He pulled his hand out of his pocket and glanced at his watch, then sighed. It was getting late, maybe he should go get something to eat and come back. He was very hungry. Staying low to the ground, he crawled backwards. It was after five o’clock now, they were probably eating dinner in their fancy house.
***
“I’m not going,” Emma said with her hands on hips, looking at her mother and father. “Dad needs someone here and I’m staying.”
“Emma, you’re going,” Jason insisted for the fourth time. “I don’t want to have to worry about you.”
“Dad, you said yourself, he’s not after us. He wants Kerry.”
“Emma, get your coat on, you’re going with your mother.”
“Dad, I’m not a kid, I’m old enough to decide if I stay or go. Besides, it’s getting late. You guys need to get going or you’re going to miss the flight.”
Exasperated, Jason Stewart looked over at his wife. “Dear, she’s right. He’s not after anyone but Kerry and I’d feel better if you weren’t here alone,” Sherry said, looking relieved.
“Someone needs to decide soon or we’re going to miss our flight,” Emma’s grandfather pointed out, as he helped his wife with her coat.
“Okay Emma, you can stay for now.” Jason said, herding everyone toward the door.
Emma’s mom hugged her tight. “If you decide you want to come, here’s your ticket,” she said handing it to Emma. “Don’t take any chances and watch your father. Don’t let him work too hard.”
“I won’t, mom,” Emma promised, pushing her gently toward the door.
After giving Kerry a hug, Emma watched her family walk out the door.
Her father turned around and said sternly, “Lock the door and set the alarm.”
“Okay, I’ll be careful,” Emma promised, watching her family getting into the car.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The flight to Hawaii had been a nightmare - Kerry swung from distant one minute, to clinging to her mother the next. Sherry’s parents were completely worn out by the time they arrived at the hotel and settled in. They’d tried to help with Kerry, but all she seemed to want was her mother, which was totally understandable.
Sherry tiptoed to the bed and gazed down at her daughter. Kerry was sleeping curled into a ball in the middle of the king size bed. Even in sleep, her face was pale and drawn, from the tension and fear. She wished she knew how to help her. Kerry’s doctor from home had called and set up appointments with a doctor in Hawaii. She prayed to God, he could help her daughter.
Sherry walked onto the balcony and looked out across the ocean. Jason and she had brought the girls to Hawaii on numerous vacations throughout their lives. They always stayed at the Fairmont. It was a beautiful five-star hotel, situated on twenty-two acres of lush tropical landscaping. The suite they were in this time was beautiful, with plush bedding and a beautifully appointed marble bathroom.
The girls had always enjoyed the hotel. They loved the ocean, and had fun scuba diving, kayaking, sailing, and parasailing. She would be surprised if she could persuade Kerry out of the room this time.
The gentle trade winds blew in from the ocean and stirred the leaves of an enormous Bougainvillea that sat on the balcony. Surely, the weather in Hawaii would cheer Kerry up, if only a little, she thought.
The warmth of the sun and the balmy weather eased the tension that had built up in her shoulders over the last two months.
She walked back into the room and studied her daughter. Kerry had changed so from the vibrant sixteen-year-old she had been. Gone was the lilting laughter when she teased her grandparents. Now she’d become a white-faced zombie who was afraid to be alone.
Sherry lay next to her daughter and thought of Jason and Emma back at home. She missed them already.
How had that despicable man gotten their address? What would happen if he somehow managed to break into the house?
Restless, she crawled out of bed and headed back to the balcony. She lay on a lounge chair and gazed at the sky. Please, please God, take care of Jason and Emma. Please keep Jimmy Joe Walters away from my family. She said amen and closed her eyes.
***
Emma lay sideways on the bed, her head propped up with her hand watching the weather channel. It was eighty-six degrees in Hawaii. That sounded a whole lot better than the ten below zero they had last night. Rolling over, she stared at the ceiling.
