Dirt Nap

by Carolyn Elizabeth

  “Yes.” Thayer swallowed hard. “Okay. Take it.”

  “Good girl.” He shifted his weight and removed his hand from her neck. “I’m afraid I can’t let you go until I’m well away from this place, and I’m going to need you to remain here and not alert the police to my presence for a while. I will ensure you can free yourself without too much trouble.”

  Thayer craned her head and saw him unwinding line from a spool. “No. No. No.” She jerked and thrashed until both his knees pressed into her back, forcing the air from her lungs.

  “Calm down,” he ordered, leaning heavily on her.

  Thayer couldn’t help a desperate sob. “You don’t have to do this,” she gasped, unable to take a full breath.

  “I know who you are, Dr. Reynolds. I’ve met your grandmother a few times years ago and you when you were a child. I’ve researched my neighbors thoroughly before I set up shop here. I know you’re a smart woman, and I also know you’ve recently had a life-threatening scare. I can’t imagine you want to go through that again.”

  “No,” Thayer grunted, the pressure on her growing.

  “So, cooperate and I will be gone and you will be free in half an hour.” He shifted his weight from her and straddled her back. “Put your arms behind your back.”

  Thayer took several gulping breaths, swallowing hard before bringing her arms behind her and crossing her wrists.

  “This is twenty-pound test monofilament. You won’t be able to break it, and trying will only injure you. Do you understand?”

  Thayer choked back tears of fear and rage and helplessness as the thin line bit sharply into her skin as he tied her and she fought the urge to struggle. “I understand.”

  He moved off her entirely and Thayer risked a glance to her phone only a few feet away, the connection still showing. If Corey was listening, she knew the police would be on the way. If Corey was listening she would be going out of her mind with fear.

  “Tell me the combination to the shed,” he demanded.

  She swallowed, her mouth desperately dry, her throat tight. “Um, fourteen, seven, seventeen.”

  “Fourteen, seven, seventeen,” he repeated.

  “Yes.”

  “I appreciate that you’re probably in a fair amount of discomfort right now, but I would rather not worry about you, so I would ask that you remain exactly as you are. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” Thayer swallowed trying to reconcile his articulate and polite speech with his brutality.

  She released a shaky breath when she heard him leave the deck, his boots crunching across the yard back to the water line.

  “Corey?” Thayer whispered as loud as she dared. So far he gave no indication he knew about the phone and she certainly didn’t want to draw attention it. “It’s Harold Crandall. He’s here. He needs gas. He’s getting away by boat. The police need to get someone on the lake and cover the launch points and the outlet.”

  She heard him walking across the yard and the banging against the aluminum canoe as he wrestled a paddle free from inside before his footsteps grew louder again nearing the shed and then nothing else for several, agonizing minutes.

  “Son of a bitch!” He roared in fury and stomped back across the yard and up to the deck.

  “Corey, I love you,” Thayer whispered seconds before he reached down and hauled her to her feet by one arm.

  Thayer cried out, the line cutting into the skin at her wrists, and wavered on her feet in front of him. “I said I didn’t want to hurt you but that doesn’t mean I won’t.” He spat at her. “What’s the combination?”

  “I told you.” Thayer winced and leaned away from his fury. “Seven, fourteen, seventeen.”

  “That’s not what you said.” He glared at her, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “You playing me, girl?”

  “No.” Thayer shook her head. “I’m not. I’m scared. Maybe I misspoke.”

  He ground his teeth, gripping her hard around the upper arm, lifting her to her toes and marching her toward the stairs.

  Thayer’s shoulders ached with the added strain and her wrists were on fire. “You’re hurting me.”

  “Should have thought of that earlier.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Oh, God, what is that?” Corey groaned, rocking back and forth on the seat. “Twenty- pound test? What does that mean?”

  “Fishing line,” Collier answered through gritted teeth.

  A strangled sound tore from her throat and her vision wavered.

  “Hey!” Collier barked and banged on the metal separating them. “Curtis, look at me.”

