Found and Destroyed: The Second Sarah Martin Mystery

by Danelle Helget

  We were far from the city. It was dark, but there must have been a light on nearby. I could see, but not very far. The area behind the men looked heavily wooded. The trees had lost the majority of their leaves but it was still looked like a really thick forest. I didn’t notice a house or anything, but still being in the trunk I could only see in the direction I was facing.

  The thing I did notice was the pistols pointed in my face. There goes the run-for-it idea. I was afraid, but severely pissed off too! Part of me wanted to attack them, the other, the smart part, wanted not to get shot.

  “Well, hello, bitch! How was your nap?” Cory asked, in a snide voice. “Did you like riding in my trunk?”

  “Cory, I presume.” I said with a bitchy tone.

  “You got it. Nice to finally meet you, Katie Johnson. Or should I say … Sara?”

  Then I was really freaked out. How does he know my name? This guy is smarter than I thought. He’d done some homework.

  “You can call me Katie,” I told him with my pissed-off voice.

  I looked to Kyle who was undressing me with his snakelike eyes while pointing a gun at me.

  “I guess you already know my brother,” he said, turning to Kyle.

  “Yeah, you remember me, right? I’m the better looking one, unlike this guy,” he said half joking.

  As he spoke he pointed the gun at Cory in gesture.

  “Fuck! You idiot! Don’t point that thing at me!” Cory said and smacked Kyle on the back of the head.

  “Heeey, asshole!” Kyle whined, rubbing his head. “That hurt! It’s not even loaded!”

  Hearing that, I jumped out as fast as I could and ran down what looked like a dirt driveway. I ran like I’ve never ran before, praying to God that the gun really wasn’t loaded and that I wouldn’t fall over in the heels I was wearing.

  “Hey!” I heard Cory yell. “Stop!”

  “Bitch, I will shoot you! You better stop!”

  From the sound of their voices, and the rustling I heard, they were in pursuit. I veered left into the woods hoping to lose them, turning my fear to what might find me in there. There were animals roaming around in the woods at night. And spiders.

  “You’re an idiot, Kyle! You just told her the gun wasn’t loaded! She’s not going to stop, and I ain’t chasing her! You’re on your own. You go get her.”

  Cory was yelling, so I assumed that he wasn’t running, but that Kyle was. I doubted he was in shape, but if he was high on meth or adrenaline that didn’t matter! I was trying to concentrate on breathing and not crying. I knew from experience that I couldn’t panic and cry at the same time. I’d run now and cry later. I was going as fast as I could but the woods were thick and the undergrowth was even thicker and caught on my clothes, what little I had on. My arms and the tops of my feet were bare and scratched to heck from all the branches. I was dodging trees branches and stepping on leaves and mud and sticks.

  The farther I got, which wasn’t very far, the darker it got. I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. Fear and logic took turns controlling my thoughts. I’m going to freeze to death out here. I won’t be able to get very far in heels, a thin, sleeveless shirt, and jeans. The lows had been in the thirties lately. And it was about that now. The voice of an old friend, who went to school for real estate, was sounding in my head: “You’re never more than seven miles from a Walmart.” But can I even make it seven miles?

  I stopped and turned around for the first time to look behind me. I couldn’t see Kyle. I couldn’t hear anything behind me either. I could see tiny bits of light through the trees but was unable to tell if there it was a house or cabin or any other structure. There was a driveway so I assumed that there was something there, a house or a shed at least.

  I had no idea which way to go. The moon was obviously hidden by clouds because I couldn’t see anything. I was frantically waving my hands in front of my face to feel for branches as I slowly moved forward. I stopped when I heard a car engine turn over. I could hear Cory and Kyle arguing and yelling in the distance, but between my loud heart beat and my quickened breathing I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  Then the car engine revved and the headlights lit up the area I was in. I turned to see Cory about forty yards behind me coming my way. I started running again and now that I could see a little better I could pick up the pace. The branches were easier to see but the ground was really unstable. I kicked a small fallen tree and tripped. With my face down on the ground I tried to get my shoe back on when I heard Cory.

