“But why did you get his wife involved in Beautiful You?” Stacey asked, noticing Patricia had relaxed the knife in her hand the more she spoke.
“The more Gary and I had to meet to make plans, the more suspicious she got. So I came up with the idea of having her sell the beauty products. That would give me a reason to call their house and stop by. It worked. I don’t think she suspected a thing.”
“You thought of everything, didn’t you?” Stacey asked, tightening her grip on the bottle behind her back, as she took a step forward.
“Of course. People are always underestimating me.” Her eyes suddenly narrowed and she pointed the knife at Stacey. “Like you. Did you really think I would get distracted by a conversation?”
Letting out a quiet sigh, Stacey kept her eyes locked on Patricia and the knife in her hand. “Why can’t you just let us go? Hurting us will only make it worse.”
“I’m willing to take that chance.” She paused. “You said you could accept Jason being with me, but you and I both know that isn’t true. As long as you’re in the picture, he’ll never love me fully. That’s why you have to go.”
Stacey watched in horror as Patricia abruptly stepped toward her and swung the knife in her direction. Caught off guard, Stacey was nearly slashed, but quickly recovered and swung the bottle around, slamming it down on Patricia’s arms.
Nikki screamed and Patricia cried out in pain as the knife skidded under the dresser.
Knowing her family was still in danger, Stacey swung the bottle around again with all the strength she could muster, this time hitting Patricia square in the head. Patricia fell with a grunt in front of the dresser, unconscious.
“Nikki!” Stacey yelled as she ran to her daughter and gathered her into her arms. “Are you okay?”
Nikki sobbed as Stacey stroked her hair. “We need to go. Can you walk?”
Nodding, Nikki stood and took Stacey’s hand. Stacey glanced at the dresser and considered taking the knife, but she would have to move Patricia to reach it and she didn’t want to get that close to her. She didn’t know how long she would be out and just wanted to escape with her family.
“Let’s get Daddy,” Stacey said, leading Nikki from the room. As she stepped into the hallway she was shocked to see Robby standing there, terror clear on his face. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay in the car.”
“I wanted to help you,” Robby said.
Taking his hand with her free one, Stacey hurried into the room where Jason was still groggy on the bed.
The children ran to him. “Dad! Are you okay?”
“We need to hurry, Jason,” Stacey said. Suddenly, she heard moaning coming from the master bedroom. Glancing over her shoulder, she shook Jason roughly. “Get a moving! She’s waking up!”
“What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
Not having time to explain, she yanked on his arm. “Can you walk?”
He sat up on the side of the bed. As he attempted to stand, he suddenly fell backward on the bed and shook his head. “I feel dizzy.”
“Stacey!” Patricia yelled. “Where are you?”
“Take the children and go,” Jason whispered, trying to sit up again.
Hesitating, Stacey glanced from her husband to her children.
“Go!” he whispered more loudly.
“She has a knife,” Stacey said quietly so the children wouldn’t hear.
“I love you,” he said, smiling.
“I love you too.” Stacey grabbed the children’s hands and ran into the hallway. As they reached the front door, Stacey paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Jason,” she whispered. How can I leave him? She thought.
“Mommy,” Nikki cried, tugging on her arm.
Looking down at her helpless children, she knew she had to take care of them first. Pulling open the front door, Stacey led them outside and looked at the cars parked in the driveway. Patricia’s car blocked Jason’s car in. They’d have to run to Stacey’s car.
The moment they began to flee, the front door swung open and Patricia yelled to Stacey, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Ignoring her, Stacey held her children’s hands tighter and urged them forward. As they raced toward her car, Stacey could hear Patricia panting behind them, not more than forty feet back.
It was dark and there were many trees surrounding the property. A moment later, Stacey could see her car, parked along the side of the road. Racing to the door, she pulled on the doorknob.
“I locked it when I came to find you,” Robby said, out of breath.
Frantically digging through her pockets, Stacey could hear Patricia getting closer. Her fingers wrapped around the keys stuffed deep in her pocket. She pulled them out and tried to control the shaking in her hands as she fit the key into the lock.
Yanking the door open, she shoved Nikki, then Robby, into the car. As she was about to follow, she heard Patricia stop right next to her.
“There you are,” Patricia said.
Chapter Forty-Five
Recognizing that she wouldn’t be able to climb in the car with Patricia so close, Stacey shoved the lock down and slammed the door closed, securing her children inside. Then, wanting to draw Patricia away from her children, Stacey began to slowly back away.
“Stop right there!” Patricia said, lifting the knife so Stacey could see it.
Ignoring her command, Stacey continued to back up until she was next to the trunk of the car. Once the car was no longer blocking her path, she turned and ran behind a tree.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Patricia called out.
Looking around in the moonlit night, Stacey saw a broad tree. Dashing out from the tree she’d been behind, she ran to the larger one, hiding herself from Patricia’s view.
Forcing herself to breathe normally, she peered around the tree trunk. She could see Patricia walking slowly in her direction.
“Staaaacey. Where are you? I promise not to hurt you. I only want to talk to you.”
