Her Secret Baby

by Christine Sterling

  Carl was upset that it was costing him more money. But when he looked back down at the clock, he sighed. “Ok, did you tell them the plan?”

  “Yes, the basics.”

  Carl looked up at the two men, who were going to be his only hope. “We leave in the morning.”

  Tom was sitting down to have a nice breakfast with his wife. After a wonderful night of making love, he was famished, as they never did get to eating the dinner from the night before. She was sitting across from him, looking radiant. He stopped eating just to stare at her. There would never be another woman as beautiful as her.

  “What are you staring at?” Elizabeth asked, the edges of her mouth turning up in a smile.

  Tom didn’t want to embarrass himself by saying he was enamored with her beauty, so he said his next thought. “I was thinking, in a few days, we should go into town and finalize the adoption.”

  Elizabeth dropped her spoon, staring at him. “What are you saying?”

  “I want us to be a real, complete family. I want to formally adopt Madeline as my own.”

  Before he knew it, Elizabeth was up and out of her seat, throwing her arms around him. “I can’t believe it, this is the best news!”

  Now is the time. He should just say it. Three little words. Just tell her he loves her. It would be so easy, and she was sitting right there. But as he waited there, with her peppering kisses on his face, he felt the moment pass. He sighed. He would tell her tonight. Maybe he could convince Samantha to take Madeline for one more night.

  There was the sound of a bird outside and Elizabeth sprang up from his lap. “I didn’t realize how late it was! You should be getting out.”

  Tom got up. Although he didn’t want to leave, he knew she was right. It was late and there was a lot to do. “Do you want me to help clean up first?” he said motioning to their dishes.

  “No, I can get it. I’ll see you down at the main house in a bit.”

  With nothing else left to do, he went down to meet Seth at the main house, so they could start their chores for the day.

  Carl was scrunching behind some bushes, looking up at the house as he saw Tom Barrett make his way from the house towards the Jenkins’ residence. It was not easy to go the back way onto their property, so they wouldn’t get caught, being in broad daylight, but they managed. The two big men were behind him, doing their best to scrunch down too. Carl thought Tom would see them, but the man seemed to have his eyes elsewhere as he paid no mind to his surroundings, walking away from the house. When Tom got further away, he motioned back to the men to follow him. “Remember the plan. Grab the girl. I’ll grab the baby. And we get out before we make a scene.”

  They climbed up to the house, opening the front door cautiously. Carl looked inside, seeing Elizabeth was in front of a big basin washing dishes. The room was small, with a bed at the side, only obscured by a small curtain. Good. There wouldn’t be many places to hide. He walked up to Elizabeth. She sensed the footsteps.

  “Tom, did you forget something,” she said, turning around, expecting to see her husband. When she saw it was Carl, she shouted, “You!” Before she could react further, one of the men lunged at her, taking her from behind and covering her mouth. She fought, thrashing about. But the man was stronger, holding her torso still.

  Her legs still flung around. She used her right leg to knock over an oil lamp. As it dropped to the ground, the floor becoming engulfed in flames, Carl looked around the room. Where was the baby?

  The man not holding Elizabeth, grabbed Carl’s shoulder. “We need to leave.”

  “We need to get the baby,” Carl said, trying to look around the room more.

  “We don’t have time. Leave it,” said the other man. Carl turned to see Elizabeth unconscious in his arms. She looked like a lovely rag doll. The flames were getting more intense as they ran out of the house and down towards their horses. Carl felt content, thinking that at least he was able to get his cargo out. Harold would just have to understand.

  They got on their horses, riding to the next town where they were to meet up with Harold.

  Tom was discussing something with Seth, when Seth dropped the hammer he was holding and pointed up at the shack. “Is that smoke?” he exclaimed.

  Tom whipped his head around to see. There were thick clouds of smoke billowing from the side of the house. “Seth, we need water!” he screamed, as he started to run towards the fire. As he got closer, he saw that the flames had consumed the entire building, snarling and snapping.

