THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH: A Suspenseful Action-Packed Thriller

by Nolan Thomas

  “Yes, I do. It’s very pretty.”

  Casey took the nightgown from Riley and the two headed into the bathroom. Casey and Riley were betting there was no video camera in the bathroom. If wrong, their plan was ruined and neither would be alive to try to save Billy.

  From the kitchen, Rolinska smiled when she heard Riley say everything would be okay when she woke up in the morning. There was no tomorrow for Riley or any of her newfound friends.

  Rolinska peered out the window.

  She checked her watch.

  Billy and company had fifteen minutes.

  81

  RILEY AND CASEY WENT INTO the bathroom and closed the door. Riley turned on the shower. Casey took down the shower curtain. The two of them bunched it up and put the night gown over it.

  Concerned, Riley asked, “Do you think it’s going to work?”

  “I’ll make sure I block as much of the decoy as I can with my body and cover it up quickly. Hopefully that will do the trick. How did you ever come up with an idea like this?”

  “Oh, that was the easy part. You always see stuff like this on TV shows and movies. It’s seems like I remember just about everything I see, so I have all kinds of stuff floating around in here,” Riley said, pointing to her own head.

  Casey smiled, stepped over the decoy, and joined Riley by the bathroom window.

  “Are you sure you’ll be able to get down from here?”

  “For sure. Once I got really bored when cable went out, so I climbed down the tree. Super easy. See how close the tree is to the house over here?” Riley raised the window.

  It happened so quickly, Casey didn’t have a chance to stop her. Relieved, although still shaking, it took Casey a few beats to realize they hadn’t been blown to smithereens. Dixon had warned that opening the door would trigger the bomb. She never mentioned the windows. Although a risk they had to take, Casey expected she would be the one to do it—very gingerly.

  “You’re shaking. Are you okay?” Riley asked.

  “I’m good.”

  “Don’t worry about me Casey. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’d better get going. Once you hit the ground, run as fast as you can to the road. Stay out of sight as much as possible, and no matter what, don’t turn around to look. It’ll slow you down. Just keep running.”

  “I’ll wait for you by the road.”

  “No. Don’t wait for me. When you get to the road, head for town. Keep out of sight, but also keep an eye out for Billy. I don’t know if Jeremiah and Vince will be with him, but my guess is they will.”

  “But I want to wait for you,” Riley insisted.

  “Don’t worry. I’m a pretty good tree climber myself. It’s just that I want to wait long enough before I make my move that she’ll think we’re asleep. I’m also a pretty good runner. No matter how far ahead of me you get, I’ll catch up. Now get a move on.” Casey pointed to the window.

  Riley threw her arms around Casey and gave her a big hug. “I love you, Casey.”

  “I love you too, Riley.”

  Riley turned, slipped out the window, and down the tree in a matter of seconds. Casey watched with bated breath as Riley ran across the yard into the cover of trees. She watched for a few more minutes, even though Riley was out of sight, before Casey closed the window and went over to the shower to turn off the water. She waited about five more minutes, thinking that was about how long it would take to get Riley dried off and in her pajamas. Casey picked the decoy up from the floor. She arranged it in her arms as if she were carrying a tired child. Casey looked at herself from the side in the mirror, then looked over her shoulder at her back. Only glimpses of the nightgown were visible. Moving quickly, it would be hard to tell it was a decoy from either the back or the side.

  Casey drew in a deep breath and opened the bathroom door.

  82

  ROLINSKA TURNED HER ATTENTION FROM the kitchen window to the video monitor as she heard the shower stop. She saw light coming from the edge of the door frame. They were still in the bathroom. Rolinska returned her attention to the window.

  Casey walked sideways out of the bathroom as she turned off the bathroom light with her elbow. She stepped into the bedroom carrying her bundle, praying that Dixon wouldn’t notice anything, at least not until Riley got far away. Leaving the bedroom lights off for further cover, Casey walked across the room and placed the Riley look-alike bundle on the bed, immediately pulling a blanket over it.

