by Lynn Cahoon
“I don’t see anything under the deck. Not like in the front,” Angie said as Mick stood by her staring into the yard.
“Me, either. Are you sure about this? I hate to do this and make a mistake. The bomb squad is about forty minutes out.” Mick focused his gaze on her.
“He’s going to come outside anyway before they get here. One way or another, he’s in danger. I need to get him to safety.” Angie could feel the tears in her eyes, but she would not crumble again. “Besides, explaining dirt to Felicia is one thing. If I actually tear my dress, that would be a disaster.”
“Your friend wouldn’t care.” Mick smiled at her. “But if you’re sure, let’s do this. I want to meet your Dom face-to-face.”
Angie smiled and wiped her arm over her eyes. Her eyes probably looked like racoons by now. She glanced at the deck and the surrounding area one more time. There was still some snow on the ground in the yard, and there were no footprints that weren’t made by her big-footed Saint Bernard. At least none that she could see. “I’m ready. Ian?”
“I’m right here on the gate and I have his lead ready to clip on him as soon as I get ahold of his collar.” Ian smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling. He’d been fighting back tears, as well.
“One, two, three—now. Call him out.”
Angie tried to keep her voice from trembling as she called for Dom to come outside. If she’d been wrong, she was calling him to his death. She just had to have faith. “Dom, come here, buddy. Sweet boy, come see mama.”
And as quickly as the words came out of her mouth, Dom flew out of the back door, his feet barely touching the deck steps, and he ran to the gate. Ian was there to catch him, and as he clicked the lead on, he slammed the gate closed. Angie ran over and gave him a huge hug, getting wet, slobbery kisses in return. Dom’s tongue just kept growing. At least in Angie’s mind. But she didn’t care. Not now. He’d survived.
“Let’s go get you two into the car, where we can wait for the bomb squad.” Ian put his arm around her and moved her toward the vehicle. Dom trotted beside her like they were on their way to Celebration Park for a walk. Her gamble had paid off, and Dom wasn’t dead. Angie wanted a beer. Bad.
Instead, she sat in the car with Dom and Ian and watched the house. Mick had told them they could move the car back toward the road, but Angie liked it just where it needed to be. Where they could keep an eye out for the house. A vigil, so to speak. She just hoped that no one had to die to make this vigil worthy.
Ian’s phone rang just as the bomb squad was taking off whatever had been under her deck. They’d determined that instead of a bomb, someone had built a box to set under the deck to make it look like a bomb. A joke or a trick; either way, Angie was not amused.
“Hey, Allen, everything’s fine here. Just someone playing a game or trying to scare Angie. What’s going on with you?” Ian listened, and as Angie watched, his eyes grew wide. “Are you kidding? Is she okay?”
Angie glanced at Ian.
“No, we’ll be there. I don’t think Angie’s going to want to leave Dom, so we’ll bring him along, but he can wait in the car. See you soon.” He listened for a few more seconds and nodded. Then he paused by the back door of the car, where Angie and Dom were sitting. He held out his hand to her. “Angie, we need to get changed and then head into town. Allen wants us there before he talks to her.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere except to bed. Wait, before he talks to who?” Angie stroked Dom’s soft fur. She buried her face in his neck. She was bone-tired, and now that the scare was over, she felt like she could sleep for a year. He’d never been in real danger, but she felt like she’d taken a chance with his life. And she’d made a decision. She was done playing this game. A house was a house. But if keeping it forced her to lose or even possibly lose the people and animals she loved, she couldn’t put them through it for her memories. She’d call her attorney on Monday. She whispered to Dom, “This will be over soon, boy.”
“Dom will be fine. He was never in danger.” Ian took her hand and squeezed it. “Susan. She’s alive, but in bad shape. Allen found her in the cave. He said you were the one who pointed him there. When did you figure out Susan was in the cave?”
“Tell that to my emotions. I’m ready to break out in tears here.” She studied him, trying to take in the new information. “Oh my God. Allen found Susan?”
