by Vella Day
The depression eating away at her was gaining speed at an alarming rate. No one would find her. How could they? She was in one of a hundred cars that were destined to go nowhere. Discarded junk.
For some reason, after they left Justin’s house, Lilly had allowed Kelly to ride in the backseat without a blindfold. Yes, she’d been tied up, but a pain in her side made sitting upright difficult. Lilly must have believed Kelly wouldn’t live long enough to tell her tale of torture and kidnapping.
Truth was, Kelly didn’t really know where she was. The crazy lady must have sensed someone was following her, because she took right turns, then left turns, and drove in circles until Kelly lost track of their location.
Sure, she could identify the Aquarium in Channelside, but once they neared the docks and State Road 60, she became lost. When Lilly finally pulled into some lot, two lone streetlights shone on rusted looking train cars. The place appeared to be some kind of salvage yard she’d never known existed.
Justin’s mom had taken the car keys and locked the car doors while she found the right place to stash her hostage. That had been hours ago. Kelly dropped her head back against the metal wall, forcing control. She couldn’t give up hope, despite the thirst and hunger that were beginning to take their toll on her body. Her hands and feet had fallen asleep more than an hour ago from the tight ropes cutting off her circulation. Without movement, she might lose an arm or a leg. Right now, the future seemed like a distant hope.
Her thoughts swirled to Stefanie’s mantra of thinking positively. If only Stef were here, they’d figure out a way to escape.
Tears oozed out of her eyes, forcing Kelly to blink. Her throat clogged. God, she so didn’t need this. Forcing away the bad images, she only allowed the good ones to enter, but that wasn’t easy.
Taking as deep a breath as she dared, she begged her muscles to relax. Then Kelly willed herself back to the Utah hotel where she and Derek had made love. She imagined her hands on his wonderfully strong chest and could almost feel his warm lips on hers.
Derek.
Her shoulders finally relaxed as a tear streamed down her face. She’d never get to tell him how stupid she was to think that because he believed in a spiritual guide that he wasn’t the man for her. Derek caused her body to sing and her heart to rejoice. Why had she snubbed him?
She must have dozed, because when she opened her eyes, sunlight was sneaking in through a crack in the sliding door. It was dawn already. That meant her death was drawing near. Justin’s mom had said she’d kill her in twenty-four hours.
Desperate to find something to help her escape, Kelly looked around the car. Intermittent lumps of dirt, or perhaps feces, lay scattered on the metal floor. Once more bile rose up her throat as reality returned. Kelly squeezed her eyes shut, fearing she’d vomit and choke on it.
When she dropped her head to gain control, a jab of pain pricked her throat where the insane woman had cut her, and another trickle of blood trailed down her chest. She understood the slice was superficial and that her blood had clotted within minutes, but each twist had broken the skin.
She hadn’t prayed since her dad had died. Hell, she didn’t believe in praying—until now—until she needed Him. But would He listen?
Rustling at the far end of the boxcar dragged her attention away from her self-pity. Whatever it was, it was too small to be a human. A rat, perhaps? Dear God. Kelly stomped her feet, sending numbing aches along her legs. The rat, or whatever disgusting animal it was, stilled. Kelly squinted to find its location, but too many dark shadows filled the car.
She scooted back against the wall. If the animal had found its way in, surely it could find its way out. Kelly tugged again on her wrists, but the rope refuse to give. A flare of agony vibrated up her arms. She could tell the skin on her wrists had long since rubbed off, by the burning sensation that was creeping up her arms.
Why, oh why, had Lilly Bladen targeted her? Had she learned of the trip Derek and she had taken to Utah? Is that what had set her off?
Speculation wouldn’t get her any closer to freedom though. Instead, Kelly focused her senses on the outside sounds, praying someone would find her. Birds chirped and cars sounded in the distance, but no voices.
No activity.
No chance for escape.
If there were workers who tended this fleet of rusted trains, they wouldn’t be working on a Sunday morning, that’s for sure. Damn.
