Deceptions

by Dana Mansfield

  “Yes,” I said. What else could my answer be?

  William yanked me up and guided me out of the woods with the man named Landon guiding Jack. They took us to the Hummer that was parked behind our Suburban. The woman opened the back door and we were pushed in. The space was small and we were cramped. She slammed the door and the four walked towards the other Hummer.

  “Damn it,” I said, then grimaced as pain throbbed in my side.

  “The first thing the guys and I learned when we took that security course before we toured the Middle East was that we do not try anything should we be kidnapped,” Jack said. “Cooperation is key at the beginning.”

  “This just can’t be happening, Jack. Don’t they know you have a family?”

  “I do not think my family is their first concern, Penelope, but they are mine and so are you. I cannot do anything to help my family right now other than obey the bastards but I can help you. You must obey them, Penny. I am the subject of this kidnapping; you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and I do not want them to harm you. Understand?”

  “Yes, Ivan,” I answered.

  “Just do as they say.” I nodded and another shiver hit me, hurting my ribs. A moan escaped me. “Are you feeling worse?”

  “No, not worse. That bastard hitting me didn’t help.”

  Jack leaned closer to me. It made me feel safe.

  “Penny, they have hurt you, used violence. We cannot fight them. Please promise me you will not do anything.”

  “Jack, I agree.” He was irritating me because I felt he was being redundant. Jack came closer and then kissed me on the lips.

  “We need to get out of this situation together. Understand?”

  “Yes, yes, I understand,” I replied. Jack leaned back and gave me a smile that eased my tension a little. “At least we are together.”

  “For the moment,” I noted.

  “Obey and you will not be harmed.”

  “You can’t make that statement, Jack.” He sighed and looked away from me.

  “You are right but at least if you obey, we obey, the harm will not be because of what we did. In that class we took, obeying and following directions were the two most important things they taught us.”

  “Emerson had you guys take that class for a tour overseas and look at where you’re using the knowledge – the good ol’ U.S.A.,” I half chortled.

  “Yes, there is that.”

  Both of us turned around the best we could to see what our kidnappers were doing. It was difficult to see until suddenly there was a flash of flame and our Suburban began to burn.

  “Der mo’,”[5] Jack said. “They are leaving no evidence.”

  “And the snow will cover up the tracks of their vehicles,” I noted dully. William and the woman got into the Hummer. Both turned around at us.

  “We are taking you to our compound where you will be held. I should not have to remind you that your cooperation will lessen the chances of sweet Penelope dying,” William said. He turned to the woman and gave her a deep kiss. “Ready to go, Vivienne?”

  “Yes,” she replied and kissed him back. It was the oddest moment of the kidnapping.

  * * *

  Chapter 8

  Something poked Millie on the tip of her nose. At first, she thought she was dreaming but when she was certain she left slumber, she still felt it. She dared to open one eye.

  “Hi, Millie,” Little Sofie whispered. She poked Millie again in the nose just to make sure her aunt was good and awake.

  “Good morning, Little Me,” Millie whispered back. The resemblance between the two, at least at the age of four, was quite uncanny and Millie started calling her niece that nickname a couple years earlier and Little Sofie loved it, giggling each time it was used. In turn, she often called her aunt Big Me.

  Millie hoped she could coax her niece back to sleep but before she could, the little girl sat up. Millie followed suit. The nightlight Penny always brought along on overnight trips provided just enough illumination to see Annie and Karie were still asleep. Pulling her cellphone from the nightstand, Millie saw it was not even six in the morning yet.

  “Why are you up so early?” she whispered to a sheepish Little Sofie. “Are you feeling okay?” Millie felt the girl’s forehead. It was cool; the fever had not come back.

  “I have to piddle but I was afwaid to go by myself and the light in the bafwomb isn’t on and I can’t weach the switchy.”

  “I’m sorry, Little Me. I should have left it on. I’ll help you,” Millie replied and walked Little Sofie through the bedroom and to the bathroom. She squinted with the bright light but after a few seconds, she adjusted and leaned against the sink while Little Sofie peed.

