As Abby and her daughters made the hour drive to Sacramento, she wondered how she could get the key to Eric. Maybe I can access the safe-deposit box myself. He said it was at our bank, so I know where to go.
Feeling closer to accomplishing what was necessary to bring Eric home lifted Abby’s spirits, and once back home, she found someone to watch Tiffany and Susannah so she could go to the bank.
She knew from her experience of getting her own safe-deposit box that her signature had to be on the safe-deposit box lease agreement in order to open it. She knew her name wouldn’t be on the slip for Eric’s lease, but she was hopeful they would allow her to open her husband’s box anyway.
All I can do is try. A moment later she entered the bank, then approached someone at a nearby desk. “Excuse me. I . . . uh . . . I need to get into my husband’s box.”
“Are you authorized to access it?”
Reluctantly, Abby shook her head.
The woman was all business. “If he’s the only one authorized to open it, then I can’t let you access it.”
“I have the key right here, though.” Abby held out the key to prove it. “And my husband’s not able to come himself. It’s extremely urgent that I get in that box.”
The woman smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”
After picking up her children, Abby drove home, dejected at her failure to help her husband. She wished she had a way to get the key to him.
The girls were excited after being at their friends’ house, but Abby wasn’t in the mood for noise. “Who wants to watch a DVD and eat popcorn?” she suggested.
“Me! Me!” they both shouted.
“Mom, can we eat the popcorn in the family room?” Susannah asked.
“Sure, why not?” Abby said as she put the bag in the microwave.
A few minutes later a knock sounded at the front door.
Before Abby could stop her, Susannah yanked the door open.
“Susannah!” Abby said, pushing her aside, not wanting her to open the door to a stranger.
Susannah looked at her mother in surprise and stomped away. “There’s nobody here, anyway,” she grumbled, as she rejoined her sister in front of the television.
Abby stepped onto the porch glancing right and left, trying to discover who had doorbell-ditched her house. She shook her head, irritated. Then, as she looked at Pumpkin’s bowl to see if it needed filling, she noticed a small slip of paper tucked under the edge. She picked it up, her stomach clenching in worry. Maybe it’s from Eric. “This is your last chance,” Abby whispered as she read the message. “Give us the money now and your family will be safe—” She stopped, then stared at the last line in confusion and mounting fear: Cat got your tongue?
“What did they do?” Abby gasped, fear crowding out all other emotion. She looked around the bushes lining the house, then froze as her eyes locked on Pumpkin’s collar lying on the ground. The cat was nowhere to be seen. She slammed the door shut and bolted it with shaking hands.
We have to get out of here. We’ve got to get away.
Looking at her daughters’ happy faces as they watched the movie, Abby knew she had to do whatever it took to protect them from danger. She went out to the garage and took the map of California from the glovebox of her car, then she spread it out on the kitchen table. Running her finger along the map, she searched for a safe place to take her children—a place she’d been before, but a place at least a hundred miles away.
Then she spotted it. Carmel. She and Eric had gone there for one of their anniversaries. It was a quaint little village but full of tourists. They could hide out there, but it would still seem like an adventure to the girls.
Abby hurried back out to the garage where she chose two medium-size suitcases, then carried them upstairs. First she packed for herself, trying to remember all she would need. Next, she quickly packed a suitcase for the girls. She dragged the first suitcase down the stairs and through the family room.
“Mom, what are you doing?” Tiffany asked, looking at her mother like she was crazy.
“Tiffany, turn off the movie and you and Susannah go to the bathroom. We’re going on a trip.”
“Yes!” Susannah shouted, evidently remembering the last trip they’d taken.
Tiffany didn’t seem as sure. “Why, Mom? Where are we going?”
“I don’t have time to explain.” She paused halfway across the room. “Susannah, would you grab the map off of the table, please?” Abby watched her run into the kitchen as she continued dragging the suitcase toward the garage.
Tess carried a stack of papers toward Tim Meher’s office. As she approached his partly open door, she paused, not wanting to interrupt his phone call. She tried not to eavesdrop, but he sounded upset, which made his voice louder. Then she heard her name mentioned, and her curiosity got the better of her.
“Tess hasn’t given me anything new lately. I think that avenue of information has dried up,” Tim was saying. He paused, apparently listening to someone on the other end. “No, I appreciate your help. You did what you could . . . I’m going to head over there myself to take care of this once and for all . . . Abby’s had all the chances I’m willing to give. I need to get that money and I need it now. You know what they did to me. If she won’t give me the money willingly, I’ll just have to take it by force.”
Tess couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and she began backing away from Tim’s office, stunned to realize that he must have been the one behind the phony FBI agent. He was the one who was keeping an eye on Abby.
Just as she began to gain her composure, Tim stormed out of his office. When he saw her, he stopped, a look of suspicion on his face. “How long have you been there?” he asked.
“I . . . I just got here.” She held out the papers she had in her arms, willing herself to act normal. “I have some papers for you to sign. Would you like me to put them on your desk?” She offered him a tentative smile.