Kelly pounded her feet against the floor once more and waited for a response, hoping her banging would alert a passerby. Nothing. She pounded again. And waited some more.
Who would be sightseeing in a train yard? Kids, looking for trouble? On a Saturday night maybe but not during the day. Not even a homeless man would want to camp out here.
A rustling above her grabbed her attention. It was small scrapping sounds. One pair of feet. Then two.
She dropped her head back. Squirrels. They were just squirrels. Or was Lilly Bladen returning? Oh, God, was her time up already?
30
Derek checked his watch once again. Where the hell was Justin? Was this some kind of ploy to put him on hold while he and his mother harmed Kelly?
What an idiot he was.
Why didn’t it occur to him that Justin and his mom might be in on this whole sordid affair together? Justin hated Native Americans. He’d certainly proved it by cheating them. He’d even killed because of them. The man was no saint and couldn’t be trusted.
Lilly Bladen was just as bad, if Mariani’s reports were correct. Shit.
As Derek started his truck to get the hell out of there, a white Taurus pulled into the lot, but it wasn’t Justin’s navy blue Mercedes.
On a hunch, Derek waited a beat. As the Taurus neared, Derek spotted Justin in the driver’s seat. Was he incognito?
Hand on his Glock, Derek opened the truck door, but he didn’t step out in case he needed a fast getaway.
Justin parked ten feet away from him and jumped out. At least he wasn’t lying about being tied up. His wrists were wrapped in blood soaked gauze and a hint of sympathy pricked Derek. The guy’s hair was messed, his face was dirty, and his clothes looked like he’d grabbed them off a transient.
Justin didn’t ask permission as he slid in the passenger side. His gaze shot to Derek’s gun hand, and Justin raised his arms in surrender. “I know you think I’m responsible for all this mess, but I’m not. I swear.”
Now wasn’t the time to bring up the forensic evidence regarding the Vanderwall case. Not wanting Justin to bolt, Derek holstered his Glock.
Stick to the facts. “Can you contact your mother?”
“No, I’ve tried. She isn’t answering her cell.”
“What’s her number?”
Justin pressed a series of buttons on his phone and spouted it off. “She won’t answer, you know.”
“Never know when a ringing phone can locate a person. Can I have your number too?”
Justin hesitated, and then rattled it off. Derek stored both numbers.
Time was of the essence. “You know your mother. What would she do with Kelly? Keep her in a hotel or what?”
Justin faced forward, his gaze straight ahead, showing no emotion. “Can you believe yesterday was the first time I’d laid eyes on her since I was eighteen? I had no idea she was so evil. So demented. So sociopathic.”
Derek waited to see if Justin would continue, and when he didn’t, Derek tried again. “Justin, I need your help. Kelly needs your help.” He ground his teeth waiting for this pathetic man to answer. Man did he hate having to rely on Justin to help him find Kelly.
The man ran a hand down his face, and then turned back to Derek with an unfocused gaze. “When I was young, my mother came home after work one day.” He glanced upward and shook his head. “My chore was to clean the kitchen, and let me tell you, the woman was a real neat freak. I became sidetracked playing some online game, and she was so upset I’d neglected my duty, she beat me around the face and stomach, and then lock
ed me in my closet for over eight hours.”
Justin’s lack of expression caused a chill to form in Derek’s gut. The man looked dead inside.
“So what are you saying?” Derek asked.
“No hotel. No luxury. We need to find a place that’s hidden, dark, and disgusting—but most importantly dark.”
An evil, slimy cloud gripped him. “The police found Kelly’s car, wrecked and abandoned near her house.”
“That explains a lot of why she looked like she did. Kelly’s face was bruised, but she didn’t look like she’d broken any bones.”
“Good.” But if she had been more seriously hurt, maybe Lilly Bladen wouldn’t have bothered with her.
“Are you thinking my mother wouldn’t go far from Kelly’s place?”
