by L. T. Ryan
“Where to?” she asked. “I’ll come meet you there. I could stand to get away for a few days.”
I shook my head. “Just her and me for a few days. We both need it.”
She nodded and said, “Is everything okay, Mitch? You seem, I don’t know, distant.”
I walked toward her, leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you in a week or so, Lana.” She called after me as I exited the room. I didn’t bother to turn around. At that moment, I didn’t care if I ever spoke with her again.
A half-hour later I pulled up to my mother’s house. The door opened before I stepped out of the car. Ella ran toward me, arms outstretched. I lifted her into the air and hugged her like I hadn’t seen her in a year.
“You got the cool car out, Daddy,” she said.
“That’s right,” I said. “The cool car for the cool chick.”
“That’s me,” she said, smiling ear to ear.
I kissed her cheeks a dozen times before setting her down. She ran around the front of the Boss and pulled open the passenger door. Her smile didn’t fade. I wasn’t sure if it was due to me being there, or the car.
Momma came up and said, “Where you headed?”
“Out of town,” I said. “You might want to do the same. Go visit your sister down in D.C. for a week while I’m gone.”
“You think I should?”
I nodded and said, “I do.”
“Then I will.” She turned and walked up to her house. At the front door, she looked back and said, “You two have a safe trip.”
That’s my mother. No need to waste words when they weren’t needed. She’d been that way since I was a kid. I could have a mountain of a problem and her advice wouldn’t stack up higher than an ant hill. But it always worked. It was always right.
So I got Ella settled in the car, gassed up, grabbed some sodas and snacks, and we headed west for the mountains. I called on the way to reserve a cabin for two, hopefully on the lake.
I never could have guessed the surprise that waited for us there.
Chapter 37
I’d been going to this campground since the age of eight or nine. It was our family vacation spot. Momma couldn’t afford to take us anywhere else. The cabins were cheap, so we got up there a few times every year. I guessed we spent a cumulative month there every year until I graduated high school. The owner of the place had a son named Terrence. The two of us were about the same age and we hit it off right away. From the moment I’d arrive till the time when my mother had to pull me out of a canoe, or off a bike, or out of a tree, Terrence and I were together. And we were trouble.
The memories flooded me as I pulled the Boss up to the wooden building that served as the check-in office and convenience store. The sign out front had been replaced and the shutters had been repainted. Otherwise it looked the same as it did twenty years ago. I reached over and gently shook Ella to wake her up.
“Are we there?” she asked, yawning and stretching her slender arms above her head.
I nodded and pointed toward the building. She smiled and hopped out of the car. I climbed up a set of creaking stairs and met her at the front door. She pulled it open and went inside. The place smelled like mothballs and beef jerky.
“Son of a bitch,” the guy behind the counter said.
Ella giggled. I smiled. “Terrence,” I said. “How’ve you been?”
Terrence came around the counter and shook my hand. “What’s it been? Four years now?” He reached down and placed his hand on Ella’s head. “This one was still in diapers back then.”
I nodded. “It’s been a while.”
“The rest of the crew outside?”
I took Ella’s hands in mine. “Just the two of us this time.”
His eyes grew wide like he remembered something. I nodded at him, letting him know it was okay.
Terrence went back behind the counter and opened up his reservation book. “A little daddy and daughter adventure, eh? I see you spoke with my wife. That’s why I didn’t know you were coming.” He tossed a set of keys to me. The fob attached said cabin thirteen. “Right on the water, in front of the dock.”
“Excellent.”
“We rebuilt it a few years ago. Perfect condition.”
I stood there, smiling, holding Ella’s hand.
“Ah, right, well you two go get settled in. Come on back up and I’ll have some bait and poles waiting for you so you can get some fishing in. Then tonight, we’ll grill whatever you catch.”
“I don’t like fish,” Ella said.
“Then I’ll make you some hot dogs,” Terrence said. “Fair?”
Ella said, “Sure.”
I thanked him, and Ella and I went back outside, got in the car and drove until we found cabin thirteen. The gravel driveway beside the cabin was already occupied by a black Acura. I parked behind the vehicle and told Ella to lock the car doors and remain in there until I returned. I left my cell phone with her in case anything happened to me. I hadn’t been by the station, so I still had my pistol. Even if I had turned it in, I would have brought my personal piece. I drew my gun and crept around the side of the cabin, stopping just short of the front corner. I heard a squeaking sound from the porch. I eased around the edge and saw the back of a woman, seated on the porch swing that hung by chains from the ceiling.
“Bridget?”
She put her foot down and stopped the swing’s momentum. Her head turned toward me. She smiled. “I wondered when you’d show up.”
“What are you doing here?” I continued around and climbed the three stairs that led to the front porch. A fish splashed in the water behind me.
“Turns out you’re not the only one who got suspended.”
“What? Why?”
“Fraternizing.”
“Was someone outside my house?” I felt the anger rise in my throat like bile.
She shook her head. “I’m under investigation. They’ve got no real proof. My boss said I should be back on the job in a couple days. Anyway, I figured I could use a few days away and Sam mentioned you’d be out here.”
“Why would Sam care?”
