by C. Fennessy
Chapter 8: No Escape
He smiled back, "I'm surprised to see you here! I thought you girls were going home to Westfield today."
"Oh, the other two went home. I'm going to New York to spend a few days with my grandparents before Christmas."
"Yeah? That sounds great. I'm headed to Randolph myself, to see some clients there before continuing on to New York. Mind if I sit down for a minute? I just came into this car to use the bathroom because both of them in my car are occupied."
"Of course! Have a seat!" Kelly invited.
He sat down and sighed, "Well, how are you enjoying your trip so far?"
She nodded, "It's okay. I wish my friends were with me, though. It's kind of boring being here alone."
"Well, I'd be happy to get my stuff and move up here if you want me to," Sam offered.
"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to impose-"
"It's not a problem."
"No, please. Just having a conversation is nice. You don't have to move."
"Well, I'll stay for a little while and we can talk. How's that?"
"That's fine!"
"Tell me about your friend, Cindy. She seems like a really nice girl. Of course, I think all three of you are really nice-"
Kelly laughed, "Thanks, but yes, Cindy is a really nice, caring person."
"How did the two of you meet?" Sam asked, looking interested.
Kelly told him how they met in school in 5th grade and had been friends ever since. She talked about the kinds of things they liked to do together, and how helpful Cindy was to everyone. An hour had nearly passed when they heard the announcement that the train was arriving at Randolph Station.
"Oh, I'd better go get my stuff since this is my stop. It's been great talking with you," Sam said.
"I've enjoyed talking to you, too, Sam. I hope we meet again someday."
"Oh, I'm sure we will," he smiled, "Bye!"
Sam got up and left. She smiled and watched out the window as the station came slowly into view. Passengers were standing on the platform, some hugging their luggage to keep warm.
Passengers in her car were preparing to leave. When she looked down, she saw something on the seat beside her. It was a man's wallet.
She picked it up and looked inside. A couple of credit cards peeked out from their slots, but one of the inserts was a driver's license. The photo on the card was of Sam.
"Oh, no!" Kelly cried. She looked around and Sam was gone. She decided to try to find him before he left the train, so she headed toward the rear of the car. Already a long line had formed to the exit. She tried to see around the line of people waiting to disembark.
The line moved forward slowly as passengers got off. Kelly was the last one in the line, but finally went through the rear door of the exit.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her from behind, gripping her around her chest. Another gloved hand appeared in front of her face, holding a knife. A voice spoke into her ear, whispering harshly.
"Don't turn around! Keep your mouth shut. Just do exactly what I say and you won't get hurt. Do you hear me?"
Suddenly struck by terror, she froze.
"Do you hear me?" he repeated, jerking the knife close to her face. She recoiled in fear, and managed to nod.
Sam looked around. The exit area was empty, but soon new passengers would be getting on.
"I want you to get off the train. I have this knife and I'm not afraid to use it. If you follow my instructions, I promise that you'll not be harmed. If you try anything, I will shove this knife into your back. Got it?"
She nodded again, frantically wondering what she should do. Should she try to cry out for help? Should she kick him in the shins, or try to escape once they were off the train?
He pushed her down the steps to the platform. One arm firmly held her arm, and the other held the knife against her under his coat which was draped over his arm.
"Walk toward the parking lot over on the right," he said.
She walked stiffly, her legs feeling like jelly. She could feel the point of the knife in her back. Would he really use it if she tried to get away?
Soon they were at the parking lot.
"Go over to that black car on the end with the engine running," he said.
She thought that his voice sounded familiar, but it sounded as though he was trying to disguise it.
When they reached the black car, she could see someone at the wheel.
"Get in the back seat," he ordered.
She hesitated, "Where--Where are you taking me?"
"Never mind! Just do as I say or I'll kill you right here!"
She didn’t want to get into the car, and held back. He suddenly flung the door open and pushed her inside. She fell forward onto the seat. He climbed in after her, shoving her aside and slamming the door.
"Okay, let's go!" he said to the driver.
Kelly twisted her head to see her captor.
