He laughed again. “They don’t even know who I am, and by the time they figure it out I’ll be long gone from Black Rock with a new identity and new hunting grounds.”
“What about your wife and children?”
“What about them?” he replied. “They’re nothing but a drain on my finances, a distraction I no longer want.”
Cold. He was like a block of ice, a sociopath with no empathy, no feelings for anyone other than himself. She couldn’t imagine now how he’d managed to maintain the facade of a caring veterinarian.
He gestured toward Layla. “She should be awake in just a little while and then we’re going to have a party. I’ve got some special party favors out in the shed and I can’t wait to share them with you all.”
As he left the building Jennifer Hightower began to sob. “We’re going to die. We’re all going to die.”
“No, we aren’t,” Brittany said vehemently. “You know what I’m going to do when I get out of here?” She didn’t wait for a response. “I’m going to hire a carpenter to build a deck on the back of my house and when it’s finished I’m going to throw a big barbecue and invite all my friends and family. Casey, what about you? What are you going to do when we get out of here?”
“I’m going to marry my boyfriend,” she said. “He’s asked me twice and both times I told him I wasn’t ready. But when we get out of here I’m going to plan the biggest wedding this town has ever seen.”
“I’m going to quit my job and go back to college,” Suzy Bakersfield said. “I always wanted to be a lawyer, but I’ve been afraid to go for it. I’m ready to go for it now.”
For a moment hope filled the air, a shining hope that Brittany grabbed on to and embraced in her heart, drew into her very soul. He might take their lives, but he’d never have their spirits or their dreams.
All too quickly that moment of peace was shattered as Layla moaned with the first stirring of consciousness. She should be awake in just a little while and then we’re going to have a party. Larry’s words whirled around in Brittany’s brain and brought with them the hopeless despair of the doomed.
Chapter 12
Consciousness came in tiny bits and pieces. First Layla became aware of the aches of her body—her knees, her hips and finally her face. Everything hurt and she was reluctant to leave the sweet oblivion of the darkness behind for the cold harsh reality of the pain.
The second thing she became aware of was the fact that she was lying on a cot of some kind that smelled of mildew. She frowned, surfacing slowly into the here and now.
The last thing that pierced through her brain was voices…women’s voices. They were soft whispers edged with fear and it was then total consciousness struck and Layla knew exactly where she was and what was happening to them all.
They were going to die. She didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes to let the others know she had awakened. She listened to them talking about all the things they were going to do when they escaped here and her heart felt heavier than it had ever felt in her life.
Jacob. He was an unfinished song in her heart, an ache in her very soul. She knew he’d blame himself for this, would probably retreat back into his self-destructive isolation and that broke her heart as much as the knowledge of her imminent death at the hands of Larry Norwood.
She’d never believed that they had a future together, but that didn’t stop her heart aching with all the what-ifs.
“Layla?”
The soft voice drifted to her and she immediately recognized it as belonging to Brittany. “I’m here,” she whispered.
“Are they looking for us? Do they have any idea who might be responsible?”
“Jacob should know by now,” Layla replied. If he’d found her journal. If he’d bothered to read it. Oh, God, so many ifs to depend on for their rescue.
“Jacob? Isn’t he in Kansas City?” Brittany asked. “At least he was there when I got abducted.”
For the next few minutes Layla caught Brittany up on all the family news she’d missed while she’d been imprisoned.
As she talked, she realized how much she would have loved being a part of the Grayson family, how much she would have loved to build a family with Jacob.
What she didn’t share with the others was that Larry Norwood had committed this crime before and the result had been the deaths of five women. Even though she knew that they were aware of the danger they were in, she couldn’t tell them about the real horror that was The Professional.
“Layla, when he comes back, you have to act like you’re still unconscious,” Brittany exclaimed. “It’s the only thing that might buy us all some extra time.”
“I can do that,” Layla replied with an assurance she didn’t feel. If he got too close to her he’d surely hear the pounding of her heart, the rapid breathing that she’d be unable to control. “Where are we?”
“We don’t know,” Suzy replied. “We’ve tried to figure it out, but we have no idea.”
“For all we know we could be hundreds of miles from Black Rock,” Casey added.
Layla looked at her wristwatch. It was just after six. “No, we’re close to Black Rock,” she said. She hadn’t been unconscious very long. He must have used a light dose of the drug. Couldn’t wait to have his party, she thought fearfully.
How long could she fake being totally drugged out? How much time could she buy them all before Larry lost his patience and started his sick party?
Remaining on the cot where she lay, Layla looked around, trying to figure out where they were being held. It appeared to be a barn or some sort of shed that had been renovated for torture and imprisonment. Were they on property that belonged to Larry or somebody else?
Tom and Jacob had been to Larry’s place that afternoon. Wouldn’t they have noticed a big shed and gone to investigate?
As the only Realtor in the area she knew how many empty properties were around the town and knew that many of those places had structures just like this on them.