  She struggled to focus and battle back the terror threatening to consume her. She felt like she couldn’t take a full breath her fear was so acute.

  “Corey. Take it easy. Stay with me.”

  She gasped a breath as if she’d been underwater and met his gaze. “Okay. I’m okay.” She clawed her hands through her hair as they listened to the events unfold. “Oh, god, babe, tell him the right combination.”

  “That’s not it?”

  “She reversed two numbers. She’s stalling him.” Corey shook her head, hot tears spilling down her face as she listened to Thayer speak directly to her and heard the fear in her voice when Harold Crandall came back for her.

  He looked at her intensely. “I swear to you, I will not let anything happen to her.”

  Corey nodded and swallowed hard. “Please, don’t leave me in here.”

  “I won’t.” He shut off his phone as Steph pulled off to the side of the road twenty yards from the start of the driveway.

  They exited the car, leaving the doors open and Collier opened the rear door for Corey to scramble out. “Do exactly as I say. Stay behind us and stay quiet. Are you with me?” He gave her a hard look.

  She breathed deeply, fighting panic. “I’m good. I got it.”

  Steph drew her weapon and turned on the camera affixed to the center of her duty vest. “Can you see the shed from the side of the house?”

  “Um…” Corey swallowed several times, “...no. If he’s anywhere near the shed he won’t see us.”

  Collier nodded toward the house and they moved down the driveway, staying low. Corey wanted to scream at their slow pace. They tucked up against the side of the house and stilled when they heard the clear sound of shuffling feet and Thayer’s pained breathing.

  “On the ground,” Crandall snarled and they heard a rush of movement followed by Thayer crying out when she hit the ground. “On your belly.”

  Corey tensed, her muscles coiling to push off the wall, but Collier’s forearm crossed her chest, pinning her back, his face all she could see.

  “Stay still,” he hissed. “We wait until he leaves her.”

  Corey nodded and he released her. He reached in his pocket and pressed something into her hand before moving away. She felt the cool hardness of the object and glanced down at the black, folding knife Collier had given her.

  They waited another eternity while listening to Crandall wrestle with the lock and throw the shed doors open. He banged around inside for a few minutes and they were close enough to hear the sloshing of liquid in the gas can when he lifted it.

  “There are pruning shears in a bucket by the door,” he commented casually. “It won’t be easy but you should be able to manage.” His voice grew distant as he moved away, his steps crunching across the yard.

  Collier communicated silently with Steph, raised his weapon and moved around the house as quietly as a man of his size could, Steph right behind him. Corey released a slow shaky breath before following.

  Her heart hammered in her chest with relief and worry seeing Thayer already struggling to raise herself to sitting. She turned toward them, her face a mask of confusion at their sudden appearance.

  “You did good, Doc.” Collier’s eyes flicked to her before returning his steely gaze toward the trampled path of vegetation Crandall made on his way through as Steph took up position on his other side. “Is he armed?”

>   “Jim?” Thayer stared at him.

  “Does he have a weapon?”

  “I don’t…I didn’t see…” she stammered, shuddering with each breath. “Corey?”

  “I’m here.” Corey dropped down behind her and flipped open the knife, her hands hovering shakily over Thayer’s raw, swollen wrists. “Oh, shit, babe,” Corey breathed, her throat tightening.

  “Cor...Corey…” The shudder turned into violent full body trembling. “I can’t feel…my hands.”

  “I know, babe. Don’t move.” Corey eased the blade between her wrists, careful not to do further damage. The blade was sharp but the line cut a furrow into her skin and Corey had to saw through eliciting an agonized sound from her before the line gave and her arms dropped forward.

  “Oh, god,” Thayer gasped, hunching in on herself as she brought her arms forward, resting her hands, palm up against her legs.

  “Get her in the house, Curtis,” Collier growled, his eye twitching wildly with his level of fury. He nodded to Steph and the two of them disappeared into the brush after Harold Crandall.

