by Shelly Logan
“Kate Evans,” she spoke as she held the phone near her ear, not making any effort to hide the disappointment in her voice.
“I know,” the muffled voice on the other end of the line spoke.
At the unfamiliar voice, Kate became suddenly wary, alert, and she quickly dried her tears as she switched the phone to her other ear. “Who is this?”
There was a pause during which Kate held her breath before the voice spoke again. “I’m the one who has your children, Kate.”
Chapter Twenty
For a moment, Kate could not speak, unable to believe what she had just heard. Then, she took a breath, gathering her courage. “You…you have my children?”
“That’s what I said.”
She felt a wave of relief wash over her, though she quickly tried to curb it, remembering how she had hoped so much the last time only to end up being devastated. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth? That you’re not just playing a prank on me like the others?”
There was a pause and just when she feared that the stranger on the other end of the line had hung up, he spoke. “The Velveteen Rabbit. That’s Lena’s favorite story, isn’t it?”
She was unable to suppress a gasp.
“And Jack, he likes Jell-O but only the red one,” the stranger added. “And he wants a glow-in-the-dark race track for Christmas, and his…”
“I believe you,” she interrupted him, no longer wanting to hear anymore, pressing her hand against her chest as she felt her heart begin to race.
“Good. Now, as long as you do as I say, they will be safe.”
At the words, she felt her relief vanish, fear creeping in. This man had her children and he could do anything he wanted to them. Anything.
“Who are you?”
“That doesn’t matter, does it?”
His arrogance annoyed her, but she knew she had to rein in her temper and tread carefully. He was right, after all. All that mattered was that he had her precious children. “Why did you take my children? What do you want?”
There was another pause. “Two million dollars, one million for each of them.”
She swallowed. “I don’t have that much money. I can only pay as much as three hundred thousand for both of them.”
The stranger laughed. “Is that only the price you’re willing to pay for your children? You disappoint me, Kate.”
Kate’s grip tightened around her phone. “Fine. Two million dollars. I’ll rob a bank if I have to.”
Another chuckle. “That’s more like it, Kate, but as much as I would have loved to see you rob a bank, you don’t have to. I’m sure your husband has all that money, I mean your ex-husband.”
She glanced at Lloyd, who was standing beside the couch, seemingly listening intently. He reached out his hand, asking for the phone, but Kate held on to it, turning away.
“If you had known we had the money all along, why did you wait so long to contact us? Why only now?”
“I had to make arrangements, plus there was a little problem I had to take care of.”
She tensed, understanding what he meant. Bravely, she asked, “Why did you have to kill Charlene?”
“You don’t have to know that, Kate,” the stranger answered. “All you need to know is that I’m serious, and if you don’t meet my demands, the children will meet the same fate as Charlene.”
She paled. “Please…don’t hurt them. I’ll give you what you want, just don’t hurt them.”
“I need the two million by tomorrow night, nine o’ clock. There’s an abandoned warehouse on Jerusalem Avenue.”
“Jerusalem Avenue?” she asked as she ran to the kitchen counter where the notepad and pen were.
“Jerusalem Avenue in Hicksville. That’s in Nassau County. It’s the only warehouse on that street so you won’t miss it.”
“Nassau County,” she muttered as she scribbled.
“You know the drill. Don’t bring any cops or pull anything fishy or I’ll dump your children into the Atlantic and you’ll never hear from me or them ever again,” he threatened.
She nodded. “I won’t.”
“Come alone or with your ex-husband, but no cops. Bring all of the money and be on time. I hate waiting.”
The line went dead.
For a while, she just stood there, frozen, one hand holding the phone and the other still wrapped around the pen. Then, slowly, she set both down, turning to Bryan and Lloyd.
“That was the kidnapper,” she informed them, her voice still shaky. She looked at Lloyd. “They want you and me to bring them two million dollars by tomorrow night.”
Lloyd said nothing, also seemingly glued in place as he became lost in thought.
Bryan, on the other hand, began to walk away.
“Bryan!” she called after him, grabbing his arm at the same time that he reached for the door knob.
“I’m no longer needed here,” he spoke solemnly.
“Oh, but you are,” she told him. “I need you more than anything, more than ever.”
“You have Lloyd,” he reminded her. “As far as I know, a woman only needs one man.”
Again, she winced at his words, but refused to let him go. “I’m sorry, Bryan. I’m so sorry. I should never have kissed him, no matter how upset or afraid I was. It was wrong, I know.”
He said nothing, his silence hurting her as much as his words.
“Please forgive me,” she pleaded. “And please believe me when I say you’re the one I love, you’re the one I want to be with. There’s nothing between Lloyd and me anymore. He just happened to have been there.”
Still, he kept silent.
“Please, Bryan, don’t leave.”
He looked at her, studying her without speaking. Then, he reached for her hand, taking it off his arm. “I’m sorry, Kate, but right now, I just can’t find a reason to stay.”
