by Barb Shuler
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maybe it’s all for Naught
Dani Lynn
GROANING, I ROLLED over on the bed and rubbed my eyes. It felt like I had been asleep for a week. What was that about? Then I remembered the Xanax last night and laid my head back down on the pillow. I scrubbed my hands over my face as I yawned. Sitting up slowly I tossed the covers back and slid out of bed. I made my way to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror as I brushed my teeth. I had accepted that I was pregnant. That nauseous feeling was there, but it was nothing like before, and I didn’t have anything in me to let come up. I’d eat and then see how I felt. Maybe if I was nice... I could ask for certain things to eat. I did need something other than bacon and eggs. I was tired of looking at that. Matter of a fact I was tired of turkey and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Dinner was usually something microwavable. I made a gag face as I finished brushing my teeth.
After I washed my face I walked back into the bedroom and pulled on a t-shirt, thankfully it was Drew’s. He must have left it at my place so when Nicole shoved things in a bag it was there. I pulled it to my face and took a deep breath and let his scent fill me. My body started to shake and I had to get a grip on myself. Walking into the library I flopped down in the chair and pulled my leg up under me as I opened my laptop. It was after 1:00 already.
There was a tray on the desk from this morning and one she must have brought in not too long ago. I pulled the plates to me and took the apple and the bagel from the morning tray and stuck them in the drawer beside me. Luckily I had a napkin to wrap the bagel in to keep it for tonight. I pulled the plate from lunch over and took a bite of the sandwich. Tired of turkey or not, I was starving. The bag of chips was tossed in the drawer along with the orange she had on the tray. I ate a pickle slice and licked my fingers before signing into my laptop. I went straight to the documents folder and let my fingers get right to work. Good thing about sleeping with this on my mind was that Lizzie was ready to talk this morning. Well, this afternoon.
“Now, now, Lizzie, let’s see what you are up to, shall we?”
I opened my iTunes and pressed play on my main song list. When “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry started I snorted out a laugh and let Lizzie out of my head. My fingers typed fast as the words were flowing from my head.
~*~
"Now what do you want first? I’ll let you choose. But in the end, you will die." I listened to the voice in my head and ran the knife across one of his nipples, laughing as the blood ran down his side, watching him cringe, while he tried hard not to scream. I moved the knife across his chest multiple times, laughing and enjoying his pain and suffering. The stupid piece of shit deserved it. I worked him over, until he was a bloody mess. His voice got weaker as he panted for me to kill him and to get it over with.
I turned to look at the clock on the wall and then back to him. "As you wish, scum bag," I said, as I drove the knife through his heart. His voice dropped off, and he slumped in the chair. I went upstairs, showered and changed my clothes. I threw some clothes into a duffel bag and headed to my truck.
~*~
“Hmm…” I paused for a moment and shook my head. “Oh no, we can do better than that though…” I chewed on my lip for a moment and nodded. “Yep, we can do better than that. Maybe your second kill… let’s make him really pay, Lizzy.”
~*~
I left Arizona and never looked back. I would just let them think I was dead. I made my way to Virginia, and Andy had me "evaluated". I wasn't charged with anything to do with Martin's death. I passed a lie detector test and had them convinced that I left before the pig was slaughtered. As a horn blew in the distance, I remembered why I was here. I made my way around to the back of The Bart’s Pro Shop and slipped inside. I waited in the storage room, until I knew everyone was gone. Then I slipped into the aisle where he was working and cleared my throat. He gasped in surprise and turned to look at me.
"What is your problem? Jesus, you scared the crap out of me, Lizzie," he said, coming towards me.
I took a step back and he smirked, as he stopped. "Lizzie, come here now," he said pointing to the floor in front of him. I slowly took a few steps forward and stopped, short of the spot.
"LIZZIE, now!" he growled.
~*~
“Ah, you think you’re a badass, huh?”
