“Alexis, are you okay?”
“Not too close,” Murdock spoke up from across the room. “That’s far enough.”
When her father spoke, Alexis stopped. She stood about three feet in front of Sabre, “I … I’m okay,” she said. “Are you?” Then, she mouthed with her quivering lips, “I’m sorry.”
Sabre tried to compose herself for Alexis’ sake. Her heart ached for her. “I’m fine,” Sabre said. “I’m mainly cold, but I’ll be better when the fire’s burning.”
Without saying a word, Alexis walked to the sofa, took a throw cover off the back of it, and took it to Sabre. She placed it around Sabre’s shoulders and tucked in the sides so it wouldn’t fall off. She looked up at her father, took three steps back, and stopped. “Thank you,” Sabre said. “That’s much better, and I’m already feeling the heat from the fire.” When Alexis didn’t respond, Sabre motioned with her head toward a chair a few feet from her and said, “Why don’t you sit and … .”
Murdock, brushing his hands together to knock off any remaining debris, said, “Okay, the fire’s going good. It’ll be warm in here in no time.” He acted as if they were a happy little family on vacation in the woods. “Let’s have some dinner. You two must be starved. Alexis, give me a hand.”
Murdock stood up. Alexis followed him into the kitchen area. He leaned over and reached toward Alexis, put one hand on each shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. He lowered his voice, but not enough to keep Sabre from hearing. “Sweetheart, I know you like Ms. Brown, but remember she is one of them. We have to protect ourselves, so you need to do what I tell you. You need to trust me to keep you safe. Do you understand?” he said sternly, but with compassion.
Alexis looked him in the eye, and without speaking, nodded her head. “I’ve always kept you safe, haven’t I?” She nodded again. Without hurting her, he tightened his grip on her shoulders and spoke a little louder. “Haven’t I?”
Her response was meek, “Yes, Father.”
“Okay, now you know you cannot untie her, right?”
Alexis nodded again and her father looked at her intensely. “Right,” she said.
“What have you told Ms. Brown about our family?”
“Nothing, Father,” she responded. He stared at her. “Honest, Father; I haven’t told her anything.”
Murdock put his arm around her and pulled her near, “That’s my girl. I knew I could count on you. No matter what we go through, we always come out of it together, don’t we?”
“Yes, Father.”
“So I can trust you to do what I tell you, right?”
“Right, Father.”
Sabre observed the two of them as they interacted in the kitchen. They were very efficient. She could see the strong bond between them. She had been hoping Alexis would be able to help her escape, but it didn’t look promising. Whether out of fear or love for her father, Sabre didn’t believe Alexis would defy him. It appeared Murdock felt comfortable in that belief as well.
“So what happens now?”
“Now, Ms. Brown,” Murdock said with a little smile, “we eat our dinner. We get some sleep, and tomorrow I celebrate Thanksgiving Day with my beautiful daughter.”
29
“Are you sure? Could there be some mistake?” Joe asked the FBI agent.
“No mistake, Joe,” Howard said. “I should have more information for you soon.”
“Thanks, Howard.” Joe hung up, stunned. He had to let Sabre know. She could be in more danger than they thought. He dialed Sabre’s cell; when she didn’t answer, he hung up.
He dialed her office and reached voice mail. “Hi Sabre, this is Joe Carriage. Please call me as soon as you receive this message. I have some information for you.” He tried her home phone and again heard only voice mail. “Hi Sabre, Joe Carriage here. Please call me. It’s important I talk to you right away.” He waited for a few minutes and tried her cell one more time. “Hello, Sabre. Joe Carriage. I called you at your office and at home, but I just realized you may be traveling for the holiday and can’t retrieve your messages. Please call me on my cell the minute you get this message, no matter what time it is.”
Joe cooked a quick dinner and sat down to watch a movie. After a couple of hours without a call from Sabre, he tried her cell one more time. He fell asleep on the sofa with the television on, waiting for her call.
Leaves rustling in the wind awakened Joe at three-thirty in the morning. He still hadn’t heard from Sabre. He shut off the television, and went to bed.
