“I didn’t tell anyone anything. Dee Burke is the one who had you investigated and made the call that got you arrested.”
“How do you know?”
“She called me the day the sheriff picked you up, to inform me they were on their way. She was more interested in letting me know Mr. Patrick intended to put me in a jail cell alongside you. Your real estate deal is dead. Mr. Patrick cancelled it.”
“How in the hell did she find anything out?”
“Apparently, you sat around the pool talking one day and you let a few things slip which she remembered as being inconsistent with your application.”
“I don’t believe you,” he sneered. “I’ve told the same lie so many times I’d never screw up.”
“When did you get out of jail?”
“Checked myself out yesterday,” he snickered.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re a stupid bitch. The jail staff messed up. I was scheduled for video court, and instead they put me on the bus for a personal appearance. I slipped out of custody at the courthouse when the guards had their backs turned.”
“The police will turn the city upside down looking for you.”
“You think that means someone will be coming to your rescue? No one,” he emphasized, “is going to find you out here except the alligators.”
“What do you want?”
“Money and lots of it.”
I wasn’t going to tell him I didn’t have lots of money. The omission would be my ticket out of here. “How much?”
“One million.”
“Dollars?” I said.
“Funny. You want to live? You cost me three mil from the deal. One million is a bargain.” He pulled a pint of spicy dark rum out of his pocket and downed more than half in one swallow.
For now, I needed him to believe I had the money and that he needed me alive to get his hands on it. “I’ll make arrangements with my accountant.”
“You dumb bitch. What’s your plan, to demand a suitcase full of cash? Like that wouldn’t attract attention. Or is that how you plan to get away?”
“I said you can have the money.”
“Every detail has been planned, and you’re only on a need-to-know basis. You don’t get out alive if I don’t get the cash,” he said, spitting on me.
I’d never realized it was possible to be so scared. My face throbbed with severe pain.
“You’re a clueless piece. You know how many people were lined up to take advantage of you?” He downed the rest of his rum and threw the bottle across the room, sending glass flying.
“What are you talking about?”
“News flash. Tucker knew about my scam, and he didn’t give a shit. He figured the worst I could do was create a legal nightmare, and he’d ride in and talk you into selling to end all your troubles. He’s partners in a real estate development company, and they need The Cottages for a big project they have in the works – shopping mall and condos.”
I massaged my face, trying to digest the news and alleviate the pain.
“Connor Manning is his partner,” he continued. “His bright idea was to force a shotgun wedding on you, giving him control. Even though he found you ‘totally boring and uninteresting’, his exact words, by the way, both he and Tucker would do whatever they had to, to get their hands on your property.”
“All this for one piece of property?”
“Manning’s a total jerk, and I knew he didn’t stand a chance, but he planned to continue pursuing you even though your date sucked. Until some big ugly guy, Scarface he called him, paid him a visit, and threatened to kill him if he ever breathed the same air as you,” Will laughed. “Connor said the guy scared him so bad he peed himself.” Will laughed even harder.
Will pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit up and blew a smoke ring in my face. “Tucker didn’t care what I was up to cause he figured my plan was going nowhere. He’d pretty much dismissed me as a stupid ass, but I knew too much and now he was forced to deal with me. You know the old line ‘keep your enemies close’? He went ballistic when he found out the deal was done and ready to close. Just my luck that the title company I chose had connections to Tucker. Once I opened the file at the title company, Chandi-the-closer got hot on the phone and informed him. Then he tells me to back off, and I’d get my money at the conclusion of the deal.”
“I agreed to it, wanted to appear to be a team player. If I didn’t, I knew I’d end up disappearing. I managed to convince Tucker that I cancelled the closing, and then went ahead with my plans behind his back. Tucker didn’t have a clue. I bribed another closer at the title company to keep her mouth shut. By the time he found out anything, I’d have sold the property out from under you both, and been long gone. The two of you would be fighting in court for a long time and I’d be happy and comfortable.”