How were Jacob and the other men ever going to find the right place in time to save them? If it were humanly possible then she knew Jacob would be the man who could find them, but she wasn’t sure it was possible.
As if to punctuate her dismal thoughts the door to the shed opened and he walked back in. Layla closed her eyes and focused on slowing the rhythm of her breathing, knowing that not only her life, but also the other women’s lives might depend on her acting skills.
“No party is complete without balloons,” he said. “And party favors, girls,” he said. Layla tensed as she heard the sound of items being dropped on the floor, and Jennifer Hightower began to sob hysterically.
She couldn’t even imagine what he’d brought in as “party favors” but she knew she had to keep her breathing slow and steady and not react to anything that might go on around her.
He began to whistle and she could tell from the sound that he was approaching her cell. A rattle of keys indicated he was unlocking the door.
She considered springing up and attacking him. She’d have the element of surprise on her side, but quickly dismissed the idea as she remembered his strength and the fact that she was weak and banged up.
Instead she focused once again on playing dead, praying that she did nothing to let him know she was no longer unconscious.
The cell door squeaked open and she felt his presence next to her cot. Stay focused, she told herself as she drew in deep and even breaths. She kept her body boneless, her mouth slightly agape.
“Hey, Bozo,” Brittany called out and Layla knew she was trying to distract him. “Why don’t you open up my cage and fight with somebody who isn’t drugged to the gills?”
He laughed and Layla nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt his breath on her face. Tears burned beneath her closed eyes, surged up in her chest and she feared if he remained so close to her for another second she’d lose it.
“I’m going to enjoy partying with you, Brittany,” he said, his voice moving farther away from
Layla. The door to her cell closed again. “But the party can’t begin without Layla. She’s been a real pain and I have special plans for her, but she has to be awake to really enjoy them.”
She heard the scrape of chair legs against the floor. “I’ll just sit here and enjoy the atmosphere while we wait for Layla to join us,” he said.
The only sound was the quiet sobbing of Jennifer and Casey and Larry’s low melodic whistling as they all waited for the party to begin.
Jacob, where are you? Layla fought the emotion that threatened to erupt from her on a torrent of tears. Please, find us, she mentally begged. Find us before it’s too late.
The snow that had begun as fat fluffy flakes had transformed into smaller, more serious frozen precipitation, only adding to Jacob’s sense of urgency.
They were headed back to the Norwood farm, hoping to get answers there. The kid gloves were off as far as Jacob was concerned. If Larry wasn’t there, then Jacob had some hard questions for Norwood’s wife.
Benjamin was processing the cabin and before Tom and Jacob had left he’d picked up a couple of hairs just inside the back door that he suspected were dog hairs. They wouldn’t know for sure until they were sent to the lab, but it was the final clue that Jacob needed to be certain that The Professional was, indeed, Larry Norwood.
They were in Tom’s official car, with Tom at the wheel, leaving Jacob to clench his fists at his sides as he thought of Layla, of Brittany and all the other women who were in danger.
“How big is his property?” Jacob asked, knowing Tom had asked Caleb to find out what property the Norwoods owned in the area.
“Almost two hundred acres.”
“A big area,” Jacob replied more to himself than to his brother. And the snow was falling and time had possibly already run out.
“I’ve got some men meeting us there. It’s mostly pasture, so it shouldn’t take us long to search.”
Jacob said nothing. He knew an extra second, an added minute could mean the difference between life and death, and the thought of Layla no longer in this world nearly destroyed him.
He knew she wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship. She hadn’t even indicated to him that she felt anything about him except a flash of passion and perhaps some natural sympathy for all that he’d been through.
What surprised him was that he’d realized he was capable of loving again. Somehow in the past couple of days with Layla he’d rediscovered the hopes and dreams he’d believed were lost forever.
He might not have Layla in his life forever, but he wanted her in this world, needed to know she was alive and well even if she wasn’t with him.
And he couldn’t even think of his little sister in the hands of Larry Norwood. The rage of knowing the man had the two women Jacob cared about most in the world threatened to spiral him completely out of control. He knew he wouldn’t be any use to anyone if he allowed that to happen. He had to stay in control, stay cool and calm despite his inner turmoil.
By the time they reached the Norwood place the snow had changed back to a hard-driving sleet that bounced off the windows and quickly slickened the roads.
Deputy Sam McCain and several others were already there waiting in their cars for Tom and Jacob’s arrival. As Tom parked all of the men got out of their cars.
“Wait here,” Tom instructed the others. “I’m hoping we can get Mrs. Norwood’s permission to search the premises and just in case she balks Caleb is working at getting us a search warrant.”
The last thing any of them wanted to do was gain evidence that a good criminal defense attorney would be able to get thrown out of court on a technicality. Jacob followed behind Tom as they approached the front door for the second time that day.
It was like déjà vu and memories from the last time he’d faced off with The Professional once again filled his head. That time the creep had won. But they couldn’t let him win this time. This had to have a different ending, he prayed.
