***
Jimmy Joe sat inside the craved out portion of a giant yew tree next to the Stewart’s home. He stared at the parking space in front of the huge four-door garage where a brand new black Honda sat in front of one of the doors.
He had gotten back last night and spent the better part of it hollowing out a small hiding space inside the dark evergreen where he now sat. From there he could watch the house without being seen. He saw the lights flip on and off as people moved about, the house getting ready for a new day.
They will have a day, they would never forget. If Moses wouldn’t come to the mountain, then the mountain would go to Moses. He was prepared. Beside him were his knife, a handgun, and a large flask of coffee. He felt wired and ready for action. His plan would show everyone once and for all how brilliant he really was. He felt confident his plan would work. The last one had gone exactly as planned, no reason to think this one would be any different.
He twisted his back to get the kinks out and glanced down at the army fatigues he’d purchased at a Good Will store. They were cool, just what he needed. They made him feel brave and reckless. Unstoppable he thought. I am unstoppable. Tensing, he spied Lucy’s sister walking out the back door and toward her car. He responded immediately.
***
Jimmy Joe ran as fast as he could. He raced up behind Emma and grabbed the back of her coat and knocked her out cold with his fist. Grabbing her legs, he dragged her toward his hiding place inside the yew. He stuffed her inside and ran to get his car. He parked beside the evergreen, hurriedly dumped her and his supplies into the trunk, then slammed the trunk closed. He squealed out of the driveway and sped away. Glancing at his watch, he laughed. It had taken eight minutes and he had just changed the course of her life.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Emma slowly raised her head. Moaning softly, she gingerly touched her face, and winced. The right side of her face was swollen and sore.
What happened? She couldn’t remember. Squeezing her eyes shut, she concentrated. Feeling the motion and smelling the fumes, she realized she was in the trunk of a moving car.
The last thing she remembered was walking out of the house and someone grabbing her from behind.
It had to be him. He was the only one who would do this. Feeling the car slow and stop, she held her breath. She had a sinking feeling she was about to meet Jimmy Joe Walters.
***
Jimmy Joe pulled off the highway onto a back road and stopped the car. Dragging a cigarette from his shirt pocket, he lit it and inhaled. He had done it again. He’d snatched the sister literally right out from under of her parent’s noses. He was damn good. Pleased with himself, Jimmy Joe climbed out of the car and sauntered to the trunk.
He lifted the lid and stared at Emma. She was an older version of his Lucy. He’d nailed her good. The front of her face was bruised and swollen. “You must be the sister, I’m sure you know who I am.”
Emma swallowed and felt her heart thumping hard in her chest. He was crazy; she could see it in his eyes. She stared up at him.
“Can’t talk? Well, your sister never had much to say either. Then we didn’t need to do any talking. If you know what I mean,” he smirked. Throwing the cigarette on the ground, he stamped on it with the toe of his boot.
Emma bit back the desire to scream at him. “What do you want?”
“I want my Lucy back.”
“If you’re talking about Kerry, you won’t be able to get her back. She’s not even in this country.”
He grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the trunk. “Oh, I’ll get her back and you’re going to help.” He snapped.
“I would never help you,” Emma spat at him, enraged.
He jerked her to him, then pulled her round to the passenger’s side door and shoved her in. Leaning in, he stared at her, his eyes wild and excited. He pulled a gun from his coat pocket and pointed it at her. “If you try to run I’ll shoot you in the head. You understand?”
He waited until she nodded before he climbed in behind the wheel. Taking another cigarette from the packet he lit it and blew out the smoke. “You ain’t gonna have a choice,” he said elated, enjoying his victory. “I’m gonna trade you for your sister. Pretty smart, right?”
Appalled, Emma stared at him. “You can’t be serious. My father would never hand Kerry over to you.”
