“Really? Is it bad?”
“No, never has been before. Just the Benadryl I gave her makes her sleepy sometimes. I worry at how strong those tiny pills are for her wee self.”
“I’ll go check on her if you like. I’ve nothing to do. I sold all the books.”
“Yes, I heard. Glad I got mine in time. Sure if you don’t mind. Take our golf cart, it’s the green one by the front door. If she needs to go home, it’ll be easy to get her there. Oh, I’ve got customers. Here’s the key.”
She handed me the key and I took it. “Thanks, I’ll have a piece of pizza with her, see how she’s doing.” I’d said it in jest but the idea had its appeal. How could I possibly want pizza after having had an energy bar, an apple, a sandwich, Fritos, and a soda? Normally that much food would have had me on overload. Was the state of agitation I was in burning food like tinder in an inferno?
Gosh what a nice lady, I thought as I slid onto the seat of the cart and plugged in the key. It was hard to believe that she’d take someone’s child. For the first time I wondered if this was all Robert’s doing.
I wasn’t sure where the youth were meeting, but one of the volunteers on the corner of the main intersection pointed me in the right direction.
Turning the corner I could see that the Fairgrounds had filled up. The 132 acres that was the Deschutes County Fairground and Expo Center were packed with row after row of RVs. It was an impressive sight and now I knew why the volunteers were such sticklers for the tires being on the lines—4500 recreational vehicles in perfect diagonal rows was mind-boggling. Like a field of campers planted against the ruggedness of the terrain, it went on seemingly forever. In the VIP parking were the promotional RVs for Good Sam’s Club, Coast to Coast, Trailer Life, Woodall’s, Camping World, Dish Network, you name it; anything having to do with camping was represented here. It was quite a show. I passed the section where they had over a thousand RVs on display, all for sale and able to be made ready for the road in a few hours. As my eyes took it all in, I thought the beauty of the Cascades as the backdrop made it some kind of pop-art statement of the times. I wished that I had my camera. I’d have to remember to get it and come back. The vantage point where I was, where the volunteer tents were, had the best view as many people were walking up the hill to take pictures.
I realized I was blocking traffic so I moved on and took in the sights as even more RVs were lined up to get into the fairgrounds.
I finally got to the big tent and parked by the opening. I could hear loud music blaring from the back of it. I doubted that Annie could sleep through that. I slid off the seat, separated the fold of the tent and walked inside. I was met by one of the counselors and when I told her why I was there she smiled with relief and pointed to a table set off to the side. There in the middle of an otherwise empty table was a russet-colored head resting on crossed arms. Annie was asleep.
I explained that I had the Bryne’s cart and that I would drive her home. She and one of the heftier boys helped me get her to the cart, and then I laid her head in my lap and slowly drove her down the hill and around the bend to the vendor RV sites. As I was entering the section I remembered that I didn’t know where she lived. I shook her shoulder, Annie?”
“Mmmgh?”
“Annie, wake up.”
“Unnnuuhhh.”
“Jillie, I don’t . . .” Uh oh, I had used her real name. Then an idea so preposterous it floored me leapt to the forefront of my mind. I hit the brake so suddenly she almost slid off the seat. I grabbed her by her belt and hauled her back up.
I sat running my hand through her hair. I could take her to my RV. I could tuck her inside, tear down, and head out with her before anyone knew what was up. Most of the vendors were expecting me to pull out to get more books. Annie wouldn’t be missed until either Robert or his wife got back to their RV. I looked at my watch. I had maybe a two-hour lead. I stopped thinking. I put my foot down on the gas pedal and drove.
Chapter Thirty-one
It was probably the best time to be doing something nefarious at the vendor campground as just about everybody was at the stalls this time of day. It was getting close to wrap up time and this was the make hay part of the day as everyone was making their second pass, buying the things they didn’t want to carry around all day.
