by A M Jenner
She made her body go limp as she hit the ground, having read that limp bodies are less likely to be injured. It still hurt, but she had no time for pain. She finished removing the blindfold as she rolled to her feet, and ran back down the freeway’s off-ramp, away from the car.
Brakes screeched, but she knew they couldn’t follow her on the off-ramp against traffic. She listened for the sounds of a door slamming and running feet but heard none.
She listened for a gunshot as she ran, ready to drop and roll sideways at the sound while praying her kidnapper’s instructions hadn’t included shooting her. Death by a bullet would certainly cast suspicion on Tony, and he’d want very much to avoid an investigation of his life.
Marilee raced up the side edge of the freeway, knowing they’d be back and she had very few minutes to get away. She scrambled up the steep bank, looking around as she ran, trying to figure a way off the freeway and into a hiding place.
This was an older section of freeway, and hadn’t been redone with fancy stone walls. The barrier had simply been closely planted with bushes. She wormed her way through them, crawling behind the greenery.
A fence with more bushes on the other side blocked her way. Poking her head up just high enough to look in both directions along the barrier, she could see no other way off the freeway.
Taking a long breath in, she held it a moment, then released it with a sigh. Uneasy with heights, she hated fences and ladders and such, but there was no other choice. She scooted closer to the chain link fence separating the freeway from the regular streets.
Climbing up one side, Marilee slung her leg over the top and halted as the fence shook with her weight. Terrified, she held still while the fence settled. Cautiously, she finished the climb and dropped quickly to the ground.
She lay beneath the bushes and watched the freeway while she caught her breath. Marilee saw a dark car slowly edge along the lip of the freeway pavement, clearly looking for something. As the car passed her, she saw the passenger’s head…still in a ski mask.
She lay immobile until the car was well past her, then got up and wriggled through the scratchy vegetation on the street side of the freeway. Looking up and down the street, she saw no movement of car or person.
Quickly she crossed the roadway and entered an alley, keeping to the darkest side. Briskly she walked past back yards, trying to think of a solution to her problem.
Marilee was unfamiliar with this part of town. She’d learned the city streets were numbered by how many blocks north, south, east or west from the center block of downtown they were. Once she reached major cross streets, she’d know exactly where she was.
She thought of calling the police for help, but she dared not. What would she say? Two men were trying to kill her? They’d ask why, and Marilee couldn’t lie and say she didn’t know. Who would believe that her husband was trying to kill her because she saw a bag of stolen diamonds in his suitcase?
Tony had already told her that because she was his wife, the authorities wouldn’t believe she knew nothing about the thefts. She was an accomplice; guilt by association.
She didn’t believe everything he said, but a lawyer would understand the law, wouldn’t he? Would he lie about that? She didn’t know; he seemed to have lied about a lot of things. What was one more to keep his wife in line?
Marilee continued walking west, going through back streets and alleys. Lights were off in most homes, indicating the late hour. She couldn’t knock on a stranger’s door; the questions would be the same, the dilemma also. Besides, she couldn’t put someone else at risk. She had to get out of this alone; but how? She walked on.
The illumination in her current alley was almost non-existent, and she stumbled. Recovering her balance, Marilee heard the ominous sound of a slow-moving car. Ducking behind a brace of garbage cans, she stooped low. Pressing against the dark wood fence beside her, she pulled the black jacket over her face, one eye looking out of a button-hole.
The car rolled slowly through the alley. The man with the ski mask was hanging out the open car window, searching. Marilee froze, holding her breath so the white plume of exhalation wouldn’t give her away.
The car moved slowly past her. She stayed in the alley next to the garbage cans for perhaps 20 minutes, hoping they’d leave the area.
Stiff from sitting still in the cold, Marilee finally stood and stretched, then began walking once more. When she reached a major street, she could check how far south and east she was, how far north and west she’d need to go.
