Caitlin couldn’t bear the trust she saw in the girl’s face. How could she still expect Caitlin to save them? Her single effort had proved as futile as she’d known it would be. She couldn’t even manage to move without wanting to throw up.
Lord, I’m out of ideas. Is this the end?
Caitlin shook her head and ignored the pain the movement caused. “I don’t know, Nicky. I can’t think straight.”
The sound of a trunk shutting warned them of Alex’s return. When he appeared in the doorway, Caitlin’s heart slammed to a halt in her chest.
He held a knife.
Its deadly blade was longer than his hand and came to a menacing point. His fingers curved around the black plastic handle. He paused in the doorway, his expression grim. Helplessness drained the last drops of courage Caitlin had managed to hang on to. Reckless anger she could deal with. The calm purpose apparent in his stare sent terror through her.
He hefted the weapon in his hand. “As I said before, a gun isn’t my preferred weapon. It’s good in a pinch, but it’s too noisy, and easily traceable. Not this baby, though.” His grip tightened. “You can buy them at any store that sells hunting equipment.”
“Alex, listen to me.” Caitlin struggled to stand. Nicky wedged a shoulder beneath her arm, and she leaned heavily on it. “You don’t have to do this. They’re going to come after you. Killing us won’t stop that.”
He stepped into the room, and pulled the door closed behind him. Caitlin blinked in the remaining gloom. She could no longer see his face clearly.
“There’s nothing here to tie you up with. You’ll have them on my trail the minute I’m out of sight.”
“We won’t. We promise.” Beside her, Nicky nodded with vigor. “We’ll stay right here until morning. That will give you plenty of time to get far away.”
“What makes you think I would be stupid enough to trust you after the stunt you pulled? You were hiding a knife.” He laughed. “A toy knife, but still.”
“You can trust me. Just tell us how long you want us to stay here and we will.”
He took a step toward them. Caitlin and Nicky shrank back against the wall.
“I don’t trust anyone.”
No, he wouldn’t. Trust wasn’t something he understood.
A piercing tone sliced through the tension in the cabin. The sound of the Emergency Alert System.
Alex crossed to the boom box and cranked up the volume.
“The Indiana State Police have issued an AMBER Alert for a missing twelve-year-old Nashville girl. Nicole Graham was last seen at Nashville Middle School around four o’clock this afternoon in the company of Caitlin Leigh Saylor, a Kentucky resident who is also believed to have been abducted. The suspected abductor is Frank Edward Adams, known locally as Alex Young, a thirty-five-year-old white male, five feet eleven inches tall and weighing around one hundred-eighty pounds. Adams was last seen driving—”
Alex switched the power off. The hiss of his breath was the only sound in the cabin.
“Well, that changes my plans.”
Nicky’s arm tightened around Caitlin’s middle. “You’re not going to kill us?”
“Not those plans.” His eyes were black holes in his face. “I’m afraid I still have to do that.”
Chase followed an overgrown path that might as well have been invisible. He ran when he could, and slowed only when the faint trail between the trees became impassable. When fallen trees blocked his way, he scrambled across or around them.
How long did it take to run half a mile? Not long on the open road, maybe five minutes. But here, he lost precious time dodging under low-slung branches and hopping over dead logs. He scanned the darkening landscape around him, hoping to catch a glimpse of the deserted cabin.
And what am I going to do when I find it?
He should have asked Maude if she still had any of her father’s guns. But no, he’d charged off like a fool, without a thought. His pounding heart sent blood thundering in his ears, more from nerves than exertion. He’d figure out what to do when he got there. The important thing was to find Caitlin and Nicky as soon as possible.
A slight lightening in the gloom ahead alerted him to the presence of the clearing. The sun was no longer visible, but clouds in the western sky were still pink and shed enough light to see clearly. Chase crashed to a halt just inside the tree line and stood sideways behind the thickest trunk.