“I don’t know.” Derek’s mind whirred, mentally examining the side streets where she lived. “I can’t think of any area like you described. The closest I can think of is the industrial areas near Channelside.”
“There are plenty of ships in dry dock—and old ships are dark. It’s Sunday, so no one will be around,” Justin said.
Derek pictured the area near downtown. “It’s better than nothing. Why don’t you follow me? We might have to split up.”
Justin nodded and slipped out of the car.
Channelside was an odd mix of expensive high rises, quaint shops, and restaurants that catered to the luxury cruise lines. Because of its shipping capability, it also contained maintenance services. But could someone gain access to the area? Or would Lilly Bladen have stored Kelly in a closed facility nearby?
He didn’t have the luxury of analyzing the whole damned town. Gripping the wheel hard, he darted out of the lot. When he arrived, he’d have a better idea where to hide a person. Derek refused to consider Kelly might be dead.
Given the weekend traffic, he made it to the shipyard in less than thirty minutes. Justin pulled in behind him, and they both stepped out of their vehicles.
Derek kept his eye on Justin, not trusting him farther than he could see him. Just because Derek didn’t spot a weapon didn’t mean the guy wasn’t packing.
“Where do you want to start?” Justin asked.
“Find anything small enough your mother could open, yet large enough to hide Kelly.” He glanced around. “Since no one appears to be here, shout if you need to. If Kelly is stashed somewhere, maybe she can answer.”
Justin pointed to the gate. “The lock’s undone on the gate.”
Hope raced up Derek’s spine.
Justin’s gaze shot around the area. “I don’t see another car.”
“That means nothing. Let’s go. I’ll search from the tugboat to the right, you take the left side.”
Justin saluted and shot off in his appointed direction. Derek headed to the channel, and then edged along the water until he came to a storage shed.
Damn. A huge, shiny padlock held the door closed. The question was whether Lilly had put it there? Derek banged on the door.
“Kelly?” No response. “Kelly?” He placed his ear against the metal but heard nothing.
He turned around and looked up at the large tanker high on its cradle. No way Lilly Bladen could climb up the massive structure without the aid of a crane, and Derek didn’t see any hidden nooks or crannies either.
The tangy smell of hot salt air, mixed with paint and oil irritated him. “Kelly?” he shouted.
Only seagulls answered his call. Dividing the area into quadrants, Derek did a thorough search. His legs were tired, but his spirit would not give up. Justin also was performing the same job on the other side of the yard.
Around ten, Justin dragged back to Derek. His face and hands were stained with rust, and grease covered his once blue shirt. “No sign of her. I don’t think this is the right place.”
Derek didn’t respond. He wasn’t going to give up. His jaw clenched as he headed off to finish checking the area. Justin followed behind him and grabbed Derek by the arm. “It’s no use. We aren’t going to find her here.”
Bright morning sun streamed into Derek’s eyes, causing them to tear. “I can’t stop until I find her.”
Justin backed off and held up both hands. “Okay, man, but I’m telling you, this doesn’t feel right. We lived in Utah. There wasn’t much water there. I don’t see my mother choosing this place.”
“Then where?” Derek wanted to strangle the ideas from Justin’s fucking head.
“I don’t know.” He leaned back against a tall crane. “I need to eat something. We’ve been at this forever.”
“Kelly will die in a little under twelve hours. We can’t afford to pamper ourselves.”
Justin let out a long breath. His face sagged. “Fine.”
Kelly’s mouth had dried up, and she hadn’t been able to close her lips because of the disgusting rag Lilly had stuffed in her mouth. Once the saliva evaporated, the corners of her mouth started to bleed from her numerous attempts to dislodge the offending cloth. Her poor throat remained raw from grunting and shouting.
Dammit. Why her? Why now? Just when she’d found Derek again.
She dropped her head to her chest to build strength, but the intense heat nearly melted her skin off. Would she die from heat stroke and dehydration before Lilly came back? Oh God. She needed help.
