“In the bathroom downstairs, throwing up. I think she’s pregnant.”
“I think you’re right,” Jake said. “Can you see the door? Is it William?”
She still didn’t believe Thad was a kidnapper, but she crept toward the stairs in case she really was in danger. A young man talking on his phone stepped inside. His voice was low and secretive like he didn’t want to be overheard, but Rachael could hear him just fine.
“This ends today,” he said. “I’m going to clean up this problem with Rachael once and for all.” He paused as if listening.
“I don’t care what you want, William.” He faced out the front window. “I’m the one who’ll take the heat for attempted kidnapping and murder. Not you.”
William? William’s involved?
Rachael gasped.
No. No. Thad had to have heard her.
He spun. Looked up. Their gazes connected.
The face. The voice. It all came flooding back to her. Him standing over her. The gun in his hand. His warnings. The syringe. Ripping off his mask.
“You’re right,” she whispered into the phone as she backed away. “It’s him. Thad’s the kidnapper, and he just saw me.”
“Hide,” Jake warned. “Or get to Skyler, whichever you can do without him seeing you.”
“He’s on his way over to the stairway, and I’d have to pass him to get to Detective Hunter.” Rachael backpedaled across the carpet, but her every step seemed to be in slow motion, and she wasn’t moving fast enough.
She heard Thad take the first step, a loud thud that echoed through the space. She let out a breath and waited for her thumping heart to slow.
“Are you in a safe place?” Jake asked.
“Not yet.”
“Move quickly. Now!”
She spun and ran toward the master bedroom.
“I’m on my way,” Jake said. “Just a few miles out.”
A quick glance back told her Thad had tracked her movements and was coming for her. “Please hurry, Jake. He’s going to kill me.”
* * *
“Don’t panic. I’m almost there, and so is my team,” Jake said to Rachael as calmly as he could. He was thankful he’d thought to call in the FRS the moment he’d learned about Thad. “And most important of all, don’t hang up.”
“I’m in Gloria’s bedroom,” she whispered. “She’s sleeping in the bed. Should I hide under it or in the closet?”
“He’ll go to the closet first. So hide on the far side of the bed, and when he steps into the closet, run from the room and get outside.”
“But he has a gun.”
“I know, honey, but even if you hide under the bed, he’ll still have the gun, and he will for sure see you there.”
“Okay... Oh, Jake... I’m sorry. I should have told you about the miscarriage, I—”
“Shh, don’t think about that now. Everything is fine between us.”
“But I wanted you to know that I’m sorry. In case he...you know...finds me.”
“He won’t. Just stay calm.” Jake couldn’t believe he could tell her to stay calm when his own heart was racing.
He prayed like he hadn’t prayed in years, imploring God to keep Rachael safe and allow him to arrive on time.
“I’m behind the bed.” Her voice, only a whisper, came through his phone. “He’s just outside the room.”
“Put the phone in your pocket so you’re ready to run. I’ll still be able to hear what’s going on.”
“Okay. Here goes.”
He heard the static ruffling as she shoved her cell into her pocket. A vision of her in that room with a killer a few feet away flooded Jake’s brain and nearly had him running into the ditch. He jerked the car back onto the road.
He hadn’t called the local police, as he feared they would botch things and cause a hostage standoff that could result in the loss of her life, but he would be on the scene in a few moments and could direct the action, so he grabbed his radio and called in backup from the PPB. He made sure dispatch relayed the fact that he was in charge and everyone should stand down until he ordered them to help.
Then he floored the gas and prayed he’d made the right decision.
* * *
Rachael held her breath and waited, her senses on hyperalert. The soft carpet fibers under her fingers felt rough and irritating. The smell of Gloria’s cloying perfume was nauseating.
Footsteps whispered across the floor. She heard Gloria’s closet door whip open. The space almost the size of a room and L-shaped, Thad would have to go all the way inside to check for her.
She risked a quick peek over the bed. The room was empty. She jumped to her feet. Her legs shook, and they barely held her. She ran for the stairs. Raced down them and jerked open the door.
“I’m outside,” she told Jake, hoping he heard her voice with the phone in her pocket. “Hurry.”
Without a jacket, the cold sucked away her body heat, but she ignored it and ran as hard as she could down the winding driveway toward the hilly road. She nearly lost her footing a few times, but she soon neared the road.
A sharp crack split the air, and the concrete at Rachael’s feet exploded. Shards ricocheted up, pelting her body and piercing her cheek.
Another crack. Something whizzed past her arm, ripping into the flesh on the way. It was a bullet. She’d been shot.
She screamed and dove behind a stand of azaleas. She scooted to her knees and peered out through the shrubbery. Thad came rushing down the hill, a weapon in his hand, his gaze searching the area. He paused and turned. She had to move before he caught her.
Fearing a bullet in her back, she ran hard. Down the hill. Toward the gate. Blood poured down her arm and dripped, leaving a trail. She reached for the button to open the gate, but the gate suddenly swung open and a big silver sedan entered the driveway.
William.
She slipped into nearby bushes and peeked around them in time to see Thad duck into tall conifers lining the driveway. Odd. Why was he hiding from William?
