A Flight of Fantasy (Sarah Woods Mystery 12)

by Jennifer L. Jennings

  “Well, you’re in luck,” Wayne said. “Because I decided to take the day off.”

  Carter gave me a worried look. “Is that right? So, what have you been up to?”

  Wayne chuckled, and it sent a chill up my spine. “I’m spending some time with a new friend I made today.”

  My heart plummeted as I looked at Carter. The bastard had Amy and who knows what he had in mind. I had to speak up. “What have you done, Wayne?”

  Wayne didn’t respond right away. I could hear a small child’s voice in the background. “I have to say, you guys are a little slow on the uptake but I’m impressed just the same. Reece must have called you crying about her daughter and I was the first one you thought of. I’m touched, really.”

  The seriousness of the situation began to sink in. “What are you doing?” I shouted. “Are you crazy? What do you intend to do with Amy?”

  “She’s safe for now. But her life depends on what you and Carter do next.”

  “Why?” I pleaded. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because Reece has ruined everything I’ve worked for. She’s going to destroy me and now I’m going to destroy everything she cares about.”

  “It’s too late,” I said. “They’ve already filed the report. Dr. Wheeler is going to be arrested. We gave you the chance to get ahead of this but you refused.”

  “I did nothing wrong. If I’m going to be accused of hurting girls, I might as well have a little fun before my time is up.”

  “There’s an Amber alert out right now,” I said. “A neighbor saw you take the girl. They will find you.”

  “No they won’t.”

  My fists clenched and I wanted to scream. Thankfully, Carter took the phone from me and spoke in a measured tone. “Wayne, why don’t you just tell us what you want.”

  “I want payback.”

  “There’s no point in hurting an innocent child,” Carter said. “If you want to punish someone, punish me.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Wayne’s voice vibrated with indignation. “The female population is a bunch of entitled princesses. Guys have to do all the work. We take them out to dinner, we buy them presents and then they dump us like rotten meat. Rita tricked me into believing she actually liked me. She’s nothing but a liar and a whore.”

  “This is not the right move,” Carter said firmly. “If you hurt Amy, you’ll never get away with it. You’ll go to jail for the rest of your life if not worse.”

  “I don’t care. My life is over anyway. Once my name becomes associated with that blog, I’m finished but, I’ll tell you one thing, if I’m going down, I’m taking someone with me.”

  “Then take me,” Carter said. “An even trade. Me for the girl’s safety. What do you say?”

  “No, I have a better idea.” Wayne’s voice was becoming labored, as if he were walking up a flight of stairs. “You bring me Rita and then we’ll do a trade. I’d rather have her anyway. Is that a deal?”

  Carter grabbed a pen from the glove box. “Tell me where to meet you.”

  “I’ll give you the address but no police. If I see any police around, Amy will suffer. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Carter said through clenched jaw. “What’s the address?”

  Chapter 19

  As Carter and I raced to Rita’s house, I kept shaking my head, wondering if we were doing the right thing. Wayne had abducted Amy to punish Rita but now Carter had promised to deliver Rita in exchange for her daughter. Or, at least, that’s what he wanted Wayne to believe.

  “I hope you have a plan,” I said. “Because this is messed up. We can’t just hand Rita over to that lunatic. There’s got to be a better way to handle this.”

  “He said no cops,” Carter said. “I think Wayne has reached his breaking point. I’m hoping that once we show up with Rita, I’ll be able to talk some sense into him. With any luck, we’ll all walk away unscathed. I don’t intend to use Rita as bait but I had to say whatever I needed to in order to get his location.”

  “Should we have known he’d resort to this behavior?” I asked, feeling the heavy weight of responsibility on my shoulders. “We never should have told him Reece’s full name.”

  “His record is clean, Sarah. I checked his entire background and nothing fishy showed up but there’s always a first time. All it takes is a certain event to drive someone over the edge and Rita pressed all his wrong buttons.”