It had been a week since her mom, grandparents and Kerry had left for Hawaii. A long boring week. She hated missing classes. She knew she was going to have to work hard just to catch up. But she couldn’t concentrate. How could she? She might as well be home. Ever since Kerry’s disappearance it had been hard to study when her life was out of control. Her tutors understood and had granted her a leave of absence.
The only bright spot had been the times Casey called. She’d never felt like this about any guy she’d ever dated. Not that they had dated, yet, but they would. He was flying up here on Christmas break, twenty days and counting.
Emma sat up and yawned. Maybe she should make dinner for her dad. She could make some spaghetti and a salad. It would probably make her dad feel better too.
***
Sherry Stewart jerked straight up in bed, then turned to her daughter and gently shook her awake. Kerry had been screaming for help, begging Jimmy Joe not to hit her anymore. Her dreams were getting worse as the days passed with no word that Jimmy Joe had been apprehended. Trying not to cry, Sherry wrapped her arms around Kerry’s thin shoulders and rocked softly back and forth, whispering that she was all right.
Kerry grew still after a few minutes and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Sherry laid her daughter back on the bed, grabbed a Kleenex, and wiped Kerry’s tears away. She couldn’t hold back her own feelings and hurried out to the balcony where she let her tears fall. She gazed out over the ocean and up to the star-filled sky and prayed for peace for her daughter.
The nightmares came every time Kerry fell asleep. Even all the way in Hawaii, she was still terrified. Sherry walked back inside and grabbed a box of tissue, then walked out onto the small balcony again.
Scooting a wicker chair across the floor, so she could see Kerry, she sat down.
She felt helpless. What could she do to help? The physiatrist had been coming to the hotel regularly but nothing seemed to have changed for her daughter.
She pulled her legs up against her chest and, watched as Kerry’s eyes flickered and every once in a while her body jerked as if recoiling from a slap.
How could God allow people like Jimmy Joe to live? She didn’t understand. Her father had said Jimmy Joe had nothing to do with God. That he was a product of the Devil and she supposed he was right.
She sighed and thought about Jason and Emma back home. She talked to Jason several times a day and Emma called and spoke to Kerry frequently but she still wished her family were all together. It was hard being away from them.
When Emma had moved away to school last fall, she’d been nervous, worrying about accidents, whether she was eating properly, getting enough sleep. All the usual mom things. But it had never crossed her mind that someone might abduct one of her children. Well, they weren’t children any more, they were adults - Emma away at school a while and Kerry working at her uncle’s Dairy Queen.
Kerry had really wanted to work there. All her friends worked. She remembered how she and Jason had agreed she could work as long as her grades didn’t suffer.
And in the small town where they lived, it had seemed safe for her to drive back and forth from work. But now there didn’t seem to be a safe place left in the world. If some monster had found his way to Conway, then all hope was lost for a safe haven for children.
She rested her chin on her knees and watched Kerry. She loved her daughters so much. Strong minded, Emma, always with a goal in mind, and sweet Kerry, just sixteen and already suffering more than she could bear.
She bedroom and eased into the bed, trying not to disturb Ker
ry and closed her eyes. Maybe Kerry would sleep the rest of the night. She prayed the demon that preyed on her subconscious mind would allow her some rest.
***
Jimmy Joe wiped the ice off his eyelashes and glared at the house across the street. Where in the hell were all the people? The only ones he had seen in the last week were a man and a young girl. The man must be the dad, and the girl was the sister, but where were the others? Where was his Lucy?
There were six cars in the driveway. Who belonged to all those cars? He had seen an older couple there a few days before and the mom a few times but no Lucy. Where was Lucy? She had to be in there.
He pulled off his gloves and rubbed his hands together. Damn frigid weather. He honest to God hated Indiana. What kind of lunatic lived in a state that got down to ten below zero in December?
He bit his fingernails nervously and stared at the house. He had crawled up close last night to look at the alarm system. It was the most sophisticated system he’d ever seen. Not that he’d seen a lot of them but he had studied them in magazines and this set-up looked complicated. He doubted anyone could get past it without someone being alerted.
