“Drew didn’t find out about it until the killer had already gotten to her and he didn’t find her in time.” Brandy put her palms in the air. “So, he came home and the rest is history.”
Megan sat, shell shocked, trying to process what she’d just heard. A woman Drew cared for was brutally murdered by someone he was tracking down. It made her insides twist and her heart ache for him. After hearing that, she could understand his overreacting with her over the littlest thing. He didn’t want her hurt.
“And now his sister has been kidnapped,” she said out loud. There was no telling how this whole thing must have him tied up in knots.
“I know. I can’t believe you didn’t know about this already.” Brandy shook her head, disappointed in Megan’s lack of gossip.
“It’s not exactly something people bring up and you’re the only person I know who tells me stuff.” Megan stood and busied herself. Her head started to ache and her stomach churned. “Did they catch the guy?”
“Drew caught up to him the night his girlfriend died and had to kill him in self-defense. Or at least that’s what the official report says. Personally, I think he went nuts and killed him, but I don’t blame him. I would do the same thing.”
Megan’s stomach rolled and her hands shook as she looked up to Brandy. “Can you handle the rest of the day by yourself?”
“Sure. You don’t look so good. Make sure you get something to eat,” Brandy told her, oblivious to the effect her story had on Megan.
Not caring if it made her rude or not, she left without saying goodbye. Sitting in her car, she stared aimlessly not knowing what to do next—going home or talking to someone were out of the question. She needed action. She needed to help Drew get his sister back so he wouldn’t worry about reliving what he had gone through in New York.
The only way she could help him was to find the diamonds.
Needing her laptop but not wanting to waste time driving all the way home then back, Megan went to the library. Once inside, she took the closest computer out of view from patrons and got to work. First, she checked the story Brandy told her. Not that she didn’t believe her friend, but by the time the story got to Brandy it could’ve been an entirely different story. As she typed in the key words to search, her hopes of it all being a horrible rumor were squashed.
A photo of Drew with a beautiful young blonde stared back at her. From the headline, Megan learned her name was April Ramsey and she was only twenty-two years old. Skimming over the story, she read just enough to verify Brandy was telling the truth; she couldn’t read any further.
It was time to get to business and search the man who had the heart attack in Drew’s custody. Everything she found was what she already knew. He was in a jewelry store robbery, was stopped leaving a motel, and the diamonds were nowhere to be seen. Tapping her fingers against the compressed board desk, Megan tried to figure out what she was missing. There had to be a clue she just wasn’t seeing.
His obituary.
Bingo!
That would tell plenty about him. Searching the local papers obituary for the week following his death, she found it. Her breath quickened and she sat up a little straighter as she read.
Calvin Ripley, 63, of Tucson, Arizona passed away Monday. He was survived by his mother, Ethel Ripley of Tucson, Arizona and Aunt Ester Harrison of Hope, Oklahoma. A private funeral will be held at Bethel Hills Saturday at 2:00pm.
Ester Harrison? That had to be John and Ester Harrison from Hope. The two were older than dirt and if Megan remembered correctly, John was moved into a nursing home not too long ago. Looking at her watch, she decided she still had plenty of time to have a cup of tea with Ester before Drew came to hunt her down. She did a search for Ester’s house and transferred the address to her cell phone before gathering her belongs and heading for the car.
On her way there, she ran over what she was going to say when she got there. Ester wasn’t a stranger, but they had never had more than a passing conversation. Deciding her best strategy was to use the festival as an excuse, she would ask her if she wanted to donate one of her famous apple pies.
Pulling off the back road to the dirt drive, Megan sat in her car, taking it in. Something felt off. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and slipped her jacket on while she looked around.
There was an eerie silence wrapped around the area. The house was an old, two-story farmhouse with peeling, white paint and windows that looked like they hadn’t been washed since the Dust Bowl. The woods crowding in from every direction didn’t help it from feeling like it had been plucked straight out of a horror film.
