Sheri rubbed two fingers across her forehead in an attempt to ease her headache and access her memories. “I was at the store getting ready to leave. I was meeting Roxy and Marlene at the Dollhouse. Ramona is in town.”
“Ramona?” Liz looked at her in stunned surprise.
“She’s been clean and sober for four years and I guess as part of her personal journey she wants to make amends to all of us. Anyway, I was supposed to meet them all tonight. I was just about to get into my truck when I felt a sharp sting in the back of my neck.” She frowned. “I thought it was an insect, but it must have been a needle. I—I d-don’t remember anything a-after that until now.”
Liz grabbed one of Sheri’s hands and squeezed. “I remember the early morning that I was taken. I got up as usual, I baked and was getting ready to take the goodies to the Dollhouse when something happened...but I don’t know what happened or how I came to be here. I don’t even remember anyone being at my house, or speaking to anyone that morning, but somebody was there, somebody who obviously drugged me and brought me here.”
Sheri raised her wrist to see what time it was, how long she’d been missing, but her watch was no longer on her wrist. “He took my watch,” she said.
A rise of renewed panic swept through her as she realized she didn’t know how long she’d been gone, how many minutes or hours both she and Aunt Liz had been unconscious.
“It’s okay.” Liz squeezed her hand once again. “Time has no meaning here. Tell me what I’ve missed while I’ve been here. Are Roxy and Marlene all right?”
Sheri’s headache began to abate as she told her aunt about the events of the past four months. She talked about Roxy falling in love with Steve and Steve getting his little boy back. She told her about Marlene and Frank falling in love and Marlene preparing to open her own bakery on Main Street.
While she told her aunt everything that had happened, she tried to keep her mind off the hopelessness of their situation. She knew better than anyone that the police had no leads, that whoever held them captive in this underground bunker had flown far under the radar.
“And what about you, Sheri. Did your prince find you since I’ve been gone?”
A wealth of emotion swelled in Sheri’s chest as she thought of Jimmy. “He found me, and I didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t anything like I’d imagined and so I turned him away.”
A sob escaped as Sheri thought about what a fool she’d been, hanging on to childhood fantasies when her prince had been right in front of her eyes all along.
Jimmy, with his beautiful dark eyes and rich black hair. Jimmy, with his easy laughter and ability to comfort and make her feel safe. He’d been a prince and she’d taken his love for her and cast it aside because he didn’t fit her stupid childish vision.
Once again Liz wrapped her arms around Sheri as she stuttered and stumbled over her words, telling her aunt about Jimmy and realizing how important he’d become in her life, in her heart. “He was right under my nose all the time and I couldn’t see him,” she cried. “And now it’s too late.”
“We can’t give up hope now,” Aunt Liz said firmly.
“I don’t know who’s going to take care of Highway.” Sheri tried to pull herself together as she straightened and stood. “Why are we here? What does this man want from us?” And more important, how could they escape?
She looked around the room more carefully, seeing no way to get out, no means of escape except through the door that she knew was locked and too thick for them to break down.
She stared at the earthen wall on the far side of the room. “Don’t look over there,” Liz said, a new tension in her voice.
Sheri turned and gazed at her aunt. “Why? What’s over there?”
“Bones. Human bones. I think maybe I found Agnes Wilson.”
As Liz’s words sank in, Sheri shuddered, a new despair grabbing her by the throat and making it difficult for her to breathe.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” she murmured more to herself than to her aunt.
“I’ve had four months to try to figure out a way out and so far I haven’t discovered any escape,” Liz said flatly. “I knew I was trapped here. I also believe whoever is holding us isn’t going to let me live now that you’re here.”
Sheri once again stared at her aunt. “I’ve grieved for you once and I refuse to grieve for you again.” She raised her chin and ignored the banging of her headache. “Eventually he’ll have to come for you, if that’s his plan, and when he does we have to fight him together. We have to make sure that we aren’t separated.”
And somehow, some way they had to buy time so that her prince could ride to their rescue.
Chapter 17
While they were waiting on a search warrant for the King property, Jimmy decided to drive to Sheri’s place to make sure there were no clues, no signs of anything amiss there.
He’d gone past panic, beyond terror and into a zone where his emotions were tightly locked away. If he allowed them out he knew he’d be no good to anyone. He’d go completely insane.
Frank rode with him. He needed to pull some prints at Sheri’s to compare to those he’d lifted from the truck. The two men rode in silence, for which Jimmy was grateful. He had no words to speak, couldn’t think of anything but the aching hole inside him, the frantic terror that clawed at his insides.
It was now almost midnight and he’d already heard that officers had checked out Abe Winslow, who appeared to have the flu and that there was no sign the older man had left his cabin all day or any indication that Sheri had ever been there.
Michael Arello had also been questioned at his parents’ home, but had nothing to add other than what he’d already told them, that Sheri was fine and was in the process of getting into her truck as he’d pulled out of the parking lot to go home.
In fact, Michael had been devastated by the news and had instantly asked what he could do to help, insisted that he be assigned to a search party or whatever.