He stomped on what was left of his cigarette, throwing it at me. I jumped back, a couch spring popped loose, and hit me hard in the butt.
“Here’s a good one. Elizabeth never even named Tucker executor. She only hired him to draw up her will. After she died, he changed the will appointing himself executor. I took the original, so that’s my leverage over that fool,” Will scoffed, reaching for another cigarette. Not another cigarette. There was so little air in here already.
“I ransacked the old bitch’s house the morning before you arrived. His days of ignoring me were over, because I now had the ammunition to blow his ass out of the water. I’m smart enough to figure out he’d never give me a dime. He’d get rid of me somehow.”
“Boy was he pissed when he discovered your name was on the title to the Cove Road house. He wanted that house bad, and all Elizabeth’s possessions. He figured he could go anytime and get what he wanted. His mistake was thinking it was all his before he had the legal right. He’s consumed by everything that belonged to your aunt. When you turn up dead, it’ll all be his. The big prize is The Cottages. You were never going to get control.”
“I picked the lock on your aunt’s safe. Nothing there but her will and some cash. Then the will ended up being a big score for me. Who knew the damn thing would give me power? I searched her bedroom too, went through her granny panties and decided she was too cheap to buy any jewelry.”
He continued, pleased with the story. “Tucker dismissed you before he even met you. You were a puppet with Tucker pulling the strings. After I met you, I realized that controlling you wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. We sat around in his office one afternoon, tossing around ways to get rid of you, and decided if it came to that, there’d be a convenient accident involving your old lady and bro, too. All three of you dying together would remove all the obstacles.”
If I had Zach’s Glock, I’d have pulled the trigger without a second thought, murder or no, blowing that stupid smile off his face. Did Zack know I was missing? Would he be able to find me? I bought time. “What were you doing last night?”
“Yeah, that was me,” he gloated. “I wanted to run you off the road, and grab your ass then. You’re a better driver than I thought you’d be. Plus you got the sheriff to come out in record time.”
“What about Forrest?”
“That old whore. He got away. He’s got a woman out by the dog track.” He shook his head. “No one else would help him. I’m not worried. When I get the money, one call and he’ll go wherever I tell him.”
I wanted to keep him talking, to get as much information as I could in case I got out of here. “Why did you tell Detective Harder I killed the guy in Cottage Nine? You and I know I didn’t do it. Did you kill him?”
“Oscar Wyatt, the stupid fuck, was trying to blackmail me,” he snarled. “I gave him money once, and he came back for more. That’s the problem paying a blackmailer. They don’t know when to quit.”
“Forrest is to blame for Oscar. He likes to go out, get drunk, and run his mouth. I wasn’t paying close enough attention, and the two of them got too chummy. I didn’t expect fidelity from Forrest, but I
do expect him to keep his mouth shut. He told Oscar about our scam, and then came the demands for money. So I had to punish Forrest. I needed him under control and not out causing trouble. The one time I let him briefly off his short leash, he blew it. The dumbass.”
He reached into a backpack and produced another bottle of rum, taking a healthy swig. “Blaming you for the murder was fun,” he sneered, as he pointed at me with the bottle. “Harder already hated you because of your boyfriend. He was just looking for an excuse to dick you around. Too bad you had an alibi. Even I would’ve gotten a boner watching you being cuffed and taken to jail. The last obstacle on my way to payday.”
“What about Gavin Patrick? Did you have feelings for him?” I felt awful for a man whom I never met; that he’d been jerked around emotionally by this piece of crap.
“Are you out of your mind?” Will asked. “Gavin had no chance with a man like me. He was a tool. I made him fall in love with me, and then used him. He deserved everything he got. He needs to learn to be realistic.”
It sickened me he had no remorse for taking advantage of a man in a wheelchair. Poor Mr. Patrick, he’s much better off without Will Todd in his life. “I need some water.” My throat was feeling scratchy and dry, making it difficult to swallow.