Chapter Nineteen
A pre-dawn glow etched the sky, causing misleading shadows to frighten Marilee. Was it a trick of the light, or was ‘Ski Mask’ hugging the elm across the street? She wanted it to be just a shadow, but couldn’t be sure in the meager light. Hiding behind a bush, she daren’t move until she knew which.
While she waited for sunrise, Marilee continued to think about her situation. Playing tag all night with the men had been scary and exhausting. The men Tony had sent were tenacious, keeping her on the move again and again during the night. It didn’t surprise her. Tony only went first class. What he paid for, he made sure he got. And kept. A shiver snaked down her spine, and Marilee squirmed to a more comfortable position behind the bush.
She hoped it wasn’t a mistake to come back to her own neighborhood. She had nowhere else to go, though, and all her things were here. Going to the police was still not an option. She wasn’t due for work until Thursday, two days away. Maybe a public place would be safe during the day. The men wouldn’t do something with witnesses around, but even the most public place would close sometime.
Marilee definitely didn’t want to fill another long night playing hide-and-seek. Cat-and-mouse. Bird-and-worm. Reveal-and-sequester. Geez, she was getting silly. And tired. Once she was safe at home, her first priority was sleep. Then food. She’d missed dinner. Her stomach growled as if on cue.
Her thoughts continued to rotate like a windmill caught in a squall. As much as she wanted to find a solution, it seemed beyond her immediate grasp. She needed help, but from who? Maybe Richard could offer a suggestion. No. She didn’t want to involve him in this; couldn’t involve him. It was too dangerous with Tony’s goons in the neighborhood and he had Derrek to think of.
Besides, if she did go to Richard, the questions would still be the same; she’d lose his friendship because of trusting in a husband who didn’t merit her loyalty. Who’d believe she knew nothing about Tony’s diamond gang? Was it a gang? Was gang the right word for his group? Who knew and cared about right words? The bigger question was who’d know she was innocent? Nobody. Nobody could be as ignorant as she had been for that long.
Marilee frowned. ‘For that long’. How long? She suddenly realized she didn’t know how long it had been going on. Had it been there the whole time they’d been married? Tony’d said so, but did she believe him? Did it go back to before they were married? He’d traveled frequently even before their wedding. Had he always been a crook?
Crook. There was an awful word to attach to your spouse. But Tony was a crook. Why hadn’t she seen it? Why hadn’t she known? Who was going to believe she was totally innocent of the whole mess? Nobody. Not the police. Certainly not anyone with brains. Richard would probably tell her to go to the police anyway.
She had to find her own solution. But where could she turn? Who could help her? Her mind was reeling. She was tired. Very tired. How long before she could rest? She changed positions again in an effort to keep awake. She certainly couldn’t sleep under a bush by the sidewalk all day.
It was roughly 5:30 in the morning and Marilee hadn’t seen the men for nearly an hour. Maybe they’d also realize she’d have to come home. If so, why hadn’t they simply driven there when she’d escaped? Why had they played hide and seek with her all night? Was that one of them under the tree or was she so tired now she was hallucinating? She turned for another look, and still couldn’t decide if she were chasing smoke or if it was really a man. Just one b
lock more and she would be home free. Hurry, dawn!
* * * * *
The sun peeped over the top of the hill over an hour later. Marilee twisted slightly to peer through the bush, but no one was standing beneath the tree. She looked carefully all around her. The hillside was silent. There was no movement; no sign of the men who’d been hunting her, no sign of the dark sedan.
She slowly stood and made her way toward the driveway on the far side of the grey apartments next to Mr. Brimblecom’s home. When she neared the back of the building, the inner voice of caution she’d been obeying all night halted her in her tracks. She ducked behind the hedge that wrapped around the building and crept to the back corner.
Cautiously peeking between the foliage, her heart nearly stopped beating. The black car was parked in the driveway a little in front of Richard’s empty parking space. The two men in it were intently watching down the driveway to the head of the stairs. They had come to wait for her at home, just as she’d feared.
