The Widow and the Will

by J. Thomas-Like

  “God dammit!” Ford roared. He knew the whole thing had been a mistake. He hadn’t wanted Tess involved in anything like this and he could have beaten the shit out of his brother for coming up with the stupid plan to begin with. “Call 9-1-1!” he yelled as he ran out of the office. He pulled up the app on his phone to see if he could find Mike Andrews as he ran to his motorcycle, grateful as hell that he’d put the tracking device on the Prius. Hopping on, the engine screamed to life. Ford pulled his blue tooth earphones out of his saddlebag and turned on the device. With shaky hands, he paired it to his phone and made sure they were working.

  Anxious to get on the road, he forced himself to follow all the necessary steps it took to get his phone into voice activation mode. He wouldn’t have two hands available to manipulate it as he drove the bike. He tested the necessary apps for texting and calling by shouting commands to open, close, and operate them. Satisfied that he could keep in contact with Hudson by text and voice, Ford gunned the engine and took off. His phone beeped and a bubble popped up with the location of the car. He was on I-94 West heading toward the Port Huron area.

  Zooming down Harper toward the freeway on-ramp, Ford clenched his teeth and forced himself to take deep breaths. The last thing Tess needed was for him to let his rage get the best of him. Focus. Stay calm. You will catch up. You will find them. He repeated the words in his head over and over, even though his vision was clouded with fear and anger.

  It wasn’t just a crush or some nostalgic infatuation anymore. Ford couldn’t lie anymore. He was falling in love with Tess. The thought of her being taken by force and suffering only God knew what at the hands of the possible killer just about made him crash the bike as he whizzed between cars, racing along I-94 West.

  Chapter 50

  Lilly refused to let Hudson take her to the hospital. He wanted her head looked at and felt it might need a stitch or two, but there was no way in hell she was leaving his office. Police officers milled back and forth, alternately stopping to ask her questions. She answered them as best she could, but couldn’t focus on anything but the fact that her sister was missing, taken by a lunatic who probably had a hand in killing her brother-in-law.

  “Ma’am,” said the latest uniformed cop, “you really should be looked at.”

  “I’m fine,” she snarled. “Don’t worry about me, go and find my sister!”

  Hudson arrived by her side and shooed him away. Sitting down beside her, he put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Lilly. This is all my fault.”

  “You’re goddamn right it is,” she snapped. “This isn’t some television crime drama. This is real life, asshole.”

  Hudson took her recriminations in silence and she was glad. Had he said anything to defend himself, she would have punched him in the throat. Logically, she knew he hadn’t intended for Tess to be hurt or in any danger, but it didn’t matter now. She was in danger and Lilly wasn’t there to protect her.

  “Can I get you anything?” he asked softly, his arm still around her and Lilly took a moment to realize how much she appreciated the weight of it there.

  “My sister.”

  Hudson sighed. “They’re doing everything they can. Ford’s tracking him and they’re tracking Ford. We’ll find her.”

  “They better. And she better not have a scratch on her or else Mike Andrews won’t see the next sunrise.” The hard edge in her voice even gave her a slight chill. Hudson felt her shiver and squeezed a little tighter.

  “I haven’t called your parents yet. Do you want me to?”

  Lilly hesitated. That was the most difficult decision she could be faced with. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to not worry them, but when they find out I didn’t call them, I’m going to be toast.” Turning her face toward his, Lilly realized they were within kissing distance and it shocked her. She tried to pull back, but Hudson refused to let her go. “What would you do?”

  Hudson shook his head and pulled on her so that her head rested on his shoulder. “I don’t know, Lilly. I don’t have any parents who worry about me, so I don’t know what that’s like. They seem like strong people, though. I’d probably call them.”

  Lilly sighed and reached into her pocket for her cell phone. “Okay. I’ll do it. Just promise you’ll stand between me and my dad so he doesn’t kill me.”

  Hudson gave a weak chuckle. “You got it.”