Alex’s Toyota was parked in front of a small, run-down cabin. No light shone through the single window beside the closed front door. What was that noise? He strained his ears beyond the chorus of crickets that filled the night. A man’s voice. Impossible to make out the words from this distance.
If he were smart, he’d retreat to a safe distance and call Detective Jenkins. But every beat of his heart whispered, Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! If Caitlin and Nicky were still alive in there—he gulped—every second mattered.
Grass grew in the clearing, mostly uncluttered with the dead leaves that had covered the path. Chase crouched low and placed each step carefully. No noise. Silent. His breath sounded louder than his feet on the ground. He forced himself to take deep, silent breaths. The car provided a temporary place to stop and strain his ears once more. Yes, that was definitely Alex’s voice. He still couldn’t make out the words, but the tone and timbre were familiar. A female voice answered.
Caitlin.
The sound of her voice set off a cascade of emotions that loosened his tense muscles. He almost collapsed to the ground. Until this moment, he hadn’t dared to hope. But now, knowing she was just a few yards away, he realized he’d do anything—anything—to hold her in his arms. Now, how to get inside and rescue her without a single weapon and no plan?
Chase slipped around the back of the Toyota and made his way to the window.
TWENTY-SIX
“You don’t have to kill us, Alex.” Caitlin’s arm tightened around Nicky. “At least let Nicky go. She’s only a child. Please, show some compassion and let her live.”
Alex advanced to the center of the room. Caitlin forced herself to ignore the knife and watch his face. His features weren’t clear, but maybe he could see the pleading on her face. She would get down on her knees and beg if she thought it would save Nicky.
I’m ready, Lord. I know when I die I’m going to step out of this body and into Your arms. But save Nicky from this vile monster.
An echo of her pastor’s voice rang in her head. If the only living person in the world had been the vilest of sinners …
Her mind grappled with the thought. This man standing before her, ready to take her life and that of this innocent child, was vile, horrible, thoroughly detestable.
And Jesus loved him.
Strength poured into her quivering limbs. She may only have minutes left to live. But she could use those last minutes trying to save a life. Maybe even two.
She turned and gathered Nicky into a close embrace. She pressed her lips into the girl’s hair and whispered, “When he goes for me, run.”
Then she straightened and faced her killer. “Alex, listen to me. I don’t know what’s happened to bring you to this. It doesn’t matter now. But I want you to know one thing before you kill me.” She gently disentangled herself from Nicky’s grasp and took a step toward him. “Jesus loves you.”
He threw back his head, his harsh laugh bouncing off the walls. “Well, I have to say, that’s a new approach. I’ve had them beg me not to kill them, but I’ve never had someone try to convert me to save themselves.”
Caitlin shook her head. “No, I mean it. If you kill me, He’ll still love you. He loves you even though He knows all about you. In fact, He knows more about you than you know yourself. The bible says He knew you when you were still in your mother’s womb.”
Even in the dim light, she saw his muscles tense with anger.
Chase crawled toward the cabin. His ears strained to make out the words. He felt exposed as he crept across the fifteen feet between the Toyota and the relative
cover of the cabin. When he reached it, he crouched low beneath the window. A couple of panes had been broken out long ago. The voices inside carried clearly through them.
Maybe not that clearly. He blinked. Did Caitlin just tell Alex that Jesus loved him?
With painstaking care, Chase inched himself upward. His legs shook with the effort. He peeked through the window. Alex stood with his back toward Chase. Caitlin and the girl stood opposite him, their faces blocked from view. Alex held something in his hand. A weapon, no doubt.
A harsh blast of derisive laughter startled Chase. Instinctively, he crouched low to the ground. Every nerve zinged with pent-up energy as he surveyed his surroundings. The door was held closed with a latch. From this side, there didn’t appear to be a lock. No telling what was on the inside, though. But if he were able to crash through, what would he do? Attack Alex with his bare hands?
Maybe there was something he could use in the car. A tire iron, a screwdriver. Anything.
