by Jana DeLeon
“It doesn’t look deep,” one of the paramedics said, “but he should have an X-ray done, and the doctor needs to prescribe antibiotics to avoid infection. Do you want to take him yourself or would you like us to transport him?”
Shaye looked back at the building as Jackson dashed out.
“Did you get a hold of Grayson and Elliot?” Shaye asked.
“Yeah. Grayson is thirty minutes out from New Orleans and told me to run with whatever I find. Elliot is going with his men to search Clancy’s apartment for more construction locations to see if any of the kids are being held in them or if they provide a lead to where the kids might have been transferred.”
It registered with Shaye that even Jackson couldn’t use the word “sold” in his description. “What happens here now?” she asked.
Jackson pointed to the patrol car that had just parked behind the ambulance. “This unit will secure the scene and scour the place for evidence. At the station, they’re running a search on construction permits.”
“What about the telephone numbers?”
“Four of the numbers were burner cells, but the last is registered to Emmanuel Abshire. He’s been dead for five years, but his sons, Jacob and Moses, inherited his farm. Get this—it’s smack in the middle of Maurepas wildlife refuge.”
“Where Scratch was found?” Shaye said.
Jackson nodded. “And I was thinking—Lake Maurepas dumps into Lake Pontchartrain. That could account for Joker as well.”
“Then what are we standing here for?” Hustle asked and started to get off the gurney.
Shaye put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “You’re going to the hospital. If Jackson has to handcuff you, he will.”
Hustle started to protest, and Jackson pulled out his cuffs. Knowing he was defeated, Hustle sighed. “Promise me you’ll get her.”
“I promise,” Shaye said, even though she was afraid she might return with a body bag.
“And that you’ll make them pay.”
She nodded. That was one promise she could definitely keep.
* * *
Jinx hurried through the swamp as quickly as the dim light allowed. She stayed close to the bank of the bayou, but not right by it, as she was sure her alligator friend wasn’t the only one in residence. She glanced back every once in a while to make sure Spider was still behind her. Every time she looked, he was farther behind even though she hadn’t increased pace. If anything, she was moving slower now because the moonlight kept disappearing and she had no other source of light.
She stopped and waited for Spider to catch up. “Are you all right?” she asked. They’d been walking for an hour already, but it didn’t feel to Jinx as though they’d made it very far. She knew Spider was holding her up, but that couldn’t be helped.
“Tired.” His breath came out in ragged gasps. “Getting dizzy.”
She leaned closer to look at his shoulder and could see fresh blood coming out from under the life vest that he had clutched against it. He was losing too much blood. He wouldn’t make it much farther without losing consciousness. She rubbed the sides of her face and tried to come up with an alternative plan.
Then upriver she heard a boat engine fire up, and her pulse rate shot up into the stratosphere. Spider’s eyes widened and he looked at the bayou, then back at her.
“They’re coming,” Spider said. “They’re going to find us.”
She could tell he was starting to panic and grabbed his good shoulder. “They are not going to find us. I sank the boat in the middle of the bayou so they wouldn’t know where we got out of it. The dogs can’t track us if they can’t pick up our trail.”
“So? We don’t know where we’re going. They’ve got a boat and guns and probably know this entire place. It could be miles to the next house. I can’t make it that far and you know it.”
The boat engine grew louder and spotlights filtered into the swamp behind them. Jinx pulled on Spider’s arm, forcing him down to the ground behind a clump of brush. She peered in between the foliage and watched as the boat made its way slowly past them, the spotlight illuminating the bank all around where they were hiding. She waited until the boat had disappeared around a bend in the bayou before standing.
“It’s hopeless,” Spider said. “We’re going to die here. Your idea was great, and you did your best, but we never had a chance.”
“Stop thinking like that. There’s always a way.”
“Are you going to carry me out of here on your back? How many miles can you manage—probably not even one?”
“Wait here,” she said, and crept down to the edge of the bank. A set of tree roots made up an embankment next to a flat spot of marsh grass that led into the water. She pulled a clump of marsh grass from the bank and stuffed it in between some of the tree roots. It wasn’t exactly natural, but it wouldn’t stand out to anyone but her.
She hurried back up the bank and motioned to Spider. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to find you a place to hide, then I’m going for help.”
“No! You can’t leave me here.”
“I don’t have a choice. Either you stay here and I get help or we die here together. This is our only option. Now get a move on while you can still walk.”
She walked past him and into the swamp directly away from the bayou. She needed to find a place deep enough in that he couldn’t be spotted from the bank. The thunder rumbling overhead was getting louder and lightning flashed in the distance. She needed to find him a place that offered some protection from the approaching storm; otherwise he could lose consciousness and drown.
About thirty yards away, she found a cluster of cypress trees that had been uprooted, probably from a tornado. The fallen trunks were covered with thick moss and offered a nature-made lean-to. She convinced Spider to get under the trunks, then pulled some of the moss down the front, creating a drape that hid Spider completely from view.
