Payback

by Jonnie Jacobs

  She dared to look up, pleading for mercy with her eyes. “I just wanted to talk to my mom.”

  The belt came down with a sharp snap across her backside. Jamie cried out in pain.

  “You need to be punished for what you did.” Todd’s voice no longer resonated with anger, but with an iciness that frightened Jamie even more. He raised the belt and whipped her again, and then again, until Jamie’s back burned with an all-consuming fire and her insides turned to jelly.

  And then abruptly he stopped and dropped to his knees. “Oh, my God, Jamie, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Jamie, honey.” He began crying. “I love you, honey. I love you so much. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

  Todd helped her to her feet and gathered her in his arms, gingerly so as not to hurt her further. He kissed the raw skin on her back and begged for forgiveness. “Come on, let me get a towel and I’ll clean you up.”

  He led her to the kitchen area, gently blotted away the blood, and spread some kind of salve on it. He wrapped her in a clean towel and helped her back into her pants. Then he poured her a glass of whiskey.

  “Here, drink this. It will help dull the pain.”

  Still stunned, she took the glass with a shaking hand and drank, trading the fire on her back for the fire in her gut. She wasn’t able to form a single independent thought. Like a well-trained dog, she followed Todd’s lead.

  He’d stroked her check, kissed her softly. “I don’t know what came over me, but I’ll make it up to you, honey. I promise. I want you so much, Jamie. I can’t lose you.”

  It still frightened her to think about what had happened, but Todd was making a real effort to show her how sorry he was. He’d been waiting on her hand and foot, as if she were royalty or something. He even called her his precious princess. At first, she’d resisted his kindness—he’d hit her after all—but now, with that awful afternoon fading into the past, Jamie found herself increasingly willing to forgive him. No one had ever cared about her like Todd did.

  This afternoon’s outing was a further offering from Todd, even if it did include fishing. As they approached the steep bank of the stream, he slowed and took Jamie’s hand. “Careful,” he said. “Watch for tree roots.”

  Jamie stepped carefully, steadying herself with Todd’s support. He continued to hold her hand even when the terrain leveled out again. When they came to a wide, level spot under a canopy of trees, Todd stopped and slipped off the pack he carried. “How’s this look for our picnic?”

  “It’s good. How’s the fishing here?”

  “We’ll find out.” He grinned. “Not that I really care. I just want to be with you.” He spread the blanket and helped her settle in a comfortable spot. “You hungry yet?”

  “Let’s wait a bit. It’s really lovely here. So peaceful.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He settled in next to her and draped an arm across her shoulders. “How’s your back?”

  “Better.”

  She’d been afraid to look in the mirror, afraid she’d see deep cuts and raw flesh. She’d been mildly disappointed to find only thin, red welts, and now even the welts were gone. All that remained was a reddish cross-hatching like she’d been scratching hard at her skin.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out why I lost it like that,” Todd said, nuzzling her neck. “I went crazy at the thought you were selling me out.”

  “I wasn’t selling you out,” Jamie protested. She’d tried explaining this before, but it wasn’t easy because in some ways she was. She did love Todd, but at the same time she missed her family. She didn’t understand why she had to make a choice.

  “You were the one who came to me, don’t forget. You begged for my help.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.” She had trouble remembering now why she’d been so eager to get away from her parents. It was all mixed up in her mind. Her mother reading her phone texts, making up stories about Todd, trying to turn Jamie against him. And then flat-out forbidding her from seeing him. Jamie had acted impulsively, she saw that now. But at the time, she hadn’t seen any other choice.

  “I went out of my way for you, Jamie. I’m not complaining. I’d do anything for you because I love you. I thought you loved me, too.” Todd’s voice grew husky. “It really hurt to discover you going behind my back. To think you wanted to leave me.”

  Jamie rested her head on Todd’s shoulder and traced a finger across his palm. “I don’t want to hurt you.” And she didn’t want to leave him. But she didn’t want to leave her family, either.

