by Lisa Emme
“Hey Becky. Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Allie?”
“No I haven’t. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know. I’m here at the bank and she’s missed her appointment.”
“What? That doesn’t sound like her at all.”
“I know. I’m probably over-reacting but with everything that has been going on…” Mike let out a breath and shook his head. “She’s probably just had car trouble or something.”
“Yeah, I keep telling her she needs to trade that old thing of hers in.”
“I’m going to head out to the farm. Will you call me if you hear from her?”
“Will do. And you do the same.”
“Sure thing.”
***
The van bumped along the road. Allie did her best to try and anchor herself to the wall, one arm wrapped around Dougie and the dog, trying to keep them all from flying across the floor at every bump and turn. Suddenly, the van skidded to a halt. Allie shushed Dougie and listened intently. The front doors opened and then closed, followed by the sound of crunching gravel.
The back door to the van flew open, bathing them in light, all but blinding them. She threw a hand up over her eyes and tried to peer through the glare.
“Here. Hold this.” A newspaper was shoved at her. Allie instinctively grabbed onto it and looked at the man, her eyes tearing in the bright light. “Hold it up in front of you.” He pointed at the paper. Allie looked down and then lifted the paper in front of her chest. Her eyes were beginning to adjust, but there wasn’t much to see, just a stretch of road like any other. The man in front of her was the shorter of the two. He was still wearing his helmet so she had no way to identify him. He held up his cell phone and there was a clicking camera-like sound. He pulled the phone back to look at the display, then nodded satisfied, and started to push the door closed.
“Wait!” Allie threw up a hand to stall him. “What are you going to do with us?”
“Listen. It’s all going to be over real soon. Just don’t give my broth…uh the other guy any reason to get angry and you’ll be fine.”
“You’re leaving us with him?” Allie didn’t like the sound of that. Of the two, she’d take ‘Shorty’ over ‘Mean and Ugly’ any day.
“Just keep your kid quiet and your mouth shut, and you’ll be…fine.” He looked away and even though Allie couldn’t see his expression through the dark visor of the helmet, she knew he was lying.
Before she could protest, he slammed the door. Darkness enveloped them again. Allie listened, her heart racing, as another engine fired up. The car, or whatever it was, roared away as the front van door opened and slammed shut. The van started up again and they lurched back off the shoulder of the road and onto the highway.
***
Mike turned up the drive to the farm. There had been no sign of Allie or her SUV along the road. When he pulled into the yard, he was relieved to see her vehicle parked in its usual place. What was up? Was something wrong with Dougie? Worried again, he threw his truck into park and jumped out. He headed towards the house until Bella’s frenzied barking gave him pause. Why was she locked up in the barn?
He changed course towards the barn. When he opened the door, Bella burst out with a flurry of barks running back and forth from the barn to the driveway.
“What’s up girl? Where’s Allie?” Mike went into the barn to see if she was there. The puppies were in their stall, yipping and tumbling with one another. He did a quick head count. Six. One puppy was missing. He looked again. Sure enough, the missing pup was the one that Dougie had dubbed Spike. With a frown, he walked back out of the barn. Bella greeted him at the door. “Where’s your puppy? Is that what’s got you all worked up? Is your boy missing too?” Bella barked.
Still frowning, Mike ran to the house. “Allie?” He hurried up the stairs and tried the front door. Finding it unlocked, another thing to worry about, he rushed inside calling her name again. “Allie? Dougie?”
When a quick check of the main floor didn’t turn up any answers, he sprinted upstairs to look around. A minute later, he strode down the stairs frowning. Where could they be?
He was on his second lap of the main floor when his phone beeped, indicating he had an email. He pulled the phone from his hip and quickly retrieved the message. It was unlikely it was Allie, but it wouldn’t hurt to check.
When the message came up, Mike’s heart leapt to his throat. He stood and stared at the picture that appeared on his phone, his head moving back and forth slowly in denial. This couldn’t be right. Was this some kind of joke?
He looked closer. The picture was of a very scared looking Allie, clutching an equally terrified looking Dougie in one arm and holding up a….was that today’s paper? He zoomed in on the picture. Yes, it was today’s paper. Holy shit. What was this? Kidnapping 101?
His phone rang, startling him. He checked the display. It was Brian. Thank God. It must be some sort of sick joke.
“Hello?”
“Hey man. Did you find Allie?” Brian’s voice sounded concerned.
“No. Isn’t she with you?”
“No. Becky told you already. We haven’t seen her. What’s going on, Mike?”
“Uh…nothing. I’m at the farm and she’s not here. I’m still looking for her.”
“Look man, don’t try and bullshit me. Something is wrong. I can hear it in your voice.”
Mike sighed and dragged his hand through his hair. “No…”
“Come on, man. Tell me what’s going on.” Brian’s voice was insistent.
“Okay…Yeah. There’s something up. You had better come out here.” Mike swore. “But listen. Don’t wear your uniform and bring your own truck.”
“What the hell, Mike?”
“Just get out here. Fast.”
