Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #2

by Terri Reed

  All of Johnny’s senses were on high alert. He ran toward the woman’s cries around to the side of the maze. Kaylee looked up at him from a crouched position, her wet cheeks glistening under the lampposts.

  Johnny scanned the church parking lot again. Nothing but a few cars and lampposts and a man in the distance emptying the garbage totes with a wary eye on the commotion.

  “Kaylee, what’s wrong?” Johnny took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

  “He took Ellie!”

  Icy dread pumped through his veins. “Who took her? What did you see?”

  Kaylee slapped at the tears running down her cheeks. “A man rammed his car into the corner of the maze and grabbed Ellie. Stuffed her in the trunk. I was so afraid. I thought he might grab me.” She clawed at his arm. “You have to help her.”

  “What man?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Which way did they go?” He swallowed hard, relying on his training.

  Kaylee lifted a shaky hand and pointed toward the side street. The car had turned right.

  “What kind of car?”

  “Not a big one. A regular car. Not a truck or anything.”

  “Do you have a phone, Kaylee?”

  She looked up at him, blinking her confusion. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the situation or the stupidity of his question. Of course she had a phone. Proving his point, she reached into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a sparkly pink phone.

  “Call 9-1-1. Tell them exactly what you told me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Find Ellie.”

  She stared at him and Johnny worried the poor girl was in shock. But time was ticking for Ellie. “Do you understand? Call 9-1-1.”

  “Yes.” Kaylee lifted her phone and pressed the screen.

  Johnny ran toward his car, climbed in, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. He jammed the key into the ignition and sped out of the parking lot. He had let Ellie down, just as he’d let down his mother. He hadn’t been there when they both really needed him.

  It was too late for his mother, but there was still hope for Ellie. An emptiness hollowed out his chest, reminding him why he never allowed anyone in. It hurt too much when they left.

  Unbidden, a prayer floated to mind.

  Help me find her in time. Let me save Ellie.

  At the first intersection, Johnny glanced down the cross street, then it hit him. Ellie’s shop. The first place he had to check was Ellie’s shop. All this trouble had begun when someone believed she’d stolen a package of drugs that had been shipped to her shop’s address.

  Johnny turned down the street, then onto Main Street. He slowed in front of Gifts and More and his heart dropped when he noticed the front door ajar. He slammed the gearshift into Park and jumped out.

  Grabbing his gun from its holster, he trained it on the dark shadows in the shop. His shoes crunched on the broken glass inside the door as he stepped over overturned shelves.

  His intense focus shifted everything into slow motion.

  There had been a struggle here.

  In the back of the shop he saw a shadow. He tightened his grip on his gun. Too tall and broad to be Ellie.

  Johnny dove behind the counter and trained his gun on the shadow against the back wall. “Identify yourself.”

  Tense silence filled the small space. His worry for Ellie had made Johnny careless. He should have never stormed into the shop. He could have been shot while he’d stood in the doorway.

  Johnny crept to the far side of the counter, careful to keep the barrier between him and the intruder. He waited a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then the distinct shape of a man came into focus. The man pushed away from the wall, perhaps ready to make his escape—or come after him.

  Adrenaline spiked through him.

  Protect me, Lord.

  The man took a step forward and Johnny dove at his legs, taking him down. The man landed with a thud and a sharp curse. Something clattered across the floor.

  Johnny jumped up and straddled the man’s back. He got hold of his arms and handcuffed him, the well-practiced motion fluid even in the darkness of the shop.

  Johnny jerked the man to his feet and dragged him toward the light switch on the wall. He slapped it and the glaring light illuminated the shop.

  Recognition shot through Johnny.

  Roger Petersen.

  Roger snarled at him. “I should have shot you when I had the chance.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Johnny’s fists clenched.

  “I’ll probably ask myself that for the rest of my life.” Roger groaned. “Too many stupid witnesses,” he muttered.

  “You were Tony’s boss all along. He was too afraid to give you up.”

  A smirk slanted Roger’s mouth and Johnny shoved him down.