  She checked her phone for texts and frowned. There were none and Millie became very worried. She had texted Penny to message her when they arrived in Voorhees and then when she started the trip back. There were no texts from Jack either and Millie didn’t like the silence. Slipping her phone into the pocket of her sweatshirt, she then helped Little Sofie wash her hands and brush her teeth. She then peed and repeated the two actions for herself before taking Little Sofie’s hand and walking her out into the living room.

  The light over the game table was on and Millie saw Natalya, Leo and Sasha still sleeping. Little Sofie ran over to the window seat and after struggling to crawl up onto it, leaned against the window. Her face showed amazed shock.

  “Wowie,” she breathed and when Millie looked out, she agreed with the little girl’s assessment. The perimeter light was on, illuminating the great deal of snow that had fallen overnight. A constant, high pitched wind blew, adding to a sudden creepiness that caused Millie to break out in goose bumps. That coupled with the sea of white outside did not help Millie’s nerves. After checking to see Penny wasn’t hiding somewhere in the suite, she pulled her phone back out and sent a message to Jack and Penny.

  Worried. Let me know you’re okay. Shitload of snow here.

  “Big Me, I’m hungwee,” said Little Sofie, tugging on Millie’s arm.

  “It’s a little too early to get everyone up for breakfast,” Millie replied but found a bag of cracker goldfish in the stash of snacks Penny packed for the weekend. She lifted Little Sofie up onto the breakfast bar, opened the bag of crackers for her, and then poked a straw into a juice box. Little Sofie was happy but Millie was worried.

  Have you heard from Penny or Jack? she texted to Danny, her brother. She was certain he would be up. Millie needed him; she needed someone to worry with her. Danny was going to his future in-laws house for Thanksgiving and was still in Voorhees.

  No. What’s going on? Danny texted right back. Millie was glad he did and her fingers flew as she typed out her worry.

  J had P take him back to V. Don’t know why. The storm is so bad. Worried.

  If they just left, they’ll be right back.

  They didn’t just leave. They left about midnight and I haven’t heard from them at all. She expected another rapid fire text from her brother but it didn’t come right away. Instead, the screen lit up with his face. He was calling. That wouldn’t work, however. Can’t talk. The kids don’t know they left. Only LS is up.

  You’ve tried texting them?

  Of course. Again, there was a little wait before another text came in.

  I’ll run over to the house and see if they’re there. Keep the kids occupied. Have you talked to Crystal?

  Not yet. Millie didn’t want to talk to her sister-in-law but knew she might not have any choice.

  Wait until I check the house.

  Millie was a mess of nerves as she watched Little Sofie line up her little fishies and begin playing with them. Jack would not have been happy if he saw her as he hated when the kids played with their food. The snack food was keeping her busy and that was all Millie cared about at that moment.

  Fifteen minutes later, Danny texted her. No one is at the house and it doesn’t look as if anyone has been there since you all left for the lodge
. Millie closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  An hour later, Millie put on a fake smile and told her now awake nieces and nephews that Penny had taken Jack back to Voorhees. When Leo had signed why, Millie was at a loss but in the end, she didn’t lie in her response.

  “I don’t know,” she said, which was the truth. She didn’t know why Jack had to go back. Millie got the kids dressed and herded them down to the breakfast buffet. The whole time, she was in contact with Danny and also Matty Lange, the band’s drummer. She needed the connection with Matty to calm her nerves.

  Danny checked with the other guys in the band to see if they heard from either of them. None of them had which Millie already knew from Matty. Danny sent several texts to Crystal which went unanswered. He then called Mr. McEntaffer to see if he could find out if there were any accidents reported in the storm. They were still waiting word back on that.

  “What’s going on?” Sasha whispered to Millie as she cut up Little Sofie’s pancakes.

  “Nothing’s going on,” she replied back but couldn’t look at her seventeen-year-old nephew in the eye. Her cellphone dinged. The text was from Sasha.

