Incisions

by Barbara Winkes

  “We can’t wait until the weekend,” he said. “We have to move up everything—get her into the new place.”

  “Somebody should teach her a lesson,” Josh grumbled. “What do you want her for anyway?”

  “None of your business. Come on. We need to talk about this.”

  * * * *

  Ellie knew there was only a small window, if at all, and she had to overcome shock and nausea at those past few moments that could have gone either way.

  The other man had a knife, one he’d certainly been ready to use before her captor returned. She had managed to injure him with the tab, but that only made him angry, and he had slapped her while clutching his bleeding cheek.

  He had dropped the knife though, a pocket knife with all kinds of tools attached. If she reached out and stretched her arm as far as she could, she could touch it with her fingertips.

  That wasn’t enough. She needed to pick it up, use it to manipulate the lock of the cuff so it would open. All within a small window of time, and in the half dark she’d spent the past two—or three?—days in. Ellie knew that if only she made it out of this apartment, her chances would multiply, but for the moment, she wasn’t close enough to that goal.

  The muscles in the arm were burning from the stretch, and still the knife seemed out of reach.

  Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked them back. She needed that knife. Her fingers only touched a few millimeters of the sheath, not enough to get a real hold on it.

  Ellie could still hear the men’s voices in the distance.

  She yanked hard at the cuff, wincing at the pain, but it brought her a tiny fraction closer to the desired object. Again. And again. Finally she managed to pick it up and get back into a sitting position, start working on the lock.

  Whatever those men were talking about, they would come back at some point, and she needed to be prepared to fight back. Drugs, alcohol, and irregular availability of food didn’t help, but she was motivated. Only a few feet away, on the other side of the front door, freedom awaited her, and then she could put both of them away, finally go on that long deserved vacation with Jordan…

  It was getting harder to keep those tears at bay, because with each passing moment, it became obvious how small her chances really were. Nevertheless, Ellie kept working, and with a small click, the cuff opened.

  She rushed to her feet and nearly took a nosedive onto the linoleum floor, steadying herself at the last moment, hoping she hadn’t made enough noise to alert the two men.

  The bathroom door was closed, but she could hear them arguing, something about a new place, and sticking to the plan. The one who had brought her here had just come home, so there was a chance he hadn’t locked up yet. She wished they had left the door ajar so she could have taken a look at them for ID later. Someone had to have rented this apartment, and those men weren’t ghosts, someone in the building would recognize them. Staying alive was the most important thing right now.

  She got a glimpse into an almost empty kitchen/dining room area, one chair and a table, an empty shelf and a box. It made her think that this apartment had been rented for one specific purpose only.

  Ellie tiptoed past the bathroom door, made it unseen to the front door that wasn’t locked.

  This moment, the men returned from the bathroom.

  Ellie didn’t look back. She ran.

  Two stories, the third, then she could see the front door of the building. Behind her, she could hear the men still arguing, yelling, but she blocked out those sounds, her attention focused on her goal. The linoleum floor was cool under her bare feet, and the thought sprang to mind that she was still barefoot and in her nightgown. The minute distraction was enough for her to stumble and fall down the last four or five steps, heavy footsteps two landings above her.

  Ellie gritted her teeth and clutched the banister, pulling herself up. She yanked the door open and stepped outside, shivering in the cool air. At the end of the block, she could see a small convenience store. They were bound to have a phone in there. She was going to make it. The thought drowned out all pain and discomfort.

  Time seemed to slow down in the moments it took her to reach the door, a bell alerting her arrival to the puzzled clerk behind the counter.

  “Ma’am? Do you need help?”

  At this display of kindness from a complete stranger, Ellie nearly started to cry. She had to keep it together for a bit longer—the danger wasn’t past yet.

  “I need you to call the police, and I need to…”

  The bell sounded again, and Ellie dove behind the counter.

  * * * *

  Jack Mercer claimed he hadn’t driven his car in almost five years, and he had no idea how it could have possibly been involved in a crime.

  He studied the picture from the security camera closely, and long enough for Jordan to tap her foot on the floor. Derek sent her a pointed look, and she stopped, wringing her hands in her lap again.

  “Is there anyone else you might have lent it to before, a family member, friends, did someone ask to borrow it?”

  Mercer held the picture even closer to his eyes.

  “Not that I can think of. I don’t recognize this gentleman, but…You must know, my nephew’s son, he once got into a bit of trouble. I didn’t say anything before, because that was a long time ago, and you gotta give people the benefit of the doubt, right? Second chances and all. Anyway, Michael, he used to hang out with a guy named Tucker who nearly got him sent to prison for a long time. Maybe he knows something. He seems the type to do something like that, or at least gets his hands dirty. I forgot his last name though.”

  Jordan sat up straighter. “Tucker Branson?”

  “I don’t know,” Mercer said to her frustration. “I only heard about this from my nephew, and I can tell you, he wasn’t pleased. Fortunately, Michael was mostly driving them around, so he got off lightly. Did they come back for him? I hope he’s not in any trouble now?”

  Jordan didn’t think she needed to answer that question. How else would the yet unnamed perp have gotten access to the car used in Ellie’s abduction?

