“Hush now,” Jack said soothingly. “There isn’t any point in worrying ourselves sick just yet. The sheriff will have men combing the woods come morning. They’re bound to turn up something.”
“You’re right,” LeAnn agreed. She turned to look at Jack’s profile and smiled. Even in the scant light she could see his rugged features, but that wasn’t what she found endearing about the man. On the inside, Jack was caring and protective. While the others had searched for Maggie, he’d stayed close to the cabin and watched over all of them. She’d never met a man like him.
Chapter 15
THROUGH A BREAK IN THE TREES, Maggie could see the dark orange sun as it lowered itself toward the horizon. Lazy clouds drifted across the sky and birds chirped in the trees. The shadows grew longer with each passing minute. Then it was dusk. Soon it would be dark.
She had no idea what time it was; it seemed like hours since the men had left her and walked away into the woods, but she wasn’t sure. The fear that had paralyzed her when they were near had receded a little when they left, but as the few remaining hours of light began to dwindle, the fear returned stronger than ever. While the daytime in the woods had been gloomy, she’d still been able to see for a short distance. She’d seen only a pair of squirrels and they’d ignored her. Once the sun was gone, it would be pitch dark. If what the older man had said were true, if there were wolves in the woods, she’d never see them until they were upon her.
Simon, Nona, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.
She felt the rumbling of her stomach. It had been a full day since the last time she’d eaten and her stomach was protesting. How can I think about being hungry? I may die before the night is over. She was thirsty. Her throat and lips were dry. The gag sopped all the moisture from her mouth.
Maggie expected the men to return. They couldn’t possibly plan on her spending the night tied to the tree! They were trying to scare her, trying to force her to tell them what they wanted to hear, and they would come back and cut her loose. What they intended to do with her then was still a mystery, but it had to be better than her current predicament! She’d strained her ears waiting for some sign, a male voice or the snap of a branch, to signal their return, but so far there’d been only silence. What if they left her here? What if the wolves came? She shivered and tried to put the thought out of her mind.
She hadn’t learned anything new from the men who’d abducted her. She already knew her half-brother, Harold, was a no-good thief! He not only robbed her and Nona of the money their father had left them, but he’d also stolen from these mean men! It was silly for anyone to think that she and Nona could be involved with Harold. But someone had believed it; that was why she was tied to a tree. If she only knew where the snake was, she’d have gladly told them. That way, she’d be free and Harold would get his! The problem was that they didn’t believe her. Surely they wouldn’t kill her!
Suddenly, a thought flashed across Maggie’s mind. Were these the men who’d killed LeAnn’s husband?! Even though Simon hadn’t let her see the body, she’d heard that it had been badly beaten. If these were the men who’d done that, then they’d have no problem doing the same to her. The realization made Maggie sick to her stomach.
Simon! Please come! Simon!
Straining against the ropes with all the strength she could muster, Maggie tried to wiggle free, but no matter how hard she pushed, she couldn’t budge. She’d rubbed up and down against the tree so much that her arms were a mass of scrapes and burns. She was too weak to do anything. Sagging against the ropes, she began to cry.
Through her tear-blurred eyes, she could see the sun’s last moments before it dipped below the tree line. She held her breath and gave a silent prayer that somehow it would stay light, but the sun disappeared and the woods quickly grew noticeably darker.
She was hungry, thirsty, scared, and increasingly cold. Questions raced through her head. How was she supposed to go to the toilet? She would have to go against the tree, her pee staining her nightgown and her legs. What was Nona doing? She was probably worried half to death.
“Somebody help me.” Her jaws worked but the words didn’t come out.
Nona sat on the porch step and stared off into the night. Her hands were fidgety and her mind heavy with worry. Inside the cabin, Mabel, LeAnn, and Jack sat around the table talking in hushed tones, their voices heard but their words not understood. She’d had supper with all of them but had left after the table had been cleared. Tonight, she needed some time alone.