I only saw one person and thankfully, she was to the left of me and wasn’t able to see Annie, lying face down with her head in my lap. I stroked a strand of flaming red hair off my thigh and then waved with my hand to deflect her eyes from the seat. The woman was eighty if she was a day, and I prayed her eyesight was typical of a woman her age and that she couldn’t see Annie slumped beside me. I idly wondered if this could be Viagra-man’s wife and then chastised myself for going so far off what I should be focusing on.
I finally saw my Dolphin ahead and while I would have opted to park the cart on the opposite side, away from what I knew to be prying eyes, I wasn’t sure how easy it was going to be getting Annie inside. I needed to get her in fast in case anyone was looking, and also because I couldn’t chance her waking up and wondering what the hell was going on.
I pulled up slowly and eased the brake on so there was no sudden lurch when I stopped. Then I wrapped my arms around her and gently pulled her with me. She was lighter than I had anticipated, and I was able to manage fairly well until I got to the door which I had to unlock, and then to the steps which I had to climb. It took some juggling, and I had to prop Annie up against the side of the RV while holding the door open, but I managed to drag, carry, and heave her into the RV. I left her on the floor while I caught my breath then rolled her over and prepared to lift her to the sofa. Gripping her under her knees and neck I gave one mighty heave ho and dropped her onto the cushions. She hadn’t so much as grunted. But I didn’t know if I could count on that so I went looking for things to secure her with and something that I could gag her with if need be.
I removed the belts from two robes and used them to tie her ankles and wrists together after I stretched her out on the sofa. The knots were tight, but I left a lot of slack hoping she wouldn’t wake up simply because she was trying to separate her limbs. Then I cut four lengths of duct tape that I could use for her mouth or anything else that became necessary should the need arise. Then I set about decamping.
I doubt I had ever done it as fast. I know I left a disorganized mess in the basement section I usually was so careful to keep clean. But because I had no water or sewer hookups nothing was that kind of “dirty.” Thankfully I had already brought in the awning, which is probably the most time-consuming chore when trying to head out. The jacks came up without a hitch and I had actually brought in the step and locked the door before bringing in the slide, as Annie, who I decided I would now call Jillie, was sound asleep on the main part of it and if the noise or vibration woke her, I wanted to be a second away from being in the driver’s seat and pulling out. As it was, I needn’t have worried. She was snoring louder than the motor bringing in the slide.
With everything secure, I didn’t bother with the mental checklist, checking the lights or policing the site. I wasn’t even going to take the cart back. I slid into the driver’s seat, cranked up the engine and forced myself not to do a Duke’s of Hazard exit.
It was one of the hardest things I had ever done, lumbering out of there, waving to people along the way, smiling and trying to distract myself from the image of hundreds of men with shotguns running behind me circling through my head. I had to keep telling myself that there was no way anyone could know yet, no way they could suspect, for the entire time it took me to leave the fairground which was probably only three miles but felt like fifty. There was still a long line of RVs backed up to check in, keeping everyone busy. No one was paying any attention to those leaving.
As soon as it was prudent, I got up to speed and made my way to the highway. I didn’t really have a plan or a specific destination in mind but I felt sure I should head south. Logic said that Brick would be coming from the w
est, heading south if he was at all on the way, which I kind of doubted. My cell phone, and I was not even sure where it was at this point, was not beeping indicating a missed call or text. I knew Jillie’s real mom and dad lived in San Francisco and if I were the mother of a child who’d been missing for over four years, I’d want her back in my arms as soon as possible. Plus, I was going to need some kind of advocate to get me out of this mess. I got on Route 126 knowing it would lead me to Route 97 heading south. From there I could go all the way to Klamath Falls where I’d been just months before. Interstate 5 would take me through California and on to San Francisco—if I made it that far. I figured two hours undetected might get me to the border, but I wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Kidnapping and crossing state lines meant the F.B.I. as well as county and state law enforcement.