Marilee slipped quietly back toward the front of the apartments, feeling she finally had a very small advantage. This time, she knew exactly where they were and what they were doing. Leaving the bushy hedge at the front corner of the building, she crossed the street where they couldn’t see her. Quickly walking back past the bush she’d been behind for the past hour, she continued on up the street to the next corner. Turning left, she trotted to the top of stairs similar to those on her own street.
Turning left into the driveway there, Marilee moved quickly and quietly through the yard. This fence wouldn’t be nearly as bad to climb because it was much more substantial than the chain link freeway fence had been, and the fear was more for the men in the car, now, than for climbing.
Fortunately, the supports of the tall wooden fence were on her side, and she scrambled up the supporting wooden braces. One leg over the top, the other followed and she dropped down the smooth face on the other side.
She made her way through the wild tumble of weeds and undergrowth which covered the ground between her home and the yard she’d just come through. Marilee was glad this acreage hadn’t been hers, or she’d have tilled and planted a huge garden there and wouldn’t have anything to hide in now.
Reaching her back chain link fence, she made her way to the farthest corner from the parking area. Quietly climbing over the top, she dropped onto her narrow back walk. Creeping along the back of the duplex, she peeped around the corner. The car was still there.
Backing away from the edge of the house, she listened at Richard’s back door, but heard nothing. Derrek must be on his way to school. With the men this close, she couldn’t risk entering her own home. She didn’t believe a locked front door would pose any major obstacle for them if they wanted to search it.
She stepped through the door to the tiny communal basement, carefully negotiating the wooden steps after locking the door behind her. Her first priority was still sleep.
There was not much room down here, most of it consumed by twin furnaces and double water heaters for the duplex. Marilee had spent one entire Tuesday cleaning the snug room, and though more dust had accumulated, it was still fairly clean. She stretched out on the floor, quickly falling asleep.
Chapter Twenty
Marilee woke, not quite sure what had disturbed her. Sitting up in the gloom of the dinky basement, she cautiously listened. A quiet sound came; a board creaking. A familiar creak, she thought; it was the loose board in the kitchen, right in front of the bathroom door. Someone was in her home.
She stood, knowing if they came down here, they’d have to take time to break in the door. That would be a small diversion at the very least. Maybe enough of a distraction she could hit them and run out the door.
Marilee already knew there was no other exit from the basement. A surprise attack was her one chance for escape. Looking around for any asset, she saw an old mop handle leaning against the wall behind one of the water heaters.
Silently hefting it, this thin stick was her single weapon, such as it was. A sudden, hard stab to their heads or faces may be more effective than trying to hit them. The element of surprise would be on her side; a second effective weapon which increased her defenses significantly.
Tensely she waited, ears straining to follow the scuffly, muffled sounds above. She heard the back door open, the screen door squeak, and then silence. She didn’t hear a step on the back walk, but couldn’t tell if the men had left the house and were standing on the walk or not.
Suddenly, she wondered if she’d left discernable evidence of her trek through the weeds in the lot behind the house. Her heart nearly stopped as the paralyzing fear of capture entered her mind.
Eyes wide, Marilee watched the basement door from the darkened corner by the furnace where she was hiding, fear nearly choking her. Her hands tightened on the wooden shaft. After an interminable stretch of silence, the screen closed, and then the back door thumped shut.
Footfalls crossed all the rooms, letting her know exactly where they were. It seemed forever before the footsteps ceased. She heard the slam of the front door as it reverberated through the duplex.
Marilee passed the next few minutes waiting in agony for something else to happen. Nothing did. Slowly she let out a long breath, grateful they hadn’t discovered her hiding place.
She waited an hour before she unlocked the door and peeped out. Seeing no one, she slipped through the narrow portal and stepped softly to the corner of the house. Marilee cautiously peered around the corner of the duplex. The black car was now parked next to the building, facing down the alley, the men watching the top of the stairs. She had to find a way out of this. She returned to the basement, hungry, cold and discouraged.
