Abducted (Lizzy Gardner Series #1)

by T. R. Ragan

  At closer view, she noticed something odd about the way his head was angled to one side. And then she saw blood and her only thought was that it was over. He had won. Spiderman had gotten what he wanted. He knew her all right. He knew the only way to destroy her was to destroy those closest to her.

  Ronald Holt’s skin was ash grey. His neck had been sliced clean through. Blood oozed from his wound and onto his newspaper. She opened the passenger door, leaned toward him and put her thumb and fingers around his wrist, checking for a pulse. Nothing. He was dead. She shut the door and moved quickly toward the house, keeping a steady pace as she pulled her phone from her pocket and crossed the street. Her hands shook. Her body, too. Before she could call Jared, her phone rang.

  “Lizzy—”

  “Brittany! Thank God! We’ve been looking all over for you.” She put a hand to her chest. “Where are you?”

  “I’m scared, Lizzy.”

  The front door was wide open. Lizzy could see her sister rushing through the house.

  Brittany’s voice was small and frightened. Lizzy sank to her knees right there on the sidewalk. “He has you?”

  “Please help me, Lizzy.”

  “Is he there with you now?”

  “Yes.”

  She had to think fast. “Where are you?”

  “I’m—”

  Brittany’s voice was cut off. Someone was still on the line. He could hear every word. “Brittany,” she said.

  “Yes,” a small voice answered.

  Lizzy talked fast. “Talk to him, Brittany. You must talk to him. Distract him. Talk about everything, anything. Don’t stop talking until I can find—”

  Click. Silence. No!

  Cathy was hovering over her. Her sister’s eyes were wide, her face pale. She reached for Lizzy’s phone. “Is that Brittany? Can I talk to her?”

  The phone dropped from Lizzy’s hand and onto the lawn. “He has her. Oh, God, Cathy, he has our Brittany.”

  Chapter 35

  Monday, February 22, 2010 6:14 PM

  The crime scene had been taped off and a half dozen law enforcement agencies scoured the grounds surrounding Cathy and Richard Warner’s house. Ronald Holt’s vehicle was being checked for fingerprints. His body had been bagged and taken to the lab for analysis.

  Jimmy Martin was inside the house asking Cathy questions about Brittany, about her friends and her hobbies. Brittany’s room was being examined for clues. It didn’t take them long to discover that Brittany had been spending a lot of time on the Internet.

  “I have no idea who i2Hotti might be,” Cathy said. Her eyes and nose were red and blotchy from crying. She was sitting on the couch rocking back and forth when Richard shot through the door, demanding to know what was going on.

  He marched up to Lizzy and wagged a finger in her face. “What the hell did you do with my daughter?”

  “Ease up,” Jared warned.

  “Who are you?”

  Jared flashed his badge.

  “Spiderman has Brittany,” Cathy said from across the room.

  Richard lifted a fist as if he was about to take a shot at Lizzy. Jared took a hold of Richard’s wrist and twisted his arm around his back. “Are you going to calm down or am I going to have to cuff you?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  After a moment, Jared released him. Defeated, Richard made his way to the couch and took a seat next to Cathy. “Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?”

  Tuesday, February 23, 2010 1:15 AM

  Brittany opened her eyes. Everything in the room looked unfamiliar and blurry. She blinked, hoping the dizziness and nausea would pass.

  “Are you awake?”

  Brittany’s heart raced as she tried to zero in on the voice and where it was coming from.

  “I’m down here.”

  Disoriented, it took Brittany a moment to recall bits and pieces of her day. This morning, she had asked her mom for a note to let the school know she would be leaving ten minutes early for her orthodontist appointment. Instead, she changed the time on the note and left school an hour earlier so she would have time to meet with i2Hotti. Her plan was to leave her mom a message, telling her that her braces were fine, after all, and they could cancel the appointment. Nobody would be the wiser.

  But nothing had gone as planned.

