by Rusty Ellis
Her eyes shot open as she remembered the man at the door and the searing pain in her forearm. She recalled laying on the cool tile floor of the entryway at her house, unable to move her arms or legs, and the same man standing over her. She remembered him smiling as he leaned down to her and put a rag over her mouth. She gasped, he smiled, and she woke up here.
Panic engulfed her. Her wrists and ankles were tied somehow. She raised her wrists to her cheek and felt the soft cords tied around them. They were tied in a figure eight style and wrapped several times in the middle. Straining to reach her feet, she felt the same configuration around her ankles.
Maddie laid quietly for a moment, wrestling with the panic, thinking about what her father would tell her to do. Don’t waste energy on panic, use your energy to conquer the hurdle.
Feeling around her, she could make out the interior of the car’s small trunk. She felt for anything not attached around her but could find nothing. She felt along the back of the vehicle for a mandatory release lever but was met with what felt like a severed short cable, not long enough to get a grip. Quiet again, she listened. She hadn’t noticed the music echoing around the vehicle. She banged on the roof and yelled but the noise she made was muffled by the music playing in the background.
The panic began to settle in once more. The hurdle too large to conquer. She laid on her back and tried to take deep breaths and remain calm as the tears began to slip from the corners of her eyes and run down the sides of her face.
“Daddy…”
35
Ransom’s phone rang and he looked down to see Teresa was calling, “Hey Teresa, can I call you back?”
“I just wanted to tell you that I went by your house to drop off a little treat for you I made this morning but no one answered,” she said.
“Leesa picked me up early to check on something. Maddie should’ve been there,” Ransom sat up straighter. “was her car in the driveway?”
“There was a car in the driveway and your truck out front, so I thought someone would have been home,” Teresa sounded concerned, “Is everything okay?”
Ransom’s mind began to spin, “Let me call you back. Thanks.”
Leesa turned to Ransom, “What’s wrong?”
Ransom hung up the phone. Damien opened the door with the copies they asked for and handed them to Ransom.
“Do you have Corey’s address?” Ransom stood up, unable to sit any longer after the news about Maddie.
“Sure, I can get you that,” he sat down at the computer on the desk and struck a few keys.
Leesa jotted down the address in her notebook and stood as well.
Ransom headed out of the room, followed by Leesa in hot pursuit.
Just outside the gym Ransom spoke while limping faster, “We need to go by my house. Maddie’s not answering the door and her car is still there. She is always up by now. Then we can go to Corey’s.”
* * *
Leesa skidded the vehicle to a stop, blocking the driveway to Ransom’s home and directly in back of Maddie’s car. The car barely came to a stop when Ransom jumped from the vehicle and did his best to sprint to the front door. Leesa pulled the keys from the ignition and chased behind him.
Slowing, Ransom drew his Glock from his back and gingerly touched the front door. It was shut. He reached for the handle and discovered it was unlocked. His home was never unlocked. He had drilled this little bit of paranoia into Maddie at a young age and she took the lesson to heart. Turning the handle, he gave the door a slight shove and let it glide open. Crouching, he grabbed his Glock in a combat grip with both hands and surveyed the entry. On the floor he discovered Maddie’s favorite coffee cup, shattered with coffee splattered around the pieces of ceramic. Ransom briefly waited to make sure Leesa was directly behind him.
He pointed to the cup on the ground and glanced at Leesa standing behind him with her gun drawn as well. Ransom quietly entered the house and cleared the living room. He made his way to the kitchen with Leesa watching the doors down the hallway. Ransom entered the hallway and made his way to Maddie’s room. He pointed at Maddie’s door and then his door further down the hall. Leesa took up a position watching Ransom’s bedroom door.
Ransom pushed open Maddie’s door and swept the room with the glowing front sight of his Glock. The covers were still ruffled and pulled back on her bed. He returned to the hallway and crept to his own room and hesitated. Taking in a breath, he opened the door and began a similar sweep on his own room. Nothing.
