“Slow down, Morris. I can’t believe this,” she said as she leaned back against the wall and tried to think. “Definitely call the police. I don’t know—no wait.” Stacey took a deep breath to help clear her mind. “I got this weird call last night from some guy wanting—no, insisting—that I take a job for him. He sort of sounded threatening at the end, but that shouldn’t—hold on,” she stopped as Yvette put her head around the kitchen door. Yvette rarely came near the kitchen.
“Stacey, I really cannot spend all day running you down for calls. Some man wants you on line three. He wouldn’t give me a name and was almost as rude as that Morris character. He said you were expecting a call about a mutual friend.” Yvette let the door swing wildly as she left.
“Morris, I think that guy’s on the other line. Can you hold?”
“Yes, but not for long. Cathy has to be going nuts with worry.”
Stacey switched to the other line. “This is Stacey.”
“Did Mr. Haley get my note?” the male voice from the evening before asked.
“Yes, and he passed along the message. What is this about and where is Marcus? You know you’re in serious—”
“There’s a young friend of yours who would like to speak to you,” the voice interrupted.
Stacey slid down the wall to sit on the floor with the receiver clenched in her hand. It was true. This man had one of her godchildren. She heard a muffled sound then Marcus came on the line.
“Stacey, can I go home now? Am I gonna be in trouble about school? Wait, I’m not...” She heard the word, ‘done,’ as if the phone had been moved away from Marcus.
“Are you ready to do what I tell you, yet? Or would you like to hear him scream a few times first?” The deep male voice was back on the phone.
“If you hurt him...” she started then decided it might not be good for Marcus if she antagonized this man. “What do you want me to do?” Stacey forced her voice to sound as calm as she could under the circumstances.
“Very good, Stacey. You do learn quickly,” he taunted. “I’ve decided that rather than lead us into the mountains to retrieve our misplaced items, my friends and I will wait for you to go get them and bring them to us. Do you agree?”
“Yes. But you have to let Marcus go first. Then I’ll do whatever you say.”
“It doesn’t work that way. The young man will be our guest and remain unharmed until we get our misplaced items. I’ll let you think about it for a while and call you with the details later. Be at this number. If you contact the authorities, he will disappear.” The line went dead.
Stacey choked back the hysteria threatening to overwhelm her and switched back to the line where Morris was holding. “It was him—the guy from last night. God, Morris—he has Marcus. He let me talk to Marcus and he’s okay, I swear. There’s a job I have to do then they’ll let me have Marcus. The guy said no police and he’s going to call later with the details of what I have to do. Morris—I...” she was near to breaking down.
“You’re sure Marcus was okay?” Morris tried hard to remain rational. The thought of his son with someone who might hurt him was too much to bear.
“Yes, I’m sure it was him and he sounded good. He was worried about being in trouble because of school. Surely they know if they hurt him, I won’t go after whatever it is they want. He’s the leverage to make me do it.” Something horrible occurred to Stacey. “Oh, Morris, they know about all of you. They had to be watching to know how to get Marcus. Get Cathy and Marie and come here. All of you might be in danger until I do what they want. That man’s supposed to call me here and you’ll be on hand to speak to Marcus if he’ll let you. Maybe together we can figure this out,” she suggested. “I’m going to call a friend and I’ll explain when you get here. Don’t call the police, yet. Trust me, Morris.”
Stacey hung up without hearing his reply and raced out the back door. She ran all the way to her room and jerked open the nightstand drawer. The folded piece of paper with his number was still in her address book where she placed it weeks ago. Cord was the only one she knew who would even begin to know what they should do.
With shaking hands, Stacey pushed the correct numbers and held the receiver. At the familiar, brisk sound of his voice, she almost lost it. He gave a brief statement that no response within two hours meant to seek assistance elsewhere if the situation was an emergency. Cord listed three other numbers to call for help and finished with the usual request to leave a name and number after the tone. She finally heard the beep for the message.