I had to shake my head at the wild thought that darted through it. How odd was it that in less than six months I had managed to kidnap and cart off two young girls? What
were the odds?
A muffled snort coming from behind me alerted me to the fact that very soon I could have a confused and angry little girl on my hands. I had to put as much distance as I could between her and Robert Brynes and the posse that he was sure to amass once he discovered what I had done. Then another very odd thought occurred to me.
Would he? Would he sound the alarm, call in the Guard, have an Amber Alert issued? Could he even? Jillie wasn’t his and he knew it. If he brought her abduction to the attention of the law and hence the media, surely he’d be found out. Pictures of Annie would be circulated, but even current ones would be similar to the ones circulated four years ago. And even if total strangers didn’t notice the resemblance, Jillie’s relatives and friends sure would. I had to smile at the dilemma I had placed him in. He was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. I wondered which way he’d go.
Then I thought of Annie’s mom, and the fact that it was her birthday today. She had longed for some quiet time with a ‘cuppa’ tea. Today wouldn’t be so quiet for her, but in the days and months to come, she would have plenty of free time, only she would be dreading it. I had to wonder again if she had been an accomplice or another victim in all this.
I looked at my gas gage as I pulled onto 97, heading south. I had enough to get to California but figured that as soon as Jillie started to show signs of waking up, I’d have to find a spot to pull over so I could explain things and either secure her further or enlist her help, depending on her attitude and whether or not she believed me about her brother, her mother, and her four-year hiatus from their lives. Plus, I had to find my phone and get in touch with Brick. He had to know I’d found Jillie; he had to start taking over this operation, call in his troops, so to speak. The last thing I needed was a shoot-out on the Interstate because I was bringing Jillie back to her rightful parents.
I had this feeling of déjà vu and had to laugh at the absurdity of my life. I’d actually done this same thing once before, in very much the same way. Whoever said life on the road was one adventure after another, certainly knew what they were talking about! But how many times could I have the same one?
Jillie started making moaning sounds just south of Bend, by La Pine. I figured I’d better find a place to pull over and see to her.
I took advantage of a roadside pullover and stood to stretch while I stared down at Jillie, still sound asleep on the sofa.
I debated about waking her and decided that was not a good idea, so I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and searched for my phone. A lot of good it did me, as the screen was dark, the only message telling me there was no service. The Cascade Range was all around us, and apparently it was blocking the signal. Great!
After one more check on Jillie, I slid back behind the wheel and pulled back onto the highway. I’d been on the road almost an hour, so I knew the clock was ticking. I decided it would be a good idea to turn on the radio and listen to the news shows. It would have been a great time to have a police radio at hand; it would also have been a great time to have Brick handy, too.
Jillie woke with a scream just as we were passing a sign that said Klamath Falls, 40 miles. I was getting tired. I was on edge listening to one news show after another, and when I heard her scream I almost ran off the road. I figured it was imperative that I pull over as it soon became obvious that no matter what I hollered back to her, she wasn’t going to shut up and listen. She had already managed to roll herself off the sofa and I was afraid she’d soon get out of her loose restraints and clobber me with a pan or something.
I got us safely off to the side of the road and turned back to see her on her knees using her teeth to untie the velour sash around her wrists. She was crying and sobbing and working even more feverishly when she heard me turn off the engine. I stood up and faced her. The fear in her eyes crushed me and I had to blink away tears of my own.
“Jillie, you do know your real name is Jillie, right?”
I saw a flash of recognition and she stopped gouging at her wrists. I noticed they were bleeding where she had bitten into the flesh in her haste to get free before I could pull over.
“Jillie, I am a friend of your brother’s. I don’t know what they told you, but Brick is alive. He’s been looking for you for over four years now. And I’m trying to get in touch with him to tell him that I found you, but these damned mountains are blocking my cell phone signal.” I motioned with my arm to indicate the mountain range outside the windows.