I laughed to myself and stopped typing when I heard the door open. Nicole’s eyes were almost narrowed as she stalked in and snatched up the morning tray. I looked down and took another small bite of my sandwich, looking up when she cleared her throat.
“Sleep good, did ya?” Her voice was sharp, full of something. Annoyance, maybe anger. I wasn’t sure. I just nodded and rubbed my head as I looked up at her. I was trying my best to look pathetic. I hated to lie, but today that was just what I was going to do, as best as I could.
“I just wasn’t feeling good. I’m not sure eating all of these eggs are agreeing with me. And my head's been pounding. I was thinking and pushing myself too hard I guess.” I shrugged one shoulder. “It happens sometimes when I’m working.” Well at least that wasn’t a total lie. I usually made myself sick with over working my brain. Oh, and with not eating. She didn’t need to know that though. The less she knew the better. I felt like I had some kind of leverage this way. It was better than nothing.
I saw her look down at the tray and nod. She left the little bottle of orange juice and the bottle of water, but took the empty plates and trays and stacked them up together. She stopped and looked back at me before she spoke again. Carefully, like she was having an internal debate with herself.
“I’ll get you something else for breakfast… Laney.”
“Thank you. Eggs have never been good to me. I am not picky, really. I’m just not a fan of being sick…” Again, that was me being completely honest. This pregnancy was going to be fun. I lowered my head again and rubbed the back of my neck. I had to seem like I was willing to submit to what she wanted, but that was far from the case. I was ready to shove that plate in her hand down her throat. My time would come. I knew it would. Though my spirits were starting to waiver. I knew Drew though. He would be looking for me. I knew my daddy would be looking for me. Knowing Katie, the whole state had been wrangled into it. God, I loved them all. I was going to do everything I could to make it out of here and back to them. I was pulled from my own thoughts when Nicole spoke again.
“I will go to town in the morning, see what they have. You, of course, will be locked inside. So, don’t go gettin’ any funny ideas.”
“I know.” I wasn’t going to fight anymore. I was not taking a chance of losing the baby. If I stayed strong and gave Drew time to find us, he would. I could feel it in my bones. Ugh, wait, who was I kidding. I would protect my baby but if I got the chance I would try to fight my way out of here.
I looked up and Nicole was still standing there. She looked back at me. Her eyes were blank as she stared at me. “You need to eat, Laney, the baby needs it.”
When she shut the door it took me a few seconds to register what she said. She knew about the baby? Who in the fuck was Laney? She’d called me that earlier too. Oh God, I needed Drew to hurry the fuck up. I hadn’t heard the lock slide shut but then again, it didn’t make a difference. I was locked inside.
No way to escape… or was there?
Maybe while she was out I would do a little searching and see just how well she had me locked in.
If there was a way out I was going to find it.
Time to save my own ass.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Like a Stone
Drew
GETTING TO OKLAHOMA seemed to be the easy part of our search parties job. The Oklahoma boys, both State Troopers and the local PD, the FBI, and a few volunteers from the local Search and Rescue set out down river and started our way up towards our Homestead. There was no way to know for sure if she was here or not, but I, along with the others, could only hope she was. Nicole was smart
, though. I had a feeling we were going to come up on an empty house. My heart was hammering in my chest the entire time we were in the air and it hadn’t stopped yet.
We mapped off the twenty miles surrounding our homestead and the river. This took us a little outside of Adair County, but better to be safe than sorry. Nicole was resourceful. Apparently we taught her too well. She grew up with us, I know she is capable of keeping herself and Dani Lynn hidden if she had to. We were making call after call to homes in the area, seeing if we got answers or not. Not that the fact that a person answered would keep us from knocking on their door, it just helped us to know where to start. No answers were hit first.
It was the middle of nowhere, so most people out here may not have cell phones, but they had land lines. That only made our jobs a helluva lot harder. I slammed my fist into the hood of the Jeep as another team called in “all clear” for the property they were searching. “Son of a bitch!”