  “I can’t help how I feel,” he said.

  “Neither can I. I miss my parents, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

  He stared into space before continuing. “I’ve been badly burned before, so maybe I overreacted. It’s been a long time since I’ve trusted a woman. I thought you were different.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jamie said again. She seemed to be doing a lot of apologizing lately. Her mother was right. She needed to do a better job of thinking before she acted.

  Todd kissed the top of her head. “You still love me?”

  “I do.”

  “Good. That’s all I care about.”

  What about what she cared about? Jamie kept quiet. She’d already said enough. She didn’t want to set him off again.

  Todd had bought a bottle of pre-mixed mimosas when he went into town and now he poured some into plastic glasses for each of them. The liquid was still icy cold and the perfect mix of sweet and bubbly. Jamie finished her glass before Todd’s was a third gone.

  “More?” he asked.

  “Please.”

  After lunch Jamie dozed while Todd fished. Then she rolled onto her back, listening to the birds and watching puffy white clouds drift across the blue sky. Eventually Todd joined her on the blanket.

  “Did you catch anything?” Jamie asked.

  “Just a couple of little ones. I tossed them back. Let them live a bit longer.”

  “You’re a softy at heart,” she teased, and then snuggled against him while he stroked her hair.

  “And you’re my little princess.” He kissed her chin, her eyes, then pulled her down onto the blanket.

  By the time they returned to the cabin, the sun was already low in the sky.

  “Did you have fun this afternoon?” he asked as he unloaded the backpack on the kitchen table.

  Jamie nodded dreamily. Despite her nap, or maybe because of it, she was still feeling groggy.

  “There’s a little bit of mimosa left in the bottle. It won’t keep. You want it?”

  “I’ll split it with you.”

  “I’d rather you have it.”

  Todd handed her a glass, led her to the couch, and sat beside her.

  The liquid was warm now and tasted sweeter than it had that afternoon. Jamie didn’t really want it, but she didn’t want to hurt Todd’s feelings. There wasn’t much left so she drank it quickly, the way she might some unpleasant medicine. She would get up in a few minutes and brush her teeth to clear the taste.

  Todd picked up her hand and drew imaginary hearts on her palm with his fingers. “You’re my girl, Jamie. You’re my special girl.”

  She smiled and tried to think how to respond. But she was suddenly too tired to care.

  The next thing she knew, Todd was gone and the cabin was enveloped in darkness. Not pitch black the way it was at night, but dark enough that she realized she’d slept quite a while. She stood unsteadily and called for Todd.

  There was no answer.

  She went to the bottom of the narrow stairs and called again.

  And again, nothing.

  Then she saw the note on the table.

  Hey, sleepyhead. I’ve gone into town. Back soon. XOX, Todd

  Chapter 45

  “It was something woodsy,” Cassie said, peering over Marta’s shoulder at the digital map on the laptop screen.

  “Something woodsy?”

  “Yeah, the name of the place had a
river in it. Or view. Or maybe some kind of animal.”

  “That doesn’t narrow it down much.”

  “I know. I wish I could remember but I can’t.”

  Marta moved the mouse to the north, zoomed in again, and began reeling off the town names, hoping Cassie recognized one of them.

  “How about Gazelle?” Marta asked.

  “Gazelle doesn’t sound woodsy. Don’t they live in Africa?”

  Instead of answering, Marta sighed and moved the mouse to another part of the map. “What about Rio Vista? That’s got both river and view in the name.”

  “In Spanish,” Cassie snorted.

  Marta silently counted to three. “How near Shasta is the cabin?”

  “How should I know? I just remember that he said it was up near Shasta.”

  Which could mean just about anywhere in the northern third of the state. Marta moved the mouse again.

  Cassie leaned forward, eyeing the screen more closely. “Wait,” she said, “there. Trout Creek.”

