The morning had given way to the afternoon and the afternoon to the evening sooner than Haley would have liked. She’d spent the time getting to know her new family and holding Micah’s hand for most of the day. He didn’t understand why his mother hadn’t been in to see him, and the doctors still didn’t want him to know about her death. Not just yet.
She’d been sitting with Micah when her friend Nathan had texted her to let her know he was sick with the flu and wouldn’t be able to make it to care for the horses for a few days.
She and Christina had arrived at Haley’s home about an hour ago. “Thanks for helping,” Haley said as she finished mucking out another stall. She shut the door, then moved to the next one.
Christina looked up from unwrapping the hose. “Of course. Two makes the work go faster.”
Haley led Comet from his stall and tied his lead rope to the hook on the wall of the barn.
“Where did you learn to take care of horses?” Haley asked her.
“I ride every once in a while. My brother has a barn in Kentucky. When I visit him and his family, we always go out on a trail ride with my niece and nephew.”
“Is that where you’re from? Kentucky?”
“I’m an Army brat. I’m from all over.”
Haley’s phone buzzed and she pulled it from the back pocket of her shorts. “Hello?”
“Haley . . .”
“Cupcake, good to hear from you. Are you all almost there?”
“. . . been . . . help . . .”
“Michelle? You’re breaking up.” The call dropped and Haley dialed the number back. It went straight to voice mail. “Cupcake, call me back. I couldn’t understand what you were saying.” She hung up and stuck the phone back in her pocket. She frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. That was Michelle. One of the trip chaperones. I mean, I think it was her. She must be in an area with a really bad signal.”
Haley stroked the brush down Comet’s side while Christina held the hose over the bucket in the stall. She filled it to the top, then set the hose aside, swiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her wrist, and placed her hands on her hips. “You think they’re okay?”
“I don’t know. I heard the word ‘help.’ It makes me nervous.” She dialed Madison’s number. It went straight to voice mail. She tried a few more and got the same response. “I don’t like it.”
“Let’s try tracking her number.”
Haley dialed Steven’s number and got no answer. Then she tried Quinn’s. “Hello?”
“Hey, I need you to see if you can get a location on a phone for me.”
“Sure. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping nothing.”
“Hold on, I’m almost to my desk.” She heard rustling and then the click of the keyboard keys.
“You still there?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a long night. Steven and I have a sting set up to see if we can catch our killers in action. All right, give me the number.”
Haley did.
More keys clicking. “I’m not getting a location. She’s off the grid.”
Haley’s stomach tightened. “Try this one.” She gave him Donnalynn’s number.
“Same thing,” he said.
“Something’s wrong.” They tried five more numbers with the same results and Haley’s panic level shot up. “Something’s not right, Quinn.”
“Well, we’re not able to track them through their phones.”
“What about the bus? Track the bus.”
“Give me the name of the company.”
She did and Quinn said, “Hold on.”
Haley bit her lip. God, keep them safe, please.
“What are you thinking?” Christina asked.
“That I need to find them. I want to ride the route they took. See if we can see them. Find out why we can’t reach them.”
“And I said track the bus, now!” Haley flinched at Quinn’s bellow. “If I have to come down there, I’m going to arrest someone, understand? This is an emergency.”
Somehow that’s how Quinn got results, so she didn’t chastise him about catching more flies with honey.
He came back to her. “They’re getting it.” His voice faded again as he spoke into the other phone. “Yeah? Yeah. Okay. That’s what I needed to know . . . Haley?”
“Yes.”
“They said the GPS was disabled. There’s no way to track it.”
“I’m going to drive the route.”
“I’m on the way.”
“No, I’ll let you know if I need backup. Right now, it could be nothing. Christina’s with me.”
“I don’t like it. I’m going to send an officer to go with you.”
“Fine, but they’ll have to catch up to me.”
“Haley—”
“Gotta go, Quinn.” She hung up and turned to Christina. “Let’s go.”
They checked the Hummer and found it clean. The two of them climbed in and Haley cranked the powerful vehicle. She pulled out and headed down the drive, waving to the police officer sitting at the entrance to her property. He waved back and stayed put. His orders were to make sure no one set foot near Haley’s house whether she was home or not. Haley didn’t bother to ask him to follow her. She wanted him there in case Hugh or someone decided to come to her house. She sure didn’t want anyone walking in on a killer.
Haley headed for I-20. Christina was texting and letting the others in the agency know what was going on and what they were doing.
“Maddy agreed with Quinn and thought you should wait for some backup.”
“I don’t know if we even need backup for anything. This is just a scouting mission.”
“All right,” Christina said, “messages sent.” She paused. “You know this could be a trap, right?”
“The thought occurred to me.”
“Okay, just checking.” A short pause. “Because right now, it’s just you and me.”
“And the officer on the way.” Haley blew out a low breath. “Do you want me to let you out?”
“No way. This is my job and I don’t mind doing it. I was just pointing that out.”
“Thank you. We’ll be careful.” Her phone buzzed. “Take a look at that, will you?”
“Sure. It’s a text from someone named Madison.”
