At that moment, an arm grabbed her wrist and the man pulled her against his body.
"Come on up, Mr. and Mrs. Sturtz," he said.
Polly shuddered as she realized that she recognized the voice. He had been so calm when she was blindfolded and tied to a bed. She wondered if that was his normal demeanor.
"Go ahead," she said to Henry. She used his body to block her actions as she swiped her phone open and called Aaron. "You're Marcus Allendar, aren't you?" she asked loudly, hoping to cover Aaron's usual witty repartee at the beginning of their phone calls. She slipped the phone into her back pocket, thankful that technology had gotten to a point where this was even possible.
Henry must have realized her intentions because he stamped his feet up the steps and shouted, "What in the hell are you doing in my house?"
"Calm down, Mr. Sturtz," Allendar said. "We all know why I'm here. I've been following your wife all week. That is, whenever she had enough bodyguards to protect her so she could go outside. You know, your boyfriend and I were in that old house across the street there." He pointed toward the front of the building. "They say it's on the market, but no one paid any attention to us when we were there."
He held his gun close enough to Rebecca that she had a hard time moving without brushing against it. When they got to the media room, he shoved her onto the couch and she scrambled to put as much distance between herself and Allendar as possible.
"Go on," Allendar said, waving his gun at Henry. "Sit with your little girl. She's had a rough week, so I hear. She probably wants to have an adult around who will take care of her. I'm not about to hurt a child, don't worry. I just want time with Polly Giller. From what I understand, the sun rises and shines on this woman. What's so damned special about you that you screwed young Joey Delancy up so bad he ended up in a psych ward?"
Polly shook her head. "Where are my animals?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes. "As much as they want to tell you that we all kill and torture small animals, that isn't my thing either. They're safe in one of the bedrooms. I found your treats and they followed me in." He shrugged a shoulder. "They got a great many treats, so you'll either have very uncomfortable animals or your husband will find a big mess to clean up after we leave."
"Why do you want Polly?" Henry asked.
"I want to see what it will take to make her mine," Allendar said. "Delancy was mine after the third session. His mind was weak. But this one might take a very long time to break. It will be a joy to watch her try to stay strong. We'll see what happens when we remove everyone from her life. What will it take for her to depend on me when she knows that she will never see any of you again ... when there is no more hope ... when her life is only worth something because I say that it's worth something?"
"You'll never break Polly," Rebecca said defiantly. "You shouldn't even try."
He nodded, raising his eyebrows. "You might be right. But it's going to be so much fun to dig into that mind."
Polly knew that they had to keep him here long enough for Aaron to arrive. "Can I pack a bag? Just some clothes and a few things?"
"You're going to come without a fight?"
"I assume that if I don't, you'll threaten Rebecca and Henry, right?"
Allendar was impressed. "I guess so. Sure," he said. "Pack a bag. I'll come with you to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."
Polly rolled her eyes in front of him and looked pointedly at Henry. He gave her a slight nod and put his arm protectively around Rebecca.
"This way," she said. "You figured out which bedroom was mine, didn't you?"
"I did. Very nice, by the way."
"How did you get in?" she asked.
"I left Delancy downtown, but figured he'd fail miserably when it came to getting you off by yourself. He's taking the FBI to where the girl is, right?"
"Yes he is," she said. "Everyone thinks you're going to try to kill him, so they're watching for you."
He smiled at her, showing perfect white teeth. This man was a showoff. "Good for them. That will give us just enough time to get on the road. Where would you like to go first? I was thinking about Montana and then maybe we'll make our way down to Arizona for the winter. I don't like extreme temperatures."
"You didn't tell me how you got in here."
"You were in such a hurry to get to the fire, you didn't notice that the garage door didn't go all the way down. I triggered it back up and you forgot to lock your back door. Started feeling safe inside the four walls of your building, didn't you."
Polly opened her drawers and started taking clothes out. He stopped her by placing his hand on hers. She was surprised at how dry and warm it was. Her hands were cold and clammy.