"Sam!" Kelly cried in surprise, "What--Why-"
"Shut up! And keep your head down until we get on the highway!"
He pushed her head down as the car sped out of the parking lot. She could hear the train's whistle as it began to leave the station. Her purse and all of her luggage were still on the train, as well as her coat and gloves. She began to shiver.
In a few minutes they were speeding along the main highway.
"Okay, you can look up now," Sam told her.
She turned to him, frightened and confused. She looked at the driver and thought something about him seemed familiar. Turning to Sam, she asked,
"Why are you doing this? I thought you were a nice guy, a friend!"
He looked at her without any emotion.
"I was friendly with you to gain your trust. I tried to nab you once before at the hotel, but you got away."
"You! That was you?"
He nodded.
"Why? What do you want?"
"Well, isn't it obvious? You're Kelly Carlson, heir to the Carlson Hotels chain. You're probably worth millions."
"But I'm not! My father quit the hotel business when I was young. He's a minister now! We have nothing to do with the hotel business!"
"But you have rich grandparents, don't you? Rich aunts and uncles, too, I bet. Even if your old man hasn't got four million dollars for ransom, I'll bet your family will come up with it."
"Four million dollars!" she exclaimed.
"That's nothing to Carlson Hotels. They make that in one month easy," Sam said, "I promise I won't hurt you as long as you do what you're told. As soon as we get our money, we'll let you go. And we'll be long gone before the cops arrive."
"But kidnapping is a federal crime!" Kelly argued, "You'll go to prison for the rest of your lives!"
"Only if we get caught, and we won't," Sam insisted, "They'll never find us. We'll be out of the country before they have any idea where we are. Now shut up and turn around."
Sam produced a roll of duct tape which he used to tape her wrists behind her back, and her ankles. Then he put a bandana in her mouth.
"That's to keep you quiet. I'll take it out when we reach the cabin.”
Riding in the back seat, a million thoughts screamed in her brain. Could these men be trusted to keep their word that she wouldn't be harmed? What if something went wrong and the police found them? Would they keep her as a hostage until they fled the country? Where were they taking her?
She wished she could call her father. If only she hadn't picked up that wallet and tried to return it to Sam. She realized now that it had been a clever trick to get her to follow him to the rear of the train where he was waiting for her. Sam had seemed like such a nice guy, and so helpful to Cindy. How could he do this?
She imagined her father's anxiety when he would find out what had happened. Would his family be able to raise the money needed to pay for her release? What if they couldn't come up with four million dollars? It seemed like a colossal amount of money, impossible to pay in a couple of days!
She resorted to repeating her
Bible verses and prayed. She prayed that God would help her find a way out of the situation safely. She also tried to recall everything she had read or seen about kidnappings. Most of the time, the victim was killed so he or she couldn't testify against the captors. She prayed that her life would be spared so she could spend Christmas with her family.
Hot tears slipped down her face as she thought about her family waiting for her in New York. Jan and Cindy would be so worried about her! And Keith would also be anxious.
Please God, she prayed, protect me and guide me through this. Whatever happens, Lord, I trust in you.
The conductor on the train headed for New York hadn’t noticed that Kelly's seat was empty until he came back to collect tickets from new passengers who had just gotten on the train. He checked the bathrooms and found them empty. Concerned, he began to search. He soon realized that she was not in the car.
He went into the other cars looking for her and checking all the bathrooms. Picking up his radio, he called the station master at Randolph and told him about the missing girl.
"We'll look around the station for her," said the station master, "but if she don't turn up, I'll call the sheriff's office. What's the passenger's name?"
The conductor gave him the information he had on Kelly, and explained that the deputies in River Bend had asked him to keep an eye on her.
"I've been watching her since she got on, but after we left Randolph, I noticed she was gone. She could be in trouble!"
Steve’s car exited the highway and turned down a long, winding road that led up the side of Longview Mountain. The road coiled back and forth, gaining in elevation and becoming steeper. The car swerved on the icy road and Kelly could hear clumps of ice knocking against the car as they sped up the mountain.
