by John Holt
* * *
It was just after four-fifteen when Kendall finally left his office. It was later than he had intended, but he still had plenty of time so there shouldn’t be a problem. Besides he expected that once he got out of the town he could make up some of the lost time.
He drove onto NE 163rd Street, and then into NE 167th Street, heading towards the Interstate 95. Traffic was heavier than usual. A little early for the rush hour he thought. He switched on the radio, and turned to the traffic channel. There it was, wouldn’t you know? There had been an accident somewhere down town, and some roads were now closed, and diversions had been set up. Although it was slow, the traffic was at least moving. He hated those traffic jams where it was stop start, or worse where no one moved for hour after hour. You were just stuck there, and nothing you could do about it. He turned left onto the Palmetto Expressway, and continued south onto South Dixie Highway. Traffic on the Expressway was a lot easier, and he was able to make up some of the lost time. Thirty miles later he arrived in Florida City. He continued heading south through the town.
He did not know why but he had the feeling that he was being followed. Every few minutes he would check his rear view mirror. Each time he saw nothing obvious. Perhaps he was worrying for nothing. There was no one following him. Why should anyone be following him anyway? He glanced into his mirror once again. The road behind was clear for as far as you could see.
He shook his head, trying to shake the feeling away. You’re getting paranoid, Kendall. There’s nobody out there. He checked his mirror yet again, the road behind was still clear. He took a deep breath, and started to relax a little. He switched on the radio and flipped through the channels. There was a talk in progress, about Government fiscal policy in the light of the present credit crunch. Fascinating stuff, Kendall muttered, as he quickly changed the station. In quick succession he found a country music station, a programme about the Arts, and one of those heavy foreign plays that just went on and on, with some deep meaningful message he could never follow, or understand. He hated country music, knew nothing about the Arts, and as for the play, well words failed him. Pity the same couldn’t be said for the actors. After a few more minutes of searching he decided that there nothing of any real interest, and switched the radio off.
As he reached the junction he turned to the left. As he did so he glanced at his watch. It was ten minutes to five already. It was later than he had hoped, but he still had plenty of time before six thirty. Nonetheless he wanted to be in position by five thirty at the latest. There was less than four miles to go so that shouldn’t be a problem. Two minutes later he reached the left turn. He slowed down as he approached the junction. Just in front of him was a large open truck. It was stopped at the junction waiting for the traffic to clear. Its indicator was flashing, signaling that it intended turning to the left. Kendall came to a stop behind the truck and waited. After what seemed like an eternity the road ahead was clear. Kendall heard a loud clanking noise as the driver in front put the truck into first gear. He then heard the motor revving loudly. A huge black cloud of smoke came out of the exhaust as the truck started to slowly move forward.
Kendall was now on a single lane roadway that twisted and turned as it made its way south. There was a slight incline in the road and the truck moved very slowly, the driver struggling to keep the motor running, black smoke still billowing out from the back. Kendall followed cautiously behind. Every so often he would make an attempt to overtake, but was constantly prevented from doing so by either oncoming traffic, or a bend in the road. Kendall checked his watch. It was now a quarter past five. Time was going by so fast.
Unlike that truck up ahead, he murmured. That was barely moving at all.
* * *
Twenty-five minutes later Kendall found the fork in the road where he was to turn off. He was now just a little more than a mile from the rendezvous spot. A little further on was a narrow dirt track leading into the forest area. Kendall turned off the road and slowly drove along the track. Two hundred yards further in was a small clearing. He stopped, and got out of the car. He looked around. As far as he could see there was no one. He checked his watch once again. It was now sixteen minutes to six. He looked around once more, and then quickly ran back towards the roadway. Five minutes later Kendall was in position.