He got up, went into the kitchen, and came back with bottled water, which he threw right at my chest.
I had to focus, figure out how to escape from this madman. One doesn’t go wandering aimlessly around the Everglades. My only way out was the way we came in and Will would catch me. Never mind the snakes and alligators and other surprises the tall grasses held.
“Time for bed,” Will informed me. “Tomorrow we’re going to start putting my plan into action.”
Bed? I didn’t want to go back in that dirty room.
“Give me your shoes.”
I untied my tennis shoes and handed them to him. He threw them outside. “Open the door and I’ll shoot you.” He pointed his gun at me, and pulled the trigger.
I screamed, covering my face. The noise and the smell of gunpowder filled the air.
“That’s just a taste. If I’d meant to hit you, I would have.”
I turned and saw where the bullet was lodged in the wall.
Will grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet, dragged me down the short hall and shoved me back in the bedroom. I hit the edge of the mattress and fell on the floor. The door slammed shut and I heard the lock turn.
I scrambled away from the bugs and cried soundlessly until exhaustion finally overcame my terror. After a while, I got the courage to lie down on the bed and, when I did, I mercifully went to sleep.
Chapter 32
“Get up, bitch,” Will said, kicking open the bedroom door. He threw a day-old bagel and a bottle of water on the bed. “Breakfast, yummy, yum,” he sneered before walking back to the other end of the trailer.
Light filtered through the sheet at the window. I kicked away a cockroach at my foot; probably the same one that had run up my leg during the night.
“Get out here!” he yelled. “We have work to do!”
Now what? If I planned to outwit him, I’d need to anticipate his moves. But how do you stay one step ahead of a psycho?
He walked in the bedroom and said, “Get up,” before kicking me hard several times. He jerked me off the bed, and shoved me into the living room.
“Can I have my shoes?” I willed myself not to cry. Every exposed inch of skin on my body was bruised and filthy.
“No, in case you get the bright idea to run. Can’t get far on bare feet. You’d never make it to the main road. All you’ll succeed in doing is tearing up your feet.”
In the daylight, the place was even dirtier, if that were possible. No one had lived here in a long time. Cockroaches in various sizes, spiders, and rodent droppings were all over the floor. There were two mummified mice in the corner.
Will produced a laptop from his briefcase, connected to the internet and pulled up the homepage for my bank. “What’s your password?”
“Coveroad,” I told him.
“Where in the hell are you going to get one million dollars with only thirty six hundred in your account?”
“The money is in my trust account. I can transfer it to my regular account, but I need the authorization of my mother and Ernest Whitman.”
“Whitman? What the hell does he have to do with any of this?”
“He handles all of the family accounts.”
“You better not be lying.” He kicked me.
I yelped in pain. “He’ll do what my mother says.”
“Get mommy dearest on the line, and tell her she’s got twenty fours to get the transfer done. If she tells anyone, and I mean anyone, you’re a dead bitch,” he warned. “Understand?” he barked, throwing his phone at me.
“Put it on speaker. I’m going to be listening to every word. Don’t say anything I don’t like,” he said, pointing the gun at me. He pulled the trigger, a bullet buzzed the side of my head and I screamed.
I ran my hand through my hair feeling for blood.
“Oh good,” he smiled, “still working.”
I punched in the number. “Mother, it’s me,” I said, shakily.
“Where the hell are you? I’m worried about you,” she said, sounding frantic.
“Listen to me.”
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Are you okay?
“Don’t tell her about me,” Will whispered.
“For now. I’ve been kidnapped, and the kidnapper wants money. Call Antonio at Mr. Whitman’s office and have one million dollars transferred out of my trust account into my personal account. This guy says if he gets the money, he won’t hurt me.”
“Madison…,” she started.
