Wrongly Accused

by Laura Scott

  Everything else was second.

  After Declan returned from the local pharmacy with the items on Noelle’s list, he took a tray of cheeseburgers outside to place on the grill. When Caleb protested, Deck insisted that he grilled for himself often and that no one would think it was suspicious that he was grilling so many.

  Kaitlin didn’t eat much, but Caleb hoped her appetite would return tomorrow. He and Noelle figured Kaitlin had caught some sort of twenty-four-hour virus.

  When dinner was over, he and Declan cleaned up so that Noelle could play another card game with Kaitlin. Even though it was still light outside, he and Declan planned to leave soon, unwilling to take the chance that Brickner might slip away before they arrived.

  “Call if you need something,” Caleb said to Noelle as she and Kaitlin played a game of Go Fish on the mattress they used as a bed in the basement.

  “Declan was pretty clear that I can only use the phone in case of an emergency.”

  “Yeah, well, I’d appreciate a text message so that I know Kaitlin is okay.”

  She smiled as if pleased that he cared enough to ask about his daughter. “All right, I’ll text you.”

  “Good.” He wished he had the right to kiss Noelle goodbye, but he had to be satisfied with getting a big hug and a kiss from his daughter.

  “I love you, Daddy.”

  “I love you, too, Katydid.” When he glanced at Noelle he thought he saw the gleam of tears in her eyes. “Stay safe,” he murmured before heading upstairs to find Declan.

  They parked the next block over and used Declan’s binoculars to keep an eye on Brickner’s house. As the sun disappeared behind the horizon, Brickner left the house in his shiny black pickup truck.

  “We’ve got him,” Caleb said to Declan. “He’s heading east on Palmer.”

  His buddy drove around the block, keeping a decent amount of distance behind Brickner’s truck. Declan followed him all the way out to what looked to be a gentleman’s club, but Brickner surprised him by not going inside. Instead he parked in a corner of the lot that was farthest away from the light.

  A small blue car drove up, and headed directly over to where Brickner’s truck was. Using the binoculars, Caleb watched Brickner get out of the truck and meet the woman who was dressed much like the photograph he’d seen of Heather. Not the same clothes of course, but just as revealing.

  “Write down this tag number,” he said to Declan and rattled off the license plate for the blue car.

  “A hot date?” Declan asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Caleb murmured. “She’s yelling at him about something. I can’t read her lips, but he’s yelling back at her. Wait, now he’s hauling her into his truck!”

  “Let me see,” Declan demanded. “Is he actually kidnapping her?”

  “Not exactly. She’s sitting with her arms folded over her chest and gazing out the passenger window as if resigned to her fate.” He handed the binoculars over to Declan. “We need to follow them.”

  Declan took a quick look before handing them back to Caleb. Deck started the car. “I think we’re in for a long night.”

  Caleb kept the binoculars trained on the reluctant passenger in Brickner’s truck for as long as he could, silently agreeing with his buddy’s assessment of the situation.

  He hoped and prayed they’d uncover something to crack the case wide open. Because he didn’t want to let down Noelle.

  Or his daughter.

  * * *

  Noelle didn’t remember falling asleep, the bone-deep exhaustion from the night before must have caught up to her. But when Kaitlin began to cry, she jerked awake. “What is it, Kaitlin? What’s wrong?”

  “My tummy hurts,” Kaitlin whimpered. Noelle had a bad feeling and barely made it out of the way before Kaitlin threw up all over.

  “Oh, sweetie,” she murmured, grabbing the edge of the blanket and using it to wipe up the mess. “Come on, we need to get upstairs to the bathroom.”

  She had her phone in her pocket, but she couldn’t call Caleb, yet. She carried Kaitlin upstairs and this time managed to make it to the bathroom so that the little girl could be sick in the toilet.

  “I don’t feel good, Noa,” Kaitlin whined.

  “I’m sorry, honey. Here, let me wash you up.” When she reached for the washcloth and towel hanging on the rack, she belatedly remembered to close the bathroom door so that the light wouldn’t be as noticeable to anyone outside.

