“What should we do now?” Hannah blew out a breath. “Geez, it’s hot out.”
“Yeah, I could go for some shade.” Tripp turned toward the driveway. “What’re the chances Crazy Chick left the door unlocked? We could go inside and look around. Maybe that deputy missed something when he searched the place earlier.”
Eden shrugged and pushed away from the car. “One way to find out.”
Hannah hurried after her. “I don’t know. Breaking and entering could get us arrested.”
“I honestly don’t give a crap. Besides, I bet we won’t have to break. Just enter. Ten bucks says we can find a spare key in two minutes or less.”
Tripp pulled off his sunglasses and wiped an arm across his face. “No bet. Your Pris doesn’t seem that bright.”
“She’s not my anything, but she’s smarter than you might think. Crafty, at any rate. If she’s responsible for all Blake’s so-called accidents, she’s also resourceful.” Eden jiggled the doorknob then lifted the door mat and scowled. “Damn.”
“What about the ledge over the door…” Hannah stretched up an arm and felt along the thin strip of board. “Nope.”
Tripp lifted two pots filled with wilted petunias. A key lay under the second one. “Score!”
“I told you it wouldn’t take long. Pris may be devious, but she lacks the ambition to hide the key in a remote spot. Unlock the door.”
Her brother turned the key then pushed the door open and walked inside. “She’s not much of a housekeeper.”
A pile of newspapers lay on an entry table next to an empty coatrack. Eden sorted through them. “The oldest is from four days ago. What do you want to bet that’s when she left for the ranch?”
“The timing’s right.” Hannah headed into the living room and nodded toward the coffee table. “There’s the cell phone the deputy saw.”
“Obviously, she isn’t interested in taking any more calls from the authorities, and she has the excuse that she forgot her phone at home when they do find her to question.” Tripp headed into the kitchen. “There’s a single glass in the sink. No sign that she had a second person here.”
Eden walked down a short hallway leading to bedrooms. One was set up with a hospital bed. She drew in a breath. This was where Josie had lived out the last dozen years of her life. Not lived. Existed. Stepping into the room, she checked a bare closet then paused in front of the dresser to study a large photo of a pretty teenage girl with a sparkle in her eyes. Probably Josie’s senior portrait. A wave of sadness hit her for the girl who hadn’t had a chance to become a woman, and for Blake who’d lived with guilt and sorrow over the accident that caused her death.
“Anything in here?”
Eden turned to face Hannah and shook her head. “No.”
“I checked the master. The room doesn’t look like it’s been occupied in quite a while. The dust was thick in there.”
“Probably not since Pris’s mother died. Let’s go look in her room.”
Eden passed a bath and entered a second bedroom. The bed wasn’t made, and a couple of shirts and some underwear lay in a laundry basket in the corner. A photograph of a much younger Blake was framed on the nightstand. A scrapbook lay next to it. She flipped through page after page of pictures of Blake cut from magazines, and a shiver ran down her spine.
“There are quite a few empty hangers.”
“Huh?” Eden set down the scrapbook and glanced up.
Hannah pointed to the open closet. “Not enough clothes in the basket over there to match all the hangers. My guess is Pris packed a suitcase.”
“Sure. She might have been skulking around the ranch for a couple of days before she figured out a way to grab Blake. I bet her packed bag is either in her car or wherever it is she’s holding him.”
“Makes sense.” Hannah frowned. “There aren’t any clues as to where that might be, though. At least none that I’ve noticed.”
They left the bedroom and headed back to the living room where Tripp sat on the couch, turning the pages of a battered photo album. He glanced up. “Kind of sad. This seems to be the most recent album, and there aren’t any pictures taken since her sister’s accident. It’s like time stood still when that happened.”
“Maybe Pris has a digital collection.” Hannah turned in a slow circle. “That’s weird. No computer. I didn’t notice one in her bedroom, either.”
Eden frowned. “Pris could have a laptop with her, but you’re right about time standing still. It’s like nothing changed for her during all those years she cared for Josie. Maybe that’s why she’s so obsessed with Blake. He was the object of her youthful fantasies, and she never grew out of her infatuation.” Eden let out a long breath. “If I wasn’t so frightened and angry, I’d feel sorry for her.”
The harsh ring of a land line made her jump. She spun around and ran toward the kitchen where a cordless phone sat in the cradle of an answering machine on the counter. As it rang again, she glanced over at her brother when he followed her into the room. “Should I answer it?”
“What if it’s the deputy? We might not want to advertise the fact that we let ourselves into the house.”
“But it could be someone who knows where Pris is.” When the phone rang a third time, she snatched it from the cradle. “Hello.”
Silence greeted her before a gruff voice spoke. “Pris?”
“No, this is a…friend of hers. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Her father. I need to talk to Pris.”
Eden let out a breath. “Mr. Lewis, this is Eden Wilde. I’m not sure if you remember me, but I was at Josie’s service. I picked you up on the road and gave you a ride to the gas station.”
“I remember. Is there a reason you’re in my daughter’s house?”
“Honestly, I’m trying to find her.”