With his mind racing, he turned to face Leesa when a piece of paper hanging on his television caught his eye. He began to reach for the paper and stopped, his training kicking in. He leaned in and saw it was a ripped piece of paper, taped to the screen of his television with a note scribbled, “It hurts so close to home.”
Leesa stepped closer and read the note. She reached for Ransom’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, “We’re going to find her.”
Ransom turned and met Leesa’s gaze, his eyes intense, his jaw clenched, “And him.”
* * *
The man walked the short distance from his apartment to the garage. Having an apartment with a garage was a bonus. You had to pay extra. His mother would be proud of how he was turning out. Earning a living, his own place, and able to pay extra for a single-car garage. He fished the keys from his pocket and chose the smallest one on the ring. He slid the key into the handle and twisted to release the garage door latch, returning his keys to his pocket. The sound of muffled music was playing behind the door. No one complained. It was better to keep to yourself in the apartments, Live and Let Live was the safest policy.
Using the handle, the man lifted the door upward along its rails and into the ceiling. The radio played louder as the music was released out the open door. A radio was sitting on a little stand by the side of the doorway and was blaring a classic rock song over the single speaker. The man turned the volume down and stopped to listen. Quiet. No sound from the trunk of the Honda Accord parked in the single bay. Shrugging, he turned the volume back up and picked up a set of rubber gloves sitting next to the radio. A car drove by behind him and didn’t give him a second glance. Live and Let Live. Putting on the gloves he picked up a clear glass bottle and rag next to where the gloves were sitting. Unscrewing the cap, he applied a generous portion of the pungent liquid to the rag. The last dose had kept her out for at least 20 minutes, plenty of time for his plans. He expected the same dose would be sufficient.
He pulled his keys from his pocket again and put the car key in the trunk lock. He turned the key and the trunk made a popping sound. Opening the lid with one hand, his other hand held the wet rag.
The blast of light into the dark trunk blinded the girl. She instinctively turned away from the bright light and tried to blink several times to adjust. She turned her head back toward the man standing over the trunk.
“Help me,” she begged.
The man smiled and Maddie recognized the grin. The realization showed on her face as her expression turned from hope to terror. She tried to scoot away from the opening and away from the man.
He reached into the trunk and grabbed the ropes holding her wrists, “It’s okay, I’m here to help you…”
The man pulled her toward him while pushing the rag toward her face. She attempted to fight against the man and the rag being held against her nose and mouth, but the man was too strong, his grip too tight on her wrists and face. She breathed in and felt light-headed, the pungent odor of the rag filling her nose and mouth. He continued to smile at her as she stopped fighting and her eyelids drifted shut.
36
A text message on Ransom’s phone startled him and Leesa as they stared at the note on the television. Ransom took his phone out of his pocket.
“702-555-0189: She’s fine. Your choice if she stays that way.”
Ransom stood staring at his phone. Leesa reached and turned his hand toward her to read the message.
Before Leesa could say anything, another mess
age came through, “702-555-0189: Just you. No one else. Alone.”
Ransom looked at Leesa then back at his phone.
“No way, Ransom, you’re not going to follow his directions are you?” Leesa pleaded.
“It’s Maddie! What choice do I have?” he responded.
“Ransom: Okay.”
“702-555-0189: Good choice.”
“702-555-0189: If I see your partner or any other officers, she’s dead. It’s on you if she dies. Not me. Your choice. Remember that.”
“Ransom: What do I do?”
“702-555-0189: Get in your truck and drive.”
Leesa watched the conversation on the screen and shook her head, “You can’t just go it alone Ransom. You know better!”
“I have to Leesa. He has my baby girl. I can’t chance that,” his voice trailed off. He looked Leesa in the eyes, “Gimme your keys.”
“What? No, come on, Ransom! Think about it!” she begged.
“I am thinking about it, Leesa. That’s why I need your keys.”
She pulled the keys out of her pocket and handed them to him. He walked to the back of the house and opened the sliding door into the backyard. Cocking his arm back he pitched the keys into the pool.
