He rose from behind his desk and showed her the way out. Rory was waiting behind the door when Coach Braxton swung it open.
Rory walked away and Niki followed. “How’d it go in there?”
Niki remained silent, staring at the floor, contemplating her first real competition the following day. For some reason she felt pressure, as if it were a meet. A real competition between her and the potential all-American. She began to sweat just thinking about it. She didn’t know why. This had no bearing on her as a person, but for some reason she wanted to do well. To prove to Coach Braxton that she belonged. A sense of belonging was what she’d searched for with her team at ZULU. But her team was murdered in cold blood in Africa. Perhaps now she still searched for the normalcy that came with being an ordinary college student.
“Uh, hello? Did you hear me?” Rory persisted.
Niki shook from her thoughts. “Yeah, sorry. Went well. Says I’m gonna race tomorrow?”
“Race? Who?”
“Some chick in the two hundred. Coach says she’s supposed to be an all-American.”
“Poppy?”
“Who?”
“Poppy Lewis.”
“Don’t know, he didn’t say her name. But if her name is Poppy, I can’t imagine losing to anyone with that name.”
He chuckled. “You better bring your A-game, or she’s gonna kick your ass.”
“Great. Just what I need, a good old-fashioned ass kicking on my first day.”
6
Somewhere in southern Minnesota
THE FLICKER OF FIRELIGHT burned down to ash from the fire that Walter lit before heading to bed. Staring at the charred branches, Ashley shivered on her mattress, and every subtle movement of her body brought a wave of pain. The bruises would appear overnight. She couldn’t see them yet, not in the darkened room, not until the sun came up. But then again, she didn’t know if she’d see the sun; she hadn’t felt the warmth on her skin in days. Gloom hung in the air like a black cloud of despair.
She lifted her head and looked around. When my body heals, I’m gonna kill him. That was her end goal, but goals and reality often seemed to be two different things. As she scanned around her, there was no sign of Walter. Of the two other girls remaining, one was sound asleep, as Niki heard snoring from the other side of the room, but she was unsure about the other.
Ashley swallowed nervously. Say something. See if she’s awake. Curiosity gave her courage to speak. “Hey, psst,” she hissed. But there was no sound, no movement. “Did you hear me?” she insisted.
“Shh!” the girl reprimanded her. “He’ll hear you. Didn’t he make himself clear with the belt?”
“More than clear,” Ashley whispered.
“Then be quiet and go to sleep.”
But Ashley couldn’t. She’d slept enough. Ashley wouldn’t sit there and wait to be picked out like a doll. Like some store-bought purchase for a man to do whatever he pleases with her body. She needed a plan.
“Can’t sleep. Can you?”
The girl finally lifted her head from the mattress and looked Ashley in the eye. “No, but . . .”
“But what?”
“I don’t want to wake him. He’s in the next room. And he hears everything, I mean everything.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because I was the first one here. Then she came.” She nodded over at the sleeping woman. “We had a conversation in the middle of the night, like we are now. He heard us, then—” She stopped herself.
“Then what? What did he do to you?”
“The same as he did to you.”
“That’s why you aren’t talking, because he beat you with a belt? Like a coward?”
“He may be a coward, but he’s strong as a bull, and just as angry.”
Ashley could attest to his strength and anger. She changed the subject. “Who was that Mr. Ritter guy?”
“Never seen him before. But I heard Walter talking on the phone to him once before you arrived.”
“What did they talk about?”
“Something about when he was coming to pick us out. I overheard Walter say he needed two more. I assumed he meant girls. Then the other girl came, then you.”
Ashley rolled over on her mattress to get a better vantage point of the open area, and the door Walter was likely to appear from. But her movements were constrained by the handcuff on her right hand.
“Do you know where they’re taking us?”
“No. I never heard Walter discuss anything like that over the phone.”
In that moment, Ashley’s mind spun a web. “I mean, I can’t stop thinking about what Mr. Ritter said. US senators, gangsters, drug lords. You really think he has connections with those types of people?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it.”
“Bullshit! Why not?”
“Because it’s horrible.”
“Just because it’s horrible doesn’t make it less real. I don’t see a way out of here, and if that Ritter guy comes back, which I know he will, it’s only a matter of time before we find out firsthand how horrible.”
The young woman fell silent.
And just as Ashley was about to speak again, there was a creak in the floor. Shit. Shit. She put her hands over her mouth to stifle even the sound of her breath.
Then another creak. It was Walter, Ashley was certain. Another creak. He made no attempt to mask his footsteps, although that wouldn’t be easy, as he likely weighed over 250 pounds.
In the fireplace, only a glimmer of red glowed. Walter walked into the room where the mattresses lay on the cedar floor. Ashley heard him shuffling near the fireplace; then he forced open the mesh screen and tossed in three more logs.
The wood was dry and instantly caught fire, sending warmth throughout the intimate shack. Having feigned sleep, Ashley now opened her eyes, only a little to see him standing by the fireplace with his back to her. He was standing in his underwear, plain tighty-whities, as he grunted. The warmth must’ve been what he needed, because he remained for the better part of five minutes before turning around. The good thing was, he hadn’t heard Ashley and the other woman talking. If he had, they would’ve been beaten again.