Simon still hadn’t returned from his visit to the sheriff. He’d been gone for several hours. At sunset, Nona wanted to go to town and find out what was keeping him, but Jack had talked her out of it. They all needed to stay together, he’d argued, and she’d known he was right.
After the initial worry of her sister’s disappearance had gone, Nona had been angry with Maggie for disobeying her. In the end, her loving care hadn’t been enough. Maggie was gone.
As she worried and waited, a vehicle’s headlights turned from the main road and approached the camp. After a few moments, she could see that it was Simon’s truck bouncing along the dirt road. She was at the bottom of the steps when he brought the truck to a stop next to his cabin and shut off the engine. A feeling of disappointment filled her when she saw he was alone.
“What did the sheriff say?” she asked quickly.
“Let’s go sit down, Nona,” Simon said gently as he led her back up the steps and sat down next to her. “How are you doing? Did you eat any supper? You need to keep up your strength.”
“Don’t try to coddle me!” Nona protested. “What did you find out?”
“Not much, I’m afraid. Sheriff Carter’s a nice man but not very experienced. He’s mighty concerned about Maggie’s disappearance and finding LeAnn’s husband in the lake. This is a pretty quiet place and he’d like to keep it that way.”
“He doesn’t have any idea what could have happened?”
“His suspicions are a lot like mine.” Simon sighed. He put his rough hand on Nona’s and gave it a light squeeze. “I don’t believe Maggie wandered off and got lost in the woods. I think she was kidnapped by the men looking for Harold. They may call and say they are holding Maggie for information about him.”
Nona had tried to steel herself for his words, but they still shook her. She’d been trying to disbelieve, to hope. But she knew in her heart that Simon was right. Tears began to well in her eyes. “What do we do now?”
“The sheriff will be out in the morning with a bunch of volunteers. He hopes there’ll be something that we all missed. He’s also going to have his deputy talk to some of the folks who live deep in the woods. They’re what remain of a commune of flower children who came here in the sixties and seventies.”
“That’s good.” Nona nodded. “Maybe someone saw her. Maybe they saw who took her.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.” Simon frowned. “Sheriff Carter says that people in these parts are pretty private folk. They keep to themselves and aren’t too likely to talk, but the sheriff’s men are going to ask them anyway.”
“I pray we’ll find her,” Nona managed as her tears began to flow. “I just want . . . ,” she began but couldn’t finish as Simon pulled her close to him. She buried her face in his neck as sobs shook her. All of the anguish that she’d managed to hold in since Maggie had vanished poured out of her as Simon held her tightly. She felt like a child in his arms. He was no longer the man who joked at her expense or enraged her with his inappropriate comments. Now he was a comfort.
“We’ll find her,” he whispered.
“You don’t know that,” she sobbed. “Don’t give me false hope!”
“I made a promise to you, don’t you remember?” he said soothingly as he ran one hand through her curly red hair. “I told you that I’d protect you, Maggie, and Mabel, and I intend to. We’ll leave no stone unturned. I promise.”
The door to the cabin creaked open and Mabel came out onto the porch. She
stood silently in the dark, her arms folded across her chest, gazing at the two of them. Her face was creased with worry. Simon nodded to her, then lifted Nona’s chin up off of his chest. Even in the darkening gloom, he could see the wetness on her cheeks.
“You need to get your rest,” he said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. Let Mabel take you in and put you to bed. I’ll be in to check on you before long.”
“We have to find her,” Nona mumbled.
“We will, sweetheart.” Simon nodded. “We will.”
Without another word, Nona got up. The older woman put a steadying hand on her elbow and they both went into the house, leaving Simon alone on the porch.
The night air was growing cooler. A slight breeze began to stir, and the treetops rustled in the darkness. Worry filled Simon’s gut. He tried to stay confident in front of Nona, but he was certain that the men looking for Harold had taken Maggie. It could be the work of the same bastards who’d killed LeAnn’s husband. Are we going to receive a ransom note? Is Maggie still alive?