One sign of a hillbilly or thunderstorm and she was getting the hell out of there.
She walked past two weeks’ worth of newspapers on the walkway and stopped at the front door. Wanting nothing more than to get out of there, she didn’t hesitate to knock. Taking a step back, Megan waited for Ester to answer, but no one came. Feeling like a heel, she abused her ability to see through walls and peeked into the house. She couldn’t see anyone, so she walked around to the back door that led to the kitchen.
Using her sight again, she didn’t see Ester anywhere. Before she realized what she was doing, she reached for the knob and turned. It was unlocked!
Then the internal dilemma began—to enter or not to enter the house. If she entered, there was a good chance she could find out more information on Calvin Ripley and if she was lucky, maybe he even stashed the diamonds inside the house and should could find them. But, if she did enter and got caught, she would have to deal with, she imagined, multiple charges, including breaking and entering.
It wasn’t that hard of a choice when she thought about it. If going in could help her find the diamonds and get Laura back, that’s what she needed to do. With her decision made, Megan gradually slid through the door and closed it behind her. Immediately, her nostrils were struck with the distinct smell of soured food and stale cigarettes. The sink was piled high with dirty dishes, overflowing to the countertops. From what she could remember of Ester, she didn’t strike her as a messy lady, but her house was ridiculously dirty.
Megan called out to Ester, triple-checking so she wouldn’t startle the old woman and give her a heart attack, but again, nothing. She left the kitchen and made her way through to the upstairs landing, stepping as lightly as she could. The house was obviously empty, so she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to stay quiet. She tackled the first room, going through drawers, looking in closets and under the bed, but came up short. Unfortunately, the second room ended in the same result.
Standing at the top of the landing, Megan tried to think of all the places a man would hide ten million dollars’ worth of diamonds. Then she wondered if she found it, would she be able to resist the urge to take one or two of them and move to a secluded beach?
A rattling noise coming from downstairs cleared her mind and freaked her out. Megan pressed herself against the wall, out of view from anyone who might come up the stairs. Holding her breath, she waited, listening for more sounds to come. Even though she was expecting it, she jumped when she heard the same noise.
Letting the walls and floors fall away, Megan searched for the noise when she realized she was looking into the basement. . She scanned outside and there were no other vehicles in sight, so she made her way downstairs and to the door in the kitchen that had to lead to the basement. Oddly, it had a lock on it. A basement would be a perfect place to hide diamonds where an old woman wouldn’t find them.
Unlocking the door, Megan wiped her clammy palms on her jeans and opened the creaky door. She stepped inside and softly closed the door behind her. The stairs were dimly lit, leaving an eerie glow down the steps as if she were walking down the steps to hell.
The noise came again, this time much louder, and she said a silent prayer that she wasn’t about to walk to her own death.
“Um, hello?” she asked, not wanting an answer.
What she did get was more rattling, and this time it didn�
�t stop and could it be… moaning? It was a ghost. It had to be a ghost. What else rattled and moaned? Megan felt the wall for the light switch and flicked it on since it was well known that ghosts couldn’t pass through light.
“Oh my god,” Megan said, putting a hand over her neck. “Laura?”
Chapter Eighteen
There she was, sitting on a mattress tossed on the floor with her hands above her head. She found her. Holy shit, she found Laura. It didn’t take long for Megan to shake off the shock that she had stumbled upon the kidnappers’ lair. She ran to Laura and—though she hated to—ripped off the duct tape covering her mouth.
With a heart beating out of control and fear lacing her voice, Megan asked, “Are you okay?”
“Shit, that hurt. Holy shit.” Laura rubbed her raw mouth against her shoulder. She fisted her hands which were handcuffed to the plumbing pipes bolted to the wall, causing her range of motion to be limited. “We need to hurry before they get back.”
“Right,” Megan said, inspecting the pipes, but they were bolted to the wall with a u-shaped clamp. “Scoot back as far as you can.”