  Instead of her dream boy, Brittany had been surprised to see Dr. McMullen pull up to the curb. He rolled down the window and told her to hop in. When Brittany hesitated, he said her mom had called his office to say she would be late, so Dr. McMullen had offered to pick Brittany up himself. None of it had made much sense at the time. If Mom called him, why was he so early? And how could she tell her orthodontist she was waiting for a boy? Her only choice was to go with him.

  Still, she’d been reluctant to get into his car. He was a stranger, wasn’t he? But if she didn’t go with him, Mom would be angry and probably ground her for life. Then her computer would be taken away and she’d never meet i2Hotti.

  Noticing her reluctance to get into his car, Dr. McMullen told her to call her Mom, which she did, but there was no answer. She called Dad next, but again...no answer. So, Brittany climbed inside his SUV and put on a seatbelt.

  Besides, he wasn’t really a stranger. And her mom liked him. A lot.

  She hadn’t worried after that...not until Dr. McMullen passed the road they needed to take to get to his office. That’s when she knew something weird was going on. The last thing she remembered was coming to a stop and seeing the white cloth in his hand right before he shoved it over her nose and mouth and held tight.

  “Can you hear me?”

  Brittany lifted her chin. She had dozed off again. “Yes,” she said. “I can’t see very well. Everything’s blurry.” Brittany tried to move her arms, but her wrists were held in metal cuffs stuck to the wall. She tried to pull free, but it was no use. She saw movement on the floor in front of her. “Is that you on the floor?”

  “Keep your voice down. The man who took you is a nut case. I think I heard the front door open a moment ago, but I’m not sure. If he knows you’re awake, he might come in here to check.”

  “Are you bleeding?” Brittany asked the girl.

  “Do bears shit in the woods?”

  “Oh.”

  “Yes, I’m bleeding. If he comes back,” she whispered, “shut your eyes and let your head slump forward so he’ll think you’re still passed out.”

  “Why? What will he do?”

  “Who knows? He’s a sick bastard, that’s for sure. You’re not afraid of spiders, are you?”

  “A little.”

  “That sucks. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you act afraid he’ll just keep doing whatever it is that scares you. He feeds on fear.”

  Brittany tried to wriggle her arms free again, but it was no use. The metal bands were fastened to the wall by thick chains on each side of her. As her vision improved, she noticed one of the fasteners loosen from the wall. She tugged harder. Crumbs of sheetrock fell to the ground.

  “What are you doing?” the girl asked.

  “Trying to get out of here.” Brittany looked at the girl and gasped. The girl was naked. Her arms and legs were tied with ropes fastened to metal hooks in the floor. Her legs were spread wide, her hands tied above her head in a Y. There was blood everywhere.

  Brittany squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to barf. Reddish blotches covered the girl’s stomach, legs, and arms. Tears trickled down Brittany’s face.

  What had he done to the girl? Did Dr. McMullen do that? Or someone else? Her gaze focused on the girl’s hand. “Did he cut off your finger?”

  “Yeah. He didn’t like my tattoo.” Hayley gestured toward the wall where the sheetrock had crumbled. “Is that screw loose?”

  Brittany wiggled her arm again. The sheetrock crumbled some more.

  “Do you think you can break loose from the wall?”

  “I don’t know,” Brittany said. “Maybe. I’m afraid I’ll make to
o much noise if I pull too hard.” She didn’t want to see the man who had done these horrible things. Why was she so stupid? Why had she gotten into his car?

  “Just keep doing what you’re doing for as long as you can,” the girl said. “What about your other arm?”

  Brittany tried to move her other arm. It was no use. Nothing happened.

  “One arm might be enough. If you can break free, you can use the chain to strangle him.”

  “I don’t think I’m strong enough to do that.”

  “It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. He’s a crazy bastard and he’s going to kill us if you don’t. Just remember that. Besides, he’s injured. You can do this. I know you can.”

  Tuesday, February 23, 2010 1:31 AM

  Jared picked up his phone on the first ring.