Joe woke again to the phone ringing.
“Joe, it’s Brett. They arrested Bill Davis this morning. Along with charges of tampering with evidence, accepting bribes, tax evasion, and several other things, they charged him with the murder of Steve Parker.”
“So IA is finally doing something right. Do you know where they got the information to nail him?”
“Yup, it came from Ruby Sterling. She apparently gave them a mouthful. They also arrested both of the guys who nabbed Elizabeth Murdock.”
“Do they have any information on her?”
“It doesn’t appear so. Those goons aren’t talking. I guess they’re getting more out of Davis than they are those two.”
“Well, that ought to make life a little easier at the office.”
“It’ll be a lot easier and back to normal before long. By the way, they also charged him with attempted murder on you.”
Joe felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He took his shower, dressed for dinner, and tried Sabre again. By the time he reached his parents’ house, he had called Sabre four more times. Although concerned, he decided to chalk it up to the holiday. She’s probably having a nice, peaceful meal with her family, in which case this information can wait. She’ll call me tomorrow.
Sabre heard her phone ringing in her bag in the other room. She wondered who might be calling, realizing no one would be missing her yet. Her mother didn’t expect her until Thursday.
She turned to make herself more comfortable, her thoughts interrupted by the pain in her wrists and ankles from the rope holding them tied together. She had tried all night to shed the constraints, wriggling and twisting back and forth in an attempt to pull her hands out of the ropes, rubbing her skin raw. Between the ropes and her fear of Murdock coming into the room at any moment to kill her, Sabre had little sleep and so many questions.
She could feel dampness on the bed from her burning, bleeding wrists. She ached from lying in the same position for so many hours. She was so cold. Sabre struggled, trying to move the blankets more tightly around her. With her feet tied to the bed and her hands tied behind her back, she bent over as far as she could, taking hold of the blankets with her teeth. Although she moved the blanket a few inches, she gagged from the mouthful of wool fabric and couldn’t hold on to it. Dropping the two blankets, she tried again with just one. She pulled the blanket as far as she could with her teeth, but now it covered her face. Feeling claustrophobic, she lifted her chin to push it off. She had to get it off, no matter how cold she felt. After more twisting and turning, she nodded her head until the blanket fell down part way.
Though shivering, Sabre could at least breathe again. She thought about her nice, comfortable bed at home where she could fold the sheet neatly over the top of the blanket and keep it off her face, where she could tuck the blankets around her and keep warm. She shook from head to toe, her teeth chattering. She lay in frustration, her back now exposed to the cold air. The smell of pumpkin pie filled her nostrils.
Sabre heard heavy footsteps outside her door. It opened, and Murdock stood in the shadows. “Happy Thanksgiving, Ms. Brown,” he said, as if nothing were wrong. Sabre stared at him, incredulous. She couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say.
“Brr … It’s cold in here. Come on. I’ve built up the fire in the fireplace.” He untied her ankles from the end of the bed.
Free of the rope, Sabre stretched her legs and flexed her ankles. She stepped onto the floor, the blankets falli
ng off her. The floor felt like ice under her stocking feet. She trembled, the cold cutting through her to the bone.
The fire enticed her. She walked in front of Murdock, down the short hallway to the living room. The smell of pumpkin grew stronger and stimulated her hunger. Sabre went straight to the fire, standing as close as she could.
“Is that better?” Murdock sounded concerned.
Sabre didn’t get it. “Why are you doing this?”
In the same tone, Murdock responded with a question. “Why are you keeping my daughter from me?”
“It’s my job to keep her safe. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about you to know if you are the best placement for her.”
“You’re right. You don’t know me, and you don’t know Alexis. We’ve done just fine for ten years without interference from outsiders.” His voice grew louder. “You drive around in your little BMW and live in your fancy new condo. You come into our lives with your self-righteous attitudes. We don’t need you to tell us how to live our lives.”
Alexis walked into the room. Murdock turned to her and his voice became pleasant. “Good morning, sweet pea.”
“Good morning.”
“You ready to help your father with Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Sure,” Alexis said. She looked at Sabre, as if to make sure she was all right.