  “What did you do with Ellie?” Johnny asked, crouching to look Roger in the eye where he sat on the floor.

  Anger sliced through Johnny. That stupid smirk again.

  “Who’s out there?” A woman’s voice floated out from behind the storage room door. Ellie’s voice.

  Relief flooded him.

  Johnny jumped up and ran to the door. “Ellie, it’s Johnny. Open up. It’s safe.”

  He heard the bolt slide and then the door opened slowly, as if she didn’t trust the situation. When her eyes lit on Roger sitting handcuffed in the corner, she fell out of the storage room and into Johnny’s arms.

  Johnny wrapped his arms around her tightly and squeezed. “You’re safe. You’re safe.”

  FOURTEEN

  Ellie reluctantly stepped out of the comfort of Johnny’s embrace. Her relief was quickly replaced with a knot of panic in her gut. “We need an ambulance for Ashley and Tony. We need to get Ashley out of the trunk.”

  Her eyes drifted to Roger who was sitting stoically in the corner, his expression not revealing much of anything. How could someone be so cold?

  “He has them in his car in the alley.” Her hand slid down to Johnny’s hand and she pulled him toward the alley door.

  “Okay, okay.” Johnny laced his fingers with hers, immediately grounding her. “The police are on the way. I’ll call for an ambulance.”

  As if he had willed him into existence, Officer Bailey stepped into the shop, his boots crunching on the glass in the doorway. Ellie spun around, a case of déjà vu making her brain feel fuzzy.

  “You’ve got the most exciting shop in the neighborhood, Miss Winters.” Officer Bailey took in the scene. Roger Petersen sat in the corner with his hands cuffed behind his back. “Well, lookey here, Mr. Petersen.” He blew out a long breath. “I guess people don’t change.”

  Officer Bailey emitted a soft grunt as he bent over his expanding middle, grasped the man’s arm and tugged Roger to his feet. “Come on, now…”

  “Once you get him into custody, send an officer into the alley,” Johnny said.

  Bailey raised a hand in silent agreement and ushered Roger out the front door.

  When Ellie and Johnny reached the alley, an officer had already helped Tony to a seated position on the backseat while an ambulance navigated the narrow alley, lights flashing.

  Ellie reached inside the car and pulled the trunk release. She ran around back and found Ashley, eyes closed, a sheen of sweat on her porcelain skin. “Ashley! Ashley!” Ellie reached in and touched her friend’s cheek with the back of her hand.

  Her heart dropped when Ashley didn’t respond.

  Without saying a word, Johnny squeezed in next to Ellie and scooped up Ashley, one arm under her legs and the other around her back. He carried her over to the ambulance. The EMTs guided Ashley onto a gurney and immediately started working on her.

  Ellie watched with wide eyes. Dear Lord, let Ashley be okay.

  “How is she?” Johnny asked the EMT.

  The EMT pulled the stethoscope from his ears. “Vitals seem steady. We’ll get her to the hospital to check her out.”

  “So, she’s going
to be okay?” Ellie asked, her voice high-pitched.

  The EMT nodded his head in reassurance, but didn’t articulate his thoughts, probably because as a health-care professional, he couldn’t make promises.

  All the same, Ellie breathed a little easier.

  Thank You, Lord.

  When they returned to Tony, the officer had already cut off the duct tape from his feet and hands. Something akin to shame lurked in the depths of his eyes.

  “You ready to talk?” Johnny asked.

  An EMT hustled over to Tony, but he brushed him away. “I’m fine. Get Ashley to the hospital.”

  Johnny gave the EMT a subtle nod and the EMT jogged toward the ambulance.

  “You ready to tell me the whole truth, Tony?” Johnny put one foot up on the bumper of the car and rested his elbow on his knee. Ellie crossed her arms in front of her, trying to stay warm.

  “Can I talk to my father first?” Tony ran the back of his hand under his nose.

  “Why would I let you do that?” Johnny put his foot down on the pavement and crossed his arms, flicking a look in Ellie’s direction before he retrained his steely gaze on Tony.

  Tony held up a shaky finger and his eyes wandered to the alley door to Ellie’s shop. “You got Roger Petersen in custody?”

