Identity Crisis (Rocky Mountain Novella Series)

by Rory Chambers

  Derek left the room and headed to meet his boss, glad that he would be paid and back in his van on his way home in a matter of minutes. He opened the door and watched as a white man emerged from the black sedan.

  “Is she inside?” the man asked as he charged past Derek who was holding out his hand waiting to greet his boss. “What’s this, you fucking moron?!” Derek heard a few seconds later, shouted from the office.

  Chapter 9

  As Jason smugly walked into the office of the old and abandoned warehouse, he could see the figure of the woman he bore so much hated towards. She was tied to a chair and probably felt helpless. A smile spread across Jason’s face. He had waited a year for the day when he could enact his revenge.

  “I bet you didn’t think you’d see me again,” he said. He knew his voice had a harder edge than she probably remembered. He was going to enjoy how the fear it would inspire in her as she realized why she was in her current predicament. He saw her head jerk to attention as he walked around the chair to face her.

  What he saw on the woman’s face wasn’t recognition, but confusion. It wasn’t her. The bumbling idiot kidnapped the wrong woman!

  Julie sat helpless and scared as the man walked around her. She wondered what he meant about seeing him again. His voice wasn’t familiar to her. She was sure it had to be a case of mistaken identity and hoped that maybe when he realized he had the wrong woman, he would just let her go. That was naïve, though. It was more likely that she would be killed. Someone willing to have someone kidnapped wouldn’t be too keen on having a witness around that could identify them. As the realization hit Julie that she likely would never see her friends or family ever again, she began to weep.

  The man moved in front of Julie so she was face to face to him. Who was he? She didn’t recognize him. She stared at him with a look of confusion. From the look on his face, he was growing confused as well. It was obvious that he realized she wasn’t who he was expecting. She watched as his look turned from confusion to extreme anger.

  “What’s this, you fucking moron?!” the man yelled at the top of his lungs as he threw an old dusty desk lamp across the room. Julie jumped as it shattered against the wall.

  Derek ran back into the room. Now, he was the one shaking. He didn’t know what Jason was so mad about, but from the tone of his voice, it was something big.

  “That’s her…the woman you told me to grab,” he answered, not sure he was even understanding the question he was being asked.

  “That is not who you were supposed to grab!” Jason screamed right into Derek’s face. Small droplets of spittle flew from his lips as he yelled. His face was turning a dark shade of red. He had to calm down.

  Derek wasn’t sure he should even say anything in response. It was clear that he had done something wrong, though he didn’t know how he could have gotten the wrong woman. He wanted to explain, but he worried about making the situation worse. He didn’t have a choice, though.

  “You told me to grab the bride, Kristen,” Derek replied.

  Julie remained still and listened. For the time being, the two men seemed to forget all about her still being in the room. Why would the kidnapper want Kristen? It dawned on her that the man in charge was probably the man that tried to kill Kristen just a year earlier. Finally, it was all making a little sense. Putting the pieces together really didn’t help her out of her predicament. She needed to get free and warn Kristen and Steel about Jason.

  “Yeah, I told you to grab the bride. The bride!” Jason interrupted. He could feel his blood pressure rising again.

  “I did everything you told me. I called the venue and had the bride paged. The woman that answered the phone matched the description you gave me…,” Derek tried to explain but was once again cut short.

  “I don’t care what you did! This isn’t her!” Derek shouted. His heart was beating fast. He paced the room and tried to calm himself down.

  Derek didn’t know what to do. There was nothing else he could say. He thought he had done everything right. It wasn’t his fault that another woman matching the bride’s description answered the phone. But, that didn’t change the fact that it was the wrong woman. And, if it wasn’t the right woman, he likely wouldn’t get paid. He felt a knot form in his stomach. He had risked everything for that money, and it might have been all for nothing. Not only might he not get paid, but he risked the possibility of going back to prison. He was sure no one had seen him take the woman from the wedding venue, but that didn’t mean there weren’t witnesses he didn’t see or maybe even cameras that had caught the entire thing.