She smiled and then shrugged. “I guess he has some suspicions about us.”
“You shouldn’t have come out here,” I said.
She leaned forward and placed her hands on her knees. “I can leave, if you want.”
“I don’t want that,” I said. “But I’ve got my daughter out here and I don’t want to confuse her.”
Bridget reached into her pocket and pulled out a key fob identical to mine. “That’s why I’ve got my own cabin. Number fourteen. Right there.” She aimed her finger across the porch at an identical cabin positioned twenty feet away. “Now, where is that daughter of yours?”
“Christ almighty. I’ll be right back.” I jumped off the porch and ran around the cabin. Ella smiled when she saw me. I waved for her to get out. She opened the door, raced up to me and handed me my phone. Then she ran past me toward the lake.
“Oh, that’s so pretty, Daddy. Can we go swimming?”
“I suppose we could,” I said. “But there’s snakes out there.”
“I don’t care.”
Bridget met us in front of the cabin. “I can take her out, Mitch.”
“Who’s this, Daddy?”
“This is Special Agent Bridget Dinapoli, Ella. She and Daddy were working on the same case. Turns out she needed a vacation as well, and she ended up with the cabin next to ours. Is it okay if she spends some time fishing and hanging out with us?”
“Cool,” Ella said. Kids had it so easy. A new friend. Cool. Let’s go chill.
And chill we did.
Terrence didn’t wait for me to come back to the office. He pulled up next to the cabin in a golf cart and honked three times. Sounded like a Tercel that had swallowed a balloon full of helium.
“Give me a hand, Mitch,” he said.
I noticed that he had trouble moving his left arm. There were no visible injuries. I gestured toward
it and asked, “What happened?”
He waved me off. “Come on, help with this cooler.”
We unloaded the cooler and set it on the porch. He opened the lid and pulled out two cans of Budweiser. Good enough for me on this warm September afternoon. Then Terrence went back to the golf cart and grabbed a tackle box, three rods and reels, and a couple Styrofoam cups that I presumed contained worms for bait. He dropped all the gear next to the steps and took a seat next to me on the swing. I stared out past the rustic railing, watching Bridget and Ella.
“Who’s the girl?” Terrence asked.
“Some FBI agent.”
“That’s all? You co-workers or something like that?”
I turned toward him, smiled, said, “Something like that.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. Looked like two caterpillars dancing. “I saw you on the TV, Mitch.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nah,” he said, looking out over the water. “Shame about those kids.”
I nodded and said nothing. What could be said?
“Hope you find them.”
“Won’t be me, old friend.”
“Why’s that?”
“Bureaucratic BS.”
Terrence smiled and said, “If all bureaucracy is bullshit, does that make all bullshit bureaucracy?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I said, turning to face him. The ridiculous look on his face along with the dancing caterpillars on his forehead caused me to laugh. Terrence joined in. It turned into one of those moments where everything reaches that tipping point and you can’t control yourself. Funny how two grown men could turn into eleven-year-old boys when paired up again.
The sound of Ella screaming “Daddy” put an end to that.
Chapter 38
The dark never let up, it seemed, to Debby. When they put her inside the trunk of the car, she began counting the seconds. She’d almost reached one-thousand before she fell asleep. She’d awaked a couple times, maybe the car had hit a bump or come to a stop, causing her small body to roll.
When the trunk had finally opened, she could tell it was no longer dark outside. Though the hood over her head prevented her from seeing anything, stray rays of sunlight penetrated the dark fabric.
Hands wrapped around her upper arm and her thigh. She stifled a pained scream, fearing that if she yelled out it would result in a hand across her face. Those hands pulled her from the vehicle and lifted her into the air. She felt a breeze against her exposed skin, for a moment at least. A door opened, squeaking on rusted hinges. The light and the cool air faded. The door closed with a high pitched squeal.
An odor pervaded the hood that covered her head. What was it? Mold? Mildew? Was that what a musty smell actually smelled like?
Debby resisted the urge to ask where she was. It didn’t matter if she knew. Someone else needed to know. Someone who would risk their life to save hers.
Was there such a person? And if so, where?
It was easy for Debby to give up hope. She meant nothing to anyone.
“Don’t you friggin move,” the guy said to her, setting her down on the ground. His words echoed a few times, softer and softer with each renewed call, leaving Debby to wonder about the structure they were in.
The floor was cold, hard and damp. She pulled her legs to her chest so that the only bare skin touching the ground were the soles of her feet. She heard the guy grunting and the sound of something being moved, maybe slid, to the side across the floor. A cool draft slid past her. The musty mildew-mold smell intensified. She wanted to gag or sneeze, but stifled the urge for fear of retribution.
Slow deliberate footsteps approached. The guy’s ragged breath came with them. She felt him hovering over her. He sniffled. Fabric grated against an unshaven face. She thought of her brother sanding down a birdhouse he’d made a year ago for shop class. He’d hung it from a tree branch outside her window. She recalled watching as the first bird circled, then landed, eating the food that she’d placed inside. She stared in horror as her brother shot that bird with his pellet gun. It stiffened and then fell out of sight.