“Madison? She’s one of the teens. What does it say?”
Christina lifted her eyes to Haley’s, then back to the phone.
I have them. I will kill them. Come alone. Come now. You have fifteen minutes to get here. If you’re not here at the appointed time, they die. If you have anyone with you, they die. If I see any cops, they die. If you text or call anyone, they die. I’ve hacked your phone, I’ll know. It’s very simple.
Haley swerved to the side of the road. “Fifteen minutes. What time is it?”
“7:15.”
“Okay. It’s time for you to go.”
“There are pictures.” Christina held the phone out so Haley could see.
Solemn, scared faces in a dark bus stared back at her. She swiped. Another picture. This time of the door of the bus wired shut with what looked like a bomb attached. And the last picture was of the emergency exit. Another bomb. Her heart pounded. “I’ve got to go. Get out.”
“I’ll lie down in the back.”
“He’ll check. Get out now. Track my phone. Track the GPS on my car, but get out.”
“He’ll kill you if you go alone.”
The vivid image of him coldly firing three shots into her bed flashed. “He’ll kill them if I don’t. I’m running out of time. Now go!”
Christina gave Haley’s phone back to her, then pulled her own phone from the clip on her belt. “He doesn’t know you’re with anyone. You can use my phone to communicate.” She laid her phone on the center console.
“Perfect. Thanks.”
Christina slipped out of the car and slammed the door. Haley responded.
I’m on my way, but I don’t know where I’m going.
Yes you do. Just follow the signs. And tell your friend to get back in the car and to throw her phone out the window. Now! Thirteen minutes.
What signs?
12 minutes. Tell her to get back in the car.
He could see them. He was watching. But how? Haley scanned her dash, the area around the mirrors. No cameras. That meant he was watching from a distance. She rolled her window down. “Christina, come back!” The woman turned and Haley motioned her back. While Christina was quickly retracing her steps, Haley slid Christina’s phone off the console and sent a group text to Steven and Quinn.
911. Help. I-20 toward NY. Bus rigged to explode.
She snapped a picture of her phone’s screen with the three photos and hit send. She was surprised her fingers cooperated, but her adrenaline was flowing, her mind sharp, and her fury boiling. She was taking a chance that he could see what she was doing, but she had to do something.
The passenger door opened and Christina looked in. “What?”
“He knows you’re with me, get in.”
Christina climbed in.
Her phone buzzed again.
The clock is ticking. Throw her phone out.
“Throw your phone out the window.”
Christina grimaced but did so.
Haley put the Hummer in drive. “He said to follow the signs, but I don’t know what signs.”
“It’s close by. He gave you fifteen minutes.”
Haley glanced at her phone. “Which is now ten minutes.” Her fingers flexed on the wheel. “Follow the signs,” she muttered. Her eyes landed on the orange and black detour sign just ahead. She took the exit ramp, praying she was right.
[26]
Sluggish but awake, Michelle shuddered as the events played through her memory. She wanted to sink back into the blessed oblivion, but she had kids to take care of. She pressed a hand to her head. It pounded with a fierce throb, but she ignored it as she took in the situation and did her best not to panic. The bright interior lights reflected on the windows, showing only a dark red hue beyond them. The attacker was gone and the bus was still. But they had light until the battery died—or they ran out of gas.
Her phone said they’d been out for about an hour.
She looked over the silent, scared kids who’d woken one by one to discover their situation, then back at the driver who had yet to open his eyes. She leaned over, placed her fingers over his wrist, and felt his pulse beating steady if a bit slow. “I need to get this bleeding stopped or this man is going to die,” she said.
“What do you need me to do?” Donnalynn asked.
“I need something to tie around his chest to hold this shirt in place.” Fortunately, instead of putting their suitcases under the bus, they’d just put them in the empty seats. Michelle had dug into hers and found the white T-shirt she was using to hold over the man’s wound.
Donnalynn stood. “I have just the thing. They’re in my suitcase.”
“He said there was a bomb,” Madison said.
“I know what he said, baby. There are two bombs. One on each door. We can’t do anything about that, but we can pray, so get to it, okay?”
“Okay,” the girl whispered. “But I’m scared. And my head hurts.”
“Mine does too. Why don’t you look in my purse and get some ibuprofen?”
“Okay.” Madison didn’t move. “What does he want?”
“What?”
“You said that once he got what he wants, he’ll let us go. What does he want? And who can give it to him?”
“I don’t know. For now, we’re pretty comfortable, we have a bathroom, and we have food.” But a lot of that food was under the bus. She hoped they wouldn’t be there long enough to need it.
“Here,” Donnalynn said. She pressed a soft cloth into Michelle’s hand.
Michelle looked at what she held. “Compression stockings? Perfect.”
“Well, I knew we were going to be doing a lot of walking, so I threw them in.”
“Here, help me tie this around him.” Together, they worked and got the makeshift bandage in place. The stockings did the job. Michelle sat back and wiped the sweat off her face. “Whew.” She slid into the seat opposite Donnalynn. “He’s still alive. Let’s pray he stays that way until we can get him help.”