"Not too much," he said. "You aren't going to need clothing unless we're on the road."
"What?"
"You don't think I'm going to leave you any dignity, do you?" he asked. "That's the first thing I'll take away. Just pick out an extra pair of pants and a t-shirt. You don't need any extra bras or panties. But if you soil yourself in the car, we'll want an extra wet until we can wash them." He cackled at the thought of it and Polly shuddered.
She took out a pair of soft jeans and a t-shirt, hoping someone would get to her before she actually had to leave the building with this man. He'd left Henry with a cell phone and she prayed that Aaron could hear what was happening and was on-site. It was the only reason she was able to remain calm at all, hoping that everything would come together while she was dragging her feet in the bedroom.
Something must have shown on her face. "Why are you so calm, Polly?" he asked, brushing her cheek with the gun. "Do you think that they're coming to rescue you? Did you believe that I wouldn't have a cell phone jammer on me? Any calls you or your husband have tried to make since you got here have been blocked. No one knows I'm here. No one knows that you're in trouble. Go ahead. Take your phone out of your back pocket. Look at it. You'll find that you're all alone."
Polly hesitated.
"Go ahead," he said. "You might as well learn right now that I'm a step ahead of you. Take out your phone."
She drew it out of her back pocket and swiped it open. It went right to the home screen. There was no call to Aaron, there was no signal at all."
"Now give it to me," he said. "You won't be needing it any longer."
Her heart clenched up and she felt her throat constrict. This couldn't be happening. She handed him the phone and he dropped it on the floor of the bedroom and crushed it under his foot. "There. That should take any temptation away. It's time for us to leave. Bring your measly belongings and come with me."
Polly didn't move.
"I said 'Come with me,'" he ordered, his voice low and menacing. "Don't make me threaten your family."
She dropped to the floor. "Please don't do this," she whimpered. "Just leave. We won't tell them you were here. Just go."
Allendar reached down and grabbed her upper arm, forcing her to stand back up. "Oh, Polly, Polly, Polly. I'm going to do this and so many other things to you. Every time you resist, I will punish you." He slapped her cheek.
Tears sprang to her eyes and she immediately raised her hand to her face. He pushed it away.
"There will no longer be any comfort for you. You aren't allowed to even care for yourself. I am the only one in your life who will give you anything. It's going to take time for you to understand just how much that entails, but one day you will be exactly the person I want you to be." He smiled at her and then caressed her cheek.
Unconsciously, she flinched and pulled back.
He slapped her again, harder this time. "I told you not to resist. You must start learning these lessons. Oh, you're going to be spectacular! Now, let's go. We'll leave by the front door. I think that you won't be allowed to say goodbye to your husband and the little girl. We'll let that pain be the next lesson in your journey."
Allendar pushed her forward and placed the gun at her neck. "If you want to live, you will walk quietly through the liv
ing room to the front door and down the stairs. The car is parked in the lot. I'll tell you which one it is when we're outside. Don't make a peep or there will be hell to pay."
Polly's mind was trying to come up with a way to stop this man from taking her, but right now she had nothing. She didn't want him to hurt Henry or Rebecca, but knew that wasn't what she needed to focus on. The gun at her neck kept her moving forward and even though she'd laughed about taking self-defense courses, she'd done nothing about it, figuring that the worst that could happen to her had already happened. She had no idea how to take this man down.
He pushed her across the living room and she didn't dare look back toward the media room, concerned that he might go ballistic. She didn't mind getting slapped around. If he thought that was going to break her, he was nuts. She'd been through much worse.
The moment she opened the front door, though, all hell broke loose.
Obiwan charged out of the front bedroom, followed by Han, both dogs barking and screaming. The noise startled Allendar enough that he didn't see Jon and Ray Renaldi standing just outside the door. Jon swept his arm down, crushing Allendar's wrist. The man let out a scream and dropped the gun.