  After about ten minutes of pacing back and forth, Jason’s breathing returned back to normal. He had to clear his head if he was going to fix things. First, he had to deal with Derek.

  “You’re right,” he said in a much calmer voice. “You followed my instructions, so you deserve to get paid.”

  Derek breathed a sigh of relief. He needed that money and was happy to hear that Jason wasn’t mad at him. “I appreciate that. I am really sorry for the mix up,” he replied. He just wanted to get paid and get home so he could wash his hands of the entire situation.

  “Make sure her hands are tied tightly, while I go get your money,” Jason instructed.

  Derek gladly followed his boss’ instructions. Anything that would get him his money. As he reached down to check the ropes that bound the woman’s hands, he felt a jolt to the back of his head followed by a feeling of warmth. His body crumbled to the ground.

  Derek put down the large metal box he had used to knock Derek out. Already, he could see blood trailing down the man’s neck. He didn’t mean to kill Derek, but it wasn’t something that he would cry about either. It was just one less witness.

  Julie didn’t know what was going on. She had felt her kidnapper tightening the ropes around her wrists and then heard a loud bang. For a few seconds, there wasn’t a sound in the room. Then, she again felt someone messing with the ropes. Only, this time, they were being cut loose. Before she could even think of running, the knife was held tightly to her throat. “I’m going to cut your legs loose,” Jason told her. “Don’t make me have to hurt you. Understand?” Julie nodded and sat still as the rope around her ankles was also cut off. She knew she should make a move, but having the man cut her free was a good sign in her eyes. If he was going to just kill her, he could’ve left her tied up. For the time being, she would just try to remain calm and wait for an opportunity to make her escape.

  “What happened to him?” she asked once she stood up and saw Derek slumped on the floor, with a small pool of blood forming around his head.

  Jason didn’t answer. He needed to think. The first thing he needed to do, though, was to get the woman away from the warehouse. They had already been there too long. He grabbed her tightly by her arm and dragged her roughly to the door. “Don’t bother screaming. That’ll just get you killed. Besides, there no one around for miles,” he threatened.

  Chapter 10

  As Jason drug Julie outside by her arm, she tried to stall him with questions. “Where are we going?” she asked in a firm, confident tone. Inside she was scared to death, but she wasn’t going to let Jason see that. She would have to stay calm if she was going to have any chance at getting away.

  Jason stopped dragging the woman and stared at her. He still didn’t know what he was going to do with her, but he slightly admired her spunk. Most women would be frightened and shaking with fear, but she wasn’t. She was calm and collected. Unfortunately for her, in Jason’s eyes that just made her more dangerous. Rather than answer her question, he asked one of his own. “Well I already know you’re not Kristen Casey, so who are you?”

  Julie’s first thought was to correct Jason. Her name wasn’t Kristen Casey anymore now that she had taken the last name, Steel. But, correcting a kidnapper and possible murdered probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do, so Julie swallowed the urge. “My name is Julie,” she answered instead. She couldn’t see any harm in stating her
real name. It wasn’t likely to put her in any more danger than she already found herself in. “I was Kristen’s Maid of Honor.” As she answered Jason’s question, she casually looked around to see if there was anything she could grab to maybe hit Jason with. If she could get his keys and get to his car, she could get away. She didn’t see anything at all that she could reach to fight off her captor, though.

  Jason cringed as Julie mentioned Kristen’s name. Over the last twelve months, his hatred for Kristen only grew stronger. She had ruined his life. He should’ve been living in the lap of luxury, but instead he was a felon, on the run. Everything had been taken from him. Before his escape from prison he had briefly considered just kidnapping Kristen for a hefty ransom. But, he wanted to see her life ruined more than he wanted money. He quickly realized he could easily have both.

