Stolen in the Night

by MacDonald, Patricia

  “If they hadn’t been so stoned, they might have remembered their physics. They might have realized that once the car had totally filled up with water, they could have opened the car door.”

  For a moment, Tess’s heart seemed to stop. Had she really heard her father say that so long ago? Was she hallucinating? Why would the door open once the car filled up? Her father had taught physics. Maybe it was some law of science. Some principle that Tess had never bothered to learn. Or maybe it was her own brain, trying to protect her from what was about to happen to her. Her mind was letting her think that she would be able to open the door. That there was hope.

  The water was up to her neck now and splattering her face from every angle. Part of her just wanted to sink down into it and accept what was going to happen. But she had always listened to her father. And now, even if this memory was only the figment of her terrified imagination, she had to cling to it. Let the car fill up. Hold your breath. Either it will work or it won’t. One way or the other, you will find out. Tess kept her head back, her nose and mouth above the water, for as long as she could. Her body was so numb, it felt as if it had become detached from her head and yet she felt as if she were being pierced with thousands of icy knives. The panic was almost uncontrollable, but she kept her mind fastened on her father’s voice, be it a memory, or a hallucination, or his way of welcoming her from beyond. At the last minute, when there was only an inch or two above her face, Tess gasped, inhaled as much air as she could, and let herself drift down, immersing herself in the cold blackness, still holding her breath and groping for the door handle. The car was completely filled. Now or never, she thought. For a moment, the faces of the people she loved passed through her mind and swelled in her heart, and then her fingers found the door handle and pressed.

  As if she had found a magic password, the door that had refused to budge for the hours or moments it had taken for the car to fill suddenly swung out.

  Tess almost let go of her breath in her shock, but stopped herself in time. She forced her body into the open space between the door and the door frame and pushed herself out of the car, swimming awkwardly, her limbs numb, her lungs bursting. At first she could not see where she was going and she felt a moment of panic that she would not find the surface. And then, above her, she saw a pale ribbon of light. She pointed herself upward, kicking and pushing with all her might. She felt her clothes weighing her down, but she couldn’t stop to shed them. Her face burst the surface of the murky pond and the chill moonlight caressed her like a lover’s kiss.

  For a moment she bobbed there, exhausted, thanking God for her deliverance, and then she heard the blessed wail of police sirens and saw the flash of lights. Erny, she thought. He did it. He got help. Shivering but exultant, she summoned all her remaining strength and began to swim to the shore.

  CHAPTER 36

  “Something��s happening in there,” said Kenneth.

  Dawn looked up at the front door of the Morris house as a stretcher emerged and the EMTs rushed the patient down the steps toward the waiting ambulance.

  “Who is it?” Dawn asked.

  Kenneth strained to see. “I can’t tell from here.”

  The ambulance was parked beside Chan Morris’s black Mercedes. Dawn peered at the car next to the Mercedes. “Isn’t that Mr. Ramsey’s car?” she asked.

  “I don’t remember,” said Kenneth.

  A maroon van pulled up beside where they were standing and a heavyset woman in a tweed coat clambered down from the driver’s seat. The van had an acronym on the side: SHARE. Dawn recognized the logo. It was from the center for abused women. The driver walked over to where Dawn, Kenneth, and Erny were standing. “Excuse me,” she said. “I heard on our scanner at the center that the police were called here,” she said. “Is that Mrs. Morris they’re carrying out?”

  “We don’t know who it is,” said Dawn. “We heard gunshots inside the house just as we arrived. We’re waiting for some word. I’m afraid my daughter might be in there.”

  “Oh my God,” said the woman, shaking her head. “This is just awful. Sally Morris called us today. She wanted to get away from him, but when I came here this afternoon to pick her up, she wouldn’t come with me. If only I could have convinced her…”

  “Here comes another one,” said Kenneth, pointing to the front door as another group of rescue workers carried out another stretcher.

