Silence in the Dark

by Patricia Bradley

  “I asked you a question.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?”

  “I know what it is. A knife.”

  “If you don’t quit talking, I’m going to use it to shut you up.”

  30

  Where are you going?” Ben stood at the foot of the stairs, his arms crossed.

  “To look for Charlie. Kate’s worried about him. We won’t be gone long.” Danny forced himself to not look away from the sheriff’s curious gaze.

  Finally, he nodded. “Any idea where to look?”

  “We thought we’d check out some of the places he hangs out. We’ll call if we find him.”

  “Good deal.”

  Danny let out a slow breath as Ben let him pass. Angel met him at the SUV.

  “Did Ben ask where you were going?” Danny asked.

  Angel nodded. “Told him we needed to get out of the house.”

  At least they hadn’t contradicted each other.

  “What’s the plan?” Angel asked.

  “I have a 270 rifle at the office. Thought we’d swing by there, pick it up, and then go out to the motel. I know a place we can leave the SUV about a mile from it. Check and see if my binoculars are in the console.”

  “Yep,” Angel said, holding them up.

  Danny hoped to get into the plant and out without seeing anyone, but Ian caught him before he reached his office.

  “What are you doing here? With Bailey, you know . . . I thought you’d be at the house where the action is.”

  “Yeah. We were getting claustrophobic.” Danny tilted his head toward Angel. “This is Edward’s nephew, Angel. My cousin Ian.”

  Ian held out his hand. “You’ve got a great uncle. Excellent businessman.”

  “Thank you.” Angel shook Ian’s hand.

  Yeah, Ian would appreciate Edward’s attention to detail, but Danny knew Angel’s reply cost him something.

  “You never said why you’re here.”

  “I wanted to show Angel the Maxwell 270. He’s never seen one of our guns.”

  “You’ll like the 270,” Ian said to Angel. “It’s the company’s flagship model. You won’t find a better hunting rifle anywhere.”

  Danny nodded at Ian’s long overcoat. “You look like you’re on your way out, so we won’t hinder you.”

  “I was leaving, but I’m glad I got to meet Edward’s nephew. Are you returning to Mexico with your uncle and Joel?”

  “No.”

  The terse answer subdued Ian, and after another long look at Angel, he nodded. “Well, I won’t keep you boys. Good night.”

  When Ian was out of sight, Angel turned to Danny. “Your cousin, does he usually work on weekends?”

  “My cousin works all the time. He likes money more than I do.” Danny unlocked his office and flipped on the light switch. The rifle was mounted on the wall behind his desk, and he took it down.

  Angel weighed it in his hands, then handed it back. “Good feel. Do you have another one?”

  “Dad has one in his office. I’ll be right back.” He ran up the stairs to his dad’s office and unlocked it, then took one of the 270s from the gun case in the corner. When he returned, he handed Angel the rifle.

  Again, he weighed it then lifted it up in a firing position. “Nice balance. Is that the gun that Franks was selling to the cartel?”

  “No. That was an AR15 type gun. Just as nice, though.” He handed Angel a box of shells, then squared his shoulders. “Are you ready?”

  Angel stood straighter. “Let’s do it.”

  “If, ah, this doesn’t turn out like we hope . . .”

  “It will.”

  Danny walked to the door. “Then let’s go.”

  Half an hour later, Danny parked his SUV on a dirt road near the lake. A cold-looking moon gave just enough light to shadow the trees in ghostly light. “We’ll have to walk through the woods to another road, but I don’t want to take a chance on them seeing our vehicle.”

  After ten minutes of tramping through the woods as quietly as they could, they found the other dirt road.

  After another five minutes of walking, Angel pointed to a dark object off the road. “What’s that?”

  Danny pointed the flashlight on his phone at it. “Charlie’s pickup.”

  “Do you think he’s in it?”

  Danny hoped not—the only way he’d be there was if he was dead. He shined the light inside. No Charlie. “Stuck way off the main road like this, it’s no wonder none of Ben’s deputies found his truck.”