  “Yes. The local police are taking him down to the station now.”

  Tony closed his eyes briefly, a look of relief easing the lines around his eyes. “If you let me talk to my dad, I’ll tell you everything. I need to explain everything to my dad.”

  Johnny ran a hand across his hair. “Okay. Talk.”

  “First I want to see my dad.” The plea in Tony’s voice broke Ellie’s heart. People make stupid, life-altering decisions all the time. Her mind flashed to her brother.

  Johnny shook his head. “You’re gonna have to trust me.”

  Tony nodded. Johnny slipped his hand around the crook of Tony’s elbow and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s talk in the storage room. Then I’ll run you home to talk to your dad.”

  Tony hung his head in defeat.

  Without a word, Ellie followed the two men. She noticed how close Johnny stayed to Tony, not trusting that he wouldn’t make any sudden movements.

  Johnny held out an open palm to the chair in the corner. Specks of Citrus Blast paint dotted the cement floor from the attack on Ellie. Had this man attacked her?

  Compassion warred with anger in her tight chest. Tony had wreaked havoc on her life.

  “How did you get out on bail?” Johnny asked.

  “Roger paid it. From what little I was able to gather, he made some last-minute arrangements late this afternoon. On a Saturday, even. He seems to know a lot of people. I think he convinced the court I wasn’t a flight risk because of my family ties.”

  “You didn’t find him bailing you out suspicious?”

  “At first, I didn’t care. I was so happy to get out of that hole. My father couldn’t afford to post bail. But as soon as Roger had me in the car, I knew it was a mistake. He needed me out of jail to set his plan in motion.” Tony groaned. “I stupidly thought if I confessed to everything, he’d leave me and my family alone. But Roger was never going to rest until he recovered that stupid package.”

  “Tell me how you got involved with Roger in the first place.”

  Tony ran his hands up and down the thighs of his jeans, gathering his thoughts. “My family’s bakery’s in trouble.” He looked up, worry in eyes. “Stupidly, I thought helping Roger was going to be an easy way to raise some funds.”

  Johnny rested a hip on the side of the utility sink. “How did you get hooked up with Roger?”

  Tony studied his feet. “It’s a small town.” He shrugged a shoulder. “A chance reunion led to a discussion, which led to a trial run. Roger was careful to keep himself clean so that if things went south, he’d be safe. Before I knew it, I was so deep I couldn’t get out if I wanted to.”

  “What was your job?”

  “To receive the shipment of drugs and hand them over to Roger for distribution.”

  “That’s it?” Johnny rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.

  “You used the address for my shop to ship drugs?” Ellie finally found her voice.

  “I had to protect the bakery.”

  Ellie shook her head. “What if I had opened the package? What if I had gotten to it first?”

  “I was tracking the packages. I knew exactly when they were supposed to arrive so I could intercept them.”

  “How? Didn’t the delivery driver question you?” Ellie asked, growing agitated.

  Tony frowned. “As I said, it’s a small town. If I told the driver I’d give you the package…” He shrugged again, implying the rest. The driver wasn’t going to not deliver a package.

  “Using a national shipping company to transport drugs made it easier for the FBI to track them,” Johnny said.

  “Roger shipped them. How else…?” Tony shook his head. “It was never supposed to get out of hand.”

  Ellie took a step toward him, a headache forming behind her eyes. “But you lost track of a package because I never stole—”

  Johnny gently touched her arm and gave her a warm half smile.

  Ellie felt her face flare red. She had so many questions. Since her life had been thrown into turmoil, she deserved the answers, but she had to be patient and allow Tony to talk.

  Tony lifted his eyes to her face. “The missing package?”

  Ellie nodded. “I never saw it.”

  Tony’s Adam’s apple worked in his throat. “I stole it.”

  She caught her breath and Johnny gently touched her hand.

  “I thought I could make more money if I sold the drugs instead of getting a flat fee for receiving the drugs. It was only one package.” Looking a little shell-shocked, Tony mopped his forehead with a shaky hand.