  Corey knelt in front of Thayer. She was alarmingly pale, her tank sticking to her chest and back, dirt smeared across her sweaty skin. Corey cupped her hand around Thayer’s neck, encouraging her to lift her head. “Thayer?” Corey bit down on a gasp at her bruised face and bloody, swollen lip. “Can you walk?”

  Thayer blinked rapidly, tears coursing silently down her face, leaving tracks through the dirt on her cheeks. “I don’t…um, I’m sorry…”

  “It’s okay. It’s okay. I got you.” Corey moved closer to her. “Put your arms around me.” She shifted to one knee and slipped one arm around Thayer’s back and the other under her legs. She could deadlift more than Thayer’s weight on her worst day, and charged with adrenaline, she barely registered the effort it took to stand with her and adjust her in her arms.

  She walked as smoothly as she could, trying not to jar her, as she moved up to the deck and back into the house and to the large overstuffed sofa.

  Corey startled when Thayer’s eyes closed to slits on a gasp of pain. “What?” Corey asked, panicked. “Thayer, what’s wrong?”

  She sucked in a breath, her body shaking hard and her hands twitching. “My hands.” She worked to open and close her fingers. “Circulation and nervous function are returning.”

  Corey grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the sofa and shook it out before draping it over Thayer, placing her arms on top of it. “That’s good, right?”

  Thayer winced. “It hurts.”

  “Tell me what to do.” She could manage without instruction but she hoped giving Thayer something to focus on, someone to treat, even if it was herself, would help her stay present.

  Her body continued to spasm and tremble even as she tried to relax against the sofa. “Just a stress response,” she murmured, closing her eyes. “Low blood sugar, dehydration, exhaustion...”

  Corey moved through Thayer’s house, knowing it like she did her own. She grabbed water and a high-calorie protein drink from the fridge. The first aid kit was under the kitchen sink. If one of them needed something that was not in it, they should probably be on their way to the hospital.

  She dropped everything on the coffee table. Thayer’s eyes were closed but Corey could tell she wasn’t asleep by her uneven breathing and the tremors still wracking her body, her hands jerking as they recovered feeling and blood flow. She went back for a bowl of warm water, soap, a clean washcloth, and the bottle of pain meds she kept here.

  Her third trip through the house involved collecting a couple of ice packs from the freezer and a clean towel from the bathroom. She froze and Thayer’s eyes flew open as four sharp cracks echoed around the lake so fast they were hard to count. They both knew what they were.

  “Corey?” Thayer’s voice broke.

  “It’s okay.” Corey assured her with more confidence than she felt as she sat down on the edge of the sofa. “Collier and Steph know what they’re doing.”

  Thayer nodded and swallowed hard. “I know.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Corey slouched against the kitchen bar, elbows resting on the countertop. She was exhausted and shaky, her heart still beating hard from adrenaline and fear. The place was crawling with officers now and she watched through the window as Collier walked with the paramedics alongside the stretcher that held Harold Crandall handcuffed to the rail.

  “How’s she doing?” Steph asked, reaching for the fresh pot of coffee.

  “She’s hanging in, dozing off and on with the pain meds. The fishing line cut her but not too deep. She has full range of motion and feeling in her hands and fingers. Other than that just some bruises, and she refused to go to the hospital. Said it wasn’t necessary.”

  Steph offered a smile. “Well, I guess she would know, huh?”

  “I guess,” Corey murmured, hanging her head.

  “Hey.” Steph reached across the counter and placed a hand on Corey’s arm. “I’ve been on the force a long time and you wouldn’t believe some of the shit I’ve seen. What Thayer went through today—what you went through—may not be as bad as it gets but it’s pretty damn close. You are two of the most courageous people I have ever met. You’ll get through this, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay.” Corey nodded, fighting tears. “Thank you.”

  Collier stepped into the house, wiping his feet before joining them in the kitchen. He nodded to the coffee. “That fresh?”

  “Yeah.” Steph reached for one of the mugs Corey had set by the coffeemaker.

  “You don’t have to do that.” Collier jumped, his hand meeting Steph’s over the mug and Corey couldn’t help a small smile.

