"I understand. I promise you, whatever you tell me, I will use it only to protect her."
"Another thing, don't call me at my house. If you need to reach me, call this number. They may have the house bugged. I don't trust them."
"Who is 'them'?"
"I don't know who they are, but they've been driving by again and sitting in their cars in front of my house." She lowered her voice, as if afraid someone might hear her.
"How long have they been doing that? And what do you mean 'again'?"
"They came a few years ago, when Elizabeth disappeared. And now they're back."
"Are you sure it's the same guys?"
"No, I haven't seen them up close, but the pattern's the same. They drive up, they stop, and they just sit there watching my house. They're not trying to be discreet. In fact, they go out of their way to make sure I see them. Sometimes one of them will get out of the car and lean up against it and just stand there facing my house."
"Have you called the police?"
"No, I can't. They may be in on it. You can't trust the Atlanta Police Department. Please don't tell them anything I tell you."
"Okay, Mrs. Sterling, I won't, but why don't you start at the beginning. You said they came there before when Elizabeth disappeared. What can you tell me about that?" Sabre didn't know if this woman was delusional or really being stalked. She sounded genuine and truly frightened.
"Elizabeth is my daughter, you know. She is such a beautiful girl and real smart. She finally had what she deserved – a real good life with a loving husband and our precious little Alexis. Then all of a sudden she was gone, and these guys came to my house threatening me before I even knew she was gone."
"What do you mean? You didn't know your daughter was missing when they came to your house?"
"No, that's how I found out."
"Why don't you tell me what led up to Elizabeth's disappearance."
"Ok, let me back up a little," Mrs. Sterling said. "Elizabeth and Gaylord lived here in Atlanta after they got married. With them so close, I saw them almost every day, and Alexis and I became the best of buddies. Then, when Alexis was about four years old, they moved to Dallas on a temporary assignment through Gaylord's work. They lived there for about a year and then they came back to Atlanta. They were only back about a month when . . . ." Mrs. Sterling's voice started to break up. She paused for a moment.
"I'm sorry," Sabre said. "I know this is difficult."
"I'm okay." She took a deep breath. "Elizabeth would bring Alexis to my house every morning when she went to the gym. It was our special time together. We enjoyed getting reacquainted. She had grown and matured so much in the year they'd been gone. Every morning when they'd come by, Elizabeth would knock on the door and I could hear Alexis calling, 'Grandma, it's me.' I'd open the door and let Alexis in. Elizabeth would give me a quick kiss on the cheek and take off for the gym."
Mrs. Sterling paused again. "One morning I heard the knock – only it was much louder – and I didn't hear Alexis. So I opened the door expecting to see Elizabeth, but she wasn't there. Instead, two burly looking guys with tattoos stood there with my granddaughter. One of them was huge. He must've been six-foot, five. He wore a t-shirt, and I could see the muscles bulging out all over the place. His arms were as big around as most people's waists. He had a large, blue-and-green tattoo across his arm that read, 'Mama tried.'
"Well, they pushed the door open so hard it nearly knocked me down. I grabbed Alexis and held her in my arms. She trembled with fright, and her arms wrapped so tightly around my neck I could hardly breathe. She kept her eyes shut, and she buried her head in my chest so she didn't have to look at them. She lay there in silence, too afraid to speak or even move. They must've scared her real bad."
Sabre waited again while Mrs. Sterling composed herself.
"Then, one of the guys pulled out a gun and held the tip of the cold, steel barrel on the back of Alexis' head. She squeezed me even tighter. He looked at me with eyes void of any emotion. It wasn't his lack of concern about frightening a little girl and an old lady to death, but rather that he showed no emotion at all. There was nothing in his eyes, like he was dead inside. Up until then, he hadn't said a word. The other goon told us what to do. When the big guy spoke, his words cut through my heart like ice, and I knew he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger if I gave him a reason.