Murdock walked over to Alexis, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her into the kitchen area. “I’ve already put the turkey in the oven, and I baked a pumpkin pie early this morning. You can cut up the stuff for the salad, but first you better have a muffin.” They walked to the counter. Alexis put a blueberry muffin on a plate. She looked up at her father. He said, “Go ahead; take one for Ms. Brown. You never could let a stray go hungry. But she stays tied. You can feed it to her.”
Alexis took the muffin to Sabre. Although it was awkward having someone feed her, she was thankful to be eating. Sabre forced a smile on her face, “Thank you, Alexis.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Sabre.”
Sabre, feeling warm, moved away from the fire and sat down in the nearest chair. She watched as Alexis and Murdock prepared the Thanksgiving dinner. Alexis cut up the salad, making it ready for Murdock to toss. She peeled the potatoes. He cooked them and mashed them. She put the miniature marshmallows on the sweet potatoes after they were partially cooked, being careful not to burn herself on the hot pan. Murdock didn’t like the marshmallows, but he didn’t object since it was one of Alexis’ favorites and one of the few dishes she remembered her mother making for her.
Alexis and her father conversed while they worked, but Alexis didn’t behave like her usual chatty self. She would respond to his questions or comments and occasionally ask how to do something, but she didn’t appear to be enjoying herself. Sabre wondered if this was her normal demeanor around her father. If not, Murdock didn’t seem to notice.
As Alexis retrieved the plates from the cupboard, Murdock spoke, “Don’t forget to set an extra plate. We have a guest coming for dinner.”
For a moment Sabre thought there was someone else coming, but she realized he meant her. A guest. How bizarre. He acted as though she weren’t in the room. She watched his every move to learn everything she could about him, to see his weaknesses, to see if she could use anything he said or did to help her escape. She spent most of her time trying to figure out ways to get away, but without Alexis’ help and willingness to go with her, it didn’t look hopeful.
Sabre sat in the chair for hours watching Alexis and her father create their masterpiece, like an old fifties movie, the warm room glowing from the fireplace and the smell of turkey in the air.
Her phone rang again. Was it her mother looking for her? Marla? The police? Her mind raced with crazy thoughts. She worried about her mother and feared for Alexis; her wrists hurt from the ropes cutting into her, and she wondered if she would be alive tomorrow.
Sabre felt so tired. She had slept very little since her abduction. Sitting with her hands tied behind her wasn’t easy. She tried to get comfortable in the chair, but she couldn’t. She closed her eyes and tried to think pleasant thoughts until she finally dozed off.
Alexis startled her when she tapped her on the shoulder. “Ms. Sabre,” she said. “It’s time for dinner. Let’s go wash up.”
Murdock took a rope, and without saying a word, tied Sabre’s ankles together, leaving them loose enough for her to shuffle along. He untied her hands. When she pulled her arms back in front, Alexis gasped at the sight of the blood and open cuts on Sabre’s wrists. She looked up at her father, her eyes wide with concern and disbelief. Murdock glared at Sabre for a second, and said, “Now look what you’ve done, Ms. Brown. You need to quit trying to get loose. If you’ll just hold still, you won’t hurt yourself.” He turned to Alexis, “Take Ms. Brown into the bathroom and rinse off her arms. I’ll get the first-aid kit.”
Once inside the bathroom, Sabre pleaded, “Alexis, you need to help me. We need to get out of here.”
“Shh …” Alexis said, putting her finger over her mouth, “you’ll upset Father.”
Alexis helped Sabre clean up, and they returned to the living room. Murdock took bandages out of the first-aid kit and wrapped her wrists. “There now, Ms. Brown. That better?”
He directed each of them to their seats at the table. He bowed his head and said, “Let us pray.” He glanced at Alexis and Sabre. Their heads bowed, he began, “Oh Lord, I want to thank you for keeping my daughter safe and for bringing her back to me.” He paused. “Please bless this wonderful food we are about to eat. Bless all of us gathered here today. Bless those who don’t have the good fortune to spend this great day of giving thanks with their families. And dear Lord, please bestow a special blessing on Alexis’ mother and Sabre’s brother, wherever they may be.” He looked up, caught Sabre’s eye, and winked.