Roxy, Marlene and Ramona had shown up at the shop, adding to the chaos of the scene as they asked questions, offered help and apparently put aside any familial issues that might exist between them. In times of crisis families pulled together, even fractured families.
Jimmy had been grateful to take off from the store, eager to get the warrant in hand and head to the settlement to check on William King, whose own son had indicated that he’d been acting secretive and aloof for the past couple of months.
Joe was supposed to call him when they had the warrant in hand so things were in progress, but Sheri was still missing with no clues as to where she had gone or who had taken her.
Despite his attempt to forcefully shove his emotions away, to remain cool and calm and professional, he couldn’t stop the frantic pounding of his heart or the catch in his breath whenever he allowed himself to feel her absence.
When they reached her cottage, Jimmy pulled out the key ring he’d retrieved from Sheri’s purse on the passenger seat of her truck. “I’ll need to lock up Highway before you come in,” he said to Frank. “He’s not friendly with strangers and I can’t remember the word Sheri used to indicate that somebody is okay.”
It took him agonizing seconds to find the right key that unlocked the door behind which Highway was barking and growling, obviously smelling Frank...the stranger.
Jimmy slipped through the door and closed it quickly behind him. Highway immediately halted the barking and his tail began to thump in obvious happiness.
“Hey, boy,” Jimmy said around the huge lump in his throat. He patted Highway’s head and then went down the hallway to Sheri’s bedroom, knowing that the dog would follow him.
He pointed Highway to the rug at the foot of the bed and then he slipped back out of the room and let Frank into the house. “I’ll be back in the bedroom with Highway. Just knock on th
e door when you’re finished,” Jimmy said.
Without waiting for Frank to reply, Jimmy went back to the bedroom and fell to his knees at the edge of the bed. The purple bedspread smelled of Sheri, that sweet floral scent of lilacs and a hint of vanilla.
He remembered holding her in his arms, the way they fit together so well. He couldn’t forget making love to her, the soft moans that had escaped her lips, the passion that she’d shown him.
He didn’t care if he never made love to her again. He just needed her to be safe. He needed to know she was here with Highway, filling the bird feeders and laughing at the squirrel antics.
This room smelled of love. It smelled of home and as Highway nudged his arm, he turned and wrapped his arms around Highway’s neck, unable to staunch the raw sobs that ripped from the very core of him.
He burrowed his face in Highway’s thick neck as he released the tears of terror that had burned inside him since the minute he’d gotten the phone call from Roxy.
Sheri. Sheri, where are you? His heart cried out in terror, in frustration. Highway needs you here. I need you here.
He didn’t know how long he clung to the dog that Sheri loved before he finally managed to pull himself together. Still seated on the floor, he swiped his face with the back of his hand as he once again computed everything Sheri had ever told him about anyone in her life and mentally scanned the files from Agnes Wilson’s and Liz’s disappearances.
Who was behind all this? Was it the same perp in all three crimes or were they unrelated? Two sixty-something women, and now Sheri, just vanished from the face of the earth.
A soft knock on the door pulled him to his feet as Highway growled a warning. “Jimmy, I’m finished and I just got a call from Joe that we have our warrant for the King place.”
Jimmy placed a shaky hand on Highway’s head. “She’ll be back, Highway.” It was a promise he prayed he could fulfill. “Go on outside to the car, Frank,” he said through the door. “I’ll meet you out there.”
He waited to give Frank enough time to leave the house and then he opened the door and he and Highway left the bedroom. Before leaving the house, Jimmy made sure there was food and water for the dog and that the doggie door that led to the fenced run outside was unlocked.
Highway would be fine until Sheri returned, and if she didn’t return soon, Jimmy would come back here to check in on the dog. Sheri would want somebody taking care of her baby.
He relocked the house and then hurried to the car where Frank was in the driver’s seat with the engine running. “Joe and a couple of other officers are going to meet us at the Kings’ to execute the search warrant.”
“She’s got to be there, Frank. She’s just got to be,” Jimmy said, his composure slipping once again. He balled his hands into fists as rage built up inside him, a rage directed not only at the unknown perp, but also for himself, for not being more vigilant, for not making sure that the princess was safe from all harm.
By the time they reached the Amish settlement there were already three patrol cars parked in front of the King home. William King stood on his front porch, his arms crossed and an expression of anger twisting his features. His son, Jason, stood next to him, looking frightened and younger than his seventeen years.
As Jimmy got out of the car, Joe walked over to him. “We’ve told Mr. King that we are here to execute a search warrant of the premises, but we waited for you to begin the search. Needless to say, King is not a happy camper. Chelsea is inside the home with the younger children, trying to keep them from being frightened.”
Jimmy nodded, set his shoulders straight and approached the stern-looking bearded man on the porch. “Detective, there is obviously a mistake here,” he said to Jimmy. “You have awakened me and my children in the middle of the night, disrupted our household for nothing. I have done nothing wrong and I certainly don’t have a woman hidden anywhere here or anyplace else.”
“Just let us do our job and we’ll be out of here as quickly as possible,” Jimmy said.