  “You think they have him?”

  “Yep.” Danny pressed his lips in a grim line. Why hadn’t Charlie told someone what he was thinking?

  Angel glanced down the road. “Maybe it’s time to call the sheriff.”

  “Not yet. Let’s check out the motel first.”

  After a half mile down the dirt road, Danny veered off into the woods. “The motel is over this ridge. Once we get there, we can see the back side.”

  Hiking with the rifle was harder than he’d expected, and the thick undergrowth and briers snagging his clothes didn’t help matters. Behind him, Angel pulled off his coat, and Danny did the same as sweat rolled off his face. At least the bare limbs allowed in enough of the light of the moon to see where they were going. At the top of the ridge, the motel came into view.

  Danny counted the vehicles, most of them work trucks. An asphalt roller sat near the entrance to the motel—most of the men staying there were probably part of the highway paving crew that had been repaving the bypass around town. “If you were using that motel for a hideout, where would you be?” he asked.

  “On the end,” Angel answered.

  He trained the binoculars on the last room. No vehicle in front of it, but maybe that was because a blue van sat parked in the middle of the last space and the next one. “Didn’t Joel say the men were in a van?”

  “Yeah.”

  Then he handed the glasses to Angel. “Tell me what else you see.”

  Angel scanned the lot. “Why are the windows all dark?”

  “Shades, maybe?”

  “No, I see light under a door or two, but absolutely nothing from the windows.”

  “Let me look.” He peered down at the windows. Angel was right. Every window was dark. “Maybe they have them painted black?” He studied the end window. “There’s a thin light coming from the last room. Looks like . . . it couldn’t be writing, could it?” He handed the glasses to Angel once more.

  “I think it is. Maybe an H . . . and an E.” Excitement crept into his voice.

  “Help,” Danny said. He exchanged glances with Angel. “I think it’s time to call in Ben.”

  “So do I.” As he took out his phone, the second door from the end opened and a man stepped out.

  “Do you see him?” Angel asked. “It looks like he’s talking on a phone.”

  “Let me have the binoculars.” He lifted them to his eyes in time to catch a glimpse of him before he ducked back into the room. “I’ve never seen him before. Did he look Hispanic?”

  “Could’ve been. Do you think he’s getting orders to do something—like kill them?”

  Danny couldn’t find Ben’s number fast enough.

  A phone rang, then a door opened, and cold air hit the right side of Joel’s face before it shut. He wasn’t that far from the door. The feeling had returned to his hands, and he’d been working to loosen the zip ties that bound them on a nail that protruded from one of the spindles in the back of the chair.

  No more than a minute later whoever left returned. So far he’d only heard two voices—presumably the two men who’d taken Maria and Bailey.

  He strained to hear the low words being spoken between the two men.

  “Kill them all.” His blood chilled. He’d tried to convince himself he would make it out of this alive. He didn’t have much time. There had to be something he could do. Bargain, maybe?

  Danny gripped the phone, waiting for Ben to answer.

  “
Where are you, Danny?”

  “Who’s there at the house?”

  “What?”

  Danny repeated his question. “Someone is leaking information to the kidnappers, and while it could have been Joel, I don’t trust Edward or Chavez, either. Are they there?”

  “As far as I know. At least they were fifteen minutes ago when I left. Now, what are you talking about?”

  “You’re not at the house?”

  “No.”

  “We’ve found where they’re keeping Bailey and Maria. We think Charlie’s with them.”

  “What!”

  “They’re at the Eagle’s Nest Motel. Bailey’s clue refers to the twenty-seventh verse in that chapter of Job—it mentions eagles and nests. Then we found Charlie’s pickup parked nearby. We think they’re holding them in the end room.”

  “Why do you think they’re at the end?”

  “There’s a blue van parked in front of it, and all the windows are blacked out. Looks like with paint, but someone has scratched a big H and an E on the end window.”

  “How do you know that hasn’t been there for weeks?”