With those words, he turned and left, walking out the door and seemingly out of her life, each step he took bringing him further and further out of her reach. She collapsed on her knees on the floor, tears streaking down her cheeks and falling on her lap, feeling suddenly empty and alone.
Bryan was gone.
She knelt there crying, at a loss about what she should do. Then, Lloyd knelt in front of her, handing her a box of tissue.
She looked up at him, grateful for his concern, then pulled out one sheet to blow her nose.
“I know you’re hurting right now, Kate,” Lloyd said. “But I need you to focus. We have to go get your children back.”
At the thought of Jack and Lena alive somewhere, waiting for her, Kate felt herself beginning to calm down. She stopped crying, dried her tears and sat on the couch.
“What are we going to do, Lloyd?”
“We’re going to go to New York, of course.”
“Without telling Agent Wilkins or Lt. Paulson about the call?”
“If we tell them, they’ll want to get involved. The kidnapper wouldn’t like that, would he?”
Don’t bring any cops or pull anything fishy or I’ll dump your children into the Atlantic and you’ll never hear from me or them ever again. “No,” Kate agreed. “He wouldn’t.”
“Besides, I have the money. All I have to do is give it to them and everything will be over.”
“But what if they don’t give us back the children even after we give them the money?”
“I’ll make sure we get the children back,” he promised her. “Trust me, Kate. We’ll get them back.”
She nodded, finding no other option but to trust him. He was all she had now, and as much as that pained her, she was grateful that at least, she was not alone.
Later on, she would find a way to get Bryan back, which she knew she simply had to, but for now, she would focus on getting her children back with Lloyd’s help and do everything she could to make that happen.
With newfound determination, she stood up and went upstairs to pack her bag. It was time to leave town.
* * * *
“They’ve left town,” Nick informed Agent Wilkins, pouting. “One of my men said the BMW left yesterday morning and hasn’t returned since. There’s also no one in the house.”
“Ms. Evans isn’t there?”
Nick shook his head. “According to my men, only Mr. Marrick was seen leaving the house but Ms. Evans must have been in that car, too, because I had the house checked and she isn’t there. I’ve tried to call her, too, but she isn’t answering.”
“There’s only one reason they left without letting us know,” Agent Wilkins said. “They must have received a call from the kidnappers.”
“I’ll try to get a copy of that last conversation,” Nick said. “And also get in touch with Dr. Knowles to see if he knows where they’ve gone.”
“You do that,” Agent Wilkins said. “But remember, our priority is finding the children, and we have to hurry. Now, not only the children are in danger. Ms. Evans and Mr. Marrick may be, too.”
Nick nodded. A part of him was frustrated that Kate had left without telling him, but a part of him understood why she did that, especially knowing what the protocol was. If she had told him, he would have tried to stop her and Kate would not have wanted that. She wouldn’t let anything stop her from seeing her children now.
He sighed, scratching his forehead before heading over to his desk, knowing he had a lot to do.
Agent Wilkins was right. The children had to be found, and soon. There was no guarantee, after all, that Kate would get her children back by paying the sum the kidnapper wanted. On the other hand, if they were able to find the children, then Kate wouldn’t have to give away any money, and the kidnapper would be caught.
It was the only way they could win.
He picked up the phone and began to dial.
Chapter Twenty-one
Her phone was ringing.
At that realization, Kate immediately got up, reaching for her phone on the nightstand. Her first thought was that the kidnapper was calling her but as she saw Anne’s name on the screen, she lay back down, heaving a sigh of relief.
“Anne?”
“Kate.” Anne, too, sounded relieved to hear her voice. “Thank goodness you picked up.”
Kate felt puzzled. “Is something wrong?”
“I should be asking you that. The cops called me, telling me you suddenly left town and asking me where you went.”
“Oh.” She had forgotten to inform Anne, mainly because she and Lloyd had been in a rush and because they were trying to keep their departure a secret, though she supposed it was no longer a secret now.
“So where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure I can answer the first question, but as for the second one, I’m okay.”
“You can’t tell me where you are? Geez, that sounds like something crazy’s going on. Either that or you just don’t trust me anymore.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she told her. “Why would you even think of that?”
“Because I…” There was a pause on the other end.
“Yes?”
“Does Bryan know you’re out of town? Did the two of you talk?”
She couldn’t really understand the sudden change of topic, nor did she feel like talking about Bryan, but decided to go along. “Yes, Bryan knows. We talked.”
“So everything’s okay between you both?” Anne sounded hopeful.
Kate’s eyebrows creased. “Is there something you know that I don’t?”
Anne sighed. “I guess I better come clean. I did something wrong, Kate, something very wrong and I’d understand if you never spoke to me again.”
Now, Kate was even more confused. “I think you should just go ahead and tell me what you did, Anne.”
Anne took a deep breath. “I accidentally told Bryan you kissed Lloyd.”
“Oh, that.”