  Although there wasn’t much she could do about the small bathroom window, other than making sure the blinds were closed.

  After a few minutes, Kaitlin seemed to be better, although Noelle knew that was likely temporary. She left Kaitlin in the bathroom for a few minutes while she went out and found new sheets and blankets for the mattress downstairs.

  She didn’t want to waste too much time, so she balled up all the soiled stuff and carried everything over to the washer and dryer. Once she had one load of wash in, she remade the bed, sprayed a liberal dose of air freshener and went back upstairs to get Kaitlin.

  “I’m hungry,” Kaitlin announced.

  “We’ll try some crackers and white soda first,” Noelle told her. Kaitlin followed her into the kitchen, where Noelle found a can of white soda and a package of saltine crackers. Then she emptied out a wastebasket to use as a bucket.

  “I wanna sit at the table,” Kaitlin insisted, crawling up onto a chair.

  Noelle hesitated, glancing fearfully outside. The backyard was completely dark, and the kitchen was tucked away toward the back of the house. If they kept only the bathroom light on, they might be okay there for a few minutes.

  Kaitlin sipped the white soda and nibbled on a cracker. Noelle prayed the child’s stomach would tolerate the light fare. She texted Caleb about how Kaitlin got sick, and frowned when she didn’t get a response.

  She hoped the lack of response meant that Caleb and Declan were busy following Marc Brickner. The sooner they found some evidence against the guy, the better.

  A flash of headlights pierced the darkness and she leaped up to flip off the switch for the bathroom light, plunging the room in darkness.

  “Noa? I’m scared,” Kaitlin whispered.

  “I’m here, sweetie, don’t worry.” It wasn’t easy for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, but she felt along the wall until she found Kaitlin. “We’re going to go back downstairs, okay?”

  “Okay,” Kaitlin agreed.

  Noelle handed Kaitlin the crackers and then lifted the child into her arms while balancing the can of white soda. She carefully descended the basement steps, leaning heavily on the rail while her heart pounded erratically against her ribs.

  She breathed a tiny sigh of relief when she reached the bottom. The light was on over the washer, so she was able to move quickly now, setting Kaitlin on the mattress and then dousing the lights.

  Inexplicably paranoid, she turned off the washing machine and strained to listen. For several long moments she didn’t hear anything except Kaitlin munching a cracker.

  Just when she’d convinced herself she was making a big deal about nothing, she heard the distinct thud of a footstep above them.

  Someone was inside the house!

  TWELVE

  Caleb’s attention was focused on the road Deck was following toward some sort of old, nondescript garage-type building. He could see Brickner’s black extended cab truck parked along the side, partially hidden beneath an overhang of trees.

  “I think this must be their headquarters or something,” Declan was saying as he parked along the side of the road, refusing to go too close. “Let’s go check it out.”

  Caleb’s phone vibrated with an incoming text message, and he frowned as he read the message. Declan opened the car door, intending to get out, but Caleb clamped his hand on Deck
’s arm to hold him in place.

  “Wait,” Caleb said. He read the message twice to make sure he was seeing it correctly. “Noelle’s in trouble. She thinks someone is in your house.”

  “What?” Declan stared at him in disbelief. “How is that possible?”

  Caleb was busy texting a reply. Stay hidden in the basement.

  We are now, but Kaitlin threw up so we were up in the bathroom with the lights on. Someone could have seen us.

  Caleb’s stomach clenched with fear at the news. Having the flu was bad enough for Kaitlin to suffer, but this was worse. If Brickner had assigned someone to watch over Declan’s place, they’d know Noelle and Kaitlin were there. He quickly relayed the information to his buddy. “We have to go back, Deck. Now.”

  Declan didn’t hesitate, but closed his car door and swung the vehicle around in a sharp U-turn in order to head back the way they’d come. Declan pushed the speed limit as much as he dared, but Caleb knew they were a good fifteen to twenty minutes away. He texted Noelle. We’re coming.

