Stolen Son: A gripping psychological thriller that will have you hooked

by Cole Baxter

  They’d never found the location I was being held at, even though they searched the area several times. Disoriented and in shock, I’d run for miles through the woods for days before I found help. The secluded cabin had looked like hundreds of others scattered throughout the wilderness. Several of them had been in families for generations, never plotted out or even on maps. My fingers ran down my arms, feeling the bumps from where thorns had ripped at my skin.

  No one was chasing me then. My captor had passed out for the night after forcing himself on me. I’d only escaped because of pure dumb luck. Otherwise, I would have died in that awful place. Whoever he was, he couldn’t hold his liquor. After a few drinks, I heard the creaking on his bed above me, his body slumping down for the night while I was left in the darkness. He’d drunk too much, actually. The slip cost him his prisoner as I fumbled with the steps and finally broke my way free into the bitter night.

  From the nightstand, the phone started to ring, and I jumped. I held it in my hands for a few seconds, weighing the decision to answer it. The killer never called during the day, but maybe he was changing the game. Maybe I could trade him my own life for my son’s.

  “Hello?” I answered in a raspy voice.

  “Annabeth?” Gabriel said quickly.

  I let out a sigh of relief. “Detective, thank you for calling me back.”

  “You called?” he said, obviously confused. “Sorry. I was running down a few leads. I was wondering if you could come down to the station?”

  “What?” I gasped. “Have you found Gregory?”

  “No,” he blurted out quickly. “But we have a suspect. I’d like you to come down and see if you can identify him.”

  “Yes!” I said, my voice practically a scream. “Absolutely. I will be there in a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” Reyes said carefully. “Don’t get your hopes up though. He does meet all the criteria we’re looking for, but still, it’s a long shot.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said as I jogged down the steps. Without thinking, I burst out the front door, not even bothering to end the call with Detective Reyes before dropping the phone near the door and dashing to my car.

  “I’m coming for you, Gregory,” I whispered into the wind. “I’m coming for you, baby.”

  Chapter Seven

  I hated driving. I always had. Even as a teen, my mother had to force me at eighteen to get my license. There was too much chaos in the world for me to feel safe behind the wheel. Granted, in the years since Greg’s passing, I’d had little choice but to learn to control that fear of other drivers. It had become an issue of keeping Gregory safe, and for that reason, I suffered through the traffic. Now, it was more important than ever that I keep my mind on the road.

  What I couldn’t understand was road rage. How could people get so angry over something so small? The thoughts that were going through my mind were anything but pleasant. Who was the man they thought took my baby? Was he okay? Would the kidnapper tell us where he was, or had he already done something terrible to my baby? The fear inside me was replaced with a blinding rage at whomever they’d caught. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out the truth or if it was best if I never knew.

  As I pulled onto the outer belt that connected most of the city, I noticed a brown van following a few cars behind me. It wasn’t anything significant, but something about it still caught my eye.

  “Come on, Annabeth, get your shit together,” I muttered as I got off on the exit for the police station.

  I watched the van, now three cars behind me as it, too, pulled off the exit. My heart was beating so loudly I could hear it in my ears. For a second, I thought about calling Reyes on my cellphone, but the overly cautious voice inside my head wouldn’t let me do anything but keep two hands firmly planted on the wheel of my car. That was how people ended up dead, when they got distracted while driving. Plus, the exit took me into downtown. Lots of cars headed that way.

  The lunchtime rush of traffic slowed my drive down to a crawl. As the police station came into view, I made a decision. Without slowing down anymore, I drove past the station and turned down the road next to it. It wasn’t used as often, a few cars scattered on the side of the road as the patrons of local bars drank away their problems. If only I could do the same thing. Getting sloshed wouldn’t bring my baby back though.

  “You are being ridiculous,” I whispered.

  Just as I reached the end of the road, I glanced back in my mirror and saw the van turn into the narrow street as well. The brown van was following me. I was now confidant of that. I fumbled with the phone in the passenger seat as it crept closer to where I was parked. Who was I going to call though? The second I pulled up to the police station, they would probably keep going. Or worse, I could be losing my mind entirely and the van could be some poor florist just trying to make his rounds for the day.

  They were almost on my bumper now, and part of me wanted to wait and see if I would recognize the driver. On the other hand, though, Reyes said they had a suspect in custody, so what the hell was I doing being paranoid about a van? I gunned the engine, peeling out onto the street amidst the traffic and making a wide circle of the police station. The van stayed close on my tail and I knew that they were following me.

  As the police station came back into view, I had to make a decision. I hated making decisions on the spot. Greg always told me if our house was burning down, I’d be stuck in the flames, wondering what pair of shoes to wear to save my life. Just thinking about him warmed my heart and gave me a little boost of courage. Jerking the wheel to the right, I pulled suddenly into a parking place right in front of the police station.

  The van skidded to a stop a few feet away, still too far for me to get a good look at the driver. I thought about jumping out but before I could make a decision, it sped away, the sound of screeching tires burning into my brain. Even after the van was gone, my heart wouldn’t slow back down. I let my hands drop off the wheel as they shook violently. Everything was shaking, even my toes, as fear crippled me.