He narrowed his eyes, seeming to decide whether he believed she had just arrived. Then he smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes, please put them on my desk. And there are some files I need you to take care of right away. I’ll be back in a while.”
Tess watched him go before hurrying into his office. She set the papers on his desk, then picked up his phone to call Abby, hoping to warn her neighbor before Tim got there. With shaking hands she punched in Abby’s number, but the phone just rang and rang.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Just as the garage door slid open and Abby began pulling the luggage toward the back of the minivan, a door-to-door salesman approached her. She tried to ignore him as she opened the rear door on the van.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said as he walked up to her. “Do you have a dirty carpet I can clean?” He held up a bottle of solution. “This will get out any stain you have on your carpet.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time right now.” Abby lifted the first suitcase into the back of her open van.
“I can see you’re busy, but this will only take five minutes.”
Susannah came out of the house and held the map out to Abby. “Here, Mom. I even folded it up.”
Abby glanced at her daughter. “Thank you.” Then she turned toward the salesman. “This really isn’t a good time.”
“What time would be good for you?” he asked.
Abby felt trapped—the salesman stood right behind her minivan.
“Your turn, Susannah,” Tiffany said as she slammed the door to the house.
“But Mom, I don’t have to go to the bathroom,” Susannah whined.
Abby knew they would be on the road for at least two hours and she didn’t want to stop once they got going. “Please try. We won’t be stopping for a while.”
“Ma’am? When would you like me to come back?”
“I don’t know,” Abby said, exasperated that she wasn’t on the road yet.
“Mom? Where’s Pumpkin?” Tiffany asked. “Don’t you w
ant him to be in the garage while we’re gone?”
Abby turned toward her daughter, suddenly remembering the reason she had felt so frightened in the first place. “Don’t worry about Pumpkin. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“But Mom, what if he gets hungry? Or if it rains or something? He should be in the garage where he’ll be safe.”
“Can I put you down for next Tuesday?” the salesman asked, his notebook in hand.
“I’m going to go look for him,” Tiffany announced as she trotted toward the door that led to the backyard.
Abby looked from her daughter to the salesman. “No, you can’t put me down for next Tuesday.” Her voice was sharp. “I don’t want my carpets cleaned.”
“Okay.” He put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am. Have a nice day,” He made his way down the driveway and toward the neighbor’s house.
As Abby lifted the last suitcase into the car, Susannah came running out of the house. “Tiffany’s playing on the swing in the backyard! If she can play, so can I!”
“Susannah, please get in the car. I’ll get your sister.” Abby went back into the house. I’d better make sure I didn’t leave anything in the bathroom before we head out. She walked down the hall toward the bathroom, but as she passed the office, the phone began to ring.
Wanting to be on the road, Abby almost ignored the call, but then decided to answer it. As she said hello, she looked out the window into the backyard and saw both her daughters playing on the swing. Darn them. They should be waiting in the car.
“Abby?” the person on the phone asked.
“Can you hang on for a minute?” Abby said before bothering to ask who it was.
“Wait!”
Abby wondered who could be so insistent—she didn’t recognize the voice. “Who is this?”
“It’s Tess. I have to tell you something.”
Abby sighed, wondering what Tess was so excited about. “I’m on my way out the door. Can I give you a call back when I get home?”
“It’s Tim, Abby. You have to watch out for Tim!”
The frantic tone in Tess’s voice caught her attention, and panic shot through her. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s no time to explain. Just get out!”
Abby dropped the phone, intending to grab her daughters and run, but as she pushed open the sliding glass door, she froze. Tim was using one arm to push Susannah on the swing. His other arm was in a cast.
“Hi, Abby. Do you want to join us? We’re having a good time, aren’t we girls?”
When Tiffany saw Abby, she jumped off the swing, but Tim grabbed her arm. “Where are you going, sweetheart?”
Tiffany looked up at him and hesitated, then looked in her mother’s direction. Tim’s gaze followed Tiffany’s and his eyes met Abby’s. He shook his head.
“Mom?” Tiffany said, clearly unsure what was expected of her.
Terrified for her daughters, Abby couldn’t move.
“Come over here and join us,” Tim said, motioning to Abby.
“I’m coming,” Abby said to Tiffany as she began walking in their direction. When she reached Tim’s side, he let go of Tiffany and grabbed her instead. Relieved he had let her daughter go, Abby was now frightened for herself.
“Let’s go inside,” Tim said as he pulled Abby toward the open door. When Tiffany and Susannah began to follow, Tim said, “You girls stay out here while I talk to your Mommy. Okay?”
When Abby opened her mouth to speak, Tim squeezed her arm.
“I’ll be fine,” Abby said as she tried to put a reassuring smile on her face. “You stay out here.”
“Okay.” Tiffany looked uncertain.
“Come on.” Tim yanked Abby into the house.
“What do you want?” she hissed when they were alone.
“I’m here to collect what’s mine. I know you have some money. I need it now.”
“It’s not here.” She glanced toward the backyard, hoping her daughters would run to the neighbors and call the police.
Tim’s gaze followed Abby’s. “You have beautiful children and I’m sure you wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.” He looked at her swollen abdomen. “Any of them.”
