Confused to see Jason’s car, almost as if he’d come voluntarily, Stacey hesitated. What if she was wrong? What if Patricia had been telling the truth the other night and Jason had been lying all along? What if they really did want to be together?
Even if he doesn’t love me, Stacey thought as sadness knifed through her, he loves our children. He would never allow Patricia to harm them. And when I saw her driving away from her house, Jason was not in the car with her, yet at least one of the children was.
Leaving her car a safe distance from the house, she ran toward the house until she found a spot close enough to watch for any activity without being observed. There were no other houses in the area.
All was quiet at Patricia’s place. The only light came from a back room, which was hidden from view if anyone were to drive up to the front of the house. Slowly approaching the window, she saw the curtains were drawn, leaving a small space uncovered.
Standing on her tiptoes, she could see the corner of a bed and nothing else. She felt something squishy on her shoes and saw that her feet were muddy. There was no grass here, only wet dirt.
This must be where Patricia had been the other night, Stacey realized.
While staring in through the crack, a slight motion caught her eye. Her focus was beginning to get blurry from staring and she had to blink several times to clear it.
There. She saw it again. A man’s foot came into view. He was lying on the bed and rope bound his feet. It must be Jason.
He’s not there by choice! She thought, elated.
Reaching up to tap the window, she yanked her hand back when Patricia walked into the room, a full glass in her hand. Unnerved to realize she had not heard her drive up, Stacey watched as Patricia leaned toward Jason. She couldn’t see what she was doing, but when Patricia stood again, Stacey could see the level of the liquid in the glass had diminished.
What is she doing? And where are my children? The thought filled her with a desperate fear.
Tiptoeing to the side of the house and peeking out toward the driveway, Stacey could see Patricia’s car parked behind Jason’s, but she couldn’t see anything in the back seat. Cautiously, she walked toward Patricia’s car and looked into the back. Robby slept on the seat. But where was Nikki?
When Stacey tapped on the window he stirred. She tapped again and he came fully awake. At the sight of her he sat up straight and she motioned for him to open the locked door. When he lifted the lock, she yanked the door open and pulled him into her arms.
“Are you okay? Where’s Nikki?”
Robby shook his head. “I don’t know.” Then he looked at her, confusion spreading over his face. “Why did Mrs. Summers take us?”
“I don’t know, Robby. But we have to get Nikki and Daddy and get away from here.”
He nodded. “I think Daddy’s inside the house.”
Stacey bit her lip, wondering how Patricia would react to Robby being gone. “Come on, Robby. Let’s get you out of here.”
He hesitated. “But she said she was coming right back.”
Stacey glanced around but didn’t see anyone. “It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll hurry.”
“My shoe fell off,” Robby said, picking it up from the floor and shoving it on.
As she was helping him climb out of the car, she felt a sharp pain in her head.
When she woke, she had a throbbing headache. Her arms were tied behind her back and her feet were tied together. Robby was lying on the floor next to her, his hands and feet tied as well. He stared at her, his eyes frightened.
Looking around at the empty space, she knew this was a different room than the one where Jason was being kept. And she still didn’t know where Nikki was. At the thought, panic crawled up her throat.
She heard a sound outside the closed bedroom door and tried to smile reassuringly at Robby. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered as the door slammed open. Her gaze shot to the figure standing in the doorway.
“What were you doing here?” Patricia asked, her eyebrows drawn together. “You’re supposed to be giving a party tonight.”
Stacey watched the fury on Patricia’s face, then answered, “The woman was sick and had to cancel.”
“Why do you always have to interfere? Why can’t you just let him go?”
“Jason?” Stacey asked.
“Yes, Jason. He was just agreeing to come with me and now you’re here.” She paused and almost said to herself, “Of course, he doesn’t know you’re here.” She looked at Stacey. “I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything stupid.”
The moment the door closed Stacey looked at Robby. No tears were in his eyes, but she could see he was trembling. “Scoot closer to me, honey,” she said.
He sniffled and didn’t move.
“It’ll be okay. I promise. Now scoot closer to me so I can loosen your hands.”
She rolled over so that her back was to him. She hoped if she could reach his hands, which were tied in front of him, she could undo the ropes.
He moved closer to her back.
“Put your hands against mine. That’s it.”
She could feel the knot loosening. After several tries the ropes fell off.
“Now undo my hands.”
He struggled with the knots. “I can’t do it, Mom.”
She tried to be patient. “You’re going to have to if you want to get out of here.”
“Okay.” He tried some more. “I think I’m getting it.”
Stacey felt the rope loosening and wriggled her hands to help it along. The ropes fell off and she quickly undid her feet. Then she undid Robby’s feet.
She looked around the room but it was completely bare. She couldn’t see anything she could use as a weapon.
Heart pounding, she turned the doorknob and peeked out. To the left was a bathroom. Next to that was another bedroom door where she figured Jason was being kept, and across the hall from that was another door, which Stacey assumed to be the master bedroom. To the right was the living room. A door led from the living room into the kitchen.