She went inside and dropped down next to him, looking him directly in the eyes. “I’m coming back for you,” she said.
“I believe you.”
Jinx nodded and headed back into the swamp. Spider’s words and tone had conveyed his belief that she intended to return for him, but his eyes betrayed his belief that she wouldn’t be able to.
She was determined to prove him wrong.
When she got back to the bank, she crept close to the water, trying to see or hear where the men were. The hum of the boat engine carried across the water, but it sounded distant. They had probably continued down the bayou, but at some point they would double back, figuring they’d missed her.
Or they’ll be sitting at the finish line, waiting on you.
She stepped back from the bank and hurried through the swamp, keeping the water in sight. She knew the score, and no benefit was gained from dwelling on it. When she got close to help, she’d go deeper into the swamp and circle back around. And she’d pray that she saw those dogs before they caught her scent. If the dogs got onto her, it was all over.
She managed fifteen minutes at a decent clip when the storm that had been threatening to break loose dropped upon her. Lightning flashed across the night sky, bolts of it reaching down to the swamp, shattering the night air with its strikes. The rolls of thunder seemed to run one into the other, making it impossible to hear anything at all. Then the rain began to fall in giant sheets, the wind blowing so hard it felt like needles pricking her skin.
She tucked her arms across her chest and bent slightly forward, lowering her head as she pushed forward. She couldn’t afford to stop. The rain made progress slow and she couldn’t hear the boat any longer, but that also meant the men couldn’t see or hear her. The most important part was that it made it much harder for the dogs to pick up her scent, and they probably wouldn’t be able to pick up Spider’s at all, not after this.
The spotlight flashed right in front of her and she dropped onto her hands and knees and crawled behind a cypress t
runk. The light danced on the foliage where she’d just been standing, and her heart pounded as she watched it move past the trunk where she was hiding and farther down the bank until it disappeared into the storm.
She hadn’t heard them at all, nor had she seen the light ahead of her. She was going to have to be more careful, maybe move farther away from the bank, then double back periodically to make sure she was still moving in the right direction. If that spotlight had been only a couple of feet farther back, she would have been standing right in the middle of it.
She rose from the ground and peered around the trunk. Lightning flashed and lit up the bayou, but there was no sign of the boat. She looked down the bayou as far as she could see, checking its direction, and it didn’t appear to shift. She backtracked deeper into the swamp about twenty yards, then turned to the right and started moving parallel with the bayou. At least, she hoped it was parallel. With the storm, it was hard to tell if she was moving in a straight line.
Ten minutes of travel forward and then she’d double back and make sure she was still on the same track as the bayou. It had to end somewhere, and water usually ended at a lake or a town. Either way, there would be people. And people usually had cell phones.
Or weapons.
At this point, Jinx would probably trade a cell phone for a handgun. She and Spider might get out of this alive, but she really hoped the men didn’t.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jackson killed the lights on his car and rolled to a stop at the edge of the tree line that surrounded the Abshire farm. He and Shaye climbed out of the car and crept to the gate, peering over the rotten wood fence.
“Lights are on,” Jackson said, “but I don’t see any movement.”
“How far out is backup?” Shaye asked.
“Fifteen minutes, at least.”
Shaye’s jaw flexed involuntarily. Dispatch had alerted Jackson that a news crew turned up at Clancy’s office as they were hauling his body out. Another had arrived at the hospital at the same time as the paramedics and had made a scene as medical personnel worked to get Hustle inside and push the reporters back out. Someone smelled a story, and things were about to be all over the Internet and TV.
That meant if Jinx was here and still alive, she wouldn’t be for long.
And the storm moving in only added to her concern. Thunder and lightning boomed just south of them. In a matter of minutes, the whole mess would be right on top of them, making everything harder.
“Did you hear that?” Jackson grabbed her arm.
“I heard thunder.”
He shook his head. “I think it was a rifle firing, but I can’t be sure.”
Shaye stiffened. “At the house?”
“No. Much farther away.”
“Could it have been fireworks?” Shaye asked. Kids shot fireworks for days following the holiday, and out in the swamp would be the perfect place to do it.
Jackson nodded. “It’s possible, but I don’t think that’s what I heard. I’m not waiting on backup. I’m going to check out the house.”
“I’m going with you.”
“No. You’re not a cop.”
“But I’m here and I have a gun.”
Jackson stared at her for several seconds, his indecision apparent. Finally, he pulled out his portable radio and called dispatch to tell them he was entering the property and silencing radio communication.
He put his radio back on his belt and looked at her. “Follow me and don’t make a move unless I direct it.” He started to move forward, then stopped and looked back at her again. “And since all of this is probably going to go public, promise me you’ll tell your mother that I told you to stay in the car.”
He turned around and crept down the fence line. Shaye smiled and set out behind him. More than anything, she hoped that tomorrow morning, she’d be sitting at her mother’s kitchen counter, listening to her complain while watching the news story of Jinx’s rescue.