  The woman on the other end said hello. She said her name was Karen, the tipster who had called the FBI to say she thought her brother might be the killer.

  “Is this Jared Shayne?”

  “This is him.”

  “I need you to meet me at 5416 Wise Road in Auburn. Take Interstate 80 to Ophir, then make a left on Wise Road.”

  Jared swallowed his frustration. “There are two girls missing. We need a name, Karen.”

  “Please come quickly.”

  She ended the call and Jared had no choice but to check it out. Unable to sleep, he’d been driving around. The car was one of the places where he did a lot of thinking. He pulled over and shuffled through the glove compartment for his portable navigator. Pictures fell from an envelope and onto the passenger seat, pictures his sister had given him months ago. He glanced at a few of the photos taken at a family reunion years ago, then grabbed the navigator, logged in the address Karen had given him and headed for Auburn. The night was cold; the streets were empty. He grabbed the photo on top and gave it a closer look before returning his gaze to the road. In the picture, his parents stood tall behind Jared and his sister. Everyone looked happy, everyone except his mother.

  His phone rang again. This time, it was Jessica, Lizzy’s assistant. Two o’clock in the morning and suddenly everyone wanted to talk. “What’s going on?”

  “Do you know where Lizzy is? I’ve been trying to get a hold of her.”

  “She’s staying at her sister’s house. It’s a little early for phone calls, or late depending on how you look at it. Where are you?”

  “I’m still in the hospital. The doctors won’t sign a release yet. I wanted to talk to Lizzy, but she’s not answering her phone. That’s odd, don’t you think?”

  “Jessica.”

  “Yes?”

  “Go to sleep. I’ll be seeing Lizzy in a few hours. I’ll make sure she calls you.”

  Jessica didn’t respond, but he could hear her breathing. “Jessica, please stay put. I don’t need any more missing people, alright?”

  “Okay,” she finally said. “But please call me the moment you hear something.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Jared pulled his car into the driveway at the address Karen had given him. The neighborhood was upscale: every house color coordinated, complete with flagstone walkways and tranquil water features. He stepped out into the chill air. The brightness of the moon provided enough light to see unread newspapers piled around the garbage canisters. The lawn was green and well-manicured. The front door was open. A woman stood there, holding a cloth over her nose.

  “I’m Karen,” she said as she lowered the cloth and offered her hand. “Thanks for coming.”

  He shook her hand and followed her inside. The cloth over her face suddenly made sense. The stench was overpowering.

  “Is this your house?”

  She shook her head. “As far as I know this is where my brother used to live.”

  “You’re not sure?”

  “I haven’t seen him since I left for college over twenty years ago.”

  “That’s a long time.”

  “Yes.”

  “Where is your brother now?”

  “I don’t know. I live in Italy with my husband and kids. I came to the States to find him.”

  “Why?”

  Her gaze fell to the floor. “I wanted to apologize to him for something that happened a very long time ago...when Sam was only ten.”

  “Is that your brother’s name? Sam?”

  She nodded. “Samuel Jones. His wife is Cynthia.”

  He heard sirens in the distance.

  “After I called you, I called the police.”

  “Mind if I look around?”

  “Go ahead,” she said with a subtle flick of her wrist. “I was here days ago. I looked around but didn’t find anything. I figured the stench was from a dead rodent. At least until I saw the sketch of the killer on the front page of the Sacramento Bee.”

  “And then what changed?”

  “I recognized the man in the picture. That’s when I knew the killer was my brother and that the smell in his house wasn’t because of a dead rodent at all.”

  “What’s causing the smell, Karen?”

  “Cynthia. I’m guessing he killed his wife, but I don’t know where he put the body.”

  She followed him from room to room as he searched under beds and in closets. The smell was strongest at the end of the hall. He looked up at the outline of an access door leading to the attic and that’s when he knew exactly where Cynthia’s body had been hidden.

  Tuesday, February 23, 2010 2:14 AM

  “Lizzy! Let me in!”