  Chapter 51

  Tess’s head ached worse than the night Lilly got drunk with her after finding the hoard of cash and emails. She reached up to rub her temple where a nice lump was beginning to rise and her memory flooded back like an overflowing bathtub. Gasping, she sat up straight and looked around. Mike Andrews was driving with one hand and pointing a gun at her with the other.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned, glancing from the road to her and back again.

  Tess wanted to say she wouldn’t, but her mouth was too dry. Her tongue felt like it was the size of a loaf of bread and it stuck to the roof of her mouth. She had trouble swallowing and wanted a drink of water almost as badly as she wanted to wish herself away from the situation.

  “You had to come around asking questions, didn’t you?” Mike spat. “You couldn’t just leave well enough alone.”

  “I don’t understand,” Tess croaked.

  “You know damn well what I mean.” Mike waved the gun at her. “You wanted all that money for yourself. If you had just taken the insurance money and shut up, then none of this would be happening.”

  Tess’s brain swam with confusion. How did he know about all that? She tried to think, but her head was fuzzy with pain and she really wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep.

  “Don’t go to sleep on me, bitch!” Mike hollered. He reached across and smashed the gun across her face. Tess cried out as the pain exploded in her cheek and she felt blood begin to flow. “You might have a concussion. And there’s someone who wants to see you before you die.”

  “People don’t die from concussions,” Tess sobbed, tears filling her eyes and mingling with the blood on her cheek. She heard his words, but their meaning didn’t quite cut through the clouds in her mind.

  Mike ignored her and kept driving.

  Chapter 52

  Ford scanned traffic for every red car, whether it was Prius or not. While he maneuvered the bike through the cars on the road, he reached around in his saddlebag and lifted the lid. His Colt .45 was right where he left it, loaded but with the safety on. He hoped he didn’t have to use it, but would not hesitate to do so if it meant keeping Tess alive and unharmed.

  The beacon on his phone told him Andrews was still heading west on I-94, but Ford couldn’t zoom in while he tried to drive and the app would not respond to his constant shouts for it to do so. He took incoming calls from Hudson constantly, assuring him he was still in pursuit. More than once, his brother tried to convince him to let the police handle it, but Ford refused. He should have done more to stop Hudson from involving Tess and he felt responsible for getting her back.

  Checking the tracker on the phone again, Ford saw the car had stayed on I-94 until it turned into I-69. Twisting the throttle, he pushed the bike past a hundred miles an hour, grateful that the afternoon traffic was not heavy yet as rush hour approached. He looked at his gas tank and saw it was still at half a tank. Thank God I filled up this morning.

  An incoming call from Hudson splashed across the screen.

  “Yeah!” he shouted.

  “Where are you?” Hudson demanded.

  “Still on 94. I’m coming up on 69!” Ford felt his throat explode with pain from having to yell to be heard.

  “Any idea where he might be taking her?”

  “No!”

  “There’s a BOLO out on the Prius, but they haven’t gotten any hits.”

  “I’m doing the best I can, Hudson!”

  His brother sighed. “I know, Ford. I know. Just be careful. Don’t do anything stupid!” Then he hung up.

  Ford shook his head and then o
pened his mouth and howled like a wounded animal. His frustration was reaching a fever pitch and he wanted to lean on the throttle of the bike even more than he already was. The lone voice of reason kept him from doing it because his driving was already reckless and bordering on dangerous. He wouldn’t be able to save Tess if he crashed and killed himself.

  Watching the screen of his phone and the road, he watched the red dot shift the slightest bit. He got off the freeway! Checking behind him, Ford whipped to the right and exited the highway the first chance he got. He turned right at the stoplight and pulled into a gas station. After examining the tracker app for closer details, he texted Hudson.He got off at Pinegrove Ave. Still following. Will be in touch.