  As soon as we pulled onto Rita’s street, we saw the blue lights flashing from the two police cruisers parked in front of her house. Neighbors were milling about, some of them talking to the officers and probably giving statements.

  We spotted Rita on her front lawn with a uniformed officer; her arms were wrapped around her body as if she were freezing. Mascara streaked down her cheeks and her body was shaking.

  I got her attention and motioned for her to come over to the car. She excused herself and practically sprinted toward us. I got out of the Buick to give her a hug.

  “Do the police have any leads?” I asked her.

  She shrugged helplessly. “Like I said before, one of the neighbors remembers seeing a green SUV parked in front of Bunny’s house but they didn’t get a look at the guy or the license plate. It has to be my ex, because he knows how obsessed Amy is with balloons. It’s her favorite thing in the world.”

  “Rita, we know who has your daughter. It’s not your ex.”

  She sucked in a breath “Who?”

  “Wayne Miller. Yesterday, we told him your real name. He must have looked you up and found your address. He might have seen Amy and …”

  “Dear God, what does that pervert plan to do with my daughter? Why is he doing this?”

  “He’s trying to punish you,” I said. “For meddling in his life. For tricking him. I guess this is some kind of payback. I’m so sorry. He wants us to take you to him.”

  Tears began to fall. “I’ll do whatever he wants. I just want Amy home safe.”

  “He wants us to take you there alone. If you tell the police, he’ll hurt Amy but this is too risky. We have to tell someone.”

  “He said he’d hurt Amy if he saw the police?”

  I nodded. “I can’t tell you what to do, I can only give you my advice. If we show up at this warehouse alone, Carter and I can’t guarantee your safety. Wayne has become unpredictable.”

  Her face turned pale and her breath quickened. “He gave you his location? Where did he take her?”

  I handed her the address, scribbled on a piece of scrap paper. “We looked it up on the GPS. It’s a warehouse a few miles from here and we assume it must be abandoned.”

  She covered her face with her hands. “Amy did nothing to deserve this. This is all my fault.”

  I wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but I didn’t want to give her false hope. I had no idea what Wayne was capable of. “Rita, what do you want to do? The police are right over there. Let’s go tell them who has your daughter.”

  She looked around at the chaos of people and flashing blue lights, her eyes in a daze. I could sense her inner struggle with the tough decision. Finally, she looked at me with a frightened, yet resolute nod of the head. “No, there’s no time. Let’s go right now. Please, take me to my daughter.”

  “Are you positive?”

  “Yes.” Without delay, Reece jumped into the back seat of the Buick.”

  * * *

  Murphy ’s Law says that you will hit every single red traffic light when you’re in a hurry and that’s exactly what happened to us as we tried to get to the warehouse. Rita cursed from the back seat, on the verge of a nervous breakdown it seemed. I did my best to calm her, offering platitudes and encouragement, but nothing seemed to sink in.

  Finally, Carter swung a right, following the commands of the GPS and we headed into an industrial section of town, a wasteland of crumbling buildings, the factories all defunct.

  When we came upon the last warehouse on the left, the computerized voice on the GPS informed us we had rea
ched our destination. Sure enough, a green SUV Audi was parked near the entrance.

  Carter parked the Buick, grabbed his gun from the glove box and secured it into the waist of his jeans under his leather jacket. He got out and approached the SUV with caution. He peered through the tinted windows, probably making sure that Amy wasn’t inside.

  From the front passenger seat, I turned around to face Rita. “How are you holding up?”

  She shook her head. “I’m a wreck.”

  “It’s not too late to call the police and tell them where we are.”

  “No!” Rita demanded. “I’m not going to risk my daughter’s life. If Wayne wants me in exchange for Amy, that’s the safest way.”

  I didn’t agree with that line of thought but this was Reece’s daughter, not mine.

  She looked around frantically. “Did he say where we’re supposed to go? Where are they?”