One time she foolishly let her elbow touch the side of the hot metal and was burned. The sore still throbbed and ached, as did her cut neck.
She guessed the air inside this oven might be as high as one hundred and ten degrees. Now she knew what lobsters felt like when she used to dump them in boiling water.
It was time again—time to attract attention.
For the hundredth time, she banged her feet against the floor, and her heels protested at the impact. Somebody had to hear her—a passerby, a curiosity seeker, a tourist. Anyone.
Well, anyone but Lilly Bladen.
With the building of the heat, Kelly had lost track of time. Sunlight filtered on and off through the nearly closed door. How many hours did she have left? Eleven or one?
Adding to her misery, she needed to pee, bad, but she refused to go in the boxcar. She wanted to die with dignity.
The sound of an engine along the gravel drive caught her attention, and Kelly stiffened. Was it help? Or was it Lilly? She waited, holding her breath to key into the sound.
The car didn’t come close though. Damn it.
She had to find a way to signal she was captive inside.
The rope that tied her hands to the back wall allowed her to rotate her body a few inches so that her hips were at an angle to the wall instead of against it. When she twisted, her raw wrists screamed in protest, but Kelly believed this might be her only hope of escape.
Using the side of her foot, she banged on the metal wall. The sound reverberated, clearly sending out noise. She kicked the wall three times, and then rested. The silence hopefully meant the car must had stopped.
Moaning as loud as she could, Kelly continued to bang and moan.
She paused. The engine started up. Nooo! They were leaving.
“No,” she tried to yell, but all that came out was, “Ooooh.”
In the distance, cars traveled past, horns occasionally honked, but it was as if the entire yard had been placed in an invisible shield. No one cared. No one came to help.
Kelly twisted back and partly slid down, dejected.
And then she cried.
She was going to die.
31
Derek and Justin sat on the tailgate of Derek’s truck. He dropped his head into his hands, never more frustrated in his life. What good did his detective skills do when he couldn’t find the woman he loved? He’d lost Rayne; he couldn’t lose Kelly too.
“Now what?” Justin asked as he wiped his brow with the hem of his shirt.
Derek pressed the button on his watch. “We have, what, less than two hours?”
“Closer to one.”
Justin sounded equally as dejected. Derek was tempted to believe
he wanted to find Kelly.
“We looked in every storage facility, every warehouse, every conceivable place to hide someone in the entire Channelside area,” Derek said. “Unless your mom commandeered a boat and is sailing the high seas, I don’t know where else to search.”
Justin swatted away the bugs. “Let’s discuss this in your cab. The mosquitoes are driving me nuts. Besides, I left the other half of my burger in there, and still I’m starving. You mind?”
And if he did? A big, fat dragonfly buzzed his head. That did it. “Sure.”
Derek slid into the driver’s side and turned on the overhead light. His stomach already churned with the fear of not finding Kelly, and the smell of the cold hamburger nearly made him gag.
“Do you love her?” Justin asked.
Derek assumed he meant Kelly. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Justin to know for fear he might use his feelings for Kelly against him. “Did you love Rayne?” he threw back.
Justin slammed the hamburger down, the paper crinkle sounding like a gun blast. “Of course I did, but that’s not what I asked.”
Yeah, Derek knew that. “Yes.”
“How long?”
He really wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation, but Justin was helping him look for her. “Forever.”
“Wow.” He stuffed the other half of his hamburger in his mouth.
Wow was right. Kelly had been his life in high school, making his life tolerable. No, more than tolerable. She made it wonderful. Even after his mom and dad had divorced, they fought. Living mostly with his mom wasn’t always pleasant either.
“What’s this?” Justin picked up the cloth wrapped pipe that Derek had placed on the seat next to him. Before Derek could grab it back, Justin unfolded the material. “I didn’t think you smoked.”
Derek refocused and snatched the Chanupa from him. “I don’t.” He refused to discuss the meaning of the sacred item with someone like Justin.
“You confiscate it in a drug bust or something?”