  “What are you going to do with me?” Julie asked when Jason refused to say anything to her. She didn’t want to let him put her in the car. To her, the danger she knew was better than the danger she didn’t know. She hoped that maybe she could stall until someone found them, or possibly even convince him to let her go.

  Jason didn’t like how calm Julie was. If she was scared, she would likely do as she was told. But, the woman asking him questions had a steady voice. She wasn’t whimpering or averting her eyes. Instead she looked directly in his eyes as they spoke. He knew she was going to be trouble and that was something he didn’t need…especially while driving.

  Julie was surprised when Jason pulled her back into the warehouse. He didn’t say anything or even answer her question, but she hoped he had a change of heart.

  Jason dragged Julie along as he searched the warehouse. Where is it? He knew Derek had brought it. He didn’t see it out anywhere so he dug in Derek’s jacket pocket. Jackpot! Jason pulled out the small brown bottle and rag from Derek’s pocket.

  When Julie saw what Jason had been searching for, she began to struggle. She had already been chloroformed once. She didn’t plan on letting it happen again. But, as she struggled, she came up with a plan. She only hoped it would work.

  Before she knew it, Julie felt a rag cover her nose and mouth and began to feel faint. She stopped struggling and went limp.

  Satisfied that the chloroform had done its job, Jason carried Julie to his car and laid her across the backseat. Within a few minutes, he was on the main road headed for the highway. He half expected to see police cruisers with their blue lights lighting up the skies, but there were no road blocks or anything other than quiet solitude as he drove. Knowing it would be a long drive, Jason turned on the radio and half listened to the soft rock music playing.

  The plan wasn’t going at all as it was supposed to, and Jason didn’t know what his next move would be. He was taking Julie to the shack he had planned to take Kristen to, mainly because he had nowhere else to go. But, beyond that, he had to come up with his next move. A small voice in his head was telling him to just kill the girl and cut his losses. But, if he did that, he still had no money and nowhere to go. Without money, it wouldn’t take long for the police to find him. No…he would have to follow through on his ransom demands. He was sure Kristen would pay a ransom for her Maid of Honor.

  He felt better during the remainder of the hour and a half drive knowing that he finally had a plan back in place. Between his deep thoughts, the music and the bumpy road, Jason didn’t notice the small movements from the back seat.

  The first part of Julie’s plan worked, but just barely. When she felt the chloroform drenched rag go over her mouth and nose, Julie held her breath and stopped struggling, in hopes that Jason would think she was already passed out. She did get very light headed but, luckily for her, Jason removed the rag from her face just before she really passed out.

  As she lay across the seat of her captor’s car, Julie waited until she heard the radio turn on before budging. Even then, she started out by just opening her eyes. It was very dark out and she was sure Jason couldn’t see her at all, but she wanted to go slow. Once she was sure her slight movements had gone unnoticed, she lifted her head a little to get a better view. She couldn’t see much, but they appeared to be on the highway. As slowly and quietly as possible, Julie moved her hand towards the car door. Her fingers shook as she flipped the lock into the unlock position. She wasn’t sure when she would get a chance but, if it came, she wanted to be ready to open the door and get away.

  Chapter 11

  Kawoski sat at his precinct desk and feverishly tapped his fingers. He was going crazy waiting. Thoughts of Julie and what could be happening to her filled his head. He cringed as he pictured someone grabbing her and throwing her in the back of an old van. She must’ve been so scared. His only solace was in his experience with kidnapping cases. He knew from experience that most kidnapping victims were still alive after twenty-four hours. But, the clock was ticking. He would have to find her soon. He didn’t even want to consider the possibility that they end up finding her too late.

  He couldn’t sit around much longer. It probably wouldn’t help, but Kawoski abruptly stood up and made his way back to dispatch. He would personally talk to every officer on duty to see if they had spotted anything at all that could help locate Julie or the man that took her.

  “Hey boss, we got a lead!” Ted, one of the newer officers in the precinct ran in and announced just before Kawoski was about let all hell loose.