Ray picked up the gun as he bent forward and sacked Polly in the stomach, carrying her down, back and out of the way of the chaos and into the living room. Men and women wearing FBI jackets stormed up the steps and wrenched Allendar to the floor.
Henry stood in the doorway of the front bedroom. Ray gave Polly a hand, helping her to stand and then nodded. Henry ran forward and took her into his arms.
"I love you, Polly, I love you," he whispered, holding her tightly.
"He said he jammed the phones," Polly said. "How did you tell them he was here?"
"Nothing like some good old fashioned conversation," Henry let her go, but held on to her hand. "Rebecca ran downstairs to get Jon. She told him everything and he took care of the rest. All we needed for you to do was buy us some time."
"I was doing my best, but that was when I thought Aaron was on the other end of my phone call."
"It was all we needed," Aaron Merritt said, walking up the steps with Rebecca. "This girl is a smart cookie. When Henry's phone didn't work, she found Jon and showed him where the phone was in the kitchen."
Rebecca stopped in front of Marcus Allendar and looked him up and down, then lifted her lip into a snarl and stepped past him. "She would never have broke," Rebecca said and ran to Polly for a hug.
"Oh, she already was," he said with a laugh. "She was going to be my best creation yet."
FBI Agent Marla Lane took his arm and led him down the stairs, looking over her glasses at Aaron.
"What was that?" Polly asked.
"I made her promise to leave you alone. That I'd take your statement tonight."
"What about the other girl? Did you find her?"
He nodded. "She's safe. Stu took her to Boone to the hospital. Her parents and husband will meet her there."
Obiwan and Han were both standing at her feet. "Why did you send them out?" she asked Henry.
"Because I figured they would create so much chaos, that man wouldn't be able to focus on whatever it was that Jon and Ray were doing outside the door."
Ray laughed. "I couldn't believe it when I heard the noise, but it worked out perfectly. Thanks."
"Thank you," Polly said and stepped forward to hug him. "For everything," she whispered. "Just thank you."
He kissed her cheek. "You know I'm coming back in a couple of years just to hang out here in the quiet of Bellingwood."
"You think this is quiet?" she asked.
"I think it could be if you don't have a serial killer trying to kidnap you. It's the perfect place to hide from the world for a week."
"Come on, brother," Jon said. "She needs to give a quick statement to the Sheriff and then she needs sleep. You can talk to her about your future vacation plans tomorrow."
They left and Aaron said, "I'm not going to spend any time on this tonight. You people have had a rough couple of days and I want you to sleep. Will you promise to all be ready to talk to me and Stu tomorrow? Tell us everything that happened here tonight?"
Polly put her hand on her chest and said, "I promise."
Henry and Rebecca both nodded.
Aaron put his hand on the front door handle. "Do you promise to try to get some sleep? Lydia will talk to Sylvie and Jeff tomorrow and tell them to keep things quiet for you until you're alert again. Then call me and we'll set up a time to hear your story."
Polly nodded and Henry walked over and shook Aaron's hand. "Thanks for everything," Henry said.
"Sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." Aaron started to shut the door and then poked his head back in. "We'll take care of locking up. Don't worry about anything."
"Okay," Polly said. "Thanks."
After he was gone, Henry sat down beside her. "I don't think I can fall asleep. What about you two?"
"No way," Rebecca said.
Polly drooped. "I'm so tired, but I'm afraid I forgot how to sleep. Maybe a movie to dull our minds?"
"Star Wars?" Rebecca asked with a laugh.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"Really? I'm free to be out on my own?" Polly had spent the better part of the last two weeks feeling like she was under siege. Now she was free again. She could make her own decisions about coming and going.
Henry had taken them to Aaron's office in Boone to give their preliminary statements. Agent Lane informed her that she would need to be available if they required more information.
Now that they were back in Bellingwood, Henry wanted to spend time at the coffee shop, assessing the worst of the damage in order to design plans for reconstruction.
"This is the first time I feel like I can leave home without worrying about you," he said.