  “Bitch, the more you make me run, the sorrier you’re gonna be!”

  I scrambled to my feet again. Cory was right on me. Shit, he caught up fast! I stumbled along as fast as I could. SMACK! A stick hit me on the back. I went down hard. It knocked the wind out of me. I was coughing and gasping and trying to get back up.

  “Stay down! Fuck, I need to catch my breath. I hate running! Now you’ve pissed me off. You think you’re in charge here? You’re not!” Cory yelled at me while he bent over, panting.

  I used the time to get in a few breaths myself. Shit, now what? A few moments past and he stood up straight and ordered me to my feet. I stood up and made sure my shoes were on good.

  “What do you want with me, Cory?” I asked.

  “What do you want with me, Sara?” he yelled back in my face. “You’re the one following me around. You’re the one trying to get in my business.”

  “Why do you keep calling me Sara? I’m Katie. Someone at school told me I could get some meth from you. That’s all. I needed some. I was all out, and I’m new in town, and school is adding a lot of stress to my life. I was going to pay you cash! And I would never tell anyone!”

  “Cut the shit! I know that your name is Sara, and I know that you’re dating the cop,” he said. “You must really think I’m stupid!”

  I did up until a minute ago. Now I didn’t. He’d figured it out. How he did, I didn’t know. Unless he’d been following me, I didn’t know how he would have put two and two together.

  “Ya know, my brother might look stupid but he’s very resourceful. It’s amazing what you can learn when someone comes knocking on your door. I went out the back window and walked a half block away. I saw you talk to Kyle and then get into a black Jeep. The Internet is wonderful for searching things like a plate number. A few hours of following you and your friend Derek and a couple Internet searches and you can learn a lot about a person. I knew you and Derek were planning to come and get me. I just beat you to it. Ha ha ha ha,” he laughed. “Your friend at the bar was helpful too, when I asked her your name. That’s when I knew I had you for sure.”

  “So what do you want?” I asked. “I’m no good to you. Why kidnap me?”

  “’Cause with you out of the picture, Derek won’t know where to look and he’ll be too busy looking for you to be looking for me. Now get moving! We’re going back to the cabin.”

  I started toward the light with Cory right behind me.

  “Whose cabin?” I asked trying to collect some useful information.

  “Mine. Well at least it’s mine now.” He laughed again.

  “So you own it?” I asked.

  “Not exactly, but that’s not your business either. Walk faster!”

  “What’s your plan, Cory? You gonna kill me, or hold me hostage for ransom, or what? What exactly do you need me for?” I pressed.

  “My brother likes you. He’s been on my back for money I owe him and I don’t have the money. You’re in my business and pissing me off, so if I give you to him I’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

  Oh crap. I didn’t want to walk through the cabin door to see his brother.

  “Why don’t you let me help you get the money for him? I have money. I can get it for you. I just need to get to a bank,” I said. He grabbed my shirt from behind and turned me towards him. He stared at me, his face inches from mine. “I do! Seriously! I have lots of money. How much do you need?

  “Seven hundred dollars, Bitch! D
o you have seven hundred dollars in the bank?” he asked sarcastically.

  “Yes, I do! You can have it. I promise. Just drive me to an ATM and I’ll get if for you. We can go back to the car and drive to town now, and you’ll have it instantly. Heck, Cory, if you’re nice enough to drive me there now, I’ll even give you another seven hundred for your time and gas. I have fourteen hundred exactly in my savings. You can have it. But I don’t want to go anywhere near your brother. Is that a deal?” I asked, sticking my hand out. He stared at me hard in the eyes, which was challenging in the dark. “I promise,” I drew a cross over my heart for emphasis.

  “Deal,” he said with a shake. “But we’re not going ’til morning.”