  Bullshit. I can tell something’s going on. Millie debated. Sasha was a lot like both Jack and Danny, wise beyond actual age. She decided to be honest with him. She would need his help when the kids found out there was something to worry about when it came to their papa and caretaker.

  It’s true Penny took your papa back to Voorhees but they didn’t make it and I haven’t heard from them. Danny knows and is trying to find out information. She watched as Sasha’s eyes grew wide but then he recovered.

  Mama didn’t go back home, did she?

  No. I’ve texted her several times but haven’t heard back from her. I need to go out to the cabin but don’t want to alert the kiddos.

  Go, I’ll cover.

  Millie ran up to the suite to grab her coat. She was so glad she did because the wind and snow were almost impossible to fight through to get to the small cabin. The lodge was set up for conditions like that and Millie was grateful for the wrought iron chains which led along the path to the dozen or so cabins that were tucked on the edge of the woods. Someone out in the snow could hold onto the chain without fear of wandering off into the woods and becoming lost.

  She shivered as she stepped up to the door of #8 and pounded on it. As expected, it took forever for Crystal to open the door. She was not happy to see Millie. Not a shocker.

  “What do you want?” she snapped. Millie noted that she looked like shit. Her thin, light red hair was a mess of knots and the smudges beneath her green eyes indicated she went to bed without removing her makeup. She was dressed in a pair of silk pajamas with a matching robe.

  “Have you heard from Jack?” Millie asked, her teeth chattering.

  “Why would I hear from that son of a bitch?”

  Millie refrained from reaching out and smacking her sister-in-law. When she spoke, it was through gritted teeth. “He had Penny take him back to Voorhees but they never made it and I can’t get in touch with either of them.” Nothing registered on Crystal’s face. She blinked several times and then moved away from the door so Millie could enter. Crystal went over to the mantel above the fireplace and picked up her cellphone.

  “No, I don’t have any calls or messages from him or Penny.”

  . . .

  When Danny appeared with Matty just past noon, the façade that nothing was wrong crumbled. Danny and Millie told the children the truth which still wasn’t much. All they knew was that Jack asked Penny to take him back home, they didn’t know why, but they hadn’t made it. The kids responded as expected. Little Sofie melted down, Annie wept, Karie was rendered mute while Leo had a hard time signing what he wanted to say. Natalya sat by herself on the window seat looking outside at the snowy mess and Sasha put on a stoic face.

  Danny and Matty had struggled to make it to the lodge and were almost shell shocked from the experience. They saw many cars off the road but none of them had been Jack’s white Suburban. Mr. McEntaffer said the sheriff had not received any reports of a Suburban in any sort of an accident but the snowplow crews were on the lookout. The problem was they were more worried about getting the main roads cleared and if Jack and Penny took a back way, it might be a while before they got to those roads.

  Crystal appeared in the bedroom suite when Danny and Matty showed up. She was quiet and worried. Millie was desperate to find out if she sent Jack away but she wasn’t sure she could do that without making a scene. The kids didn’t need that at all. No one was hungry for lunch and after Little Sofie fell asleep in Millie’s arms, she tucked her into bed. Sasha pulled Leo, Karie, and Annie over for a game of Monopoly but it was a muted game and not because they were signing for Leo. Crystal sat with Natalya on the window seat.

  Millie and Matty exchanged several glances and texts but to keep their cover, they stayed apart.

  “How are you holding up?” Danny asked Millie as she focused on nothing in particular.

  “I’m scared, Danny,” she answered. “This is not like either of them.” Crystal was brushing Natalya’s god awful hair. “It’s her fault if something happened to Jack or Penny.”

  “We don’t know yet what happened between the two of them, sestra,”[6] noted Danny. “It doesn’t matter right now.”