* * *
Kendall had taken up a position in the bushes a few yards from the clearing. From his vantage point he had a good view of the tree stump, and of the pathway leading from the road. It was much later than he had planned. He carefully looked around wondering if he had been seen. He saw, and heard nothing. He wondered if the kidnappers were already in the area. Had they seen him arrive? Were they watching him at that very moment? There was no way of knowing, and nothing he could do about it anyway. There was nothing to do now, except wait and watch. Suddenly there was the faint sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. Then there came another. Kendall looked up at the sky. Thick rain clouds were beginning to form and it was getting quite dark. Kendall shivered, and turned up his coat collar. He hoped that the rain would hold off for a little while longer. He checked his watch. Six-fifteen, another twenty minutes, and it would be over, twenty-five at the most. Just twenty-five minutes, that’s all. Just hold off for twenty-five little minutes. He looked back up at the sky as the first drops of rain started to gently fall. Close by came a sound. Twigs cracking, leaves stirring, a rabbit probably, or maybe it was a fox, or a badger, hurrying out of the rain. At least he’ll be home in the dry quite soon now, Kendall murmured. He shrugged his shoulders, and looked up at the sky once more. “Unlike me,” he whispered, as he wrapped his coat tightly around himself.
The rainfall was steadily getting heavier, and Kendall was steadily getting wetter, and colder. Suddenly he heard the sound of a car approaching from the west. He checked his watch. It was six twenty-seven. He looked over in the direction from where the sound was coming. The sound became louder and louder as the car drew nearer and nearer. Although he could not see it, Kendall knew that it was the bright red BMW belonging to Eve Simmonds. A short time later he heard the sound of another car, this time approaching from the east.
That must be them, the kidnappers coming for their money.
Instinctively he moved further back into the shadows to wait once more. There was silence once more. He strained to hear what was happening. He looked out towards the roadway. He could see nothing, but he could imagine what was happening. First there would be the flashing headlamps from her car. Then there would be the answering signal. Then she would get out of her car, pick up the attaché case and make her way slowly into the forest, to the clearing, just in front of him. He took a deep breath, and moved forward a few paces. He peered out from behind a tree, looking in the direction she would be coming.
* * *
Eve Simmonds’ car slowly came to a stop, and she applied the hand brake. She switched off the engine, and waited. It was not long after that she saw another car approaching in the distance. She looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was six-thirty exactly. She switched on her headlights, and flashed them twice. Instantly there came an answering light from the other car. Then the lights went out. For a few brief seconds she continued to sit in the car staring into the distance. There was low rumble of thunder in the distance, and then the rain started, gently at first, gradually getting stronger. The sound of the rain hitting the windshield startled her. She shook herself, and then she rubbed her eyes. She took a deep breath, and got out of the car. She opened the rear door, reached inside and withdrew the dark blue attaché case. There was a soft clunk as she closed the door.
She looked up at the sky. It was filled with thick dark clouds, and the rain was now falling quite steadily. She looked down the road, towards the other car. It was beginning to get quite dark, and she was unable to see anything clearly. She wondered if the car was still occupied, and were they watching her at that moment, waiting to see what was going to happen. Or were they already in the cleari
ng waiting for her. She shivered. Certainly it was beginning to get quite cold, but it wasn’t the cold that made her shiver. She suddenly felt very afraid. She felt exposed, vulnerable. She knew that Kendall was already in the forest somewhere, but she also knew that he would be of little help if anything were to happen.
She took a deep breath, and started to walk slowly into the forest. “Fifty yards,” she murmured, as she started to count her steps. “One, two, three, four.” She stopped at a sudden noise. She looked up. A short distance away she thought that she saw a shadow moving. “Kendall,” she murmured. Then she shook her head. “No it couldn’t have been Kendall. He would have been much further into the forest.”
She looked over to where the shadow had been, and listened. There was no sound, and no further movement. “Probably a rabbit, or a fox,” she murmured. “But perhaps it was one of the kidnappers.”