Stacey didn’t see anyone. She held Robby’s hand and went right, toward the living room. She quickly glanced into the kitchen, which was empty, then led Robby to the front door and once outside ran to Stacey’s car.
She opened the passenger door for Robby. “Now lie down on the floor and I’ll cover you with this blanket.”
He began to cry. “Don’t leave me, Mommy.”
She felt torn. “I have to look for Nikki and help Dad. You’ll be all right here. I promise.” She bent down and gave him a kiss. “I’ll be back soon.”
Chapter Forty-Three
As she headed back to the house where her family was being kept, she wished she had some way of calling Detective Perkins. She didn’t have a cell phone, she hadn’t seen a phone in the kitchen, and there were no other houses nearby.
I’ll just have to do the best I can, she thought as she approached the house. First she peeked through the window where she had seen Jason, but the small space through the curtains was too small to see anything. She couldn’t even tell if Jason was still there.
Quietly advancing toward the front door, Stacey glanced over her shoulder to make sure Patricia wasn’t sneaking up on her again. Seeing no one, she carefully turned the doorknob and noiselessly entered the house.
As she walked past the room she had recently been in, she wondered if Patricia had discovered that she and Robby had escaped. She crept past the bathroom and stopped next to the door of the room where she thought Jason was being held. Pressing her ear against the door, she heard nothing.
Gently opening the door, her gaze immediately went to Jason, who was lying on the bed, his hands and feet bound. She flew over to him and saw white powder clinging to the corners of his mouth. Stacey guessed he had been given some sort of drug by Patricia.
Overwhelming love for her husband washed over her as she gazed at his unconscious form. She realized he had been a pawn in this game, even more than she had been.
“Your son got away with that witch, sweetheart,” Patricia cooed, her back to Stacey. “But don’t worry. We still have your lovely daughter.”
Horrified at Patricia’s declaration, Stacey pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from crying out.
Patricia shook Jason and he moaned in his sleep.
“We need to decide where we’re going to go. But we can go anywhere you want. I can afford it now,” she laughed. “I’ve put the money in a safe place so we’ll have to stop by and get it. Maybe we can go there tonight. We’ll have to wait until they’re asleep, though.”
Patricia picked up a blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed and laid it across Jason, tucking it around his shoulders.
“I know we’re going to be happy together, darling,” she went on. “When you told me you couldn’t afford to divorce Stacey, I knew just what to do.”
As Stacey listened to Patricia, her heart dropped. What does she mean? What did Jason say to her? Had he been considering ending our marriage? The thought shocked her. Tears filled her eyes as she continued observing the bizarre scene in front of her.
“I’m so sorry that old car of yours got you involved. I never meant for you to be a suspect. When Gary told me the car he’d bought belonged to you, I gave him a piece of my mind, believe me.” She adjusted the blanket. “He didn’t know all of my plans. He didn’t know my ultimate goal.” Patricia bent over and whispered loudly in Jason’s ear. “You!”
Stacey watched in growing understanding as she put things together. She almost felt sorry for Gary Tomlison. Patricia had used him and then killed him.
“It’s time to wake up,” Patricia said, her voice impatient. “I didn’t give you that much sedative.” She slapped him across the face, hard. “Wake up now! We need to get moving.”
Stacey’s tears stopped and she became angry. How dare she hit my husband? Feeling angry enough to confront Patricia, Stacey reached out to slide open the closet door, but stopped as Patricia abruptly left the room, closing the door behind her.
Racing to Jason’s side, Stacey could see a handprint appearing on his cheek. Gently stroking the reddened mark, she urgently whispered, “Wake up, Jason.”
Getting no response, she roughly shook him. After several moments he mumbled something, then his eyes opened halfway. He seemed to be trying to bring them into focus.
“Jason! It’s me, Stacey. Wake up!” She shook him harder. “Do you have your cell phone?” She searched through his pockets but didn’t find it.
His speech was slurred. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“Jason! Where’s Nikki?”
“Nikki?”
Afraid for her daughter’s safety, yet not wanting to leave Jason in this helpless state, she loosened the ropes on his hands and feet.
“I’m going to look for Nikki,” she said. “I’ve loosened the ropes. If Patricia comes back, you need to pretend like your hands are still tied. If you can stall her, I’ll go for help.” She looked at him, waiting for a response. “Jason,” she whispered urgently.
His eyes opened slightly.
“Did you hear me?” she asked.
“Okay,” he said, still groggy.
Stacey quickly kissed him, then took a step toward the bedroom door. Hesitating, she gazed at her husband, unsure if she should stay with him or look for Nikki. As she briefly watched him, he seemed to be waking up more.
Satisfied he could take care of himself, she slipped out into the hallway and stopped, listening for Patricia. She thought she heard movement coming from the master bedroom, so she headed toward the kitchen to look for some sort of weapon.
Quietly, she pulled open drawers and cupboards. They were all empty.
She opened the door to a pantry and looked around. A broom and dustpan hung inside and a mop and a couple of bottles of cleaning solution were placed on the shelf. Grabbing the heaviest bottle, she headed toward the master bedroom.