“Yes. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. She was in the cave. Allen said you knew it. How did you know she was in the cave? You never said anything to me.” Ian’s eyes were filled with joy and worry.
Worry, Angie knew that was about her. She needed to get back to the real world. She kissed Dom on the head and stood. “I didn’t. All I said was it was weird him having to go out there so much during the winter. I never said it was because someone had hidden Susan there. Did she tell him who kidnapped her? Should I call Barb?”
“It’s late, well, early Sunday morning. Let’s talk to Susan first and Uncle Allen. He might not want this to get out.” Ian took Dom’s lead. “Come on, big guy, we need to go get changed, and then we’re going for a ride.”
Dom looked up at the sky, apparently checking to see if it was still nighttime. Then he shook it off and started to follow Ian into the house. Angie laughed at his confusion. “He’s ready for the excitement, although he’s confused on why we’re doing it at night. I think my working late had messed up his sleep cycle. He’s ready to play anytime I show up.”
“He’s just glad to see you. There’s been a lot of change in his life, new people, new routines, the last few weeks. He’ll be fine, but I bet he sleeps in the car during the ride.” Ian held the door open for her.
“I’m not dumb enough to take that bet.” She followed them upstairs and pulled out some clean clothes. Laying the dress on her bed, she sighed. Hopefully the dry cleaners would be able to get the dirt and dog slobber stains out of the fabric. Otherwise, Angie would have to buy her friend a new dress. She slipped on jeans and a sweatshirt, then checked herself in the mirror. Both her hairstyle and her makeup were a little too much for the casual look, but she didn’t touch the hair. She wiped off the lipstick and eye color and took a clean tissue and wiped at her cheeks, hoping it would at least tone down the party look.
Ian smiled at her when she came downstairs. He was in jeans now too, having changed out of his tuxedo. “You still look lovely.”
“But I don’t look like I’m heading to some cotillion, right?” She pulled on her jacket and grabbed two water bottles to put in her tote. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Too bad we didn’t get at least one dance.” He pulled her close and kissed her. Releasing her, he met her gaze. “I was looking forward to that part of the evening events.”
Smiling, she kissed him quickly. “I was too.”
It took almost an hour to get to the hospital and find the emergency room. When they entered the waiting room, Ian’s uncle was sitting at a table on the phone. He held up a finger and finished the conversation.
“Who do you think he’s talking to? Jon?” Angie glanced around at the stark, empty room. One couple sat in the corner, the man sleeping and the woman staring at the floor. They were waiting for news. Other than them, the room was empty.
“Probably.” Ian put an arm around her. “These places always seem so cold and stark. Do they have to have everything white?”
“The chairs are a plastic blue.” Angie knew what he was feeling. She felt like she was stepping into a sterile environment that screamed they weren’t clean enough to be there. Even in freshly washed jeans and a top.
“Funny.” He pointed to the other side of the room, where a coffee machine stood. “Want some coffee?”
“Please. I might just fall asleep standing here. It’s been a crazy night.” Angie pointed to a pod of chairs that circled a table. “I’ll sit there, and if your uncle joins us, we’ll have a table.”
Angie sank into her chair, then pulled out her phone. She texted Felicia and told her what had happened. Fake bomb at house. Now at hospital in Meridian. No one’s hurt, but if you’re up and still sober, can you come get Dom? He’s in the car since I didn’t want to leave him at the house. She glanced over the text, hoping it wouldn’t scare her. Angie glanced at her watch. Even if Felicia had had a few too many glasses of the wine, Estebe should still be at the restaurant cleaning up after the night’s service. Maybe she should call the restaurant instead and have Estebe come drive Dom to Felicia’s?
Before she could call, her phone beeped with an answering text. OMG. Are you sure you’re okay? Why at hospital? I’ll be there as soon as possible. Estebe is driving.
Ian set the Styrofoam cups on the table. He glanced at her phone. “Felicia?”