She began to sweat, and her breathing became laboured. It would be a simple matter for them just to kill her here and now. Just take the money and run. What was there to stop them? A simple tap on the head would do it. No one knew that she was there did they? No one knew who the kidnappers were. No one knew what they looked like. It would be so easy for them.
She suddenly realized that she never actually had any proof that they were holding her husband. She only had their word for it. A few handwritten letters, that was all. Anybody could write those. She hadn’t even spoken to them. Perhaps it was all a confidence trick, a scam, after all. Maybe it was just a clever trick to extort money from her. Meanwhile he was living it up in Chicago, or New York, or somewhere.
“No no they must have him,” she murmured, trying hard to convince herself. “They have him all right, and all I have to do is pay over this money, then he will be released.”
She looked down at the case in her hand, and noticed that her hand was shaking. She took a deep breath, and started walking once more. “Five, six, seven ….”
A few minutes later she reached the edge of the clearing. “Forty-six, forty-seven,” she continued counting. “There it is,” she whispered.
She saw the tree stump a few yards away on the other side of the clearing. She stopped and slowly looked around. She wondered where Kendall was. As far as she could see there was no sign of him. She walked over to the tree stump and carefully placed the case inside the hollowed out trunk. She looked around once more, and then turned and quickly walked back to her car. She remembered what Kendall had said. “Get away as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything, and don’t look back.” She walked as fast as she could. Her heart was beating fast, and she had difficulty breathing. What seemed like a lifetime later she finally reached her car. As she did so she noticed that the other vehicle was no longer in sight. She quickly got into her car, and switched on the ignition. She backed up onto the side of the road, turned the car around and drove away.
* * *
Kendall watched as she approached the clearing. He could see the case in her hand. He saw her suddenly stop and slowly look around. “Go on,” Kendall urged in a whisper. “Go on.”
After a few moments she continued walking towards the tree stump. She stopped at the tree, and looked around once more. Then he saw her place the attaché case inside the stump. He watched as she then turned and started to walk away. “Hurry,” he whispered. “Don’t look back. Just go.” She reached the other side of the clearing, and disappeared from view. A few moments later he heard the slamming of a car door, then the sound of the engine starting. She was gone. That part, at least was safely over.
He wondered how long it would be before the money was collected. It was not long after that he got his answer. He suddenly saw someone move out of the shadows over to his left hand side. The figure started to walk towards the tree. Kendall quickly moved back behind the bushes. A few moments later the shadowy figure moved into the clearing and over to the tree stump. The figure suddenly stumbled and fell again the stump, extending his hand to stop himself. Kendall could see the man stand up, and reach into his pocket. He took out what appeared to be a handkerchief. As he did so something fell to the ground. Kendall stared trying to see what it was, but it was too far away, and it was too dark. Kendall shook his head. It was probably not that important anyway. It would have been more to the point if he could have seen the man himself, but it was just too dark to see clearly.
As the man wrapped the handkerchief around his hand he continued towards the tree stump. Was there anything about the man, Kendall wondered, anything that could help to identify him? His walk maybe, or his posture, anything? Kendall was sure that he had seen the man before, but where?
The man bent down, and picked up the case. A few moments later the case was lying on the ground open. The man reached in and took out a bundle of dollar bills, and slowly flipped through them. Satisfied he put the bundle back inside the case, and closed it. He then stood up, the case in his hand. He looked around and started to walk back towards the road. A few minutes later he had disappeared.
Kendall continued to wait behind the tree. He checked his watch. It was six forty-five. Another few minutes and they would be gone. He looked up at the sky. It was still dull, and overcast, but the rain had stopped. Cautiously he emerged from behind the bushes and started to walk towards the clearing. As he reached the tree stump he noticed a small piece of paper lying on the ground. Next to it were some drops of blood. Kendall bent down and picked up the piece of paper. It appeared to be part of a receipt from the Hotel Lexington, in New York.