  “The blue van is enough, Ben.”

  “You’re right. Hold on a minute while I call Maggie and have her contact each deputy,” Ben said. “I don’t want this to go over the scanner.”

  Angel nudged him. “They’re preparing to leave.”

  Danny lifted the binoculars to his eyes. Angel was right. The man who had come out earlier loaded two suitcases into the back of a blue Buick parked two spaces away from the van.

  “I’m back. What’s your exact location?”

  Danny focused the glasses on the license plate, but it was too dark.

  “Are you still there?” Ben said.

  “Sorry. Yeah, I’m here. One of the men just loaded suitcases into a car. How fast can you get here?”

  “I’m on my way to the motel now. Meet me at the entrance.”

  “I’ll be there.” He hung up and turned to Angel. “Stay here until you see Ben arrive and let me know if anything changes.”

  “I will.”

  Danny nodded. “We’re going to get them.”

  Hiking down the ridge was faster than going up, and he reached the entrance to the motel just as Ben and eight patrol cars pulled in. Looked like he’d called in his whole department. “Where’s Raines?”

  “At the house, chomping to join us, but we decided he should stay with Chavez and Montoya in case Joel’s not the mole. He’s keeping this operation under wraps until it’s over as well as a close eye on them both.”

  So the lawman agreed with them. Danny’s phone buzzed. Angel. “What’s going on?”

  “You won’t believe this, but there’s another letter. An L.”

  Yes! His whole body responded. He’d been right. “Someone is sending us a message,” he said and repeated what Angel said.

  “I don’t think we have a lot of time,” Ben said. “I’m afraid they’re going to take the hundred thousand and run.”

  Danny agreed, and if that’s what they planned to do, they wouldn’t leave anyone behind to testify. He scanned the group of men who had assembled. Wade Hatcher and a deputy Danny didn’t recognize wore padded armor and carried large shields. He quizzed Ben with his eyes.

  “Wade and Smitty are taking care of the door.” Ben turned to his second in command. “Ty, I’ll give you five men and five minutes to evacuate the rooms directly above and adjoining the two end rooms. Then we’re coming in.”

  “There aren’t any cars parked within three doors of those rooms,” Danny said.

  “Good. We still need to make sure. Don’t want any civilians hurt.” He assigned two of the deputies to stay in the office. “Tell the manager we suspect drug dealers are holed up in his motel. Don’t let him use the telephone. I don’t think he’s part of the kidnappers, but no need to take a chance.”

  Ben glanced around the circle of officers, then nodded. “Let’s move in place.”

  The men silently quick-stepped to the back of the motel. Angel was waiting for them and shook his head when Danny asked if anything new had happened.

  Ben checked his watch, then motioned Wade forward. “Plant the explosive, and then move out of the way.” He turned to the other deputy. “Be ready with the flash-bangs. As soon as the door blows, throw them in.” He cut a hard look to Danny and Angel. “And you two stay here until it’s over.”

  “But—”

  “We have vests and you don’t.”

  31

  Look, I don’t know what you’re being paid, but I can double it,” Joel said. He’d worked his brow, loosening the blindfold until it slid down barely enough to see that he faced a black window. He’d continued to rub the ropes against the head of the nail, and they had loosened slightly. But not enough to slip his hands free.

  A hollow laugh echoed in the room. “You cannot even pay your gambling debts.”

  “I have money in an offshore bank account.” He tried to keep the desperation out of his voice.

  “Then why didn’t you use that money to pay your debt?”

  “Because I’m not a good person. I was going to take the money and disappear.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “I . . . I had to find my niece.”

  “An honorable thief.”

  “You don’t have to be sarcastic. The money is yours, just let me go.” Silence greeted his plea. It was no use. These men were going to kill him.

  He had to do something. He ducked his head so he could see more of the room. A shadowy figure moved in the dim light.

  “Is it time?”

  Time for what? What were they talking about?

  “Not quite.” The other voice came from across the room.