"Should we go out tonight? By ourselves?" Polly glanced at the media room where Rebecca, Andrew and Kayla had settled in with the animals. "And Rebecca too. She's part of us now."
"How about the new Mexican place?" he asked.
A knock at the front door caught their attention.
"Sure," Polly said. "You head out the back door. You don't need to get caught in any of this."
Henry winked at her, gave a little wave and left the room before she got to the door.
Tonya and Gerry stood there with smiles on their faces.
"Come in," Polly said. "I want to thank you for all you did for me."
"We don't have time. Ray got us on a flight out of Des Moines. We'll be home in time for a long weekend and then we're off again on Monday," Tonya said. "I just wanted to say thanks for your hospitality and for the entertainment."
Gerry interrupted. "We're sorry we weren't here for the excitement last night, but I'm glad you all are okay."
"Thank you for giving me some freedom, though," Polly said. "I feel like you spent your time here for nothing."
Tonya reached out to shake her hand. "It was good downtime for us. We've been running a tough year and next week things get nuts again. Bellingwood is a nice place to be."
"If you ever need a place to hide from the real world," Polly said. "Let me know. There will always be a room for you."
"We might take you up on it," Gerry said. "Take care of yourself."
Polly watched them go back down the steps and breathed a sigh of relief. They were great girls, yet she was happy to see them leave.
"Who wants to go for ice cream?" she called out as she headed for the media room.
"You don't have a car," Rebecca reminded her.
That stopped Polly for a second and then she said, "It's a beautiful afternoon, the sun is shining, it's only a few blocks away and we can walk. Are you up for it?"
Both Andrew and Rebecca looked at Kayla. "Will your sister let you go with us?" Rebecca asked.
"You run down and ask her," Polly said. "Meet us in the kitchen. You two," she pointed at Andrew and Rebecca. "Grab your library books. We're going to stop in and say hello to Joss on the way. Come
on, all of you, get moving. I'm free and I want to see the world!"
Polly hugged Obiwan and kissed the top of Han's head as the dogs looked up at her from their comfortable spots on the sofa. "You two stay here. We'll be back after a while and then I'm taking you on a long walk wherever we want to go." She went down the back steps and ducked her head in the kitchen.
"Sylvie. Oh Sylvie!" she sang out.
Sylvie came in from the auditorium. "What are you up to? You look more sane than you did last night."
"I am. I've had some sleep. The bad guys are in jail and I'm free. Can I take your son up to the library and the General Store for ice cream?"
Sylvie pursed her lips and was about to say something, then thought better of it. "Sure. He can have ice cream."
"You were going to tell me it would spoil his dinner, but we both know better than that, don't we," Polly said.
"You're right," Sylvie acquiesced.
"Your boys are lucky," Polly said. "You are such a great cook, they don't hate eating your meals."
"Yeah. You just keep thinking that."
Kayla came into the kitchen. "Stephanie said I could go. Will we be back by five or should she come get me?"
Polly thought through the whole process, knowing that Kayla's things were still upstairs. She said to Sylvie, "It's never easy, is it."
Sylvie just smiled.
"Go take your things to Stephanie and tell her she'd better meet us at The General Store when she's done with work."
Kayla threw her head back and sighed loudly. "I'm going to deserve ice cream after all of this walking," she said dramatically and went out to head up the steps.
Polly chuckled. "I love kids at this age. Their filters are pretty thin."
"Speaking of thin filters, have you talked to Sal since last night?" Sylvie asked.
Rebecca and Andrew came rushing into the kitchen. "Are you ready to go?" Andrew asked. Then he looked at his mom. "Did she ask if I could have ice cream?"
Sylvie stared at him.
"Mom," he said. "Would it be okay if I went to the General Store with Rebecca and Kayla and Polly for ice cream? I know that dinner is coming and I promise to eat reasonably." He rolled his eyes to Polly. "We're going to the library, too. Can I go?"
The River Rolls On (Bellingwood Book 10) Page 25