Feeling more terrified by the second, Abby tried to think of a way to get Tim away from her children. “I have the money, but it’s at the bank.”
He let go of her and smiled. “How much do you have?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
Tim frowned. “Eric had more than that. Where’s the rest? Did you spend it?”
“No. I only had fifteen.”
“Eric must have the rest,” Tim muttered to himself.
“He turned over what he had to the FBI,” Abby said, wondering how Tim would react to this bit of information.
“The FBI, huh? So he’s the one who told them I was involved. I figured as much.” He glanced toward the backyard again. “Well then, there’s no time to lose. Let’s go.”
“I need to tell my children I’m leaving,” Abby begged.
He considered this. “Okay, but I’ll be listening, so be careful what you say.”
Abby walked toward the sliding glass door. She didn’t care if Tim got the money she’d been holding onto. It wasn’t hers, and it certainly wasn’t worth the risk of getting herself or her children hurt. She would cooperate with Tim and give him what he wanted.
“Tiffany, Susannah,” Abby called from the door. “Would you come here, please?”
“Careful, now,” Tim murmured as the girls ran toward her.
“I have to go somewhere for a few minutes. I’m going to leave you here by yourselves, so you need to be very good.”
“Okay, Mom,” Tiffany said, glancing behind her at Tim.
“I don’t want you to go,” Susannah whimpered, obviously sensing that something wasn’t right.
Abby hugged her. “I know, but you’ll be fine. I’ll be back soon. I promise. I want you to come in the house and watch television now. Okay?”
“Okay,” Tiffany said, looking at Tim as she walked past him into the family room.
Susannah followed her. “It’s my turn to pick the show we watch.”
Abby watched her daughters turn on the television, thankful Tim wasn’t insisting they come along. Her first goal had been met. Now she had to figure out a way to make sure she and her unborn child stayed safe.
“Let’s go.” Tim pushed Abby toward the front door. “You’ll drive my car.”
She followed him to his car and climbed in the driver’s seat while he got in the other side. “Don’t try anything clever.” He opened the glove box and pulled out a gun.
Trying to stay calm, Abby backed out of the driveway and started driving. She feared that once Tim had the money he would hurt her. Not only that, if he got away she was afraid he might come after Eric or her children. Frantically, she tried to think of a way to get out of this. First she tried to appeal to Tim’s conscience. “I don’t care about the money, Tim. I’ll give it to you. Just don’t hurt me.”
He laughed while glancing at the cast on his arm. “Yeah, no one will get hurt.”
“What happened to your arm?” Abby asked, attempting to take the attention from herself.
“This is what they do when you get behind on your payments. That’s why I need that money.”
“Oh.” Discussing his broken arm probably wasn’t a good idea, she realized as she tried to think of another subject. “Are you the one who set up the house on Buttercup Drive?”
He smiled. “Did you like that?”
“That was pretty smart.” She wanted to make him feel less angry. “How did you do it?”
“That woman was a friend of mine.” He seemed to relax as he spoke. “She was going to be moving out of that house, so I asked her to find a book at the library and a picture of Eric. She’s also a graphic designer. Pretty handy with Photoshop.” He paused, staring at Abby. “I was afraid you wouldn’t find that slip of paper until after she’d moved,
but it ended up working perfectly. I’ll bet you were pretty shocked to see that picture, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I was.” Abby laughed, trying to keep things light.
“Why are you going so slow?” Tim shouted. “Step on it, already. But don’t get pulled over.”
Abby glanced at Tim as she chewed on her lip, an idea brewing in her mind.
Eric tried to relax as he leaned back in the chair. He was sitting across from Agent Franklin at the Resident Agency Office, listening to Franklin explain how they’d found proof that Tim was behind the embezzlement. Relief poured over Eric as he realized he was no longer a suspect.
“We verified that Tim’s behind the phony company,” Franklin was saying.
Breathing out slowly, Eric smiled. “What now?”
“We need to speak to him again. We’re trying to find him. Before we can clear you, though, we need to get the funds you mentioned.”
“Sure. I just need to go home and get my wife.” Immense happiness swept over him at the words. He could hardly wait to tell Abby it was all over.
“That’s fine. Bring it in today.”
“Of course.” Eric was ready to agree to whatever they demanded. As he stood to shake the agent’s hand, a man opened the door and said the agent had an urgent phone call. Eric felt bad for whoever was calling, relishing the freedom from his own dire situation.
A short time later he was still having trouble containing his elation as he pulled up to his house, and he nearly ran to the front door. He punched in the code on the keypad lock and a moment later he was inside. The first thing he heard was the sound of the television. When he walked into the family room, he found his daughters engrossed in a cartoon.
“Hi,” he said, nearly shouting to be heard over the sound of the television.
“Daddy!” they screamed, flinging themselves into his arms.
He hugged them close, warmth flooding his heart. “Where’s Mom?” he asked, pulling back.
“She’s not here,” Tiffany said.
“Where is she?” Eric asked, alarmed. He knew she had never left the girls home alone before.
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