  He was about to run in when he felt arms around his waist. “Tom, you can’t go in there.”

  “Elizabeth is in there!” he screamed, trying to get out of his reach.

  “We need to put out the flames.” he said, motioning to the few buckets of water at his feet. They took the buckets and threw them on the flames, Tom trying to go as quickly as possible. Tom had never run as fast as he went to the nearby creek to get more water.

  When the fire was finally out, only a few walls remained. But Elizabeth was nowhere to be found. Tom tried to walk around the house, shouting for her, but no one answered. He collapsed on the ground, with Seth’s arms around him as he cried out in anguish.

  The next morning, Tom was still inconsolable. He had spent the day back at the main house, sulking around the house like a ghost. Samantha had tried to console him, but it was no use. He felt like a dead man. He was angry at himself above all else. He should have told her he loved her that morning. What was he so afraid of? It seemed silly now, with her gone. He felt his heart breaking in two. He wanted to think that she had made it out somehow, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

  He walked around the house, kicking up dirt. He looked at the ground, stopping in his tracks. Those were footsteps on the ground, footsteps he hadn’t noticed before. He followed them around the house, as they disappeared towards the creek. He followed them, into some bushes. Then he saw horse tracks, going in the opposite direction. It gave him hope. Maybe Elizabeth was alive, but she wasn’t here.

  “Tom, I don’t think it’s good for you to be up here,” said Seth. Tom turned around to see Seth standing, with Samantha at his back, holding Madeline. “You have Madeline to think about now.”

  Tom walked over to Seth and dragged his hands through his hair. “Look at the ground Seth. Those are footprints. I think someone kidnapped Elizabeth.”

  Seth looked at him like he was crazy. And maybe he was, but he wasn’t going to lose hope. “I don’t know,” he said staring at the ground.

  “Look! Those are footsteps, and those are horse tracks. We definitely haven’t had any horses down here,”

  Seth scratched his head, but Samantha stepped next to him, looking at the ground. “Seth, I think Tom is right. Those are horse tracks.”

  Seth looked around again, finally believing him. “Maybe you are right.”

  There was no time to waste. Tom looked at Samantha. “Samantha, I need to you go get the sheriff. Tell him to follow the trail. Seth and I are going to investigate.”

  Samantha nodded her head and went to kiss Seth. “You two be careful,” she said before running down to the main house. Seth looked at Tom as they both nodded their heads in agreement. They were going to follow those tracks.

  Chapter 13

  Harold was waiting in the bar for Carl to come with the girl and the baby. He was losing his patience, as he gulped down some more whisky. They should have been here long ago. Every time the bar doors opened he turned around to see if it was them, only to be disappointed.

  The doors swung open and Harold turned, feeling relieved to see that it was finally Carl. He was alone though, which worried him. “Where are the girls?”

  Carl motioned to the door. “In the hotel down the street. I just put Elizabeth in. I also paid the men and sent them on their way. The less people around, the better.”

  The barkeep came around. “Would you like another?”

  “No, I’m done,” Harold said, getting up from his stool. “T
he man here will pay you,” he added, as he exited the bar. Harold could hear Carl huff before he ran out to walk with him.

  “Do you now have any money of your own?”

  “I will, once I have the baby. Is she with Elizabeth?”

  Carl’s eyes darted, and he pressed his hands together. “About that,”

  Harold lunged forward as Carl backed away. “If you did something to her.”

  Carl cringed and gave a nervous laugh. “She isn’t hurt.” He led him to the hotel room, opening it softly. On the bed, was Elizabeth. She was tied up with ropes and her eyes were closed. She seemed to be asleep.

  Harold looked around the room. “Where is the baby?”

  Carl nervously looked around. “We weren’t able to grab the child.”

  “What?” Harold roared. “How hard is it to capture a baby?”

  “When we were getting Elizabeth, an oil lamp was knocked over. The house went up in flames. I tried to find the baby, but we were running out of time. But we can go back. I don’t think she was in the house.”