  This was it. It was now or never.

  Lizzy’s heart thumped hard against her chest. Her time was running out. If she was going to escape, it was now or never.

  She jumped from the edge of the tub to the window ledge. It was no simple jump. She was small, thin and weak, but she had made it. Her arms burning, her legs pumping, her feet pushing and then slipping and sliding against the tile wall as she tried to squeeze her body through the ridiculously small window.

  The door rattled. No. Not yet. He was coming.

  Her heart pounded against her chest. She was never going to make it. The thumps against the door grew louder, stronger. She was almost there, halfway out the window, but what was that ringing?

  Lizzy jolted awake. It took her a moment to find her cell phone under the covers. She flipped open her phone. She’d fallen asleep in Brittany’s bed. Remnants of her dream clung to her foggy brain as she held the phone to her ear.

  “We found his house, Lizzy. The house belonging to Samuel Jones.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Apparently he was married. He killed his wife, stabbed once in the heart, left her to rot in the attic. I’m at the house now.”

  “What about Hayley and Brittany? Are they there?”

  “I’m sorry, Lizzy. Nobody else is here, and we haven’t been able to trace Samuel Jones to a place of work or any other address. I’m working on it,” Jared said. “I have to go. I’ll call you when I’m done here.”

  Lizzy hung up the phone. She had to do something. She’d fallen asleep fully dressed. She grabbed her coat from the chair in front of Brittany’s desk. Her phone vibrated, which meant she had a text: “Meet me at the corner of Granite and Third Street in ten minutes. No car. No one else is to know you’ve left the house. Come alone or your niece is dead.”

  Spiderman was texting her.

  How far away was Third Street from her sister’s house? Lizzy went to the window. Two unmarked cars were parked out front. She grabbed pencil and paper and scribbled a quick note. Time was running out. She took quiet steps down the stairs. Somebody was in the kitchen. She made it out the back door in under two minutes. Eight minutes left.

  Chapter 36

  Tuesday, February 23, 2010 2:27 AM

  Lizzy stood on the corner of Third Street, her hands propped on her knees as she caught her breath. Through the fog she saw approaching headlights. She couldn’t see the color or make of the car, but she knew it was him. He stopped the vehicle in front of her. She didn’t hesitate to
open the door and climb inside. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to save her niece, and he knew that.

  “It’s been a long time, Lizzy.”

  “Not long enough.” She looked to the backseat. Nobody was there. “Where’s Brittany?”

  “Patience, my dear. First we’ll take a little drive...make sure we’re not being followed.”

  “Nobody saw me leave.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.” He kept the SUV at a steady thirty-five miles per hour.

  She pulled out a gun, released the safety and rested her finger on the trigger. Then she raised the barrel to his head.

  He smiled. “Give me the gun, Lizzy, or you’ll never see Brittany again.”

  “You’re going to take me to her and then I’m going to—”

  He jerked the steering wheel hard to the right causing Lizzy to slam into his side. Then he hit the brakes and grabbed the gun from her in one fluid motion.

  What the hell had just happened? He looked at her as a father might look at a child who refused to obey and said, “Put your seatbelt on, Lizzy.”

  “If you’ve hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

  He smiled. Tonight, other than one brief moment fourteen years ago, was the first time Lizzy had seen him without any disguise. No beard, no wigs, no mask. “Sam Jones,” she said, angry at herself for being so damn stupid. She’d lost her chance at gaining control. She should have shot him the moment he opened the door, but then what? She wouldn’t have been any closer to finding Brittany. They knew his name, but they had no idea where he was keeping the girls.

  He laughed at her as if the name Sam Jones meant nothing to him, as if the name disgusted him.

  “Shannon Winter’s parents were right. You killed their daughter, didn’t you?”

  “I did no such thing. The stupid girl choked on her favorite candy. That’s no fault of mine.”

  “But you watched her die. How could you stand by and watch a loved one die?”

  “I didn’t love her.”

  “Of course you did.”