When he turned, Ashley shut her eyes again, but she could sense him nearby.
Don’t do it, Ashley. Don’t you dare open your eyes. Curiosity got the better of her, though, and against her better judgment, she opened them but only a sliver. In the glow of the flare Ashley saw Walter make his approach toward the woman at the far end of the room, the woman who was snoring through their conversation. He was standing still above her, facing down at her. His hands were at his sides.
What the hell is he doing? He stayed there, just staring at the woman for a few minutes, before moving over to the other woman in the middle of the room. He did the same thing. Didn’t touch her, or himself, just stood, studying her, watching her sleep.
What a creep.
When he moved toward Ashley, she closed her eyes tight. She could feel his presence hovering above. And he stayed. And stayed. And stayed, for what seemed like an eternity.
If only I didn’t have handcuffs. I’d squeeze the life out of you. I know what you are. Some trained dog. A mutt, doing what your master says. Ashley wished she could speak to him like that. She wished he was at her mercy, but he wasn’t.
When she no longer felt his presence nearby, she opened her eyes again. But he was there still, but now he wasn’t standing, he was face-to-face with her, eye to eye.
Shocked, Ashley forced her eyes shut once more, but it was no use, not now.
“I heard you from my room. You’ve been a very naughty girl, haven’t you?”
Ashley kept her eyes shut. Keep them closed, Ashley. He doesn’t know, he can’t know. He’s bluffing. Not if you keep them shut.
But as she talked with herself, Walter continued, “I thought you’d learn your lesson, but I can see you haven’t.”
She felt Walter move again, this time away fr
om her bedside. The floor creaked again as he walked across and back toward his bedroom. Ashley opened her eyes. What did she have to lose at this point? He knew she was awake, that she was talking with the other girl. The only question was, what was he going to do now?
When he returned from his room, he stood in the doorway with his belt in his hand and stared directly at Ashley.
Ashley shuttered and curled into a ball.
Walter chuckled and mumbled to himself. “So you are awake? Take notice, because you brought this on yourself. They’ll pay for your insolence,” he said.
But Walter didn’t come to her. Rather, he walked over to the snoring girl in the corner, raised his belt high, and struck her across the back.
7
Minneapolis, Minnesota
THE SUN CRESTED THE horizon as Niki opened her eyes. She lay on a lumpy futon mattress that doubled as a couch in one of the athletic dorm rooms. She shared the room with two women who played softball at the university. Both were kind but surprised by their coach’s insistence Niki stay the night.
She too was surprised that she wasn’t shacked up with somebody from the track and field team, but Rory said space was limited. Usually there were three to a room in the athletic dorms, which is why these ladies had the extra space, but instead of another lofted bed, they opted to give her the futon, and Niki’s body paid the price for it.
She rolled over and put her feet to the floor and her face in her hands. She rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and yawned wide before standing and moving away from the bed and toward the doorway. Peeling the door open, she did not want to wake her new roommates. Once in the hallway, it was quiet. No one roamed the halls, not at that hour. Maybe in the next few minutes those who had 8:00 a.m. classes would appear. But if the students there were anything like her and her friends back in Miami, not many had early classes.
Niki walked toward the bathroom, she was surprised that the water in one of the shower stalls was running. She went to the mirror just as the water shut off, hearing the sloshing of feet in rubber flip-flops in the puddling water. Her focus remained on the shower stall and not on her own reflection. If she had, she would’ve noticed her tousled hair and running eyeliner.
The shower stall opened and out walked a woman she recognized from the previous night at practice. Not one Niki was introduced to, but one she saw running on the track. She caught Niki’s eye in the mirror and smiled a friendly smile. Even in her towel, Niki could discern how fit she was. Niki lowered her gaze; the young woman flexed her shapely calves. Niki continued her observation up to her knees, then her muscular thighs, but most of the skin remained covered by her towel. Even her toned arms and muscular shoulders stuck out. This woman was put together beautifully, exactly what you’re looking for in an athlete.
“Chase, is it?”
What? She knows me? Or at least my alias.
“That’s right. You are?” Niki turned to face her.
“Poppy Lewis.”
Niki gulped. “You’re Poppy Lewis?”
“That’s right.” Poppy moved to the sink to brush her teeth.
“Oh, yeah, sorry, it’s just . . .”
Poppy peered out of the corner of her eye. “Just what?” she said with a mouth full of toothpaste.
“Coach said we’re supposed to race today.”
Poppy continued eyeing Niki as she brushed her teeth. Finally, she returned to the sink and spit the toothpaste down the drain, then wiped her face with her towel. “Race, huh?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why, it’s . . . I guess he seems to think it’s necessary.”
“Well, it is necessary.” Poppy walked close to Niki, invading her personal space.
Okay, I was going to play nice with you, but since you’re getting in my face, I might just have to kick your ass. “Why do you think it’s necessary?”
“To find out who’s the best.”