“Take a break, kid, I got this.” I looked up to see Gabe looking me over with both desperation and fear in his eyes. How he was keeping it together through all of this I had no idea. I felt guilty for not doing a better job of keeping Dani Lynn closer to me that night. If I had... She would still be here. I hadn’t listened to my gut in time. Though, I had no idea this was happening. But like Ma always says, “go with your gut”. As Gabe pushed my hand from the hood of the jeep I grumbled and stalked off towards the trees. I walked into the deepest part and let out a roar of anger and frustration. My heart was breaking with each thump, those fissures were deepening to the point of gut wrenching pain.
The pain was causing me to slowly lose my mind. This not knowing was the worst of it all. It took me a moment to get myself together. The thudding in my chest got louder, the panic trying to take me in. Hearing footsteps behind me I sighed as I hung my head, trying to subdue the feelings inside myself.
“Not now, Bubba.” My voice sounded dead even to my own ears. I felt a hand on my shoulder and to my surprise it wasn’t Jackson. Gabe stood there as I turned to face him. My watery gaze flicked up and met his. I tried to shake him off, rubbing at my face. “Sorry, I thought you were Jacks. I’m okay, I just needed a minute.”
He was silent as he stood there. His hand tightened on my shoulder before he let go. “This is hard on all of us. That’s my baby out there. I can feel her in here.” He rubbed his fisted hand over his heart and I nodded. “I promised her mama I’d always look after her, protect her, no matter what. When her mama died I prayed I wouldn’t fuck this up.”
I looked over at the trees as his voice cracked, matching mine in pain and fear. Each word was laced with them as the reality of this situation hit us both.
“I hope we find her in time… I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“Dammit, don't you say that. We will find her, Gabe!” I turned to glare at him, his hand falling from my shoulder to his side. “If I have to scour this entire state on foot I will fucking find her!” I rubbed my face again and turned to walk away from him, cursing as my boots thudded through the sticks and leaves on the ground. Stopping after a few steps I turned to look back at him. I met his eyes. “I promise you I will find her. One way or the other.” I stalked off towards the vans. Maybe Derek had something by now. I opened the door and climbed in to look for my cell phone. As I pulled a few maps from the floor my phone started to ring. I grabbed it and my heart thudded at the ring tone then stopped for a half a beat.
“In your house I long to be;
Room by room patiently,
I'll wait for you there like a stone.
I'll wait for you there alone.”
“Dani Lynn...” I whispered her name as I blinked. That was Dani Lynn’s ringtone. Audioslave. Motherfucker! I jumped out the van and walked out towards the open field to get better reception. “Dani Lynn, baby, are you okay?” My words were met with silence. My body was shaking as I started to panic. “Dani Lynn, where are you? Did that bitch hurt you?”
There was silence still. Then a tsk tsk and a cackle on the other end of the line. My hand squeezed the phone as Gabe and Jackson moved my way. My voice rose as I let all of my anger boiled over.
“NICOLE! Where is my girl?”
“Is that anyway to talk to your little ole’ sister, now? Hmm…”
“Where is she, Nicole? There’s no need to hide, come out. We won’t hurt you if you come in.” Jackson tried to take my phone and I jerked away from him. “I need to know if she is okay.”
“Well, she is for now. I mean… she will heal. Plus, brother. Laney is mine, not yours.”
Who in the fuck was Laney? My heart stopped as I struggled to stay on my feet.
“What did you do to her, you bitch?”
“DREW!” I heard my angel’s voice and my heart skipped a beat. Her voice was faint but it was there. I snarled as I spun on my heels, she sounded as if she was in pain.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!” I screamed into the phone. It sounded like scuffling going on in the background then silence.
“Hmm... well, I just showed her she didn’t need you to make her scream. I’m quite good at it. Even if my Laney pretends to not like it. I know she does. I’ll call again soon, bye now.”