“Co-rd,” her voice broke. She cleared her throat and started again. “Cord, someone has kidnapped one of the twins. I really need your help. Please be there. Call me at the lodge.” She left the number and hung up. Tears streamed down her face. She desperately needed to hear from him.
“Stacey! Stacey, are you here?” Lucy called from downstairs as she hurried in the front door left standing open.
“I’m here, mom,” Stacey answered and ran downstairs to meet her mother.
“Are you okay? Albert said you flew out of the kitchen as white as a ghost. He thought you were sick,” Lucy saw Stacey’s face as she reached the bottom of the stairway. “Honey, whatever is the matter?” She reached up to smooth several strands of Stacey’s wild hair back from her very pale, damp face.
“We have to go back to the lodge so I can tell daddy, too. I’m not sick,” she answered and wiped at the tears as they hurried back to the lodge together to find Sam.
Yvette pointed them to the office, grumbling that it wasn’t her job to keep up with everyone.
Lucy and Stacey went in and closed the door. As calmly as she could, Stacey told them about Marcus being kidnapped.
“Call the authorities. They’re trained to handle situations like this,” Sam advised at once, pacing around his office and stroking his chin as he did when upset. “The crooks always say not to call the police hoping they can intimidate people into just going along with their demands. I refuse to have you involved, Stacey. They want you to do something dangerous and illegal or why go to all this trouble?”
“Dad, please. It’s up to Morris and Cathy what to do about calling the police.” She didn’t include she asked them to wait. “If it were in your power to do something that might help get Marcus back, I know you wouldn’t walk away. I can’t either,” she argued softly. “Morris is bringing Cathy and Marie here. I was afraid they might be in danger in town.”
Sam was nodding when there was a discreet tapping at the door.
Yvette opened it without waiting for an invitation and looked at Stacey. “I don’t know what it is with you today, but there’s another man on the phone insisting he has to talk to you.”
“Yvette, as of now all calls for Stacey are priority, even if you have to leave a guest standing. We’ve got a situation I’ll explain shortly,” Sam ordered as Stacey picked up the receiver and pushed the flashing button for the correct line.
“This is Stacey.” She prayed it would be Cord.
“Tell me what’s going on, Parker. I was in the shower,” Cord told her.
Stacey collapsed into her father’s chair and went over what happened, including the first odd phone call. She finished by asking if this could have anything to do with their recent job together. When her dad logically concluded something illegal was behind this, the missing bonds and the kidnapping of the two teens raced through her mind. She should have thought of that earlier, but went blank for a while.
Cord quickly added things up and arrived at the same conclusion. “The man’s name is Marshall Thompson. At least the name he’s using currently. The FBI kept Ricky and Don out of his reach and they have sketches of him and the two men who weren’t killed in the crash. The hunters who had their ATV’s stolen at gunpoint didn’t remember seeing anything that could have held the bonds. Tell you anything?”
“Guess what I’m supposed to retrieve. It makes a lot more sense now. I’ll have to do what they want, Cord. Should we call the FBI or what?”
Stacey trusted his judgment. The reason she thought of him in the first place was because of his expertise in just this type of situation. She was sure he would know exactly what to do.
“Don’t do anything or go anywhere until I get there. I’m in Dallas. I can be there late this afternoon. Tell your friends to sit tight and I’ll make the necessary calls from here. Thompson won’t hurt the boy as long as he needs him to make you get the bonds. If he wants you to start before I get there, stall him. Tell him you have to get your gear together to make the trip. I’ll see you as soon as I can. And Parker—I missed you.” He hung up.
Stacey replaced the receiver slowly.
Her mother and father looked at her expectantly. There was finally some color in her cheeks and the panic receded. “Well?” Sam finally asked when she didn’t say anything.
“That was Cord McConnell. He’s an expert in this type of thing and he’s coming to help. He’s going to make some calls and he wants us to wait for him before we do anything else.”