  I couldn’t see the van anymore. It had disappeared, but I didn’t feel any safer. The police entrance was twenty feet away, yet I couldn’t seem to get my legs to work. Even my hands were refusing to cooperate as I tried to reach for the door handle. I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths like Dr. Andrews had taught me to do when I felt a panic attack coming on. I was finishing the last of ten breaths when my phone started to ring.

  With a dry mouth, I jumped and answered it, my fingers finally cooperating. “Hello?”

  “Hey, I stopped back by your place and you weren’t there. Is everything okay?” Jacob asked.

  I sighed, frustration starting to creep in. How could they find my son and get ahold of me if Jacob wouldn’t give me even an hour’s time alone? I knew he was worried—we all were!

  “I’m fine, I just needed to get out of the house.” The lie slipped out before I could stop myself.

  “Oh? Just taking a cruise? You know I would have gone with you. I know how much you hate to drive.”

  “It’s fine,” I muttered. “I had a few errands to run anyway.”

  “Anything I can help with?”

  “No,” I whispered. “I’m actually at the police station. They think they might have a suspect. I wanted to get down here as fast as possible.”

  “A suspect?” he pressed. “I thought we agreed that I was going to deal with all that.”

  “Well, Jacob, you weren’t the one captured and tortured for weeks, so maybe they need me there to help them with the matter,” I snapped.

  “Jesus, Annabeth,” he seethed. “I was just trying to help. If you want to be left alone then just say so. God, I thought Gregory was more important that our own feelings.”

  I closed my eyes, the aching hurt of my missing son creeping back in. It was so wrong of me to snap at Jacob when he was only trying to be a friend.

  “I’m sorry, Jacob,” I whispered.

  “Don’t bother. I didn’t get a chance to
drop off the picture of Gregory at the station. I can bring it by now, though, and we can go talk with those pigs together.”

  “No,” I said firmly. “I need to do this alone.”

  “You can barely stay in your house alone, but you want to get questioned by a bunch of cops solo? You really don’t know how to accept help when you need it, Annabeth. Does your mother know that you are there?”

  “My mother has nothing to do with this. She’s working, and I don’t want to get her hopes up if this suspect doesn’t work out.”

  “Well, what do you know about him, huh? What makes them think that this is the guy who took my boy?”

  “Your boy?” I shot back. “Jacob—”

  “Oh, stop it!” he interrupted. “You know what I mean. I love him like he’s my own and you are acting like a crazy woman, trying to keep me out of the loop!”

  “I am doing no such thing.”

  His words rang true, though I wouldn’t admit it. I did want to keep him out of all of this. I didn’t like the way that he and Reyes spoke to each other. I could see myself getting along rather well with the detective, but not with Jacob there, being overprotective. He meant well. He just didn’t know how to express it at times. I felt guilty for the way I’d been treating my friend. After all, he was practically family.

  “I’m sorry, Jacob,” I told him. “It’s just been a rough few days. I promise to let you know if they find out anything about Gregory.”

  “I still don’t like it. You told me I was in charge of the police, and now you are sneaking around behind my back to go talk to them.”

  “It’s their job,” I reminded him. “They are the ones looking for Gregory. I wish you would stop trying to make me feel guilty and accept that I need to work with them. You have a business to run.”

  “Family is more important than business. What do you know about the suspect they brought in?”

  “Not much.”

  A dark van pulled onto the road and my heart started to race again. It slowly went past, and I saw a mother yelling at children in the backseat. Letting out a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to get my heartrate back down.

  “Annabeth, what’s going on?” Jacob asked.

  I knew he would find out somehow. “There was someone following me earlier. They’re gone now, but I’m sure of it.”

  A long pause followed my confession before he snapped. “That’s it, I’m coming down there. You aren’t safe alone, obviously.”

  “Jacob, no,” I said quickly.

  “It’s not up for discussion! Someone is following you and they have one suspect. How much worse does this need to get before you realize that you can’t handle it on your own?”

  “I’m not alone,” I reminded him. “I have Detective Reyes and my mother and—”

  “Oh, Jesus, why don’t you just fuck him and get it out of the way, so we can all get back to trying to find your son! God, you would think that you’d have your priorities in order!”

  “Jacob!” I blurted out. My cheeks flushed red. “How dare—”

  “No, I’m done with it,” he said quickly. “I’m coming down there.”

  I wanted to yell at him to keep away from the whole situation, but I already felt terrible for yelling at him before. The last thing I needed was for him to show up and make the whole process even more difficult. Something had to keep him happy while I took care of things.

  “Please, Jacob, I can do this on my own, but I promise I will give you a call when I’m done, and maybe we can grab a late lunch.”

  “Really?” he asked, his tone obviously lighter.

  “Really,” I muttered in reply.