  “That’s where the cabin is?”

  “Not right in town, but around there, I think. The name sounds familiar, anyway.”

  Marta zoomed in as far as the map allowed, and then switched to satellite view. The town of Trout Creek appeared to consist of a single named road and a web of winding crossroads identified only by numbers. The surrounding terrain looked mountainous and heavily forested. She switched to Zillow, thinking she might find information on specific lots and houses, but the area was too sparsely populated for that sort of detail. A cabin might not have shown up in any case, depending how remote and how rustic it was. For all she knew, the structure might not even be legal.

  She switched back to Google maps, zoomed out, and calculated the distance from San Francisco. Just under five hours.

  “Pack up,” she told Cassie. “We’re driving north.”

  “Can I shower first? The jail was filthy.”

  “Fine. But make it quick.”

  She sent Gordon an email, thinking that would be easier and quicker than the long, convoluted explanation that would come with a phone call. She’d call him once she knew more.

  *****

  By late afternoon she and Cassie were nearing Trout Creek. The road was a two-lane ribbon winding through heavily forested mountains. They’d passed through a number of small towns on the way, many nothing more than a gas station and a bar.

  “There are a lot of places to hide up here,” Marta noted glumly.

  “Yeah.” Cassie, who’d been uncharacteristically subdued on the long drive, appeared equally dispirited. “I hope I haven’t taken us on a wild goose chase.”

  “Me too.”

  “I might have been wrong about the cabin being near Trout Creek.”

  “But the name rang a bell with you, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “You guess?” Marta couldn’t entirely discount the possibility that Cassie was making things up as they went along.

  “It does sound familiar, but I can’t be sure it’s the right town.”

  “Well, we’re almost there. It’s a little late for second-guessing.”

  “I want so bad for us to find Jamie. I never imagined Ted doing anything like this.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  As they approached the town proper, she could see a handful of houses built along the hillside, and a mileage sign directing them off the state road to Trout Creek in two miles.

  “Wow,” Cassie said. “Population one-seventy-nine.”

  Marta pulled up in front of a general store couched between a diner and a gas station. She turned off the engine. “We’re here,” she announced.

  “Now what?”

  Good question. “Let’s go talk to people, see if we can find out anything about nearby cabins.”

  They started with the general store since they were parked right in front. The clerk at the register was young, probably not more than eighteen. He looked up when Marta approached.

  “We’re trying to find some people who have a cabin around here,” she told him. “A man in his thirties and a teenage girl. Have you seen them?”

  “I dunno. Sounds like a lot of folks. What’s their name?”

  Marta pulled out the photo of Jamie. “This is the girl.”

  “Nope, never seen her.”

  Cassie brought out her phone and pulled up the photo of Todd. “How about him?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are there many cabins around here?”

  The kid guffawed. “You’re joking, right? This is big fishing and hunting country. We get lots of folks who just want to get away from it all, too. So yeah, I’d say there’s lots of ’em.”

  “The one we’re looking for is pretty old,” Cassie said. “Goes back a couple of generations or so.”

  “Most of ’em do. The newer places are mostly closer to town. You know, with utilities and stuff.”

  “Utilities?”

  “Yeah, water, electricity, that sort of thing.”

  “The older places don’t have that?”

  “Nope. Most of ’em are too far away.”

  Jamie might be only ten or twenty miles from where they were standing, but Marta couldn’t see how she’d ever find her. A backwoods cabin off the grid would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

  She thanked the young clerk and moved on to the Whitefish Café next door. It was in an older brick building that looked as if it might have dated back to the town’s founding. Inside, the walls were hung with photos of grinning fishermen and hunters showing off their catch. A large deer head hung over the bar area. But the room was surprisingly roomy and comfortable. And not surprisingly, largely empty at four in the afternoon. At one table, a grizzled man was bent over a large plate of eggs and sausage. At another, a couple sipped coffee while their two young kids dove into big pieces of pie.

