Chapter 25
It wasn’t the same room that Lawrence had led them to last time, but other than the windows being on opposite sides of the wall, it was almost an exact match. Samantha sat in the chair on the other side of the table staring down at it. She didn’t look up when they entered and even shied away from the door when it opened.
Gloria rushed around the table and gathered a startled Samantha in her arms, hugging her tightly. For a brief moment, the thin woman fought until she realized who it was, then she practically disappeared into Gloria’s arms as she sobbed in relief.
Abby and Robert just stood, staring at the spectacle. They could see bruises on Samantha’s arms from where fingers had gripped too tightly, and could only imagine what the sobbing woman’s face looked like.
Finally, after a few minutes, Samantha pulled back, reaching up and caressing Gloria’s cheek. Her hair fell away from her face a bit, and Abby gasped as she saw the dark circles under her eyes and around her nose.
For her part, Gloria just tilted her head and silent tears began to tumble down her face. She reached up and took Samantha’s hand and held it in silence for a few more moments.
“I missed you,” Samantha said slowly. “Why didn’t you come visit me for so long?”
“I’m so sorry, Samantha,” Gloria said. “I’m so very sorry. Things have been complicated but we fought to get back here, and here we are. Do you forgive me?”
Samantha gave Gloria a long look before finally seeming to notice Abby and Robert. She gave Robert a curious glance, but when she looked at Abby she seemed to flinch. “You were very nice to me. Almost like Diana and Doreen. They used to help me and try to find things I liked.” She paused, wringing her hands in front of her chest for a moment. “I’m sorry I gave you that bottle. I was scared. I didn’t know what to do.”
Abby bit her lip, not knowing how to answer. She felt a sense of responsibility for Samantha now, but the woman had tried to kill her, Hazel, and Mr. Wilberson with a poisoned bottle of wine. They had figured it out before anyone was hurt, but it had been close.
Still, she was having a hard time thinking of Samantha as anything other than a confused young woman. In fact, that was why Samantha was in the hospital because she didn’t understand what she’d done, or what the consequences of her actions really were, so Abby decided to just let it go.
“It’s okay, Samantha,” Abby said softly, picking up a chair and taking it to the other side of the table next to Samantha and Gloria. “It’s in the past, and we’ll just work toward the future. Speaking of, we’re here to see how you are doing and to help you. It looks like something bad happened to you.”
Samantha nodded and touched her own face. “Yeah, someone hurt me but I don’t know who. I was on my way up to see Kathy. Kathy’s nice. I like to visit her though she’s mean to other people, but she’s nice to me. When I did, someone came up behind me and pushed me hard against one of the windows.”
“Did you see who it was?” Gloria asked, sitting in the chair that Robert had moved around for her.
Samantha shook her head, giving Gloria a worried look. “No, I didn’t. they were slamming me against the window hard. I think they were trying to push me out, but they don’t break. I saw someone smash a chair against them once. They were mad and just hit it over and over, but it didn’t break at all.”
“I’m betting it was in an area where there aren’t cameras, either. Still, it seems pretty clumsy,” Robert said softly, keeping his voice low. “Samantha, did you see anything else or did the person speak to you?”
Samantha shook her head quickly. “No, he didn’t speak but I did see his arm. He had on a badge.” She paused, looking at Gloria in a pitiful way. “Why would the police want to hurt me?”
“Police?” Abby asked, looking around. “The only police I know who would do anything like that are Mike and Ed.”
“You mean the two detectives that are in the senator’s pocket?” Robert asked, making Gloria stare at him a moment in confusion. Abby had to remember that Gloria had little idea of the other adventures she’d been through, but she wasn’t altogether sure she wanted to tell her. “That’s possible, though if the senator is behind it he’s likely covered his tracks.”
“Why are they trying to hurt me?” Samantha said in a sad tone. “I didn’t do anything to them.”
“I know,” Gloria said, wrapping Samantha in her arms again but she kept staring at Abby.