“I’ll find you, squirt.” He whispered his promise to Maggie into the night.
Maggie awoke with a start, blinking her eyes quickly. Around her, the world turned from black to hazy green; the early morning sunlight hardly sifted through the tree cover. For the briefest of moments, she was unsure of where she was, but the pain in her arms and shoulders quickly reminded her.
The night had been one horror after another. In the pitch-black darkness, menace seemed everywhere. Every snapping branch, every call of some unseen animal, every passing hour had been worse than the one before. She’d held her breath and tried not to cry, fearful that someone or something would hear and know where she was. She’d waited for the pack of wolves the man had spoken about to come, but they hadn’t. Somehow she’d managed to fall asleep. Now her joints ached from being tied to the tree for so long and her stomach growled loudly from hunger. She didn’t know if she’d ever been so cold. As the light of the new day began to shine, she allowed herself to cry.
Suddenly, something before her caused her breath to catch in her throat and her heart to skip a beat. Before her tear-filled eyes, a figure parted the bushes in front of her, paused for a moment in a crouch, and then began to move quickly toward her.
“Mmmmm!” Maggie yelled into the handkerchief, her eyes large with fright.
As the figure got closer, she began to see it more clearly. She was surprised that it was a young boy, probably not much older than herself, with long hair and a thin frame. Even in the scant light, she could see that his clothes were well worn. His head darted from side to side as his gaze swept the woods around him. When he reached her, he clamped one hand over her mouth and looked her straight in the eyes.
“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered, and pulled the handkerchief loose from her mouth but clamped his hand back down on her aching lips. Reaching behind him, he pulled something from his back pocket. Maggie’s eyes strained to see what it was, and the boy obliged by holding the knife up in front of his face. Maggie nearly wet herself with fear.
“Mmmmm!” She tried to yell again and strained with all of her might against the ropes but couldn’t move them an inch. Somehow she’d managed to survive a night alone in the woods only to be attacked by a wild boy! To her further surprise, the boy seemed more worried than angry at her protests.
“Be quiet,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I can’t cut the ropes if you’re squirmin’ like a worm.”
Before Maggie could utter another sound, the boy sliced through the ropes that had bound her to the tree. Released from their hold, she tried to stand, but her weak legs collapsed and she sank to the ground.
“Who are . . . ,” she began in a whisper, before the boy yanked her to her feet and pulled her along behind him as he moved back into the bushes from where he’d come. Branches whipped by in the near-darkness, scratching along her face and arms. With her legs so weak, she struggled to stay upright as they ran, stumbling on tree roots and rocks. The boy never slowed, pulling her hard by the arm. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stopped still as a deer and crouched to the ground next to a large elm. Yanking her down beside him, he put a finger to his lips to hush her.
Maggie strained her ears for any sound. At first she heard nothing more than the normal woods sounds of wind and bird calls, but, faint at first then growing louder, the sound of voices reached her. Whoever it was, they were coming right for them!
“. . . all I’m saying is that nothin’ better have happened to her.” Maggie’s breath caught and her heart jumped out of rhythm as she recognized the voice of the younger man who’d kidnapped her and tied her to the tree!
“Ain’t nothin’ happened,” the older man said. “I checked on the little bitch not more than two hours ago. She ain’t dead. Just sleepin’ like an angel whose wings are in need of clippin’.”
“I told you I won’t be part of hurtin’ her.”
“And I told you that little bitch is gonna tell us what we want to know,” the older man snarled. “We tried it your way and didn’t get shit. A night outside will have loosened her tongue. I’m gonna make her talk.”
“Maybe she don’t know nothin’.”
“I’m startin’ to think you ain’t cut out for this line a work. That dumb son of a bitch Harold sent his sisters the money or told them where he put it. Why the hell else would two city women come all the way out here to the sticks? She’ll talk whether she wants to or not.”