"He said, 'Here's what you're going to do. When we leave here, you're not going to tell a soul anything about this visit. You're not going to try to find your daughter, Elizabeth.'
"I interrupted him and asked what they had done to her, but he pushed the gun tighter on Alexis' head and told me to shut up and just listen. Then he said, 'The only thing you'll tell the cops is your daughter dropped the kid off this morning and never came to pick her up. You'll call her father after a few hours and let him know Elizabeth didn't come back from the gym. And then you'll stay away from the kid.'
"When I asked him why I couldn't see Alexis, he said, 'Lady, it doesn't matter why. These are the rules. I make 'em. You follow 'em. Now let me tell you one more time.' He stuck out his thumb on his left hand as if he was counting and said, 'You never saw us.' Then he raised his index finger and said, 'Your daughter dropped the kid off and never came back to pick her up.' He raised the middle finger and said, 'You call her husband and report it.' On the fourth finger he said, 'And then stay away from the kid. You got it?'
"I was too scared to speak, but I nodded my head. It felt like some bad gangster movie. I stood there holding my baby, who clutched me with all her might, and I looked into the eyes of this cold, calculating man. I remember those big fingers in front of my face and the gun stuck against Alexis' head. I tried to listen to the words and hoped he wouldn't hurt us.
"He moved his face right in front of mine, and his cold eyes penetrated my soul, and he said in almost a whisper, 'We'll be watching your every move. If you don't do exactly as I say, you'll live the rest of your life knowing you tortured and killed this little girl.' Then he pulled the gun away, they moved toward the door to leave, and he told me not to bother to go to the police because he had them in his pocket."
Sabre listened intently, barely believing what she heard. When Ruby stopped talking, Sabre asked, "Then what did you do?"
"I did exactly as he told me to, nothing. I tried to comfort Alexis. I sat there with her in my arms and rocked her for at least an hour. I tried to get her to eat, but she wouldn't. I thought about calling the police, but I was too afraid of what they would do. I tried calling Elizabeth's cell phone, but the big guy answered it. I recognized the voice. Before I ever said anything, he said in a very reprimanding tone, 'Now, Mrs. Sterling, what did I tell you?' I heard him kind of chuckle and I hung up. I waited for a few hours, called Gaylord, and told him I was concerned because Elizabeth hadn't come back for Alexis, just as the goon told me to do. I told him she hadn't called or anything and I couldn't reach her on her cell. We both knew she wouldn't ever do that unless something was seriously wrong."
"How did Gaylord react?"
"He was beside himself. He called the police, who said they couldn't do anything until she was missing for twenty-four hours. So he called his father, who has a lot of influence in this town. They had an investigation going immediately once old-man Murdock got involved."
"Did the police come to your house?"
"Yes, these two cops came – one young, one quite a bit older with gray hair. They had already been to the gym, and no one there had seen Elizabeth that morning. I was supposedly the last person who had seen her, so they came to me. The young guy asked most of the questions and he took a lot of notes. I felt so nervous I could hardly talk. They asked Alexis a few questions, but she wouldn't say a word, and they had no reason to press it because they didn't know she had seen anything."
"What did you tell them?"
"I just told them Elizabeth had dropped Alexis off and left like she always did. They asked me questions about her demeanor, and if she'd said
anything else. But I just told them she acted normal. The younger one kept asking me things. He tried to be sensitive and still do his job, but the older guy told him to let up, just the same. I was grateful. I didn't want to slip and say something. I thought at the time the older cop was concerned about upsetting me."
"What do you mean, 'at the time'?"
"Well, later on, I went down to the police station. I decided to tell them what I knew. I figured the goon lied about having the police in his pocket and they could protect Alexis. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the gray-haired cop standing by a car talking to someone inside. At first I wasn't sure it was the same cop who had been at my house earlier, so I drove up closer and sure enough it was. I thought, 'This is good; I caught him before he left.' He was the one I wanted to talk to anyway because he'd been so nice to me." Ruby paused to take a breath.