  She laid down and drew the covers up to her chin, rolling to face the decoy. Casey draped her arm over the makeshift girl, as if she were cuddling Riley—hoping to God this prevented Dixon from seeing that the nightgown had no face. Although every muscle in her body ached from the tension, Casey took comfort in each minute that passed without Dixon coming into the room.

  ROLINSKA LOOKED AT her watch. Five minutes. The three men had five minutes. She looked over at the monitor. Casey and Riley were asleep. She turned her attention back to the window. She suddenly turned back to the monitor. She walked over and took a closer look. It was difficult to see in the dark, but it appeared as if both were in the bed asleep. There had been no sounds since the shower. Casey had nerves of steel to be able to sleep through this. Then it hit Rolinska. From the first day she arrived, Riley always slept with a light on. Most of the time the TV set was on as well. The little night owl never passed up an opportunity to watch the tube. The picture on the monitor didn’t add up.

  Rolinska ran to the living room and bolted up the stairs. She dug the key out of her pocket and quietly opened the door to Riley’s bedroom. Pistol raised, she entered the bedroom noiselessly, like a shadow. She crept further into the room, pointing her pistol at the bed. She fired three rounds into Casey. She stepped closer and fired three rounds into Riley.

  Rolinska flipped the light switch. Instead of blood, she saw down feather debris from the comforter. She walked over to the bed and pulled the comforter back. She found a pillow lying next to the shower curtain from Riley’s bathroom, dressed in the nightgown Riley had selected before her shower.

  With her Grach raised and ready, Rolinska opened the closet door. She quickly jumped in front of the open door, poised to shoot, but the closet was empty. She then moved into the bathroom and saw the open window. She stepped over to the window and spotted Casey running across the yard into the cover of the trees. Rolinska fired two rapid succession shots, made a slight aim adjustment to her right, and fired again.

  Casey screamed and fell to the ground.

  83

  RILEY RAN THROUGH THE TREES until she came out onto the road. She stopped and tried to picture in her head how the Monster had turned into the driveway. She ran in the opposite direction to head towards town. Casey had told her to keep going no matter what, and to watch for Billy.

  Nighttime made it so hard to see, but fortunately it wasn’t one of those nights when you couldn’t even see the moon. The thin crescent hung in the sky, it’s moonbeams barely lighting her way. She walked quickly down the road, hoping Casey would catch up to her soon.

  She wasn’t sure how far she had gone, but she saw car lights off the side of the road up ahead. They flashed on and off. Riley had seen enough movies to know this was a signal.

  Billy she thought. It had to be Billy! Riley kicked into high gear and ran full speed towards the parked car. When she was nearly there, Riley stopped in her tracks—the man in the car was a stranger.

  The stranger rolled down his window. “You must be Riley.”

  Riley knew she wasn’t supposed to trust strangers, but she did need help. She hesitated, then asked, “How do you know my name?”

  Riley stood about a foot away from the driver’s window. Lester smiled at her. “I’m a cab driver. Mah name is Lester and I drove Billy and Vince and Jeremiah here. They told me that they were comin’ here to save Riley and Casey from a very bad lady.”

  “Where are they? Why aren’t they here?”

  “They’re out there lookin’ fur you and Case
y. Billy wanted me to stay here out a sight and wait for them.”

  “She is very, very bad.”

  “Would you like ta git in the car and wait fur them ta git back?”

  Although Riley was relieved to hear Lester knew the guys, she was still apprehensive. Her mother had taught her never to get in a car with a stranger, no matter what.

  Lester saw the apprehension in Riley’s eyes.

  “You know, Riley, you don’t need ta git in the car if’n you don’t wanna. You can stand right out there and keep an eye out. I’ll stay right here in the car. Between the two of us, we oughta spot them right off.”

  “That sounds good to me.”

  For a few minutes the two of them were quiet. Riley looked over at Lester who intently searched the area in front of and to the side of the car.

  “I think I might be a detective when I grow up,” Riley said, not taking her eyes off the terrain in front of her.

  “Really?” Lester said. “That sounds like a mighty fine career choice, but a little unusual fur a lady.”

