Not Alone

by Liz Bradford

  Jared wasn’t sure who asked the question, but that’s exactly the kind of thing they needed to find out. “Look and see. At this point that’s my best guess. He’s not squatting in a vacant house or warehouse, and no houses bought recently with cash fit the bill. So that makes the most sense.”

  “Johnson,” Jamison came up to him, “I found nothing of value in looking into the purchase of the tasers. Did find a purchase, but it was shipped to a P.O. Box, so even security cameras are just going to give us the same information we already have.”

  “Thanks for looking. I knew it was a long shot.”

  Becca had already been missing for three hours. Stuart could already be hurting her, but he had to keep that thought barricaded off in the corner of his mind or he would lose all ability to focus on finding her.

  Becca woke up to a dark room. The lights being out most likely meant one thing, Stuart had been here. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. No, he was here. She was not alone in the little concrete room. She didn’t want Stuart to know she was awake, but she needed to change her position. She tried to stifle a moan as she shifted her body and arms that ached. Her hands desperately needed blood.

  “Well, well, she’s awake.” The way he snarled the words made her skin crawl. “Don’t worry, Rebecca, you’re not alone.”

  Thump, thump, thump. The soft, repetitive sound echoed in the empty room. Becca tried to analyze the sound. Her headache was better than it had been but still lingered. Her eyes widened as her brain made the connections. Stuart was tossing a rock up in the air, and the thump was the sound of it slapping back into his hand. It was coming sooner rather than later. Did he really throw rocks at them in the dark? It’s a miracle that he didn’t kill them that way. Well, that was how Cindy had died. A few too many rocks had hit her in the head, and she had died before Stuart could strangle her.

  Crash! The rock hit the wall about two feet from Becca’s head. She jumped, and air rapidly filled her lungs. Her heart pounded.

  “Oh, Rebecca. Did that scare you? You’re going to want to relax.”

  Becca’s eyes slammed shut as light filled the room. The little 40-watt bulb felt like it had the intensity of the sun.

  “This will go much better for you if you just accept your fate. Now remember, this is entirely your fault.” Stuart pushed himself off the wall where he was leaning by the door and picked up a rock about the size of a golf ball from the pile. He held it up as he slowly walked closer to her. “This could have been avoided had you stuck to the straight and narrow. If you hadn’t given yourself away so willy-nilly, getting pregnant out of wedlock.” He shook his head.

  Her eyes adjusted to the light, and she was able to see him fully. He was only wearing an undershirt and a pair of tattered jeans. He had shaved his face and thus looked a little more like the Stuart she had known from the park. Under the edge of his left sleeve, she could see a bandage that looked like it was bleeding through. She couldn’t help but smile at herself a little knowing that she had shot him despite the drugs that had been dulling her reflexes. Thankfully Stuart didn’t notice her little smirk as he was continuing his little sermon.

  “And then there’s patience. You should have been patient and waited for him to return. You were pregnant with his child. You should never have left.” He paced in front of her as he spoke.

  She desperately tried to tune out what he was saying. The past was the past, and she couldn’t do anything to change it. She and Jared were back together; they were going to get married and be a family.

  He came closer to her. She pulled her legs closer to her body in a protective stance. “You…” he continued. But she refused to listen. She just kept her head low and her eyes fixed on the floor.

  SLAP! Stuart’s hand made contact with her cheek. It stung.

  “Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

  She slowly lifted her eyes toward him.

  “You make me sick.” Again, she didn’t listen even though this time she looked at him. He slapped her again. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to kick him, but he was too quick on his feet. “Feisty, are we? That is not going to help your cause, Rebecca.” He came closer and put his booted foot on her knees and smashed her legs against the ground. Then he sat putting the whole weight of his body on top of her legs. She couldn’t move.

  He kept talking, but she tried desperately to separate her mind from her body and focus on good memories with Jared. Immediately her mind went to their trip to Cancun. She remembered playing volleyball with him against her sister and Tom and swimming in the Caribbean, the strength in Jared’s arms as he lifted her above the waves. She could hear Stuart still talking, lecturing her on all her faults, but as he began to speak about his wife she began to listen.

  “It’s also her fault this is all happening. We were happy, so I don’t know what her problem was. She made mistakes repeatedly and would need to be taught a lesson, that’s all. But then to file for divorce, not acceptable. And then she filed for complete custody of Freddy. I couldn’t let that happen. Then to make matters worse… she went and talked to you. The audacity you had to tell her to leave! Not okay.” He pulled a business card out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was Becca’s business card. “You deserve to die twice over. But first, I have to let you experience the punishment she was required to endure for her mistakes. It’s your turn to pay for your mistakes.”

  He shoved the card back in his pocket and pulled out a black Sharpie. She knew what he was going to do with it. She had seen the evidence on the other women’s bodies.

  Stuart finally stopped talking as he wrote each word on her body.

  SINNER. He wrote on her left arm.

  WHORE. On her right arm.

  She flinched in pain as the marker jabbed into her skin.

  IMMORAL. He wrote on her left thigh.