“Seems like a lot of people are. I just spoke to a deputy who wanted to know if I’d seen her recently.”
“Have you?” Eden held her breath.
“Not since the memorial. I’m at home in Salem, which is several hours from Blue Valley.” His voice cracked. “What’s Pris gone and done? That Deputy Bloom said he had more questions for her, but he wouldn’t tell me what they were about.”
“Blake Benedict went missing from our family ranch in Wyoming yesterday evening. Pris was seen leaving right around the time he disappeared.”
“Pris wouldn’t do anything to Blake. She’s been in love with that man since she was a young girl. Maybe that’s not exactly healthy, considering he’ll never reciprocate her feelings, but she’d never harm him.”
“This may be hard for you to hear, but the only explanation is her mind snapped. If she was thinking rationally, she wouldn’t have taken him in the first place. And the fact that no one knows where she’s at right now tells me she has him hidden away somewhere.”
His breathing was ragged in her ear. “I don’t know what to say. I’d help you find him if I could. My daughter obviously needs help.”
Eden closed her eyes. “Do you have any idea where she could be? Does she have a good friend she might turn to for help? Or maybe she has a special place she likes to go?”
“I don’t think Pris has many friends, if any. At least that’s the feeling I got when people spoke to me at Josie’s service. I don’t know anything about my daughter’s habits. From what I could gather, she spent nearly all her time these last few years at the house, ministering to her sister. A home care nurse was on duty each day. Blake paid for that, but Pris didn’t get out much. She wanted nothing to do with me after I left Blue Valley, but I kept in touch with a couple of neighbors who’d give me an update now and then.”
“That won’t help me find her. We’ve talked to all the neighbors who’re home.” Eden tightened her grip on the phone. “Please, Mr. Lewis, there must be something you can think of to give us a place to start looking.”
“All Pris’s happy memories are from the past.” He was silent for a mo
ment. “My wife called me once a short time before she died. She’d been drinking and was crying. She said Pris might as well have died right alongside Josie in that car because neither one of them had any quality of life. She admitted maybe she’d been wrong to keep Josie on life support all those years, but it was too late to undo the damage. She said Pris spent hours and hours beside her sister’s bed with the photograph album open, pointing to different pictures and talking about the good times she, Josie and Blake had had together.” His voice was choked with emotion. “All I can think is she’s trying to relive that past now.”
“It’s something. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. When we locate your daughter, I’ll make sure the police contact you to let you know.”
“I’d appreciate that. I’ll be praying Blake is unharmed when you find him. Maybe with professional help, there’s still hope for Pris.”
He hung up, and Eden returned the phone to the cradle.
“Well, did he have any suggestions about where to look?”
She wiped a hand across her eyes and faced her brother. “Only that she might have taken him to a place with strong memories from their childhood. Let’s go look through the photo album again to see if anything pops.”
Hannah wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Have faith. Based on what you said about Pris living in a dream world from her past, I think this is a viable option.”
Eden nodded as the ache of tears pressed against her throat. Determined not to break down, she settled on the couch with the opened album on her lap. “Pris was going through this with Blake after her sister’s service.” She paused. “I remember this shot with the snowman. Now I wish I’d paid more attention while she talked.” Eden carefully studied each photo that included Blake. “Here they’re at the house, and that one was taken down at a river somewhere. I remember she said something about getting sunburned.”
Tripp tapped the page. “What about this one? It looks like they’re standing in front of an old barn.”
Excitement stole her breath. “Pris mentioned that photo, too. What the hell did she say?” Closing her eyes, Eden pictured Blake and Pris at the dining room table. “Something about the barn being haunted.” She snapped her fingers. “The Jansens’ old barn.”
“If the place has a reputation for being haunted, I bet kids stay clear of it.” Hannah’s voice rose. “Sounds like an excellent location to hold someone hostage, at least it would be if it’s isolated. Should we call that detective?”
Tripp pushed up off the sagging couch cushion and stood. “Let’s go ask one of the neighbors for directions first. We can check the place out, and if we see Crazy Chick’s car parked nearby, we’ll call the cops.”
“Good idea.” Eden dropped the album on the coffee table. “Let’s go find Blake.”
Chapter 26
Blake sat propped against a hay bale with only one wrist and one ankle chained to give him some freedom of movement. Damn considerate of my old pal. He mentally rolled his eyes. He still wore nothing but his briefs, which normally wouldn’t bother him in the least since modesty wasn’t one of his hang-ups, but the intense look in Pris’s eyes made him more than a little uncomfortable. He bit into the sandwich she’d brought him and chewed slowly.
“Are you going to tell me why the deputy wanted to speak to you?”
“I’ve nothing to hide.” A giggle slipped out. “Not from you, anyway. We’re building trust, here.” Her lips flattened. “Apparently that bitch, Eden, told the authorities she believes I was the one who took you away from the ranch. The deputy here was following up, but I convinced him I was home the whole time. Since there was no sign of you anywhere in my house, I’m pretty sure he didn’t doubt a word I said.”