  Hurry.

  They were hurrying, but clearly she was afraid. He could almost taste her fear. Feeling helpless, he closed his eyes and prayed.

  Dear Lord, please keep Noelle and Kaitlin safe in Your care. Please!

  * * *

  Noelle desperately searched the basement for something to use as a weapon. There was a fishing pole, too flimsy. Several previously opened cans of paint, useless. Finally she saw a couple of cans of wasp spray and figured one of those was better than nothing.

  After tucking the canister under her arm, she wrapped Kaitlin in a blanket and carried her to the darkest corner of the basement. They huddled on the cold cement floor, partially hidden behind some boxes. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many places to hide within the basement, and no time to clean up the evidence that they’d been living down there. The mattress on the floor, the laptop computer set up on the card table and the chairs set up around it would give away the truth.

  She gripped the can of wasp spray in her right hand, and held Kaitlin close with the other. Up above, the footsteps on the floor seemed incredibly loud as the intruder moved from room to room, as if he was making no attempt to be quiet. Because he knew they were trapped with nowhere to go? The only way out was up the stairs. She tightened her grip on the wasp spray, trying to gather her courage.

  “I’m scared,” Kaitlin whispered.

  “Shh,” Noelle said, pressing the little girl’s face closer to her neck to help muffle the noise. “We have to be quiet until your daddy gets here.”

  Kaitlin nodded, seemingly reassured to know that Caleb was coming home. Noelle swallowed hard, hoping Caleb and Declan would arrive soon. She wanted to believe the men would get there before the intruder found them. And she hoped and prayed that Kaitlin wouldn’t throw up again.

  The seconds ticked by with excruciating slowness. The footsteps stopped and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  But then she heard the door open at the top of the basement stairs and the thunk, thunk, thunk as someone came down the steps.

  She shrank against the boxes as much as possible, hardly daring to breathe. The intruder must have flipped on the overhead switch because the area suddenly flooded with light and she could easily make out the huge, hulking body of a man holding a gun as he stood sweeping his gaze around the basement. At the moment his back was to them, but for how long?

  “You can’t hide from me,” he said in a harsh, raspy voice, making her cringe with fear. “Come out now and no one will get hurt.”

  Noelle’s mouth was so dry she couldn’t have made a sound if she wanted to. Not that she believed him anyway. He had a gun, certainly he intended to hurt them or at the very least, take them away. But why? She had no clue.

  And other than the wasp spray there wasn’t much she could use to defend herself and Kaitlin. Even if she tried to make a run for it, she’d have to carry Kaitlin, which would slow her down even if she could outrun the guy, which she didn’t think was remotely possible.

  It struck her in that moment that she may have to give up her life in order to save Caleb’s daughter. And she silently prayed to God for strength and for protection.

  The man moved away toward the opposite end of the basement. But her relief was short-lived as he quickly made his way around the room until he was headed in their direction. The light from a high-beam flashlight blinded her and she ducked her head and shivered when his evil laugh echoed through the room.

  “Gotcha.”

  Noelle blinked and squinted, trying to see as the gunman approached. He purposefully kept the light aimed at her eyes as a way to keep her helpless. The canister of wasp spray was hidden at her side, and she knew he’d need to get close before it would be of any use. If she aimed toward the sound of his voice, she might be able to slow him down.

  “Come out of there,” he demanded.

  She didn’t move, willing him to take a few more steps. When he was so close she could smell his sweat, she brought up the canister, pointed it directly at the area where she assumed his face was located and pressed hard on the lever. He let out a yowl and brought his arm up to protect his eyes.

  She jumped to her feet and made a break for the stairs, carrying Kaitlin while managing to hang on to the wasp spray. It wasn’t easy to see and she hit the edge of the wall hard with her shoulder. Ignoring the pain, she forced herself to keep going. She could hear the thug swearing as he stumbled after her. She hoped he was blinded by the wasp spray since she needed every advantage she could get.