When they reached the gate, Jackson bent down and slipped between the railings. Shaye followed suit and they headed for the back side of a line of overgrown hedges that ran down the driveway. The hedges offered them a route to the house without being seen. As they neared the edge of the last hedge, Jackson held up his hand and Shaye stopped. He inched forward and peered around the bushes, then looked back and motioned to her to follow. He hurried across the opening between the hedges and the house and flattened himself on the wall next to the porch. Shaye followed suit.
He pointed to a window to their left and ducked past her, then slowly rose until he could see inside. He dropped back down and looked at her, shaking his head, then moved to the next window, repeating the process. Again, he indicated that he saw no one. He moved to the end of the side and peered around back, then motioned to Shaye. She crept up beside him and saw the back door standing open.
“Stay here and cover the door,” he whispered.
He slipped around the corner and up the concrete steps into the house. Shaye lifted her arms and clenched her pistol, training it on the back door. Sweat ran down her forehead and into her eyes. Her palms were clammy, and while she wanted to blame it on the impending storm, she knew it was fear. Jackson was right. She wasn’t trained for this, but damned if she was going to wait in the car while he risked his life with no backup. And no way was she waiting on backup when Jinx might have only minutes left.
She took one hand off the pistol and wiped the sweat from her eyes, wondering how long he’d been inside. It felt like forever, but couldn’t have been more than a couple minutes. She took a deep breath and slowly blew it out, trying to maintain her focus on the back door. Finally, she heard something moving inside and Jackson emerged from the house and hurried down the steps.
“It’s empty,” he whispered. “Two dirty plates on the table. Two unmade beds. No sign of Jinx.”
“So they got out of bed and left?” If the brothers had fled as John Clancy had attempted, would they have taken Jinx with them?
“Hard to tell. The whole house is a pit. I don’t think they’re the type to make beds. They probably always look like that. Their truck is out front, though, and dispatch said only one vehicle is registered to them.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. An old farm like this could have another old unregistered vehicle around. Would they have taken Jinx? If they were trying to get away?”
“I don’t know.” He pointed directly behind the house. “I think I see the roofline of something out there. Let’s check it out.”
Thunder boomed overhead and lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the barn, the grounds, and everything on them, including them. Jackson took one look up at the sky and took off running for the barn. They were halfway there when the storm hit. Shaye threw her arm over her head to protect her face from the piercing raindrops. The wind whipped around her so hard it slowed her down, almost stopping her completely with a couple of huge gusts. She bent forward, almost doubled over, and ran for the structure. The rain was so hard and so thick that she couldn’t even see Jackson any longer, and it was too risky to turn on flashlights.
She would have run right into the side of the barn if Jackson hadn’t grabbed her. She slid to a stop and watched as he motioned to the corner. He crept down the side of the barn and paused, then continued around the corner. Shaye followed him around the corner and eased up beside him, where he was paused next to a door. He lifted his pistol and motioned for her to do the same, then reached around with his left hand and opened the door.
A gas lamp sat on a workbench near the door, the light illuminating a small patch of the large space. Jackson hurried inside and behind a tractor. Shaye waited a couple seconds, and when no commotion was forthcoming, she slipped around the doorway and rushed over beside him.
He held his fingers up to his ears and shook his head, indicating he didn’t hear anything. She nodded, but wondered how much they’d be able to hear with the storm raging outside. The rain beating down on the metal roof sounded like a drum c
orps was performing outside.
Jackson headed for the rear of the tractor then stopped, peering around the giant tire. He made his way back to her and stopped right next to her, leaning over so that his mouth almost touched her ear.
“I’m going to take the lantern and search the barn,” he whispered. “Stay here and cover me.”
She nodded, and he ran over to the workbench and grabbed the lantern. She moved to the rear of the tractor and peered around the tire, watching as Jackson made his way around the barn. When he reached the rear, the lantern stopped moving.
“Come look at this,” he called out softly.
Shaye hurried to the back of the barn and drew up short behind him, sucking in a breath when she saw the cages. “Oh my God.” Her hand flew up over her mouth. “Why would someone build something like this?”
“I have an idea, but I don’t think either of us likes the answer.”
“They’re empty,” Shaye said. “We’re too late.”
He reached down and picked up a padlock. “Look.”
Shaye leaned over and looked at the keyhole of the padlock where he was pointing and saw the thin piece of metal sticking out. It could only mean one thing.
“She picked the lock,” Shaye said.
“Someone did. We don’t know for certain it was Jinx.” Jackson reached inside the cage and picked up a paper bag and smelled it. “There was one of these in the other cage, too. It smells fresh.”
“There were two of them, and they got away. It could be Peter.” Then she remembered the shot that Jackson thought he’d heard and the empty house with unmade beds and the parked vehicle in the driveway.
She clutched Jackson’s arm. “The brothers are hunting them,” she said.
Jackson’s eyes widened. “That shot I heard was in the swamp. We have no way of knowing where it came from and no way to find them in this storm.”