  He’d wanted to go on a lunch date for years, but I always shot him down. Now, it seemed like the only thing I could do to keep him happy. It was like juggling multiple people at once. Sometimes, Jacob could be the best friend a girl could ask for. Other times, though, he didn’t know when to stop pressing. He knew just what buttons to push to get me to cave. I hated it. Still, he was family. What was I supposed to do?

  “Yeah. I will give you a call, okay?”

  “I still don’t like your going in there on your own. Those police officers can be manipulative.”

  “Reyes is a good detective. We need to have a little faith in him if we want him to find Gregory,” I reminded Jacob.

  “Right,” he grumbled.

  “Please stop reading so much into this, okay? I need to go now. He’s waiting for me.”

  “Well, so am I, so make it quick, okay? I have a company to run. I can’t be waiting around all day for you to finish up.”

  “I will go as fast as I can,” I told him, guilt washing over me as I thought about how much my friend needed me.

  “Fine,” he snapped before hanging up.

  I winced at his abrupt end to the call. He would get over it. He always did. I looked around the parking lot one last time to make sure there were no vans. Then, taking a deep breath, I jumped out of my car and briskly walked up the steps to the police headquarters. The glass door opened and a smiling young woman in uniform behind the counter asked if I needed help. Even as I was explaining who I was, Reyes rounded the corner.

  Our eyes locked and the cold barriers of my heart started to melt away. There was something about him, something so honest and pure, that I was reminded of Gregory. He smiled at me, walking out into the lobby and softly brushing a hand against my arm. My stomach did a little flip, tingling with excitement. All the problems with Jacob, the van that seemed to be following me, they all washed away with his touch.

  “It’s good to see you,” he said softly. “Are you ready for this?”

  I nodded, unsure.

  “I will be with you the entire time, okay?”

  “Do you promise?”

  He grinned, sending my heart fluttering once again. “I promise. You aren’t ever going to be alone while you’re here. We will nail this son of a bitch, okay?”

  “Okay,” I whispered. For the first time, I said something that I hadn’t said in years. “I trust you.”

  Chapter Eight

  His expression changed in an instant when he saw how distraught I was. Quickly pulling me over to a row of empty chairs, Gabriel sat down next to me. I was still shaking from the whole ordeal, and the conversation with Jacob hadn’t helped any either. Struggling with my emotions, I tried to get myself under control.

  “What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Did the kidnapper contact you?” he asked quickly.

  I shook my head. “No, but someone was following me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “I’m sure. I drove around the block and he kept following me.”

  “Did you get a license plate or a look at the guy?”

  “No, I didn’t even think about it. I thought you had the guy in custody!” I said a little more aggressively than intended.

  “No, I’m sorry, but we can’t arrest someone just because of similarities. I wanted you to come down and look at a couple pictures though. If anything looks familiar, we can bring him in for questioning.”

  “Can’t you just go look through his house?”

  “Well,” he muttered. “We can, but I don’t think it would do us any good. You said you were held in the mountains, but this guy lives in an apartment downtown. He is a registered sex offender, which is why his name popped up on our radar. Some things about his case and yours seem a lot alike.”

  “I don’t understand,” I told him. “Do you know what kind of car he drives? Is it a brown van, by chance?”

  Gabriel flipped through a small notebook he’d brought with him. “No, sorry. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t our guy. Creeps like him find ways around our system. He could buy a vehicle with cash and never put legitimate tags on them. I just don’t want to rule him out because someone followed you. Plus—”

  “Then let’s get this started. I need to find my son,” I interjected.

  “Good, we can start right away, but th
ere is something else you need to know,” he said, seemingly nervous. “A news station picked up your story. We think someone at the hospital leaked it. Normally, we would put a ban on the case, but with kidnappings, it can help to have the public on the lookout for him.”

  “Oh,” I muttered. “Okay.”

  My mother wasn’t going to be happy that Gregory’s kidnapping was all over the news. She liked to keep things quiet. I didn’t really care about her feelings on the subject anymore. Part of me had to shut down and let go of her and Jacob’s feelings about the situation. Greg had always trusted me to do what was right. I wasn’t going to fail him now. The memory of my late husband made my eyes prickle with tears.

  “Are you okay?” whispered Reyes. “Maybe we should wait another day to do all of this. I don’t want to give you more than you can handle.”

  “And what about Gregory? How many days does he have to handle the situation while I sit on my hands? No, we are going to push forward. You said you had some pictures for me to see?”

  He nodded but didn’t move. “You know, when I lost the girls’ mother, I never thought I was going to get over it.”

  “This isn’t about me,” I snapped. “And I am not going to lose Gregory, okay?”

  “No, no, I understand that. I just want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself during this time. You won’t be any use to anyone if you’re too weak or distraught to take care of him when we get him back.”

  “You mean ‘if’ we get him back? I’ve watched crime shows before, you know. I’m not an idiot.”

  “I know you aren’t an idiot,” he stammered in shock. “I would never imply that. But these photos are of a crime scene. This guy was no joke. If it gets to be too much, you just need to let me know, okay?”