  SELFISH. On her right thigh.

  “This is who you are.”

  “You’re wrong, Stuart,” her voice cracked.

  “No. I’m not. You’re honestly denying the truth of your immorality?” He pulled his head back in disgust.

  “No. But you’re wrong that that is who I am. God has forgiven me for my wrong doing.”

  “No, he hasn’t. I am killing you for him. That is what he commanded. That the sinners must die. Now, shut up. I have a word especially for you. You, Rebecca are a deserter. You desert the ones you claim to love.” He leaned one hand so heavily on her thigh that she cringed in pain as he wrote DESERTER in large shaky letters across her abdomen. He stood and shook his head, his lips pursed together. “You really shouldn’t have left. It really is a shame. Now, think about what I have said, and I will be back shortly.”

  He stood and turned then left the room; she heard what sounded like a bolt lock shut on the other side of the door. Becca was left with a sick feeling in her gut. Not about what he had said to her, she was confident in the work Christ had done for her on the cross, but about his wife. He had just admitted to killing her. She was the first victim. But where had he left her body? After Jared rescued her, she would find Jane’s body and lay her to rest.

  “Johnson! I think I found something.”

  Jared jumped out of his chair and ran over to Miller’s desk. They had been at this for hours. Becca had now been missing for over seven hours. It was dinner time, but Jared didn’t remember the last time he had eaten, nor did he care. His brother had shoved a protein shake in his hand a few hours ago, that in addition to several cups of coffee was keeping Jared upright. “What do you have?” he asked as he stood over Rick.

  “It looks like this guy’s wife’s mother’s aunt’s family owned a farm on the outskirts of the city.”

  “How on earth did you find that?”

  “I’m not sure, with all the maiden names to trudge through, I’m surprised I did. But it looks like no one has lived there on a regular basis for a while. From what I can tell the whole extended family uses it as a getaway place, but they’ve been using it less and less
. Until a year ago they were paying for a service to take care of it when no one is around. And look,” Miller pointed to the satellite image on his computer screen, “there’s a green house on the property.”

  “That has to be it.”

  “Seems to fit.”

  “Captain,” Jared yelled across the bullpen to the Captain’s office where the man was sitting with his door open. Jared waved him over when he looked up. Baker immediately rose and covered the space between them in no time.

  “What’s up, guys?”

  “We found her!” Jared let Miller fill in the Captain.

  “Sounds promising. Gear up. I’ll contact the SWAT team and get the search warrant. Let’s go rescue Palmer!”

  They all checked their weapons and made sure they had extra magazines loaded and ready. Then the guys put on their bulletproof vests. It took longer than Jared liked for them to gear up and head out, but within an hour they had set up a perimeter around the farm, then the waiting game began. They had to be sure he was here, and more importantly they needed some indication of whether or not Becca was here. Furthermore, there was potentially a little boy inside as well.

  Social services was on standby to take the boy, and Caleb and his EMT crew were just around the bend waiting if they were to be needed. Everyone was ready and waiting. And waiting, and waiting. They could tell someone was in the farmhouse, but who was it? And would they make it in on time?

  Becca had been sitting there for hours, grateful that Stuart had yet to come back. But she knew that wasn’t going to last forever. At any time, he could walk through that door and begin the physical torture. He had tried the mental games with her, but she refused to play.

  Her hands tingled as they grew numb. She had spent the last little while trying to loosen the knots again, but it still wasn’t working. She wasn’t sure how long she had worked at it as she had no way to know how much time had passed or how long she had been locked in this basement. But, instead of dwelling on the horrible things she knew would happen to her, God’s Spirit helped her focus her mind on praying, quoting scripture, and reliving memories of the good times she had shared with Jared and with Callie. That kept her hopeful that Jared would find her before it was too late.

  Her lungs constricted as she heard something scrape across the floor outside the door. Then the knob turned. Stuart walked into the room with a small plastic tube in his hands. Her whole body tightened at the sight of him, her stomach tightening the most as he came near her.

  “This, my darling, will help make this experience more… effective.”

  “An epi pen?” she asked.

  “Oh, she speaks. And yes, an epi pen. I’m allergic to bees.”

  She tried to kick him as he came close enough to inject it into her thigh, but it was pointless as he put his whole weight on her legs to restrain her.

  “It’s pure adrenaline, honey. It will help you feel every last bit of what I have planned for you this evening.” He swung the injector into her thigh and then stood. “It’s time for you to receive your first punishment for being a despicable human being. Now, you were supposed to receive your punishment over several days, but you tried to stop me,” he rubbed his arm where she had shot him, “so instead, you will receive it all in a matter of hours. You will die tonight.”

  She shuttered. Oh, Jared, Guys; you have to find me. Lord, please help them find me. They don’t have days… Lord, give me strength now. Give me wisdom. Is there anything I can do or say? She took a deep breath, but the epinephrine started to take effect. Her senses were heightened, and she just wanted to beat this guy to a bloody pulp.

  “Good, I can see rage coming out. But that rage needs to be directed at yourself, not me, darling.” He walked over to the pile of rocks and bent down and searched before choosing three.