  “Roger realized the package was missing before you had a chance to move all the drugs.” Johnny’s tone was even, commanding.

  A sheen of sweat glistened on Tony’s forehead as he bowed his head in silence.

  “And you threw Ellie under the bus. Telling Roger that she had the package.”

  “Did Ashley know?” Ellie asked, annoyed at the squeaky quality of her voice.

  Tony’s eyes flared wide. “Oh, no. She didn’t. I was afraid Roger was going to hurt one of you.”

  “You made sure Ashley was too busy to work in the shop.”

  “I wanted to keep her close, so I could protect her.” Tony wrung his hands. “I tried to protect you, too.”

  Ellie felt all the blood rush out of her face.

  “I wanted Roger to think that I was working hard to find the package.” Tony shook his head in disgust. “Roger is an impatient man. When I didn’t bring him the package, he started pressuring me. Threatening that he’d hurt my dad.”

  Tony dragged two hands through his hair, leaving it a mess. “I told him I’d look for the package. I couldn’t just hand it over or he’d be on to me. How would I explain that the package was missing some drugs? I was backed into a corner. After he attacked you in this storage room, I knew I had to step it up. I hired that Kerry kid from the church to scare you. Throw a brick at the door. Shoot the front of the shop. I had to make it look like I was actively trying to get the drugs back. I thought it would hold Roger off. But when I didn’t produce the package, Roger took things into his own hands. Breaking into your apartment… Attacking you in the yard…”

  “But you were near the yard when I was attacked.” Ellie’s mouth grew dry at the memory.

  “Yeah. I held Duke back so you’d go out looking for him.” He shrugged, looking much younger than his years. “I didn’t have a choice.”

  “I was in too deep. Once I created the lie, I figured if Roger found out, he’d kill me or my father.” Tony shook his head in disbelief. “I couldn’t find a way out.”

  “What did you plan to do? You couldn’t have kept this up forever.” Johnny’s eyes grew cold. “Your plan was
foolish.”

  Tony looked up. “You’re telling me. I had sold some of the drugs and I knew there was a way Roger could have tracked them back to me if word got out.” He fisted his hands. “I was trying to stall things until I could figure a way out.”

  “Roger took care of that for you,” Johnny said with an air of disbelief.

  “His patience ran out, even after I confessed.” Tony bowed his head; the defeat evident in the curve of his shoulders. “I was trapped.” He glanced up, desperation in his eyes. “Roger’s relentless. He kidnapped Ashley. I couldn’t tell him I had lied, but I suspect he already knew. I was just doing everything I could to keep us from getting shot then and there.”

  “So you let him kidnap Ellie?” A muscle ticked in Johnny’s jaw.

  Tony rubbed his wrists, raw from the duct tape ripped from his flesh. “Did it look like I let Roger do anything?” His forehead creased. “You saw me. He had me tied up in there.”

  “You could have told the truth a long time ago,” Ellie said, all the fight draining out of her. “You could have put an end to this a long time ago.”

  “I’m putting an end to it now. The package is in the freezer in the bakery. Get it out of there before anyone else is hurt.” Tony hung his head. “I can’t believe Roger almost killed me tonight.”

  “If I hadn’t gotten away from Roger…” Ellie rested her hand on Johnny’s forearm, needing an anchor. “If Johnny hadn’t arrived in time, all of us would have been killed tonight.”

  *

  “Thanks for carting me all over tonight,” Ellie said as she and Johnny entered the old Victorian on Treehaven Road. She kicked off her shoes and lifted her eyes to the antique chandelier hanging in the entryway. The wonder in Ellie’s eyes when she took in this grand old place always got him thinking. Thoughts better left for another time.

  “My pleasure.” He smiled.

  “I forgot a few things when I stayed here. It should only take me a minute to grab them.” She ran the palm of her hand over the smooth oak banister. They both knew she could have retrieved the items another time, but it seemed they both were looking for a reason to extend the night.

  Johnny was sorry she was no longer staying here. He liked having her close by so he could keep an eye on her. But with Roger and Tony’s arrest, she was no longer in danger.