"So did you stop and talk to him?"
"No, because when I got close enough to see his face real good, I could see the big goon who had been at my house earlier sitting in the car. The really big goon."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. He filled the whole space in the driver's seat and I could see the tattoo, 'Mama tried,' on his arm sticking out the window. He reached over with his other hand and gave the cop an envelope full of money."
"How do you know it had money in it?"
"Because the cop took the money, fanned it out, stuck it back into the envelope, and put it in his pocket."
"So what did you do then?"
"I drove out of the parking lot and went home. I was so afraid they might have seen me, but apparently they hadn't, because the cops came back to my house a few times and asked more questions. The gray-haired one always treated me real nice. They both did, but I figured he'd act different if he'd seen me. I always told them the same thing. Once the young cop came by himself, but I didn't know who to trust, so I didn't say anything. I was too afraid of what they would do to Alexis if I told."
"Did Gaylord know about any of this?"
"Not from me. They may have threatened him, too. I don't know. But if they did, they made a believer out of him, because he never said a word. Nor have I ever told a soul, until now. I sure hope I'm not making a mistake trusting you."
"All I want is the same thing you do, Mrs. Sterling, for your granddaughter to be safe. I'll do whatever I can to make that happen."
"I hope so. I don't care what happens to me. My daughter is gone and I don't get to share in Alexis' life anymore. I don't know if I'll get a chance to see either of them ever again. It's all I live for – that possibility. I'd gladly give up my life to have Alexis safe and unafraid."
"It's not going to come to that. And we're going to make sure Alexis is protected."
When Sabre hung up the phone, she wondered just how she would be able to keep her promise. She looked up and saw Bob standing in her doorway. "You're pale as a ghost. What's up?" he asked.
The knots tightened in Sabre's stomach as she shared the details with Bob in hopes he could help her form a plan.
CHAPTER 17
The dawn awakened Sabre long before the alarm rang out. She opened her eyes, looked around, and let out a lingering sigh. Her own bed, her own home, and the need for routine and normalcy overpowered her.
Sabre propped up in the bed, reached into her nightstand, and removed her little red notebook. She read through her goals. Her last entry read, Skydive. Certain she could live without any more excitement right now, she thought it best to put it on hold for a little while. She read on, Learn another language. She made a mental note to check on some schools in Mexico where she could immerse herself in the culture.
Reading through the rest of the list, she hoped to implant the items into her subconscious. She had read somewhere, if you could transfer your dreams to your subconscious, they had to come true; your mind wouldn't let you not accomplish them. So, every day she read through her list. She chuckled again when she saw Marry Victor Spanoli. She had crossed it off her list, but it remained the only entry in red ink, so it always jumped out at her. At six years old, red ink seemed appropriate. She wondered about the "subconscious thing." If that entry implanted in her subconscious, she feared she may never marry – not that she was looking. She liked living alone, but maybe someday.
Sabre felt good this morning, except for a slight headache. She stepped out of bed with a smile on her face and headed downstairs to make her coffee, thinking she needed to buy one of those coffee pots where she could set the timer and wake up to the smell of coffee brewing in the mornings. On the way down the steps, she noticed her little brown bear sitting on the wrong step. He always sat on the second-to-the-top step, but this morning he sat on the fourth step from the top. For a split second she felt uneasy, but dismissed it thinking she must have moved him when she vacuumed. She placed him back where he belonged and went downstairs and brewed her coffee.
Sabre picked out one of her preferred mugs, threw a piece of wheat bread in the toaster, and walked into the living room. The sun streamed in through the sliding glass door, making her aware the blinds were slightly open. Fear welled up inside her. She would never have left the blinds like that. Hurrying across the floor, she checked the slider and found it locked. Moving first to the front door and then the back, she checked the other locks, all locked. "I'm way too jumpy. Bob must've left it open last night when he came by here."