“And we should do this because?” Sam asked irritably and sat down on the sofa beside his wife.
“Daddy, I just told you. Cord’s an expert. You’ll understand when you meet him. And he has contacts—law enforcement, the military, even the government,” Stacey explained.
“How did you meet somebody like that?”
“Sam,” Lucy cautioned. Stacey’s father liked to think her job was merely like day trips, hiking through the woods smelling the flowers. He never accepted certain aspects of what she did were dangerous. Maybe, because of Sammy he couldn’t.
“It’s okay, mom. The job I was on a few weeks ago was fairly—involved,” was the word Stacey settled with. “We met while I was on that job. I can’t tell you anymore, except that I trust him. He would never let anything happen to Marcus. Or to me, daddy,” Stacey was absolutely sure of that and they could hear it in her voice.
“Honey, why don’t you grab a drink and something to eat? Morris and Cathy will be here soon and you might not get the chance after that,” Lucy suggested.
Knowing her mom wanted to talk to her dad, Stacey got up to leave them alone. “Okay, mom. I’m really sorry about all this trouble. I’ll be in the dining room.”
Lucy turned to Sam after the door closed behind their daughter. “This man is important to her.”
“Woman’s intuition?” Sam asked and reached for his wife’s hand.
“Didn’t you hear it in her voice? He put some color back in her face while they were on the phone, too. You know she hasn’t been the same since she came back from that last trip.”
“You think it’s because of this guy, McConnell? She said the job was involved. It could have taken a lot out of her. Maybe she’s just been worried about it. We’ve kept her pretty busy around here with the staff on vacation.” Lucy was shaking her head while he talked. She wasn’t buying into it. “Besides, I thought she and Derek are an item.”
“They haven’t dated at all since she got back. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we? I better make sure that we have a room ready for Mr. McConnell,” Lucy stood up and blew him a kiss as she slipped out the door to get back to work.
Sam got up and went outside to the maintenance shed. He needed to find work to do and he didn’t want to be in the lodge when the Haleys arrived. Watching women cry was not on his list of things to do today. He’d let Stacey and Lucy handle all that and then he’d do what he could after the crying slowed down.
When the Haleys arrived a short time later, Cathy fell apart in Stacey’s arms.
Lucy hurriedly took Marie to the dining room for some lunch. At only seven, the child was naturally confused about what was going on with her brother. Seeing her mother cry made her more upset. Marie politely refused the food that Auntie Lucy put in front of her, even though the plate contained corn and carrot sticks, two of her favorites. She insisted she wanted to wait for Marcus and eat with him.
“Marie, we’re not sure when Marcus will be back. He doesn’t expect you to wait for him. It might not be today,” Lucy explained gently.
“Daddy told mommy that Stacey could help bring Marcus home. Is it true?”
“I think so. They’re waiting for an important call to tell Stacey what she has to do. Then she’ll make arrangements to get Marcus.”
“Will we have to wait a long time?”
“I don’t know, Marie. I hope not, but it always seems like a long time when you have to wait for something, doesn’t it?” Lucy stroked the child’s blond hair and prayed it wouldn’t be long.
With an exaggerated sigh, Marie nodded and picked up her fork. “I guess I should eat. I don’t want mommy to worry about me, too.”
Lucy hugged Marie and blinked away the tears. The twins occasionally argued and had bad days as all kids did, but they were very kind-hearted and usually well behaved. They were extremely dependent on each other. “When you finish, what would you like to do?”
“Could I play a game on the computer?” Marie asked as she chewed on a carrot stick.
“Of course. We just have to ask your mom and let her know where you’ll be. It’s really important right now that she knows where you are every minute,” Lucy thought this was a good time to get Marie’s cooperation without scaring her more.
“I know, Auntie Lucy,” she agreed, giving Lucy the honorary title that started when the twins were tiny. “On account of Marcus being missing and mommy being sad.”
Lucy agreed and waited patiently while Marie ate her lunch.