“I’m scared. I want out of here.”
“Madison, shut up,” Terry Lee said. “We been kidnapped.” He looked at Michelle. “And we need to figure out how we going to get out of here. Ain’t no one riding in on a white horse to rescue us.”
Three of the other teens stood in the aisle. “Yeah, Cupcake, Donnalynn. We’ve got to do something.”
Michelle exchanged a glance with a terrified Donnalynn, then closed her eyes and prayed for guidance. What to do? She had to think and not give in to the fear clawing at her. She opened her eyes and looked more closely out the window. “It looks like we’re wedged between two walls of red mud.”
“It stinks too.”
“That smells like mulch,” Donnalynn said.
“I noticed that,” Michelle said. She considered their limited options. There would be no breaking or opening the windows and climbing out. Even if they could get the windows open, she didn’t know how far they were buried under whatever was surrounding the bus. The running bus.
The exhaust! It would kill them. For a moment, she froze. Then his words came back to her. He’d said it wouldn’t. There must be some ventilation she couldn’t see.
Only the door in front held black space beyond it, but she didn’t dare try to open it. She could clearly see the bomb on it. The interior lights and the air were still on for now. But that would only last as long as the gasoline and the battery. She thought about the man who’d just thrown them into the middle of terror. He hadn’t worn a mask. He didn’t care that they saw his face. Which meant that once he got what he wanted, they would all die. So why worry about the exhaust backing up and killing them?
Because he was keeping them alive for a reason. For now.
Steven set his soft drink on the bar and stood. They’d only been at this for a couple of hours and he was ready to give it up. He hoped Quinn had made some headway on their stakeout. Steven’s personal problems were distracting and he couldn’t afford to be distracted while trying to catch a killer.
Adding to his inability to focus was the fact that his phone had been buzzing all evening with texts from his mother, asking when they could talk and when he would be willing to visit the prison with her. Apparently, his father had confessed to his loose lips. He thought about ignoring the phone. If he didn’t read it, he didn’t have to acknowledge it. Instead, he groaned and pulled his phone from his pocket to check for any messages. Only to find he’d missed a call from Haley and texts from Christina. As he read the texts, he shot to his feet. Where was Quinn?
Quinn burst through the front door and Steven caught his eye. His partner waved him over in a gesture that said something was very wrong. He caught up to his partner. “You got the texts?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll drive.” Steven held the door and the two of them raced to his car.
Haley continued to follow the road off the exit until she came to another detour sign. He’d led her off the route sufficiently enough that the officer who had been trying to catch up with her wouldn’t have any idea where to go. “Why would he take the chance that I wouldn’t be able to find it?”
“Because he expects you will.”
Haley continued to follow the detour signs, noticing several cars in front of her doing the same. “How can this be right?”
“Just keep going.”
Haley’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw Steven’s number flashing at her. She didn’t dare answer it. He would know.
She let it go to voice mail.
The phone immediately buzzed an incoming text. “What does it say?”
Christina looked.
Very good on
not answering. You’ve bought yourself three more minutes. Hurry, they’re six feet under right now and probably need you to bring a shovel.
Haley gritted her teeth. She hated flying blind, so to speak. And then there were no more signs. She pulled to a stop.
What now?
She waited. No return text.
Hello?
“He’s not answering me. He’s talking in riddles and wants me to figure it out. Why not just tell me?” She pounded the steering wheel, frustration zipping through her. She now had four minutes.
“He doesn’t want to take a chance that you’ll be able to tip someone off as to where you are,” Christina said.
The pictures of the kids and the bus flashed in her mind. “The bus was dark.”
“They’re in a building somewhere?”
She opened the pictures back up on her phone. Madison’s teary eyes grabbed her heart. She was terrified. Haley was terrified for her. “Look at the windows. There’s something on the outside. Looks like mud or dirt to me. What do you think?”
“Could be mud or dirt, sure.”
Haley glanced around. “Do you see any mud?”
“No, but I see another sign.”
“Where?”
She pointed. “There.”
“Harry’s Mud and Mulch?” Six feet under and need a shovel? “That works.” Haley pulled away from the side of the road and headed straight for the place. She stopped at the gate and got out.
“Careful,” Christina warned.
Haley planned on it, but a sense of urgency pushed her. She pulled her weapon and held it in front of her as she walked to the gates. “They’re locked.” The place had probably closed a few hours ago and was quiet as a graveyard. She shuddered at the analogy. “What now?” She was down to about a minute.
She started walking the fence.
Christina got back into the Hummer and followed her, keeping the vehicle between her and the road.
Haley walked all the way around until she was opposite the gate. She walked up to the back entrance and found the gate lock cut, part of it lying on the ground. She pushed against the gate and it swung inward.
Christina pulled up beside her.
Haley stepped inside the yard and took in the mounds of dirt, gravel, mulch, and sod. Piles of it everywhere. Two Bobcats to her left stood silent, just waiting for someone to crank them and put them to work. She glanced around and spotted no cameras, nothing to record whatever happened in the next few moments.
Chasing Secrets Page 23