He started to creep toward it, when Caitlin spoke again. Her words shocked him into immobility.
“It is not too late for you, Alex. You can still be saved.” Caitlin clasped her hands in front of her and tried to ignore the way they shook. “All that emptiness inside you can go away. The pain. The guilt. The shame. You can be rid of it all. He will take it away, if you’ll let Him.”
“Lady, you’re the one who needs saving, not me.”
But she heard something in his voice that hadn’t been there a minute before. An uncertainty that sent her hopes soaring.
“You’re wrong. We all need saving. Every one of us. And all we have to do is ask. Ask Him to come into your heart, to fill the empty places. He wants you to ask, Alex. He’s waiting for you.”
What is she doing?
Chase couldn’t believe his ears. Was Caitlin actually trying to convert Alex? A kidnapping, drug-dealing murderer?
She’s lost all hope. It’s her last-ditch effort to try to convince him to let them go.
And yet, a note of emotion resounded in Chase’s ears. Not fear. Not entreaty or pleading, as he would certainly have understood. No, she spoke with passion. Intensity. A quiet certainty that could not be feigned.
Admiration welled up in his throat and threatened to rob him of breath. Admiration … and something else. Caitlin might just be the most remarkable woman he’d ever known. And he loved her. The realization hit him like a riptide, sucked him under.
He loved her!
For one moment, Caitlin thought she had gotten through to him. Alex hesitated, the dark pits of his eyes fixed intently on her. Her frantic prayers at that moment could find no other expression than please, please, please!
She knew the moment he rejected the truth. Instead of crumpling in submission, his body seemed to expand, to grow taller with purpose. In that moment she knew she had failed.
She had seconds to live. And she would not die quietly.
Lord, get Nicky out of here.
“Nicky, run!”
She shouted her command as loud as she could, and then followed it with a bellow that would have made Rambo proud. For the briefest of seconds, Alex was startled into inactivity.
Instinct took over. Caitlin lowered her head and charged. Yes, she might run headfirst into the knife, but her death would buy Nicky precious seconds to escape.
Instead of a sharp blade, the top of her head sank into Alex’s stomach. The force of the collision propelled them both several feet across the floor. Alex lost his footing and went crashing down. Caitlin caught herself before she tumbled after.
Alex hit the floor with an audible “Umph.” Something heavy skittered across the floor.
The gun.
Caitlin dove for it. The weight of the thing felt awkward in her hands. How did her fingers know where to go? With no effort at all, her pointer finger slipped onto the trigger.
She turned to find Nicky staring at her, frozen. The girl’s mouth stood open. Then she remembered Caitlin’s shouted order. She swiveled toward the door.
Too late.
Alex had staggered to his feet. He lurched toward Nicky, the knife still gripped in his fist.
Caitlin pointed the gun at him.
Thou shalt not kill.
Agony ripped through her. How could she take a life? She closed her eyes.
TWENTY-SEVEN
“Nicky, run!”
Chase’s legs, taught as loaded springs, froze as time crashed to a halt. Caitlin’s yell echoed around the clearing at the same instant a movement at the treeline drew his attention.
Detective Jenkins, flanked on either side by Kincaid and Matthews. The fury in the detective’s face could be clearly seen, even at this distance. In a corner of Chase’s brain, he knew he’d probably end up in jail for this. But if he managed to rescue Caitlin, it would be worth time behind bars.
A gunshot cracked through the clearing.
He leaped for the door. At the same moment his hand grabbed the latch, he threw his shoulder against the wood. The door flew open and hit the wall.
He didn’t have time to register the scene in the cabin before something slammed into him. He stumbled backward as the girl, Nicky, pushed past him. Her hysterical crying drowned out all other sounds until she was outside. Chase let her go and ran in.
Alex lay in the middle of the floor, a dark stain spreading across the center of his white shirt. Caitlin knelt over him, repeating something over and over. It took Chase a moment to make out her words. When he did, his heart gave an odd wrench at the intensity of her plea.