It was clear Abby was going to have to do more talking in the car but they’d come here for a reason. “Samantha, It’s not your fault, but we need your help. Do you remember any place that Buck used to go to out by a lake?”
Samantha looked at Abby then down to her hands, fidgeting for a minute. Abby thought she might not speak but just before Abby began talking again, the girl grunted and spoke. “A lake?” she said. “Yes, there was a lake we used to go to. It was pretty in the summer, but there was trash. Buck never bothered to clean anything up. I didn’t like the mess, but he’d yell at me if I tried.”
“Yes, that’s it,” Abby said, grasping Samantha’s hand and squeezing it softly. Do you remember how to get there? Or where it is? We were out by the lake, but we couldn’t find anything.”
“Oh, Buck wouldn’t like you going out there,” Samantha said, looking up with a small bit of fear.
“It’s okay, Samantha,” Gloria said. “don’t you remember? Buck is gone. He can’t yell at you anymore.
Samantha looked at Gloria and finally nodded sadly. “Yeah. I forgot. Buck is dead, isn’t he? I guess I won’t see him again, then.” She sighed and continued. “There’s a treehouse near the lake. We always used to find it because there was a gnarled old stump that looked like a dwarf. Like in the movie? Thick and grumpy looking. There’s a small trail that goes around it, and then it heads back into the woods. We’d go up there and drink a lot. Or at least Buck did. Demsey and I didn’t. I don’t like to drink and it would make Demsey get angry easily. Not even Buck liked Demsey when he got angry.”
Abby looked at Gloria who was nodding. “I know that stump. It’s actually pretty close to the sawmill. I can get us there.” She said to Abby before looking at Samantha. “How much further back is it? How long did it take you to get to this treehouse?”
“About ten minutes. Sometimes fifteen if it was muddy.” Samantha said. “Did I help?”
Abby and Gloria both gave her a hug. “Yes, you helped. Samantha, we’re going to help you, too.”
Robert nodded. “Yes, we’re going to get you out of here and into a better place, Samantha. I promise.”
“But Momma won’t like that,” Samantha said. “She told me I’d be staying in here forever. For as long as I lived.”
“Don’t worry, Samantha,” Abby said. “Hazel is your new guardian. We’ll get you out of here and into a much better place.”
Samantha looked up, blinking rapidly. “Hazel? You mean Mrs. Morgan? But I tried to hurt her. Why would she help me?”
“Because,” Abby said, her gaze boring into Samantha’s. “It’s the right thing to do. You’ve got people that love you now, Samantha. We’re not going to let anyone hurt you anymore.”
Samantha smiled softly, still not quite believing what she was hearing, but there was hope in her eyes for the first time Abby had ever seen. “Okay,” she said simply.
Chapter 26
Robert stayed behind claiming he had work to do at the hospital. Abby didn’t know what he had planned, but she felt better knowing the lawyer was going to stay behind and make sure Samantha was safe. If anyone could do it, it would be him. Gloria and Abby raced back towards Red Pine Falls after putting a call into Gabe. He, Lanie, John, and Reggie would meet them in the parking lot of the sawmill.
They were so intent on the road, that they didn’t notice the car that pulled out and followed them almost all the way into town. As they pulled into the sawmill, it continued on its way, but pulled off the road not far past the turn-off.
“We’
re here,” Abby said as they got out of her PT Cruiser. She bounded over to Gabe and gave him a hug, before turning to John, Reggie, and Lanie. Thankfully, John had changed out of his suit and was now wearing some more rugged jeans and a workman jacket that she thought looked like one of Gabe’s extras. Despite his shorter stature, he still wore the jacket well.
“I hope you have a good idea of where to look,” John said, looking at the woods. “I’m not looking forward to stomping around in there if it gets dark.”
“I know where to go,” Gloria said, striding off with a purpose. “It’s not far. I’m surprised there’s anything back there, though. It’s really not that far from the sawmill. How someone like Buck was able to sneak back there without being seen, I will never know.”