  “WHAT? WHY? No, no deal then! You’ll have to kill me now then,” I said and took off running again.

  I got about three steps before my heel broke off on my left shoe and I fell. Dang it! Cory laughed, grabbed my arm hard, and yanked me up.

  “Fuck, you got a lot of energy! Stop running away from me. It’s starting to piss me off. Now walk nicely back to the cabin,” he said shoving me forward. I did the best I could hobbling on my heel. My body was burning from all the cuts and scrapes. “We’ll go back to the cabin for tonight. It’s too dangerous to go back into town right now. I’m sure your boyfriend is out looking for you. Then in the morning we’ll go to an ATM. When I got the money in my hand, you can get out. If you try anything stupid between now and then, I’ll give you to my brother to pay the debt. Got it?”

  “Got it. But are you going to stay by me the whole night so your brother doesn’t do anything?” I asked, terrified.

  He may be decent now but what if he takes another hit? He could change his mind at any second. I didn’t trust him. Where’s Derek?

  “Yeah, we’ll see.”

  When we got closer to the cabin, I could see that it was small and there was a large shed on the property too. There was a small section of yard that looked mowed and a ton of trees, but there wasn’t much for leaves on the property, so someone must have taken care of that recently. I knew it couldn’t have been Cory or his brother.

  The car was still parked facing the woods and its lights were still shinning on us. The engine was off, and I didn’t see Kyle anywhere. I looked around the property as we approached the car, but I couldn’t see much in the dark. I strained to look past the car but couldn’t see if the drive led to a road, and I couldn’t see through the trees completely surrounding the cabin either. Who knows if there are neighbors nearby, or how far town is. I could see lights on in the cabin. My guess was Kyle was in there.

  “So, did a relative leave you the cabin in an inheritance?” I asked Cory.

  “Ha ha. Yeah, like any of my family actually cares enough to leave me anything. No. Bitch! Sometimes people have to go out and get what they want. Not everybody gets everything handed to them on a silver platter,” he said. I didn’t like his tone.

  “I’ve never had anything handed to me either! I’ve studied and worked very hard to get where I am. Life is about choices. It’s not easy to make the right choices, ya know. There are days where I’d like to sit on my ass all day, and do nothing, and skip work, and just play video games, and drink beer, ya know? But that doesn’t pay the bills does it? No! It doesn’t! So I force myself to get up and shower and show up for work! Easy? No! But I do it anyway! But never, never has anyone just handed me anything on a silver platter!” I lied. But I wasn’t going to tell him about my inheritance. I was pissed! What a loser! As if his welfare check wasn’t just handed to him! “So, tell me, Cory, whose cabin is this?” He shoved me forward.

  “Wow! You’re a nosey one! Like I said lady, it’s none of your business! Now walk!”

  I was freezing. I was almost glad to be entering the cabin when we walked in. My whole body was trembling. I really needed to sit and I really needed water. Cory opened the door and shoved me in. It was warm and lit. I took in my surroundings, noting things like the light switch locations, doors and windows, and where the locks were on them. The cabin was newer, built within the last ten years for sure. It was well maintained and smelled nice. It wasn’t a log cabin, more like a smaller house. It had dark-brown, vinyl siding, tan double-hung windows, and a simple, open floor plan. The whole cabin was probably the size of my apartment. The colors were up to date and the decor was tasteful. The counters and floor were clean, which told me these two losers hadn’t been here very long.

  I stood in the kitchen and noticed the knife block on the counter. May need that later. The dining room consisted of a small, four-person table off to the right. Past the kitchen, the rest of the cabin was the family room, which ran the entire length of the back of the cabin with the bedroom and bathroom on the right.

  Kyle was sitting on the couch watching TV. He looked tired. The smell of pot floated over to me, and I noticed the paraphernalia on the coffee table in front of him. Good. Pot relaxed people. Hopefully he’ll take a nap soon. There were windows in the living room, but the door I was standing by seemed to be the only exit.