  Erny watched the stretchers being loaded into the ambulance with a heavy heart. Was his mother on one of them? He had done his best to try to save her. He even got into the car of a stranger—something he knew he should never do—to try to get help. He was afraid to get into that car, but he was more afraid for his mother. So he did it. Luckily, it turned out okay because the man, Ken, knew Dawn and took him right to the inn. He told the cops everything he knew. He was brave and didn’t cry, and everybody told him how good he did. But now…now it seemed it was all for nothing. There was no sign of his mother. If she was in that house and still okay, she’d be running out of there and down those steps, calling out for him. He told the cops about the shed where the creep had locked him in and the cops were looking for her there and in the barn, but so far she wasn’t anywhere that he could see.

  Erny leaned against Dawn, who was talking to the woman who had driven up in the van. He tuned out their conversation and looked hopelessly up the driveway, wishing that he and his mother had never come on this trip. If they had stayed home, none of this would have happened and his mother would be with him and would be okay. He stared blankly into the darkness beyond the flashing red lights of emergency vehicles toward the driveway and the pond, which was illuminated by only a silver band of moonlight. What would happen to him now? Would he be alone again?

  All of a sudden Erny saw something moving. He frowned and looked harder. There was something out there. Maybe it was an animal, crackling through the leaves and branches, he told himself. Just an animal, like that moose me and Mom saw that day from the canoe, he thought, as a cloud obscured the band of moonlight. Erny’s already low spirits sank even further as he remembered that canoe adventure and how excited he had been. Before I found that dead man in the woods. Before that Chan guy took me away. He and his mom were getting ready to make a campfire. It was going to be the best day, and then it turned into the worst day. Erny sighed and slumped against Dawn’s side, wondering if he would ever feel good again.

  And then, materializing out of the gloom, he saw it again. A figure. At first he thought it was a ghost. It had long stringy hair and clothes that appeared to be melting. But then he realized that it was no ghost. It was a person who was walking down that driveway. Erny’s heart beat wildly. He held his breath and waited, hoping against hope, as the bedraggled figure stumbled on the macadam, nearly fell, and let out a mild oath. Hearing that familiar voice, suddenly, he knew.

  “Mom,” he whispered.

  Dawn raised her head and looked around in confusion as Erny pushed away from her and began to run toward the swaying woman. He threw himself at her. Tess saw him coming, streaking toward her like a comet in the darkness. She swept him up in her arms, pressing him against her sopping wet clothes, and let out a sob of relief.

  “Ma,” he cried and then recoiled from her. “You’re all wet.”

  “I know, I know,” said Tess, beaming at him.

  Dawn was running toward them, Kenneth following close behind.

  “Grandma!” Erny crowed. “I found her.”

  Dawn threw her own jacket over Tess’s shoulders while Erny told anyone who would listen about how he had spotted her and knew it was her. Tess, still shivering, explained what had happened in snatches to her mother and a policeman whom Kenneth had summoned. Erny stayed glued to Tess’s side, refusing to let go of her hand. She rubbed his hair and kissed him on the top of the head.

  “What happened?” she asked him. “How did you get away?”

  “Ken found me,” he said.

  Tess looked up at Kenneth Phalen, who was standin
g very close to Dawn. “Ken?” she said.

  “He was looking for me,” Erny told her. “And he took me right to Dawn. And the cops.”

  “Thank you so much,” Tess said to Ken sheepishly. “I can never thank you enough. I’m sorry I’ve been so…”

  Ken raised a hand to silence her. “I’m so happy that you’re okay. I couldn’t stand it if your mother had lost you.”

  The police officer who had taken her statement reappeared. “Chief Bosworth wants to talk to you,” he said. “Can you come with me?”

  “Now?” Dawn cried. “She’s freezing. We need to get her home.”

  “We won’t keep her long,” said the cop.

  “Okay. Sure,” said Tess. She turned to Erny. “I’ll be right back. Don’t worry.”

  Pulling Dawn’s coat tighter around her, Tess and the policeman started toward the house, the officer parting the crowd of curious reporters and onlookers. As they reached the spot where Chan’s Mercedes was parked, Tess stopped in her tracks.