Maybe he should go back to the cabin and think of a plan. He pulled his gloves back on and began to make his way back toward the car but his hat got snagged on a thorny branch and he yanked at it viciously. That bitch was going to pay big time when he got hold of her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jimmy Joe noticed the smoke as soon as pulled the car into the driveway. Swearing loudly, he hit the steering wheel with both hands. What the fuck were they thinking? There was way too much smoke coming from the chimney. He’d told Bonnie and Orley to keep a low profile. He didn’t need anyone showing up to check on a cabin that was supposed to empty.
He entered the cabin silently and paused just inside the kitchen door. Running his eyes over the dirty pots and greasy iron skillets that filled the sink and overflowed onto the small counter, he swore again. Swallowing down rage that had been building all day, he stalked into the living room. Inhaling the sickening smell of urine coming from the small bathroom, Jimmy Joe kicked the bedroom door savagely with his foot and marched into the darken bedroom. Orley and his sister were sprawled naked, on the bed. “Get the fuck up, you stupid sons of bitches,” he screamed, letting all his fury out. “Get the fuck up!”
Bonnie heaved herself up on one elbow, then grabbed a blanket to cover herself and eyed Jimmy Joe nervously. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? Look around! Look at this pigsty that you all are laying in the middle of. Get off your lazy asses and clean this frigging place up.” Jimmy Joe grabbed Orley by his hair and jerked his head up. “Get the fuck up and clean this shit hole.”
Orley growled and grabbed Jimmy Joe by his hand. “We ain’t your maids Jimmy Joe. Bonnie’s my woman now, she don’t have to mind anything you say.”
In a frenzy, Jimmy Joe tried jerking his arm away. He had forgotten how strong Orley was. Taking a deep breath, he froze. The bastard’s grip was tight as a preacher’s daughter’s virginity. He’d have to tread carefully with Orley for the moment.
Orley pulled Jimmy Joe closer. “We thought you was only gonna be gone for a couple of days, Jimmy Joe. We ain’t had no whiskey for three days ‘cause we didn’t have no goddamn car to go get any.”
With anger burning through his thoughts, Jimmy Joe bit down on his lip. “Let go of me Orley,” he demanded and then hesitated. A sober Orley was a lot worse than a drunken Orley. “Let go of me and I’ll go get you all some whiskey.”
“Yea,” Orley said, releasing Jimmy Joe’s arm. “When?”
“Now. I’ll go get some now, if you all will clean some of this mess up.”
“That’s up to Bonnie if she cleans or not,” Orley grunted, lying back down.
Jimmy Joe bit his lip to keep from screaming again and glared at his sister.
Bonnie rubbed her hands nervously and stared at Jimmy Joe. “Sure Jimmy Joe, I’ll clean up. I been meaning to anyways.”
“I guess I’ll go get some whiskey then,” Jimmy Joe said, glaring at Orley before walking out.
An hour after returning with the whiskey, he watched as Orley and his sister stumbled drunkenly toward the bedroom. Infuriated, he stalked out of the house and into the woods. He hated Orley and his sister now.
If they gave him too much shit, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them both. However, he had to be smart. He had to wait. They still might prove useful.
Jimmy Joe leaned against a tall oak tree and thought about the bitch. She was too well insulated for him to get to her. He could go in, shoot everybody, and drag her out of the house and that had been his first inclination. Problem was, he didn’t know who else was in there or if they had weapons.
Damn that stupid bitch. Didn’t she know she owed him? Taking a silver flask out of his back pocket, he sipped whiskey. He’d about had it with pussyfooting around, it was time for action. He shivered beneath his coat and wondered what the Mafia would do. He’d always admired the old gangster movies he watched on TV, late at night. Gangsters were men, they had guts. If they wanted someone out of the way, they blew their brains out.
He pushed the flask back into his pocket and his fingers touched the butt of the pistol.