  “Not really,” Riley said. “Nowadays women can do whatever they want.”

  “I reckon yur right, Riley.”

  After a few moments she said, “Do you think what we’re doing could be considered a stakeout?”

  “Why, I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I surely think it is a stakeout. I mean, we’re hidin’ and on the lookout for bad guys.”

  “It’s my very first one.”

  Lester didn’t say anything, just nodded his head.

  Two shots rang out. Riley looked at Lester.

  “Git in,” he said, opening his door. Riley crawled across his lap into the passenger seat next to him. One more shot rang out.

  Looking straight out the front windshield Riley said, “It’s the Monster. She’s coming for me.”

  A cold shiver ran down Lester’s spine.

  84

  AT A MINIMUM, SHE HAD wounded Casey, but couldn’t risk letting her get away. Uncertain of a kill shot, Rolinska bolted out of the bedroom, down the stairs, crossed the living room, and raced out the front door. She hugged the perimeter of the house, then sprinted the short distance to the tree line.

  Billy, Jeremiah and Vince might be in the area by now and could have heard the shots, so Rolinska crept along the edge of the trees until she got close to the area where she thought Casey had been hit.

  Rolinska looked up to the bathroom window. She’d left the light on to get her bearings once outside. The angle indicated she wasn’t quite at the shooting location yet. She moved forward about ten feet more, then crouched down. She looked all around her but didn’t see any sign of Casey. She turned and once again looked at the bathroom window. Rolinska knew she had to be in the right area.

  Still no sign of Casey or Riley, so she crept a little deeper into the trees while closely scrutinizing the area around her. Broken twigs and flattened foliage indicated Casey had been here. Her brain created a mental search grid as her eyes rapidly and methodically scanned the target area. Rolinska saw something that looked like black oil on the ground. She took off her glove, picked up some of the darkened earth, and brought it to her nose.

  Definitely blood. Only slightly disappointed she hadn’t made a kill, the hunt began. She followed the blood-stained ground deeper into the trees. The wound hadn’t bled all that much, but enough that Rolinska could track her.

  Rolinska heard something. She stopped. Crouched. Waited.

  There it was again.

  Although distant, Rolinska heard people running. Staying low to the ground, Rolinska quickened her pursuit. She came to a small clearing in the trees, and noticed packed-down dirt with multiple foot prints. Billy and the others had been here. Did they have Casey and Riley?

  Rolinska didn’t see a vehicle. No way the guys got here without a car, so it must be parked out on the road somewhere. Rolinska didn’t like her odds for eliminating all targets if she pursued them on foot. Deducing they were choosing escape over trying to capture her, she turned and ran full steam ahead to the barn.

  Within seconds Rolinska made it to the barn and climbed into her Hummer.

  85

  GUNFIRE ERUPTED FROM THE HOUSE. Billy, Vince, and Jeremiah stopped in their tracks. Two shots. Billy’s heart sank.

  Vince started to run to the house, but Billy grabbed his arm. Another shot rang out, this time louder.

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?” Vince questioned as he tried to pull his arm free from Billy’s iron grip. “I thought you were the one who was ready to run into battle to save Casey?”

  “Yes. I want to save Casey and Riley, not walk into a fucking trap. We have no idea what those shots mean. They could be intended to lure us into the open, to expose our position.”

  “Fuck off!” Vince yanked his arm free, and took off.

  Billy stuck his leg out and twisted Vince’s arm behind his back as he wrestled him to the ground. He had Vince face down on the ground, then dug his knee into Vince’s back, and held him down with his weight.

  “You’re going to get yourself and everyone else killed. I’m worried too. But like I said, we don’t know what those shots mean. You can’t go running into the line of fire. There’s still a bomb to deal with.”

  “Get off me!”

  “I’m not letting you up until I know you’re not going to do anything stupid,” Billy said. “Jeremiah, get over here and help me hold him when we get up so he can’t run off half-cocked.”

  Jeremiah didn’t answer. Billy looked around. Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen.