As she approached, she could see the door was ajar. She could also hear the sound of a child whimpering. Having heard the sound plenty of times before, she recognized it immediately.
It was Nikki.
* * *
Robby pulled the blanket closer around himself, but the shivering wouldn’t stop. He was worried about the rest of his family. Mrs. Summers had been mean to him and had made his dad drink something that had made him go to sleep. Now his mom was there. What if Mrs. Summers did something to her too?
It’s all my fault, he thought. If I hadn’t left Kyle by himself at the treehouse that day, none of this would’ve happened. And then I didn’t even tell right away.
He fidgeted on the seat of the car and wondered if there was anything he could do to help his family. He knew he would have to be brave, even braver than when he’d snuck into Mr. Gowen’s barn.
Biting his lip in indecision, he slowly reached for the door handle. Pushing the door open, he swung his feet to the ground and tossed the blanket onto the floor. Then, closing the car door, he peered into the darkness and stared at the lights in the distance.
That’s where they are, he thought. That’s where I need to go.
Straightening his shoulders, he began walking.
Chapter Forty-Four
Stacey hesitated outside the master bedroom door. Holding the bottle of cleaner behind her back with one hand, she stepped into the open doorway. Nikki was curled up in a corner on the floor and Patricia was freshening her make-up in front of a mirror.
Her gaze darting around the room, Stacey quickly developed a plan.
Patricia must have sensed her presence, because she suddenly spun around. “Stacey, why am I not surprised to see you?”
“I’ve come for my daughter.”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Nikki’s head lifted from the floor.
Stacey’s gaze shot in her direction, then came back to Patricia.
“As much as I’d like to accommodate you,” Patricia began. “I need her. She helps me keep Jason in line.”
“Mommy?” Nikki cried, pushing herself to a sitting position.
“Stay there,” Patricia shouted.
Nikki froze, obviously terrified.
“It’s okay, honey,” Stacey said.
“No, it’s not okay.” Patricia glanced at herself in the mirror once more before taking a step toward Stacey. “You see, you keep messing everything up.”
Watching Patricia closely, Stacey didn’t respond.
“When Jason and I were becoming close, the thought of you kept him from pursuing me freely. And when I nearly had him convinced to come with me, he said he couldn’t afford to leave you because alimony and child support would be too high. So what do I do? I figure out a way to get a million dollars.”
Shaking her head in apparent mystification, Patricia took another step toward Stacey. “So when I get him over here tonight and tell him about my brilliant plan, does he thank me for opening up a way to freedom? No! He gets angry at me for, as he calls it, ‘tricking’ him into coming here.”
A serene smile replaced her look of anger. “But we’ve been chatting, and it seems he’s coming around to my way of thinking.” Patricia glanced over her shoulder at Nikki, who was silent but watchful. “But I need a little insurance, you see. So Nikki has to stay with me.” She paused. “I know he’ll do what I want as long as I have Nikki.”
A rush of adrenaline pounded through Stacey’s veins. “I will not allow you to use my daughter that way.”
Patricia laughed. “I don’t think you have much choice. Soon you’ll be out of the way and then I can do whatever I want without your interference.” Suddenly turning, Patricia walked to the dresser and pulled open a drawer, revealing a large knife.
Gasping, Stacey’s gaze locked on the knife.
* * *
<
br /> Robby slipped into the house unnoticed and heard voices coming from somewhere down the hall. Though terrified, he wanted to help his family and took several steps toward the sound. With each step his courage dwindled and he stopped as overwhelming fright set in.
What if she sees me? He thought. Will she tie me up again? Will she hurt me? I should’ve stayed in the car like Mom told me to.
Frantic for a place to hide, he looked up and down the hall, finally deciding on the bathroom as a good place to conceal himself. As he slid behind the open door, he peered through the crack and waited, trying to slow his breathing and his racing heart.
He couldn’t see much, but he would be able to see if someone walked by. The voices had quieted, but he knew his mother was still in there, because she would have to pass by him to leave the house.
Maybe she needs me, he thought. I should go help her.
The idea sent shivers of terror up his spine.
* * *
Horrified by the sight of the knife in Patricia’s hand, Stacey was nearly paralyzed with the thought of getting stabbed. Then Nikki cried out in fear and Stacey’s concern for herself vanished as she considered her daughter. She knew she had to draw Patricia away from Nikki, at all costs.
“Please. Put that down,” Stacey began. “We can talk about this.”
“No more talking,” Patricia said as she advanced closer to Stacey. “I’m tired of all the talking. It’s time for action. It’s time for you to stop your interfering.”
“Look. You can have Jason. He obviously wants to be with you. I can accept that.”
Patricia stopped about six feet from Stacey. “You shouldn’t lie to me, Stacey. That was Gary Tomlison’s mistake.”
Trying to keep Patricia talking, Stacey said, “I don’t understand why he was involved in this.”
Patricia smirked. “One day at the health club he started talking to me, complaining about his miserable life. By then I had figured out a way to get the money I wanted, but I needed someone to do the dirty work. After a few weeks of this I decided he was the one. It took a little convincing, but he finally agreed.”
Suspicions: a novel of suspense Page 21