The phone rang, startling her. She picked it up, but no one answered. She hung it up. Concerned, she ran upstairs to get dressed. The phone rang again. She picked it up and snapped, "Hello."
"What's the matter with you this morning? You get up on the wrong side of the bed?" Bob asked.
"I'm sorry. The phone rang a second ago and no one answered. I thought it was someone goofing around," she fibbed.
"Sorry, I'm the culprit. I called on my cell and I could hear you, but apparently you couldn't hear me. I kept saying hello, but you didn't answer." He heard her sigh. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just a little jumpy; I'll tell you about it later. I'll be leaving here in about fifteen minutes for court. Did you call about something special?"
"No, just to check on you. See you in a bit."
Sabre finished getting ready and drove to the courthouse. She pulled into a parking space and sat for a moment, collecting her thoughts. Her head spinning, she thought about everything that had happened: the bat, the conversation with Mrs. Sterling, the stuffed bear in the wrong spot, and her open curtain. "Ahhh….!" She jumped, startled by the knock on her window.
"Hey, it's just me," Bob said. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, as she exited the car.
"Sorry, Sobs. I didn't mean to frighten you."
"It's okay, just lots of things making me jumpy these days. I noticed one of my stuffed animals sitting on the wrong step this morning and I don't recall moving him, and my window blind was partially open. Do you think maybe you moved the blind last night when you checked the house?"
"I don't recall moving the blinds, but I certainly could have. I did look around pretty carefully. What else could it be? It's not likely someone came in your house just to move a bear and mess up a curtain."
"You're right. Just too much going on, and it has me a nervous wreck," she said, dismissing the concern. She changed the subject. "I haven't been able to get the conversation I had with Ruby Sterling out of my head. How terrified they must've been. I don't know what to do with the information. What good does it do me? How am I going to protect Alexis? If I tell anyone, it might be her death sentence. I just don't know what to do."
Bob put his arm around Sabre’s shoulder and gave her a hug as they walked towards the courthouse. "Let's think about this. For starters, you need to keep Alexis safe. She's probably better off at Jordan Receiving Home than she would be anywhere else right now. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Sabre replied.
"Okay, talk to Marla. Don't tell her what you know because she'll have to write it up in a report. Just tell her yo
u have some reason to believe Alexis could be put in harm's way. She'll trust you and beef up security the best she can."
"Good idea," Sabre responded. Not thinking clearly, and with her head still aching, she appreciated Bob's help.
"Then you call Detective Carriage and see if he has found the Sterling file yet. Maybe there's a clue in there."
"Do you think I should tell Detective Carriage what I know?"
"Can you trust him?"
"I don't know. He's been very helpful, providing me with information he has found. He followed up on Mattie for me and has kept me informed on everything. Well, as far as I know, everything. I do have to admit I wondered in the beginning why he seemed so anxious to help me. And Ruby did tell me the thugs said they had the police in their pocket."
"Do you think he is somehow involved with all this?"
"I just don't know. He could be. In my gut I don't think so, but I'm just not willing to take the risk. What if I'm wrong?"
"Good reasoning. See, you are thinking logically. So, get whatever information you can from Carriage and we'll take it from there. We still have five days before the hearing. In the meantime, I don't want you at the office by yourself, and I think you should stay with us for a few days."
"Do you think there's a connection between this case and all the crazy stuff happening to me?" Sabre grimaced.
"Perhaps, in which case, even the slightest thing we've been writing off to coincidence may be a part of some diabolical scheme."
"No, that's just too crazy." Sabre tried once again to dismiss it all. "Look, I'll be fine. I promise not to be at the office alone, but I'm not staying with you and your family. Besides, if someone is after me, it's only going to put all of you in danger as well. In fact, are you sure you want to hang around with me? You never know," Sabre said in a spooky voice.
"You joke, but I think we need to take this seriously. Look, I have a friend, JP, who's a private investigator. You met him just a couple of months ago at Corey's school play, remember? Tall, nice-looking guy, very intense?"
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