  “So, you are telling me she could have been in a house on fire, or not? And you aren’t sure?!?”

  Carl walked back, hitting the far wall as Harold came up to him. “Look, I tried. But it was a lot harder than it looks.”

  Blinded by rage, Harold drew his arm back and punched Carl in the face. His head snapped back, hitting the wall hard. He slumped on the ground. Harold didn’t know if he was dead or not. He didn’t care.

  He turned around and looked at the sleeping Elizabeth. He was just going to have to find another way.

  Following those tracks took hours, as the tracks went on for five miles. In hindsight, Tom thought, it would have been better to go and grab horses. He was so insistent on finding Elizabeth he didn’t think twice. Seth mentioned it a few miles ago, but Tom gave him a stony glare, making Seth keep quiet.

  Luckily for them, the Sheriff showed up on horseback, along with another horse running beside him. Samantha was smarter than Tom and Seth and told the sheriff he needed to bring extra horses, but he only brought one. Tom and Seth shared a horse as the sheriff rode ahead. The sheriff was making fun of them, trying to get his jabs in when he could. Tom let him; he was too concerned with getting to Elizabeth as fast as he could to bother.

  The tracks led them to a town, right up to a horse. It was tied to a pole near a bar. The town was scarce, with very few people walking around. “Where are we?” Seth asked, as Tom was scouring the ground for footprints.

  The sheriff stepped off the horse and joined Seth. “South Point. Not a very populous town. It’s known for its shady dealings. It’s a haven for thugs and criminals.”

  Tom looked around, “I know she’s here, somewhere. We have to find her.”

  “John, what are you doing here?” said a voice behind them.

  Tom turned to see a large man, walking towards them. The sheriff seemed to know him, clasping his hand. “Michael! Nice to see you!” He turned and motioned towards Tom and Seth. “These are Tom and Seth. This is Michael. He’s the town sheriff. We are here because we think there might be a kidnapping happening,” he said to Michael.

  “Yes,” Tom said, interrupting the sheriff. “My wife, she’s been taken from me. We need to find her.”

  Seth set his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Maybe you can help us,” he added.

  “Well, nothing out of the ordinary, at least what I have seen. I did notice a guy come into town. Seems to be from Black Hills. His name is Carl.”

  Tom’s eyes filled with fire. Of course, Carl would be involved. Tom wanted to tear the town apart in search of the weasel. Before he could react, the sheriff interjected. “Carl? How do you know him?”

  “We’ve been suspecting for a while that he’s involved with some kind of smuggling trade. Only instead of contraband or cattle, it’s women,” said Michael. “We haven’t been able to do anything about it; there’s not much evidence except some rumors and a few eye witnesses.”

  “We also have the same rumblings,” responded the sheriff. “I’ve had my suspicions, but no concrete evidence.”

  “I think I saw him go into here,” Michael said, pointing to the bar. Tom was the first to enter, eager to see if his dear wife could be found.

  While he was looking around, Michael went up to the barkeep. “Gregory! Did you happen to have a male customer come in here recently,” he said, describing Carl.

  Gregory shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve had a lot of men come in here; you’ll have to be more specific.”

  Tom couldn’t help himself. He turned around and lunged at the man, grabbing him by the collar over the bar. “You know exactly who we are talking about, you piece of shit. You will help us, or so help me, I will kill you with my bare hands.”

  The man looked helpless in his hands as Tom felt arms coming around him to pry him away. Seth was holding him back. “Tom, you need to calm down.”

  The sheriff walked up and looked at Gregory. “Now, you are going to tell us where he is, or I’m going to set my friend loose again.”

  Gregory eyed Tom warily. “I saw him go to the hotel. He was with a guy I had never seen before. I think it was Room 25.”

  With the additional information, the group set out. Tom would have run ahead of them, but he didn’t know where the hotel was. All he could do was follow them. The hotel was a short distance away and they walked right up to Room 25. Michael knocked, announcing himself as the sheriff. When he heard no acknowledgement, he kicked the door open. Inside, Carl was slumped on the wall, his leg out before him. Tom made a beeline for Carl, grabbing him and throwing him to the bed. Carl awoke with a jolt. “Where is she?” he screeched at him.