Enraged, Jimmy Joe backhanded Emma across the face. “Your sister owes me. She almost killed me and she did kill my mama. Your dad will do as I say or he’ll have a very dead daughter on his hands. You understand what I’m saying? You say anything I don’t want to hear and I’ll shoot your kneecap right off your leg. You don’t have to be walking for me to trade you,” he screamed, grabbing the gun out of his pocket and pointing it at Emma’s knee. “You understand, bitch?”
Alarmed by the rapid mood swing, Emma nodded and lowered her eyes in submission.
He pushed the gun back into his pocket with shaking hands and started the engine. “You just keep your fucking mouth shut and you just might live to see tomorrow.”
He shifted into Drive and glared at Emma’s bent head, before pulling back onto the road.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Where could she be?” Jason Stewart asked for the hundredth time, trying to keep the panic from his voice.
The chief of police stared at him. “We’re searching everywhere Mr. Stewart. There is evidence to suggest that whoever took her had been hiding in the yew for some time. It had been craved out and there were cigarette butts everywhere.”
Jason took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice stead. “Look, we both know Jimmy Joe Walters probably took her. Can’t you put up road blocks or something?"
“Mr. Stewart, I can assure you we’re doing all we can. The problem is we don’t know for sure when she was taken. You said you last spoke to her around 9:00 this morning. It’s five-thirty. He could have a good 8 1/2 hours start on us.”
Jason placed a shaking hand to his heart and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Please, you have to find her. My family can’t go through this again. My wife, my daughter, they can’t handle much more.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Stewart. Please know that my department is doing all we can. I’m going to head back to my office and call the sheriff in Arkansas. Maybe the suspect is headed back that way. Do you want me to call anyone for you?”
Jason shook his head and avoided the chief’s eyes. Fear and agony engulfed him. “Please, just find my daughter.” As hard as it would be, he had to tell his wife. He lifted the receiver.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sherry Stewart dropped the phone and stared at the floor. How could that be possible? Jimmy Joe had Emma?
She clutched her chest and stumbled to a chair and sat down. Covering her face with her hands, she folded herself on the floor and rolled onto her side.
No, God, please don’t let him have another one of my babies. Please God.
Her breath came in short ragged breaths. This can’t be happening. It’s just another bad dream. She laid her head on the seat of the chair. Her tears ran down her face before dropping off and dampening the bottom of the chair.
She couldn’t let Kerry know. No. Kerry would not be able to handle it. Thank God, her parents had finally persuaded Kerry to go have some lunch downstairs or she would’ve been here when Jason called. Thank God for that.
She grabbed a handful of tissues and wiped her face. She had to be strong. She had to be strong because Kerry needed her. Kerry didn’t need to know about Emma…
My beautiful strong-minded Emma in the hands of that monster. It couldn’t be happening. However, Jason had said it, so it had to be true. Why had she allowed Emma to stay home? Why? It was all her fault that Emma was in Jimmy Joe’s hands. All her fault.
She needed to go home, needed to be near in case Emma came home. But what about Kerry? Kerry whose grip on reality was so precarious, whose nightly sobs and terrified dreams kept her awake until dawn.
E
mma was strong. She knew Emma was strong. Maybe too strong. She knew Emma would fight back. Somehow, Emma would fight back, and then what would he do?
Sherry tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat. She grabbed the arm of a nearby chair and got on her knees; head bowed and began to pray. “Please God in Heaven, please help my daughters. Please help them. They are both good girls. You know they are good girls. Please help them. Especially Emma, Lord. Emma who is at the mercy of a madman. You know how she is, Lord. You know she is fearless. Please help her stay alive. Amen.”
She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled out on the balcony, looking out at the setting sun. Where was Emma? Was she still alive? Had he beat and raped her as he had done to Kerry?
Sherry felt weak, and then darkness overtook her.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jimmy Joe pulled the car into the rutted driveway, then reached over and shoved Emma. “Wake up bitch.”
Emma wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked around. Unhappily, she gazed at the small log cabin. It looked pretty isolated. Turning, she met Jimmy Joe’s eyes.
“Scream all you want to bitch, no one around here for miles. Course, if you do scream, it might just piss me off. And I promise you that’s one thing you don’t wanna do.”