  He cleared his throat and grabbed the mug. “I’m perfectly capable of making my own damn coffee.”

  “Of course.” Steph stepped away, meeting Corey’s eyes over her mug.

  He poured his coffee and said, “Paramedics say his condition is serious but think Crandall should pull through.”

  “Guess I need to spend more time at the range,” Steph muttered.

  Corey stared at her, unsure if she was joking. “You missed?”

  “She didn’t,” Collier answered. “Two rounds from ten yards out from both of us. All hits—just not fatal ones.”

  Corey simply nodded. “He was armed?”

  “Internal Affairs frowns down at us shooting unarmed people.”

  Steph asked, “When do they want us to go in?”

  “As soon as we’re wrapped up here. Your body cam was on so it will be quick.”

  “Have you shot someone before?” Corey blurted, slamming her mouth closed with a click of teeth at Steph’s troubled expression. “Sorry. None of my business.”

  “Today was a clean shoot, Austin,” Collier rumbled. “Nothing to worry about.”

  Steph’s expression relaxed. “Thank you, Sergeant.”

  Collier cleared his throat and gestured to the coffee and his already empty mug. He looked at Corey. “You mind?”

  Corey waved him on. “Pour me one too.”

  Collier topped up his own and poured a mug for Corey. As soon as her fingers closed around the handle and took the small weight, a laser-like pain shot down the right side of her neck and shoulder, numbing her fingers. She hissed a breath, her hand going limp. The mug bounced once on the granite counter, spraying coffee before shattering pieces across the counter and floor.

  “Fuck.” She gripped the back of her neck with her left hand and backed into the dining room to avoid the mess.

  “Corey?” Steph hurried around the bar. “Are you all right?”

  “Curtis,” Collier barked. “Where are your pills?”

  “No. No.” Corey shook her head and sagged against the dining room table. “I can’t. It’ll knock me out and Thayer needs me. It’s just a muscle spasm.”

  “What can I do?’ Steph asked with concern.

  “It’ll pass.” Corey tried to find the source of the tension and work out the trigger with
her left hand.

  “Don’t be stupid, Corey. You just said it yourself. You need to be there for Thayer.” Steph pulled out a dining room chair and turned it around. “Straddle it.”

  Corey raised her brows and smirked despite the pain.

  “You wish. You want to take your shirt off?”

  “You wish.” Corey lowered herself onto the chair and hung her arms over the back. She grunted, her back arching when Steph’s hands dug into the spasming muscles in her shoulders and neck.

  “Christ, girl, is this what it’s like every time?” Steph winced.

  “Mmm, this one isn’t so bad.” She dropped her head, the spasm beginning to ease. “When it morphs into a migraine, imagine a brain freeze that lasts hours not seconds.”

  “I’m sorry.” Steph continued to work on her muscles. “Is this helping?”

  “Very much.” She sighed. “You could give Thayer a run for her money in the massage department.”

  Collier cleared his throat behind them, reminding her he was still there. “I’ll just clean this up,” he muttered.

  Corey’s shoulders shook with silent laughter seeing Collier crouched on the floor mopping up coffee and picking up shards of broken mug. “I think we’re making him uncomfortable,” she whispered to Steph.

  “Good.”

  Before Corey could say more, the door banged open and one of the junior patrol officers walked in. She recognized him but couldn’t remember his name. He was overweight, his uniform top straining around his waist. He was more than a little out of breath, his jowly face ruddy with exertion. His eyes darted around the room, widening when he saw Steph giving Corey a back massage. “Heard there was coffee. Didn’t realize I’d get a show too.”

  Steph’s hands stilled against Corey’s back. “What the hell did you just say to me, Taggart?”

  “Thought if there was going to be any girl on girl, the hot doctor would be involved at least. You’ll do, Austin, but you cost me twenty bucks. I had you as straight in the pool.”

  “You want to say that again, Taggart?” Collier asked coolly as he stood from the other side of the counter and set down the rag and mug shards.