The car inched closer, now ten feet away.
She waited for the large sedan to come even with her, and then she squeezed behind the tall brick pillar holding the wrought iron gate.
William stopped. The car door groaned open.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and whispered, “Don’t talk or they’ll hear you. I’m at the gate. Thad shot me, and William just arrived.”
“Thad?” William called out. “Show yourself.” William took a few steps, inching closer to her, crunching over gravel.
She saw the face she’d trusted for years. The man she’d been friends with for so long. But after hearing Thad’s call with William, she knew she couldn’t trust him. Wishing she could hear Jake’s comforting voice or see his truck pull into the drive, Rachael got ready to run again.
Her heart raced, thumping in her chest as if it wanted to escape, the ringing in her ears threatening to take her down.
“This isn’t funny, Thad. Where are you?” William called again.
The barrel of Thad’s gun poked through the branches. He probably thought she was distracted by William, and he could use that chance to kill her.
No. She’d use it to make her escape.
She had to go. Had to run. Run hard. Now! And hope she could outrun a speeding bullet.
“If you don’t show yourself, Rachael,” Thad shouted, “I will kill William.”
Rachael didn’t think she should trust Thad, but could she take a chance that he would shoot William? He was involved in this somehow, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to die.
“I mean it, Rachael,” Thad said convincingly. “I’ll kill him.”
Rachael wished she could run, but she had to help William. She searched the area and couldn’t come up with
a way to protect him besides surrendering to Thad.
Think, think, think.
All she had was the heavy snow piling up at her feet.
Snow—that was it! She could pelt Thad with snowballs so William could run, too.
She shoved her phone back into her pocket and dropped to her knees. The snow was wet and perfect for making tight, heavy balls. The icy cold bit into her fingers, but she kept packing them tight, and she quickly formed a stack.
“Last chance, Rachael!” Thad called.
Rachael peeked out and calculated the distance. She could do this.
She grabbed the first ball and hurled it. The snow smacked Thad in the face, and she was thankful for all of her years playing softball in high school. He flailed to brush it off, letting his gun hand drop.
“Run, William!” she yelled and fired off another ball, then another and another.
She heard William’s feet pounding down the driveway, but she kept tossing the snowballs until he got even with her.
“Hurry, William,” she said. “Join me behind the brick.”
He stepped around the column. She fired off a few more snowballs, her teeth starting to chatter and the cold sinking into her limbs.
“Now what?” William asked.
“Now we run.” She turned and handed him a few snowballs. “C’mon. We have to keep throwing these as we run, so when Thad gets off a shot, his aim is off.”
She didn’t wait for him to agree, but charged onto the driveway, pelting a snowball at Thad as she did. He guarded his face, and she hurled another one, then bolted through the open gate. She heard William behind her, but she couldn’t turn to look or she might lose her footing on the slippery drive.
She reached the narrow road, turned toward the main highway and picked up speed. She glanced back and saw William behind her. They’d gone half a mile when Thad called out from the road, “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
“The woods,” she said to William. “It’s our only chance.”
She swerved to the side and plunged into a ditch, her feet getting tangled in the deep snow, nearly taking her down.
Calm down. You can do this.
She righted herself and climbed up the incline to the protective cover of the wooded area. William was right behind her.
She ran as hard and fast as she could while lifting her feet above the foot of snow. She hit a clearing and spotted a lake ahead, cutting off her path. It was large, and the underbrush prevented her from going around it. Her only option was to cross over.
She started forward.
“No!” William called out. “Look at the sign. It’s not safe.”
She’d seen the Caution: Thin Ice sign, but she had no other choice. She continued forward and reached the edge of the lake.
She put her foot on the ice and tested it. It held. She took another step. The ice remained solid, and she moved forward until she was well on her way. She glanced back at William standing in the middle of the clearing.
“It’s fine, William!” she shouted. “C’mon.”
“For you, maybe, but I weigh a lot more than you.”
She couldn’t force him to join her, but she didn’t want to leave him behind, either.
Father, please tell me what to do.
Thad suddenly bounded into the clearing.
“Hands up, William,” he commanded as he advanced.
Rachael quickly estimated the distance between her and Thad. She was within his range, but William was much closer.
“Don’t move, Rachael!” Thad yelled as he placed the gun against William’s temple.
“I’m sorry, Rachael,” William said. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Shut up.” Thad pushed William forward.
With Thad’s focus on William as he marched him toward the water, Rachael’s attention went to trying to rescue herself. She remembered the phone in her pocket. She slipped it out and held it in her palm so Jake could better hear the conversation.
“I should never have stepped onto the lake!” Rachael yelled at Thad, not to warn him, but to make sure Jake knew where she had gone. “The ice isn’t safe.”
“Exactly.” Thad laughed. “Once William joins you out there, it’s sure to crack, and you’ll both sink into a watery grave.”
“Don’t do this, Thad,” William begged.
“You wanted me to do this.” Thad shoved William forward. “Remember? Coming to me. Begging. Saying you’d give me a million bucks to kidnap your kid, and I could finally get out from under my debt.”