Emma bowed her head, sitting tensed beside him. The trip had been long and arduous. He refused to give her any thing to eat or drink. The only place he stopped was to let her go to the bathroom, and that was on a deserted country road. She needed to keep calm. He had to sleep sometime. Hopefully, she’d have a chance to escape.
He pulled the gun out and waved her toward the house. “Let’s go meet the family.”
She jerked her head up and stared at him. Sensing her look, he glanced at her. “Oh, you were hoping for time alone huh? Well, too bad for you, my sister and Orley are inside. And if you think they’ll help you, you’re barking up the wrong tree. They do exactly what I tell them to do. Go on, move your ass.”
***
Bonnie yawned and sat up in bed. What time was it? The days and nights blended together in a drunken haze. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, she frowned. Jimmy Joe must be back, she could hear noises coming from the living room. Crawling over Orley’s motionless body, she scrambled out of bed and slipped on Orley’s dirty T-shirt.
She walked unsteadily into the living room and stopped at the door when she saw Jimmy Joe slap a tall thin girl in the mouth.
“When I ask you a question, you’d better answer me,” Jimmy Joe screamed, staring down at Emma huddled on the floor.
“Jimmy Joe! What the hell are you doing? Why are you hitting her?” Bonnie cried, holding onto the doorknob.
“Shut your mouth, Bonnie, and get back in the bedroom. I’ll tell you when you can come out,” Jimmy Joe snapped, pointing toward the bedroom.
“Is that the girl?” Bonnie asked, turning around.
“No, it ain’t the girl. It’s her sister. I’m gonna do some horse-trading but she won’t tell me her parent’s phone number. So, until she decides to talk, she gets her ass kicked,” Jimmy Joe snarled, turning back to Emma.
“Jimmy Joe,” Bonnie’s voice was weak, “doesn’t she have a purse? She’s probably got it in there.”
Jimmy Joe straightened and turned to look at Bonnie. “You ain’t as stupid as I thought, Bonnie. Sure she’s got a purse, it’s on the backseat. I’ll go get it and you watch this bitch. I don’t think she’s gonna do much moving. She ain’t feeling too hot right now,” he laughed.
Bonnie hurried over to Emma and helped her up into a chair. “You should do what Jimmy Joe says. He’s crazy. He’d just as soon kill you as not.”
“Please, you have to help me,” Emma said, pulling on Bonnie arm. “He wants my sister. Please help me.”
Bonnie stared down at Emma and said slowly. “I can’t help you. I can’t even help myself. If you don’t want to be beat anymore, you should tell him what he wants to know.”
“He can kill me before I’ll tell him anything.”
“Then he probably will,” Bonnie said sadly. “You should see your face, it’s all busted up.
“You’re not going to help me, are you?” Emma demanded an answer, tilting her chin up.
Bonnie shook her head and sat heavily on the sofa. Pulling her knees together, she put her hands in her lap. Avoiding Emma’s eyes, she sat and waited for Jimmy Joe.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
When Casey received the chief’s call, he was at home. He’d been about to spend his day off looking for Jimmy Joe. Andrew told him in short precise sentences what had happened to Emma the night before.
Casey covered his face with his hands and felt sheer terror grip his heart and squeeze, hard. What the hell would Jimmy Joe want with Emma? He jumped up, clenching and unclenching his fists, his stomach rolling nervously. What could he do? He had to do something.
He grabbed his pistol and fastened it under his arm, then pulled a coat over it. If Jimmy Joe
lay one hand on Emma, he was going to kill him. Slamming out his front door, he ran for his car and jumped in. There had to be a way to find the bastard. There had to be.
Chapter Forty
Perched on the edge of the chair, Jason Stewart sat unmoving. He sat stiffly, staring at the phone, willing it to ring, afraid if he moved, somehow he’d miss the call. When the phone did ring, he jerked in shock. Grabbing it, he pressed it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Mr. Stewart, are you there?” Casey asked, his voice shaking.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“I’ve looked everywhere. I can’t find any leads that put him around here.”