  Kawoski read the report the young officer handed him. The van seen at the wedding reception venue had been spotted off of an old country road. If it weren’t for the helicopter search team, it probably would’ve been weeks before anyone found it.

  “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Kawoski ordered. He knew he shouldn’t be involved. He was too close to the case, but there was no way he wasn’t going to be there to do anything and everything he could to make sure Julie was rescued.

  The trip to the abandoned warehouse seemed to take forever. Whenever anyone spoke to Kawoski, he found himself snapping at them. That was unusual for him. He was typically a very even tempered boss. No one held his harsh attitude against him, though. They could only imagine what he was going through. It didn’t take long, though, for everyone to just go silent for fear that whatever they would say, no matter how well meant, would be taken wrong and inspire Kawoski’s wrath.

  When they pulled up to the warehouse, they had to remain where they were, a good two hundred yards from the actual building and van, and wait for the S.W.A.T. team to arrive and investigate. Kawoski’s eyes went to the van where he saw it was the same vehicle that had been at the wedding reception. The vanity plates matched exactly.

  Luckily for everyone involved, the S.W.A.T. team arrived just seconds after Kawoski and his team. Within minutes, they had the building surrounded and gave Kawoski the okay to proceed.

  “We have you surrounded!” Kawoski announced into the car’s radio which sent the message booming out over a loud speaker. “Come out with your hands up!” It was cliché but he hoped Derek was inside, scared, and just looking for it all to be over with.

  Everyone held their breath and waited anxiously. As Kawoski waited and listened, not even so much as a cricket chirping could be heard.

  He repeated his order and listened again for a reply or some sound that would at least let him know someone was inside of the warehouse. Again, there was nothing. With a heavy heart, he gave the S.W.A.T. team the signal to go in. He only hoped he wasn’t putting Julie’s life at risk.

  The S.W.A.T. team swarmed into the old and abandoned warehouse as Kawoski nervously watched. He had to prepare himself for the fact that Julie may be dead. His heart was beating so hard he was sure it would burst. It seemed like forever to him, but in reality it was only five minutes later when the S.W.A.T. team emerged. “No girl!” one of them yelled.

  Kawoski’s heart sank. He was no closer to getting Julie back than he had been before. He turned and rubbed his face, trying to clear his head and figure out their next step. “We got Derek Moore,” one of hi
s officers announced loudly. “He’s unconscious, though.”

  It wasn’t what Kawoski was hoping for, but it was something. He straightened up and tried re-focus. “Get an ambulance here ASAP,” he ordered his men who replied that one was already on its way. Under any other circumstances, Kawoski would’ve wished the kidnapper were dead, but that wouldn’t help him find Julie. It seemed strange to wish that the man who had caused Julie harm would be alright, but they needed Derek to pull through. Surely he knew something about her whereabouts….something he could tell them so they could find her.

  By the time the ambulance arrived, Derek began to move. He felt very woozy, probably from the blood loss, and had a splitting headache. It took him a minute to realize where he was and what had happened. The last thing he could remember was checking the rope on the woman’s hands. That was it. Everything went black after that.

  Kawoski saw Derek’s eyes open and his head move and ran over to find out where Julie was. “Where is she?!” he yelled, but the EMTs refused to let him anywhere near Derek until they checked him out.

  “He’s lost a lot of blood. We have to get him to the hospital, now!” the EMT announced as he helped load Derek into the back of the ambulance.

  “Can we question him?” Kawoski asked, but seeing the EMT close the back door of the ambulance gave him his answer.

  “No, not until we get him to the hospital and stable.” Without waiting for Kawoski to reply or say anything further, the ambulance turned on its siren and headed for the hospital.

  Kawoski gave some orders to his men to check out the warehouse and let him know what they found before hopping in one of the police cruisers and following the ambulance. He was going to be there the second the hospital gave the okay for Derek to talk.