  Carter is waiting for his call,” I said. “He thinks he might be able to reason with Wayne but you have to do me a favor, okay? You need to remain calm and collected. You need to apologize to Wayne in the most genuine, heartfelt way you possibly can. If you start accusing him of being a pedophile or saying anything negative to that effect, it will only piss him off more. The objective here is to make him understand that you are very sorry. That you were wrong to trick him. I believe this is really what he’s looking for. Show humility but don’t beg.”

  “Okay, I think I can do that,” Rita said, wiping her face, trying to compose herself.

  I noticed Carter was now talking on his cell phone beside the SUV. The serious expression on his face told me that it must be Wayne. Finally, he tapped on the Buick and motioned for us to get out.

  “He’s waiting for us inside,” Carter said. “Let’s go.”

  Rita and I followed Carter’s lead as we advanced toward the front of the building. Something about old, brick buildings fascinates me but not under these circumstances. This place, according to the faded sign, used to be a cigar warehouse, probably back in the fifties. Now it was more than likely a home to rodents, raccoons and maybe even a few homeless people.

  Why had Wayne decided to come here of all places? Had he been here before and knew it was empty? Or did he simply drive around town with Amy in his back seat, looking for a place to hide? Had he brought her to the warehouse, or had he stashed her someplace else?

  As the three of us slowly walked inside the cavernous structure, the air seemed to get colder without the rays of the sun to warm our skin. It smelled like a combination of wet dog and decomp. An uneasy feeling crept into my gut when I spotted Wayne standing on the far side of the room with a gun in his hand. This guy wasn’t fooling around.

  “Where’s Amy?” Carter called out, his voice echoing between the brick walls of the empty room.

  “She’s safe,” Wayne said. “I’ll call and tell you where she is as soon as Rita and I have left.”

  Carter took a few steps toward him, but Wayne held up his gun and pointed it. “Stop right there, buddy. I know you think you can talk me out of this, but I’ve already made up my mind. I know exactly what I’m going to do with Rita.”

  “What are your intentions, by the way?” Carter said, as if he was just having a normal conversation. “I mean, why here? Does this warehouse have some kind of sentimental meaning to you? Just curious, that’s all.”

  Wayne smiled. “Maybe it does.”

  “Okay,” Carter smiled back at him. “Why don’t you tell us about that?”

  Wayne licked his lips, probably thinking it over. Finally, he shrugged. “This is where I lost my virginity over thirty years ago. I was sixteen and had never kissed a girl before. Her name was Kathy and she was beautiful.”

  “Sounds like you have some fond memories here?” Carter said, lightheartedly as if egging him on to tell us more details.

  “Not really,” Wayne said. “Kathy turned out to be a major disappointment. But what do you expect when you only pay fifty bucks to get laid.”

  “Kathy was a prostitute?” Carter asked.

  Wayne nodded. “Pretty pathetic, don’t you think? I had to pay someone to have my first sexual experience. And then she gave me Chlamydia. I had to explain to my parents why I needed to go on antibiotics for three months. They never looked at me the same after that.”

  “STD’s are common,” Carter said. “But I understand that was a difficult time for you. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  Wayne shrugged like it was no big deal, but I sensed from the anguished look on his face this memory was still haunting him, well into his forties. “I’m not sure how the word got out but, once the kids found out about my infection, the girls basically shunned me. They made fun of me behind my back, sometimes to my face. Needless to say, I never got dates for the prom.”

  “I had a shitty time in high school myself,” Carter said, “but that is all in the past. You can’t hold on to that shit, man.”

  Wayne held up his hand to stop Carter from talking. “That’s enough. I know you’re trying to appeal to my sensibilities, but it’s not going to work. I’ve already made up my mind. Now, Rita, slowly walk towards me with your hands on your head.”

  Rita made a sound that came from deep in her throat, almost like a whimper as she raised her hands up. “Wayne, I’m sorry that I tricked you last Thursday night. That was wrong of me to assume you were just like Dr. Wheeler. You must understand, I was only trying to protect my student. It’s my job to look after them.”