“Just give me a 10 minute head start,” he told her and walked out the front door.
“Ransom: Getting in my truck.”
Ransom climbed into his truck and began driving down the street. His right leg was aching from the extra action of running into and clearing his house. His cane was in Leesa’s sedan, but he didn’t stop to retrieve it. He would bear the pain. The pain was secondary to his daughter. Secondary to her well-being. Secondary to her safety. Secondary to catching the killer.
“702-555-0189: Get on east bound Summerlin pkwy.”
Ransom made his way to the parkway and got in line at the onramp. Hitting the steering wheel with the palm of his hand, he followed the sluggish group of drivers in front of him onto the parkway.”
“Ransom: On pkwy.”
His phone chirped back at him, “702-555-0189: Take the north ramp onto 95.”
Ransom drove past the Buffalo exit and followed the signs up and over and down onto US-95 North.
“Ransom: On 95.”
“702-555-0189: Off on Cheyenne west to Tenaya.”
Ransom took the off ramp to Cheyenne and the second left hand turning lane. The light turned green and he maneuvered into the right hand lane to turn onto Tenaya.
“Ransom: On Tenaya.”
“702-555-0189: Right on Gowan. Lt on Dalecrest. Rt on Lagoon.”
Ransom sped through the directions, pushing his old truck around the turns. On Lagoon, he arrived at a gate to an apartment complex. The gate had a key code pad. He pulled to the side and anxiously typed on his phone.
“Ransom: Gate code.”
He waited. One minute. Two minutes. Three…
“702-555-0189: Patience detective. Follow in another car.”
The man was playing games. The anger burned in Ransom’s chest at the man’s toying. It was more than toying. It was his daughter’s life. He looked at the fence around the complex and contemplated attempting to scale it. He wasn’t confident his leg would hold up under the attempt. He began to open his truck door when a small pickup truck drove up beside the keypad. The driver hit several keys and the gate slowly edged open. Ransom’s truck hugged the man’s bumper and followed him into the complex.
“Ransom: I’m in.”
“702-555-0189: Alone? Remember, you control whether she lives or dies.”
The thought made Ransom sick to his stomach, knowing the man was with his daughter and making choices about whether she lives or dies. She was out of Ransom’s reach. She was beyond his protection. The rage ebbed and flowed as he fought the onslaught of emotions. Don’t waste energy on panic, use your energy to conquer the hurdle.
“Ransom: Alone.”
“702-555-0189: Good. Come and join us for a swim.”
Ransom darted his eyes around the complex looking for the community pool. He drove toward the heart of the complex, hoping he was right and the pool was in the middle of the numerous buildings. He caught a glimpse of a small shack and circular section of fencing surrounding a pool. Several kids and adults were enjoying an early afternoon swim in the pool, attempting to offset the heat of summer.
Ransom told himself to slow down. Don’t run at the problem. Slow down the game.
He parked his truck and looked for the gated entrance into the pool area. He peered through the fence and tried to take in the occupants. Children splashing and running around and jumping into the water. A few parents in the pool, several more sitting and watching while working on their tans. One couple was sitting in chairs, close to the deep end of the pool. The man had his arm around the woman and it looked like she was leaning on his shoulder. He was in brown shorts and a brown shirt, with a pair of sunglasses. She was in shorts and a tee-shirt, no shoes.
Ransom watched the couple and saw the man lift up his phone and make a call. The man placed the phone to his ear at the same time Ransom’s phone rang. Ransom picked up his phone and answered, continuing to watch the man.
“Hello.”
“Hello detective. You made it. And no one following you,” he said cheerfully.
“What did you do to her,” Ransom did his best to check his tone.
“She’ll be fine. She’s just taking a little nap. It should wear off in another five to ten minutes.”
“What do you want,” Ransom began to think about his options.
His Glock holstered at the middle of his back. One entrance in and out of the pool area. The fence too tall to scale. The man on the opposite side of the pool with his daughter.