He was about to throw it back down on the ground when he suddenly remembered something that Russell had said, something about Carl Simmonds. “He has stayed at the Lexington in the past.” Kendall carefully put the piece of paper into his pocket. As he did so he heard the sound of a car driving away. “Their car,” he murmured. Kendall gave a sigh of relief. That part of the plan was safely over successfully. Sadly the rest of the plan had not gone particularly well, in fact anything but. It had been too dark to get a good look at the men. And now the car had gone, and he had no idea of the make or registration number. All he had to show was a small piece of bloodstained paper that he thought the kidnapper had dropped.
* * *
Chapter Ten
An Unexpected Visitor
It was quite late when Eve Simmonds finally arrived back at her apartment. The clock on the mantelshelf was just striking ten-thirty as she closed the front door behind her. She was exhausted, both physically, and mentally. It had been a long, hard day, and not one that she had been looking forward to. She was glad that it was now all over. She could certainly use a drink, several drinks in fact, followed by a long hot soak in the bath, and then bed. She would sleep tonight. She took off her coat and threw it towards the back of the sofa. It missed by a yard, and fell in a heap to the floor. She sighed wearily, and shook her head. Leave it, it can just stay there. Janet would pick it up in the morning. Then she suddenly remembered that Janet would not be in until the afternoon. She looked at the coat, and shook her head. Let it stay there, she was just too weary to care. She slowly walked over to the cabinet on the far side of the room, and started to mix herself a drink, a very dry martini. As she did so she suddenly heard a movement behind her.
“Make mine a scotch,” a voice called out. “And a little water. It’s been a hard day.” Startled she dropped her glass. It hit the side of the cabinet, smashing into several pieces, spilling her martini all over the carpet.
She spun around quickly. “Carl?” she said. “What are you doing here?”
Carl looked at her, and raised his eyebrows. “What am I doing here?” he repeated. He began to laugh. “I’m your husband. I live here, don’t you remember?”
Eve shook her head. “Yes yes of course you do. I know that,” she replied. She stared at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean ….” She shook her head again. “As you said it’s been a hard day.” She started to pour herself another drink. Her hands were shaking, and she had difficulty in pouring out the drink without
spilling more of the liquid on to the carpet. “How long …” She took a deep breath, and then cleared her throat. “How long have you … been there?” she asked, stumbling over her words.
He smiled at her, and thought for a few moments. “Oh let me see now.” He looked up to the ceiling, and then he glanced over to the clock on the mantle shelf. It was just after eleven thirty. “I got here a little after one o’clock, I believe.”
That wasn’t possible, she whispered, he must be mistaken. A joke perhaps, although what was so funny she had no idea. “One o’clock,” she repeated. “Are you sure?” That was about the time that she had arrived at Kendall’s office. Five and a half hours before she had actually paid over the ransom money. She shook her head once again. This did not make any sense. “That’s not possible,” she said. “It could not have been one o’clock.” She was beginning to shake violently, and having difficulty in breathing.
He smiled at her. “You know, come to think of it, you are absolutely right, as always. It wasn’t one o’clock at all,” he replied. He looked at her for a few moments. “It was nearer a quarter past one.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Yes it was quarter past exactly. I remember now. The news summary had just finished on the car radio as I drove up. That would be ten past one. Then five minutes or so in the lift, and here we are.” He nodded his head, satisfied.
He suddenly stopped smiling. “Well I must say I’m very disappointed by your welcome, or should I say, lack of welcome,” he continued. “You don’t look very pleased to see me, not pleased at all.” He started to move closer to her. “No welcome home kiss for your loving husband,” he said menacingly. “No nice to see you, I’ve missed you.” He smiled once again. “No thank goodness you’re safe.” He started to laugh. “No matter,” he murmured.
She shook herself. “I’m sorry,” she said nervously, still unsure, hesitant. “But the kidnapping?” she mumbled. “I’m so confused. I don’t understand.” She placed her hands up to her face. “I never expected to see you so soon. They said that it would be forty-eight hours before you would be released.”