Like that bird, would this be Debby’s final house?
“Get up,” the guy said.
She placed her palms on the floor and pushed herself up. His sweaty hand wrapped around the back of her neck. If she walked too slowly, he pushed her. Too fast, he squeezed and pulled back. She let him guide her across the room.
“Duck your head,” he said.
She lowered her head and took another step forward. His hand released from her neck. She reached her arms out in front, then to the side. Her left hand grazed something solid. It was cool and dry. She took a small step to the left.
“Don’t turn around,” the guy said, tugging the hood off her head. “I’ll kill you if you do.”
She heeded his words. She didn’t want to look back anyway. At first glance, the room had no light source. She had to take in every inch of it before he closed whatever barrier would stand between her and freedom. There was shuffling behind her. Was he entering the room? Now she wanted to look, but didn’t.
“I’m leaving you with some food and water, girl,” he said. “Should be enough to keep you going for a week, maybe two if you ration. Someone should be along to collect you by then. If we don’t forget about you, that is.”
Debby began to cry.
“Don’t worry, girl. If you don’t want to prolong it, don’t eat. Or eat it all at once. Nature will take its course. Simple, really.”
Panic set in. Debby began to hyperventilate. The guy’s footsteps traveled away from her. He grunted as something slid along the ground. The light began to fade. The grinding sound stopped. The room turned dark.
Debby found herself in the dark, again. Would she ever see the light?
Yes, she thought. She reached inside her front pocket and pulled out the little flashlight from Beans’s backpack. Turning it on, she spun around in a half-circle and saw the rations she’d been left with. A six pack of large water bottles and a loaf of bread. Ration that over two weeks? Yeah, right. Maybe the guy was on to something. Maybe she should just give up.
She couldn’t, though. Not yet. She still had hope. The room was fairly large, to a nine year old. She walked to the back wall. The room rose toward the middle and then sloped downward. She hadn’t been able to see the floor until she got close to the rear of the room. There she found a shovel. The blade was orange with rust, and long splinters dangled from the handle. She picked it up, and using it like a spear, attacked the back wall. To her surprise a small chunk of the wall fell to the floor. There might be a chance, she thought. She could get out alive, maybe, if she broke through the wall.
From the other side of the room she heard someone banging against the door. She extinguished her light, placed the shovel flat on the ground and returned to the opposite side of the room.
The banging continued for five to ten minutes. The longest five or ten minutes of Debby’s life. And there’d been plenty of minutes that had stretched to eternity lately. Too many, in fact. She waited in anticipation for the door to open and for the guy to discover her plans. But it never did. He never came back. The banging stopped and Debby found herself alone in the dark room with an instrument that could lead her to freedom.
Chapter 39
Ella’s scream jarred me back to reality. I launched myself from the bench. Ignoring the stairs, I placed my hand on the railing and vaulted over it. The drop was further than I anticipated and the ground uneven. I let my legs buckle and I rolled forward. A second later I found my footing and was up racing toward Ella and Bridget. They’d walked along the lakefront, disappearing behind a thick row of trees.
A thousand thoughts went through my mind. First and foremost, I feared that Roy Miller-Michael Lipsky had found us. I pictured the guy stalking through the woods, waiting for the right moment to snatch my little girl. I decided then and there I would act as judge, jury, and executioner if I saw him.
With my pistol in my right hand, I sprinted as hard and as fast as I could, pushing beyond the limits my lungs tried to place upon me. As I rounded the trees, I heard Terrence’s golf cart whining behind me. He shouted my name a couple times. I didn’t bother to look back. Not with only a few feet remaining between me and whatever had frightened my daughter.
When I had them in view, I came to an immediate stop.
“What the hell is going on?” I said between heavy breaths.
Bridget lifted her arm. Ella stood a few feet away, smiling and pointing at the snake dangling from Bridget’s hand.
“Ella, get away from there!” I shouted.
Bridget smiled and said, “Relax, Mitch. It’s only a water snake.”
My hands shook from the heavy shot of adrenaline I’d taken. I said, “Then why is it on land?”
Both of them laughed at me. Terrence, who’d joined me on foot and now stood beside me, joined them.
“I’m glad you all think this is funny.” I patted my chest. “About gave me a heart attack.” Another deep breath, with a loud exhale. “Why’d you scream like that, Ella?”
Ella bent forward, placed her hands on her knees and laughed harder.
“She almost stepped on him,” Bridget said. “She was scared. I reached down and scooped this little guy up.”
“Better get rid of him before I blow his head off.” I aimed my pistol at the sky for emphasis.
“Oh, he’s not going to hurt anyone. I used to find them everywhere when I was a kid in Florida. Used to bring them home and keep them as pets until my mom found them and made me bring them back to the lake.”
Ella looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh, can I keep him, Daddy? Please?”
“Not only no,” I said. “Hell no. Now put that thing back in the water where it belongs.”
“Come on, Ella,” Bridget said, taking her by the hand. “Let’s release him.”
Ella whined a bit, but she had no choice in the matter. I’d denied her request to get a dog. What made her think I’d let her keep a snake?
Terrence placed a hand on my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get those poles in the water.”