  “Come on, let me go and I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Garlic breath leaned in close to him. “Okay, I’m setting you free.”

  His heart jumped as cold steel touched his temple.

  “No!” The word roared from his mouth as he jerked his head away. They might kill him but not without a fight.

  He leaped forward, dragging the chair with him as he hit the floor. A bullet whizzed past his head. He kicked free of the chair and staggered to his feet. Another shot fired, and white-hot pain exploded in his chest.

  Bailey finger-combed Maria’s hair while her dad scratched yet another letter on the window. “Dad, you’re wasting your time.” With them listening, she had to be careful with her words.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m hungry, Miss Bailey. Can we go home now?”

  “Not yet.” Maria’s fever was down, thanks to the medicine. How much longer were the kidnappers going to keep them? She bolted upright as a crash came from the other room.

  A gun fired, then another shot.

  She froze as a bullet pierced the wall.

  Charlie ran toward her. “Get into the bathroom!”

  Bailey grabbed Maria and ran.

  From a hundred feet away, Danny tensed as Wade moved to the door. Once the plastic explosive was on the door, Wade backed off and ran behind the shield. Behind his own shield, Smitty waited to throw in the flash-bang grenades.

  Ben counted. “Five, four, three, two—”

  Gunfire sounded from the room.

  They were shooting the hostages! Danny took off running for the motel. Ben grabbed him just as a puff of smoke appeared on the door, followed by a boom as the door blew in. The shock wave rocked Danny back.

  Smitty ran forward and threw in his grenades. Immediately there were flashes and booms almost as loud as the explosive. Ben and his deputies stormed the room. “Police! On the floor,” they yelled.

  More gunfire erupted. Vest or no vest, Danny was going in. Just as he reached the door, a man raced past him. Danny dropped his rifle and made a flying tackle. A solid blow hit him in the stomach. He grunted, then managed a counterpunch before Angel pulled the man off him. A deputy took over, cuffing his assailant.

  Danny clim
bed to his feet and stepped into the smoky room. His eyes burned, and he blinked to clear them. Two men lay on the floor, and deputies were giving CPR to one of them. The other man lay facedown, handcuffed. With all the gunshots, he feared what was in the next room. He looked closer at the man they were working on. Joel. “Is he—”

  One of the deputies looked up. “It doesn’t look good. He took a bullet in the chest.”

  “There’s an ambulance on the way,” Ben said as he came into the room from the connecting door.

  “Bailey and Maria?” Danny’s heart almost stopped waiting for the answer.

  Ben nodded toward the connecting door as a grin took over his face. “In there. Alive, along with Charlie.”

  At the door, Danny stopped and Angel bumped into him. An ambulance with its siren blaring rolled into the parking lot.

  “What are you waiting for?” Angel pushed Danny aside and entered the room. “Maria!”

  “Daddeeeee!”

  Tears burned Danny’s eyes, and this time it wasn’t from the smoke. He couldn’t let himself believe they were alive until he heard Maria’s squeal. He rounded the corner. “Bailey!”

  She almost tackled him as she threw her arms around his neck. “I knew you’d figure it out!”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s over, and you’ll never get away from me again.” Her body shook against him. “Are you cold?”

  She nodded, and he slipped his coat on her, then he looked around as Ben held up a .38 Smith & Wesson. “Charlie, is this yours?”

  Red crept into the older man’s face. “Yeah. I lost it outside in the scuffle.”

  Ben handed it to him. “Well, don’t shoot yourself with it.”

  “I think I’ll take care of it until we get home,” Bailey said, intercepting the gun and slipping it in the coat pocket.

  “Can we go home?” Danny asked.

  “I want to see Uncle Joel,” Maria said. “And Tio.”

  Danny exchanged glances with Angel. “Tio is at Kate’s.” He turned to Ben. “Does everyone know Maria and Bailey are safe?”

  “Not yet,” Ben replied. “Thought we’d let them tell everyone in person.”

  “Good,” Bailey said. “I can thank Mr. Montoya personally for helping us.”