Stacey and Morris finally took Cathy into Sam’s vacated office and urged her to the sofa. She sat crying quietly, clutching Stacey’s hands as Stacey told them who Cord was and what he asked her to tell them.
“This goes back to that weird plane crash a few weeks ago, doesn’t it?” Morris was not dumb and he had picked up bits and pieces of what happened from the unusual police activity during the past few weeks.
“Cord and I both think so,” she told them.
“Then you know who has Marcus?” Cathy held her breath as she waited for Stacey’s answer to Morris’ question.
“Not definitely, but we have a good idea,” Stacey hedged, not sure how much she should say before Cord arrived.
“Oh God, Stacey,” Cathy pleaded. “Don’t hold anything back. We have to know. It’s always better to know than to imagine the worst.”
“I know, Cathy. I really don’t mean to be evasive, but the FBI is still working on this and I’m not sure how much I...” Stacey watched her friend’s face as it crumbled and more tears began to fall. “Even if it’s wrong, I have to tell you. If they don’t like it, they can lock me up later,” Stacey decided. Marcus was their son and no one had any more right to the information than they did. She explained about the crash, the bearer bonds, and how she and Cord tracked the thieves to rescue two teenage boys. She did hold back their names and the fact that they were related to a Senator. Then she covered the part about the stolen ATV and the rest of what she and Cord put together on the phone.
“Cord is on his way and will be here later this afternoon. Thompson is supposed to call me with the details of the job. All I can do for now is wait. But if the two of you want to call in the FBI or whoever, I’ll understand. It’s your decision. You have to do what you think is best for Marcus,” Stacey squeezed Cathy’s hands and looked from her to Morris.
“Why didn’t the FBI go after those two teenagers?” Cathy asked.
“Their family was afraid it might force a hostage situation where the boys could get hurt. Or the agents might concentrate more on getting the criminals and the bonds than on rescuing the boys. That’s what I was told when I asked the same question.”
“And that could happen with Marcus?”
“It could, Cathy, but I don’t know what would happen. You know that I love Marcus dearly. I would never do anything I thought might hurt him or put him in more danger. I don’t know the FBI, but I do know Cord. He went into a camp where there were three armed criminals and
he brought those boys out without my hearing a shot. He knows his job and he does it very well, from what I saw. I don’t have any doubt he would have given his life to protect those kids and me, and I believe he’ll do the same for Marcus. I want to bring Marcus back to you, Cathy, but I can’t give you a guarantee. No one can. I’ll gladly do whatever this man wants, but it has to be your decision. I’ll go get us some coffee and give you and Morris a chance to talk.” She also wanted to steer her dad away from his office for a little while longer if she saw him coming in.
“Would you check on Marie for me?” Cathy asked as she let go of Stacey’s hands.
“She’s with mom, but I’ll definitely see how they’re doing. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Stacey pulled the door closed as she left and took a deep breath. Praying silently that Marcus would be okay, Stacey checked on Marie then prepared coffee. Stacey saw her father talking to Yvette.
He came to meet her and took the coffee tray. “How’s Cathy holding up?”
“As well as you could expect. She holds it together for a little while then starts all over again. She and Morris are deciding if they want to call in the authorities. I told them everything I know and I offered to do whatever they think best. I just want to do the right thing, daddy. I feel like this is my fault,” Stacey needed some reassurance.
“Honey, it’s not your fault and I know whatever you do, you’ll do it out of love for Marcus. Come on let’s take this in to Morris and Cathy before it gets cold.”
Morris was sitting on the sofa holding Cathy against his side. She wiped away tears, but wasn’t sobbing at the moment.
Stacey closed the door and passed out cups.
Sam shook hands with Morris, patted Cathy on the shoulder, and stayed quiet.
“Marie is upstairs playing on the computer with mom. She’s fine,” Stacey assured Cathy.
“Can you do what they want, Stacey?” Cathy wanted to know.
Surviving With Love Page 14