Soon, the car turned off the road and rolled to a stop. The driver and Sam got out and helped Kelly out of the back seat. She saw a snow-covered log cabin surrounded by trees. She looked around and realized that the cabin was in the middle of a large wood, with no neighbors in sight.
Inside, the main room was small and dark with a large fireplace against the left wall. On the right were some doors leading off to two other rooms. A small kitchen stood at the end of the living room, along with a dining table surrounded by four captain's chairs.
The two men set Kelly down on the couch in front of the fireplace. She began to shiver because the cabin was as cold as a tomb.
"Get the fire going," Sam told Steve.
Soon, flames were licking logs in the fireplace, lighting the small room.
Sam brought out some bottles of milk and juice to her. Removing the bandana, he said, "Here. Have something to drink. I'll make us some coffee."
She accepted the juice and he held it to her lips as she drank. It was cold and sweet, tasting like fresh apples.
When Steve wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, their eyes met.
"I know you!" she said, "You work at the restaurant at the hotel!"
Steve quickly looked away nervously and went back outside to the car. In a few minutes, he returned with two grocery bags filled with groceries.
"We'll be here for a few days," Sam explained, "Or as long as it takes for your family to put up the cash."
"What if they can't?" she asked, "What will you do? Will you kill me?"
Sam replied, "Nobody's going to get killed. I told you that you won't be harmed and I meant it. I'm only doing this for the money. It's a business transaction, that's all, and you’re family will pay up. Now stop asking questions. I'll make us something to eat. It's getting dark outside. You sleep in here on this couch. It'll be warm here next to the fire. Steve and I will take the bedroom over there. There's two beds in there but no heat. The bathroom is the other door. It's just a toilet and sink, but it works. You have to pour a bucket of salt water in the toilet to flush it because the water pump is turned off. I'll keep the bucket in there full of water. But we won't be here too much longer, I hope."
Kelly said a silent prayer of thanks that the two men had no plan to harm her. She knew the Lord was with her, and began repeating more Bible verses.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul, and lean not to your own understanding," she whispered.
Kelly’s dad was just leaving for Grand Central Station where he would meet her when the phone rang in his parents' Manhattan apartment. A house servant, James, answered it and announced,
"It's for you, Reverend. It's the Sheriff in Randolph, Vermont."
A puzzled look grew on his face as he came to the phone.
"Yes? This is Mr. Carlson."
"Mr. Carlson, this is Sheriff Hogan at Randolph, Vermont. Do you have a daughter named Kelly who was travelling to New York by train from River Bend?"
"Yes!"
"We have a report from the conductor that she has gone missing from the train. We believe she may have gotten off the train at Randolph. Has she been in touch with you?"
Bill Carlson felt his body go numb. He gripped the phone tightly.
"No! She hasn't! When was she last seen?"
"The conductor saw her in her seat just before they reached Randolph. Is there any reason why she would get off the train and leave her belongings behind on the train?"
"No, she wouldn't!"
"We have the things she left on the train here in the Sheriff's office in Randolph. We are going to initiate a search for her in and around Randolph. If she's anywhere in town, we'll find her."
"I'm coming up there! I'll leave right away!" Mr. Carlson cried.
"The Sheriff's office is on Main Street at the corner of Maple, just one block from the main intersection in town. Ask anybody where to find us. It's a small village. We're about 8 hours from New York if you drive."
"I'll be flying up there as soon as I can," he replied.
Sheriff Hogan gave him his phone number and the location of the nearest airport in Randolph.
After he hung up, Bill Carlson hurried into the living room where his parents were seated next to the Christmas tree. They looked up at him and concluded by the look on his face that something was wrong.
Bill Carlson told his parents about Kelly's disappearance.
"Of course you can take our private plane up there right away!" said his father, "I'll have the pilot meet you at the airport. James will drive you there. Please call us and let us know what is going on!"
His mother, Clara Carlson, stood and gave him a hug.
"I'll keep you both in my prayers," she said as her eyes filled with tears.