  The afternoon dragged by and around four, all the kids expressed their desire to eat. Everyone went down to the dining room for the Thanksgiving buffet and for a while, the tension Millie felt about the situation eased as she busied herself with Little Sofie. The little girl had woken up sullen and halfway through the meal, Millie had to rush her to the nearest bathroom so she could throw up.

  “I just want Papa,” Little Sofie cried as Millie wiped her face with a wet paper towel. “I want Penny.” Little Sofie was inconsolable so Millie took her back to the suite. She would not let Millie out of her sight and the two snuggled down into the comfortable easy chair to wait. Matty showed up a few minutes after Little Sofie fell asleep again and for the first time since arriving, stole a kiss and gave Millie’s hand a reassuring squeeze. The rest of the family came back. The storm had blown all day.

  “I’m going back to the cabin,” Crystal replied. Her voice was shaking and weak sounding.

  “Can I go with you, Mama?” Natalya asked and Crystal nodded. When Leo made the same request, Crystal denied him. That set Millie off and as soon as Crystal was in the hallway, Millie pawned Little Sofie off on Sasha and ran after her bitch of a sister-in-law.

  “What happened?!” she screamed. When Crystal turned around, Millie recognized the true Crystal. Gone was the concerned façade. “Did you want him to go out into the storm? Do you hate him and Penny that much?”

  “Shut up, Millie,” Crystal said low, the tone of her voice dangerous. Crystal was tall, which was a disadvantage to Millie who was a bit challenged when it came to her height. “Like always, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Why else would he leave? He wanted to spend this weekend here with you and the kids and you know that. He would not just leave on his own.”

  “Millie…,” Danny, who had followed his sister out in the hallway, said and put a hand around her upper arm.

  “Leave me alone,” she snapped at him and turned her attention back to Crystal. “Tell me what happened last night.”

  “We fought and that’s it,” she replied and turned on the heel of her designer leather boots. The answer wasn’t good enough but Danny held Millie back from following her and Natalya.

  “If something happens to them, bitch, I’m blaming you!”

  . . .

  As the night dragged on, Millie made an announcement.

  “Matty and I have been dating for about eight months. Just thought you all should know because I need a hug right now and I want that hug from Matty.” She moved to where he stood by the window and he wrapped his tattooed arms around her. She needed the hug, needed reassurance, and she didn’t care if her
family didn’t like her seeing a man fourteen years her senior, who wore his brown hair in a clean cut way despite the tattoos, and had known her since she was a brand new baby girl.

  The kids were quiet although Sasha and Leo had typical boy smirks on their faces. Danny approached Matty and Millie and she felt a little nervous from her brother’s hard to read face. After giving her a slight staring down, he turned to Matty.

  “I love you like a brother which makes this a little awkward since you’re involved with my sister,” he said, “but all I ask is you don’t hurt her.”

  “You know me, Danny,” Matty replied. “And I would never do that.” The men shook hands, then exchanged a bro hug. Danny also gave Millie a hug and whispered in her ear.

  “He’s good for you. I give you my blessing.”

  Millie felt a giant pressure decrease in her soul now that her family knew about her and Matty. The last eight months had been so good for her self-confidence and heart but the secrecy was wearing on her. Now, all she needed was Jack and Penny to be located and she could tell them. Keeping her relationship from Penny had been the hardest.

  Matty led Millie over to the couch where they sat and held hands and waited.

  Just before midnight, as all the kids slept and Danny, Matty, and Millie sat around the game table, there was a soft knock on the door. It was Mr. McEntaffer. The adults stepped into the hall so as not to disturb the sleeping children. They were introduced to the local sheriff.

  “We found a Suburban on one of the back roads,” he explained in a calm voice. “When we ran the VIN number, it came back as Jack’s.”

  “Why would you need to run the VIN? Couldn’t you confirm from the plates?” asked Danny. The sheriff was uncomfortable and Millie’s worry intensified.

  “The license plates were missing and the vehicle was burned down to a shell. It was the only way to identify who the vehicle belonged to,” the focused sheriff explained. “We found a couple gas cans near the burned vehicle but no human remains.”