Rachael shot a look at William. “Kelly’s your child?”
He nodded. “I had an affair with Pam. She was a friend of one of our clients and so hopped up on drugs that if she told anyone they’d never believe her.”
“How long have you known Kelly was yours?”
“Not long.” He ran a hand over his face, and she thought he might cry. “We’ve never told anyone, but Gloria hasn’t been able to get pregnant. When Pam did, I decided to do a DNA test on Kelly just in case I was the father. I couldn’t believe it when the results proved she was my child. She was the answer to my prayers, and I had to find a way to have her in my life.” He spun on Thad. “But I never authorized you to terrorize or try to kill Rachael. I only wanted Kelly in my life without all the scandal that would hit the media when the truth of my affair got out.”
“An affair with a woman who was strung out on drugs when you claimed to help women just like her,” Thad added.
“I’d be ruined.”
“Especially if they found out you’d also been with many other women in the program,” Thad sneered. “If this hit the media, those women would come forward.”
William clamped his hands over his ears. “Stop. Don’t say any more. I can’t help it. I tried to stop.”
“What about Gloria?” Rachael asked. “Does she know about this?”
“About the women, but not Kelly. I couldn’t tell her that. We’ve been in the process of adopting a child, but since I have Kelly, why would I adopt another one? I don’t want another man’s child.”
“She’s not just your child. She’s Pam’s, too. Did you consider that?” Rachael asked.
William frowned. “Pam would suffer at first, but you see how hard she’s struggling just to give Kelly the bare necessities. Gloria and I could give her so much more and do a much better job of raising her.” He took a deep breath. “Don’t look at me like that. You know the recidivism rates for drug addicts. With all the obstacles facing Pam, she wouldn’t remain sober long. Then what? Kelly would be taken away from Pam anyway, and might even go into foster care. Why let that happen when Gloria and I have everything to give to Kelly?”
“And how did you plan to suddenly show up with a baby?”
“Adoption.”
“But Pam would know it was her child. I would know it.”
“I planned to take an extended vacation out of the country until Kelly was old enough that you would no longer recognize her.” He shifted his gaze to Thad. “But this has gone too far now. Put down the gun, Thad.”
“I told you already.” Thad waved his gun. “I’m the one who will be charged with attempted kidnapping and trying to kill Rachael. I can’t survive jail again, and I won’t let you turn me in.”
“The police are on the way,” Rachael warned. “Give up now before murder is added to your crimes.”
“No worries.” Thad laughed and shoved William hard until his foot landed on the edge of the lake. “I’ve got it all figured out. The DNA test for Kelly is right on the table in the house. Once the police see William is Kelly’s father and find out about his sordid affairs, they’ll know he’s behind the kidnapping, and when he couldn’t get away with it, he dragged you out to the pond and ended both of your lives.
&
nbsp; “Now move.” He pushed William farther onto the lake.
The sound of cracking ice split the quiet. Rachael glanced at an area of the ice where wind had cleared the snow. A fissure in the ice snaked like a living thing across the clearing.
“Keep moving, William,” Thad said.
William peered at Rachael, his face filled with anguish.
“I’m sorry,” he said again and took another step.
The cracking sound intensified, and water oozed up through the fracture in the ice.
Rachael’s fear skyrocketed.
Thad rested his free hand on his chest and cackled. “Oh, poor me. I came home to check on Gloria. As I drove past, I saw William forcing you out here at gunpoint, I came to see what was going on—and arrived just in time to see the water swallow you both.”
SIXTEEN
Jake slammed on his brakes near William’s house and opened the storage container in the truck bed. He grabbed a rope and the Mylar thermal blanket he kept for emergencies. He shoved them into his jacket, then hoofed it toward the lake. As he got near, he crept into the woods until he was close enough to see Thad waving his gun. Then his gaze went to Rachael cringing on the lake, water oozing onto the ice a few feet away. She wasn’t wearing a jacket, and her arms were wrapped around her middle. William stood closer to shore as if frozen in place.
“Drop your weapon.” Skyler’s voice suddenly came from behind a tree much closer to Thad.
Surprised, Jake swung his gaze to Skyler, who stood with her gun extended.
Thad spun, his weapon fixed on her. He chambered a round.
Jake aimed his own gun. All officers were taught to put two bullets in the chest of any person threatening life because the chest was a wide target, and the bullets would instantly stop the threat. Jake should have done as he’d been taught, but he didn’t want Rachael to live with the trauma of seeing Thad die in front of her.
Jake dropped his finger to the trigger. Pulled. The bullet zipped across the space. Struck Thad’s gun hand. His gun fell to the ground, and he cried out.
“It’s Jake,” he yelled to Skyler so she wouldn’t fire on him.
He charged out from cover to tackle Thad as Skyler pounded his way. He took hold of Thad’s arms and jerked them behind his back, then slapped on handcuffs. Jake glanced at the bullet wound on Thad’s hand and knew he needed to stop the bleeding. But first, Rachael and William needed to be rescued.
Christmas Conspiracy Page 17