The sound of the voices grew louder and louder before finally beginning to fade. At their closest, they must have been only a few yards away. They were headed for the tree where she’d been tied. When they discovered her gone, they’d come looking for her with a vengeance.
Without warning, the boy tugged Maggie back to her feet and was once again off into the underbrush. It was all that she could do to keep up with him. Questions began to run through her head. Who is he? Where is he taking me?
After scampering up a soft incline, the boy halted. Before them lay a fallen tree trunk that spanned a dried-up creek bed. Bright green moss covered its sides. Maggie peeked over the edge and saw a bed of rocks twelve feet below. Scanning the area, she could see that getting to the other side would be difficult.
The boy let go of her hand and pointed toward the other side. As quickly as a deer, he darted out onto the fallen tree, his arms spread out to either side, and nimbly made it across the space. Once on the other side, he turned and waved for Maggie to follow him.
Maggie was frozen in place. If she attempted to cross on the tree and follow the boy, she could fall to the rocks below. Still, if she stayed and tried to make her own way, the men who’d taken her from the camp would certainly find her. By now they’d have discovered that she was missing and would be looking for her. She couldn’t possibly hope to escape them without help. With as much courage as she could muster, she stepped out onto the tree trunk.
For the first couple of feet, she tried not to look down. One foot in front of the other, she inched across the space. She spread her arms out as the boy had done and found that it helped her sense of balance.
More confident with each step, she looked up to see that she was only a couple of steps from the other side. Making eye contact with the boy, she smiled easily at him and hurried to join him. However, with her gaze lifted from the tree trunk, she failed to see a large patch of green moss. As soon as her foot touched it, she slipped and teetered on the log. Panic gripped her. A scream welled in her throat, but before she could voice it, a hand locked onto her wrist to steady her. Confused, Maggie looked up.
“Help me!” she pleaded.
“What do you think I’m trying to do?” the boy answered. “Stay still and get your balance. I can’t pull you up if you go over!”
Safely off the log, Maggie fell on her hands and knees. She was winded but before she could relax, the boy yanked her to her feet and started to move away.
“Wait!” Maggie said. “Who are you?”
“We don’t have time for this,” the boy answered impatiently.
“But I don’t know your name!”
“It’s Dusty,” he answered. “Now keep quiet!”
Chapter 16
GODDAMMIT!” Frank spat angrily. He and Webb had entered the small clearing expecting to find Maggie tied to the tree. Instead they’d found a tangle of ropes at the base of the tree . . . and no girl.
“What the hell?” Webb bent to the ground.
“I knew I shouldn’t have left it up to you to tie her up!” Frank cursed his partner. “You did a piss-poor job!” he accused.
“Shut up!” Webb shouted. “I’m getting sick and tired of you blaming me for everything that goes wrong.” Picking up the rope, Webb found the place where it had been cut. “Look at this.” Webb held up the cut rope.
“Son of a bitch,” Frank roared. “Do you think Wright found her?”
“Could be,” Webb answered, but he didn’t think so. They were a good five miles into the woods. The day before this they had scouted the location and brought in their bedrolls and some food. If someone had come through, they would have heard him.
“When I checked on her a couple of hours ago she was sleeping like a baby,” Frank snarled at Webb.
“Well, between then and now someone’s cut her loose. This rope was cut by a sharp knife. Someone knew what he was doing. She certainly didn’t get away by herself.” Webb squatted on his heels beside the tree. “She ain’t nothin’ but a scared kid.”
Frank picked up the end of the rope. “I don’t give a shit how scared she is, when I catch that little bitch, I’m going to beat her ass.”
For the next several hours, the two men searched in an ever widening circle around the tree. At noon, the temperature under the canopy of trees was stifling hot. They met back at the tree where they had tied Maggie, sweat soaking through their dirty clothing.
On Tall Pine Lake Page 14