Chapter Twenty-one
It was mid-afternoon when Marilee finally slipped up the stairs and out of the basement. Taking her earlier precautions, she checked to see if the car was still there. It was.
A thought had come as she sat in the gloom searching for a solution. The men had now been inside her home. They knew she wasn’t there. Therefore, she should be able to slip in through the back door, get food, her bank book, a few clothes and get back outside before they knew she was even close by.
She’d wanted to wait until dark, feeling it would be safer, but hunger and other bodily functions brought her out. Silently backing away from Richard’s corner of the house, she moved stealthily to her own back door and up the single step. Marilee prayed they wouldn’t hear the squeak as she slowly opened the screen.
Pausing, she listened for a car door opening. All stayed quiet. She reached for the door knob. It wouldn’t turn. Tears of frustration filmed her eyes. Having come this far, she couldn’t give up.
Taking a deep breath, Marilee pulled the door tight against the frame and then twisted the knob once more. Slowly it rotated. Quietly, she expelled the air her lungs had held hostage; her tears stemmed as her nearly subconscious prayer of thanksgiving rose heavenward. Moving as quietly as possible, she opened the back door and slipped inside.
Her things were fairly well in order, but she could tell someone had been there. Books had been moved, a magazine she’d been reading wasn’t where she’d left it. Even though there was no destruction, she still felt a violation which all of the chasing during the long night had not given her. Now she was angry as well as frightened; however it changed nothing. She must escape this intolerable situation.
Marilee used the restroom, washing her face as well as her hands then quietly gathered some food. She stuffed her bank book and a few clothes in her duffle bag with the food, then zipped it closed.
She heard a car door whump shut and grabbing her bag, hustled out the back door, closing it softly behind her. Darting to the basement door, she opened it, stepped through, and secured it behind her.
Blood was pounding in her ears, her heart beating rapidly as she tried to control her breathing. She listened to find whether she’d been detected or not. Silence reigned. Slowly, her heart and breathing returned to norma
l limits.
An explosive sound shattered the stillness and she jumped, nearly knocking over a bucket before identifying the sound; a toilet flushing. Coming from just above her head, the noise indicated someone was in Richard’s apartment. Could it be…? They wouldn’t…!
Marilee heard the refrigerator door slam shut and realized Derrek had returned from school. It wasn’t the two men in the apartment. It wouldn’t be long now before Richard arrived home.
Marilee didn’t stop to wonder why that was significant for her, she just knew she’d be okay when he reached home and she could be with him. The day’s reflections and plans thought of and discarded let her know just one thing for certain; she needed help.
Sitting quietly, she waited for the next hour to pass. She studied ways Richard could help her get away. She thought of different destinations, but found herself discarding each one with little consideration; as if she could stay here. Finally, deciding she was simply too tired to think any more, Marilee lay down to await Richard’s arrival from work, pillowing her head on the duffle bag.
Darkness settled on the valley, seeping into the minuscule basement, wrapping Marilee in sheltered arms. She heard Richard’s truck drive into his parking place, and stood to stretch, straining to identify all sounds coming to her. Nothing out of the ordinary was heard. Marilee felt encouraged.
She hefted the duffle bag and softly stepped from the basement. She tiptoed to Richard’s corner of the house, setting the bag by his back door on the way. Peeking around the corner, she found Richard’s truck in his usual spot. The black car was pulled up almost to the front of Mr. Brimblecom’s porch. They must have rolled forward so they would be closer to the stairs in the gathering shadows of the night. Their new position would make it easier for her to enter Richard’s house undetected.
She took the few steps from the corner of the house to Richard’s back door. Hoping Richard or Derrek was close enough to hear, she very quietly knocked. The door almost instantly swung open, revealing Derrek’s freckled face.