I already know who the best is. “I guess so.” But could Niki back up her running prowess with a victory? I could just knock you on your ass in that towel and wipe that smug look off your face right now, you bitch. Niki grinned.
“I guess I’ll see you at practice.” Poppy pushed beyond Niki and exited the bathroom.
Niki turned back to the mirror and studied her reflection. She turned white once she saw her ragged appearance. But then she figured, Who is she to me? I don’t care what I look like. I’ll still beat her ass.
When Niki returned to the dorm room, she turned the knob slowly and opened the door even more slowly to avoid waking her roommates. Once dressed, this time putting on every item of clothing she’d packed, including the parka, she returned to the hallway. More students were gathered now. She passed at least ten on her way out of the dorm. With no destination in mind, Niki wanted to check out campus. Since she wasn’t there to attend the school, she might as well get the lay of the land. Collar gave no indication when she would return to Miami, and Niki assumed it wouldn’t be until the mystery of the disappearing women was solved.
The sun tucked itself behind a couple large buildings as it was rising, and Niki expected warmth to come with it, but that wasn’t the case. It was still brutally cold.
“Excuse me,” a student said, doing her best to avoid a collision as Niki stopped to gaze at the sun, considering the weather.
“Oh, sorry.” Niki moved to the side.
The woman smiled, and Niki followed her. She must be heading somewhere important. But the longer Niki stayed out in the cold, the more she began to hate her current situation. She walked and walked, until finally she came to a crosswalk. Niki looked to her right, then her left. No cars passed, but there was a large amount of foot traffic. Students were running now, either to keep warm or to get to their classes on time.
Across the street in front of her was a five-story building with steps leading all the way to where the door welcomed students inside. As Niki took a step into the crosswalk to run for that promise, a white van caught her eye. She lowered her brow and stepped out of the crosswalk and back onto the sidewalk behind her. She peered directly at the van, which was parked in a no-parking zone.
Straining forward, Niki did her best to discern if someone was inside the van. The windshield was tinted, as was the driver-side window. No way Niki could identify anything from where she stood. She began to walk parallel to the van, until she was directly across from it.
I know you’re in there. Her gut told her something was off about the van, but she couldn’t be certain unless she investigated further.
Again, she looked left, then right. No vehicles were coming, so she stepped into the road, but upon her first step, the van swerved into the lane of traffic and sped forward, nearly colliding with a student, who sprinted through the crosswalk to avoid being hit.
Niki stared at the van as it slammed on its brakes at the next intersection, then swerved left and disappeared.
8
THE IMAGE OF THE VAN was never far from Niki’s mind as the day dragged on. Thinking back to the scene, there was one thing missing as the van sped away: a license plate on the back end. Peculiar. Niki wavered about alerting Collar, but if possible, Collar wanted a daily check-in. It’s not like she’d seen one of the men from the photo pyramid in Collar’s apartment, but this was something.
She glanced at her watch. After four p.m. The race was in less than an hour, and she needed to warm up. I need to call Collar now and tell her what happened.
Niki reached into her pocket and lifted the cell phone. On the first ring, Collar picked up. “Tell me you’ve got something.”
“I may.”
“You may? What does that mean?”
“It means I saw some sketchy white van this morning.”
“A van? What do you mean, you saw a van?”
“Not some family van; a van you see in those movies, you know the ones without windows along the sides toward the rear, and tinted windows on the driver’s and passenger’s sides, as well as a tinted windshield.”
&n
bsp; “So, what else made this van sketchy?”
“When I spotted it and made my way toward it, the driver slammed on the gas and sped away. He nearly ran over a student crossing the road in the process.”
“Did you get a look at the driver?”
“No.”
“Did you get a plate number?”
“That’s the thing, there wasn’t one.”
“Interesting,” Collar said.
“That’s what I thought, and why I called you.”
“But that doesn’t prove anything. Maybe he was in a hurry.”
Niki didn’t buy it and she was certain Collar didn’t either. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“What I do know is you’ve got nothing concrete.”
Why was she acting like this? She seemed angry. Niki sighed, knowing she didn’t have any more information for Collar.
“Maybe the van was there waiting for you,” Collar said.
A chill ran through Niki as she stood, and it wasn’t because of the bitterness in the air.
“What? Really? You think that’s why he sped away as soon as I made a move toward him?”
“Could be? I mean we did dangle a carrot out there. Maybe someone was looking for you, to find you on campus, and now they’ve spotted you.”
Niki stalled, unsure what to say, but then she realized the mission, not her well-being, would come first in Collar’s mind. “But that’s a good thing, right?” Niki said, which she realized was an odd thing to say about the prospect of her own abduction.
“Depends on how you look at it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if the van was there for you, or maybe even another victim, they realize you aren’t afraid. And for most kidnappers, that doesn’t bode well.”
Niki wondered why Collar was being so curt. Had she blown another mission? Maybe she needed to stop being so bold, but that didn’t fit her personality. Truth was, Niki wasn’t afraid of being abducted. She just wanted to make these people pay for what they’d done.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Niki said.
Third Degree Page 4