Jason took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, “What’s next?”
“I’ll keep looking Mr. Stewart. I’ll find that son-of-a-bitch if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I hope so, Casey, I pray so.”
“How are your wife and Kerry holding up, sir?”
“We decided not to tell Kerry anything. So, it’s extra hard on my wife. She’s having a tough time keeping it from Kerry. We decided they should stay where they are for now.”
“I’m so sorry. Emma…,” Casey swallowed hard, pushing the fear back, “Emma means a lot to me. I’ll never rest till we find her.”
“Neither will I,” Jason said, and hung the phone up. The boy meant well but what could he do?
Jason closed his eyes and sat quietly, his brain working furiously. What could he do? The man could be anywhere. Why had he taken Emma? Why in hell hadn’t he insisted that Emma go with her mother? It was his fault Emma was gone. He should have demanded she go to Hawaii.
The phone rang and he picked it up immediately, hoping for some news.
“Jason Stewart speaking.”
“Yea, Stewart. You know who this is? This is the man that has your daughter,” Jimmy Joe boasted into the phone. “And if you don’t do exactly as I say, you will have a dead daughter on your hands.”
“I’ll do anything. I’ll give you money. Whatever you want. Just tell me what you want.”
“I want Lucy. She belongs to me and I want her.”
Jason held the phone away from his ear and stared at it disbelief. Putting it back to his ear, he asked slowly, “What did you just say?"
“Look I ain’t hanging around so you can trace this call. I’ll call back tomorrow with the time and place,” Jimmy Joe snapped and hung up.
Jason put the phone down and gazed unseeing at the floor. What kind of madman would think of a thing like that?
That was him. That was Jimmy Joe Walters. The man who had raped and beaten Kerry. He felt the fury rise up inside him. He had to figure a way to trick Jimmy Joe. He had to. Emma was still alive. Thank God, Emma was still alive. He picked up the phone and called the police.
***
“Is that all he said?” The Sheriff asked, sitting across the table from Jason.
“Yes, that’s all. Can you get a trace on the call?” Jason asked.
“No, it was too
short, but we’ll be ready for him tomorrow. Everything we need will be good to go tomorrow.”
Jason nodded and got up. “I think I’ll go and lie down.” Walking up the stairs, he went into his bedroom and shut the door. He needed some time alone. From the window he could see Kerry and Emma’s cars. Grief overwhelmed him.
***
Emma pressed her ear to the door and listened intently for any movement. The bastard had put her in the small living room closet. She’d never felt pure hatred before, but she felt it now. She would die before she allowed that sorry bastard to get Kerry back. If she got half a chance, she’d rid the world of one Jimmy Joe Walters.
Emma touched her face tenderly and wondered what she looked like. Bonnie had said her face was all busted up. Running her tongue over swollen lips, she winced. It was certainly sore. Pushing her hair away from her neck, she thought about her dad and hoped he and her mom were all right. And Kerry… she hoped with all her heart that no one had told Kerry what had happened.
She sighed and leaned back against the back wall. She wondered where her purse was. Her cell phone was in it. If she could just get her hands on her cell phone, she could call Casey.
Emma thought about Orley and Bonnie. Orley, what a poor excuse for a man he was. Fat and drunk, slobbering over Bonnie or crying about the doctor he’d killed. Emma felt sure that if Jimmy Joe left for some reason, she could escape from Bonnie and Orley. She noticed Jimmy Joe didn’t speak much when Orley was around. It was obvious he hated Orley and Bonnie. So why did he keep them around?
Emma was surprised that she wasn’t more scared of Jimmy Joe, but she wasn’t. Maybe it was because he didn’t really want her. He hadn’t looked at her like a woman. He was totally obsessed with getting Kerry back and Emma was equally determined that he wouldn’t. Shaking her head, she felt the muscles in her neck grind. That bastard had almost taken her head off. Forcing herself to relax, Emma closed her eyes. She needed to rest. She needed to keep up her strength.
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