The knife blade glinted in the moonlight. Stacey closed her eyes for a minute, trying to think of what to do. She didn’t have anything with which to defend herself.
Looking around for a stick or something to use as a weapon, Stacey saw that nothing in her immediate area would work, but farther over she saw a good-sized branch that might do the job. Gathering her courage, she dashed out from behind the tree and scooped up the branch. Her heart froze in her chest as Patricia called out to her.
“There you are, Stacey. Why are you running from me?”
Patricia walked calmly toward her. Stacey darted away, but she could hear Patricia running now, too. She realized there would be no more running away; she would have to stand her ground. Stopping behind a tree, she held the branch high above her head.
When she heard Patricia's heavy breathing coming closer, her hands tightened on the branch. Not able to tell where Patricia was, she stood completely still, not even daring to take a breath.
“There you are, Stacey.”
Stacey spun around, the branch still held over her head. Patricia was standing behind her, the knife held out in front of her. “Put the stick down.”
Stacey knew she didn't have much choice and began lowering the branch. As Stacey set the branch down, she suddenly scooped up a handful of dirt and threw it into Patricia's eyes.
Patricia yelped in astonishment, the knife falling harmlessly to the ground. She covered her face with her manicured hands. “You didn't have to do that, Stacey. I wasn't going to do anything to you.”
Stacey bent down to grab the knife, but jumped back suddenly as Patricia dove to the ground and grabbed the knife first. Swinging it wildly, she slashed it at Stacey.
Stacey felt a sharp pain in her left arm. “You’re going to go to jail, you know,” Stacey said as she gingerly covered the spot with her right hand. When she pulled her hand back, it was covered in blood.
“Now we'll see who goes to jail.” Patricia laughed, se
cretly amused at something. “The police think you did it, you know.”
Stacey tried to control her trembling. “You must have been the one who called the police to say I killed Gary Tomlison.”
Patricia grinned wickedly. “That's right.”
Stacey had to find out. “How did you even know I'd met Gary?”
“I kept an eye on you.” She laughed again. “It was easy too. You're so trusting.” She laughed again. “You even thought the kid's father did it. That's funny.”
Stacey stared at the knife in Patricia's hand, the ivory handle in her fist, the blade pointed down, blood dripping from the end. Stacey tried to distract her. “You didn't really think you'd get away with it did you?”
Patricia smirked. “What do you mean? I did get away with it.”
“Where did you put the money?”
Patricia hesitated for only a moment. “I'm not going to tell you that.” She smirked again. “It's somewhere you'd never think to look.” She laughed. “You might say it's under your feet.”
Stacey had no idea what she was talking about.
Patricia grinned at her own cleverness. “Now, are you ready to die?”
She raised the knife above her head. Stacey turned to run away and heard a “whoosh” as the knife sliced through the air behind her. Then she heard Patricia cry out and turned to see what had happened.
Relief surged through her at the sight of Jason holding tightly to Patricia's wrists. He squeezed harder, until she dropped the knife. Stacey bent to pick it up, holding the blade carefully pointed at the ground.
She began shaking.
“Are you okay, Stacey?” Jason asked.
She held up her bloodied left arm and his face hardened into a mask of anger.
His gripped tightened on Patricia's wrists, making her cry out. “You're hurting me! Let go!”
Stacey implored him with her eyes to not hurt her. “Let the police deal with her.”
The anger slowly melted from his face, although he didn't let go of her wrists. Patricia began struggling with Jason, yanking her body back and forth. In his weakened condition, Jason was having trouble holding on to her. He was starting to lose his grip when they heard a voice calling from the road.
“Hey, do you need some help down there?”
Startled, Patricia stopped struggling long enough for Jason to regain his grip.
“Yes!” Stacey yelled. “We're down here!”
Two men hurried through the trees to where Jason, Stacey, and Patricia stood. The men looked at Jason restraining Patricia and asked her, “Is everything okay, ma'am?”
“No, you idiot! Can't you see this man is hurting me?”
Stacey quickly stepped toward the men and showed them her bleeding arm. “This woman stabbed me.”
The men looked uncertain about who to believe. One of the men pulled out a cell phone. “Something's not right here. I'm calling the police.”
“Thank you,” Stacey said. “Will you please help us take her to the road?”
One of the men helped Jason lead Patricia back through the trees and to the road while the other called the police. When they reached the road, Stacey raced over to her car to see if the children were all right. They were crying hysterically, peering out the windows into the darkness. Robby unlocked the door and Stacey yanked it open and pulled them into her arms, murmuring soothing words.
A short time later several police officers arrived and took Patricia into custody. An ambulance transported Jason, Stacey and their children to the hospital to make sure they were okay.
* * *
Jason and Stacey tucked the children in bed, exhausted from their ordeal. The doctor had given Jason and the children the okay to go home. Stacey had needed stitches to close up the knife wound, but was able to come home, too.
The police had questioned them about what had happened and they were happy to tell their version of events. When the police asked them if they knew what Patricia had done with the ransom money they truthfully said they had no idea.