  She knew exactly was coming next. She pulled her legs up, sheltering as much of her body as she could, and braced herself for impact.

  The first small stone hit her thigh where he had written IMMORAL. Pain radiated through her muscle.

  “You are immoral, Rebecca!” He threw another stone at the same spot. “Immoral filth.”

  He threw a large rock that hit the side of her knee. She screamed in agony. This would hurt badly enough if she hadn’t been pumped full of artificial adrenaline. She tried desperately to take her mind to a happier place as Stuart picked up more rocks and continued to throw them at her. She thought again of Cancun. The warm sun, Jared’s tanned body, the way the water lapped on their feet as they took a late-night stroll along the shore. The way Jared had kissed her deeply as the lay on the beach under the stars.

  More rocks hit her. She chose to think about Callie’s birth. That pain had been a different kind of pain, and she would take childbirth over this any day.

  “Jared!” she cried out as she could no longer contain it.

  “Just think; if you hadn’t left. You could be with him right now.”

  “Oh, God, help!”

  “Oh, Rebecca, you go to church, you read your Bible. You should know that God says that the woman who commits adultery should be put to death.” A rock the size of a golf ball hit her left forearm.

  She kept her head down and blocked it as best she could with her arms. As she pleaded with the Lord in her mind, a peace washed over her. Courage welled up within her. Her heart was racing from the drugs, but there was a steadiness about her pounding heart that she couldn’t explain. The only thing it could be was the power of the Holy Spirit giving her the peace of mind she needed. She had to stall him, give Jared and the team more time to find her.

  A large stone hit her ribs, knocking the air out of her.

  “Marriage is to be honored. The Bible says that whoremongers and adulterers will be judged.”

  “Doesn’t it say that God will judge?” her voice came out steady despite how her body shook.

  “God has told me to judge.”

  He threw another rock. This one hit her left arm where he had written SINNER. Her eyes filled with tears of pain.

  Stuart continued to speak, “You sinned. And the Bible clearly states that the wages of sin is death. You deserve to die because you sinned.”

  “Stuart,” she lifted her head and looked at him, “You missed the point. That is Romans 6:23, and you forgot the rest of the verse—the best part, ‘But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Jesus paid the price for my sins. You have no right to punish anyone for their sins. God is the judge, and I have chosen to accept the gift of Christ’s sacrifice, so God looks to Him, not my past, to judge me.”

  “No. The Bible says it is my duty as a witness to throw stones at you and purge evil from the world.”

  “You’re wrong. When the woman who was caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, he said ‘let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’ You have sinned; thus, you cannot throw stones at me.”

  Stuart’s face grew red with anger. Had she made the wrong choice to speak up? It didn’t matter. She would die preaching the Gospel if that’s what was necessary. He threw five more rocks in rapid succession. She didn’t have time to brace between each one. The intensity of the pain shook her body, but she mentally pushed it aside. She had more to say.

  “Stuart, you have no right to judge. You have sinned. Romans 3:23 says, ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.’ You killed your wife and those other women.” She looked at the pictures. “You are a sinner as much as I am. I accepted God’s forgiveness. Jesus didn’t condemn the woman caught in adultery. He told her to go and sin no more. And in Romans 8:1-2 the Bible says—” She closed her eyes briefly as she quoted the verse from memory. “‘—So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.’ You see, your condemnation has no power over me, because in Christ, I have been set free. Forgiven.”

  He hadn’t sto
pped throwing rocks. But Becca’s focus was entirely on Christ. She wondered if this was how Stephen felt. She could feel the pain; her body reacted, but her mind was clear, and she concentrated on the words Paul had written in Romans and then David’s words in Psalms.

  “‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort--’”

  “SHUT UP!” Stuart picked up one of the largest rocks and hurled it across the room. It hit her left arm, and she felt her ulna snap.

  She screamed, and her stomach lurched.

  He picked up another large rock.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Jared looked down the hill where he, the Captain, Jamison, and Miller were all lying prone. The farm was nestled at the end of a dirt road between a ridge of small hills and a forest. An old, small, two story, farmhouse sat against the woods, with a barn just down the way. Across a clearing, at the foot of the hills, was a large, old greenhouse. Stuart had been growing his own flowers. The SWAT team had cleared the property with the exception of the house. There was a light on upstairs, but the curtains were drawn so they couldn’t see in.

  “It’s eight o’clock,” Miller said. “I hate to say it—”

  Jared interrupted, “Then don’t.”

  Jamison placed his hand on Jared’s tense shoulder, “She’ll be okay. We’ll get her out of there.”

  Jared looked Jamison in the eye despite the darkness. “But will we be soon enough? She could be in there right now with a rope around her neck.”

  “That’s what I was going to say,” Miller said. “What if his timeline was based on when he killed the women, not when he took them?”

  Jared had thought the same thing but had refused to say anything. He needed to believe she was still alive. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. Please, God, let her be okay.

  “Why would you suggest that now, Miller?” Jamison asked.

  “Just trying to be realistic.”