It came to him in one blinding flash. He suddenly knew what he would do.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jimmy Joe hurried back inside the cabin. He glanced in the bedroom, pleased to see Orley and Bonnie had already passed out on the bed. Good, he could leave without being molested by Orley.
Jimmy Joe checked the living room closet and swung the door wide open. Yea, it was big enough for her. He dumped all the coats and boots in the middle of the room. This time there would be no chains. He was gonna beat the living shit right out of her, so she couldn’t fight back, even if she was dumb enough to try.
“Bonnie!” he screamed for his sister. “Bonnie, get you fat ass out here, now!”
When she came stumbling out of the bedroom, he sneered. She looked like shit. Her hair was dirty and her roots were showing. She looked like she’d aged twenty years in the last two months.
He stabbed a finger at her chest, “I’m leaving. I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Where you going?”
“None of your God-damned business. You clean up this mess before I get back. We’re gonna have company.”
“Jimmy Joe, please don’t leave us out here without a car. What are we supposed to do if we have an emergency?”
“There’s a deer rifle in the kitchen. If someone comes up, blow a hole in them and take their car.”
“We ain’t going to kill anybody else,” Bonnie snapped.
“Then don’t. I don’t care,” Jimmy Joe smirked. “Use the gun on yourself if you get tired of waiting.”
“Jimmy Joe, you’re my brother. Don’t leave me out here.”
“You got your lover boy in there. I suggest you keep busy with him.”
Bonnie watched him head for the kitchen door. “God damn you Jimmy Joe. I wish Orley had left you to burn to death.”
Jimmy Joe paused by the door and screamed, “Fuck you.”
Bonnie heard him slam the back door. She hurried over to the window and looked out. He had stopped in the middle of the yard. She saw him reach inside his coat and pulled out his gun. For a brief moment, paralyzing fear coursed through her body. She knew he was thinking about coming back inside and using the weapon on her. She sighed with relief when she saw him stick the gun inside his coat and rush over to Orley’s car.
She wished with all her heart she’d stayed at work that day and let Orley handle Jimmy Joe all by himself.
Now she was stuck in a cabin in bum fuck Egypt with a fat slob of a drunk and no way to leave. Tears coursed down her cheeks and fell to the dirty floor. She had a sickening vision of herself going to jail for something she didn’t even do. She sent a prayer to Heaven that she wouldn’t end up that way.
***
&
nbsp; Emma closed her e-mail, then propped her chin on her hand and sighed. Casey would be here soon, she thought. Her mom and Kerry were still in Hawaii and her dad hadn’t said much of anything for four days. If that weren’t enough to worry about, she hadn’t told her dad yet that Casey was coming the week after Christmas. She closed her eyes and thought about her dad. He’d been so grouchy lately that she hesitated to bring anything up. She knew he was furious with the police for not catching Jimmy Joe. She understood that, but she’d also heard the other side of things from Casey. They were doing their best to track Jimmy Joe down. Casey was even spending his time off searching for him.
Emma chewed the corner of her lip, then opened her eyes and cursed Jimmy Joe. That one man could cause her family so much pain and anguish seemed unreal. Glancing down at the Christmas list she had copied from her mom’s e-mail, she groaned. It was the 20th and the only one left at home to Christmas shop was her.
She couldn’t help but remember last Christmas. Her mom always put a tree in the kitchen. She’d decorated it in blue and white to match the large kitchen’s décor. It had been beautiful. The whole family had spent hours in front of the kitchen fireplace reading and napping. She remembered how she and Kerry had baked a million cookies to distribute to the local nursing homes. She remembered how her dad had come home early from the one afternoon and they’d all eaten cookies and watched Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life”. It had been a good Christmas last year. Good times, she thought swallowing a small lump in her throat. Taking a deep breath in, she exhaled slowly. Well, this year it would just be her and dad and she was determined to make the best of it.
She grabbed her keys and cell phone and headed out the back door. She would call Katie and see if she wanted to go shopping. Misery really does love company, she thought.
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