You’ve seen that boat, heard his stories, the man has practically sailed around the world in that thing, if he’s luring kids aboard and raping them, why would he just do it here?”
“He wouldn’t,” Kelly said, and since the three of them were alone, she was herself again, a young woman with a young woman’s demeanor and attitudes, not the teen girl she’d been playing.
“And although I hate to say it, I also think that he’s been murdering his victims. Think about it, he could dump bodies into the ocean and never fear that they’d be found, much less autopsied for trace evidence.”
Both Jace and Cassandra nodded. They had been thinking as much too, but hated to come out and say it.
“Yeah,” Jace said. “I don’t think Mrs. Taylor is going to have a happy ending.”
“No,” Cassandra agreed. “But we can give her closure, and to do that we have to find out the details of what happened.”
“What about the families of all the other kids? Maybe we need Chip alive and talking at the end of this,” Kelly said.
“We’ll play it by ear, and keep your guard up, especially you, Kelly, you’re the prize they’re after,” Cassandra said.
Kelly had looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Hey guys, I have a plan.”
“We’re listening,” Jace said.
“It’s like Cassandra said, I’m the one that Chip wants, so why don’t we just make it easy for him? When we drop anchor somewhere private, you two go off with Noah and Grace and leave me and Chip alone. By the time you come back, I’ll know what happened to Rachel.”
Jace put up a hand.
“Yo, Kelly, I ain’t trying to diss your skills or nothing like that, but Chip is twice your size. Are you sure you can handle him alone?”
Kelly smiled.
“You guys just make sure you do one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Lead Grace and Noah well away from the boat, otherwise, they might hear Chip’s screams.”
Jace grinned at her.
“Damn girl, I’m glad I’m on your good side.”
***
They returned with donuts and croissants to find that Grace had brewed coffee.
Chip was up on deck, and Kelly, who was back to acting like a teenager, told Grace that she would bring Chip his coffee. From that point on, Kelly acted as if she had a crush on their ponytailed host, and was by his side at the wheel as Chip guided the boat out of the harbor.
Once in open water, Chip let Kelly take the wheel, but stood close behind her, with his hands resting on her shoulders.
Kelly had changed into a bikini, and she was so small up top that she barely had a cleavage, but that didn’t stop Chip from staring at her chest often.
“When we get to where we’re going, Grace and Noah will show your friends a great place we know, there are tons of fish there,
and they can even do some scuba diving.”
“That sounds nice,” Kelly said.
“I won’t be going with them though, I’ll stay behind and set-up a fire so we can grill on the beach.”
Kelly turned her head and smiled up at Chip.
“I’ll stay and help you.”
“Really? Oh, that would be nice, Kelly.”
Kelly smiled again, and the hands that had been on her shoulders slid down along her arms and onto her waist, which was so small that Chip’s hands nearly met in the middle.
Kelly resisted the urge to yank his hands away and concentrated on steering the boat, but when she felt a finger slip beneath the elastic on her bikini bottom, she spun around.
“What are you doing?”
Chip sent her a devilish grin.
“I was trying to see just how far you’d let me go.”
Kelly giggled.
“Later, when there’s no one else around,”
“It’s a date,” Chip said.
Kelly ducked beneath his arms.
“I want another donut.”
When Chip turned away, she looked back at him, eyes narrowing.
Oh, you’ll see how far I go later, there’s nothing I won’t do to make you talk.
Then, the little girl demeanor was back and she made her way towards the galley.
CHAPTER 27
At Boone Ridley’s house, Jessica’s husband was keeping watch and hoping that his prey would return home soon.
He missed Jessica, missed his children, and wanted things to be over, so that he could go back to enjoying his vacation.
Beck said Boone was as strong as they come, but the same could be said for himself. There was a time when he might have sought to find out who was stronger, but maturity and experience have made him wiser than that.
He planned to ambush Boone, plain and simple, and cause the man great pain until he talked and gave up the money. After that, he would kill Boone, hand over the money to Lawson, and head home to his family.
It was a simple plan, and one that should keep him safe and free from harm. He had survived being shot in the back with four bullets and it was not an experience he wanted to repeat. Jessica asked him to be careful, to not take chances, and that was just what he would do. He’d do it for her, for the children, and for himself. Keep things simple, don’t tempt fate, and return home to the family.
The TAKEN! Series - Books 13-16 (Taken! Box Set Book 4) Page 43