  “That’s Ben’s car parked there,” she said. “Ben Ramsey.”

  “Yeah,” said the officer. “He was in there. He got shot.”

  Tess stopped, swaying on her feet. “No…”

  “They took him in the ambulance,” said the officer. “He’ll be okay. Here, let me give you a hand. You look a little shaky.”

  Tess accepted his offer of an arm. “I am,” she admitted. She was full of fear for Ben, but she clung to the officer’s hopeful prediction like a life preserver. Together with the officer, they approached Chief Bosworth, who turned and frowned at them.

  “This is Miss DeGraff, sir,” said the officer.

  “Thanks,” the chief said gruffly. He looked critically at Tess. “What happened to you? Where were you? I’ve had teams of men searching for you.”

  “He tried to kill me. Chan Morris did,” said Tess. “He tied me up and sank the car I was in. He tried to drown me. He killed my sister. He admitted it.”

  “Well, he won’t hurt anyone else. He’s being read his rights even as we speak.”

  “How is Ben Ramsey?” Tess asked. “The officer said he was shot.”

  “He’ll pull through,” said the chief. “Morris’s wife wasn’t so lucky.”

  An excited buzz suddenly arose and a cry among the onlookers as two policemen appeared in the doorway, flanking Channing Morris, who was in handcuffs. Reporters shouted his name and begged for a comment, but Chan did not look anywhere but straight ahead, his handsome face a blank mask.

  Tess turned to Rusty Bosworth, who had moved to the open door of the cruiser. “Chief,” she said.

  “We’ll need to talk to you some more at the station,” Rusty said grimly. “You’d better get some dry clothes on first.”

  There was a slight scuffle as Chan resisted being shoved down into the backseat of the waiting police cruiser.

  “Can I speak to him for a minute before you take him?” Tess asked.

  “That’s up to him,” said Rusty Bosworth.

  Tess looked closely at Chan. At this moment of ultimate defeat, his gray eyes looked indifferent and distant. His gaze flickered slightly when he saw Tess.

  “I’m still alive,” she said to Chan.

  Chan shrugged. “Too bad,” he said.

  “She wants to talk to you,” said Rusty Bosworth.

  “I have nothing to say to her,” said Chan.

  “I want to ask him something,” said Tess.

  “I guess you’ll have to visit him in jail,” said Rusty.

  Tess looked Chan in the eye. “Please.”

  Chan looked at her and shook his head. “Why?”

  “Please. Give me one minute,” said Tess.

  Chan shrugged. “Fine.”

  The officers looked to their chief. Rusty Bosworth held up his index finger. “One minute,” he said.

  “I want you guys out of earshot,” said Chan.

  Rusty put his hand on the gun in his holster. “Don’t try anything.”

  The officers stepped back and Chan, still handcuffed, inclined his head so he could hear what Tess was saying.

  Tess licked her lips. She didn’t want to alienate him with her question. He would turn away and never answer her. And she knew already that he would plead innocent and refuse to answer questions at his trial. But she needed to know. She spoke carefully. “You said you killed my sister out of revenge. But you didn’t even know us. How could it have been revenge?” she asked.

  Chan laughed scornfully. “Why should I tell you that? So you can get up on the witness stand and testify against me?”

  Tess shook her head. “We both know I’m going to testify against you. But nothing I say will matter. The DNA will speak louder than I ever could.”

  Chan shrugged again. “You’re honest,” he said. “I like that.”

  “Then tell me why,” Tess pleaded. “Please.”

  A white van came tearing down the driveway and screeched to a halt in the midst of the crowd of onlookers. Jake and Julie had arrived. Jake rushed over to his mother and Erny. He picked up Erny in his arms, holding him close. Julie followed right behind him, her round face beaming. Chan’s disdainful gaze seemed to be fixed on the newcomers.

  “I don’t remember saying that,” said Chan.

  “You said you were angry when you saw my sister tied up in that shed,” Tess prompted him. “That you wanted revenge.”