Megan put her foot to the cement wall and pulled the pipe with everything she had. It didn’t move an inch. Not a damn inch. She needed a hammer or a crowbar maybe to break the handcuffs off. What she wouldn’t give to just have Lillie right then. “Do you know if there are any tools down here?”
“No, they cleared them all out after I hit one of the morons over the head with a screwdriver.” Megan didn’t miss the hint of pride in her voice and if the situation wasn’t so extreme, she would have laughed at the thought. What did surprise her was the calm and almost nonchalance Laura had about the whole ordeal while Megan ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.
The door to the living room opened with a bang and slammed shut, momentarily freezing the women where they sat. Looking through the ceiling, she found Idiots One and Two making their way through the living room to the basement door.
Dammit!
“They’re back and my car is out front so they know I’m here.” Megan panicked and ran to the darkest corner of the room to hide.
“Seriously?” Laura drew out in a heavy breath and shook her head. “You do realize you’re not hidden very well, right?”
Megan glanced down to find her legs and feet were clearly visible, but she didn’t have time to look for a better spot; the kidnappers were on their way down the steps. Doing the only thing she knew to do in this type of situation, she freaked way the hell out. Running straight at them with the craziest battle cry she could muster, she raised her fist and went berserk. The shock of seeing a mad woman running toward them gave her the advantage, and she managed to punch one of them square in the nose and as he bent over in pain, she kicked him in the ribs as hard as she could. If she were being honest with herself, it kind of felt good to beat on him since these guys were at the root of all her problems over the past two weeks.
“Kick him again,” Laura yelled with a maniacal laugh. “Behind you!”
Unsuccessfully, Megan tried to move as the second guy nabbed her from behind and a blinding pain hit the back of her head. In an instant, her world went dark.
****
Thump… Thump… Thump… The pain pounded in her head. Megan wanted to rub her temples to alleviate the pain, but she couldn’t move her arms. She moaned involuntarily as her eyes fought to open.
“Hey, karate kid, you’re finally awake,” the woman beside her said.
“Laura?” Okay, she hadn’t dreamt this whole thing up. Turning her head to the side, she found herself face down on the dirty floor with her hands tied behind her back.
“You okay?” Laura asked with concern.
Megan pulled her knees up, resting her weight on her shoulder, and maneuvered into a sitting position. It wasn’t pretty getting there, but get there, she did.
“Are you okay?” Laura asked again, this time a little more gently.
Taking inventory of her body, Megan was thankful that everything still seemed to work properly and other than her fingers, which tingled from lack of circulation, she felt fine. “I think I’m good.”
“Please tell me you have a cell phone.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, feeling like an idiot, “but it’s in the car.”
Laura looked to the ceiling and chuckled. “That is a horrible rescue plan.”
“I didn’t plan on rescuing you. I just happened upon you,” Megan explained.
“You did tell someone where you were going, right?” Laura’s eyebrows rose exactly like Drew’s always did, waiting for confirmation. Megan bit her lip and grimaced as Laura rolled her eyes. “This is just terrific.”
“None of this is my fault.” Megan was getting tired of defending herself.
Laura looked to her bound hands. “I know. I’m sorry,” she sighed. “At least I have someone to talk to now.”
“No, there has to be a way to get us out of here. I’ll think of something.” Megan looked through the floor and searched for the kidnappers, but came up empty. “Do you know if they’re still here?”
“They’re gone. They’re going to get rid of your car and then bring back dinner.”
Scooting herself to sit next to Laura, Megan closed her eyes and leaned her pounding head against the cool, concrete walls. “I really loved my car.”
“I imagine the fish will love it, too.” Laura smiled, but Megan glared in return. Laura shrugged her dainty shoulders. “Sorry.”
“How long have they been gone?” Megan asked as she dug her heels into the floor and pushed herself into a standing position.
“I don’t know. Probably thirty minutes or so.”