  “What the hell is wrong with you two?” Billy asked of no one. He needed to find Jeremiah, but couldn’t in this position. “I’ll let you up, but you’ve got to keep a cool head. We can’t play into Rolinska’s hand.”

  They heard rustling in the trees. Billy jumped off Vince and landed in a crouched position with the Sig pointed in the direction of the noise. Vince rolled over and pulled out his Glock.

  “It’s me,” Jeremiah whispered loudly. “Don’t shoot. I’ve got Casey. Rolinska just ran out the front door. She’s headed this way.”

  Billy and Vince kept their weapons pointed as Jeremiah appeared in a small clearing in the trees. Casey leaned on him with one arm draped around his shoulder. The other arm hung limply at her side with a makeshift tourniquet. Jeremiah had torn off a piece of his shirt, and tied it around her arm to control the bleeding.

  Vince jumped up and ran to Casey.

  “Jesus, Rolinska shot you! Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” Casey said, although her shaky, weak voice sounded anything but fine.

  “Where’s Riley?” Billy asked.

  “She got out before I did. I tried to give Riley as much of a head start as I could. She was gone before Dixon started firing. I told her not to wait for me, head for the road, and keep an eye peeled for you guys.”

  “Great job,” Billy said.

  “Riley was the brains behind the escape plan,” Casey said. “I’ll have her tell you all about it when were safe.”

  “Is she okay to move out?” Billy asked Jeremiah. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Jeremiah answered, “I’m pretty sure it’s a superficial wound. Rolinska must be looking for Casey now.”

  “It sure as hell doesn’t feel superficial,” Casey retorted. “Who’s Rolinska? Dixon shot me.”

  “Dixon’s real name,” Jeremiah answered. “We’ll fill you in later.”

  A wave of relief rushed through Billy. All was well—Casey made a smart-ass comment and was asking questions. But relief didn’t lessen Billy’s understanding of the imminent danger they were all in.

  “Keep moving,” Billy directed. “We’ve got no time to spare. Head for Lester’s car.”

  “Lester?” Casey asked.

  “Now,” Billy commanded. “No more talking.”

  Jeremiah helped Casey stay on her feet. Billy and Vince guarded them, weapons ready, as the four of them moved quickly through
the trees.

  86

  “THERE!” RILEY SAID POINTING STRAIGHT ahead. “I see them. I see them.”

  Lester saw the outline of Jeremiah supporting a woman. Billy and Vince flanked them, guns at the ready, scanning behind and around them. Lester started the cab and pulled slowly forward to shorten the distance they had to walk.

  “Thank God you stuck around Lester,” Billy said

  “Weren’t no problem. Me and Riley had us a right-good talk.”

  Billy opened the back door, and helped Casey in. Jeremiah ran around to the other side, and got in. Vince climbed in next to Casey, who moved closer to Jeremiah to make room for him.

  Riley turned and looked in the back seat. She saw blood on Casey’s clothing, and burst into tears.

  “The Monster shot you,” she choked through her tears, terrified Casey might die.

  Casey raised her arms in a gesture for Riley to come back and sit on her lap. Billy and Jeremiah looked at each other, knowing how painful it must be to raise her arm like that.

  “I’m fine Riley. I got pretty far away before she shot me. It’s just a flesh wound. I’d bet anything you know what a flesh wound is.”

  Riley’s crying subsided, turning into halting breaths. She brightened. She did in fact know what a flesh wound was.

  “That means you’re not going to die and you’ll be okay.”

  Casey nodded. “Exactly. It looks a lot worse than it is because of the blood. I’m fine sweetheart. Just fine.”

  She lifted her arms out to Riley again.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Casey reassured her.

  “Honest?” Riley made an X-shaped gesture over her heart with her right index finger as she said, “Cross your heart and hope to--”

  Casey interrupted with a laugh. “It’s okay. I won’t die, and you can stick a finger in my eye if that’s not the truth.”

  Riley wiped at the tears on her cheeks, and crawled over the front seat. Jeremiah reached his strong arms out for her. “Hey there, Riley. Why don’t you come sit with me? I sure am happy to see you.”