“What do I want?” the man laughed and continued to stare at Ransom while keeping his arm around Maddie. The man’s voice dropped deeper, the lightness gone, “I want you to know what you do to people. I want you to feel helpless. I want you to suffer the feeling of having your family ripped from you. I want you to know what it’s like to feel alone. You people walk in and ruin people’s lives then continue to live your own little happy lives. You get paid to destroy families.”
Ransom didn’t interrupt. The man’s state of mind had shifted and Ransom preferred him more level headed during the next few decisions he was about to make. Ransom opened his truck door and kept his phone up to his ear.
“What do you want me to do?” he tried to keep the man talking.
“Simple,” he replied. “Come save your daughter.”
Ransom began to step out of his truck when the man continued, “But leave your gun and phone on the dashboard where I can see them.”
Ransom hesitated.
“Come on. Get out of your truck and shut the door. Reach through the window and put your gun on the dashboard, then hang up the phone and put it next to your gun,” the man instructed.
Ransom followed the man’s instructions. He climbed out of his truck and instantly felt the pain in his leg. Taking a couple of quick breaths to breathe through the throbbing, he shut the door. He reached behind his back and retrieved his gun. Holding it up in the air so the man could see, he reached through the open driver’s window and placed it on the dash. He pulled the phone from his ear and hit the button to end the call and placed the phone next to the gun.
Watching the man with his daughter, Ransom began walking toward the gate. He did his best to keep from limping, but his leg refused to cooperate.
Ransom kept his eye on the man and his daughter. He watched the man’s head turn toward Ransom and follow his movements toward the gate. The man simply sat in his chair with his arm around Maddie. They looked like any other couple watching poolside as their kids swam.
Opening the gate, Ransom walked cautiously toward the pool’s edge. A child ran behind him and then jumped in the pool, splashing water onto Ransom’s shoes. The man and Maddie were directly opposite Ransom. The man smiled at Ransom and took off his glasses. Ransom looked closer.
Corey!
Ransom seethed inside. He had sat across a desk from him, within arm’s reach, close enough to reach across and grab him. Corey was now flashing the same smile he had brandished at the gym when being questioned. Again, Ransom talked himself out of haste. Corey held the cards. Ransom looked over both sides of the pool, trying to determine the route of least resistance, and people, to get to Maddie. He decided to take the right side of the pool, less children and chairs on the edge of the pool.
Having made his decision, Ransom took one step to his right and saw Corey stand up. His daughter’s head flopped to the side of the chair, the arms of the chair the only thing holding her in its seat. Ransom stopped and watched as Corey took a step behind Maddie’s chair and flipped her and the chair into the deep end of the pool. Ransom stood in horror. Maddie disappeared under the water and several children laughed at the spectacle of an adult being pushed into the water with their chair.
Ransom slipped on the pool decking as his shoes tried to grip the wet surface. Gaining his balance, he scurried around the right side. As he ran, he could see Corey casually walking in the opposite direction around the pool, smiling.
Reaching the deep end, Ransom dove in the direction where Maddie hit the water. He kicked as hard as he could and fought the drag of his clothes as he pulled at the water to reach her. Time slowed as he kicked and pulled toward her, the echoes of children laughing and yelling bouncing off and through the choppy water. Raising his chest as high as he could, he could see her clothed silhouette just below the surface and snatched at her clothing.
Pulling her to the surface he yelled in the direction of two other adults near the water’s edge and they rushed over to help pull her up to the pool deck. Ransom kicked hard in the water and propelled himself as he pulled himself up and out of the pool. Crawling to where Maddie was laying, he stayed on his knees and reached to tilt her head back. Prying her mouth open with his fingers and pinching her nose shut, he bent down and blew a breath of air into her open mouth. He quickly inhaled and delivered one more breath. Sliding down toward her chest, he prepared to start chest compressions when he heard her make a gagging noise and then cough. Rolling her onto her side, he leaned down to see her face