  “We’ll check on that. Do you know where we find Michael?”

  “Yes, but he won’t be home. He works out of town, in construction, and comes back on the weekends. You’ll find him under this address Friday night. Oh my.”

  “Do you know where he works, or whom we could contact for that information?” Derek asked. “It’s important that we speak to him and find this woman.”

  Mercer sighed. “I guess you could ask my nephew. Good Lord, Michael, what did you get yourself into this time? A policewoman?”

  Jordan refrained from shaking her head. As if a different profession would have made this mess any better.

  At least the pieces were coming together. They would find Ellie, and soon.

  The question remained, why had these men conspired to abduct her? All of them were relatively small players, drugs, auto theft, both Branson and Mercer’s nephew had claimed to have turned their lives around.

  Who was that third man in the equation, and what was his incentive?

  Jordan didn’t want to think too hard of the possibilities.

  They had to bring back Branson, and pay Michael Mercer a visit at this job. As long as they were moving forward, there was no time and reason to despair.

  Not yet.

  When she checked her cell phone, there was another message from Kathryn.

  Please, don’t ignore me.

  Jordan resisted the urge to text back, Now’s not the time. Never is more like it.

  Chapter Eight

  From her dubious hiding place behind the counter, Ellie listened. Ward had probably seen her coming in. The story he was trying to sell to the clerk, confirmed her fear.

  “Look, I know what you’re thinking, but I can assure you, it’s not like that. My sister ran away for the second time this week, she’s a little…” Ellie could only imagine the wordless gesture. “See what she did to my face? She
really needs her meds. If she came here, I need you to understand you can’t believe a single word she says.”

  She shuddered at the sound of an all too familiar voice. She saw the woman cast her a quick uncertain glance and shook her head.

  He’s lying.

  “Anyway, I need to take her with me right now.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone.”

  “I think we both know that’s not true,” Ward said.

  She reached for something underneath the counter. Ellie hoped she had some sort of security system in here, alerting the police.

  “Sir…I didn’t see your sister. You might want to ask the police for help.”

  “Don’t give me that bullshit! I saw her go in! Where is she? You tell me right now, bitch!”

  Ellie crept closer to the phone, jumping when a gunshot sounded within the confines of the room, something breaking, glass raining from the ceiling…and then another one.

  The clerk dropped the shotgun she was holding, shell-shocked.

  “Oh my God,” she said. “He had a gun trained on me. He was going to kill me…both of us.”

  “I know. You’re going to be okay. I promise.” Ellie quickly made sure that the safety was on, then turned to the man lying in a growing pool of blood, the gun only inches from his hand. Her stomach was churning, but she forced herself to check for a pulse, finding none. Then she grabbed the phone on the counter without asking. As she punched in the numbers, she took the first real look at her kidnapper, white, late twenties to early thirties, brown hair, wearing unassuming dark blue and black gear—dead. She forced back the nausea, wondering why this man had chosen not only to attack her on her way home months ago, but came back for her. She kneeled down to check for an ID in the man’s pocket, finding a driver’s license with the name Josh Ward. That sounded vaguely familiar, but she wasn’t sure why.

  The ground seemed to give way for a moment when she heard the voice of the 911 dispatch officer.

  “This is Officer Ellie Harding,” she said. “I need backup, a crime scene unit and…a coroner.”

  * * * *

  It was a long drive out to the construction site, but Jordan felt it was worth it. Michael Mercer was quick to realize he had only one more chance to prove himself as the least criminal.

  “Tucker came by,” he said, “needed a car for something, and I thought my great uncle wouldn’t even notice. What was I supposed to do? Tucker said I owed him, and I guess in a way that’s true. They all got longer sentences, partly because of me. He was out and had recently changed his job, needed a set of wheels for a friend. That’s all I know.”

  Detective Doss was going to take care of Branson, and she needed to tell her to hold him under any circumstances.

  “Tell me about that friend. The one who planned everything with Branson.”

  “Josh…I have no idea what became of him, and he isn’t much of a planner. He used much of the product for himself.” Mercer shrugged. “As you probably know, we weren’t exactly career criminals. I was stupid enough to think there was some quick money in it. I know better now.”

  “A last name.”

  “Josh Ward. Was a rich kid back in the days, family disowned him eventually since he wasn’t willing to cut back on the habit. I didn’t hear from him, but the last thing I knew he’d do anything for money.”

  Even kidnap a cop, Jordan thought. Would he come up with the idea all by himself? Why didn’t he send a ransom if this was all about money for drugs? How much did Tucker know?

  Derek’s phone rang, and he excused himself, his expression turning serious. Jordan had a hard time not to interrupt him.

  Finally, he nodded to her, said to Mercer, “That will be all for now, thanks, Mr. Mercer. We’ll be in touch. Detective? She’s okay,” he said the moment they were out of earshot. “Ellie managed to get away to a convenience store where Ward threatened the clerk, and she shot him. The clerk did. Ellie’s fine. Did you hear what I just said?”

  Jordan emerged from the fog that seemed to have settled over her, the resulting relief staggering.

  “Thank God.”