William stepped aside and indicated that Jimmy and anyone else could enter his home. While Jimmy began inside, the other officers fanned out with high-beam flashlights to check the barn and other outbuildings.
A wild-goose chase, Jimmy thought as he and Frank moved slowly through the three-bedroom ranch house, lit only by an occasional lantern and their flashlights.
It was simply furnished and in one bedroom Chelsea was seated on the floor with the four young King children surrounding her and several kerosene lanterns lighting a small circle as she told them a story.
As her gaze met Jimmy’s her blue eyes were filled with worry, with compassion and the unspoken knowledge that the woman they sought wasn’t here in the house.
He quickly looked away, not wanting to see the helplessness he felt in the very depths of his being reflected in her eyes. He couldn’t allow himself to falter. He couldn’t allow himself to break down until Sheri was back where she belonged.
If not here, then where? Jimmy fought against a hopelessness he’d never felt before. Agnes Wilson...missing for two years. Liz Marcoli...missing almost four months. And now Sheri Marcoli...how long before she became a cold case on somebody’s desk?
No. She wouldn’t be like the others. She couldn’t be. He couldn’t allow that to happen. They had to find her tonight, she needed to be found as soon as possible. He refused to lose another woman he loved.
When the house was finally cleared, Jimmy stood on the porch next to William King as the teams of officers began to check in. The barn was clear. The shed was clear. Nowhere was there a sign that Sheri was or had ever been anywhere on the property.
“Maybe you should speak to Cheeseman Zooker. He has a soft spot for Sheri,” William said. “Although you know this isn’t our way.” The anger had left William’s eyes, leaving behind a deep weariness. “We do no harm to others. I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of placing too big a burden on my son, but not of something as heinous as kidnapping anyone.”
He placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder and looked at the young man. “I have been quite selfish in my grief over my wife’s death. I have spent long hours isolating myself from my loved ones. I have spent weeks...months walking in the forest in despair, but I’ve not taken a woman to replace what I have lost. Nobody could replace my late wife.”
Without a word Jimmy headed back toward the car. He wanted to tear down every building on the settlement, raze the entire town of Wolf Creek, burn the trees of the forest and on the mountain in an effort to find Sheri.
* * *
Sheri and Liz were still seated side by side on the bed when the sound of a lock being turned in the door clicked audibly.
Liz wheezed in a breath and Sheri grabbed her hand tightly as she realized it wasn’t the little doggie door that had been unlocked, but rather the door itself, indicating that they were about to meet their captor.
They’d made a plan of sorts, that Liz would attack from the front and Sheri would attack from the back. Although Liz was weak from her captivity, she still had her wits and the will to fight.
The door slowly creaked open and Sheri gasped as she saw the tall, broad man who stood there, silhouetted in the light that shone from just behind him.
“Abraham? Abraham Zooker?” Sheri stood on shaky legs as she faced the man who made beautiful furniture, who had come into her store often, a man she had fondly considered a friend.
Sheri’s first thought was that there was no way any plan of attack would work against the strong, big furniture maker. She and Liz would be nothing more than pesky flies to be swatted away.
“I am here to take your aunt.” Abraham took a step into the bunker.
Sheri’s insides trembled with terror, but she forced a smile at the man who was obviously mad. “Abraham, what am I doing here? Why have you brought me to this place and where a
re we?”
“I built this room into the earth of my basement. You’re in my home, Sheri. I’ve brought you here to teach you how to be my wife. I tried to teach your aunt to be quiet and obedient, but she’s been like a hound from hell, screeching obscenities day and night, never calming, never quieting enough to learn anything. And now she is nothing more than a burden and she must be gone.”
Sheri’s mind reeled, and bile rose up the back of her throat. Abraham wanted her to be his wife? His gaze was soft as it lingered on her. “Agnes was my first mistake and Liz was my second. I thought I could make them into the proper wife that I deserve, but then I realized you are already so close to being right. You have the gentle spirit, the sweet soul that I hunger for.”
“You keep away from her, you filthy pig!” Liz screamed, her pale face mottling red with fury.
Abraham looked at Sheri. “You see? She is unmanageable. She is uncivilized.” He took another step and held out a hand to Liz. “Now it is time.”
“Abraham, stop it right now,” Sheri exclaimed. “It isn’t time for anything.” She tried to staunch the horror of the situation that chilled her to her very bones. She needed to be strong. She knew she needed to try to play his game in order to assure not only her own survival but also that of her aunt’s.
She at least had to buy them some time, and hope and pray that somehow Jimmy and his detectives could find something that would lead them here.
Abraham frowned and tugged on the end of his tangled beard. He dropped his hand to his side and tilted his head to look at Sheri once again. His eyes were dark pits, unfathomable but with a faint sheen of madness.
She pasted a soft smile on her lips. “You know how important family is to our kind. I will learn obedience and how to be a proper wife much better with my aunt as my guide. In any case, we have not finished our visit yet. It’s been months since I’ve seen her and I would ask you for more time with her now. We have a lot to talk about, a lot to share before we say goodbye again.”
Lone Wolf Standing Page 20