Ricardo ranted and raved on as he righted the cruiser, but Jessie smiled to herself in satisfaction. Someone would find her sooner or later. And with the hope of help from behind, she gained new strength. She would do everything within her power to bring down Ricardo Alvarez.
****
Liz and Kent watched the car ahead go into a spin. Liz stopped and pulled over. She turned off the headlights. “What the hell was that?”
“That’s it. The cruiser.” Kent could see, from a shaft of moonlight, the markings on the side of the vehicle. But he didn’t know what had caused it to go out of control.
“He veered crazily then slammed the brakes,” Liz said. “Maybe he hit an animal or tried to avoid one.”
They watched while the car backed and straightened until it was headed up the hill again. It took off in a blast of screeching tires.
“He’s irritated now,” Kent said. “Poor Jessie.”
“Do you think he knows we’re following?”
“I don’t know,” Kent said. “He’s probably being cautious in case someone’s after him, but he might not think we are. He probably thinks I’m done for.”
“What do we do now?”
“Just keep going, slowly. We don’t want to hit something, and we don’t want to catch up with him. Remember, he has a gun. We’ll try and follow until he gets to a destination.”
“Way up here?”
“Maybe. Who knows what a warped mind will dream up?”
“He had Jessie tied to the bed. Her clothes were—”
“Shut up, Liz. I don’t need details. I can’t understand the guy. He’s a cop. Jessie met him at the police station you say, and now he’s turned around and kidnapped her. Do you make any sense of it?”
“You told me to shut up.”
“Hold it. Pull over.”
Liz did so, shutting down the lights as well. They watched as the cruiser turned off to the left in what looked like another road or driveway. After about five minutes, Liz asked, “Well, do we follow or what?”
Kent opened his door. “We’re going but I’m driving now.”
Liz could see he was okay and she got out and took the passenger side. She wondered what would happen, if the cop was luring them into a trap and wished with all her heart that she’d never ever encouraged Jessie to buy the damn computer in the first place. Then Jessie would never have met him.
She looked over at Kent and could see from the strains of moonlight breaking through the trees that his brow was heavy with worry lines. She wondered if he was as frightened as she was.
“Kent,” she said. “I’m scared.”
“Shut up, Liz. I haven’t got time for this. Jessie’s life is in danger just as much as ours is.”
Liz went silent and slumped down on the seat as they drove down the narrow road. It was rutted and bumpy, not the kind of road anyone should speed on. The trees were sparser along the roadside, letting more moonlight spill unto their car. Liz pulled her blouse together and found two buttons missing. She smoothed back her hair with her palm. She must look a sight she thought, wondering what Jessie had made of her pounding on the motel door claiming to have been raped. Would she think Kent had been the one? Would she still believe Kent had harassed her e mail? Whatever Jessie might be thinking, she hoped at least she’d have figured out they were now trying to help her. But with Kent down from a bullet, maybe Jessie had given up hope. Liz certainly hoped not.
“What’s that?” Kent said, shifting his eyes to the right over Liz’s head.
Liz straightened up and looked out her window. “What?”
“Nothing, I guess. I thought I saw something. A flash—”
“You did,” Liz confirmed peering out the side window. “In there. It’s another roadway and there’s the cruiser.”
“What?” Kent slammed on the brakes and cut the lights. They sat with bated breath.
Finally Liz whispered. “I think it’s empty.”
Kent got out. “Stay here,” he said. “But get over this side. If anything happens to me, get the hell out of here. Go back to town or wherever, and get help.”
Kent sneaked behind his car then crept softly up to the back of the cruiser. He stood in the moonlight in full view, but there was silence around him. He circled the cruiser then turned and looked back at Liz.
She rolled down the passenger side window and said, “I told you. No one’s there.”
Kent returned to his car and was joined outside by Liz. He opened the trunk and took out a large flashlight. Reaching inside again he pulled out the tire iron and handed it to Liz. “Take this. It’s all we have.”
“Where are we going?”
“There’s a path at the side of the cruiser. It’s the only thing we can do...follow it.”
“But, Kent—”
“You can go back, Liz, if you want to. But if Jessie’s at the end of that path, I’m finding her.”
“And I’m coming,” Liz said, toting the tire iron.
The moon was at a high point. Liz looked up once and felt small and scared when the full length of the dark, waving trees miniaturized her. The path was strewn with tree roots, and Liz caught herself from falling a couple of times. Her legs were starting to get sore and she had to slow down. Her head ached from the heat and exertion. With all her aerobic training she wondered why she felt so bad.
“Be careful,” Kent advised.
“I’m trying,” she replied, “but I’m trembling so.”
“You can’t be cold.”
She didn’t answer and she assumed that since the night was balmy, he understood it was a tremor of terror.
****
“Not much farther now,” Ricardo stated as his arm gripped Jessie’s. “The worst though is yet to come. Straight up hill.”
Jessie had gone willingly. She had no choice. His hand gripping her arm made it impossible for her to escape. And where would she go anyway? Running through the woods seemed somehow no more appealing than staying with Ricardo. He might be crazy but he was experienced in the woods, and she didn’t think he intended to hurt her, at least not until they reached the cabin. Maybe then she’d have some kind of chance to defend herself.