Gloria led them to the far end of the sawmill’s back lot, weaving in between huge hills of saw dust, chips, and piles of logs. Despite the time of year, it appeared the sawmill was still doing brisk business though there was no one currently working on Sunday.
The stump itself was a huge, hulking affair that looked like it had once been a massive fir, but had rotted and collapsed sometime in the past. There were still some scraggly, thick limbs toward the top of the stump which gave it the odd, humanoid look at the right angle. With the moss that covered it, it did indeed look like a dwarf.
They found a faint trail that wound around the stump, and followed it back into the woods until it came out in a dense thicket of pine trees surrounding an old oak. On the lowest branches were built what looked like a large, worn tree house that was surprisingly large. Instead of being high up, it was quite low needing only about four or five steps up a ladder to get into the construction.
They all stopped, looking at it for a long few moments before Gloria approached and ran her hands along the top-most step and peered inside. “I think I know what this is,” she said slowly as she tested the first step with her boot. Though worn, it seemed solid enough and she began the short climb up into the interior. “I remember Bob, the owner saying that he had built a treehouse for his kids, but I always assumed it was at their house. He’s a grandfather now, so I guess Buck found this one day and then just started using it.”
She kicked a beer bottle out of the way and shook her head, moving aside to let Gabe climb up after her. He looked inside, then turned back to the rest of them. “There’s not that much room up here. Let me and Gloria look around and see if we can find something.
Abby stood outside with John, Reggie, and Lanie, looking impatiently up at the rickety tree house. It moved a bit as Gabe and Gloria moved around, but for the most part seemed solid.
“What do you think it will be in,” John said while looking at the treehouse.
“Shoebox,” Reggie said. “Probably a Nike shoebox.”
“I don’t know,” John said as he stroked his chin. “I’m betting it will be in an old cigarette case. Do you think Buck smoked?”
Reggie chuckled. “Um, yes. I think he probably smoked and drank pretty heavily.” He pointed to an area under the treehouse that held piles of trash. Amongst the piles, there were several half-destroyed cigarette cartons and several types of cheap beer.
“Are you two actually debating what the flash drive will be kept in?” Lanie asked, looking at the two men in disbelief.
John smiled, his brilliant teeth shining out from his tanned face. “Yes, it’s a pastime we picked up years ago when it came to criminals hiding things. You’d be surprised how little imagination some of them have.”
Abby shook her head. “I just want this to be over with. Do you think the information will point a finger at the senator?”
John didn’t even hesitate. “No. I don’t think the information will directly affect the senator. Most likely, it will be bad news for whatever his organization down in Phoenix is, and it will cost him some money, but a man like that doesn’t get to the top of his organization by being careless.”
Abby frowned as she continued to watch Gloria and Gabe move around. She decided she was going to hold out hope that the information would contain information that would directly impact the senator. Maybe even some sort of video showing the man performing some illegal activity. It was a pipe dream, but she was going to do it anyway.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Gabe leaning out of the doorway, holding aloft a small red, white, and gold metal box that looked like it had once held mints.
Abby chuckled softly as she heard John and Reggie snort at almost the same time, both shaking their heads as Gabe handed the small tin down to Lanie. “Guess you boys got it wrong. Good old peppermint white gold,” she said as she opened the tin. Inside was a blue and white flash drive along with a few crumpled dollars.
“All right!” John said, grinning at Abby. “I’m betting that’s what they are after. Now, we need to get it to the sheriff. Once that happens, I’ll get the word out so that the senator and his men will stop trying to get the information out of Samantha. She should be safe once that happens.”
“Thank goodness,” Abby said, watching as Lanie tucked the tin into her pocket. “let’s get out of here. The sooner we can end this, the better.”
Chapter 27
They made it back to the outer lots of the sawmill and had just made the last turn around a large group of logs when they saw three men around their cars. They all stopped and Abby heard Lanie curse under her breath. “Dammit! Those are some of the men we were looking for.”