  “Yeah. Let’s go see her. I believe Branson has many more questions to answer, and this time, he won’t get out of it so easily.”

  Jordan realized she still didn’t understand why. Branson, Ward, Mercer, what was the motive? She couldn’t help thinking that there was more to the story than they knew at this point, but frankly, for the moment, it didn’t matter. Ellie was alive and obviously fairly well.

  She’d care about everything else later.

  Jordan handed over the car keys without a word when she realized her hands were shaking. She had to keep the worst case scenarios at bay, but they always played in the back of her mind. People weren’t born good persons. Some just got lucky.

  She wished Derek would drive faster.

  “Would you relax? She’s okay. Maria says she talked to her.”

  Jordan had told everyone she was okay, too, in the days after her rescue from a serial killer’s basement. That didn’t necessarily mean it was true.

  * * * *

  She had not expected to find Ellie still at the scene, glaring at the paramedic who asked her to come with him, obviously not for the first time. That could mean many things, but for the moment, Jordan was overwhelmed with relief just to see it was true, she was alive and well from the looks of it.

  “Kate? I told you I need some clothes! I can’t leave here now. The apartment is somewhere around here, I know it. You have to find the guy.”

  Find whom? The coroner had left with Ward’s body, and Branson was in custody. Michael Mercer had never been involved in the abduction the first place.

  “Ellie. It’s okay. You’re safe now. You should do what the gentleman says.”

  Ellie looked at her as if Jordan was some sort of apparition, like she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  “Come. We need to get you checked out.” She carefully hugged her. Ellie accepted the gesture, sagging a little in her embrace. “This is not what I expected our vacation to be like,” she said, sounding weary.

  Jordan had blocked out most of the moments directly after her own rescue, but she remembered the feeling of keeling over any minute, of having to carefully assess if this was reality or a merciful fantasy.

  “I know. We’ll do it as soon as possible. Let’s make sure you’re okay first.”

  Ellie looked down at herself and winced. Her palms and knees were scraped, dried blood on her leg.

  “I managed to fall down half a flight of chairs. It’s not pretty, but that’s about the worst. The apartment where he held me is about a block from here. I came to the store to find a phone.”

  “Ward is dead, Ellie.”

  “Yes, I know. Not him, the other guy.”

  “Tucker Branson? He’s in custody as well, Doss is talking to him right now. You don’t have to worry about them.”

  “Branson?” Ellie shook her head. “How’s he connected to this? I never saw him. There was someone else, in that apartment, less than an hour ago.”

  “He got the car for the kidnapper. They guy who gave it to him claims he didn’t know anything, and his story adds up. Branson didn’t drive though, but I’m sure he knows what that car was for. The one driving it was Ward…so everyone’s accounted for.”

  “No. There was someone else,” Ellie insisted.

  The timeline didn’t add up, but it wouldn’t be so surprising if Ellie was a little confused at this point. Jordan had a hard time focusing on anything but the relief and giddiness. Second chances—between the two of them, they had used up a few by now.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up and bandaged.”

  “I agree with Detective Carpenter,” Sergeant Bristol said behind them. “I admit I’ll be happy when you’re back at work, but now listen to your colleague. Let them take care of you.”

  “I’ll drop by your apartment on the way and get you some fresh clothes,” Jordan offered, kissing her quickly on the
cheek. “It won’t be long.” She accompanied Ellie to the ambulance and promised to join her soon.

  Nevertheless, when the ambulance had left, she found Bristol and Doss, asking for an update. She wanted to hear what Ellie’s official version of the story was, first, before she started listening and worrying for anything between the lines, anything Ellie might have kept out.

  “Clerk says she came running inside, asking for a phone. Ward was after her. When he came inside, he told some story about how he was looking for his sister who ran away and needed her meds. He had a big gash on his cheek, but she thought something was off. When she didn’t believe him, he threatened the clerk with a gun, clerk shot him instead. Ellie backs up the story,” Detective Doss related. “We found the apartment. I was just about to go over there. Crew’s there right now.”

  “Okay. I’d like to take a look. Can you meet me after?”

  “Sure, just give me a call. I’ll be at the station, taking the clerk’s statement.”

  Derek walked inside the store, and there was another one of those awkward glances between him and Doss. Jordan briefly wondered if she knew about Kate or simply was suspicious about their break-up, but this was none of her business.

  “Did Ellie say anything about what happened?”

  “Could have been worse,” Doss said. Derek raised an eyebrow at that, but Jordan had read enough in her tone and composure. It was everything she needed to know.

  “All right. I’ll see you later.”

  She had to see the place and assure herself it was nothing like Darby’s medieval torture chamber, but she needed to be with Ellie more. So when Jordan was quickly packing a few clothes at her apartment, giddy with relief that this wasn’t a crime scene any longer, she had no patience for another call from Kathryn.

  Answering, she didn’t feel like mincing words.

  “Whatever it is you want, Kathryn, you’re not getting it from me. Let me be very clear, I’m not interested in your side of things. Don’t make something special out of the fact that I saved your life. I would have done the same for anyone. It’s my job, remember? Stop calling.”