  “Found her, huh?” Kyle said slowly, looking over at us with heavy eyelids. He nodded in approval, and smiled slyly.

  Chapter Fifteen

  What the shit, Kyle? Stop with the pot! I need you alert. Dude, you’ve been here five minutes and you couldn’t wait, or come and help? You’re fucking worthless! Did you at least check on … things?” Cory asked him.

  “Huh?”

  Cory walked over and smacked him on the back of the head. “I said, did you check on the things you needed to check on? Is everything as it was when we left?” Cory asked him sternly.

  “Oh, yeah, yeah. All is good,” Kyle said and rested his head back on the couch.

  There were two over-stuffed recliners on either side of the couch. The coffee table was in front of the couch, and two small end tables with lamps were on either side of the recliners. I had no idea what they were talking about, and had no intention to stick around long enough to find out. Cory told me to sit pointing to one of the chairs. I did. I took a good look at my arms and feet. They burned. Some of the cuts were bleeding and at least two were deep enough to possibly leave scars. I was glad to be able to rest a bit, but relaxation was completely out of the question. At least the violent shaking has stopping.

  The TV was an older model. Some game show played loudly. Kyle seemed happily lost in it. Cory was rummaging through the fridge. He pulled out some chip dip and then went rummaging through the cupboards. The way he opened each one and shut it quickly told me he had no idea where anything was, another sign he was not a regular guest here. I wondered if this place was abandoned, or if he and his brother did something to the owners, or if the owner would in fact show up at any minute. I looked at the clock on the wall, it was 2:30 a.m. I prayed that Derek was looking for me and would find me soon. Cory finally returned with a can of pop, dip, and an unopened bag of chips.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “Ah, no. But can I use the bathroom?” I asked.

  He thought about it while he squinted his eyes at me.

  “Hold on,” he said. He got up and went and looked in the bathroom. “There’s a window in there. You can go, but the door stays open. If you try to escape I’ll kill you this time,” he warned.

  I didn’t know if I believed that, but I did really have to pee. I went in and peed. The bathroom was clean and had fresh towels and soap. I washed my hands and looked out the door to the living room. Cory was sitting on the other recliner leaning forward slightly to see me. I shot him a fake, sarcastic smile. He glared back. I stood at the sink and used the soap and water to wash my sliced up bloody arms and then threw a foot up one at a time and cleaned them good, too. Hopefully they won’t get infected. I grabbed a few tissues from the box and held them over one of the wounds that had started bleeding again, and returned to the living room and sat back in my chair.

  “We’re staying here for the night. Tomorrow we will go to town and get the money,” Cory said.

>   I nodded at the TV but didn’t look at him. I had my eyes focused on the TV, while my head spun with escape plan options. Then I heard my ring tone. Cory reached in his pocket and pulled out my phone.

  “Who is it?” I asked, as if he’d tell me.

  It occurred to me that my battery had to be getting low. I had been getting warning beeps all evening.

  “Derek.” Cory informed me.

  Oh, gosh. I hope he knows I’m kidnapped and doesn’t think I just left without him. No, Derek’s smart. He’s trying to find me. I needed hope.

  “Are you going to answer it?” I asked.

  “Fuck no! You really think I’m an idiot, don’t you?” he snapped.

  Then he hit a button and tossed the phone onto the coffee table. Yup. You’re an idiot. A smart kidnapper would have smashed the phone or at the very least put it back in his pocket. Will Derek still get a tower location if he didn’t answer it?

  The noise from the phone ringing and from it being thrown on the table woke Kyle up. “What the fuck?” Kyle said, glaring at Cory.

  “Get up, asshole. Why should you get to sleep?” Cory asked him. “We got company to keep an eye on, ya know.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Kyle said and looked over at me.

  My blood pressure suddenly skyrocketed. I wondered if he could see my heart beating from the outside of my body. Kyle sat up straight on the couch and helped himself to some chips, then he stood and went to the fridge.