“Please don’t die, Alex,” she sobbed. “Please, please don’t die.”
“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe now. It’s over.”
The voice that had comforted her in her dream penetrated her weeping. Caitlin felt herself lifted away from Alex by strong arms. She turned instinctively and buried her face in Chase’s chest.
“You came for me.” Relief wilted her knees. She would have fallen if not for his embrace. “I thought I’d never see you again, but you came for me.” Her words broke on a sob.
“Shhh. Don’t cry.” He crushed her to him. “Of course I came for you. I love you.”
Her thoughts whirled. Behind her, police officers swarmed around the room and Detective Jenkins’s voice shouted for an ambulance. Somewhere outside, she could hear Nicky’s relieved crying. But all those things faded into the distance as Chase’s words penetrated the torrent in her mind.
Did he just say …
She pulled away so she could see his face. “You do?”
He didn’t have to say it again. His eyes told her everything she wanted to know. Joy swelled in her heart. Who cared about whether or not she was on the rebound? The man she loved loved her, too.
TWENTY-EIGHT
The final song of the rehearsal came to an end. Caitlin lowered her flute and looked toward the back of the sanctuary, to the three people who’d sat silently through several run-throughs of tomorrow’s ceremony. Chase wore a wide smile, and raised his hands to applaud silently. Beside him, Nicky gave her two enthusiastic thumbs-up. Janie smiled, though even from here Caitlin could see the worry lines carved deep into her brow. At least both her children had survived their ordeals. And Detective Jenkins told Caitlin this morning that Ed Graham was eager to work with the police to stamp out the drug business in Little Nashville. In return, the district attorney would recommend a light sentence to the judge at his trial.
Alex’s wounds, though serious, had not been fatal. Caitlin’s blind shot had punctured his lung, but a surgeon had repaired the injury, thank goodness. In a few months, he’d be well enough to stand trial for a lengthy list of charges police in several states were compiling.
Caitlin thanked their audience with a grin as she twisted the mouthpiece off her flute. When she bent to stow it in her case, blood rushed to her head and threatened to set off the dreadful throbbing again. Thankfully, it faded when she straightened and a full-fledged ache didn’t materialize.
�
��Not bad, girls.” Jazzy kept her voice low so as not to interrupt the final instructions to the wedding party from the coordinator. “I think our last performance is going to be our best ever, even though one of us looks like she just went ten rounds with the heavyweight champ.”
Liz smiled ruefully. “Actually, she looks like she got knocked out in the first round.”
“Gee, thanks.” Caitlin gingerly touched her tender eye. The swelling had gone down a little, but the spectacular blues and purples were just starting to peak. At least when she got checked over at the hospital last night they said there had been no concussion. “It’s a wonder the bride didn’t cancel our contract. Some of the bridezillas we’ve dealt with in the past couple of years wouldn’t want a black-and-blue musician to spoil their beautiful wedding.”
Liz laid a hand on her arm. “Well, don’t be surprised if we’re not included in too many of the wedding photos.”
“Yeah,” said Jazzy. “It’s a shame you don’t play the tuba. Then you could hide behind your instrument.”
Caitlin swatted her playfully with a piece of sheet music. She loved this banter with her friends. It was one of the things she was going to miss when they’d both married and moved away.
When the coordinator dismissed everyone, the small group in the back of the sanctuary hurried down the aisle. Nicky hurtled herself into Caitlin’s arms.
“That was awesome! You are so good. I wish I could play like you.”
“You can.” Caitlin returned her hug. “Just keep practicing, and one day you’ll be better than me.”
“Not unless I can find another really good flute teacher.” She stepped back and examined Caitlin’s face. “Wow. You look awful.”
“Nicky!” Janie scolded.
But Caitlin laughed. “I do, don’t I?”
Chase stepped close. “She looks beautiful to me.”
“So it’s true.” Jazzy rolled her eyes. “Love really is blind.”
Murder in D Minor Boxed Set Page 53