  Wayne appeared nonchalant about Rita’s apology. “You can’t just violate my privacy like that. You can’t get away with it just because you think you’re doing the right thing. I have rights, you know. Now you have ruined my life just because you had a hunch. No, you don’t get off that easily.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Rita pleaded. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do, just please don’t hurt my daughter.”

  “Enough talking.” Wayne motioned for her to come to him. “Now, like I said before, hands on your head and slowly walk over. As soon we leave the property in my vehicle, I’ll call your friends and tell them where Amy is.”

  Rita turned to me with a look of resignation in her eyes and said, “No matter what happens, will you make sure Amy is okay? I need you to promise me you’ll make sure.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to tell her that she’d be able to do that herself, but I didn’t. Instead, I told her what she wanted to hear at that moment. “Amy is going to be fine,” I said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  She smiled wearily, then turned to face Wayne. She began walking toward him with hands on her head. Her footsteps on the concrete floor, along with my wildly beating heart, were the only sounds my brain could comprehend. Rita reminded me of an old pirate walking the plank of a ship to his imminent death. Every fiber in my body wanted to act but, pulling a gun out at this moment was the wrong thing to do, for everyone’s safety, especially Amy’s.

  Carter said nothing either, and I was surprised. Didn’t he have some kind of trick up his sleeve? He always seemed to know what to do. But he just stood there, like me, watching intently as Rita kept going toward Wayne.

  Once she was close enough, Wayne reached out and grabbed her arm and she yelped, probably more from shock than anything else. Wayne pointed the gun at her temple and regarded Carter and me with a rueful smile. “Expect a call from me in five minutes. If you contact the police or try to follow us, Rita is a dead woman, understand?”

  “I understand.” Carter said firmly.

  Once Wayne had dragged Rita out the side door, Carter and I took the front entrance to head outside where we watched helplessly as Wayne stuffed Rita into the passenger seat. He moved quickly around the front of the car, keeping his gun on her the whole time. Then Wayne offered us a salute as he got behind the wheel and started the engine. Once he drove off, Carter checked his phone. “I don’t suppose he’s bringing her back to his house.”

  “Shouldn’t we be following them?” I said.
“Whatever he plans to do with her, I have a hard time believing he’ll let her live after all this. We can’t do nothing. Maybe it’s time to tell the police what’s going on. They can put a BOLO out for his car.”

  “We have something better,” Carter said. “I put a tracker under Wayne’s car before we went inside. I made it look like I was trying to look inside the car, just in case Wayne was watching.”

  I wanted to kiss him on the lips. “I knew you had a trick up your sleeve.”

  “Problem is, Wayne might decide to ditch his car at some point along the way to wherever he’s heading. In that case, the tracker won’t prove helpful.”

  “Do you really think Wayne is going to call? If he sees you following him, or if he sees any police, he might shoot Reece.”

  Something must have caught Carter’s eye as he lifted his head to look into the sky. His eyes widened as he pointed up and over the top of the warehouse. “Holy shit, I think I know where Amy is.”

  As I followed the trajectory of Carter’s extended finger, I gasped when I saw the red balloon floating above the rooftop.

  “She must be somewhere inside,” I said. “Let’s go find her.”

  Carter and I ran back into the warehouse and started shouting Amy’s name. We eventually found her in a room up in the loft where crates of empty cigar boxes were arranged in such a way that Amy could not escape. Carter hauled the crates out of the way and approached the girl, who was sitting on the ground. Her face was covered in some kind of brown substance and that’s when I saw the candy wrappers surrounding her. Wayne must have placated her with the candy, to keep her from crying. There were dozens of balloons above her, stuck to the ceiling. One of them had obviously escaped, climbing up through the rafters, making its way through a hole in the roof somewhere.

  Amy just stared up at us with a neutral expression. She seemed neither scared nor particularly relieved to see us. I gave her a big smile and leaned down toward her. “Hi, Amy. I’m a friend of your mother’s. Looks like you’ve been having candy.”