  Chapter 53

  Mike Andrews drove slowly down the dirt and gravel road deeper into the woods. Tess had no idea where she was, having never been good with geography or direction. Lilly told her all the time she’d get lost if she went outside the front door without the GPS going.

  If only I had my phone, she lamented. Lilly was right. I never take anything seriously or pay attention. And look where it’s gotten me. Tess tried to pay attention for landmarks as she watched outside the window, but every tree and rock looked the same. The only thing in her favor was that the sun still shone brightly in the afternoon sky and she knew that they were headed west.

  She had tried to get Mike to talk to her a couple of times, but he only grunted at her or swore at her to shut up. After a while, she gave up, scared shitless he would get frustrated and just shoot her in the car. Clamming up, she tried to think her way through the mess she was in, but there wasn’t anything to think about. It didn’t matter what questions she wanted to ask. It didn’t matter how Mike knew about the money or Jack or anything. He was intent on taking her somewhere secluded and killing her. Unless she could overpower him or get away somehow, the answers to the questions really didn’t matter at all.

  The trees on either side of the road got thicker, causing the light from the day to dissipate the farther they traveled. The dirt road disappeared and became two muddy ruts. Still, they moved forward. Tess began to hope the Prius would get stuck and then she would try to make a break for it. She wasn’t the athlete Lilly was, but she felt pretty confident that running for her life would give her a bit of an adrenaline boost.

  Her hopes were dashed, though, when they came upon a dilapidated cabin sitting off to the side of the path. It looked a hundred years old to her with the wood sides pockmarked and gray from years of exposure. The roof was nothing but dirty, rusty sheets of metal. The porch on the front had sunk down so far it looked like you needed a rope to pull yourself up to the door. Mike stopped the car about ten feet from the rickety steps leading to the porch. “Get out.” He waved the gun at her. When she didn’t move fast enough to suit him, he reached in with his free hand and grabbed her by the hair. He pulled her from the car and slammed her to the ground. Sharp edged rocks dug into the skin on her knees and she cried out in pain. Before she could get to her feet, he cocked the hammer of the gun. “And don’t try to run. If you do, I will shoot you.”

  Tess nodded, her entire body trembling. So much for making a run for it. She wasn’t sure her legs would allow her to stand, much less try to run away. It took a couple of tries before she finally managed to stand back up. Mike shoved her forward toward the cabin and she almost went face first into the stairs. Using her hands, Tess half crawled and half climbed across the slanted porch. Mike jammed the barrel of the gun into her back as he propelled her through the warped front door.

  The interior wasn’t as shabby as the outside. It was clean and freshly painted, with throw rugs on the floor, old but clean furniture, and lamps on every table surface. “What is this place?” she asked, timidly looking around.

  Mike ignored her and then kicked her in the butt. Tess’s arms swung in circles and she tripped over the corner of the rug, landing on her knees, her torso bouncing against the sofa cushions of a couch. She scrambled up and sat on the couch quickly. He approached her with a roll of duct tape and proceeded to bind her wrists.

  “Ow!” she hissed.

  Mike snorted and walked away toward the back of the cabin where the kitchen was. He took out his cell phone and began texting.

  Well, there’s obviously cell coverage up here, she thought. Tess wished she was as clever and strong as the characters she often watched on television. They always seemed to find a tool or weapon to get free and then they would beat the crap out of their captors. Slumping down in her seat, she knew that wasn’t in the cards for her.

  Chapter 54

  Ford sat on his parked motorcycle at the top of the path about a quarter of a mile higher than where the cabin in the woods sat. The Prius was parked outside. Thank God for tracking apps.

  Ford knew without a doubt he should wait for the cops and let them handle things. He had no right to go storming into a situation he knew little about when there was a gunman involved and an innocent woman, especially with his record. But the stubborn, hard headed part of him would not sit back to wait and watch. If Mike Andrews caught sight of the police, he might go off half-cocked and kill Tess immediately. And if he didn’t, Ford didn’t think a hostage situation would end in a positive way for anyone. He decided to sneak down for a closer look.