  Carl seemed to take in his surroundings and then backed away from them. “How did you get in here?”

  “That doesn’t matter, Carl,” said the sheriff, as he stepped forward. “We know you took her, now you need to come clean.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said, crossing his arms.

  Tom went towards him again, fist up, ready to punch him.

  Carl put his hands up defensively. “I don’t know where she is.”

  Seth walked up to stand next to Tom. “Don’t lie; we know she was in here.”

  “No, I really don’t know where she is. I was here with this man named Harold, and then he punched me. I didn’t come to until you guys woke me up.”

  Harold. That name seemed familiar to Tom, but he couldn’t think why, though admittedly he couldn’t think too clearly. The sheriff walked to Carl, pulling him up from the bed. “Well, you are coming back with me. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Tom looked out the door, and saw a maid walking down the hallway. “Excuse me miss, have you seen a young lady walking around perhaps?”

  The lady looked around, startled. She seemed to be afraid. “She’s my wife. I think she’s in a lot of trouble. She’s probably scared right now. I need to get to her,” he implored the young girl.

  She gave a look of sympathy. “I saw a man come out of the room, dragging a girl down the hallway. It sounded like he was going to take her to the cliffs.”

  The cliffs? Tom was confused, until Seth turned to him. “I know where those are. We need to be quick.”

  Tom and Seth ran out to go get the horses. Elizabeth, please, hold on, Tom said silently to himself as he got on his horse to hopefully rescue his wife.

  Harold looked crazy, Elizabeth thought, as he dragged her across the hilly terrain. When she had come to, she was on the back of a horse. She wanted to scream but couldn’t because a cloth had been stuffed in her mouth. She wondered where she was heading to. It was starting to get dark and she was afraid of where she was going. It wasn’t until they stopped and the man holding her captive jumped off, did she realize it was Harold.

  From what she remembered, Carl was the one who took her. Why was she with Harold now? She looked at his face. Harold looked like a mad man. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, and his
hair was a mess. It looked like he had probably been up for days. And now he was dragging her across the land, towards who knows where.

  She tried to struggle, but Harold quickly smacked her across the face. “Don’t fight me, Elizabeth,” he said sternly. Tears dropped down her face involuntarily. She stopped struggling so she could think. What was he trying to do? She looked around her surroundings. They were out in the open. Trees were everywhere. She couldn’t see the farm or the town at all. They must be far away.

  “I need what’s mine. You will give me what’s mine,” Harold started chanting. Elizabeth didn’t know what he was talking about. He dragged her further into the brush, until he stopped abruptly. When she angled her body, so she could get a closer look, she saw that they had come to a cliff. Her heart beat faster and chills ran down her back. The bonds tightened from her movement and she forced the nausea down, trying to breathe around the rag.

  Harold held her bound hands, pushing her forward. He ripped the cloth from her mouth. “Where is my daughter?” he screeched at her.

  Elizabeth’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know,” she said, trying to keep her face as calm as possible.

  Harold grew angrier. “Yes, you do! I want what’s mine. She is mine. You will tell me where she is, or I am throwing you over this cliff.” He pushed her back, so she was edging forward. She cried out, as she looked down. It was very deep; her pulse quickened.

  She gazed up at Harold, trying to think. She knew she couldn’t allow herself to tell him where she was, but if she didn’t give him something, he was most likely going to kill her. Her death would do nothing to help Madeline. She thought of the little baby safely at the Jenkins house. She also didn’t want him to get to Samantha or Seth either; they were innocent bystanders.

  Then there was Tom. Oh Tom! Did he realize she was gone yet? If he did, he was probably already worried. She had to be strong. She had to get out of here to see her family again. “You can’t kill me,” she said, trying to keep her voice as even as possible. “I’m the only one who knows where Madeline is. If you do, then you will never find her.”