  But when she reached the top of the stairs, he was already gaining on her. She darted through the kitchen, intending to head out to the backyard when he grabbed her shirt from behind and yanked her backward. In a last ditch effort, she brought up the wasp spray and shot a stream over her shoulder hoping to hit him again, but he clipped her against the side of her head and she went down, hard. At the last possible moment she turned her body so that her shoulder took the brunt of the fall as she attempted to cushion Kaitlin as much as possible. Her temple throbbed where she’d hit it on the doorframe.

  She tried to scramble to her feet, still hanging on to Kaitlin, but he roughly grabbed her and yanked her upright. Kaitlin let out a scream of terror but he ignored it, pinning Noelle painfully against his massive body. When he pressed the tip of his gun against Kaitlin’s head, Noelle froze, breathing heavily. Instantly, he ripped the can of wasp spray out of her hand and threw it down onto the floor with a resounding clunk.

  “We’re going outside and you’re going to move nice and slow, understand?” he murmured harshly in her ear. “If you give me any more trouble, I’ll just shoot you both here and then wait here for your boyfriend to show up. Either way, you all die. It’s your choice.”

  She nodded as the will to fight drained out of her. There was no way on earth she would risk any harm to Kaitlin. Even though deep down she knew he’d still eventually kill them, going with him now would give them time.

  Time to get away. Or time for Caleb and Declan to rescue them.

  “Move,” he said, giving her a nudge. She took one step and then another, grateful that the thug allowed her to keep holding Kaitlin as he half pushed, half guided her out of the kitchen and outside. The phone, squashed between her and Kaitlin, vibrated in the pocket of her sweatshirt, indicating she had a text message. She ignored it, and hoped the thug hadn’t noticed. So far, he hadn’t frisked her and she prayed he wouldn’t think to do that now.

  The intruder stayed close to her side, a hard arm clamped around her shoulders, no doubt making sure there weren’t any nosy neighbors who might see the gun, as they walked across the damp grass toward another black truck parked on the street.

  Noelle tried to look around to flag someone’s attention, but no one was around. And within seconds, he had the back door of the extended cab open, and shov
ed her forward.

  “Get in. And if you try to run again, I’ll shoot you in the back and take the kid. A small prisoner would be easier to control anyway.”

  She had no intention of risking that, so she climbed into the truck, holding Kaitlin, who was now crying softly, in her lap. He held the gun ready as he quickly rounded the car and slid into the driver’s seat. The minute he started the car, the automatic locks clicked into place.

  “Tell her to shut up,” he said harshly.

  She didn’t bother to acknowledge him, since there was no way to make Kaitlin stop crying. Noelle was on the verge of crying, too.

  The thug drove slowly away from the curb as if they had all the time in the world. She kept her eyes trained on the rearview mirror for any sign of Caleb and Declan returning, but there was nothing but darkness behind them.

  She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on the top of Kaitlin’s head, trying to reassure the little girl.

  Please, Lord, keep this innocent child safe in Your care. Amen.

  * * *

  Declan headed up the driveway and before he came to a complete stop, Caleb pushed open his car door and jumped out of the vehicle. He ran into the house through the unlocked garage door, coming to an abrupt halt when he saw the canister of wasp spray lying in the middle of the kitchen floor.

  Dread seeped into his bones. “Noelle? Kaitlin?” he shouted. There was no answer. The door leading to the basement was open and the lights were on, but even as he clamored down the stairs he knew they were too late.

  Noelle and Kaitlin were gone. Whoever had been inside the house had taken them.

  “No,” he whispered, falling to his knees on the edge of the mattress. This couldn’t be happening. He and Deck had followed Brickner. So who’d taken Noelle and Kaitlin?

  The accomplice, of course. Hadn’t he already known that Brickner couldn’t have done this without help? Not just help in getting a hold of Noelle and Kaitlin, but in setting him up for his wife’s murder, the murder of Jack Owens and the murder of Kenneth James, the alleged eyewitness.