Halfway along the path Jessie had left a trail behind her. She now reached into the unzipped portion of her overnight bag and pulled out another piece of clothing. After doubling it in her fist she reached behind her and let it drop. She was now glad Ricardo had insisted she pack a bag.
He stopped abruptly and looked around. Jessie held her breath hoping he wouldn’t see the lingerie in the grass, for they were now at the foot of the hill after crossing a long field of tall grass.
“Up the hill and down,” Ricardo said. “Then we will be home, my pet.”
They moved on, climbing higher. A few trees grew on the hillside, but it was mostly clear-walking in grass. Every so often Jessie dropped another piece of clothing. Even if the car she’d seen behind them hadn’t followed, sooner or later someone would find the cruiser, and then they’d find the clothing and wonder. If she were lucky it wouldn’t blow too far, and it would lead someone straight to the cabin.
At the crest of the hill Jessie stopped dropping things. She didn’t know where the cabin was situated, and she didn’t want Ricardo to see what she’d been up to if he should be walking outside the cabin. If someone got this close, they’d find the cabin. She had to believe that.
“See down there?” Ricardo pointed to the bottom of the hill. “There’s our little home. For a while anyway. For as long as it takes for you to lean on me...to love me like I love you, my dear.”
Jessie felt sick. She would never love him. But she might pretend, if that got her anywhere. She might as well start now. “It looks small,” she said. “But kind of cosy.”
“It’s not bad,” he said as they stood on the hilltop looking down on the moon-lit cabin. “I’ll make you happy there. Just give me time.”
****
After Liz had tripped for the fourth time, Kent took t
he tire iron and gave her the light. “Here, use it sparingly. I don’t believe we’re close enough for him to see us or the light, but we need to conserve it just in case it’s needed later.”
Liz marched on. Occasionally she turned on the light to get her bearings. On one occasion the light caught something, and she targeted it on the object then picked it up.
“It’s panties,” she said.
Kent, who’d forged ahead, stopped and turned. “What?”
“Look at this. A pair of pink panties. What do you make of that?”
Kent walked back and examined the underwear. “They’re nice,” he said. “Sexy.”
“Kent.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Liz. “It’s been a weird night. Come on.”
Liz got braver with the light and after finding the panties she kept shining it around looking for something else. Maybe a house was near. Maybe they fell off a clothesline. But who would live up here in this godforsaken place — and wear panties like that?”
“Turn the damn light off,” Kent said. “You want to get shot at?”
Liz snapped off the light but not before she spotted something else. Kent saw it too and picked up a sleeveless T-shirt. “Put the light here, on it.”
Liz shone the light across the striped T-shirt in Kent’s hands. “It’s Jessie’s,” she said.
“Jessie’s? Are you sure? It could be like hers.”
“Positive. I’ve seen her wear it at work. Kent, she carried an overnight bag. Can’t you see what’s happening here? Jessie’s playing Hansel and Gretel. This is her trail.” Liz flashed the light down the path. “There’s got to be more. Come on, we’re on the right track.”
Kent and Liz moved faster now, following the bits of clothing found on the trail. In a short time they reached an end to the path. A clearing appeared that opened into a large field.
“Shit,” Kent groaned. “At least on the trail we knew where to go.”
“We still do,” Liz said, shining the light down. She kicked at the grass. “It’s long,” she said, “and trampled down. Just follow the path.”
Kent followed an aggressive Liz. He had to hand it to her, she was not backing down. For someone who started out being scared she’d grown a lot. He still wondered whatever had possessed Liz to send the frightening e mails to Jessie. Obviously she cared about Jessie or she wouldn’t be risking her own life tonight. But, all over him? Why did women do those sorts of things? It was ludicrous to him. He’d never been able to figure out women and their wiles, but he wished right now that he knew what Jessie had been thinking when she got involved with Ricardo Alvarez.
She trusted him at first, that much he’d figured out easily. After all he was a cop and he stood for justice and the law. He also represented safety to her, something she’d felt had been ripped from her. And Kent felt that she had lost faith in him. Whatever they’d meant to each other it had not grown strong enough for her to confront him with the e mail ploy. She’d taken Liz’s word for it. And even after Liz had tried to tell her she’d been too hasty, Jessie couldn’t accept that. She still thought he was involved. Well, he would show her now that he could be trusted. Show her just how much he loved her — even if it killed him, for life without Jessie wouldn’t be worth much — not since he’d been with her.
“Hurry up, will you?” Liz called from the top of the hill.
Kent caught up with her and whispered. “Christ, Liz, you needn’t scream. I told you before, do you want bullets whizzing by your ear?”
Liz ignored him. She seemed unafraid of the night or the policeman with the gun. “There’s a valley below. And look down there.” Her flashlight beam roamed around.
Kent’s eyes took a moment to adjust then he saw the cabin with a dim light glowing. “Do you think they’re down there?”
“Like I’m physic?” Liz said. “But it’s a good possibility. The clothing stops at the top of the hill.”
Kent looked around. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“The clothing?”