“Okay, all we have to do is figure out how to get me untied and I can get us help,” she said, searching for anything that would help.
“Oh, really? Is that all we have to do?” Laura’s voice pitched high. “Man, why didn’t I think of that before now?”
Megan came up short and glared at Laura. “Sarcasm isn’t going to help us any and I’m not in the mood to listen to it, so either say something useful or don’t say anything at all.”
“Yeah, sorry. It just passes the time.” Laura shrugged and bit her top lip like she had just been put in timeout.
Feeling satisfied that Laura was properly chastised, Megan began her search. Moving to a stack of boxes pushed against the wall under the stairs, she used her feet and knees and kicked them over. “Aww, yes!”
“What?” Laura asked, squirming around to get a better view.
“Ice skates,” Megan said triumphantly. She kicked the skates toward Laura. “Can you sit with your legs on the floor and your knees bent? If you can hold the skates between your knees, I think I can use the blade to cute the rope.”
Kicking off her shoes, they used their bare feet to maneuver the skates until they had positioned them correctly. Somehow they managed this without cutting themselves and bleeding out. Megan was pretty proud of herself, but wondered out loud, “What do you think the Harrisons are doing with ice skates?”
“I’m pretty sure they traveled a lot in their younger years,” Laura huffed as she squeezed the skates with her knees. “Ester’s on a seniors cruise right now. The guys said the first thing he did after they stole the diamonds was book his aunt a cruise.”
Squatting down as she slowly cut through the ropes, her thighs were on fire and sweat beaded on her forehead with the effort. As soon as they were out of there, she was calling Lillie and signing up for extra yoga classes. Finally feeling the release of the rope, Megan stood and turned. “Shit, that about killed me.”
Excited, Laura squealed, “Hurry, before they get back.”
“How far to the closest house?” Megan asked, rubbing her wrists.
“About a mile east,” Laura replied, tugging on the handcuffs in aggravation. “Hurry!”
She skidded to a halt and looked down to her bare feet. “A freaking mile?”
“Go!” Laura growled.
; Running up the steps two at a time, Megan opened the basement door and made it almost to the back door when she heard the idiot kidnappers closing in on the same door. Saying an excessive amount of curse words under her breath, she through her hands in the air and ran back down the stairs.
“What now?” Laura asked.
“They’re freaking back.” Looking between Laura and the door, Megan had a decision to make. She could get them free, but doing so would let yet another person in on her life-long secret. Did she really have a choice, though? Shit. She couldn’t let Laura end up like April. She wouldn’t let it happen. Drew was a strong man, but that would break him.
Without time to think it over too much, she ran to stand next to Laura and started peeling off her clothes. “Okay, here’s what I’m…”
“Hmm… Megan, they really haven’t made me do anything like that so…” Laura explained with shock.
“Listen to me,” Megan said sternly. “I’m going to get us out of here, but no matter what I do and what you see, you have to swear on your life to never tell a soul.” She was almost entirely naked by the time she demanded Laura’s allegiance. Nerves had her fingers trembling like they had run a jackhammer for hours.
She was starting to second-guess herself. What if she couldn’t go invisible? What if she froze and ended up naked, waiting for two men to come down, and they had their way with her? Oh my god, I have to go invisible now.
“Uh, Megan, seriously, you really don’t have to do this.”
“Just promise me,” she whisper-yelled.
“Okay, okay. I promise I won’t say a word, but you don’t have to be the sacrificial lamb here. We’ll figure another way out of this.” The worry in Laura’s eyes tugged at her heart.
Without time to drill Laura on the consequences of telling anyone, Megan closed her eyes and concentrated on the task at hand. Pushing thoughts of everything going on around her to the furthest parts of her mind, she began visualizing her fingers and toes disappearing. She continued on this path of thought when she heard Laura inhale sharply and curse like a sailor. It must have been working and Laura had to be freaking out.
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