***
“What the…?” Rowdy frowned at the computer screen. He looked at the email that had just arrived in disbelief. He scrolled down past the picture and read the message again. “Fucking hell.” Scrolling back up, he stopped, looking at the picture of Allie. She looked terrified. This was all his fault, all his fucking fault.
He grabbed the phone and punched in some numbers.
“Yeah, it’s me. Look, I’ve got a problem, a big problem. Can you come out here? I need your help.”
***
The van bumped over another rut, jarring Allie from her head right down her spine. Dougie whimpered. He had begun to shut down a few minutes ago, rocking and humming to himself. Allie was worried about him, but it was his way of comforting himself so she let it go.
She let her thoughts wander, anything to try and keep her mind off her terrible reality, but they kept going the same direction every time. Mike, oh Mike. Would he even know they were missing yet? She had missed her appointment at the bank, the least of her worries now. Maybe Mrs. Hildahl would call him looking for her? But then what? What would he think? Would he race out to the farm and discover her gone? Would he think she had just run off because of their argument? No, he knew her better than that. Besides her car was still there…at least she thought it was. For all she knew these two creeps had stolen it too.
A few minutes later the van came to an abrupt stop. Allie’s head flew backwards and smashed against the wall of the van. She winced as tears sprang to her eyes. A door slammed, then a crunching sound gave her a few seconds warning before the door flew open, blinding her again. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, unwilling to show any sign of weakness to her captor.
“Get out,” came a gruff voice.
Allie blinked and looked out. He was still wearing his helmet.
“I said, get the fuck out of the van.” He waved the gun at them.
“Okay, okay. Just give us a minute. We’re stiff from sitting back here so long.” Allie quickly pushed Spike’s head back into Dougie’s shirt and began to coa
x the boy to slide across the floor and out the door. Dougie moved like he was in a trance, humming and rocking the whole time.
“Come on. Hurry up.” He waved the gun again then looked at Dougie. “What the hell is wrong with the little freak?”
“It’s nothing. He’s fine. He’s just scared is all.”
“Sure, whatever.” He waved the gun some more. “Just get a move on. And don’t think about giving me any trouble. We only need one of you to get a payout and I figure you’re worth more than the brat.” He came to stand beside her, running the gun up her arm. “Besides, I reckon that rich boy, cow doctor will pay handsomely for a nice piece of ass like yours. I’d probably be doing him a favour if I dropped some lead in the kid.”
Allie growled and shoved Dougie behind her. “Listen asshole. You hurt my son, you had better kill me, or I will hunt you down and kill you myself.” Her voice was a hiss, full of venom.
“Oh yeah, I’m really scared. Now shut the fuck up and just stay there.” He pushed her to the side and then reached into the van. He pulled out the jack from where it had been clamped to the wall of the van and going around to the side, set it up by the tire.
Allie took the moment’s respite to look around. They were somewhere in the Badlands Conservation Area, parked at the side of the highway by a section of scrub and brush.
“Alright, that should keep those dickwads you call police in these parts off our trail for a while. Now get a move on.” He pointed to a path leading into the bush.
Seeing little choice, Allie took Dougie by the hand and started down the trail. As they walked further into the bush, Allie began to recognize where they were.
“We shouldn’t be here. This trail has been closed for a couple of years. It’s dangerous,” she said apprehensively.
“Shut up and keep walking.”
“But the trail isn’t safe. This area is riddled with limestone pits.”
“I know. Now keep going.” He emphasized his words with a shove against her back. Allie stumbled but kept to her feet. Dougie whimpered.
“Shh, it’s okay little man. Just keep walking.”
The path led them deeper into the scrub, getting steeper and steeper downhill as they went. Finally, it levelled out into a small clearing. At the centre was a jagged opening, leading down into the ground. It was a limestone pit.
“Okay, that’s far enough.” He reached into a bag Allie hadn’t noticed he was carrying and pulled out a climbing rope. “Tie this around the kid. Make it good and tight for his sake.” Allie frowned and he waved the gun at her. “Come on. Do it.”
Allie knelt down in front of Dougie, wrapping the rope around him and securing it under his armpits. “Okay little man. Looks like it’s time for another adventure.”
“I don’t want another ‘venture.”
Allie smiled sadly. “I know, baby. But we don’t have a choice.” She pulled the rope, testing it. “Now I want you to hold on tight with your hand right here.” She showed him where to put his hand. “And I want your other hand here holding Spike,” she whispered to him. “Hold tight. It’s up to you to keep him safe.”
“Alright. Hurry up. Enough jabbering.” The man grabbed the rope and pulled Dougie away from Allie. “Get in the hole kid.” He pushed Dougie to the edge.
“No! I don’t want to go.”
“Get in before I throw you,” the man growled back.
“Wait.” Allie rushed forward. “Let me help him. I can get him to cooperate.”
“Whatever. Just do it.”
After a few minutes, Allie managed to coax Dougie to sit on the edge. She slowly lowered him down until his feet were at the bottom. It was only about twelve or fifteen feet.
“Mommy! I don’t like it down here.”
“It’s okay Dougie. Remember it’s an adventure. You’re a cave explorer.” She gave some slack to the rope. “Just wiggle out of the rope now. Mommy will be down in a minute.”