  Moving as quietly as possible through the brush, he was all set to dart out from behind a tree and make a break for another one only twenty yards from the cabin, but was forced to duck down and hide behind a rock. Headlights bathed the dusky path in bright candescent light as another car approached the cabin. It was still early afternoon, but all the trees surrounding the property kept the sunlight from getting through. Ford’s eyes widened in complete shock when he saw the make and model. Moments later, the vehicle stopped next to the Prius and Emily Kingston exited the car.

  Chapter 55

  The cabin door opened and Emily Kingston walked inside. Tess gasped and felt the room begin to swirl. Little dots of white light peppered her vision like snow falling in winter.

  “Oh, don’t faint now, dear. It would be very anticlimactic, don’t you think?”

  Emily’s cool voice was like cold water splashing on Tess’s face. She sounded calculating and mean, nothing like the woman she’d known most of her life.

  “You killed Jack.” The words felt like ashes on Tess’s tongue.

  “Yes, I did.”

  Emily looked trim and unruffled in a chambray linen blazer and khaki slacks. Her hair was freshly cut and styled. Her makeup was flawless. She looked to Tess like she was about to go out to lunch with some friends or shopping for the day, as though she didn’t have a care in the world. The outfit was probably her version of camping gear in such a rustic setting. The nonchalant way she admitted to killing her son made stinging, bitter bile rise in the back of Tess’s throat. The same white spots danced across her eyes again, but she bit down hard on her tongue to kill them.

  “How could you do such a thing?” she whispered. “He was your son.”

  “Yes, he was,” Emily snarled, crossing the room in four long steps to stand in front of her. “And I loved him with all my heart. But then you came along.”

  Tess’s lip curled with confusion. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You bullied your way into his circle of friends when you were in elementary school,” Emily accused as she paced in front of her. “Then you flaunted your budding little body in front of him when you reached middle school.” Emily sniffed with disgust.

  “What are you talking about?” This woman’s a whack job!

  “And then you spread your legs for him in high school, making certain that I’d lost him forever!” Emily’s voice cracked and she turned away.

  “That’s a lie!” Tess argued. “Jack and I never slept together until after we went to college. I didn’t do anything to take him away from you.”

  Emily sniffed and threw her a skeptical smirk. “Don’t be coy. You stole my son. Once you came into the picture, Jack hardly sp
ent time with me or listened to a word I said.”

  Tess’s eyes hurt, they were spread so wide open with disbelief. “You poisoned him!”

  Emily snorted. “You’re right. I did kill my son. The problem, my dear, is that the poison was meant for you! You were supposed to eat those brownies!” Emily screamed, spittle flying from her mouth. “That wedding was NEVER supposed to happen!”

  Tess moaned as Emily approached her like a spider stalking a fly. Of course the idea that the poison was really meant for her was in her mind, but it hadn’t ever really taken root. But now the seed bloomed in her head and she was filled with shock and fear and regrets.

  While Emily ranted and raved, Mike Andrews had stayed in the background, not saying a word. Now he moved forward to pull Emily into his arms. “Shhh, baby, it’s okay.” He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

  Tess’s mouth hung open as she watched the tender moment. “You’re such a liar!” she shouted, breaking into their private moment. “You wanted both of us to die! That’s the only way the money could have stayed with your family!”

  “Don’t say anything more to her, babe,” Mike growled, circling Emily’s thin frame even more protectively.

  “Oh what does it matter?” Emily scoffed. “She’s going to die anyway.”

  “You can’t kill me. They’ll know it was you. The police will arrest you both and you’ll go to prison.”

  “Unlikely,” Emily argued. “Who would believe you over me? I’ve made very certain that the police think it was you who poisoned Jack. My grieving mother act is much more convincing than your weeping widow. No, Mike will put a bullet in your brain and then bury you out in the woods, while I purchase tickets for the two of us to go to Morocco.”