“So he told you he knew about it, huh? Me and my big mouth. You can hang up on me right now. At least, I know you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”
“I’m not going to stop talking to you, Anne,” Kate said. “I’m not mad at you.”
“You’re not.”
“I’m not,” Kate repeated. It was true. She did not feel an ounce of anger towards Anne at all, perhaps because now that Bryan knew, it didn’t matter how he found out. Besides, it was really her fault to begin with. She had no one else to blame. “And while I’m not completely okay, at least at the moment, I’m safe and I’m still sane.”
“Does that mean you and Bryan broke up?”
“Yes,” Kate answered with a sigh of her own.
“I really am a bad friend.”
Kate said nothing.
“Wait, are you with Lloyd?”
“I am,” Kate reluctantly confessed.
“You didn’t run away with him, did you? I mean, you’re not going to be with him now that you and Bryan broke up, are you?”
“No,” Kate answered. “Look, Anne, we’ll talk when I get back, okay? Right now, I…”
“I know, I know,” Anne interrupted. “I really shouldn’t let my mouth run away with me. You can rest now. Good night.”
“Good night.”
“And stay safe.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Anne hung up.
Kate placed the phone back on the nightstand, then got out of bed to use the bathroom.
The obscure hotel she and Lloyd had checked in to was small and not exactly luxurious, but at least, each of their adjoining rooms had its own bathroom.
She washed her face, frowning when she noticed how her wrinkles had seemed to worsen in the past week. Then, she headed back to the bed, stopping by the door that separated her room from Lloyd’s to listen in.
Nothing.
He was probably already asleep, even more exhausted than she was since he had been the one driving. Either that or he was on his bed, awake but quietly deep in thought, thinking about tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
At the thought that she could be reunited with her children this time tomorrow, she felt a surge of excitement but quickly quelled it. She had seen far too many suspense movies and television series to know that hostage exchange situations could easily go wrong. The kidnapper might change his mind and decide not to give them the children yet, for one, or the police might suddenly show up, since they already knew she and Lloyd were missing, which could cause the kidnapper to panic and start shooting everyone.
She shook her head. No, she wasn’t going to scare herself by conjuring the worst scenarios. If she could not keep herself from being carried away by hope or from thinking negatively, then she shouldn’t think about tomorrow at all.
Yes, she wasn’t going to think about it at all.
She went back to bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and closing her eyes, trying to distract herself with other thoughts. Now that she had decided to push all thought of her children’s kidnapping away, though, she could only think of one thing.
Bryan.
So it was Anne who had told him, after all, probably when they bumped into each other at the hospital. How Anne ended up telling him, she had no clue, since she believed Anne would never do it on purpose and she did say it was an accident, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter when she was talking to Bryan and it didn’t matter now.
All that mattered was that Bryan had found out, and that, as a result, he no longer wanted to be with her.
He doesn’t want you anymore.
Just the thought that she would never get to talk to Bryan again, never get to laugh with him, feel his arms around her or kiss him again, she felt tears form at the corners of her eyes but she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, shrugging the thought aside.
No, she wasn’t going to think about that, either.
Once she had her children back, she would do everything she could to get Bryan back, as well. She knew it was probably not going to be easy, but she was not going to give up, not when she still felt in her heart that the two of them were r
ight for each other, that the two of them belonged together.
Indeed, she had wondered for a moment, during the drive to New York, if perhaps it would be better for her and Lloyd to just get back together, but that thought had left her mind as quickly as it had come. She might still care for Lloyd but she had no doubt who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
She stared at the ring she still wore on her right hand and tenderly pressed it close to her heart.
I’m not giving up on you, Bryan.
* * * *
Bryan gave up.
Since yesterday, he had been trying not to think about Kate, but he had failed. Miserably.
Everywhere he looked in his apartment, he was reminded of her and the whole night he lay in his bed, he could not help but remember the last time she had been in it, beside him, the memory depriving him of sleep so that one point, he wondered if he should just check in at a hotel, and he would have if only he had been certain it would allow him to forget her, which he wasn’t, since he and Kate had also spent nights in hotels before.
Even now that he was not in his apartment, each time he glanced at his watch to check the time, he thought of her, of the smile she wore when she had given him that watch the first Christmas they spent together.
He frowned.
He supposed it wasn’t strange that he still thought of her. In spite of how much she had hurt him, how she had betrayed him, he still loved her, after all. There was no doubt about that.
Even so, he could not simply let things go, could not simply take her into his arms and forgive her. He needed time, time to understand why she had done what she did and then to forget it. He needed time to heal.
But how could he when he kept remembering her? When his chest became seized with pain each time he thought that while he was away from her, she was with Lloyd, the very man whom she had once belonged to, who had tried to tear them apart by digging into his past, and who she had just kissed days ago? For all he knew, they could kiss again, especially after he had left Kate alone and hurting.
He needed to get away, he thought. He needed to get out of town, maybe out of the country even where he would not hear any news of Kate. Maybe then, he would be able to think rather than simply feel.