“Now I know you think Robert and Ellen Brynes are your mom and dad, and you want to get back to them, but that’s just not the truth. Whether you remember it or not, they took you from your brother at a food court at a mall at Christmas time. Now I’m going to get you to the police where your real mom and dad can get involved and then you and they can decide what happens from there. I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but it’s all true. I am not going to hurt you. But I do need you to cooperate.”
“Mom and dad aren’t dead?” she whispered.
Oh dear God, these people had told her that her parents were dead, too? I tried to approach her, to wrap my arms around her, but she moved back and put her hands out to push me away.
“Your mom and dad are very much alive. And very unhappy without you.”
“They died.”
“No, Jillie, they didn’t. These people told you that so you would be their daughter. They probably wanted you to believe they had adopted you.”
“No, I knew they hadn’t adopted me. I knew Snooks took me and he was mean at first, real mean. But after he got his wife back from England, he started being nice to me. He said my whole family died in a bad car wreck and now we were a family. He was my father and Ellen was my mother. I could like it and we’d get along just fine, or I could fight him and get beat and have to sleep in a dog kennel like David and Goliath.”
Tears streamed down her face. “Momma, Papa . . .” The guttural, heart-wrenching sobs churning through her, causing her to slump to the floor into a tiny ball at my feet, with her hands covering her face, caused me to cry too.
I gathered her into my arms and held her as she sobbed “Momma, Momma, Momma,” over and over again, and then the chorus began again with “Papa, Papa, Papa.” By the time she got to Baboo, the nickname she had for Brick, I had untied her, set her on the couch and wiped her tears and made her blow her nose.
“So you’re going to be good, sit in the passenger chair and not cause trouble while I take you home?”
She nodded and burrowed into my chest. I had been holding her for about half an hour now and was getting worried about our time issues. I needed to get a hold of Brick, barring that I needed to find some friendly law enforcement types before I got shot at. Because if Robert Brynes had decided to give it a go and see if I could be found quickly and Annie returned without much media fanfare, they knew exactly what I was driving—the people at The Rally had it all on file, from the color and model down to the tiniest decal, tag number and all. Sitting on the side of the r
oad just waiting to be surrounded by overzealous do-gooders might be foolhardy.
“Okay, I know this is a very emotional time, but try to get yourself together so we can get in our seats and get back on the road. I’m thinking that if we can get south of Klamath Falls, we’ll have cell reception, so we only have about 40 or 50 miles to go and then we can get this all sorted out.”
“What will happen to Ellen? I love her. And today’s her birthday!” The wailing began again in earnest and I had no choice but to hug her to my chest again and to croon soft reassurances to her. Things would work out. These things take time. I’m sure Ellen could still be in her life if she wanted her to be . . .
Finally, I set her away from me, dried her tears again and walked her to the passenger captain’s chair. I belted her in, handed her a soda and a sleeve of peanut butter crackers and slid back into my seat. Then she remembered her dogs and the crying started all over again.
At Klamath Falls, I thought it prudent to fill up as I didn’t know what we’d find until we got on Interstate 5. I had heard that Northern California was pretty rural in places and since I wasn’t familiar with the area I pulled off the highway to fill up.
Jillie had dozed off again and was still sleeping when I pulled up to the pump and got out to pump the gas. Seventy-five dollars later, as that was all I was “allowed” without going inside, I replaced the nozzle and capped the gas tank. Walking around to check the tires, I wasn’t aware of anything unusual until I was climbing back in. On the steps, my hand on the door closing and locking it, I felt something hard dig into my back, I turned and saw Jared smiling down at me.
Chapter Thirty-two
“Not a word, not a sound or you’re paralyzed for life,” he hissed. “Up you go.”
I went up the stairs and he motioned with his hand for me to get into the driver’s seat. Walking behind me, he spotted Jillie.
“Well, what have we here?”
Jillie was slumped over the armrest, leaning on the large side window, a pillow tucked under her head.
Running Into A Brick Wall Page 16