  Chan looked over at Julie, bulky and sensibly coiffed, and shook his head. “It’s unbelievable. I didn’t even recognize her when I saw her the other day.”

  “Saw who?” said Tess, confused. “What are you talking about?”

  Chan snorted with disgust. “She was pretty then. And had a great body. And she was mine. Until your brother showed up that day at the lake.”

  “Julie?” Tess asked.

  Chan’s face was a blank, his eyes faraway, remembering. “When I saw Lazarus coming and going from the gardener’s shed, and I found your sister locked up there, I considered letting her go. And then I thought, Forget that. It’s payback time.”

  “Payback,” Tess whispered.

  “I probably shouldn’t have taken it out on Phoebe. I know that now. But you’re stupid when you’re young. You think your heart will be broken forever.” Chan shook his head. “What a waste. Now I wouldn’t give that cow the time of day.”

  Chan turned his head and looked at Tess. “I’m warning you. If you say this at my trial, I will deny it.”

  Everything inside of Tess shrank from his cruel words. She looked over at her family. Dawn, standing close to Kenneth, was talking on her cell phone, spreading the good news that Tess was safe. Jake looked on indulgently as Julie took her turn tearfully embracing her nephew. Tess looked back at Phoebe’s killer. “No. No one will ever hear that from me.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Tess tapped at the wood frame of the screen door. Ben, who was sitting on the porch in a rocker, his feet up on the inner railing, looked over at her, smiled, and gestured for her to come in. He used his good arm, the one that was not taped to his chest.

  Tess opened the door and shivered. “How can you sit out here in this weather? It’s turned so cold,” she said.

  Ben got up from the rocker. “You’re right. I was just about to go in,” he said.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” said Tess.

  Ben leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss. “You could never disturb me,” he said. He reached for the knob on the front door. “Come on. Let’s go in.”

  “Thanks,” said Tess. She followed him inside and put the bag she was carrying down on the dining table in the great room. “I raided the gourmet deli and brought us some dinner,” she said. “And Dawn sent along some apple cake.”

  “Between your mother’s cake and the doc forbidding me to run,” said Ben, “I’m gonna be a blimp.”

  Tess smiled. “You’re lucky to get any. Dawn is busy trying to fatten up Kenneth.”

  “Ah, the way to a man’s hea
rt,” he said. “So, where’s young Erny tonight?”

  “He went to the movies. With his uncle. It’s an action picture.”

  Ben chuckled. “They’ll both enjoy that.”

  “You know it,” said Tess.

  “Here. Come and sit.” Ben sank down into the corner of the sofa and indicated the cushion beside him.

  Tess sat down beside him and shifted her body so that she was looking directly into his lake blue eyes. The urge to touch him was irresistible. As soon as she did, they moved together, cheek to cheek, their eyes closed, and then they were kissing and kissing. Tess felt like she was floating under the sun in a warm ocean as a wave of desire rose within her, around her. No, she thought. Time is short. We have to talk. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him and more reluctantly, he let her go. For a minute they gazed at each other. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “Good,” he said. “Great. Doc says I can go back to work next week.”

  Tess nodded. “That’s good.” She was quiet for a moment. Then she looked away from him and said, “I’ve got to get back to it, too. Erny needs to get back to school. And my team has been calling me. They’re taking turns, calling me in shifts. They got grant money for a new film. It’s a documentary about this suburban, junior league–type woman who moved to the inner city to try and do something meaningful with her life.”

  “This is a true story?”

  “Oh yeah. Her husband divorced her and all the kids stayed with him except for her oldest son. He went with his mother and they run a shelter together. It’s very bizarre. I think it’s going to be an interesting film.”

  Ben nodded. “It sounds like it.”

  Tess glanced at him. “Still, I hate to go back,” she said.

  “Really?” he said. “Why?”

  Tess shrugged. “Lots of reasons.”

  Ben reached for her hand with his free hand and kneaded it. His touch was electric to her and she did not dare to look in his eyes. They sat in silence for a few moments. Then they both spoke at once.