Larry’s wife opened the door, her eyes widening as she saw the men standing in the yard. “Sheriff, what’s going on?”
“Has Larry gotten home?” Tom asked.
“No, I haven’t heard from him. Would somebody please tell me what’s going on?” The fear that had widened her eyes now crept into her voice.
Behind her came the sounds of little-girl giggles and Jacob realized she and her daughters were just more victims of Larry’s madness.
“Tracy, we need to get your permission to search your property,” Tom explained. “We need to search both inside the house and outside.”
“I don’t understand. What are you looking for?”
“The women who have vanished from town,” Jacob said, the urgency he’d been feeling reeling out of control. The sleet bounced on his shoulders, stung his face. “We think your husband has them stashed someplace out here.”
“Oh, my God.” Her face paled, but she didn’t waste time asking more questions. “Of course,” she replied, her voice shaky. “Do whatever you need to do.”
Tom motioned three of the men toward the barn, two more men into the house and indicated that the others follow him and Jacob into the pasture.
Even though there was no way the missing women were hidden in the house, they were hoping to find something that might be used as evidence or a clue as to the women’s whereabouts.
It took the men only minutes to spread out and begin to walk the property. As the sleet continued to fall and Jacob looked ahead to the empty pasture, the sick reality of failure ripped through him.
What if he was wrong? What if it wasn’t Larry and while they were here wasting their time The Professional was having his party with the women at another location?
As far as his eyes could see there was no structure that could house the women, nothing at all to break up the empty landscape. Where were they? Where could he have stashed them?
It didn’t take long for the ground to become more overgrown with tall dead brush and groves of trees, and with each step he took Jacob’s last vestiges of hope began to wane.
It had been at least an hour and a half since Layla had been taken, too long to hope that she might still be alive. The darkness of night wasn’t far away, adding to Jacob’s sense of urgency and his utter despair.
The sleet once again turned to snow as Tom motioned for the others to join him. The five of them came together and Jacob saw that the hopelessness he felt inside himself was mirrored in his brother’s dark eyes.
“I’m calling for more men,” he said. “There’s no way the five of us can cover all this property efficiently.”
It would take more precious time for anyone else to arrive on scene, Jacob thought. Too late. They were going to be too late.
“I’m going to press on,” he said and motioned toward a rise in the distance. “Maybe from there I can get an eagle-eye view of the rest of the property.”
Tom nodded. “I’ll go with you.” He instructed the others to fan out once again and then fell into step next to Jacob.
The rise in the land was steeper than it had initially appeared and once they crested the top Jacob’s heart nearly stopped. Below them, nestled in another grove of trees were two wooden sheds, one small and one large—large enough to hide kidnapped women.
Both buildings were weathered and looked like a hundred other structures that had been built years ago and then left abandoned by the construction of newer buildings.
Adrenaline spiked through him as Tom grabbed his arm. It was obvious his brother thought the same thing that Jacob did, that they’d found Larry’s lair.
“We can’t just rush in,” Tom said with renewed urgency in his voice. “You go to the left and I’ll go to the right. We need to take a look inside and assess things before we just barge in.”
Jacob nodded, his gaze narrowed as he surveyed the geography. Although there appeared to be nobody around, the last thing he wanted was to be seen approaching the building. Right now the element of surprise was on their side and
he wanted to keep it that way.
His heart thrummed a rapid pace as he drew his gun and split up with Tom. Was this it? Was this the place where Larry had planned his party?
When they got inside would they find the same kind of carnage he’d found in the warehouse in Kansas City? His entire being rebelled at the very thought.
The closer he moved to the building the faster his heart beat. The snow had picked up in pace, lessening visibility and in this case working to their advantage.
This felt right. The location was isolated and if the women were capable of screaming there was nobody around to hear them. It provided easy access for Larry and probably had a way into this area without going past the main house.
By the time he reached the building itself all he could hear was the pounding of his heart in the unnatural silence that snow always brought.
He was glad to see that this side held a side door and that some of the wood had decayed, leaving cracks that would allow him to peer inside.
Before he could look, a scream ripped through the silence, followed by a deep male laugh that Jacob recognized. His blood ran cold and he knew he couldn’t wait to assess the situation. The party was happening now and it had to be stopped.
Using his shoulder, he burst through the door and into the shed, his gun in front of him. Everything happened in a split second.
Amazement filled him as he saw the five jail cells constructed inside. Bright red balloons danced around the ceiling, a macabre touch to a scene of horror.
Relief flooded him that all the women were still alive, and a new horror filled him as he saw Larry in the cell with what appeared to be a doped-up Layla.
Before Jacob could act, Larry yanked Layla up before him and held a knife at her throat. “Drop your gun, Agent Grayson. Drop it or she dies right before your eyes.”
Layla’s eyes were closed and she was obviously dead-weight in his arms, but the knife at her throat would kill her whether she was conscious or not.
He was vaguely aware of somebody screaming, of another woman crying, but his sole focus remained on Larry and the woman he held in his arms.
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