Blake clamped his teeth together. He could only hope the deputy wasn’t as clueless as Pris seemed to think. After hours spent with her, he was no longer under the misconception escape would be easy. She was damn careful not to get within reach whenever he had a hand free. And pointing out all the reasons she should let him go had only made her angry. Pris was long past the point of reason. He finished the sandwich in silence.
She sneezed then pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket to wipe her nose. “Do you need to use the facilities?”
He gave a quick head shake. “No.” The way she was looking at him, she’d probably stick around to watch him pee. The thought of what might follow made his stomach queasy. “Where did you get the tranquilizer gun?”
“What?” Her gaze rose to meet his.
“The gun you used to shoot me with those damn darts.”
“There’s no need to snap at me.” She shrugged. “You may remember my father used to work for Fish and Game. I found the gun stored with a bunch of junk in the closet a few years ago and bought the darts online.” Her eyes narrowed. “As much as I had hoped you’d cooperate wholeheartedly with my plan, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have backup resources at my disposal.”
Was the butcher knife she’d used to slice the foot-long sandwich in two also backup? It lay beside her right thigh on the quilt where she sat. If Pris left the barn, he should be able to grasp the edge of the blanket to tug the knife toward him. The problem was, she seemed to have settled in for the duration.
“I’m not stupid, Blake.”
No, she wasn’t completely delusional, not when it came to staying cautious. But the hazel eyes glittering with feverish emotion and focused intently on him sent a chill down his spine. He searched for a subject to keep her talking. The last thing he wanted was for Pris to drug him again in order to resume the interrupted backrub.
“Don’t you have to go to work? Do you intend to leave me chained up for hours at a time while you’re at the museum?”
She sneezed again. “Damn pollen. I didn’t think I was allergic.” After wiping watering eyes, she scowled. “I was angry when that old biddy, Mrs. Needameyer, fired me, but I guess it worked out for the best since now I can spend all my time with you. My bank account is getting pretty low, but you had enough cash in your wallet to pay for food and gas. In a few days, when you’re feeling more grateful to me for taking you away from your old, toxic life, we’ll go to the bank to withdraw more.”
“My acting career is toxic?”
She crumpled the bag the sandwiches had been in. “I’ve watched your movies, and it makes me sick knowing they force you to kiss all those women.” Her voice softened. “The man you are deep inside must resent being treated like a piece of meat. I bet you hate every minute of it, even if you don’t show your feelings.”
“Then don’t you think forcing me to stay here is wrong? You’re no better than those producers, Pris, trying to dictate how I should act.”
“That’s not true! This is for your own good, not so a bunch of people can make millions off you. My intentions are pure.”
Pure crazy.
“Anyway, I’m confident, in your heart, you love me the way I love you. Now that Josie’s gone, you don’t have to stay loyal to her anymore. You’ve grieved long enough and are free to love again.”
The irony of her words wasn’t lost on him. “I can’t very well love you with only one free hand. Maybe if you came over here and cut me loose, we could see how our chemistry is together.”
She shook a finger at him. “Don’t try to trick me, Blake. Besides, you don’t need your hands free to kiss me. I’m fine with starting slow to build the physical side of our relationship.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. “Although, honestly, once I have you in my arms, I’m not sure I’ll be able to wait.”
Exactly what he was afraid of. The idea of being chained up and at Pris’s mercy when she was feeling horny turned his stomach. But if he could get her close enough while he still had a hand free… It was a risk he had to take.
Blake pasted on a smile. He wouldn’t be much of an actor if he couldn’t convince one deluded woman he was in the mood for a little action.
“Eden and I have been dating, or whatever
you want to call it, off and on, but that doesn’t mean we’re exclusive. She’s fun to be with. No more.”
Her eyes narrowed. “But you said—”
“I said a lot of things, hoping you’d turn me loose. If you aren’t going to let me go, we may as well enjoy ourselves.” His smile widened as he held out his unshackled hand. “Maybe we’ll be spectacular together. There’s one way to find out.”
Her breathing came in short, hard pants. “I need to secure you first.”
“Come on, Pris. If you shoot me up with tranquilizers again, you’re going to have a long wait for me to come around. That’ll certainly kill the mood.” He gave her a look he’d been told made millions of women melt in their seats in dark movie theaters. “Wouldn’t you rather get started right now? What else do we have to do?”
“I don’t know about this…”
“Haven’t you waited long enough? You said yourself you’ve made endless sacrifices for this moment.”
Her legs shook as she rose to her feet then slowly pulled her shirt off over her head. Full breasts pressed against the flimsy restraints of a lacy bra. “More than you know.”
* * * *
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Eden slowed the SUV to a crawl as they bumped through a series of ruts in the dirt road. “Why would anyone build a barn out here?”
Hannah leaned forward between the seats. “The woman we spoke to mentioned the house burned down way back in the Depression, and no one ever rebuilt. If the family stopped paying taxes, the government probably owns this land and forgot all about it.”
“We’re definitely on the right track. This road—if you can call it that—wasn’t marked, but it’s right where the neighbor said it would be.” Tripp pointed. “Hey, I see something near that stand of willows. There must be a stream running through there.”
Wilde Horses Page 29