John looked at her in alarm, and then quickly pushed Gloria back as he moved around the log. The rest of them quickly followed suit as they heard the men shout, and then the sound of a bullet sang through the air as it flew through where they’d just been standing.
“What do we do now?” Abby asked, looking around frantically. She was getting shot at once again and found the experience just as terrifying as the first time.
“We need to get under cover,” John hissed, pointing further back into the piles of wood. “Do you think you could get us into the sawmill, Gloria? We might have a better chance in there.”
Gloria nodded, then pointed between two large groups of wood chips. “Follow me, I can get us into the main processing building. There’s a lot of equipment in there and maybe we can hide.”
The rest of them followed, running after Gloria. Each second that passed, Abby kept expecting the men chasing after them would turn a corner and get a shot, but either they were terrible shots, or they never got a clean angle. Either way, she heard the occasional sound of a bullet behind them, but no one cried out or screamed in pan by the time they reached a small, silver door leading into one of the huge buildings.
Instead of searching for a key or try the knob, Gloria just gave the door a massive kick. Smashing it open with a loud crash. As they all piled through, more gunshots rang out against the side of the metal paneling as they dove into the dark interior.
Inside was an overwhelming smell of wood and mildew, smashing against their senses as they pushed further into the dark building following Gloria through half-glimpsed machines. Abby was behind Gabe, with Reggie bringing up the rear. They heard the men come into the building behind them after they pushed inside.
“Take a couple of shots,” John hissed at Lanie who had her gun out. “It should slow them down.”
Lanie nodded, taking a bead on something in the dim light before firing off a round. They all heard cursing coming from the men chasing them and scrabbling sounds which Abby assumed were the men taking cover. “It won’t hold them for long. We’ve only got the one gun, and they’ll flank us soon. Someone call 911.”
John already had his phone out but he didn’t look happy.” There’s no reception here, someone else try.”
They all pulled their phones out while Lanie stared into the darkness, holding her gun with gritted teeth. “My phone is dead, too,” Abby said. “I made a call out here before. Is there something in the building do you think?”
They all reported the same problem, and when Lanie finally pulled out her radio in
disgust, she only got a dull hiss even after changing the channel several times. Looking at it angrily, she shook her head. “That shouldn’t happen.” She paused, looking up at Reggie. “This shouldn’t happen! Our radios shouldn’t have issues.”
Reggie frowned and looked back to where they’d entered. “Unless they have something to block it,” he said, listening to Lanie curse again.
“That’s what it has to be,” John said in a low tone.
Abby looked at him in disbelief. “I’ve never heard of something that can block cell phones or police radio.
“Well, to be fair, you don’t run in those circles,” John said, grinning back at Abby who was huddled close to Gabe. “But yes, if you have a spare three or four hundred dollars, you can buy something that will block most signals. They’re not even illegal.
Lanie looked over her shoulder. “They’re moving. Is there a land line in here? That would work.”
Gloria nodded, pointing further back into the building at a raised area. There was a wooden staircase leading up to a door, and then what looked like an office behind it. Unfortunately, it was wide open and there was no cover for anyone climbing the stairs.
“They’ll cut anyone down trying to get in there,” Gabe said. “Is there another way out of here? Maybe we can sneak around to the cars.”
“That’s if they didn’t slash the tires,” John said, grinning at Gabe. “I’d still drive away, but it would be slow and if they had vehicles close by, they could catch us. I think we need to go for the phone, but we need a distraction so whoever goes up the stairs has a chance.”
“I’ll go,” Lanie said. “It will be quickest if I call. That way I don’t have to convince anyone that I’m lying or playing a prank.”
“I’ll go with you,” Reggie said.
“Reggie, you’ll be needed here,” John said, giving his friend a sad look. “I know you want to protect your girlfriend, but those guys aren’t playing around. Let Abby go.
Deadly Desires and Killer Instincts Page 9