“NICOLE! Don’t hang up-” The ‘click’ on her end of the phone sent my skin to crawling. What in the fuck was she doing to my girl? I stalked towards the truck. Pulled the back door open and pulled out a rifle, bullets and put on my vest. I had to go find her.
“Drew, wait. You can’t go off halfcocked here.” I ignored Jacks as I loaded my gun. Fuck that shit. I was going to find this bitch and put a few holes in her twisted ass. I slid my flashlight into the clip on my pants and turned to see half the camp looking at me.
I one handed the hammer on my gun and let the shell slide into place. “I’m not halfcocked, but I am not standing around here any longer. Either suit up and come with me or shut the hell up and get the fuck out of my way,” I said. My hand was aching where the stitches were pulling. It served as a reminder that I had to stay focused. “Call the kid, see if he can triangulate that last call. And point me in the right direction.” I caught the keys that were tossed at me and looked to the Jeep. “We leave in five.” I moved over to the maps again and waited for Jackson to load up on ammo.
“Hey, the kid’s got the signal, but it’s bouncing all over hell and back. Let’s just head up the road. Dad said there maybe a few of the old houses that are not in working order but they’d be good hiding places.”
I nodded and jumped in the Jeep, tossing him the map. “Call if you find anything. I mean it, boys. Don’t be heroes.”
Fuck that. I started the Jeep and pulled out of the clearing onto the dirt road. It was going to be a long night. Longer than any other. The bitch was taunting us. They had to be close, but how would we find them? I was a now a man on a mission, one that was either going to save my girl or kill us all. One way or another it was going to fucking end.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lies, Lies and More Lies
Drew
YESTERDAY HAD BEEN a bust. No sign of Nicole. No sign of Dani Lynn. Not one motherfucking thing. I was just getting back to sleep when my phone started to ring. I jumped up and growled into the phone. “WHAT!?!”
“Um… uh…”
“Look, dammit, speak or hang the fuck up!” I was beyond tired, my head was killing me. Apparently the bottle of aspirin I took wasn’t enough to counteract too much adrenaline and no sleep. To make matters all the more lovely, our father had showed up last night to ‘help’. Of course that meant he tried to take things over. Thankfully, Gabe not so politely told him to shut up or leave. This was his kid, after all. He was in search mode and that was that. Of course, it didn't mean that Dad wasn't still up our asses so tight you couldn't fart without him knowing it before it was out of your ass. The line crackled and I heard shuffling. I pulled the phone from my ear and saw it was coming from the station.
“What’
s going on? You best start talkin’!” I stood up from the cot I was on in the makeshift command post/campsite and walked to the box filled with bottles of water and popped a top.
“D-drew… she…”
When I heard Derek's frantic voice I froze. “Kid, what is it?”
“She’s... a killer…”
His words were like a slap across my sleep filled eyes. I blinked and tilted my head. “Who is, Kid? What in the hell are you talkin’ ‘bout?
“Ni-Nicole….”
“Dammit, Derek what are you going on about? Just spit it the fuck out!”
“Kid!” There was a new muffled voice and I growled but was cut off when Derek spoke again.
“SHE KILLED SOMEONE!” He took a shaky breath. “Two someone’s...”
I heard more shuffling and then the new voice again. Deep and angry.
“Give me that phone! Drew, it’s Charlie. Jesus, man, that kids found all kinds of shit on Nicole. I’m not sure I want to know how he did it, either. Her records were sealed and for a damn good reason. She’s been... fucked up in the head since she was little. She was committed to the nuthouse somewhere, but then released. Her sentence was overturned by a judge, it seems. Looks like her ma went to jail for.. Drugs.” There was a shuffling of papers before Charlie spoke again. “Yeah, drugs. Repeat offender. Says here her biological father came and got her. Took her away from the trouble she was in….”
“What did the kid mean by she was a killer?” I had to stop him while I could. The word killer was like a ringing bell in my ears. It was matching the pounding in my chest.