“Yeah, she’s coming to get Dom for a sleepover. I don’t want him sitting out in the car for long.” Angie typed in a quick response to Felicia’s answer. “She’ll be calling when she gets here. One of us will have to keep their phone on them, so if we go into a no cell phone area, I’ll stay outside until we get Dom taken care of.”
“That dog is treated better than some kids.” Ian pointed to the coffee. “You want some sugar or fake creamer?”
“Bring me two packets of hot cocoa if they have it. Chocolate will cover the taste of even bad coffee.” She put her phone on the table and sipped some of the too-hot coffee. It really wasn’t that bad, but with cocoa, she’d have even more caffeine and some sugar to keep her going for a while.
Ian came back with her cocoa packets, his tea, and his uncle. They sat down around the table and Allen leaned toward her.
“First item of business: Are you okay? I can’t believe someone got by my guys and planted that fake bomb. Believe me, I’m going to have a chat with them.”
Angie stirred the cocoa into both of the cups. “I’m fine. Dom’s fine. The house is fine. I’m just tired of fighting this argument. Maybe it’s time to just sign the paperwork?”
“Give up the house? Are you crazy?” Ian set his tea down, and some spilled on the table. “You love that house.”
“I love the memories from that house. I love Dom and Precious and Mabel. I love you. The house just holds all the stuff and people I love. If I lost you because I was being hardheaded, I couldn’t deal with it.” Angie blinked away the tears.
“I’m not going to argue with you. Getting you out of that house would save me a ton of overtime, but don’t make the decision tonight. You’re tired. Things have been a little crazy. And you have some time anyway. The county board hasn’t decided to rezone the area yet. I hear there’s some issues with a bit of historical land they want to include in the project. You may not have to sell.” Allen’s phone beeped. “That’s our signal. Put the house on the back burner. I want you to talk to Susan about what happened. I would typically have a female officer do this, and I’ll be in the interview, so don’t worry, I’ll feed you questions if you need it, but I think she needs a soft touch right now.”
Ian held his hand out for her phone. “I’ll stay out here on Dom duty. I’ll come back to the room as soon as I get him transferred over.”
Allen glanced at her. “You brought your dog to the hospital?”
“I wasn’t leaving him at home. Even with your guys on guard.” Angie finished one cup of coffee and stared at Allen, daring him to challenge her.
“You’re right, of course. And I apologize for not keeping him safe.” Allen stood. “Are we ready?”
“What do you want me to ask her? Anything specific?” Angie bit at her bottom lip. “I don’t want to upset her.”
“You won’t. Just ask her what happened. What was the last thing she remembered? Where was she when she was taken? Did she see her captor? Could she describe him?” He stood and nodded toward the end of the room. “She’s in good shape, just dehydrated and dirty. And the room is dimmed because she’s been out of the light for so long.”
Angie nodded, thinking about what she knew about Susan’s disappearance and what she’d want to know if she was investigating the disappearance. The scene between Charles Gowan and her earlier in the night flashed in her memory. She stood to follow and grabbed her cup. “I forgot to ask, did you find Charles and his wife?”
“We have some leads. That was brave of you to call her location in to the police. I would have expected you to jump in Ian’s truck and follow them.” He looked down at her as they were walking.
“Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind. I wasn’t really dressed for a high-speed chase at the time.” Angie smiled as they entered an elevator and Allen hit the button for the fifth floor.
“I’m glad you didn’t. I’ve got all of my guys on some sort of event tonight. I didn’t need you and Ian to get into some sort of altercation with someone who carries a gun in her purse.” He watched the numbers change rather than look at her.
“That was the other reason. Charles didn’t know about what she did at the restaurant. He was surprised when she freaked out about the cops coming. He wanted a team to come because he thought he was in the right. I wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall at their place tonight.”