She pulled the rope up quickly and began to loosen the knot so she could get it around her own chest. The man started to pull the helmet from his head and she stopped fumbling with the rope to look at him in shock.
“What are you doing? I don’t want to see who you are.” Allie was terrified. Didn’t this guy ever read crime novels? Once you saw the bad guy’s face he always had to kill you so you couldn’t identify him.
“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you…much.” He pulled the helmet the rest of the way off and leered at her. He was young, around her age, maybe a little older, with scraggly brown hair, brown eyes and a face that looked like it hadn’t seen the business end of a razor in several days. More importantly though, he looked familiar. Where had she seen him before? He reached out and ran a finger up her bare arm. Allie shuddered and stepped out of reach.
“Listen. What do you want? Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice hoarse with fear.
“Ah now, I’m hurt. Don’t you recognize me?” Allie frowned again. She did recognize him, she just couldn’t remember from where. “Maybe this will remind you.” His hand whipped out before she could react, catching her across her cheek. She felt her skin tear.
Putting a hand to the scratch across her cheek, she looked down at his scuffed motorcycle boots and then back up at his face. “You!” she exclaimed in shock. Oh my God! It was the man from the bar. The one who scowled into his beer. “You were at the bar that night. You attacked me.” She backed away another step.
With a laugh, he lunged for her, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her to him. His lips came down on hers in a crushing kiss. Allie struggled and pushed against his chest, finally tearing her mouth away. She staggered back a few steps and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth.
The man laughed. “What’s the matter bitch? Not good enough for you? Not some rich, fancy vet?” He took a step towards her. “You sure don’t seem to mind giving it up for him.”
“It was you. You were there that day too, behind the house, taking pictures.” Allie’s stomach clenched, horrified at the thought.
“Guilty as charged. And I must say, I enjoyed the show. Too bad you took the action inside. Now show me them tits of yours again.” He grabbed for her, snagging the ends of her shirt, ripping it open, sending buttons flying.
“Mommy! Mommy, I’m scared. Aren’t you coming down?” Dougie’s voice trembled up from below.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy will be right there,” Allie called back, her voice surprisingly calm. She clutched at her shirt, trying to hold it together.
“No, you won’t. You’re going to be busy for a while.” He grabbed her by the arm and then yanked at her bra with the other hand, ripping it open. “Yeah baby. Show me what you’ve got.”
“Let go of me you animal.” Balling a fist, she pounded on his arm, trying to break his grip.
“Oh yeah. Come on. Fight me. I like it when they’re feisty.” He groped at her breast and squeezed it cruelly. Keeping his grip on her arm, he reached for his fly. “Now get on your knees…”
Allie watched in horror as he zipped his fly down. She looked around the clearing helplessly, but the sound of Dougie’s soft crying brought her attention back to the pit. With a look of steely determination, she brought her heavy work boot down on her captor’s instep and then backhanded him across the face as hard as she could. Cursing, he let go, giving her a backhand of his own. His knuckles slammed into her face and she fell forward towards him. As she bent over, she balled her fist and drove it into his crotch. He doubled over with a rather feminine sounding squeak.
Before he could come to his senses, Allie grabbed the rope and slipped it over her arms. She threw it around a nearby tree, grabbed the loose end and began to lower herself down into the pit.
“It’s okay little man. Mommy’s coming.”
She was several feet below the edge when there was a curse and the rope went slack. S
he fell with a shriek, scrabbling at the rough sides of the pit to try and slow her descent. She twisted to try and avoid landing on Dougie and hit the hard packed ground with a crack. Pain radiated up her arm and she clutched it to her chest protectively, her tattered shirt gathered around her.
“Mommy, Mommy! Are you okay?”
“Fucking bitch.” The man’s voice growled over the edge. A rain of gravel and debris fell down on them and Allie grabbed Dougie, tucking him under herself, trying to shield him. Her arm throbbed when Dougie bumped into it and for a second she thought she would pass out.
Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly and smiled weakly at Dougie. “It’s okay little man. I’m fine. Just a bump on my arm.” She looked up the side of the pit to the shadow looming over them. “It’s going to be okay.”
Too bad she didn’t really believe that.
Mike paced the living room, at a loss as to what to do next. He looked at his watch…again. It had only been a couple of minutes since he’d spoken to Brian. It would be at least fifteen more before he could get out to the farm. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a slow deep breath.
“Okay,” Mike’s voice echoed through the empty house. Coming to a decision, he strode into the kitchen. He stopped short just inside the doorway, his heart clenching at the signs of the happy home life they had been enjoying. Allie had put a stew on in the slow cooker and the warm savoury smell filled the kitchen. There were two loaves of freshly baked bread on a rack on the counter and she had corn all shucked and ready for the pot.
Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Feeling steadier, he walked over to the counter and lifted the lid of the slow cooker. The normally enticing smell turned his stomach, but the stew looked done so he unplugged the cooker, and putting the lid back on, took the casserole pot off the base and shoved it into the fridge. He threw a clean tea towel over the loaves of bread and looked at the corn. No, the corn would be fine where it was.