“Mother,” I cut her off, afraid she’d blurt something that would tip off Will that I’d been lying. “This needs to be done today. Also, can you go to Brad’s place, and feed his dog?”
“I’ll get a hold of Mr. Whitman right now. Call me later and I’ll update you.”
Will grabbed the phone. “Do you want to see your daughter alive?”
“Yes!” Mother gasped.
“Do not call anyone. Anyone is the police or that boyfriend of hers or anyone else. If you do, I’ll find out and you won’t get a body back to bury,” he threatened. “I’m a nice guy, though, so I’d probably send a piece or two.” He discharged his gun into the floor, and cut off the call.
“My mother thinks you shot me!” I cried out.
“Oh boo hoo. Shut up. I’m sick of you.”
I sat silently thinking about the conversation. I hoped Zach was by her side. He’d call Kevin, and all the best people would be looking for me. I’d given a couple of clues, if they weren’t too obscure. If anyone could find me, it would be Zach.
“Hmmm…I wonder how popular I am?” Will opened his laptop and proceeded to search his name. “Look here, I’m the subject of a manhunt. So far, they have no clues. Dumb asses. Once I get my money, a boat is waiting and I’ll disappear.”
He packed up his laptop and started for the door. “Take your sweat pants and shirt off.” He waved his gun at me.
I stripped down to my underwear and thankfully, I had on a cami top. “Toss them over here. I’m leaving for a while,” he said, wadding my filthy clothes under his arm. “If you’re not here when I return, I’ll track you down and beat you till you wish you were dead. And if you don’t think I won’t, just ask Forrest,” he continued. “He can tell you I can administer a beating that’ll have you begging to do what I say. I only had to threaten him, and he’d straighten up.” He threw his head back and laughed, pleased with himself.
After the car took off down the road, I went from room to room, looking in closets. Absolutely nothing could be used to protect my feet. Everything had been cleared out. Only a couch and chair remained, along with dirty mattresses on the floor in both bedrooms.
I walked outside and looked around. The only living things in sight were me and a big
crow, and it was only interested in the dead animal it was snacking on. I knew trying to go anywhere barefoot was a terrible idea. Now was not the time to be stupid. I would stay calm and wait this out. At least I would get to talk to my mother again in a few hours.
* * *
Bathed in sweat and dirt, my hair-soaking wet, I wondered if the heat would kill me, when the car drove up. Will returned looking smug. Now what? “Time to call mommy again and find out if she got her part done. You better hope so.” He tossed me the phone and, after I punched in the number, he snatched it back, clicking on the speakerphone. “You keep your mouth shut.”
“Hey, Mom. Did you get the money transferred?”
“I want to speak to my daughter. You prove to me she’s still alive, or I’m not telling you anything.”
“I’m calling the shots, bitch!” he yelled. “You’ll talk to me. Being a psycho bitch runs in your family,” Will spit, throwing the phone at me.
“Mother, it’s me. I love you and Brad.”
Will grabbed the phone. “Satisfied? The two of you make me sick. Did you transfer the money or not?”
“I got my part done. Madison needs to go to Ernest Whitman’s office and sign the paperwork.”
“You lying bitch. You’re trying to set me up.”
“No, no I’m not,” she said. “They won’t transfer anything without Madison signing. It takes both of our signatures. All the paperwork is finished and you can go in anytime. Please don’t hurt her,” she pleaded.
“You’d better be telling the truth, or your daughter is dead, and so are you,” he threatened. “Understand?” Not waiting for an answer, he hung up the phone. “You’re going to be sorry if this is a set up,” he said nastily. “Cause I have nothing to lose.”
“Mother wouldn’t do anything to get either of her children killed. She’ll cooperate and do as you ask.” It was hard to believe she hadn’t called the police. She would do whatever was necessary to protect her children. My other wild card was Fab. If Will was holding Fab captive, she would’ve kicked his ass by now, stolen his keys, and been out of this dump. I almost smiled at the pleasant thought.
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