Allen didn’t say much but held the door open for her as they reached the fifth floor. He showed his badge at the woman standing behind the nurses’ desk and she nodded at him. Then they went into room 509. The lights were low, and there was only one bed in the room. A police officer in full uniform stood at one wall. Allen nodded to him, and the guy left the room.
“Who’s there?” a small, quiet voice asked.
“It’s Sheriff Brown again. And I brought a friend. Susan, meet Angie Turner. She owns a restaurant in River Vista.” Allen spoke quietly and slowly.
“The County Seat. You’re Felicia’s partner. I went to a cooking class there last summer.” Susan’s voice got stronger.
“That’s me. I’m sorry to meet you under such circumstances, but Sheriff Brown wondered if I could ask you some questions.”
“So the frightened woman would actually talk? Is he from the fifties?” Susan’s voice held a bit of a smile. “Yes, it’s okay for you to ask me questions. But I have one for you first. And you need to be honest with me.”
“What’s your question?” Allen asked.
Angie figured it was something about Jon and his involvement with the kidnapping.
“What about the other woman? Did you find her too?”
Chapter 22
“What are you talking about? Was someone held with you?” Allen forgot his plan to let Angie ask the questions. He stepped forward, saw the wince in Susan’s eyes, then stepped back away from the bed. “I’m sorry to be so abrupt. Should we still be searching the cave?”
Susan sighed, then looked out the window. “She’s probably gone. All I know is someone was there before me. The guy had me in an area near the back of the cave. It looked like a small room, but I was chained to the wall. There was a bed with a thin blanket. One night, I reached under the mattress and found a pen and some wrappers. I thought it was just junk because I couldn’t see very well. In the morning, the sun reflected through a rock pile. Just for a few minutes, then it grew darker and darker. I realized Abigail had written notes about her capture. She said this was the second place they’d held her.”
Angie glanced at Allen, who was scribbling but not moving to call his officers to go back to the cave. Susan must have reached the same conclusion when he didn’t leave the room.
“She’s gone, isn’t she?” Tears leaked from Susan’s eyes. She wiped them away, quickly. “It’s stupid being upset about someone I didn’t know, but I thought maybe she’d escaped. And if she did, maybe I had hope.”
She turned her face into the pillow.
“Are you okay? Do you need some water?” Angie moved to the bedside.
Susan shook her head. “I’m just tired. Go ahead, ask your questions.”
Angie went through the questions that Allen had led her to ask while he made notes about everything Susan said. As she was listening, she wondered if Abigail really was the girl whom they’d found in River Vista.
“I tried making noise, but no one heard. Finally, last night, I heard someone in the cave, and I was tired of being quiet. The guy hadn’t come back for three days, so I figured if someone didn’t find me, I was going to die of starvation or something.”
“You keep saying ‘the guy.’ It was a man who took you?” Angie asked.
Susan hesitated before she answered. “I guess I figured it was a guy. He had disguised his voice with one of those vocal-alteration things. He was strong. He brought a whole case of water down by himself. It could have been a woman, maybe. Yeah, I guess. I’m not a very good witness, am I?”
Angie squeezed her hand. “You are doing great. I met your dog, Timber, a few times. He’s a sweetie.”
Her cracked lips formed a small smile. “I figured Jon would have given him away by now. He was always complaining about how he left fur all over his suits.”
“I don’t wear suits now, so it doesn’t matter as much,” Jon said from the doorway. He nodded to Allen. “Is it okay if I come inside?”
Angie glanced at Susan, who had moved toward the sound of her husband’s voice. “Do you want him here?”
Susan nodded. “We’ve had our issues, but I’d like to see and talk to my husband please.”
Allen cleared his throat. “Someone will be right outside if you need anything.”
“Thank you.” Jon touched Angie’s shoulder as she walked past him. “Thank you for not giving up on her.”
When they got into the hallway, Allen put on his hat. “Tell that nephew of mine to take you home. You’ve had quite an evening. Going to that dance would have been more than enough for me.” He smiled at her as they walked toward the lobby.