  The waitress was a middle-aged woman with thin, penciled-in eyebrows and bright red lipstick. Her name tag read “Dolores” and she greeted them with a warm smile. “Table or booth?”

  Marta hadn’t planned on eating but Cassie spoke up before she could explain. “Booth, please. One by the window would be nice.”

  Marta shot her a look.

  “We have to eat,” Cassie said. “And I’m hungry.”

  Marta ordered iced tea and an egg salad sandwich. Cassie, a Coke and a cheeseburger. When the waitress returned with their food, Marta showed her Jamie’s photo and asked if she recognized the girl. Cassie did the same with Todd.

  The waitress shook her head. “Can’t say that I’ve seen them.”

  “How long have you lived here?” Marta asked.

  The woman laughed. “Believe it or not, I grew up around here. Moved away for a while, but ended up married to a guy who thinks this place is paradise. We’ve been here for twenty-five years now.”

  “You must know the area fairly well then.”

  “I like to think I do. My husband knows the back country better than me, but when it comes to people and what’s going on, I leave him in the dust.”

  “Maybe you can help us. We’re looking for my daughter. She’s being held at a cabin this man’s family has owned for several generations.”

  “Held?”

  Marta nodded and launched into an abbreviated explanation, concluding with, “She made a mistake. But now she wants to come home and he won’t let her.”

  “Goodness. Are the police involved?”

  Marta hesitated. “In theory.”

  “I hear you.” She rolled her eyes. “Our local sheriff’s office is in Yreka. There’s a lot of territory between here and there. He gets spread kind of thin.”

  Marta didn’t bother to explain that she hadn’t even contacted the local authorities yet. If what Dolores said was true, it might not do much good anyway.

  “We think she’s at a fishing cabin somewhere around here. One that isn’t used much.” Marta didn’t know that last statement was fact, but she thought it likely based on what Cassie had s
aid.

  Dolores’s face scrunched in thought. “Wish I could help. But there’s a lot of old cabins stuck back up in the hills.”

  “What about someone in real estate?” Cassie asked. “Someone who might know the properties.”

  “There isn’t anyone local. Besides, if the place hasn’t changed hands recently, I doubt you’d learn anything from a real estate agent.”

  The family signaled for their bill and Dolores turned to go. “Tell you what,” she said. “If you can get me prints of those photos, I’ll ask around. Maybe I can even post something in the window.”

  “That would be wonderful.” Marta resisted the urge to hug the woman. Finally, someone who was willing to make an effort to help. She wrote down her cell number and home contact information for Dolores. “Where can we get prints made around here?”

  “You can’t. Not officially anyway. Where are you staying?”

  “Not sure.”

  “Closest place is the Ponderosa Pines motel. It isn’t much, but it’s clean and Harry’s a good guy. He might be willing to help you out. All you really need is a computer and printer. I’d offer mine but it’s on the fritz.”

  “Now, aren’t you glad we decided to eat?” Cassie asked when Dolores had gone.

  “Time will tell.” The trouble with looking for a needle in a haystack, beyond the obvious, was that you had to be looking in the right haystack to begin with.

  Chapter 46

  Jamie was scared. Not just worried and slightly pissed the way she had been a while ago when she’d woken up and found Todd gone, but really, really scared. Evening twilight had deepened to a shadowy indigo. The cabin was dark and cold, and she was all alone.

  She was afraid to tackle the gas lanterns herself. What if she did it wrong and the cabin blew up? Or she died of asphyxiation? She knew stuff like that could happen. Being in the dark was better than being dead.

  She was freezing, too. The sun had warmed the afternoon air but once it set, the temperature had dropped quickly. She thought about starting a fire, but the stack of wood was outside, and not only was she afraid to go out, she couldn’t find her shoes. She must have kicked them off in her sleep, but she’d felt around as best she could in the limited light and hadn’t been able to find them anywhere.