“Amen,” he said. “Let’s eat.”
30
Due to the holiday, it was particularly quiet at the office when Joe arrived on Friday morning. Since he didn’t have a family demanding his attention, he had offered to work for someone who did. Many of the officers came to him, shook his hand, apologizing for his or her behavior.
He was anxious to reach Sabre. It was nearly ten now, which made it almost seven on the west coast. He couldn’t wait any longer. Sabre needed to know who the phone number belonged to and about the note he had found in Elizabeth Murdock’s locker. He also wanted to inform her of the latest on the investigation on Honey.
He tried calling her cell phone, only to get her voice mail again. The only connections he had to her were Marla, the social worker, and Gregory Nelson, the detective who had handled the bat incident. He decided to try Marla first.
“Marla, it’s Joe Carriage from Atlanta. Got a minute?”
“Sure, Joe. Do you have some information on Honey Stone?”
“Actually, I do, but I called to see if you knew how I could reach Sabre. I’ve been trying to call her for two days. I keep getting her voice mail. And she hasn’t returned any of my calls. That’s not like her.”
“Joe, Sabre’s missing.”
“What do you mean, missing? What happened?”
“On her way out of town to visit her mother, she stopped to see Alexis at Jordan Receiving Home. Gaylord Murdock came in and sweet-talked one of the attendants into letting him into the room with Sabre and Alexis.”
“Oh, no! Did Murdock kidnap them?”
“Well, we think so. No one saw any of them leave the building, but Murdock’s car was gone and Sabre’s was still in the parking lot. Someone at Jordan reported them missing when Alexis didn’t return to her room. Some kid from teen housing who had sneaked out to have a cigarette said he saw a man, a woman, and a young girl get into a car fitting the description of Murdock’s. The kid couldn’t tell us much because the lighting is terrible there, so it’s hard to tell if he saw them or not.”
“Marla, I have some information that may shed some light on this. You know I’ve been doing
a little investigating on the Elizabeth Sterling-Murdock case, right?”
“Yes, Sabre told me they investigated a police officer in conjunction with the case.”
“Yes, Bill Davis. My best friend, Steve Parker, partnered with him on the force. Steve got too close to exposing him, and Davis killed him before he could talk. They arrested Bill Davis today and charged him with Steve’s murder. Anyway, in the process of snooping around, I came across a note in Elizabeth’s locker at the gym – a riddle about a red bat.”
“A red bat? You mean like the one that attacked Sabre in her office?”
“Yes, that’s what started me looking, because I remembered something Steve had told me about the case and a puzzle he couldn’t solve.”
“So you think there’s a connection between what happened to Sabre and the Elizabeth Sterling case?” Marla sounded a little confused.
“Oh, there’s definitely a connection, all right. I found a Dallas phone number indented in the note. I had an FBI friend of mine check it out for me. Five years ago it belonged to Ronald Adrian Brown, Sabre’s brother.”
“Oh, my God!” Marla gasped. “Do you think Murdock knew Sabre’s brother?”
“It looks like it. I have no idea what Murdock is up to, but I think he has an agenda far beyond anything we know about yet. I think Sabre is in serious danger. We have to find her.”
“The police are looking for her. They’ve been searching since Wednesday evening. Since Alexis is a minor, they didn’t have to wait twenty-four hours to begin their search. At first, they thought maybe Alexis had run away, but they realized Sabre hadn’t checked Alexis back into Jordan. Sabre would never have left without checking her in. And then Murdock showed up. It’s the only thing that makes any sense. But why would he kidnap Sabre?”
“Maybe she got too close to something, like what happened to Honey Stone, perhaps. By the way, Adelle’s story checks out. It appears Honey never made it back to Adelle’s from Peggy’s. Adelle and her husband, Harry, both passed their lie detector tests. I don’t know if Murdock had anything to do with Honey’s disappearance, but at the very least, Peggy must know something. Have you learned anything new?”
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