Jason and Stacey walked down the hall toward their room holding hands.
“I'm just going to check on Robby and Nikki,” Stacey said.
He smiled. “I’ll be in the bedroom.”
Peeking into Robby's room, she saw him curled up with his teddy bear. Stacey walked in and tucked the blanket up around his chin, then bent over and kissed his forehead. He stirred slightly, then rolled over.
She went into Nikki's room next. Stacey had to blink several times to keep the tears from coming, as she thought of Nikki curled up on Patricia's floor, helpless and vulnerable.
She shuddered as she contemplated how close their whole family had come to being hurt by Patricia.
Absently touching her new stitches, Stacey realized how fragile life could be. If Jason had not shown up when he did, she didn’t know what would have happened.
The sound of Nikki snoring brought her out of her thoughts. She left Nikki's room and walked into the bedroom she shared with Jason.
Chapter Forty-Six
Day 9 – Tuesday
Stacey was gratified to see there were no reporters waiting outside to harass every passerby. She let go of the mini-blind slat and walked back toward the kitchen where Jason was waiting for her. He was taking the day off, as were the children, needing the time to regroup.
Today was their ninth wedding anniversary and they would be spending it together. Robby and Nikki were still asleep, worn-out from the night before.
Stacey sat next to Jason as he finished his breakfast. “The reporters are gone.”
He nodded and swallowed the last of his French toast. “I guess they're off to find a new big story.” He grinned at Stacey. “I'm just glad it doesn't involve us.”
He reached under the table, and pulled out a small gift. The surprise in Stacey's eyes was obvious as he handed it over. Tearing off the paper, she looked at the small blue box. Upon opening it, she gasped in delight. She lifted the heart-shaped pendant off of its bed of black velvet.
“Turn it over,” Jason said.
She did and saw the inscription there: For Stacey. The love of my life.
Tears shimmered on her lashes as she looked back up at Jason. She reached over and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. “Thank you. I love you.”
He didn't reply, instead caressing her cheek. “You really are the love of my life, Stacey.”
After all they had been through in the past week, this was the crowning moment, when they knew their adversity had only brought them closer after all.
“I feel bad, Jason. With all that was going on, I completely forgot about buying you a gift.”
“That's okay. Just having you sitting here next to me, safe, is all the gift I need.” He laughed quietly. “Besides, if I hadn't ordered this last Monday, I probably wouldn't have gotten you anything either.”
Stacey's eyes opened with astonishment. “Was that the errand you were on when Kyle was abducted?”
He grinned broadly. “Yes. What else did you think I'd been doing?”
Her face colored slightly. “I have no idea what else you could have been doing. I'm just glad you were doing this,” she said, holding up the pendant.
Later that morning Stacey did some chores that had recently been neglected. One of them was the laundry. As she was hanging clothes in her closet she noticed the large box where they stored their shoes was out of place. Instead of being against the back wall of the closet it was shoved forward.
Pushing it with her foot, she tried to move it back into place. Something was in the way. That's strange, Stacey thought. She leaned over and pulled it out further to see what the obstruction was.
“Jason!” she called out. “Come here!”
Jason hustled into the room. “What's wrong?” He walked over to the closet to see what Stacey was all worked up about.
Stacey pulled a blue bag out from behind the shoes. On it were the words “Valley Health Club.”
Jason stared in silence.<
br />
“Is this what I think it is?” Stacey asked, a smile starting to break across her face.
“I don't know,” Jason said, taking it from her and opening the zipper.
Stacey watched as Jason dumped the contents onto their bed. Bundles and bundles of cash spilled out onto their comforter.
“What was it doing in our closet?” Jason asked.
Stacey laughed. “You know what Patricia told me when I asked her where the money was? She said it was under our feet! She must have meant our shoes.”
Jason still looked confused. “When do you think she put it there?”
“I don't know.” Stacey paused for a minute, suddenly remembering something. “Wait a minute. Last night . . . was it only last night?” She looked at Jason in astonishment. “Last night when I discovered you guys were missing I smelled some perfume. She must have brought it here and hid it after she lured you guys away.”
“I wonder if it's all here,” Jason said as he began organizing the bills to count them. A few minutes later he finished counting. All one million dollars were present and accounted for.
Jason spoke first. “That sure is a lot of money.”
“We'll have to give it back to Amanda.”
Jason nodded. “Of course, but we don't have to do it right now, do we?”
Stacey grinned at him. “No. I guess we don't have to right this second.”
As Stacey began putting the money back in the bag, Jason touched her hand, stopping her.
“Let me just look at it for a while.” He glanced at Stacey.
“Okay, I'll see what the kids are up to.”
She walked into the family room and found the children watching a cartoon.
“How's it going guys?” she asked, concerned there would be lingering effects from their brief ordeal.
“Hi, Mommy,” Nikki said, running to her mother and giving her a hug.
Robby was engrossed in the television program and gave a Stacey a quick smile to show he had heard her.
Suspicions: a novel of suspense Page 22