“It’s where it should be. Still on the ground. We may need to find our way out of here and in a hurry. If we can’t find that wood’s path, we’re in trouble.”
Kent knew that Liz, as usual, was right. But he wished she knew what to do now. Instead she only stood on the hilltop waiting for him to decide. The view from the hill was stunning even in the middle of the night. An odour of summer wafted through the grass, and Kent could hear frogs from a near-by pond and the occasional song of a night bird. It was so peaceful he felt a tear slip down his cheek. His thoughts melted into the darkness, and staring into the gloom he was filled with longing. What the hell might Jessie be going through down below if she was indeed in the cabin?
Liz only heard the windless calm. The strange, silent air often found in high places. She could stay silent no longer. “Well, what do we do now? Just sit here?”
“You got a better suggestion?”
“I say we go down — peek in the windows. Right now we don’t even know if Jessie’s in there.”
She was right again and Kent had to agree. They started down the steep grade. Stealing carefully up to the back of the house, they fell to their knees before approaching a lighted window. It was Liz again who got up to take a peek. She then dropped to her knees and slid her back up against the house. Kent crouched beside her.
“It’s them all right,” she whispered. “Jessie’s handcuffed to a cot and he’s walking the floor. She’s staring straight ahead and she looks absolutely terrified.”
“Is she hurt?”
“She doesn’t look to be.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Kent whispered.
Liz didn’t argue. She followed him back up the hill to their retreat at the top. She didn’t speak until they’d seated themselves on the look-off. “Well, Kent, we know where they are. What do we do now?”
Kent had been thinking wildly during their up-hill climb. “We need to get help,” he said firmly. “Goddamn. If only I’d brought my phone. You go back to the car and phone the local police. I’ll wait here and—”
“Oh, no. I’m not going back there alone. And you can’t do anything here.”
“But I can watch below. What if they leave?”
“This time of the morning? Looks like they’re settled in to me. He was carrying a glass of something around. Some kind of liquor it looked like. No, I don’t think they’ll move, at least until daylight. He looked like he was thinking. Walking and thinking. He’s probably planning his next move.”
“And we have to move too, so get going.”
“I said, no. You come too. We’re in this together.”
Kent drew a long sigh and jumped up, wiping the damp grass off his rear end.
“All right, come on then,” he said, and they moved down the hillside towards the wood’s path.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jessie watched Ricardo pace. Her hands were numb. He’d snapped the handcuffs around the metal frame of the small bed, leaving her without much chance to move her arms about. Was this his idea of love? Chaining her to a bed, holding her captive, for how long? He looked caged himself. Walking the floor and drinking that whiskey. “My hands hurt,” she said, hoping he’d stop pacing and release her.
He did stop pacing. And he turned like he’d been in a trance and had just been released by her words. He came over to her and sat on a wooden chair he’d drawn from the table set just across from the two beds.
He straddled the chair. “I’m sorry, Jessica. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but I don’t feel you’re ready to stay with me. I can’t trust you.”
“Where would I go? It’s dark outside and we’re in the middle of the woods somewhere. I don’t even know where.” Jessie did know she was on the outskirts of Wakefield, but the part about going outside in the wilderness was the truth. She wouldn’t know which way to run even if she did escape. She’d at least wait until morning for that.
�
�Yes, you say that now. But if I took the handcuffs off, it might be a different story. And I’d find you, you know. I just don’t feel like running through the woods anymore tonight. I’m tired.”
Jessie looked around the cabin. There were two doorways off the main room, and a hallway running between.
“Are those bedrooms?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Then why are the beds out here?”
“Because I put them here. I haven’t been here since winter. We brought the cots out by the stove because it’s damn cold here in February.” He looked at her rather lustfully and Jessie shivered. “You needn’t fear me, not tonight anyway. You see this glass?” He held it up and sloshed the brownish-golden liquid. “I don’t usually drink whiskey. I keep it here...for my hunting buddies. But I try to avoid it, except on occasion. It makes me limp as a noodle, if you get what I mean, and that’s what I want tonight. It’s too soon to make love to you. I found that out at the motel. You need a rest and a good meal. Are you hungry?”
Jessie shook her head that she wasn’t. She was relieved to hear that he wouldn’t try something with her. But she also knew it was just a matter of time. “So the whiskey makes you impotent?”
“You got it. I don’t even want you except in my mind. My body’s totally turned off. Aren’t you grateful?”
Jessie didn’t answer and he jumped off the chair and grabbed her by the hair, twisting slightly on the short strands. “Say it, Jessica. Say you’re grateful.”
Jessie winced and swallowed hard. “I’m...I’m grateful, Rick,” she stammered.
He loosened his grip and smoothed her hair back. “That’s my girl. Now go to sleep. I’m going to take the other bed and we’ll talk or whatever in the morning.” He got up and strode towards the other cot. He scratched his shoulder, then his hair. “Ya know it’s just as well that you’re not hungry, because I don’t think there’s a damn decent thing in the cupboard. I had a feeling there was a car following us tonight, that’s why I ditched the cruiser. But tomorrow I’ll go out and get us some food.”
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